How To Watch ‘Dragon Ball Z’ In Order

Golly! I sure do hope they give that dragon his balls back!

Alright so there’s a couple of different dragon balls bouncing around in the sack of the internet. I won’t pretend to know your particular dragon ball kink, so I’m writing this article assuming you want to experiment with them all.

So first up, there’s the original Dragonball. It’s about baby Goku! So cute! Plus it gives some context to the world before the Super Saiyan shenanigans of Dragonball Z.

Here’s the order to watch it in:

• Hunt the Dragon Balls saga
• World Martial Arts Tournament Saga
• Red Ribbon Army Saga
• King Piccolo Saga
• Piccolo Junior Saga

THEN you’re gonna watch the Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone movie before you start watching Dragon Ball Z.

After that, you’re gonna watch the original Dragonball Z! It’s about adult Goku getting really powerful and yelling really loudly for a really long time. Here’s the order to watch it in:

• 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 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-end

Caveat: the movies on this list are not considered canon, therefore you don’t have to watch them if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of DBZ content there is and need to hyperventilate into a paper bag.

If you’re like me and the very idea of watching all of DBZ (and all the filler) makes you want to reach for Mr. Bag, then you should watch Dragonball Z Kai! It’s basically an HD remaster where they also cut out a lot of the filler content. It’s kind of like the DBZ version of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. They took the original Full Metal Alchemist anime and just … made it better.

Here’s the watch order:

• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1: Saiyan Saga (2009)
• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 2: Frieza Saga (2009 – 2010)
• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 3: Androids Saga (2010)
• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 4: Cell Saga (2010 – 2011)
• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 5: World Tournament Saga (2014)
• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 6: Majin Buu Saga (2014)
• Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 7: Evil Buu Saga (2014 – 2015)

Whether you watch DBZ or DBZ Kai is up to you, but afterwards you’re gonna watch Dragon Ball GT! Here’s the order:

• Season 1: Black Star Dragon Ball Saga (1996)
• Season 2: Baby Saga (1996–97)
• Season 3: Super Android 17 Saga (1997)
• Season 4: Shadow Dragon Saga (1997)

THEN watch the T.V. special Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Legacy.

Caveat again: Dragon Ball GT is considered … kinda weird by the fandom. Some people think that it should actually be considered non-canon. Other people think that it should be considered filler. I’m gonna let you make your own critical decision on that one.

AFTER THAT you’re gonna watch Dragon Ball Super, which goes as follows:

• Dragon Ball Super (Episodes 1-3)
• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
• Dragon Ball Super (Episodes 4-18)
• Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ (2015)
• Dragon Ball Super (Episodes 19-131)
• Dragon Ball Super Movie: Broly (2018)
• Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)

And that’s it! You’re done! You saw all the fights! You scouted a bunch of power levels that were way over 9,000! And you saw all the balls that the dragon had to offer! Lucky you!

Here’s how you can watch the different Dragonball series online

Most of the Dragonball series mentioned above are currently available for streaming on both Hulu and Crunchyroll. However, if you run into any location-based restrictions trying to stream through either of these platforms, you might want to consider using a VPN (or Virtual Private Network).

VPNs allow you to alter your viewing location to another country and access more shows & movies across all your streaming platforms of choice. The easiest way to get a VPN is by signing up for a paid VPN service, such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN. Even better, both options offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

(featured image: Toei Animation)