Dragonball Z
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''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series produced by
Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...
'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ''
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...
''
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series created by
Akira Toriyama was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential and important authors in the history of manga, authoring highly influential and popular series, particularly Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dra ...
. The series aired in Japan on
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
from April 1989 to January 1996 and was later dubbed for broadcast in at least 81countries worldwide. ''Dragon Ball Z'' continues the adventures of Son Goku in his adult life as he and his companions defend the Earth against villains including aliens (
Vegeta ( ), fully referred to as , is a fictional character in the Japanese franchise ''Dragon Ball'' created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta made his appearance in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on January ...
, Frieza), androids ( Cell), and magical creatures ( Majin Buu). At the same time, the story follows the life of Goku's son, Gohan, as well as the development of his rivals,
Piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
and Vegeta. Due to the success of the series in the United States, the manga chapters making up its story were initially released by
Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
under the ''Dragon Ball Z'' title. The anime's popularity has also spawned various media and merchandise that has come to represent the majority of the material within the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, including films, home video releases, soundtracks, trading cards, and video games. ''Dragon Ball Z'' remains a
cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an cultural artifact, artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen ...
through numerous adaptations and re-releases, including a remastered broadcast titled '' Dragon Ball Z Kai.'' ''Dragon Ball Z'' has since been followed by a sequel series titled ''
Dragon Ball GT is a Japanese anime television series based on Akira Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' manga franchise that ran from February 1996 to November 1997. Produced by Toei Animation, the series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV and ran for 64 episodes. Unl ...
'' (1996–1997), a " midquel" series titled '' Dragon Ball Super'' (2015–2018) and another midquel series titled '' Dragon Ball Daima'' (2024–2025).


Plot


Saiyan Saga

''Dragon Ball Z'' picks up five years after the end of the ''
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...
'' series, with Son Goku now a young adult and father to his son, Gohan. A humanoid alien named Raditz arrives on Earth in a spacecraft and tracks down Goku, revealing to him that he is his long-lost older brother and that they are members of a near-extinct elite alien warrior race called . Goku (originally named had been sent to Earth as an infant to conquer the planet, but suffered a severe blow to his head shortly after his arrival and lost all memory of his mission, as well as his blood-thirsty Saiyan nature. Raditz tells Goku that along with two stronger elites,
Vegeta ( ), fully referred to as , is a fictional character in the Japanese franchise ''Dragon Ball'' created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta made his appearance in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on January ...
and Nappa, they are the only remaining Saiyans after their home planet Vegeta was destroyed. Raditz asks Goku to enlist in helping conquering planets and joining the remaining Saiyans. When Goku refuses to join and help them, Raditz takes Goku and Krillin down with one strike, kidnaps Gohan, and threatens to murder him if Goku does not kill 100 humans within the next 24 hours. Goku decides to team up with his arch-enemy
Piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
, who was also defeated by Raditz in an earlier encounter, to defeat him and save his son. During the battle, Gohan's rage momentarily makes him stronger than Piccolo and Goku as he attacks Raditz to protect his father. The battle ends with Goku restraining Raditz so that Piccolo can hit them with a deadly move called , mortally wounding them both, and kills them after a short while. But before Raditz succumbs to his injuries, he reveals to Piccolo that the other two Saiyans are much stronger than him and will come for the Dragon Balls in one year. Having witnessed Gohan's latent potential, Piccolo takes him into the wild to train for the upcoming battle against the Saiyans. In the afterlife, Goku travels the million-kilometer Snake Way so that he can train under the ruler of the North Galaxy, King Kai. King Kai teaches Goku the and the techniques. Despite his gruff and villainous nature, Piccolo grows fond of Gohan while he oversees him learning to fend for himself. This forges an unlikely emotional bond between the two. After a year, Goku is revived with the Dragon Balls, but King Kai panics as he realizes that Goku will have to take Snake Way again to get back and will not make it until hours after the Saiyans arrive. Goku's allies group up to fight until Goku gets back, but prove to be no match for Nappa and the "Prince of All Saiyans", Vegeta. Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu and Piccolo all perish in the battle, with Piccolo's death causing both
Kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...
and the Dragon Balls to fade from existence. When Goku finally arrives at the battlefield, he avenges his fallen friends by easily defeating Nappa before crippling him by breaking his spine in half. A furious Vegeta then executes Nappa for his failure to kill Goku. Goku uses several grades of the Kaio-ken to win the first clash with Vegeta, which concludes with a climactic ''ki'' beam struggle, but it comes at a great cost to his body. Vegeta comes back and creates an artificial moon to transform into a Great Ape, which he uses to torture Goku. Krillin and Gohan sense that Goku is in trouble, and they return for a group fight with the now-seemingly unstoppable Vegeta. They are aided at key moments by Yajirobe, who cuts Vegeta's tail to revert him into his normal state. Goku gives Krillin a Spirit Bomb that he made, and Krillin uses it to severely damage Vegeta. Vegeta is ultimately defeated when he is crushed by Gohan's Great Ape form, and he retreats to his spaceship as Krillin approaches to finish him off. Goku convinces Krillin to spare Vegeta's life and allow him to escape Earth, with Vegeta vowing to return and destroy the planet in revenge for his humiliation at Goku's hands.


