Akira Toriyama revealed that one obscure line in Dragon Ball Z actually referred to Beerus, retroactively connecting the two series.
Dragon Ball Super‘s Beerus introduced Goku and fans to a whole new level of power that kickstarted the new series, however, the God of Destruction was already mentioned in Dragon Ball Z, much earlier than fans realize. Divine beings are not anything new for the Dragon Ball franchises, with the Kais playing a significant role in the series story, especially during the Buu arc. However, during Gohan’s intense training with the Z sword and the first meeting with Elder Kai, readers received a hint of the Dragon Ball universe’s all-powerful Destroyer God.
Despite being a series’ with planet-breaking foes and endless debates among fans about power levels, Dragon Ball is filled with comedy. One particular gag during Dragon Ball Z‘s chapter #285 saw Goku and Gohan breaking the legendary Z sword and freeing the Elder Kai, who’d been imprisoned in the sword. And the one who sealed him in the sword is someone with whom Dragon Ball Super fans are very familiar with.
The vague hint went unnoticed by fans for years, but in a 2014 interview with author Akira Toriyama, translated by Kaizenshuu, the author was asked who sealed the old Kai. Toriyama took the opportunity to brilliantly connect Dragon Ball Z and Super by saying, “… they got into an argument over some trifling thing, and a certain short-tempered God of Destruction sealed Elder Kaiōshin away inside a sword…By the way, that God of Destruction was Beerus.” It is a retcon that hints at Beerus’s existence years before he would be officially introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods.
Dragon Ball‘s Author Brilliantly Retconned Beerus’ Existence In The Buu Arc
When chapter #285 was written in 1994, it’s highly unlikely that Dragon Ball Super‘s Beerus already existed in the mind of Akira Toriyama. Super‘s storyline was not conceived till after the disastrous Dragon Ball Evolution live-action film was made. Still, it was a clever connection to use in order to bridge the two series together. Majin Buu was presented as the series’ biggest threat on a cosmic scale. Still, even in the final arc of Dragon Ball Z, the Elder Kai’s comment created an opening for another large-scale threat that would pay off nearly 20 years later.
As many fans know, Dragon Ball Super began with the God of Destruction, Beerus, walking up from a long nap and growing curious about Earth’s Saiyans, who defeated both Freeza and Majin Buu. After being freed, Elder Kai called Beerus a “terrible bad guy, almost as terrible as Buu!” While the God of Destruction is much stronger than Buu ever was, the line still makes sense due to the reckless and chaotic nature Buu represented. Beerus has proven time and time again that he can be reasoned with, understandably making the past Majin Buu more dangerous than Beerus.
The introduction of Beerus and the Angel Whis kickstarted Dragon Ball Super and helped the entire franchise grow more popular than ever before. Fans anxiously await the return of the Super anime to adapt the manga’s arcs that follow the epic final battle against Jiren during the Tournament of Power. With many options and directions the series can go, it will be interesting to see what previous hints in Dragon Ball‘s storyline will lead to a grand new tale, like Elder Kai’s comment that retroactively helped introduce the God of Destruction Beerus in the series.
Source: Kanzenshuu
