All Dragon Ball TV Series From The Beginning Till Now

In this article, we’ll be listing all TV series from the Dragon ball franchise from the beginning till now.

The DB franchise is one of the most successful franchises in anime history. It is the pioneering Shonen manga series that established the ground rules and served as a springboard for other modern shonen series. One of the main reasons for its popularity is the variety and compellingness of its characters. With their distinct personalities, each character in this franchise brings something new to the table. Every character, particularly the villains, is lovable and memorable in their own way.

The Dragon Ball franchise influenced so many anime shows that came after it. One of the main reasons for its popularity is Son Goku, the franchise’s main protagonist. He sets the trend for the great majority of the main characters in the modern Shonen series. He is also one of the first Shonen heroes to grow from a child to an adult. Changing the hero’s appearance in a Shonen was disliked by most of the people back in the day. 

List of all the Dragon Ball TV series 

Dragon Ball is a very long series that officially consists of seven TV series, 20 films, 4 OVAs, and five special episodes. It contains more than 848 official episodes that were produced by Toei Animation. There are also a lot of fan animations and fan service series made using its characters. But they are not officially created by Akira Toriyama nor animated by Toei Animation.

So, without any delay, let’s dive into the list of all the Dragon Ball TV series. 

Title	Episodes
Dragon Ball	153
Dragon Ball Z	291
Dragon Ball GT	64
Dragon Ball Z Kai	167
Dragon Ball Kai: The Final Chapters	69
Dragon Ball Super	131
Super Dragon Ball Heroes	42+ (ongoing)

Number of Movies: 20.

Check this article to find the list of movies and their watch order.

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Related >> The Correct Watch Order Guide For The Dragon Ball Franchise

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1. Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is a fantastic TV series that is full of martial arts and adventure activities. It is an anime adaptation of the Dragon Ball manga and covers its first 194 chapters. This series has a total of 153 episodes. Each episode is composed of 20–25 minute-long content that aired between 1986 and 1989. This series depicts Goku’s childhood adventure with his team to collect all seven dragon balls around the world. A “Dragon Ball” is a ball that fulfills any wish of the person who gets all seven of them. 

Every saga in this series is very interesting and full of fighting sequences. Each of them shows Goku’s increasing power with his intense training. In this series, Goku shows his first transformation by becoming a great ape. This form of Goku is very powerful and destructive. In the first saga, “Hunt for the Dragon Balls Saga,” Goku makes new friends like Bulma, Yamucha, Pu Erh, and Oolong. After meeting with Master Roshi, Goku started learning martial arts skills alongside his friend Krillin. 

The Tenkaichi tournament is the most exciting and popular thing in Dragon Ball. In this tournament, Goku fights with other powerful participants who have distinct abilities. In the series, there is a group of criminal organizations called the Red Ribbon Army. They also want to collect dragon balls to fulfill their evil dream of conquering the world. Goku and his team gave it their all and tried to fail with their plans. 

King Piccolo and Piccolo Junior are the series’ most powerful villains, who are basically the Namekians. Goku had faced great difficulty in fighting against them, especially against Piccolo Junior. At the end of the series, Goku married Chi Chi, the daughter of the Ox King, and lived with her. 

2. Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z series is a masterpiece of the franchise that established its popularity around the world. It is a sequel to the Dragon Ball series and includes the last 325 chapters of the DB manga. It is the longest-running show of all the DB TV series and contains 291 episodes. These episodes were 20–25 minutes long and aired between 1989 and 1996. 

Dragon Ball Z introduced a new major character, Gohan, the son of Goku. It shows the history of Goku’s true identity, and his goal. This series has a lot of amazing fighting scenes against powerful saiyans like Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta. Later on, Vegeta became the biggest rival of Goku in the series because of his excellent personality. 

In Dragon Ball Z, Akira gave the transformation to several DBZ characters, like Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan. The scene when Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan is the most classical scene in this series. People still have not forgotten this form as well as this scene, even after 3 decades. Vegeta also gets Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 forms, but his Majin Vegeta form is very popular. Majin Vegeta is the key reason for Vegeta’s popularity in the series. Most of the people connected with his speech of “Pride” and became crazy for Vegeta. 

This series has a lot of interesting things that make it so popular around the world. These things are Saiyan, Super Saiyan forms, Fusion techniques, Androids, and new powerful villains. Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan each have their own distinct Super Saiyan forms that draw viewers in. The Fusion technique is the most powerful technique of the series that can be done by the Potara. This technique combines two individual bodies into one and multiplies their power. 

3. Dragon Ball GT

Dragon Ball GT is the least popular series in the DB franchise. But recently, it’s become a bit more popular and has started to improve its reputation. Toei Animation studio made this series, which is not based on Akira Toriyama’s manga. It is the shortest series in the franchise, with only 64 episodes. Its episodes were aired from 1996 to November 1997 on Fuji TV in Japan. The best part about this series is the new transformations of Super Saiyan 4.

DB GT is generally filled with lackluster fight choreography and a lousy ending note to the series’ continuity. The story of the series is mostly focused on the journey of Goku and his granddaughter, Pan. It introduced the new Black Star Dragon Balls that summon Ultimate Shenron-a powerful version of Shenron to grant any wish without any restrictions. Unfortunately, Goku is turned into a child by his old enemy, Emperor Pilaf, through the use of black dragon balls. Now, it’s up to Goku and his team to retrieve these black dragon balls that were scattered across the universe.

