Dragon Ball GT Rankings And Opinions

Dragon Ball GT has lived a strange afterlife. It’s the sequel that isn’t quite canon, the “black sheep” of the Dragon Ball franchise, and the series that people swear they hate but somehow remember in vivid detail.
Ask ten fans for their Dragon Ball GT rankings and you’ll get twelve answers, two arguments, and at least one passionate defense of Super Saiyan 4.

Instead of pretending there’s one “objective” tier list, this article walks through Dragon Ball GT’s major arcs, villains, and standout episodes, then mixes in fan reception and personal opinion.
Think of it as a guided tour of GT: what works, what really doesn’t, and why some people are quietly (or loudly) calling it underrated.

Why Dragon Ball GT Is So Divisive

Before ranking anything, it helps to understand why Dragon Ball GT splits the room more than almost any other anime sequel.

• It’s not based directly on the manga. Unlike Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, GT is an anime-original project developed by Toei Animation.
  That “non-canon” status makes some fans treat it like optional DLC rather than a core installment.
• The tone swings all over the place. The early space-adventure episodes feel like classic Dragon Ball road-trip comedy,
  then the show slams into body-snatching horror, android mayhem, and apocalyptic dragon gods.
• It’s short. At just 64 episodes, GT is tiny compared with DBZ’s nearly 300. There’s less room to fix mistakes or slowly win fans over.
  If an arc doesn’t land, it feels like a bigger deal.
• It arrived after peak DBZ hype. Many fans met GT with huge expectations in the late ’90s and 2000s,
  then bounced off the changes in tone, design, and power scaling. First impressions stuck for a long time.

The result: Dragon Ball GT carries a reputation as a flawed experiment. But “flawed” doesn’t mean worthless.
When you zoom in on specific arcs, villains, and episodes, there’s a lot to rank, debate, andyesenjoy.

How These Dragon Ball GT Rankings Work

Everyone ranks GT differently, so here’s the simple formula used for this list:

• Story and pacing: Does the arc tell a coherent story? Does it drag, or does it feel tight and focused?
• Villains and stakes: How interesting is the main threat? Do the heroes feel like they’re in real danger?
• Character moments: Does anyone grow, learn, or get a genuinely cool spotlight episode?
• Visuals and transformations: This is Dragon Ball; forms and fights matter.
• Fan reception over time: Polls, rankings, and long-term fan chatter help break ties.

With that in mind, let’s rank the four main Dragon Ball GT sagas from strongest to weakestand talk about what each one actually does well.

Dragon Ball GT Sagas Ranked

#1 Baby Saga – The Undisputed GT MVP

If you’ve heard anyone say “GT is actually pretty good,” they were probably talking about the Baby saga.

Baby is a surviving member of the Tuffle race, a people wiped out by the Saiyans.
His whole existence is one long, bitter revenge plot: possess Saiyans, humiliate them, then reclaim their stolen world.
That gives the saga something GT often struggles witha clear emotional spine. The villain’s motivation actually reflects Saiyan history.

Why the Baby saga lands so high:

• Body horror and possession: Watching Baby jump from body to body, eventually taking over Vegeta, makes the heroes feel genuinely vulnerable.
• Vegeta vs. Goku’s family: In some of the saga’s best moments, a possessed Vegeta has to fight Gohan and Goten, raising the emotional stakes beyond “punch the bad guy harder.”
• Super Saiyan 4 debuts: Goku’s SSJ4 transformation is still one of the most visually iconic forms in the franchise, blending the primal ape aesthetic with a humanoid design.
• Cosmic scale: The conflict isn’t just “Earth in danger” againit’s tied to Saiyan history, Tuffle revenge, and the fallout of past violence.

Baby’s combination of horror, drama, and big transformations is why many fans rank this saga as GT’s peak and sometimes its only truly “must-watch” stretch.

#2 Shadow Dragon Saga – Messy but Ambitious

The Shadow Dragon saga closes Dragon Ball GT with one of the franchise’s boldest ideas:
what if overusing the Dragon Balls had consequences, and those consequences literally showed up as monsters?

Seven corrupted dragons, each born from a Dragon Ball, rampage across the world. Some are joke-level threats,
othersespecially Syn/Omega Shenronare genuinely intimidating. The arc leans on themes of responsibility,
wish-granting, and the cost of taking miracles for granted.

Why it ranks second:

• Great concept: Turning the Dragon Balls into the final villains is an elegant way to criticize the franchise’s reliance on magical resets.
• Omega Shenron is a solid final boss: A towering, brutal villain who feels like a proper endgame threat for Goku and Vegeta.
• Bittersweet finale: The closing episodes, especially GT’s final farewell to Goku and the time-skip epilogue, are surprisingly emotional and often rank highly in fan episode lists.