Frieza Saga

During the battle, Krillin overhears Vegeta mentioning the original set of Dragon Balls from Piccolo's homeworld, . While Goku recovers from his injuries, Gohan, Krillin, and Goku's oldest friend Bulma depart for Namek to use these Dragon Balls to revive their fallen friends in the battle. Upon their arrival on Namek, Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma discover that Vegeta and his superior, the galactic tyrant Frieza, are already there, each looking to use the Dragon Balls to obtain
immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...
. Vegeta is stronger than before, as Saiyans become stronger when they recover from the brink of death, so he seizes the opportunity to rebel against Frieza. A triangular game of cat-and-mouse ensues, with Frieza, Vegeta, and Gohan plus Krillin alternately possessing one or more of the Dragon Balls, with no one managing to possess all seven at any given time. Vegeta manages to isolate Frieza's lieutenants one by one and kill them. When Frieza sees that Vegeta is posing too big of a problem, he summons the Ginyu Force, a team of elite mercenaries led by Captain Ginyu, who can switch bodies with his opponents. Vegeta reluctantly teams up with Gohan and Krillin to fight them, knowing that they are too much for him to handle alone. The Ginyu Force proves too powerful, but Goku finally arrives and defeats them single-handedly, saving Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin. Vegeta believes Goku may have become the legendary warrior of the Saiyans, the . As Goku heals from a brutal fight with Captain Ginyu, Krillin, Dende, and Gohan secretly use the Dragon Balls behind Vegeta's back to wish for Piccolo's resurrection and teleport him to Namek. Vegeta finds them using the Dragon Balls without him, but the Grand Elder dies and rendering the Dragon Balls inert before he can wish for immortality. Just as this happens, Frieza arrives and decides to kill the four of them for denying him his wish for immortality. Piccolo arrives on Namek but is accidentally separated from the others due to a badly-worded wish. He finds the strongest Namekian warrior, Nail, who was defeated by Frieza and fuses with him to greatly increase his power. Despite both Piccolo and Vegeta's advances in power, they are greatly outclassed by Frieza, who goes through several transformations before reaching his final form, which he then uses to kill Dende. Goku arrives after healing from his injuries, and Vegeta tells him that Frieza was the one who destroyed the Saiyan homeworld and massacred the Saiyan race, as he feared that he would one day be overthrown by a Super Saiyan. Frieza then kills Vegeta in front of Goku. Though Goku's power exceeds Vegeta's, he is still no match for Frieza. Goku uses his last resort, a massive Spirit Bomb with the energy of Namek and the surrounding worlds, and it seemingly defeats the tyrant. However, Frieza manages to survive, and he unleashes his wrath upon the group by gravely wounding Piccolo and murdering Krillin. Goku's rage finally erupts, and he undergoes a strange transformation that turns his hair blond, his eyes green, and causes a golden aura to radiate from his body. Goku has finally become a Super Saiyan. Meanwhile, the revived Kami uses Earth's Dragon Balls to resurrect everyone on Namek that was killed by Frieza and his henchmen, which also allows the Grand Elder to be resurrected for a short time, and the Namekian Dragon to return. Dende uses the final wish to teleport everyone on Namek to Earth except for Goku and Frieza. Even at 100% power, Frieza cannot manage to defeat the Super Saiyan transformation. Goku outwits Frieza, cutting him in half with his own attack, before escaping Namek as the planet is destroyed in a massive explosion.


Garlic Jr. Saga

After the battle with Frieza, Goku's friends and family are waiting for word on his return when a demonic star drifts into Earth's orbit and opens up a rift in space, allowing the malevolent immortal Garlic Jr. to break free from his imprisonment inside the Dead Zone. Seeking revenge for a past defeat at the hands of Goku and Piccolo, Garlic Jr. traps Kami and Mr. Popo inside a bottle and uses his Black Water Mist to turn all of Earth's inhabitants into bloodthirsty, vampire-like beings. Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, Krillin's then-girlfriend Maron, and Gohan's pet dragon Icarus are the only ones unaffected and set out to stop Garlic Jr. and restore the Earth and its inhabitants. This proves to be easier said than done, as Garlic Jr. has complete immortality, making him impossible to kill. Luckily, Gohan's hidden potential gives him the edge he needs to eradicate Garlic Jr.'s forces and send him back into the Dead Zone. He also destroys the star, ensuring that Garlic Jr. will remain trapped in the Dead Zone for all eternity.


Androids Saga

One year later, Frieza is revealed to have survived and arrives on Earth with his father, King Cold, seeking revenge. However, a mysterious young man named Trunks appears, transforms into a Super Saiyan, and kills Frieza and King Cold. Goku returns a few hours later, having spent the past year on the alien planet Yardrat learning a new technique: Instant Transmission, which allows him to teleport to any location he desires. Trunks reveals privately to Goku that he is the son of Vegeta and Bulma, and has traveled from 17 years in the future to warn Goku that two created by Dr. Gero will appear in three years to seek revenge against Goku for destroying the Red Ribbon Army when he was a child. Trunks says all of Goku's friends will fall to them - while Goku himself will die from a heart virus six months before their arrival. Trunks gives Goku medicine from the future that will save him from the heart virus and departs back to his own time. When the androids arrive, Goku falls ill during his fight with Android 19 but is saved by Vegeta, who reveals that he has also achieved the Super Saiyan transformation. Vegeta and Piccolo easily defeat Android 19 and Dr. Gero (who turned himself into "Android 20"), but Trunks returns from the future to check on their progress and reveals that the androids they defeated are not the ones that killed all of them in the future. Goku is out of commission and his allies are overwhelmed by the arrival of Androids 16, 17 and 18, while an even stronger bio-Android called Cell emerges from a different timeline and embarks on a quest to find and absorb Androids 17 and 18, allowing him to attain his "perfect form". Cell successfully absorbs Android 17, becoming considerably more powerful, but Vegeta returns to the battle, having greatly elevated his power, and easily overpowers him. However, Vegeta allows Cell to absorb Android 18, believing that his "perfect form" will be no match for his Super Saiyan power. Vegeta is subsequently defeated, with Cell mockingly thanking him for helping him achieve perfection. Cell allows everyone to live for the time being and announces a fighting tournament to decide the fate of the Earth, known as the "Cell Games". Goku, recovered from the heart virus and having reached the zenith of the Super Saiyan form, takes on Cell at the tournament. Goku eventually realizes that Cell is far too powerful for him to handle, and forfeits the fight to the astonishment of everyone else. Goku proclaims that Gohan will be able to defeat Cell. Though initially outclassed, Gohan is eventually able to tap into his latent power and achieve the Super Saiyan 2 transformation after Android 16 sacrifices himself in a failed attempt to kill Cell. Refusing to accept defeat, Cell prepares to self-destruct and destroy the Earth. Goku uses his Instant Transmission ability to teleport himself and Cell to King Kai's planet, where Cell explodes and kills everyone there. However, Cell survives the blast and returns to Earth more powerful than ever, where he promptly murders Trunks, but Gohan unleashes the totality of his power in a massive Kamehameha wave and obliterates Cell for good. The Dragon Balls are then used to revive everyone that was killed by Cell, while Goku chooses to remain in the afterlife, refusing an offer by his friends to use the Namekian Dragon Balls to bring him back. Trunks returns to his timeline and uses his bolstered power to finally slay the Future Androids and Cell.


