Dragon Ball Series Watch Order – Full Guide
Dragon Ball anime series is arguably one of the oldest anime series out there. Surprisingly the anime is still ongoing, having numerous seasons, specials & OVAs. So it’s very complicated for a new viewer to watch it in proper order. So here’s the proper Dragon Ball series watch order that will help you to watch the anime without putting your efforts into thinking.
Dragon Ball series has four main seasons with many movies and specials. It makes the show difficult to sort out.
Dragon Ball Series Seasons, Movies & Specials List
There are a total of five TV series (seasons), twenty movies, three OVAs, and ten specials. Here are the lists of series, ova, specials.
Seasons
- Dragon Ball (1986)
- Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996)
- Dragon Ball GT (1996-1997)
- Dragon Ball Z Kai (2009-2011)
- Dragon Ball Super (2015-2018)
Movies
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
- Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987)
- Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
- 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: The Path to Power (1996)
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ (2015)
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes (2018)
Specials
- Dragon Ball Specials (1988)
- Dragon Ball Z: Bardock, The Father of Goku (1990)
- Dragon Ball Z: 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 GT: A Hero’s Legacy (1997)
- Dragon Ball: Yo! The Return of Son-Goku and Friends!! (2008)
- Dragon Ball Z Kai: Bring Peace to the Future! Goku’s Spirit is Eternal (2011)
- Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011)
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly – Skytree Super (2018)
OVAs
- Dragon Ball Z: Atsumare! Gokuu World (1992)
- Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Destroy the Saiyajin (1993)
- Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Eradicate Super Saiyans OVA Remake (2010)
Dragon Ball Watch Order
After the list of the tv series, specials, and movies, anyone can get confused. So here’s the proper watch order for the Dragon Ball series. The most logical way to watch Dragon Ball series is the chronological order
Chronological Watch Order
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
- Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
- 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 (Episodes 288-291)
- Dragon Ball GT
- Dragon Ball: The Path to Power
- Dragon Ball Z Kai
- Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Destroy the Saiyajin
- Dragon Ball Super (Episodes 1-3)
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
- Dragon Ball Super (Episodes 4-18)
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’
- Dragon Ball Super (Episodes 19-131)
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly – Skytree Super
- Dragon Ball Super Movie: Broly
Dragon Ball Watch Canonical Order
People who only want to follow the original story that is available in manga, they can follow this watch order.
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball Kai
- Dragon Ball Super
- Dragon Ball Super Broly (Movie)
Other than this list, you can totally skip others. The movies, specials and Dragon Ball GT series aren’t counted as canon because they’re not mentioned in the manga written by Akira Toriyama
Should You Skip Movies & Specials?
If you’re only following the canon story and you don’t need any other thing, you can skip the movies and specials. But the Broly movie that came in 2018 was canon. On the other side, you should watch them as they’re also fun to watch and give the story an extension. Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super Resurrection F can be counted as canon but the TV series also covers up the story that these movies have. Even though the movies have more details but still they’re skippable.
Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball Kai?
The new viewers may get confused between these two anime. Dragon Ball Z is the original anime series started right after the Dragon Ball anime. Dragon Ball Z has fillers and unnecessary scenes. Meanwhile Dragon Ball Kai is the remastered version of Dragon Ball Z with less episodes and no fillers.
Where Can You Watch Dragon Ball Series?
Due to the popularity, Dragon Ball Series is available in many platforms. You can find the anime on Funimation, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
Conclusion
Dragon Ball series is indeed confusing thus you need a watch order guide to watch it otherwise you may find it difficult to watch.
Related Topics