The downside is tonal inconsistency. Some dragons are goofy, some fights feel rushed, and the arc occasionally undercuts its own brilliant premise.
Still, when it hits, it really hitsespecially if you’ve grown up with the Dragon Balls as a constant safety net.

#3 Black Star Dragon Ball Saga – Charming but Uneven

The Black Star Dragon Ball saga opens GT with a deliberate throwback to early Dragon Ball:
Goku (now in kid form again), Pan, and Trunks traveling through space on a planet-hopping, wish-chasing adventure.

On paper, it’s a smart ideareconnect with the gag-filled, exploration-heavy roots of the franchise. In practice, it’s a mixed bag.

What works:

• Pan’s early spotlight: GT actually lets Pan act like a main character, with plenty of attitude and energy.
• Varied planets and setups: The crew runs into weird cultures, bizarre villains, and comedic side stories that feel very “classic Toriyama.”
• Cozy vibes: If you like Dragon Ball’s lighter, more playful tone, parts of this saga feel like a comfortable throwback.

What doesn’t:

• Some episodes feel like filler disguised as adventure.
• The threat that Earth will explode if the Black Star Dragon Balls aren’t returned is huge, but often treated like background noise.
• The pacing is inconsistent; for some fans, it takes too long to “really start.”

It’s a fun hang if you’re patient, but it doesn’t deliver the same payoff as the later, darker arcs.

#4 Super 17 Saga – Cool Ideas, Rushed Execution

The Super 17 saga is often ranked lowest among GT arcs, even by fans who enjoy the series.
The premise sounds great on paper: two versions of Android 17one from Hell, one from Earthmerge into Super 17, a terrifying new android who absorbs energy and shrugs off most attacks.

The problems hit fast:

• It’s very short. The arc feels like a bridge between bigger stories more than a saga in its own right.
• Power scaling is all over the place. Characters who should be powerful feel oddly weak, and some deaths feel cheap or forced.
• Goku solves too much alone. The supporting cast barely matters, which is a recurring complaint about GT in general.

That said, the arc still has highlights: Android 17 and 18’s dynamic, some surprisingly brutal moments, and a few strong fights.
It’s just overshadowed by the more cohesive Baby and Shadow Dragon sagas.

Standout Characters and Transformations in GT

Super Saiyan 4 – The Form Everyone Remembers

Love it or hate it, Super Saiyan 4 is the visual centerpiece of Dragon Ball GT rankings and opinions.
While later series like Dragon Ball Super lean into shiny god forms and bright color swaps, SSJ4 feels raw, primal, and animalisticred fur, tail restored,
and black hair that calls back to the Oozaru roots.

Why SSJ4 still matters in fan discussions:

• It connects Saiyan power to their ape form, instead of just swapping hair color.
• It’s tied to a specific ritual and transformation path (Golden Great Ape → SSJ4), giving it more narrative weight.
• Design-wise, it stands out from everything else in the franchise.

Even as GT’s canon status remains debated, SSJ4 Goku and SSJ4 Vegeta keep showing up in games, merch, and spin-offsproof that fans never really let the form go.

Baby, Omega Shenron, and Super 17 – Ranking the Villains

If we ranked the main GT villains on impact, it would probably look like this:

1. Baby – Best backstory, best use of Saiyan history, and the most personal stakes.
2. Omega Shenron – Strong final boss energy with a great design and destructive presence.
3. Super 17 – Cool concept and design, but underdeveloped and rushed.

Baby feels like the only villain whose story really taps into Dragon Ball’s emotional potentialrevenge, guilt, and the consequences of Saiyan violence.
Omega Shenron wins on spectacle and symbolism, while Super 17 is more of a stylish detour.

Best Dragon Ball GT Episodes Worth Rewatching

Even fans who don’t love GT often admit that certain episodes are legitimately great.
If you’re not ready to commit to the full series, these types of episodes usually rank near the top on fan lists and rating sites:

• Baby’s takeover episodes: The gradual corruption and possession of the Z-Fighters builds tension in a way GT rarely matches elsewhere.
• Goku’s SSJ4 transformation: The Golden Great Ape sequence and control of that power into SSJ4 is still one of GT’s most iconic moments.
• Super Saiyan 4 fusion. When Goku and Vegeta fuse using SSJ4, the show leans into pure fanservice in the best possible way.
• Finale and epilogue: GT’s last episode, with its time skip and retrospective feel, has become a cult favorite among long-time fans.

Watching just these highlights can give you a taste of what GT does right without slogging through episodes that don’t add much.

Where Fans Rank GT in the Larger Dragon Ball Franchise

Ask fans to rank Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, GT, and Super, and the patterns are pretty consistent:

• Dragon Ball Z usually holds the top spot as the legendary classic that defined the franchise.
• Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Super trade places depending on whether people prefer old-school adventure or modern tournament and multiverse arcs.
• Dragon Ball GT almost always lands near the bottombut usually with a loud, passionate minority arguing that it’s underrated.

