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The Correct Watch Order Guide For The Dragon Ball Franchise 

Dragon Ball is a Japanese anime franchise that was created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. This is one of the most popular and successful franchise of all time. If you haven’t seen the DB franchise yet, you’re missing out on a fantastic journey filled with amazing action sequences. So, if you’re interested in watching this anime series, but don’t know where to start, look no further. I’ve put together a complete watch order guide for the Dragon Ball franchise.

The Dragon Ball franchise has seven anime television series and is still going on strongly. Moreover, it also contains many movies between the episodes. If you miss a movie, though, you might miss some side story, however it is not necessary to watch them. But that said, it is true that there are several sagas and movies in this franchise. As a result, new watchers are frequently confused as to how to watch it in the proper order, alongside the movies, OVAs, and special episodes.

If you’re having trouble with its watching order, then this guide will help you. I’m going to save your time with our best Dragon Ball watch order guide, which includes movies, OVAs, and special episodes. If you’re short on time, you can skip the movies and special episodes and just watch the TV series. However, if you do this, you will not be able to fully explore the DB franchise’s most amazing and incredible fighting sequences.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the Best Dragon Ball Franchise Watch Order Guide.

The Best Watch Order Guide for the Dragon Ball Franchise 

The DB franchise contained five different TV series, including Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball Super, and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Furthermore, there are 20 movies released in between the series. It also contains four OVAs and three special episodes. Here in this article, you also get to know when to watch which movies, OVAs, and special episodes. 

Dragon Ball (1986)

Dragon Ball - anime where the mc is a monster

Dragon Ball is a martial arts adventure anime series produced by Toei Animation. This series consists of 153 episodes that aired on Fuji TV from 1986 to 1989. The plot of this series centres around Goku, a monkey-tailed boy, and Bulma, a genius girl. They both went on an adventure to find seven dragon balls in order to grant Bulma’s wish.

This series is divided into five sagas: Hunt for the Dragon Balls Saga, World Martial Arts Tournament Saga, Red Ribbon Army Saga, King Piccolo Saga, and Piccolo Junior Saga. Throughout these sagas, Goku mastered his martial arts skills and grew from an innocent jungle boy to a fierce warrior.

Dragon Ball Watch Order:

Sagas/Movies/OVA/SpecialsEpisodes
Emperor Pilaf Saga1 to 13
Tournament Saga14 to 28
Red Ribbon Army Saga29 to 68
Fortuneteller Baba and Training on the Road Sagas69 to 82
Tien Shinhan Saga83 to 101
King Piccolo Saga102 to 122
Heavenly Training Saga123 to 133
Movie 1: Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
Movie 2: Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987)
Movie 3: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
Piccolo Jr. and The Wedding Dress in Flames Sagas133 to 153

Related >> Dragon Ball Villains: Top 10 DB Antagonists Ranked


Dragon Ball Z 

dbz watch order

Dragon Ball Z is the most well-known series in this epic franchise. It is composed mainly of 291 episodes that aired between 1986 and 1996. In addition, 14 movies, two OVAs, and two special episodes are released in between episodes. This series contains five amazing sagas: the Saiyan Saga, the Frieza Saga, the Garlic Jr. Saga, the Androids Saga, and the Majin Buu Saga.

DBZ continues Goku’s adventures as he grows stronger. It shows Goku’s enjoyable life with his wife, Chi Chi, and son, Gohan. This series introduced new and powerful villains such as Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. Later, Vegeta became Goku’s rival and began to live on Earth with them. In this series, Goku’s son, Gohan, also demonstrates his incredible potential by fighting Cell.

Dragon Ball Z Watch Order:

Sagas/Movies/OVA/SpecialsEpisodes
Saiyan Saga1 to 5
Movie 4: Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989)
Continue Saiyan Saga6 to 35
Movie 5: Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest (1990)
Movie 6: Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990)
Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas36 to 64
Special 1: Dragon Ball Z: Bardock- The Father of Goku (1990)
Continue Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas65 to 74
Movie 7: Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
OVA 1: Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011)
Frieza Saga75 to 107
Movie 8: Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge (1991)
Garlic Jr. Saga108 to 117
Trunks Saga118 to 125
Special 2: Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (1993)
Movie 9: Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
Android Saga126 to 139
Movie 10: Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992)
Cell Saga140 to 165
Cell Games Saga166 to 194
Movie 11: Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
OVA 2: Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans (1993)
Movie 12: Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993) 
Other World, Saiyaman and World Tournament Sagas195 to 219
Movie 13: Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994)
Movie 14: Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
Babidi and Majin Buu Sagas220 to 253
Movie 15: Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
Evil Buu Saga254 to 291
Movie 16: Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
Movie 17: Dragon Ball: The Path to Power (1996)

Related >> All Goku Forms Ranked From The Weakest To The Strongest


Dragon Ball GT 

db gt

Dragon Ball GT is a sequel to the DBZ anime series, which was not based on Akira Toriyama’s manga. This series consists of 64 episodes that aired between 1996 and 1997. In addition to the series, Akira released two OVAs and one special episode. It picks up the story where DBZ left off, focusing on Goku and his granddaughter, Pan. 

