Galactic Donut explained: what Gotenks' Dragon Ball Z move does

The Galactic Donut is probably the second most famous technique Gotenks has. It might not be as famous or as beloved as his Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack, but it's a move we saw Gotenks use first and Gohan use later. It's worth looking at both the Galactic Donut and its upgraded form, the Ultra Buu Buu Volleyball, which Gotenks used against Majin Buu in Dragon Ball Z.

Everything begins with chapter 490 of the manga, where Gotenks takes on Super Buu. That fight is where the technique first appears, and it's also where the stronger version eventually comes from.

The Daizenshuu describes the Galactic Donut as a paralysis technique

The guidebooks cover the move in Daizenshuu 2, page 217, and Daizenshuu 4, page 112. They describe it as a technique Gotenks used during the battle with Majin Buu. He concentrates ki in his fingertips and draws a circle in the air, which forms a donut shaped bundle of ki. That bundle can freely expand and contract, and it can also be guided toward a target.

According to the guidebooks, the technique itself has no special force behind it. Instead, the opponent can be paralyzed by having the donut contract around them, and that can inflict massive damage. It is mainly used to immobilize an opponent.

So that's what it is: "it's not really an attack or a defensive technique it's a paralysis technique". I'd compare it to the Solar Flare, the Taiyoken. That move isn't meant to hurt you. It blinds you and sets you up for a follow up attack, and the Galactic Donut serves that same purpose.

Why the Galactic Donut didn't hold Majin Buu

Gotenks uses the move on Majin Buu, and the problem is Buu himself. Because of his flexible gumball body, the donut doesn't affect him as well as it should have.

One thing that did surprise me is that Gohan used this technique to try to restrain Moro in the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc. Before that, we had never seen Gohan use the move at all. It sounds to me like at some point off screen Gohan learned it from Goten or Trunks, or maybe developed it on his own. We may never know.

The Super Donut Volley appears in Xenoverse 2

There is an upgraded version of the move in Xenoverse 2 called the Super Donut Volley. In it, Gotenks uses multiple Galactic Donuts quickly so that they explode. It's something like a combination of the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack and the Galactic Donut. That isn't exactly right, but it's the best way to describe it.

That version is only seen in that game. I haven't seen it in any of the anime or manga.

Gotenks and Piccolo team up for the Ultra Buu Buu Volleyball

One of Gotenks' real trump cards is the upgraded, or at least modified, version of the Galactic Donut known as Gekitotsu Ultra Buu Buu Volleyball, which translates to Clash Ultra Buu Buu Volleyball. It is first used in manga chapter 494.

The guidebooks describe it as a technique Gotenks brought out during the battle with Majin Buu, and it is unleashed by two people. The first person seals the opponent up with rapid fire Galactic Donuts and then passes them. The other person returns the toss, and then the first person attacks. Gotenks unleashed it with Piccolo's assistance. However, the guidebooks note that doubt remained in Piccolo's heart over whether his help was really necessary. Piccolo doubted many things Gotenks did, and in many ways he may have been right.

What makes the move interesting is that Gotenks creates a cocoon looking energy sphere, and that's why it's named after a volleyball. Once Buu is trapped inside, he and Piccolo spike him and try to inflict damage. When they spike it into the ground, it makes a huge crater, and it seems to have damaged Majin Buu. You wouldn't think it would, but this move hurt him, at least for a brief time.

The volleyball might have killed anyone besides Majin Buu

I feel like if Gotenks used this move on anybody besides Majin Buu, "it would have squashed them like a bug." Buu's body is so flexible that it can be contained inside the volleyball. If you did this move on someone like Frieza, it might chop his limbs off.

When you think about it like that, the move is more dangerous than Dragon Ball Z would even tell you. Because it's Majin Buu, Gotenks is able to trap him inside it.

How much power the Galactic Donut needs, and what it may have cost Gotenks

It isn't made clear whether this move requires a great deal of Super Saiyan 3 power. We see Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks do it, but presumably even regular Super Saiyan Gotenks could probably pull it off, although perhaps not with as much energy as the Super Saiyan 3 version.

Remember that for a Galactic Donut to work, you have to put out a ki donut strong enough to squeeze someone like a bear hug. It's not going to work on somebody who's significantly stronger than you.

To me, the whole Buu versus Gotenks fight has always been about endurance. Gotenks just couldn't hold on. Majin Buu has incredible stamina and is very hard to kill, and even though this move did damage, it did not finish the job. It does make you wonder whether using it drained Gotenks' energy and his fusion time, and may have shortened how long he stayed in his Super Saiyan 3 form.