Majin Buu Saga

Seven years later, Goku is allowed to go back to Earth for one day to reunite with his loved ones and meet his youngest son, Goten, at the . Soon after, Goku and his allies are drawn into a fight by the Supreme Kai against a magical being named summoned by the evil wizard Babidi. All efforts to stop the resurrection prove to be futile as Buu is successfully revived and begins slaughtering Earth's inhabitants. Goten and Trunks are taught the fusion technique by Piccolo, while Gohan gets his latent potential unlocked by the Elder Supreme Kai. Meanwhile, Buu befriends Mr. Satan and vows to never kill anyone ever again, but is interrupted when a deranged gunman shoots and nearly kills Mr. Satan. As a result, Majin Buu becomes so angry that he expels the evil within himself, creating an evil Buu that proceeds to absorb the good Buu. The result is Super Buu, a psychopathic monster who wants nothing more than the destruction of the universe. After numerous battles that result in the deaths of many of Goku's allies as well as the destruction of Earth, Goku is fully restored by the Elder Supreme Kai and defeats Kid Buu (the original form of Majin Buu) with a Spirit Bomb attack containing the energy of all the inhabitants of Earth, who were resurrected along with the planet by the Namekian Dragon Balls. Goku makes a wish for Kid Buu to be reincarnated as a good person and, ten years later at another Tenkaichi Budōkai, he meets Kid Buu's human reincarnation, Uub. Leaving the match between them unfinished, Goku departs with Uub so he can train him to become Earth's new defender.


Production and broadcasting

Kazuhiko Torishima, Akira Toriyama's editor for '' Dr. Slump'' and the first half of ''Dragon Ball'', felt that the ''Dragon Ball'' anime's ratings were gradually declining because it had the same producer that worked on ''Dr. Slump''. Torishima said this producer had this "cute and funny" image connected to Toriyama's work and was missing the more serious tone in the newer series, and therefore asked the studio to change the producer. Impressed with their work on ''
Saint Seiya , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It ...
'', he asked its director Kōzō Morishita and writer
Takao Koyama is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist focusing on anime productions. His name was written as until 1987. Career He graduated from Waseda University in 1972 and joined to Tatsunoko Production as a story creator and a screenwriter. He left fro ...
to help "reboot" ''Dragon Ball'', which coincided with Goku growing up. The new producer explained that ending the first anime and creating a new one would result in more promotional money. The result was the start of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Toriyama suggested the title because Z is the last letter of the alphabet. He wanted to finish the series because he was running out of ideas for it. Ironically enough, the sequel series would end up producing more episodes than its predecessor. ''Dragon Ball Z'' is adapted from the final 324 chapters of the manga series which were published in ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...
'' from 1988 to 1995. It premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on April 26, 1989, taking over its predecessor's time slot, and ran for 291 episodes until its conclusion on January 31, 1996. Because Toriyama was writing the manga during the production of the anime, ''Dragon Ball Z'' added original material not adapted from the manga, including lengthening scenes or adding new ones, and adding new attacks and characters not present in the manga. For example, Toriyama was asked to create an additional character for Goku's training with King Kai, resulting in the cricket Gregory. Throughout the production, the voice actors were tasked with playing different characters and performing their lines on cue, switching between roles as necessary.Dragon Ball Supplemental Daizenshuu: TV Animation Part 3, pages 107–113 The voice actors were unable to record the lines separately because of the close dialogue timing. When asked if juggling the different voices of Goku, Gohan and Goten were difficult,
Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress. Beginning work as a child actress at the age of three, by the time she became an adult, voice acting had inadvertently become her main occupation. Throughout her career, Nozawa has been affiliated with Production Baobab ...
said that it was not and that she was able to switch roles simply upon seeing the character's picture. She did admit that when they were producing two films a year and television specials in addition to the regular series, there were times when they had only line art to look at while recording, which made giving finer nuanced details in her performance difficult. One of the character designers for ''Dragon Ball Z'' was Tadayoshi Yamamuro. He was responsible for designing and animating Goku's Super Saiyan form in the series. He used the martial artist
Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
as a reference for Goku's Super Saiyan form, stating that, when he "first becomes a Super Saiyan, his slanting pose with that scowling look in his eyes is all Bruce Lee." In the original manga itself, Goku's piercing eyes in Super Saiyan form were also based on Bruce Lee's paralyzing glare.


