Dragon Ball Z (commonly abbreviated as DBZ) is the long-running sequel to the anime Dragon Ball. Produced by Toei Animation, the series is a close adaptation of the second (and far longer) portion of the Dragon Ball manga written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. In the United States, the manga's second portion was also titled "Dragon Ball Z" by Viz Media to prevent confusion for younger readers.
Overview[]
Dragon Ball Z continues the adventures of Goku, who defends the Earth, with the help of his friends and family, against an assortment of villains ranging from intergalactic space fighters and conquerors, unnaturally powerful androids and near indestructible magical creatures. While the original Dragon Ball anime followed Goku from his childhood into early adulthood, Dragon Ball Z is a continuation of his adult life, but at the same time parallels the maturation of his first son, Gohan, as well as the development of his rival Vegeta from enemy to ally. The separation between the two series is also significant as the latter series takes on a more dramatic and serious tone. The anime also features characters, situations, and back-stories not present in the original manga, known as filler.
The anime first premiered in Japan on April 26, 1989 (on Fuji TV) at 7:30 p.m. and ended on January 31, 1996 with 291 episodes. The other names the production was considering for this second series before they settled on Dragon Ball Z were "New Dragon Ball", "Dragon Ball 2", "Dragon Ball: Gohan's Big Adventure", "Dragon Ball Wonder Boy", and "Dragon Ball 90".
In the USA, the series initially aired in first-run syndication on an early morning timeslot in most markets (6:30am) from September 13, 1996 to May 23, 1998. However, the series would earn greater success and popularity after it was picked up to air on Cartoon Network's weekday-afternoon programming block, Toonami, beginning on August 31, 1998. It initially aired in reruns of the previously syndicated and heavily edited 53 episodes (originally 67). In September 1999, new less edited episodes began to air on the Toonami block under a new dubbing voice cast, and the series aired to the completion of its run in April 2003. The first 67 episodes were later re-dubbed and aired uncut on Cartoon Network at 10:30pm, beginning in June 2005.
It also aired in the UK on Cartoon Network, premiering on March 6, 2000 and running on that channel until 2002. The final episodes were later broadcast on CNX (which later changed its name to "Toonami"), with the show ending on February 28, 2003. After the finished run it was repeated daily, until this Toonami merged with Cartoon Network Too.
Since the end of Dragon Ball Z, there have been three further sequel series: Dragon Ball GT (1996), Dragon Ball Super (2015), and Dragon Ball Daima (2024), each of which have also aired in the US on the Toonami block. In April 2009, as part of the series' 20th anniversary, a new revised version of Dragon Ball Z began airing on Japanese television that removed most of the original's filler material. This recut is titled Dragon Ball Kai (Dragon Ball Z Kai in the US and other international markets). It initially aired in the US on Nicktoons and The CW's Toonzai block (later Vortexx) in edited formats, before airing uncut on Adult Swim's Toonami block.
Censorship issues[]
Dragon Ball Z was marketed to appeal to a wide range of viewers from all ages, and contains crude humor (as the original Dragon Ball series before it) and occasional excesses of violence which are commonly seen as inappropriate for younger audiences by American standards. When it was first marketed in the US, the distribution company Funimation alongside Saban Entertainment decided to initially focus exclusively on the young children's market, because the anime market was still small compared to the much larger children's cartoon market. This censorship often had unintentionally humorous results, such as changing all references to death, so the dead characters were merely going to "another dimension", and digitally altering two ogres' shirts to read "HFIL" (as an acronym for "Home For Infinite Losers") instead of "HELL".
Starting with episode 54 (68 in uncut episode numbering) of the series on Cartoon Network, censorship was reduced due to fewer restrictions on cable programming. Funimation did the dubbing on their own this time around with their in-house voice cast. In 2004, Funimation began to redub the first 53 episodes (67 uncut) of Dragon Ball Z, to remove the problems that were caused by their previous partnership with Saban. They also redubbed the first three movies.
However, the show still retained some level of censorship, not out of FCC laws, but out of choice by Funimation, to cater to the possible sensitivity of western audiences. For example, Mr. Satan was renamed "Hercule" to avoid any religious slurs; his daughter, Videl, was a play on the word "Devil", but Funimation felt that the connection was obscure enough to not worry about.
