Easily one of the most famous animes globally, the Dragon Ball franchise first debuted as a manga in 1984. The original anime premiered two years later in 1986 and since then has boomed into a global phenomenon. Check out our guide below to find out where to stream every Dragon Ball series in order.
Dragon Ball, the original anime, premiered in 1986 and ran until 1989, releasing 153 episodes. The show follows Goku, who at the start is a young boy with a monkey tail. He travels around the world trying to find the seven dragon balls that, when all are collected together, can grant someone one wish. Along his journey, he meets numerous foes and allies, all of whom want to find the dragon balls for their own reasons, like the Red Ribbon Army and Emperor Pilaf.
Picking up after the events of the original series, Dragon Ball Z aired from 1989-1996. Goku is now a young adult with a son of his own, Gohan. Once again, the galactic race to find the dragon balls ensues, but one major addition was added to the show’s storyline in DBZ. Goku discovers he’s actually part of an alien race known as the Saiyans and was originally sent to Earth to take over the planet. Being a Saiyan also allows him and his son to transform and become super Saiyans, which gives them super strength.
Another sequel series, Dragon Ball GT was released in 1996, airing for one season and concluding in 1997. This time around, Goku is turned back into a child and he’s forced to search the world for the black star dragon balls, otherwise the planet will be destroyed.
In 2015, Dragon Ball received its first new series in almost a decade with Dragon Ball Super. Running for 131 episodes until 2018, the series wasn’t a sequel, and instead took place concurrently with DBZ. Finally, in 2018 the most recent Dragon Ball series premiered, Super Dragon Ball Heroes. This series is a bit different because it’s a web-only show that doesn’t air on television. It takes place in a non-canonical universe that mainly serves as a promotional element for the Heroes card and video game series. However, it has received mostly positive reviews from fans.
Check out our guide below to see where you can watch all the Dragon Ball series in chronological order.