English dub production and broadcasting

In 1996, Funimation Productions (now known as
Crunchyroll LLC Crunchyroll, LLC is an American entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand streaming service. The company was founded as Funimation in May 1994 ...
) licensed ''Dragon Ball Z'' for an English-language release in North America, after cancelling their initial dub of ''Dragon Ball'' half-way through their originally-planned 26-episode first season. Funimation's 1996 release was not the first broadcast in the United States, as some networks had already aired versions of the series in other languages on a smaller scale. This included Nippon Golden Network's broadcast of a subtitled Japanese version in Hawaii from 1994. Funimation worked with
Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...
to syndicate the series on television, and Pioneer Entertainment to handle home video distribution. A
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
-based cast recording at the
Ocean Studios Ocean Productions, Inc., is a Canadian media production and voice acting company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is part of the Ocean Group of businesses. Ocean Group is involved in intellectual property acquisition and development, ...
were hired by Funimation to dub the anime (Funimation had previously used a similar Vancouver-based voice cast in their initial ''Dragon Ball'' dub, recorded at Dick & Roger's Sound Studio).''Dragon Ball Z'' end credits (FUNimation/Saban dub, 1996)''Dragon Ball'' end credits (FUNimation/BLT dub, 1995) Contract musicians for Saban, Ron Wasserman and Jeremy Sweet, known for their work on the ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an American media franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. It is currently ow ...
'' franchise, composed a new guitar-driven soundtrack. The dub's opening theme (nicknamed " Rock the Dragon") was sung by Sweet, and afterwards Wasserman got hired by Saban to do background music for the dub. For contractual reasons, the background music and opening theme was officially credited to Saban founders Shuki Levy and
Haim Saban Haim Saban (; ; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli and American media proprietor, investor, musical composer and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an ...
(under the alias Kussa Mahehi), with the actual extent of their involvement in the soundtrack being unclear. Funimation's initial English dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' had mandated cuts to content and length, which reduced the first 67 episodes into 53 (though TV episode 53 actually ends half-way through uncut episode 67). Most of the edits were done to make the anime more tame and kid-friendly, most notably having references to death sidestepped with phrases like "sent to the next dimension". It premiered in the United States on September 13, 1996, in
first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...
, but halted production in 1998 after two seasons despite strong ratings. This was due to Saban scaling down its syndication operations, in order to focus on producing original material for the Fox Kids Network and its newly acquired Fox Family Channel. Pioneer also ceased its home video release of the series at volume 17 (the end of the dub) and retained the rights to produce an uncut subtitled version, but did not do so. They did, however, release uncut dubs of the first three ''Z'' movies on home video. On August 31, 1998, reruns of this canceled dub began airing on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
as part of the channel's weekday afternoon
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...
block. Cartoon Network eventually ordered more episodes of ''Dragon Ball Z'', and Funimation resumed production on the series' English dub without Saban's assistance. Cartoon Network replaced the original Vancouver-based cast with an in-house voice cast at their
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-based studio, with the goal of the new voices sounding similar to the Vancouver cast. The Saban-produced soundtrack from the first two seasons was replaced with a new background score composed by and his team of musicians, which was used throughout the rest of Funimation's ''Dragon Ball Z'' dub. This renewed dub featured less censorship due to both Saban's absence and fewer restrictions on cable programming, and aired new episodes on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from September 13, 1999, to April 7, 2003 (continuing in re-runs through 2008).
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briefly ran ''Dragon Ball Z'' in 2001 on its short-lived Toonami block. In 2005, Funimation began to re-dub episodes 1–67 with their in-house voice cast, including content originally cut from their dub with Saban. This dub's background score was composed by Nathan M. Johnson (Funimation had ceased working with Faulconer Productions after the final episode of ''Dragon Ball Z'' in 2003). Funimation's new uncut dub of these episodes aired on Cartoon Network beginning in June 2005. Funimation's later remastered
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
s of the series saw them redub portions of the dialogue, mostly after episode 67, and had the option to play the entire series' dub with both the American and Japanese background music. In January 2011, Funimation and Toei announced that they would stream ''Dragon Ball Z'' within 30 minutes before their simulcast of ''
One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as he explores the Grand Line in search of the myt ...
''. The Funimation dubbed episodes also aired in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand. However, beginning with episode 108 (123 uncut), Westwood Media (in association with Ocean Studios) produced an alternate English dub, distributed to Europe by AB Groupe. The alternate dub was created for broadcast in the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland, although it also aired in Canada beginning from episode 168 (183 uncut) to fulfill
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requirements. Funimation's in-house dub continued to air in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. The Westwood Media production used the same voice cast from the original 53-episode dub produced by Funimation, it featured an alternate soundtrack by Tom Keenlyside and John Mitchell, though most of this score was pieces Ocean reused from other productions Keenlyside and Mitchell had scored for them, and it used the same scripts and video master as the TV edit of Funimation's in-house dub. The Westwood Media dub never received a home video release. In Australia, ''Dragon Ball Z'' was broadcast by the free-to-air commercial network,
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during morning children's programming, Cheez TV, originally using the censored Funimation/Saban dub before switching to Funimation's in-house dub. ''Dragon Ball Z'' originally aired on the British Comedy Network in Fall 1998. The series was also available on the Funimation video streaming service (formerly FunimationNOW) upon its launch in 2016. In March 2022, ''Dragon Ball Z'' was added to
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, a service that Funimation acquired a year before, which in turn was acquired in 2018 by its current parent company,
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.


''Dragon Ball Z Kai''

In February 2009, Toei Animation announced that it would begin broadcasting a remastered version of ''Dragon Ball Z'' as part of the series's 20th anniversary celebrations. The series premiered on Fuji TV in Japan on April 5, 2009, under the title ''Dragon Ball Kai''. The ending suffix in the name means "updated" or "altered" and reflects the improvements and corrections of the original work. The original footage was remastered for
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, featuring updated opening and ending sequences, new music, and a re-recording of the vocal tracks. The original material and any damaged frames were removed, along with the majority of the filler episodes to more closely follow the manga, resulting in a faster-moving story. According to Torishima, ''Kai'' was conceived when
Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...
asked if a new ''Dragon Ball'' anime could be made to increase the franchise's merchandise sales. As Toriyama refused to create a new story, it was decided to release a remastered version of the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime that more closely follows the manga instead. He said the reception to ''Kai'' was positive, "so it all worked out". The series initially concluded on its 97th episode in Japan on March 27, 2011, with the finale of the Cell saga. It was originally planned to run 98 episodes; however, due to the Tōhoku offshore earthquake and tsunami, the final episode was not aired and was later released direct-to-video in Japan on August 2, 2011. In November 2012, Mayumi Tanaka, the Japanese voice actor of Krillin announced that she and the rest of the cast were recording more episodes of ''Dragon Ball Kai''. In February 2014, the ''Kai'' adaptation of the Majin Buu saga was officially confirmed. The new run of the series, which is titled ''Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters'' internationally, began airing in Japan on Fuji TV on April 6, 2014, and ended its run on June 28, 2015. The final arc of ''Kai'' was originally produced to last 69 episodes (as most of the international versions run), but the Japanese broadcast cut it down to 61 episodes.


