Released shortly after the conclusion of the Baby arc in the Dragon Ball GT TV anime, this TV special, Goku’s Side Story! The Proof of his Courage is the Four-Star Ball, is my perfect capstone to Dragon Ball post-Z (for now). While I am a staunch believer that the series should've ended at Z, I am more receptive of all this new (ignore the fact that this is older than 99% of this site's userbase) content than most, and I am particularly fond of this special despite not being fond of the series it is attached to.

This special (which will henceforth be referred to as Goku Gaiden) is a fairly innocuous one, if generic. It's about Son Goku Jr., the descendant of Son Goku one hundred years after GT. He's a bit of a dweeb, gets bullied at school by knock off Toriyama characters, can't live up to Grandma Pan's expectations of a kid named after the legendary Son Goku, and suprisingly... the special doesn't resolve most of that. Yeah he gets bullied, but this isn't Dragonball Evolution where he beats up all the kids picking on him. He's a dork but by the end of the film he just gets more confidence. He carries the name of Son Goku, but ultimately he is his own person. He sought the four star ball to save his great-great grandmother, while Goku sought it in prior series as a memento for the grandfather he had lost. Finding that ball at the end of the film really does nothing for him other than give him a chance to speak to our real protagonist, Son Goku. So, what did he learn?

He simply gained confidence in himself. This meek kid was pushed into a tough situation and could either keep his head down and avoid his problems or face them head on. His actions to face them really resolve his issues. He gains that confidence and this confidence is what turns one of his bullies into his friend, not too dissimilar how Goku would convert most of his enemies into allies. It's ultimately a very cheesy story about how with willpower, effort, friendship, anyone can be like Goku.

Looking at this ending and comparing it to the other endings Dragon Ball has had makes it one of the more interesting ones for me. Dragon Ball's original run ended with Goku leaving to find a new adventure with Oob, showing that ultimately what makes Goku Goku would never change. He would always be our Son Goku, ready to tackle any new frontiers he could find. The ending of Dragon Ball GT, which had not aired at the time this TV special aired, showed us a rather lackluster conclusion that Goku clones and Vegeta clones would still be rivals even so far into the future, but the narration over that has a lot of heart (or as some would say, kokoro). The far off conclusion of the Dragon Ball Super TV anime isn't really a conclusion at all and most would argue it isn't meant to be.

So, digging into the recesses of obscure Dragon Ball anime and finding this enjoyable gem, this almost forgotten ending to the series, really means something to me. Like I said this ending isn't anything too special "Anyone can be the main character" is a common trope in children's media, but I find this to be a very heartwarming message to end out on, and it's a shame that so many people will just skip out on this because nobody likes Dragon Ball GT.