Voice cast[]
| Character | Voice Actor (Japanese) |
Voice Actor (English - The Ocean Group) |
Voice Actor (English - FUNimation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goku / Kakarot | Masako Nozawa | Ian James Corlett (ep.1-49 [1-37 edited]) Peter Kelamis (ep.50-67 [38-53 edited]; 123-159) Kirby Morrow (ep.160-291) |
Sean Schemmel (adult) Stephanie Nadolny (child; flashbcks) |
| Gohan | Masako Nozawa | Saffron Henderson (child) Jillian Michaels (preteen) Brad Swaile (teen & adult) |
Stephanie Nadolny (child & preteen) Kyle Hebert (teen & adult) |
| Vegeta | Ryō Horikawa | Brian Drummond | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Piccolo | Toshio Furukawa | Scott McNeil | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Krillin | Mayumi Tanaka | Terry Klassen | Sonny Strait |
| Bulma | Hiromi Tsuru | Lalainia Lindbjerg (ep.2-66 [1-53 edited]) Maggie Blue O'Hara (ep.123-258) France Perras (ep.259-291) |
Tiffany Vollmer |
| Chi-Chi | Mayumi Sho (ep.1-66) Naoko Watanabe (ep.88-291) |
Laara Sadiq (ep.1-67 [1-53 edited]; 123–257) Nicole Oliver (ep.257-291) |
Cynthia Cranz |
| Master Roshi | Kōhei Miyauchi (ep.2-260) Hiroshi Masuoka (ep.288-291) |
Ian James Corlett (ep.1-46 [1-34 edited]) Peter Kelamis (ep.63 [50 edited]) Terry Klassen (ep.123-291) |
Mike McFarland |
| Yamcha | Toru Furuya | Ted Cole | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Tien Shinhan | Hirotaka Suzuoki | Matt Smith | Chris Cason (ep.75-107) John Burgmeier (onwards; remastered dub) |
| Chiaotzu | Hiroko Emori | Cathy Weseluck | Monika Antonelli |
| Yajirobe | Mayumi Tanaka | Brian Drummond | Mike McFarland |
| Hercule | Daisuke Gōri | Don Brown | Chris Rager |
| Videl | Yūko Minaguchi | Moneca Stori | Kara Edwards |
| Goten | Masako Nozawa | Jillian Michaels | Kara Edwards |
| Trunks | Takeshi Kusao | Cathy Weseluck | Laura Bailey |
| Future Trunks | Takeshi Kusao | Alistair Abell | Eric Vale |
| Android 18 | Miki Itō | Enuka Okuma | Meredith McCoy |
| Ox-King | Daisuke Gōri | Dave Ward | Mark Britten (ep.88-193) Kyle Hebert (onwards; remastered dub) |
| Oolong | Naoki Tatsuta | Alec Willows (ep.18-57 [12-44 edited]) Richard Newman (ep.127-288) |
Mark Britten (ep.88-169) Brad Jackson (onwards; remastered dub) |
| Puar | Naoko Watanabe | Cathy Weseluck | Monika Antonelli |
| Turtle | Daisuke Gōri | Don Brown | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Kami | Takeshi Aono | Dale Wilson | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Mr. Popo | Yasuhiko Kawazu | Alvin Sanders | Chris Cason (ep.76-100) Christopher R. Sabat (onwards; remastered dub) |
| Korin | Ichirō Nagai (ep.26-192) Naoki Tatsuta (ep.238-285) |
Doug Parker | Mark Britten (ep.109-192) Christopher R. Sabat (onwards; remastered dub) |
| King Kai | Jōji Yanami | Don Brown | Sean Schemmel |
| Bubbles | Naoki Tatsuta | Doug Parker | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Gregory | Yūji Mitsuya | Doug Parker | John Burgmeier |
| Dende | Tomiko Suzuki | Andrew Francis (ep. 47-61 [34-48 edited]) Dillon Moen (ep.173-291) |
Ceyli Delgadillo (child; original dub) Laura Bailey (child; remastered dub) Justin Cook (adult) |
| Supreme Kai | Yūji Mitsuya | Michael Dobson | Kent Williams |
| Old Kai | Reizō Nomoto | Scott McNeil | Kent Williams |
| Kibito | Shin Aomori | Don Brown | Chuck Huber |
| Pan | Yūko Minaguchi | Brenna O'Brien | Susan Huber |
| Raditz | Shigeru Chiba | Jason Gray-Stanford | Justin Cook |
| Nappa | Shōzō Iizuka | Michael Dobson | Phil Parsons |
| Frieza | Ryūsei Nakao | Pauline Newstone | Linda Young |
| Dodoria | Yukitoshi Hori | Ward Perry | Chris Forbis |