English dub production and broadcasting

Funimation licensed ''Kai'' for an English-language release in February 2010. The series was initially broadcast in the U.S. on
Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...
from May 24, 2010, to January 1, 2012, continuing in re-runs until April 2013. In addition to Nicktoons, the series also began airing on the 4Kids-owned Saturday morning programming block
Toonzai Toonzai (formerly known as The CW4Kids from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, or stylized as TOONZAi) was an American Saturday morning cartoon children's television block that aired on The CW from May 24, 2008 to August 18, 2012. The block was ...
on
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
in August 2010, then on its successor, the
Saban Saban or Šaban may refer to: People * Saban (name), for people with the name * Sabans, a small indigenous ethnic group of Sarawak, Malaysia Other uses *Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm investing in music and entertainment *Saban C ...
-owned Vortexx, beginning in August 2012 until the block ended in September 2014. Both the Nicktoons and CW airings were edited for content. ''Kai'' began airing uncut on
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
's
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...
block on November 8, 2014, and re-runs of the previous weeks' episodes aired at the beginning of Adult Swim from February 2015 to June 2016. In the United Kingdom,
CSC Media Group CSC Media Group Limited, formerly known as Chart Show Channels (CSC), was a British cable television broadcasting company. It was a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. The company dissolved on 27 November 2019. Background CSC Media Group ...
acquired the broadcast rights to ''Kai'' and began airing it on Kix! in early 2013. Despite ''Kai''s continuation not being officially confirmed at the time even in Japan, Funimation voice actors
Sean Schemmel Sean Schemmel (born November 21, 1968) is an American voice actor, ADR director, and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. His most notable role is the teen and adult voice of Goku, Son Goku in the Funimati ...
(Goku) and
Kyle Hebert Kyle Henry Hebert ( ) is an American voice actor known for his work in anime and video game series, such as the teenage/adult Gohan and the narrator in the Funimation dub of the ''Dragon Ball series'', Sōsuke Aizen in ''Bleach'', Ryu in the ...
(Gohan), announced in April 2013 that they had started recording an English dub for new episodes. In November 2013, ''Kai''s Australasian distributor
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...
revealed that the Majin Buu arc of ''Kai'' would be released in 2014 and that they were waiting on dubs to be finished. In February 2014, Funimation officially stated that they had not yet started recording a dub for the final arc of ''Kai''. On December 6, 2016, Funimation announced the continuation of ''Kai'' would begin airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block. The series aired from January 7, 2017, to June 23, 2018, alongside '' Dragon Ball Super''. An alternate English dub of ''Kai'' by
Ocean Productions Ocean Productions, Inc., is a Canadian media production and voice acting company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is part of the Ocean Group of businesses. Ocean Group is involved in intellectual property acquisition and development, ...
was recorded for the original 98 episodes, featuring many of the original Vancouver cast reprising their roles, but it has yet to air.


Editing

''Dragon Ball Z''s original North American release was the subject of heavy editing which resulted in a large amount of removed content and alterations that greatly changed the original work. Funimation CEO
Gen Fukunaga is a Japanese-born American engineer and entrepreneur. He established Funimation (now Crunchyroll, LLC), a company that distributes anime in Canada and the United States. He was its president and chairman until he stepped down in 2019. As of Oc ...
is often criticized for his role in the editing; but it was the initial distributor Saban which required such changes or they would not air the work, as was the case with the episode dealing with orphans. These changes included altering every aspect of the show from character names, clothing, scenes and dialogue of the show. The character Mr. Satan was renamed Hercule and this change has been retained in other English media such as Viz's ''Dragon Ball Z'' manga and video games, though the English dubs of ''Dragon Ball Kai'' and '' Dragon Ball Super'' changed the name back to Mr. Satan. The dialogue changes would sometimes contradict the scenes itself; after the apparent fatal explosion of a helicopter, one of the characters said, "I can see their parachutes; they're okay!" Funimation's redub for the 2005 release would address many of the issues raised by Saban, with the uncut releases preserving the integrity of the original Japanese release. During the original Japanese TV airing of ''Dragon Ball Kai'', scenes involving blood and brief nudity were removed. Nicktoons would also alter ''Kai'' for its broadcast; it released a preview showcasing these changes which included removing the blood and cheek scar from Bardock and altering the color of
Master Roshi Master Roshi, known in Japan as as well as , is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series ''Dragon Ball (manga), Dragon Ball'' and its anime adaptations created by Akira Toriyama. Within the series, he is an elderly martial arts master ...
's alcohol. The show was further edited for its broadcast on The CW; most notoriously, the character Mr. Popo was tinted blue. The show's DVD and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
releases only contained the edits present in the original Japanese version. A rumor that Cartoon Network would be airing ''Kai'' uncut was met with an official statement to debunk the rumor in June 2010. However, it would later air uncut on the channel as part of Adult Swim's Toonami block. Steven Simmons, who did the subtitling for Funimation's home video releases, offered commentary on the subtitling from a project and technical standpoint, addressing several concerns. Simmons said that
Gen Fukunaga is a Japanese-born American engineer and entrepreneur. He established Funimation (now Crunchyroll, LLC), a company that distributes anime in Canada and the United States. He was its president and chairman until he stepped down in 2019. As of Oc ...
did not want any swearing on the discs, but because there was no taboo word list, Simmons would substitute a variation in the strength of the words by situation with the changes starting in episode 21. The typographical errors in the script were caused by dashes (—) and double-quotes (") failing to appear, which resulted in confusing dialogue.


