Dragon Ball is a long-running series, and the characters have aged with the series, so fans may be wondering just how old the main cast is by the time the sequel Dragon Ball Super comes around. Dragon Ball was one of the first series to depict its characters aging as the series progressed, creating the inevitable issue of audiences attempting to determine how old those characters are at any given point. Super is intended to fill the gap between the defeat of Majin Buu and the last episode of Dragon Ball Z which takes place 10 years after and ends with Goku departing to train with Uub.
The fictional calendar in the franchise uses Before Age and Age eras. The original Dragon Ball begins in Age 749. Although Goku has been given several contradictory dates for his birth, the most common one is 737. This means that Goku is 11 at the beginning of the original Dragon Ball when he meets a 16-year-old Bulma. From here, based on available timeline information and statements to clarify the timeline from Akira Toriyama himself, it’s possible to establish how old the characters are at any given point in the franchise.
Goku Is Already Over 40 In Dragon Ball Super
Although the chronology of his life is clearly laid out, calculating Goku’s exact age is complicated by the fact that not only did he die twice, he stayed dead for about seven years between the Cell and Majin Buu arcs. This means he is essentially seven years younger biologically than he is chronologically. However, based on his date of birth, it can be established that by the time Dragon Ball Super begins in Age 778, Goku is chronologically 41 years old and about seven years younger biologically. Bulma was established to be five years older than Goku back in the original Dragon Ball, so she is 46. Vegeta is one year older than Bulma, making him 47. Based on their calculated year of birth, Gohan is 21, Goten is 11, Videl is either 21 or 22, and she is pregnant with Pan when Dragon Ball Super begins.
In fact, Pan is a major factor in determining the chronology of the series. Time has continued to pass during Super, and by the time of the Super Hero movie, Pan is now three and a half, meaning that much time has passed since the beginning of the sequel. This is a significant reference point in the series’ timeline, as the last episode of Dragon Ball Z, taking place 10 years after the defeat of Majin Buu, is established to occur when Pan is four. This means that Dragon Ball Super‘s timeline is now less than a year away from Dragon Ball Z‘s ending, even if this could be retconned or otherwise changed later.
Calculating The Age Of Dragon Ball‘s Cast Is Not Easy, But Still Possible
While calculating the age of the main cast (mostly the Saiyans and their partners) was more or less easy, determining exactly how old other characters are is complicated by several aspects of the Dragon Ball universe. Master Roshi, for example, should be centuries old. Piccolo and Kami are the two split halves of the same individual, the Nameless Namekian, who was born circa Age 242. However, Piccolo Jr. was also “birthed” by King Piccolo in Age 753. Android 17 and 18 are artificial lifeforms who don’t age at all, and the age of their original human identities, Lapis and Lazuli, was never revealed. Finally, many characters have multiple contradictory birthdates.
The Dragon Ball franchise begins with the original series in Age 749 when Goku is 11. Dragon Ball Super begins in 778, a gap of about 29 years, when Goku is about 40. At the moment, Dragon Ball Super seems on pace to end at the same point as Dragon Ball Z, with Goku training Uub in the year 784. Although calculating the character’s ages requires some work, all the necessary information is readily available thanks to the extensive timeline available for the Dragon Ball franchise.
