Is Grand Kai Canon?

Dragon Ball Z is a show known for its weird alien characters, but this double denim, sunglasses-wearing boombox enthusiast, stands apart. Probably because he doesn’t look like an Alien, just an out of touch human who probably uses slang like far out, groovy and copacetic. But can this oddball character be real, and is Grand Kai Canon?

No, Grand Kai is not canon. Goku’s Other World Saga is non-canon as it doesn’t feature in the original Dragon Ball Manga and is considered filler content, including all of its characters like Grand Kai and Pikkon.

Who is Grand Kai?

Grand Kai was the ruler of the Universe, above the level of King Kai, who only ruled 1/4th of the Universe, known as a Quadrant.

He is a kind and benevolent ruler who seems to spend his time hanging out in the Other World, but it’s not actually known if his title as Rule of Universe comes with any real responsibilities or if he is there for emergencies.

Although we never see him fight, it is assumed he is a great warrior, and he offers to train the winner of the Other World Tournament.

This implies he is stronger than Super Saiyan Goku, but he doesn’t prove this and backs out of training anyone because we suspect he’s not very good at martial arts! But we’ll never know the true answer.

Why isn’t Grand Kai canon?

Sadly, every single new character introduced in the Other World Tournament Saga is non-canon because it didn’t come from the original Manga. You can see it’s filler in this Dragon Ball Filler guide.

It was just a fun storyline to kill time until new manga chapters were released, but it is not considered to have actually happened and is never referenced again, much like the Dragon Ball Z movies of the time.

Difference between Grand Kai and Supreme Kai?

So the main difference is that Supreme Kai is canon, while Grand Kai is not. Theoretically, they both have the same job, as they are the ruler of the Kai’s and the Universe.

But Supreme Kai seems to be the real leader of the Universe as Grand Kai doesn’t really exist. It’s strange how the show would introduce a non-canon ruler of the Universe and then a canon ruler of the Universe with different names and titles. But it’s just one of those weird Dragon Ball things.

What sometimes happens is Toriyama takes inspiration from non-canon filler, so it’s possible he got the idea for Supreme Kai from Grand Kai, but there is no concrete evidence to support this.

Is Grand Kai Canon – Final Thoughts?

So no Grand Kai isn’t canon, and likely will never be canon. Speaking personally I always found this character really annoying, and so am glad he won’t be referenced again.

But I’m also saddened that such a cool character like Pikkon is in the same boat, and likely won’t be reapearing in Dragon Ball Super anytime soon.