Fans were quite excited for the new chapter as theories on the possible origins of Granolah were circulating on social media. Chapter 68 didn’t disappoint us as it started off with just that. The origin story of Granolah was given to us in the form of a dream which Granolah was experiencing while he made off with OG-73i which he stole from Goichi. Fans had predicted that Granolah would be a Tuffle. The actual story has some similarities to the story of the Tuffles and their extinction but, there are differences.

Granolah’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Dream

The new chapter kick started with a bang as we see a war-zone with a lot of corpses in a distant planet. We see the members of the Frieza Force coming out from their space ships. It’s a full moon and silhouettes of the Saiyan’s great ape forms are visible. Then we see a person (could be Granolah) rushing towards a church from a first person point of view. As he looks up at the hole in the roof, he sees a giant ape coming towards the church. The ape suddenly peeps inside the church through the hole and this image caused Granolah to wake up.

It looks more like a memory from his past. An awful memory of the time in which a hoard of barbarous apes almost wiped out his race, the Cerelians. He had this dream a number of times. This particular set of scenes, wherein he ran towards the church and was startled to see a giant ape shoving his head inside the church, would have been imbibed into Granolah’s head.

Now here comes the fascinating part, this ape is very interesting as it resembles a fan favorite character.

Could the giant ape be Bardock?

Fans quickly noticed the X mark on the ape’s face in Granolah’s dream and concluded that this has to be Bardock in his great ape form. So let’s do a quick analysis to see whether it is actually Bardock.

There are three people who had the X mark on their bodies – Broly, Yamcha, Future Gohan and Bardock.

Broly has the X mark, but it’s on his left chest and has only a diagonal cut on his left cheek. So that rules out Broly. Yamcha has the X mark on his face but he cannot be the giant ape for obvious reasons. Future Gohan couldn’t be the ape in question because he got the marks after the Androids injured him and he died soon after that.

Bardock, on the other hand, has the X mark on his left cheek, same as the ape in the dream and he’s a Saiyan, so he can turn into a great ape.

In August 2020, Toyotarou posted an illustration of Bardock in his great ape form.

In the illustration, Oozaru Bardock, his partner Leek, lying injured, and an alien are there. Bardock’s Oozaru form bears a striking resemblance to the ape in Granolah’s dream. This more or less implies that the ape in the dream is Bardock, Goku’s father.

According to Dragon Ball Minus, before they received an order by Frieza to return to Planet Vegeta (which follows the events in Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie), Bardock and Leek were in a planet fighting against some aliens which looks like the one in the illustration above. It seems Bardock transformed into the great ape form during this battle.

Although the non-canon special “Dragon Ball Z: Bardock, the father of Goku” first introduced Bardock’s character, Toriyama liked the character so much that he incorporated him in the manga.

The movie “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” made Bardock’s tale canon. While trying to conquer a planet by engaging in war with the planet’s inhabitants, Leek received an order that all Saiyans should return to Planet Vegeta at once. Both he and Bardock hopped into their ship and proceeded to their home planet. While on the way, they see Frieza’s ship hovering very close to the planet. Upon seeing this, Bardock suspects that Frieza is planning something which might be related to the tyrant’s dislike towards the Saiyans.

After landing, he learns from one of his fellow Saiyans that Frieza was inquiring about the Legendary Super Saiyan. This made Bardock think that Frieza is out to annihilate the entire Saiyan race because of Frieza’s fear of the legend. Bardock then proceeds to take Goku from his incubator and puts him in a capsule pod. It would take him to a distant planet called Earth. As per his description of Earth, it has a lot of food, but the race inhabiting it is not very technologically advanced and its resources are not of much value. So he feels Frieza’s men would not come to Earth to conquer it so Kakarot should be safe.

Bardock then warned the others of Frieza’s plot to destroy Planet Vegeta. He gathered some men and proceeded to attack Frieza. But alas, all of them die as Frieza launched a huge ball of devastating energy which destroyed the planet completely.

Many fans adore Bardock and the prospects of him being connected to the story once again excite the fans a lot.

Will Granolah have a grudge on Goku?

Granolah holds a deep loathing towards Frieza and the Saiyans who invaded his home world and eradicated his people. After their deaths, Granolah became obsessed with avenging his fallen brethren. However, after having heard of the destruction of Planet Vegeta and the death of Frieza, Granolah nearly gave up on his quest for vengeance.

This changed when the leader of the Heeter group, Elec, informs him that Frieza has been revived. The Universe’s balance is shifting once again with Frieza and his army on the run and this could hit his business of trading of valuables. This changes things for Granolah as the thoughts of avenging his people returns to him.

So far, he doesn’t know the existence of the surviving Saiyans on Earth and elsewhere. My theory is, he would learn that a person named Goku defeated Frieza once and might go to him to get his help to do it again. When he first takes a look at Goku, images of Bardock attacking his people might flash in his head. Therefore, he’d think that the same Saiyan is still alive and would try to attack Goku in the mindset of avenging his people.

More information on Granolah and the new arc

Toyotarou in his recent interview gave some interesting information on Granolah:

He’s the last survivor of the Cerealites, so I pictured him as a lone bounty hunter. I want you to pay attention to Gralolah, but also the group of sibling known as “Heata”. Plus there’s a connection to somebody really surprising that will be revealed, so pay close attention to them too!

Toyotarou, V-Jump Q&A

So Granolah is a bounty hunter who is probably trying to save what’s left of his race with the aid of Oatmeel, the eyewear AI accompanying him.

The “connection” Toyotarou is talking about probably refers to the connection of Goku’s father, Bardock, with the Cerealites. In the Saiyan Saga of DBZ, King Kai had mentioned about the Saiyan race to Goku when the latter was training on the Kai’s planet. But the story of his father and the destruction of his race did not emotionally affect him. But now, he might have to confront his father’s actions and deal with it. It’d be really exciting to see what would be his view on his father.

Toriyama-sensei composed the plot based on a scenario he refined over time, and I think it resulted in a truly fascinating story. There are some facts and background information that only the original creator knows, so I think you’ll be thrilled!

Toyotarou, V-Jump Q&A

Toriyama probably borrowed elements from the Tuffle’s story and created a storyline which connects with the Moro arc. Since it is a Toriyama original, we can expect some classic Dragon Ball.

The chapter was really interesting and fans can’t wait for new content to come. What do you think of Bardock’s connection with Granolah’s people? Will Goku be sympathetic towards them and face the consequences on behalf of his father? What does Elec want with master Zuno? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!