DB GT series is divided into four sagas: the Black Star Dragon Balls Saga, the Baby Saga, the Super Android 17 Saga, and the Shadow Dragons Saga. This series tells the story of the seven wish-fulfilling dragon balls and their consequences. It also featured new and powerful villains such as Baby, Omega Shenron, and Super Android 17. In this series, Goku and Vegeta gain access to a new Super Saiyan 4 form, which is truly incredible. 

Dragon Ball GT Watch Order:

Sagas/Movies/OVA/SpecialsEpisodes
Black Star Dragon Ball Saga1 to 16 
Baby Saga17 to 40
Super Android 17 Saga41 to 47
Shadow Dragon Saga48 to 64
Special 3: Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Legacy (1997)
OVA 3: Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! (2008)
OVA 4: Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans (2010)

Dragon Ball Z Kai

Dragon Ball Z kai

Dragon Ball Z Kai is an upgraded version of the original DBZ anime series. It was created by Toei Animation to celebrate the studio’s 20th anniversary. This series aired on Fuji TV in Japan from 2009 to 2015. The plot and arcs of this series are the same as in the original DBZ series.

This series is divided into two parts, each of which was released in a different year. The first part is DBZ Kai, which consists of 98 episodes and was released between 2009 and 2011. The second part is DBZ Kai: The Final Chapters, which consists of 69 episodes and was released between 2014 and 2015.

Dragon Ball Z Kai improved the picture and sound quality as well as added some special effects. It also re-recorded the character’s voice track with the majority of the original cast.

Dragon Ball Kai Watch Order:

Sagas/Movies/OVA/SpecialsEpisodes
Dragon Ball Z Kai1 to 98
Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters99 to 167

Dragon Ball Super

dbs

Dragon Ball Super Series is an original sequel to the DBZ series. This series consists of 131 episodes that aired between 2015 and 2018. The story picks up ten years after Majin Buu is defeated. Goku and his rival, Vegeta, are hard at work training to gain strength and new forms.

DBS contains five sagas, including the God of Destruction Beerus saga, the Golden Frieza saga, Universe 6 saga, Future Trunks saga, and the Universe Survival saga. The Tournament of Power is the best part of this series, and it is what made it famous.

Dragon Ball Super Watch Order:

Sagas/Movies/OVA/SpecialsEpisodes
God of Destruction Beerus Saga1 to 18
Movie 18: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
Golden Frieza Saga19 to 27
Movie 19: Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ (2015)
Universe 6 and Duplicate Vegeta Saga28 to 46
Future Trunks Saga47 to 76
Universe Survival Saga77 to 131
Movie 20: Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)

Super Dragon Ball Heroes

Super Dragon Ball Heroes watch order

Super Dragon Ball Heroes is a promotional animation series for the Dragon Ball franchise’s cards and video games. It is an original animated series produced by Toei Animation without Akira Toriyama’s involvement. This is a currently airing series that first aired on July 1, 2018 and continues to this day.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes currently has 42 episodes, two of which are special episodes. This series depicts the events that occur after the events of DBS. It also introduces some new, powerful characters and depicts a variety of alternative possibilities within the franchise. There are three parts to this series: Universe Mission, Big Bang Mission, and Ultra God Mission.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes Watch Order:

Sagas/Movies/OVA/SpecialsEpisodes
Prison Planet Arc1 to 6
Universal Conflict Arc 7 to 19
Special episode 1: Time Patrol vs. The Dark King (Series Episodes: 20)20
Universe Creation Arc21 to 28
Special episode 2: Push Forward to the Battlefield (Series Episodes: 29)29
Universe Creation Arc30 to 32
New Space-Time War Arc33 to 40
Supreme Kai of time Arc41 to current episode

Conclusion 

Dragon Ball is a long-running franchise, but it is still one of the best of all time. It has over 700 episodes and about ten movies. I understand that it will take more time than any other anime series, but it will also provide you with a greater standard of experience. It has one of the best action sequences, as well as a fantastic art style and animation. The characters in this series have the potential to steal your heart with their excellent character development. I hope you find this watch order guide helpful and enjoy this article. Stay tuned for more fantastic and useful articles.

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  1. Pingback: Dragon Ball, All series From The Beginning Till Now

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