The_Yellow_Topaz
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INTRODUCTION
Currently, the game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is not considered to be canonical to the mainline series. This thread aims to prove that DBZ: Kakarot has canonical elements that can be taken into consideration. This will NOT be an attempt to canonize the entirety of the game, but rather prove we can use it's non-contradictory elements as evidence for the mainline series. Please, enjoy 
Part I: Why does it have canon material?
There is plenty of evidence that suggests, and outright confirms that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is intended to have canonical elements that weren't present in the mainline story, I'll be presenting each and every one of these evidences to this thread to make my point, some of which will be repeated from past threads, but now with a different perspective and a much different objective behind each evidence.This is of course a very direct confirmation that DBZ: Kakarot must have elements that are intended to be in the original material. This piece of evidence was used in a misguided way, as it was presented as evidence to canonize DBZ: Kakarot as a whole. That is not the case, as this evidence does not prove such thing. However, being presented for the purpose of this thread, it comes off as a much stronger piece of evidence.
- Ryosuke Hara. Lead Producer, from Bandai Namco, states the game has canon material in it.
"The first, the settings of Akira Toriyama, should be accepted as part of the main storyline, yes, but to answer your question, not everything"
This leads to my main point in this thread. DBZ: Kakarot has information that can absolutely be taken as canon to the main story, but we should NOT canonize the game itself for it's several contradictions I'm sure you're all familiar with. The elements we should take as canon for both anime and manga would be the encyclopedia, which takes information directly from Akira Toriyama and uses information from the guidebooks, like Daizenshuu.
Some more minor evidence
- Several promotional material promotes the sub-stories as "the unknown stories inbetween the main story"
- Kakarot hews closer to the original manga than the anime adaptation, which weighs in at a hefty 291 episodes spanning nine seasons. Either way, it's a lot of ground to cover. Hara says cutting down all that material to make it accessible for newbies was a monumental task.
"This may seem obvious, but the amount of volume we had to cover was huge, so this was quite a challenge," he says. "But we felt that it was necessary to cover the story in one complete package to truly deliver the appeal of the Dragon Ball Z story, especially for players who know little about the anime."
"Not only do we focus on detailed moments from the original story, but we also show scenes and settings that will be told for the very first time. Some settings were even shared with us from the author, Akira Toriyama,"
"We had the chance to send a batch of questions to Toriyama-sensei," the producer says of the team's dialogue with the Dragon Ball creator. "Based on the answers we received, we implemented them into the game as sub-quests and conversations between characters."
Kakarot's calmer moments are captivating, too. You can zip from beneath the surface of a lake and crack through the clouds in the blink of an eye. But don't let all those opportunities to explore fool you: Kakarot isn't an open-world game. This was a deliberate choice the team made in order to remain as faithful as possible to the source material.
"Our goal was to be true to the original story," Hara says. "And being able to go anywhere at any time would not be faithful to the show. So, it was quite intentional that we didn’t make the game into an open-world game." - Promotional Material says stories between the original work are revealed, implying they're canon.
In the text, it is mentioned that the game Dragon Ball Z Kakarot offers the opportunity to experience additional episodes or stories that were not portrayed in the original manga or anime ("原作では描かれなかったエピソード"). These additional episodes are referred to as "substories" ("サブストーリー").
The text suggests that the "DBZK" sub-story provides a platform for enjoying episodes that were not depicted in the original work ("原作" or "Gensaku" in Japanese refers to the original work or canon).
The term 原作 (gensaku) consists of two Kanji characters:
1. 原 (gen):
- Meaning: Origin or source.
2. 作 (saku):
- Meaning: Work, creation, or production.
Combining these, 原作 (gensaku) translates to "original work" or "source material." In the context of anime, manga, or other media, 原作 typically refers to the original work that serves as the basis for adaptations. It is often used to denote the source material from which other derivative works, such as anime or movies, are created.
While 原作 itself doesn't directly mean "canon," it is closely related. The original work, whether it's a manga or a novel, is generally considered the primary and authoritative source for the storyline and characters. In this sense, the term 原作 is often associated with the canon because it represents the authentic and official creation from which other interpretations or adaptations are derived.
原：実はそれも含めてすべて鳥山先生から出てきた設定で、私たちは何も手を加えていないんです。ですから、これは先生公式の設定で、『ドラゴンボールZ』の新たな正史と言ってもいいと思っています。最初に上がってきたときは、本当に衝撃的でした。
Hara: Actually, all of the settings, including that, came from Toriyama-sensei, and we didn't make any changes to them. Therefore, this is the teacher's official setting, and I think it can be said to be a new canonical history of Dragon BALL Z. When it first came up, it was a real shock.
This just further cements the point. We can take information from DBZ: Kakarot, as they are part of Toriyama's setting, much like we do with the anime and game interpretations of the cosmology.
Part II: DLCs are NOT canon
I know you might've been excited to learn about the DLCs and canonizing Bardock again, but unfortunately, the DLCs are not canon and this was said several times and implied by the DLCs themselves.- Lead Produces states the first two DLCs are in their own settings.
- As you know, he also stated not everything was canon, as shown before.
- The fifth DLC is the only DLC that goes out of it's way to declare itself as canon, something no other DLC does.
CONCLUSION
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot itself is not a canon 1 to 1 game to the source material, however it has settings created by the original author and it intends to add more information to the overall story and is referred as "new official story". . .Therefore we should be able to use it's encyclopedia, and information that doesn't contradict anything, and secondary canon.
NOTE: ELEMENTS THAT DIRECTLY ALTER THE MAIN STORY SUCH AS MIRA AND TOWA, BY DEFAULT, WILL FALL UNDER NON-CANON MATERIAL FRA.
Agree: @Adem_Warlock69, @ProfectusInfinity, @LuffyRuffy46307, @The_Unknown_Warrior1, @CurrySenpai, @Accelerated_Evolution, @henryzx900ruly, @UchihaSlayer96, @Shadow-Ragna, @Lightning_XXI, @LordGriffin1000, @Qawsedf234, @Elizhaa
Neutral: @Killerdrone123, @Damage3245
Disagree:
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