The other three sagas are also very interesting and always bind the viewers until the end. The Baby Saga contains an unpredictable story that is full of thrills and fighting scenes. The Super Android 17 Saga is also very interesting because it connects Goku’s world to hell through the portal. In this saga, both Androids 17, who are created in hell and those who live in the real world, are fused into Super 17. The last saga, the Shadow Dragons Saga, focuses on the seven Shadow Dragons that emerged from evil black dragon balls. They come to punish humanity for its constant misuse of the Dragon Balls by destroying the Earth.

4. Dragon Ball Z Kai

Dragon Ball Z Kai is an alternate version of the DBZ series. It was produced by Toei Animation to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the DB Franchise. This TV series consists of 98 episodes that were released from 2009 to 2011 on Fuji TV. It contains the same story as the Dragon Ball Z series but with a lower episode count. This series excellently abridged the 291 episodes of DBZ down to 167.

DBZ Kai features high picture quality and sound by using advanced technology. It also features a brand new voice acting from the original cast. It also re-edited most of the scenes from DBZ. This series offers a nice reinterpretation of Z’s first four sagas. But the later arcs are not as good as original sagas. 

The Cell Saga is the most popular saga of the Dragon Ball Z Kai. It has excellent animation. In this saga, Goku’s son, Gohan, gets the lead role, and he brilliantly uses this opportunity to become a popular character. Gohan was the first hybrid saiyan who had more potential than any other saiyan, even Goku and Vegeta. He is the first one who triggered the new proper Super Saiyan 2 form. He also shows his incredible power in the fight against the perfect Cell during the Cell Games.

5. Dragon Ball Kai: The Final Chapters 

Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters is the sequel to DBZ Kai. This TV series covered the stories of the next three sagas of DBZ. This series consists of 69 episodes that were released from 2014 to 2015 on Fuji TV. Most of the scenes and sketches in this series have been discarded or have introduced new frames. These frames are produced by digitally advanced technology from existing footage and filled with softer colors.

This series excellently depicted the whole story of Dragon Ball Z in a short number of episodes. The Majin Buu Saga is the best saga of this series, and it is full of excellent fighting sequences. Majin Buu is the only villain who is so difficult to defeat by Goku and his team. Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 and Vegeta’s Super Saiyan 2 weren’t able to defeat Majin Buu, even with their fusion. Vegito’s Super Saiyan is also not capable of defeating kid Majin Buu. 

6. Dragon Ball Super

Dragon Ball Super is a sequel to Akira Toriyama’s original Dragon Ball manga. It is the most popular and successful TV series in the Dragon Ball franchise. This series successfully established its modern fans and viewers across the world. Most people are desperately waiting for the sequel to this series, Dragon Ball Super 2. This series consists of 131 episodes that were released from 2015 to 2018 on Fuji TV. It also set a new bar for other anime shows with its incredible animation, fighting sequences, and character development. 

Dragon Ball Super depicts the story of Goku and his friends after the ten-year skip of defeating Majin Buu. It started with introducing the God of Destruction, Beerus, and the Angel Whis, into the series. This series gave Goku and his rival Vegeta new transformations that had the powers of God. After the entry of Black Goku, the series started to gain momentum in the story and gradually became popular. Black Goku is the first villain in the franchise who gets a lot of attention and love from fans. 

Dragon Ball Super also has a lot of things that play a major role in the series’ popularity. One of them is the Tournament of Power, which is something like the Tenkaichi Tournament or the World’s Martial Arts Tournament. But it is completely different from them. It is a tournament of powerful warriors across different universes to protect it. Goku’s Ultra Instinct form is the most popular form as well as the most important thing in the series. This form increased Goku’s character development to a new high level and gained him massive popularity around the world. 

7. Super Dragon Ball Heroes 

Super Dragon Ball Heroes is a non-canon TV series that is made up of advertisements for the video games in this franchise. This series shows various possible events but doesn’t have a link to its original series. Toei Animation produced this fantastic anime series that aired in 2018 and is ongoing till this day. It currently consists of 42 episodes, and each episode is 6 minutes long. It also introduced new transformations, villains, and techniques throughout the series. 

Despite being non-canon, Super Dragon Ball Heroes has the same level of popularity as other series. Its animation is also very proficient, and the fighting sequences are also well choreographed. Fuu and Hearts are the main villains of the first three arcs of the Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Hearts’ only goal is to free all mortals from the Omni-King, Zeno, and the gods. On the other hand, Fuu only wants enjoyment from the fights, conflicts, and wars between Heart’s team and Goku’s team. 

In the latest New Space-Time War Arc, this series introduced Black Goku with a new transformation. After the entry of Black Goku, this series gained huge popularity and became very popular. It also introduced a new character, Cumber, who is also a very powerful saiyan. Cumber is getting a lot of attention from the viewers, and some of them want to add him to the official series. 

Super Dragon Ball Heroes is currently an ongoing series and is still very hyped. The majority of people adored and enjoyed it, and they eagerly awaited the next episode.This series is basically made as fan service for entertainment purposes and nothing special. Because of the series’ popularity, its games are also becoming more popular day by day. As a result, Dragon Ball Heroes is the number one arcade game in the market.