Music

''Dragon Ball Z'' has released a series of 21 soundtracks as part of the '' Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection series''. In total, dozens of releases exist for ''Dragon Ball Z'' which includes Japanese and foreign adapted releases of the anime themes and video game soundtracks.
Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working princi ...
composed the score for ''Dragon Ball Z''. The opening theme for the first 199 episodes is " Cha-La Head-Cha-La" performed by Hironobu Kageyama. The second opening theme used up until the series finale at episode 291 is " We Gotta Power" also performed by Kageyama. Both opening themes were replaced with an original instrumental piece by Mark Menza, the composer of the alternate soundtrack, in the remastered Funimation dub due to licensing issues. The ending theme used for the first 199 episodes is performed by MANNA. The second ending theme used for the remaining episodes is performed by Kageyama. The initial English-Language release used a completely new musical score composed by Faulconer Productions. It was used for the North American broadcasts of the show from 1999 to 2005. Kenji Yamamoto composed the score for ''Dragon Ball Kai''. The opening theme, " Dragon Soul", and the first ending theme used for the first 54 episodes, " Yeah! Break! Care! Break!", are both performed by
Takayoshi Tanimoto , is a Japanese vocalist known for his theme song performances in ''Digimon'', ''Zatch Bell!'' and ''Dragon Ball Kai'', the last of which he sang "Dragon Soul" and "Yeah! Break! Care! Break!" as one-half of a special unit, Dragon Soul. Overview Ta ...
of the unit, Dragon Soul, in Japanese.
Sean Schemmel Sean Schemmel (born November 21, 1968) is an American voice actor, ADR director, and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. His most notable role is the teen and adult voice of Goku, Son Goku in the Funimati ...
, Justin Cook,
Vic Mignogna Victor Joseph Mignogna ( ; born August 27, 1962)Birthday tweet: * is an American voice actor and musician known for his work in the English dubs of Japanese anime shows, such as Edward Elric from the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, which earne ...
,
Greg Ayres Greg Ayres (born December 7, 1968) is an American voice actor who works on a number of English versions of Japanese anime series. He voiced Hideki in '' Nerima Daikon Brothers'', Koyuki Tanaka in '' Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad'', Son Goku in '' ...
, Sonny Strait and
Brina Palencia Brina Palencia (born February 13, 1984) is an American voice and television actress. She has voiced a number of English-language versions of characters featured in anime. Palencia provides the dubbed voices of Tony Tony Chopper in '' One Pie ...
performed the English version of the opening theme, while Jerry Jewell performed the English version of the ending theme. The second ending theme, used from episodes 55–98, is performed by Team Dragon, a unit of the idol girl group
AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...
, in Japanese and
Leah Clark Leah Clark is an American voice actress, ADR director and script writer. She has provided voices for Japanese anime series and video games. Some of her major roles include Mavis Vermillion in '' Fairy Tail'', Suzuka Asahina in '' Suzuka'', Saki ...
in English. On March 9, 2011, Toei announced that due to Yamamoto's score infringing on the rights of an unknown third party or parties, the music for remaining episodes and reruns of previous episodes would be replaced. Later reports from Toei stated that except for the series' opening and closing songs, as well as eyecatch music, Yamamoto's score was replaced with Shunsuke Kikuchi's score from ''Dragon Ball Z''. The music for ''The Final Chapters'' is composed by Norihito Sumitomo. The opening theme is by Takayoshi Tanimoto of Dragon Soul, while the first ending song is by Japanese rock band
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
, and the second by Leo Ieiri from episode 112 to 123. The third ending song is "Oh Yeah!!!!!!!" by Czecho No Republic from episode 124 to 136, the fourth "Galaxy" by Kyūso Nekokami from 137 to 146, and the fifth is "Don't Let Me Down" by
Gacharic Spin Gacharic Spin is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 2009. Initially releasing music independently, they later signed with Victor Entertainment then Nippon Crown. Known for their flamboyant, aggressive performances, they have toured Japa ...
from 147 to 159. The international broadcast features two pieces of theme music. The opening theme, titled "Fight It Out", is performed by rock singer
Masatoshi Ono , also known as Sho, is a Japanese rock/heavy metal singer-songwriter and vocal coach. Ono got his start in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Fort Bragg. In 1992, he released his first solo single, "Pure ni Nare", on Sony Records. I ...
, while the ending theme is "Never Give Up!!!", performed by rhythm and blues vocalist Junear.


Related media


Home media

In Japan, ''Dragon Ball Z'' did not receive a home video release until 2003, seven years after its broadcast.
Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...
announced a remastering of the series in two 26-disc DVD box sets, that were made-to-order only, released on March 19 and September 18 and referred to as "Dragon Box". Since then, Pony Canyon content of these sets began being released on mass-produced individual 6-episode DVDs on November 2, 2005, and finished with the 49th volume released on February 7, 2007. In July 2009,
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
announced that they would be releasing the Japanese frame-by-frame "Dragon Box" restoration of ''Dragon Ball Z'' in North America. These seven limited edition collector's DVD box sets were released uncut and unedited in the show's original 4:3 fullscreen format between November 10, 2009, and October 11, 2011. The international home release structure of ''Dragon Ball Z'' is complicated by the licensing and release of the companies involved in producing and distributing the work. Releases of the media occurred on both VHS and DVD with separate edited and uncut versions being released simultaneously. Both versions of the edited and uncut material are treated as different entries and would frequently make ''Billboard'' rankings as separate entries. Home release sales were featured prominently on the Nielsen VideoScan charts. Further complicating the release of the material was Funimation itself; which was known to release "DVDs out of sequence in order to get them out as fast as possible"; as in the case of their third season. Pioneer Entertainment distributed the Funimation/Saban edited-only dub of 53 episodes on seventeen VHS between 1997 and 1999, and seventeen DVDs throughout 1999. Two box sets separating them into the Saiyan and Namek arcs were also released on VHS in 1999, and on DVD in 2001. In 1999, Funimation's own distribution of their initial onward dub, which began with episode 54, in edited or uncut VHS ran between 1999 and 2006. A DVD version was produced alongside these, although they were only produced uncut and contained the option to watch the original Japanese with subtitles. In 2005, Funimation began releasing their onward dub of the beginning of ''Dragon Ball Z'' on DVD, marking the first time the episodes were seen uncut in North America. However, only nine volumes were released, leaving it incomplete. Instead, Funimation remastered and cropped the entire series into 16:9 widescreen format and began re-releasing it to DVD in nine individual "season" box sets; the first set released on February 6, 2007, and the final on May 19, 2009. On August 13, 2013, Funimation released all 53 episodes and the three movies from their first ''Dragon Ball Z'' dub created with Saban and Ocean Studios in a collector's DVD box set, titled the ''Rock the Dragon Edition''. In July 2011, Funimation announced plans to release ''Dragon Ball Z'' in
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
format, with the first set released on November 8, 2011. However, production of these 4:3 sets was suspended after the second volume, citing financial and technical concerns over restoring the original film material frame by frame, with Funimation noting that the restoration costs incurred exceeded the retail price they were able to sell them for. Only a year later, the company began producing a cropped 16:9 remastered Blu-ray release in 2013, with nine sets released in total. In March 2019, Funimation announced plans to release a 30th anniversary Blu-ray release of ''Dragon Ball Z'', with the box set being remastered in 4:3 aspect ratio, and containing an artbook and a collectible figure. It would be crowdfunded, originally requiring a minimum of 2500 pre-orders in order to be manufactured, but was later increased to a minimum of 3,000 units. The release sparked controversy amongst fans due to the framing of the video, color saturation and digital video noise reduction. Funimation responded by stating that they cropped the release by going in "scene-by-scene to make judgements based on the image available in each frame of how much to trim to get to a consistent 4:3 aspect ratio, while still attempting to cut as little out of the picture as possible," and that they felt the digital video noise reduction was "mandatory for this release based on the different levels of fan support from various past ''DBZ'' releases with different levels of noise reduction over the years."


