Your guide to watching all the series and films from the long-running anime franchise in the correct order.
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- Patrick Cremona
Published: Wednesday, 6th January 2021 at 5:38 pm
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Dragon Ball is one of the most popular, not to mention extensive, anime franchises of all time – and for newcomers, the wealth of content can make it slightly tricky to know exactly where to start.
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Having first aired in 1986, the original series (which is based on the manga of the same name) has spawned a huge number of spinoffs and sequels including Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super and the most recent entry to the franchise Super Dragon Ball Heroes.
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Aside from the series, there are also a number of movies and television specials that confuse matters further, and then there's the complication that not all the series are necessarily considered "canon".
So where to begin? We have you covered.
How to watch Dragon Ball in chronological order
While this method might be frowned upon by hardcore Dragon Ball fans, one way to watch the films is to go in chronological order in terms of the time scale of the story.
This order does not take into account whether each series or film is considered canon or not – hence why some fans would say it isn't the best way to watch – and as such it includes a lot of content.
Meanwhile, a note that we have included Dragon Ball Z but not Dragon Ball Z Kai, given that the two series are essentially the same thing. (For reference, Dragon Ball Z Kai is a remake of the earlier series, telling the same story but with less filler and some new dialogue as well as updated animation.)
Anyway, here is every release in chronological order:
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 1-86
- Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku (TV special)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 87-107
- Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 108-123
- Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (TV special)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 124 and 125
- Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 126-146
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13 (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 147-173
- Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z to episodes 174-194
- Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 195-207
- Dragon Ball Z: Broly’s Second Coming (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 208-250
- Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 251-253
- Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 254-288
- Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (movie)
- Dragon Ball Z episodes 289-finish
- Dragon Ball GT, all episodes
- Dragon Ball Super episodes 1-3
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods (movie)
- Dragon Ball Super episodes 4-18
- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (movie)
- Dragon Ball Super episodes 19-finish
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly (movie)
- Dragon Super Dragon Ball Heroes
How to watch Dragonball in canon order
If you want to skip all the stuff that isn't considered canon, i.e the series and films which don't follow the events of the manga and were made without any input from creator Akira Toriyama, then there is an alternative order below.
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Those entries considered non-canon include the series Dragon Ball GT in addition to the majority of the films.
Then you also have to make the choice of whether to watch Dragon Ball Z for the more extensive experience or Dragon Ball Kai for the more refined approach.