Dragon Ball: China Has Its Own DBZ Sequel & It’s Absolutely Bewildering

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It’s common to see new continuations of the Dragon Ball story – like Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Online, Dragon Ball Super, and now Dragon Ball DAIMA – after Dragon Ball Z. Akira Toriyama deliberately left the original Dragon Ball manga unfinished, allowing fans to envision what happened next to Goku and his friends. Some fans in China actually did this, creating their own sequel to Dragon Ball Z called Dragon Ball Zeroverse.

Originally published in China as Dragon Ball Tibetan Edition, Dragon Ball Zeroverse was a strange continuation of DBZ. It brought the villain Babidi back, surprisingly killed off some important characters, and even introduced the idea of multiple universes to Dragon Ball long before Dragon Ball Super did. While the artwork isn’t very good and the story can be confusing, Dragon Ball Zeroverse is a noteworthy part of Dragon Ball history that all fans should know about.

Dragon Ball Zeroverse Takes Place 3 Years After the End of Z & Immediately Goes Off the Rails

I’m a huge Dragon Ball fan – I reread the original manga by Akira Toriyama every year – so I was eager to see Dragon Ball Zeroverse. However, I found it confusing, and it actually made me appreciate how consistently reliable Dragon Ball Super usually is. Zeroverse starts three years after Goku goes to train Uub, bringing the characters back together for the 29th Tenkaichi Budokai tournament. Similar to Super, it mostly relies on repeating familiar storylines and fights.

The first story arc of Dragon Ball Zeroverse closely mirrors the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai from the beginning of the Majin Buu Saga, including the tournament being stopped by Babidi. However, this is where Dragon Ball Zeroverse truly becomes its own story, exploring new paths for the Dragon Ball universe. Notably, Pan achieves the Super Saiyan transformation, something that never happened in Dragon Ball GT or Dragon Ball Super.

Calling Dragon Ball Zeroverse bizarre wouldn’t even begin to cover it. The story brings Babidi back in a surprising way, simply because his master rebuilt his body. Uub gets possessed and transforms into a horrifying, Kid Buu-like creature, becoming the main villain. Goten and Trunks are now so powerful they can fuse just by bumping into each other, resulting in a heavier version of Gotenks. While Zeroverse does have some genuinely good fights – like Goku’s battle with Uub and many of Vegeta’s later encounters – and is certainly never dull, it suffers from a common issue with Dragon Ball fan fiction: it tries too hard to be dark and gritty.

Dragon Ball Zeroverse is an Edgy, Violent Mess Where Goku Permanently Loses His Powers

While Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball sometimes explored serious themes, it always remained lighthearted. Even Dragon Ball Super maintains this tone, with its most intense moment being the destruction of Future Trunks’ timeline. In contrast, Dragon Ball Zeroverse is excessively violent and grim, often without purpose. It depicts a societal collapse similar to the Majin Buu Saga, but focuses on it far more intensely, lacking the humor of Mr. Satan or the emotional depth of the Buu storyline. The series also features shockingly brutal moments, such as Vegeta killing Gohan with a Final Flash while Gohan is being held hostage by members of the Jiatai Force, the main villains of Zeroverse.

Goku’s behavior is shockingly out of character. Not only does he seem okay with Gohan sacrificing himself, but he’s willing to let his granddaughter, Pan, die because saving her would mean risking the Earth and losing a Dragon Ball. This is something he’d never do in the original Dragon Ball story – he’s a hero, not someone who’d stand by and watch a loved one be killed. Similarly, Piccolo makes the incredibly difficult decision to sacrifice himself along with Dende to destroy Shenron and prevent Babidi from reviving Jiatai, but only after a great deal of internal struggle over the fact that Namekians aren’t supposed to kill each other.

One of the most shocking parts of the story is when Goku and Vegeta completely lose their energy. The villain, Gulite, traps Goku in a special ball that drains all of his power, leaving him genuinely weak for the rest of the story – even vulnerable enough to be robbed! Later, Vegeta uses his energy and unexpectedly breaks down crying, which is a very strange and unsettling moment for such a proud character. It often feels like Dragon Ball Zeroverse is intentionally trying to shock and disturb readers by pushing the characters into increasingly awkward and uncomfortable situations.

Dragon Ball Zeroverse Ends on a Cliffhanger That’ll Never Be Resolved

Dragon Ball Zeroverse concluded after 105 chapters on a cliffhanger: the villain Jiatai was brought back to life, and Goku and Vegeta were stranded on another planet, unable to use their energy. While Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, and Gohan were resurrected, the story ended with King Kai and Supreme Kai racing to rescue Pan, Mr. Satan, and Majin Buu from Jiatai, who was about to defeat them. Luckily, a dedicated fan named Marb S. from Belgium gathered all the volumes, scanned them, and translated the series into English.

While unofficial copies of Dragon Ball Zeroverse sometimes appear online, the entire series is freely available on the Dao of Dragon Ball website, created by Dragon Ball expert Derek Padula. Padula is also known for his excellent Dragon Ball Culture series, which any fan should check out. Dragon Ball Zeroverse isn’t a perfect continuation of the original series, but it’s remarkably well-done considering it was created by a fan. It’s a substantial work, spanning 15 volumes and over 100 chapters.

The recent storyline focused on Goku and Vegeta regaining their strength, and explored new details about the Saiyan race. While Zeroverse has its flaws, it’s a fascinating glimpse into what Dragon Ball fans were creating after the original series finished in the 90s. It’s also surprisingly ahead of its time, experimenting with the idea of multiple universes years before Toriyama did in Dragon Ball Super. Dragon Ball Zeroverse isn’t the best fan-made continuation from China (that honor goes to Dragon Ball Galaxy Touring), but it’s an enjoyable and wildly imaginative way to spend an evening – just don’t go in expecting perfection.

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2026-05-15 15:35