| Zarbon | Shō Hayami | Paul Dobson | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Captain Ginyu | Hideyuki Hori | Richard Newman | Dale Kelly (original dub) Brice Armstrong (remastered dub) |
| Recoome | Kenji Utsumi | David Kaye | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Guldo | Kōzō Shioya | Terry Klassen | Dylan Thompson (original dub) Bill Townsley (remastered dub) |
| Jeice | Kazumi Tanaka | Scott McNeil | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Burter | Yukimasa Kishino | Alec Willows | Mark Britten (original dub) Christopher R. Sabat (remastered dub) |
| Garlic Jr. | Shigeru Chiba | Don Brown | Chuck Huber |
| Dr. Gero / Android 20 | Kōji Yada | Brian Dobson | Kent Williams |
| Android 19 | Yukitoshi Hori | Patricia Drake | Phillip Wilburn |
| Android 17 | Shigeru Nakahara | Ted Cole | Chuck Huber |
| Android 16 | Hikaru Midorikawa | Scott McNeil | Jeremy Inman |
| Cell | Norio Wakamoto | Dale Wilson | Dameon Clarke |
| Babidi | Jōji Yanami | Terry Klassen | Duncan Brannan |
| Dabura | Ryūzaburō Ōtomo | Scott McNeil | Rick Robertson |
| Majin Buu | Kōzō Shioya | Scott McNeil | Josh Martin |
| Evil Buu | Kōzō Shioya | Brian Dobson | Justin Cook |
| Super Buu | Kōzō Shioya | Brian Dobson | Justin Cook |
| Kid Buu | Kōzō Shioya | Ward Perry | Josh Martin |
| World Tournament Announcer | Hirotaka Suzuoki | Michael Dobson | Eric Vale |
| Shenron | Kenji Utsumi | Don Brown | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Porunga | Daisuke Gōri | Richard Newman | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Narrator | Jōji Yanami | Doc Harris | Dale Kelly (ep.68-194) Kyle Hebert (onwards; remastered dub) |
Sagas[]
Toei Sagas[]
1. Saiyan (Episodes 1~35); 1989–1990
2. Frieza (Episodes 36~107); 1990–1991
3. Cell (Episodes 108~194); 1991–1993
4. Buu (Episodes 195~291); 1993–1996
English Dub Sagas[]
1. Saiyan:
- The Vegeta Saga (Episodes 1~35; originally The Saiyan Conflict); 1996-1997
2. Frieza:
- The Namek Saga (Episodes 36~67); 1997-1998
- The Captain Ginyu Saga (Episodes 68~74); 1999
- The Frieza Saga (Episodes 75~107); 1999
3. Cell:
- The Garlic Jr. Saga (Episodes 108~117); 1999-2000
- The Trunks Saga (Episodes 118~125); 2000
- The Androids Saga (Episodes 126~139); 2000
- The Imperfect Cell Saga (Episodes 140~152); 2000
- The Perfect Cell Saga (Episodes 153~165); 2000
- The Cell Games Saga (Episodes 166~194); 2000
4. Buu:
- The Great Saiyaman Saga (Episodes 195~209); 2001
- The World Tournament Saga (Episodes 210~219); 2001
- The Babidi Saga (Episodes 220~231); 2001
- The Majin Buu Saga (Episodes 232~253); 2001-2002
- The Fusion Saga (Episodes 254~275); 2002
- The Kid Buu Saga (Episodes 276~291); 2002-2003
Movies[]
1. Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989)
2. Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990)
3. Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990)
4. Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
5. Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (1991)
6. Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
7. Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992)
8. Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
9. Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
10. Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming (1994)
11. Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
12. Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
13. Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
14. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
15. Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015)
TV Specials[]
1. Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku (1990)
2. Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (1993)
Gallery[]