A common ranking from many long-time viewers looks something like:

1. Dragon Ball Z
2. Dragon Ball / Dragon Ball Super (depending on taste)
3. Dragon Ball GT

But that doesn’t mean GT is “trash.” It usually means:

• Its best arcs are very good.
• Its worst stretches are rough enough to drag the whole average down.
• Its non-canon status makes people more comfortable dismissing it.

Interestingly, some fans who rewatch GT as adults, especially in Japanese with the original score, report liking it more the second time around.
Once the “this isn’t DBZ” disappointment fades, it’s easier to enjoy GT as its own weird, ambitious side-story.

Is Dragon Ball GT Worth Watching Today?

Short answer: if you care about Dragon Ball beyond pure canon checklists, yesGT is worth at least a selective watch.

Reasons to give GT a chance (or a rewatch):

• Historical curiosity: It shows how Toei imagined Goku’s story continuing before modern sequels existed.
• Iconic designs: SSJ4, Baby Vegeta, and Omega Shenron remain fan favorites in games and merch for a reason.
• Compact length: At 64 episodes, it’s a much lighter commitment than DBZ.
• Emotional finale: GT’s ending feels like a genuine farewell to the “classic” era of Dragon Ball animation.

The trick is managing expectations. If you go in expecting “DBZ but better,” you’ll probably be disappointed.
If you treat Dragon Ball GT as an alternate-universe sequel with some big swingssome hits, some missesyou’re more likely to appreciate what it tried to do.

Dragon Ball GT Rankings And Opinions – Fan & Viewer Experiences

Beyond tier lists and poll numbers, fan experiences shape how people talk about Dragon Ball GT.
The same arc that one viewer calls “trash” might be the one another person watched on a scratched DVD as a kid and now defends with their life.

A typical GT experience for a lot of fans looks something like this:

You start the Black Star Dragon Ball saga out of curiosity. The early episodes feel slower and sillier than the universe-shattering stakes of DBZ,
so you half-watch them while scrolling your phone. Pan yells, Trunks sighs, Goku cracks jokes. It’s… fine, but it doesn’t feel essential.

Then the Baby saga hits, and suddenly you’re paying attention. You watch Vegeta get taken over,
Gohan and Goten become puppets, and the whole cast slowly fall under Baby’s control.
The tension ratchets up in a way that feels completely different from “big guy screams louder and wins”it’s more psychological, more insidious.

When Goku finally reaches Super Saiyan 4, the whole vibe changes again.
Even if you already know the form from video games, seeing the transformation in context hits harder.
The Golden Great Ape rampage, the moment of clarity, and the final evolution feel like a love letter to the series’ primal Saiyan roots.

As you roll into the Super 17 saga, you might feel your attention dip.
The concept is coola terrifying fusion of two Android 17sbut the arc races through its ideas so quickly that it doesn’t have time to breathe.
You get some nice moments with Android 18 and a few striking scenes, but it doesn’t stick in your memory like Baby or the dragons.

Then the Shadow Dragons arrive. At first, the premise feels almost goofy: seven evil dragons born from “dirty” Dragon Balls.
But as the arc escalates, the metaphor sinks in. All those wishes that saved people, revived planets, and erased consequences now have a bill attachedand it’s overdue.

By the time Omega Shenron stands towering over a ruined landscape, it hits you that this is, in its own way, a eulogy for classic Dragon Ball.
The show is saying: we used the Dragon Balls too much. We leaned on them whenever the story needed a reset. Now someone has to pay for that.

For many fans, the real hook of GT isn’t its power scaling or even its villains, but its mood.
There’s a quiet melancholy running under the flashy fightsa sense that this world, these characters, and this era of anime are reaching their sunset.

That’s why the final episode sticks with people. The time skip, the montage of characters across the years,
and Goku’s final departure carry a nostalgic weight that’s hard to explain if you haven’t grown up with the series.
Even fans who dunk on GT as a whole will often admit: “Yeah, but that ending got me.”

So when you see wildly different Dragon Ball GT rankings and opinions online, remember:

• Some people met GT at exactly the right age, on exactly the right channel, with exactly the right amount of free timeand they bonded with it.
• Others compare it directly to DBZ and Super, judge it by canon rules, and find it wanting.
• Still others rediscover GT years later and are surprised to find that, beneath the flaws, there’s a weird, heartfelt, ambitious little sequel trying its best.

In the end, GT is one of those shows where the “correct” ranking says less about the series and more about the viewer.
And honestly, that’s part of the fun: arguing, rewatching, reconsidering, and maybejust maybeadmitting that Kid Goku in a tube top SSJ4 form is cooler than you wanted to admit.