''Kai''

In Japan, ''Dragon Ball Kai'' was released on wide-screen on 33 DVDs and fullscreen on a single Blu-ray and eight four-disc Blu-ray sets from September 18, 2009, to August 2, 2011. Funimation released eight DVD and Blu-ray box sets of ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' from May 18, 2010, to June 5, 2012. These sets contain the original Japanese audio track with English subtitles, as well as the uncut version of the English dub, which does not contain any of the edits made for the TV airings. Before the final volume was even published, Funimation began re-releasing the series in four DVD and Blu-ray "season" sets between May 22, 2012, and March 12, 2013. Funimation released ''The Final Chapters'' in three DVD and Blu-ray volumes from April 25 to June 20, 2017.


Manga

While the manga was all titled ''Dragon Ball'' in Japan, due to the popularity of the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime in the west,
Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
initially changed the title of the last 26 volumes of the manga to "''Dragon Ball Z''" to avoid confusion. The volumes were originally published in Japan between 1988 and 1995. It began serialization in the American '' Shonen Jump'', beginning in the middle of the series with the appearance of Trunks; the ''
tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
'' volumes of both ''Dragon Ball Z'' and ''Dragon Ball'' were released simultaneously by Viz Media in the United States. In March 2001, Viz continued this separation by re-shipping the ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Dragon Ball Z'' titles starting with the first volumes of each work. Viz's marketing for the manga made distinct the differences between ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Dragon Ball Z'' tone. Viz billed ''Dragon Ball Z'': "More action-packed than the stories of Goku's youth, ''Dragon Ball Z'' is pure adrenaline, with battles of truly Earth-shaking proportions!" Between 2008 and 2010, Viz re-released the two series in a format called "Viz Big Edition," which collects three individual volumes into a single large volume. Viz Media republished the series in fourteen 3-in-1 volumes, including what they previously released as ''Dragon Ball Z'', under the ''Dragon Ball'' name, between June 4, 2013, and September 6, 2016.


Films

The ''Dragon Ball Z'' films comprise a total of 15 entries as of 2015. The first 13 films were typically released every March and July during the series' original run by the spring and summer vacations of Japanese schools. They were typically double features paired up with other anime films, and were thus, usually an hour or less in length. These films themselves offer contradictions in both chronology and design that make them incompatible with a single continuity. All 15 films were licensed in North America by Funimation, and all have received in-house dubs by the company. Before Funimation, the third film was a part of the short-lived Saban syndication, being split into three episodes, and the first three films received uncut English dubs in 1998 produced by Funimation with Ocean Studios and released by Pioneer. Several of the films have been broadcast on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
and
Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...
in the United States, Toonami UK in the United Kingdom (these featured an alternate English dub produced by an unknown cast by AB Groupe), and
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
in Australia.


Television specials and original video animations

Three TV specials based on ''Dragon Ball Z'' were produced and broadcast on Fuji TV. The first two were '' Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku'' in 1990 and '' Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks'' in 1993, the latter being based on a special chapter of the original manga. Both were licensed by Funimation in North America and AB Groupe in Europe. In 2013, a two-part hour-long crossover with ''
One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as he explores the Grand Line in search of the myt ...
'' and '' Toriko'', titled ''Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Chō Collaboration Special!!'', was created and aired. Additionally, two
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
s (OVAs) bearing the ''Dragon Ball Z'' title have been made. The first is '' Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans'', which was originally released in 1993 in two parts as "Official Visual Guides" for the video game of the same title. '' Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans'' was a 2010 remake of this OVA. None of the OVAs have been dubbed into English, and the only one to see a release in North America is the 2010 remake, which was subtitled and included as a bonus feature in '' Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2''.


Video games

Over 57 video games are bearing the ''Dragon Ball Z'' name across a range of platforms from the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
to the current generation consoles, with the most recent release being '' Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot'' in 2020. In North America, licensing rights had been given to both
Namco Bandai (commonly known as and formerly Namco Bandai until 2015, also known as Bandai Namco Group,) is a Japanese mass media and entertainment conglomerate founded in 2005 by the merger of Namco and Bandai. The company specializes in toys, video ...
and
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
. In 1999, Atari acquired exclusive rights to the video games through
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
, a deal which was extended for five more years in 2005. A 2007 dispute would end with Atari paying Funimation $3.5 million. In July 2009, Namco Bandai was reported to have obtained exclusive rights to release the games for a period of five years. This presumably would have taken effect after Atari's licensing rights expired at the end of January 2010.


Reception

''Dragon Ball Z'' was listed as the 78th best animated show in
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
's "Top 100 Animated Series", and was also listed as the 50th greatest animated show in ''Wizard'' magazine's "Top 100 Greatest Animated shows" list. The series ranked sixth on ''Wizard's Anime'' Magazine on their "Top 50 Anime released in North America". In Asia, the ''Dragon Ball Z'' franchise, including the anime and merchandise, earned a profit of $3billion by 1999. In the United States, the series sold over videos by 2002, and over 25million
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
s by January 2012. In 2005,
media historian Media studies is a discipline (academia), discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media (communication), media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the ...
Hal Erickson wrote that "''Dragon Ball'' may be the closest thing on American television to an animated
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
— though this particular genre is an old, established and venerated one in Japan, the series' country of origin." Christopher J. Olson and CarrieLynn D. Reinhard note that "Western fans flocked to ''Dragon Ball Z'' because it offered exciting action not found in movies or television shows (animated or otherwise) at that time." A key characteristic that set ''Dragon Ball Z'' (and later other anime shows) apart from American television shows at the time was a serialization format, in which a continuous
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...
stretches over multiple episodes or seasons. Traditional American television had an episodic format, with each episode typically consisting of a self-contained story. Serialization has since also become a common characteristic of American
streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...
shows during the " Peak TV" era.
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
's in-house English dub though has received mixed reviews from some critics over the years.
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
criticized the dub for "having poor quality, along with some over the top, and quite annoying voice acting." Frieza's female voice in particular left many fans confused over the character's gender. Other criticisms have been towards the English dub's script, and inaccurately translating the source material, such as portraying
Goku Son Goku is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (known as ''Son Gokū'' in Japan and the Monkey King in the West), a main character of the cl ...
's character as a more stoic superhero.


