Fans Debate On The Worst Retcon In The Entire Dragon Ball Series

When it comes to prolific anime, few series' are as revered as "Dragon Ball." One of the biggest gateway anime of all time, the franchise spans five different series and nearly two dozen films (via Radio Times). Because the franchise has been around longer than some of us have been alive, there is naturally a lot of catching up for relative newcomers.

For those unfamiliar with the detailed story, here's the short version. Created by Akira Toriyama, "Dragon Ball" follows young Goku (Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel) as he travels the land in search of the seven mythical Dragon Balls that will grant the wish of their master upon being united. Later, "Dragon Ball Z" adds a science fiction element to the story, including aliens and cyborgs in the series. Finally, "Dragon Ball Super" transform the story into a multiverse of connected realities, even further complicating the tale.

Naturally, as with nearly any franchise that's been on the air for so many years, "Dragon Ball" has had some hiccups in its storytelling from time to time. Of course, some missteps are far more egregious than others. Among the worst transgressions a sprawling franchise can make are canon errors, or as they are more kindly known, retcons. Here are the worst retcons in all of "Dragon Ball."

In the r/dragonball subreddit, u/EasyFold5 asked their fellow fans for their opinions on the worst retcon in the entire franchise. In starting the conversation, this user wrote, "I really hated how they changed the Potara fusion from being permanent to only lasting for an hour." The Potara or Kai Earrings are a mythical pair of earrings that allow two beings to fuse into one, multiplying their power extensively in the process. Interestingly, while some argue that this change is a retcon, others think of it as more of a clarification of how the magic jewelry works when you use one or both of the earrings.

In the top-voted comment on the thread, u/Kelindun wrote, "Buu used to sleep just for a few seconds, now he sleeps for months, and it's used as an excuse to ignore him." Of course, this user is referring to the primary antagonist for the final arc of "Dragon Ball Z" and how he was essentially nerfed so that he couldn't be used every time the story needed a quick fix. "Naw, that's how you keep the OP character out of the way in the manga and series," u/Blackpanther22five joked about the change.

Meanwhile, u/xXRainKingXx had an even simpler critique. This user took particular offense at Trunks' (Takeshi Kusao/Eric Vale) blue hair in "Dragon Ball Super," referring to how Vegeta (Ryō Horikawa/Christopher Sabat) and Bulma's (Hiromi Tsuru/Monica Rial) son originally had purple hair upon his debut in the fourth season of "Dragon Ball Z." It would seem that despite the popularity of the franchise, writers have had to jump through quite a few narrative hoops in order to keep it going all these years.