Dragon Ball Z or DBZ is the most familiar anime in the Dragon Ball franchise and the longest-running sequel to the original anime. This is the anime that has helped spread and embrace the art and the epicness of Japanese animation.
From kids to adults in their thirties, DBZ has carved a name and a cult following of its own.
It is no secret that DBZ has given us some of the most influential concepts and cultural phenomenons in the anime community that is now wholeheartedly adopted in every anime that we watch.
Dragon Ball Z has taught us all about the ridiculous power transformation of characters or the beautiful story of love and friendship.
The anime made its debut in 1989, completing the remaining chapters of the original Dragon Ball manga.
While the original anime ended with Goku reaching adulthood, Dragon Ball Z continues his story and also introduces new characters, events, and stories that were not featured in the original manga.
DBZ has a simple watch order with only these two variations: release order and chronological order. Let me guide you through a little but fascinating part of a larger universe.
1. Release Order
I. TV Series
- Dragon Ball Z Season 1: Saiyan Saga (1989 – 90)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 2: Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas (1990 – 91)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 3: Frieza Saga (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 4: Garlic Jr, Trunks and Android Sagas (1991 – 92)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 5: Imperfect Cell and Perfect Cell Sagas (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 6: Cell Games Saga (1992 – 93)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 7: Other World, Saiyaman and World Tournament Sagas (1993 – 94 )
- Dragon Ball Z Season 8: Babidi and Majin Buu Sagas (1994 – 95)
- Dragon Ball Z Season 9: Evil Buu Saga (1995 – 96)
II. Movies
- Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989)
- Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest (1990)
- Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990)
- Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994)
- Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
- Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
- Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ (2015)
III. OVAs
- Dragon Ball Z: Atsumaare! Goku World (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Eradicate Saiyans (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans (2010)
IV. Specials
- Dragon Ball Z: Bardock, The Father of Goku (1990)
- Summer Vacation Special (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (1993)
- Looking Back at it All: The Dragon Ball Z Year-End Show (1993)
- Dragon Ball: Yo! The Return of Son Goku and Friends1 (2008)
2. Chronological Order
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 1- 86)
- Dragon Ball Z Special 1: Bardock, The Father of Goku
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 87-107)
- Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock
- Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest
- Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
- Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug
- Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 108-123)
- Dragon Ball Z Special 2: The History of Trunks
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 124-125)
- Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 126-146)
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 146-173)
- Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 173-194)
- Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 194-207)
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 207-250)
- Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 250-253)
- Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn
- Dragon Ball Z (Episodes 253-288)
- Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon
- Dragon Ball Z (Episode 288 – 291)
- Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Eradicate Saiyans**
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods**
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’**
Note: ** denotes that chronologically between those installments, this franchise’s other series and movies come. The movies Battle of Gods and Resurrection ‘F’ are non-canon.
3. Conclusion
The chronological order is the best watch order suited for any viewer. If you are watching for the first time or want to revisit it, the chronological order is the one for you.
This order could seem tedious, and some fans may frown upon it as it contains all the canon and non-canon material together, but the chronological order is worth noting.
Many things can be said about this classic, but it is not the legendary fights or the transformations that made it famous. At its core, Dragon Ball Z is a larger-than-life anime with a simple story that shows the adventure of a boy becoming the strongest of all.
Trust me, the cold shivers won’t stop till you finish all of DBZ.
4. How Much Time Will It Take To Watch Dragon Ball Z?
You will need 136 hours and 23 minutes of binge-watching to complete each and every content of DBZ, be it canon or non-canon.
Here is a quick list of the runtime of each installment
- TV Series: 6984 minutes
- Movies: 907 minutes
- OVAs: 120 minutes
- Specials: 172 minutes
5. Where To Watch Dragon Ball Z With Subtitles or Dubbed?
Funimation and Amazon Prime Video are the only streaming services where the Dragon Ball Z anime is made available in subtitled and dubbed versions.
- Funimation: Dragon Ball Z is both in subbed and dubbed versions.
- Amazon Prime Video: Dragon Ball Z is streaming only with subtitles.
6. Can You Download And Watch Dragon Ball Offline?
Funimation provides the download option for Premium Plus subscribers ($7.99 pm) or Premium Plus Ultra subscribers ($99.99 pm). They also offer the download option to only those videos available for download to the free or Funimation subscriber account.
To download shows from Amazon Prime video, one only needs to have a subscription for Amazon Prime and a Fire Tablet or the Prime Video app for iOS, Android, or Windows 10.
7. About Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z is the sequel series to the original Dragon Ball anime and manga by Akira Toriyama. It focuses on Goku’s adventures as an adult.
Goku faces Vegeta, Frieza, and other stronger adversaries like Cell and Majin Boo in this series to protect the Earth from the destruction caused by them.
Dragon Ball Z was initially an anime and was later adapted into a manga due to its growing popularity.
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