Cultural impact and legacy

''Dragon Ball Z''s popularity is reflected through a variety of data through online interactions which show the popularity of the media. In 2001, it was reported that the official website of ''Dragon Ball Z'' recorded 4.7 million hits per day and included 500,000+ registered fans. The term "Dragonball Z" ranked fourth in 1999 and second in 2000 by
Lycos Lycos, Inc. (stylized as LYCOS), is a web search engine and web portal established in 1994, spun out of Carnegie Mellon University. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, web hosting, social networking, and entertainment websites. The company ...
' web search engine. For 2001, "Dragonball" was the most popular search on Lycos and "Dragonball Z" was fifth on
Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
. and "Dragonball" was the third most popular search term in 2002. It's Over 9000! became a famous
Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
and is referenced both within and outside Dragonball related media. In 2015,
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
released two commercials featuring characters from the series, the first advertising the Ford Fusion and the second for the
Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1998 until 2025. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worl ...
. ''Dragon Ball'' fans set a
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for Largest Kamehameha attack move at
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
on July 17, 2019.


Ratings

''Dragon Ball Zs Japanese run was very popular with an average viewer rating of 20.5% across the series. ''Dragon Ball Z'' also proved to be a rating success in the United States, outperforming top shows such as ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
'' and ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'' in some parts of the country in
sweeps Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
ratings during its first season. The premiere of season three of ''Dragon Ball Z'' in 1999, done by
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
's in-house dub, was the highest-rated program ever at the time on Cartoon Network. In 2001, Cartoon Network obtained licensing to run 96 more episodes and air the original ''Dragon Ball'' anime and was the top rated show in the Toonami block of Cartoon Network. Beginning March 26, 2001, Cartoon Network ran a 12-week special promotion "Toonami Reactor" which included a focus on ''Dragon Ball Z'', which would stream episodes online to high-speed internet users. Many home video releases were met with both the edited and unedited versions placing on in the top 10 video charts of ''Billboard''. For example, "The Dark Prince Returns" (containing episodes 226-228) and "Rivals" (containing episodes 229-231) edited and unedited, made the ''Billboard'' magazine top video list for October 20, 2001. In 2002, in the week ending September 22, ''Dragon Ball Z'' was the #1 program of the week on all of television with tweens 9-14, boys 9-14 and men 12-24, with the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday telecasts of ''Dragon Ball Z'' ranked as the top three programs in all of television, broadcast or cable, for delivery of boys 9-14. The first episode of ''Dragon Ball Kai'' earned a viewer ratings percentage of 11.3, ahead of ''One Piece'' and behind ''
Crayon Shin-chan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. ''Crayon Shin-chan'' made its first appearance in 1990 in a Japanese weekly magazine called ''Weekly Manga Action'', which was published by Futabasha. Due to the death of ...
''. Although following episodes had lower ratings, ''Kai'' was among the top 10 anime in viewer ratings every week in Japan for most of its run. Towards the end of the original run the ratings hovered around 9%-10%. ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' premiered on
Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...
in May 2010 and set the record for the highest-rated premiere in total viewers, and in tweens and boys ages 9–14. Nielsen Mega Manila viewer ratings ranked ''Dragon Ball Kai'' with a viewer ratings with a high of 18.4% for October 30 – November 4 in 2012. At the end of April 2013, ''Dragon Ball Kai'' would trail just behind ''One Piece'' at 14.2%.
Broadcasters' Audience Research Board Barb Audiences Ltd (formerly Broadcasters Audience Research Board) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV (T ...
ranked ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' as the second most viewed show in the week it debuted on Kix. On its debut on Vortexx, ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' was the third highest rated show on the Saturday morning block with 841,000 viewers and a 0.5 household rating.


Merchandise

''Dragon Ball Z'' merchandise was a success prior to its peak American interest, with more than $3 billion in sales from 1996 to 2000. In 1996, ''Dragon Ball Z'' grossed $2.95billion in merchandise sales worldwide. By January 2012, ''Dragon Ball Z'' grossed $5billion in merchandise sales worldwide. In 1998, Animage-ine Entertainment, a division of Simitar, announced the sale of Chroma-Cels, mock animation cels to capitalize on the popularity of ''Dragon Ball Z''. The original sale was forecasted for late 1998, but were pushed back to January 12, 1999. In 2000, MGA Entertainment released more than twenty toys, consisting of table-top games and
walkie-talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver, HT, or handheld radio, is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer A ...
s.
Irwin Toy Irwin Toy Limited was a Canadian distributor and manufacturer of toys. It was Canada's oldest toy company and remained independent and family owned until 2001. History The company began in 1926 as an importer and distributor of dry goods and ...
released more than 72
figures Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patte ...
consisting of 2-inch and 5 inch action figures, which became top-selling toys in a market dominated by the
Pokémon Trading Card Game The , abbreviated as ''PTCG'' or ''Pokémon TCG'', is a tabletop and collectible card game developed by Creatures Inc. based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise. Originally published in Japan by Media Factory in 1996, publishing worldwide is curre ...
. Irwin Toys would release other unique ''Dragon Ball Z'' toys including a battery powered Flying Nimbus Cloud which hovered without touching the ground and a die-cast line of vehicles with collector capsules. In June 2000,
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
had a toy promotion which would see 20 million figures; Burger King bore the cost of the promotion which provided free marketing for Funimation. The Halloween Association found ''Dragon Ball Z'' costumes to be the fourth most popular costumes in their nationwide survey. In December 2002, Jakks Pacific signed a three-year deal for licensing ''Dragon Ball Z'' toys, which was possible because of the bankruptcy of Irwin Toy. Jakks Pacific's ''Dragon Ball Z'' 5-inch figures were cited as impressive for their painting and articulation. In 2010, Toei closed deals in Central and South American countries which included Algazarra, Richtex, Pil Andina, DTM, Doobalo and Bondy Fiesta. In 2012, Brazil's Abr-Art Bag Rio Comercio Importacao e Exportacao closed a deal with Toei.


Notes

Language notes General notes


References


Further reading

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External links

* * * {{Authority control Z 1989 anime television series debuts 1996 Japanese television series endings Animated television series set on fictional planets Anime and manga about time travel Anime series based on manga Comedy anime and manga Crunchyroll anime Fiction about body swapping Fiction about reincarnation Fiction about size change First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Fuji Television original programming Funimation Geneon USA Genies in anime and manga Japanese mythology in anime and manga Japanese time travel television series Sequel television series Shueisha franchises Shunsuke Kikuchi Television censorship in the United States Television series by Saban Entertainment Time loop anime and manga Toei Animation television