Dragon Ball is one of the biggest and most important names in the world of anime. The original manga by Akira Toriyama ran from 1984 to 1995. It was loosely based on the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. Since then, it has inspired movies, video games, and many anime shows.
With so many different things going on, it can be hard to keep track of Dragon Ball if you watch it in chronological or release order, but for the most part, it’s not too hard.
Dragon Ball is about a young man named Goku and his adventures as he tries to become the strongest martial artist in the world. Along the way, he meets many enemies and often turns them into loyal allies. In doing so, he created a number of tropes that are still used in Shonen anime today.
Dragon Ball made famous things like training sequences, tournament arcs, and transformations that open up new levels of power.
How to Watch Dragon Ball?
You’re in luck! You can watch Dragon Ball in more than one place. The show can be watched on Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Hulu, among others. You can buy the episodes or the home video versions on Amazon if you want to own it.
How to Watch Dragon Ball in Chronological Order?
Even though most of the episodes mostly stick to a certain timetable, there are a few exceptions, especially in the later arcs of the manga. The most confusing thing about the Dragon Ball timeline is that most of the movies don’t have a clear connection to the plot of the series.
“Goku would essentially just be like Kaido. Going around and challenging every strong opponent.” Said Zero Gravity in the following tweet
Goku would essentially just be like Kaido. Going around and challenging every strong opponent.
Luffy on the other hand dies in first part of OG Dragon Ball because Bulma shoots his ass đź’€ https://t.co/KtgHm048E9
— Zero Gravity đź’« (@Z3RO_GRAVITY_) May 10, 2023
In fact, the first 17 Dragon Ball movies aren’t considered canon at all. We’re still putting them on this list, though, because many of them are fun and important to fans. We’ve put these movies in the schedule as best we could, but it’s not clear where they belong in terms of when to watch them.
Here’s how to watch Dragon Ball in order, whether you’re a new fan who wants to see the show from the beginning or an old fan who wants to see it again.
- Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku (1990)
- Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011)
- Dragon Ball, episodes 1-13
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) – Note that this is a retelling of the Emperor Pilaf Saga (episodes 1-13) from the anime, condensed and with different enemies.
- Dragon Ball, episodes 14-17
- Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987)
- Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
- Dragon Ball, episodes 18-68
- Dragon Ball: The Path to Power (1996) – Note that this is a retelling of the first 68 episodes of Dragon Ball, merging elements of the Emperor Pilaf and Red Ribbon Army Sagas.
- Dragon Ball, episodes 69-153
- Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 1-20
- Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest (1990)
- Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990) – Note that this film was cut into multiple episodes for the English-language release, accounting for episodes 46-48 of the US broadcast.
- Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 21-107
- Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 108-172
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z Side Story: True Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans (1993)
- Dragon Ball: Plan to Eliminate the Super Saiyans (2010) – Note that this was an OVA remake of the original Plan to Eliminate the Super Saiyans video game and was released with the Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 game.
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 173-193
- Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 195-208
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 209-226
- Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 227-248
- Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 249-288
- Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
- Dragon Ball Super, episodes 1-14
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) – Note that this is a condensed version of episodes 1-14 of Dragon Ball Super
- Dragon Ball Super, episodes 15-27
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (2015) – Note that this is a condensed version of episodes 18-27 of Dragon Ball Super
- Dragon Ball Super, episodes 28-131
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)
- Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)
- Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z, episode 194
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 289-291
- Dragon Ball GT, episodes 1-64
- Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Legacy (1997)
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Dragon Ball in release order
It can be interesting to watch all the movies and episodes in order, but it doesn’t add much to the watching experience other than making things more complicated. Goku’s journey is much easier to follow if you just watch the episodes in the order they came out, which is how the makers at Toei Animation always wanted it to be.
Again, we’ve added TV shows and animated movies to this timeline, but most people don’t think of them as canon. You can skip them if you want to speed up the viewing process.
Here’s how to watch Dragon Ball in the order of when it came out:
- Dragon Ball, episodes 1-43
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
- Dragon Ball, episodes 43-70
- Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987)
- Dragon Ball, episodes 71-118
- Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
- Dragon Ball, episodes 119-153
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 1-11
- Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone (1989)
- Dragon Ball Z: episodes 12-39
- Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest (1990)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 40-54
- Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990) – Note that this film was cut into multiple episodes for the English-language release, accounting for episodes 46-48 of the broadcast.
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 55-63
- Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku (1990)
- Dragon Ball Z: episodes 64-81
- Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 82-99
- Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge (1991)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 100-130
- Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 131-143
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 144-175
- Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z, episode 176
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 177-189
- Dragon Ball Z Side Story: True Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans Part 1 (1993) – This is an OVA that retold the story of the video game of the same name.
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 190-192
- Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 193-197
- Dragon Ball Z Side Story: True Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans Part 2 (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 198-220
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 221-232
- Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 233-258
- Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
- Dragon Ball Z, episodes 259-270
- Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
- Dragon Ball Z: episodes 271-291
- Dragon Ball: The Path to Power (1996)
- Dragon Ball GT, episodes 1-41
- Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Legacy (1997)
- Dragon Ball GT, episodes 42-64
- Dragon Ball: Plan to Eliminate the Super Saiyans (2010) – Note that this was an OVA remake of the original Plan to Eliminate the Super Saiyans video game and was released with the Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 game.
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurection F (2015)
- Dragon Ball Super, episodes 1-131
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)
- Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)
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