Dragon Ball ova’s are often unofficial, but the most recent film Dragon Ball Super: Broly legitimized Tarble – an obscure Saiyan character – into the main story.

Dragon Ball Super : Broly turned an obscure side story character Tarble into the main story. Although the Dragon Ball movies are loved and appreciated by fans, they have never been considered canon.

For example, although the movie Dragon Ball Z created many characters that viewers remember, none of them actually exist in the main story of Dragon Ball, including Bojack, the original Broly, Janemba, etc. That’s why it became a big deal when Dragon Ball Super: Broly introduced canon versions of Broly and Gogeta, two extremely popular characters who appeared in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn.

Just a little reminder for you to remember, Tarble first appeared in the 2008 ova – Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and his friends return!! This is the first new episode in the Dragon Ball series after 12 years. This 35-minute Ova introduced viewers to Tarble – Vegeta’s younger brother. This character was expelled from planet Vegeta due to being too weak. Tarble came to Earth to seek help from his brother and others to escape the remnants of Frieza’s forces.

In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, a flashback scene shows Nappa and Vegeta having a conversation regarding the destruction of Planet Vegeta. Nappa asked about his “little brother” Vegeta’s condition, and he said he didn’t care. This confirms that Tarble – who was previously just a movie character – has now become canon in Dragon Ball.

Tarble is mentioned again in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, but Dragon Ball Super does not mention him. Super’s Battle of Gods Saga used the same story and most of the same scenes, but removed the mention of Tarble, suggesting that the Saiyan warrior did not exist in the timeline.

On the other hand, the Broly movie is canon and is proof that Tarble exists somewhere in the Dragon Ball universe. It is unclear whether the events of Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and his friends return!! or not, however, could a different story have played out with Tarble?

Whether Tarble is canon or not is surprising, Dragon Ball made a big exception for him, as it did not give a chance to other characters. That’s also strange, because Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and his friends return!! is one of the lesser known Dragon Ball episodes. Unlike every other Dragon Ball movie, it never received an English dub, nor was it widely available.

For this reason, Tarble is a character that many fans may not know about. Either way, Tarble is definitely still alive somewhere in Universe 7. And it’s worth wondering: will future installments in Super adapt some of the more famous movie characters? Like Frieza’s brother, Cooler?