Dragon Ball Watch Order guide: How to watch

The Dragon Ball franchise is over 30 years old, which is why we felt the need to create a Dragon Ball Watch Order Guide. There's a lot to consider before diving into this shonen anime, so we wrote this primer to help even die-hard fans ease their friends into it.

The series follows Goku, a superpowered being on Earth, as he defends the planet from various threats such as androids and alien invaders. It revolves around the titular Dragon Balls, seven magic balls that can grant any wish if gathered together.

Since the story spans three, technically four with GT, series, and multiple movies, this Dragon Ball watch order guide will detail everything needed as to what to watch and when.

Dragon Ball watch order guide: watch order, filler list, movie list, OVAs, and TV specials

There are roughly two ways to experience Dragon Ball: the straightforward way involves watching the entire series from the original Ball to Super or this way. The latter ensures that the audience follows the canon and has plenty of time to catch up on the series before it returns in 2023.

If any potential fans want to skip the massive amount of filler in DBZ, this Dragon Ball watch order guide suggests watching in the following order:

DB, all episodes
DBZ Kai, until the end of the Frieza Saga.
DBZ: Bardock — The Father of Goku (TV Special)
DBZ Kai, from the end of the Frieza Saga to the Cell Saga.
DBZ: The History of Trunks (TV Special)
DBZ Kai, the Cell Saga until the end of the Majin Buu Saga.
DB Super, all episodes barring the adaptation of Ressurection F as the events are better told in the movie.

Dragon Ball Watch Order method 2: watching all official Dragon Ball material in Chronological order

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If the previous method seems too simple and hardcore fans want to include all of the movies and filler episodes, this Dragon Ball watch guide is the way to go. According to Mangaka Akira Toriyama, this means that movies are not generally considered canon to the overall series.

This part of the watch order guide will fully list all of the watchable content with asterisks denoting non-canon material, should viewers want a more complete experience.

Dragon Ball
Curse of the Blood Rubies* (movie)
Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle* (movie)
Mystical Adventure* (movie)
The Path to Power (movie)
DBZ: Dead Zone* (movie)
DBZ episodes 1-86
DBZ: Bardock — The Father of Goku (TV Special)
DBZ episodes 87-107
Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock* (movie)
DBZ: The World’s Strongest* (movie)
DBZ: The Tree of Might* (movie)
DBZ: Lord Slug* (movie)
DBZ episodes 108-123
DBZ: The History of Trunks (TV Special)
DBZ episodes 124 and 125
DBZ: Cooler’s Revenge* (movie)
DBZ episodes 126-146
DBZ: Super Android 13* (movie)
DBZ episodes 147-173
DBZ: The Return of Cooler* (movie)
DBZ: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan* (movie)
DBZ to episodes 174-194
DBZ: Bojack Unbound* (movie)
DBZ episodes 195-207
DBZ: Broly’s Second Coming* (movie)
DBZ episodes 208-250
DBZ: Bio-Broly* (movie)
DBZ episodes 251-253
DBZ: Fusion Reborn* (movie)
DBZ episodes 254-288
DBZ: Wrath of the Dragon* (movie)
DBZ episodes 289-finish
DB GT, all episodes*
DB Super episodes 1-3
DBZ: Battle of Gods (movie)
DB Super episodes 4-18
DB Z: Resurrection F* (movie) - Recommend watching F and skipping the associated episodes.
DB Super episode 19-finish
DB Super: Broly (movie)
DB Super: Super Hero (movie)
Super DB Heroes*

Filler list

Dragon Ball:

Episode 30: Pilaf and the Mystery Force
Episode 31: Wedding Plans?
Episode 32: The Flying Fortress - Vanished!
Episode 33: The Legend of a Dragon
Episode 45: Danger in the Air
Episode 79: Terror and Plague
Episode 80: Goku vs. Sky Dragon
Episode 81: Goku Goes to Demon Land
Episode 82: The Rampage of InoShikaCho
Episode 83: Which Way To Papaya Island?
Episode 127: Quicker than Lightning
Episode 128: Secret of the Woods
Episode 129: The Time Room
Episode 130: Goku's Doll
Episode 131: Walking Their Own Ways
Episode 132: Hotter than Lava
Episode 149: Dress in Flames
Episode 150: The Fire-Eater
Episode 151: Outrageous Octagon
Episode 152: Mystery of the Dark World
Episode 153: The End, The Beginning

DBZ:

Episode 9: The Strangest Robot
Episode 10: A New Friend
Episode 12: Global Training
Episode 13: Goz and Mez
Episode 14: Princess Snake
Episode 15: Dueling Piccolos
Episode 16: Plight of the Children
Episode 39: Friends or Foes?
Episode 40: Held Captive
Episode 41: Look Out Below
Episode 42: The Search Continues
Episode 43: A Friendly Surprise
Episode 100: Gohan Returns
Episode 102: Duel on a Vanishing Planet
Episode 108: The Heavens Tremble
Episode 109: Black Fog of Terror
Episode 110: Battle in Kami's Lookout
Episode111: Fight With Piccolo
Episode 112: Call For Restoration
Episode 113: Suicidal Course
Episode 114: Extreme Measures
Episode 115: The World Awakens
Episode 116L Brief Chance for Victory
Episode 117: Krillin's Proposal
Episode 124: Z Warriors Prepare
Episode 125: Goku's Ordeal
Episode 170: A Girl Named Lime
Episode 171: Memories of Gohan
Episode 174: The Puzzle of General Tao
Episode 195: Warriors of the Dead
Episode 196: Tournament Begins
Episode 197: Water Fight
Episode 198: Final Round
Episode 199: Goku vs. Pikkon
Episode 202: Gohan's First Date
Episode 203: Rescue Videl
Episode 274: Mind Trap
Episode 288: He's Always Late

DBZ Kai:

Episode 101: Videl's Crisis? Gohan's Urgent Call-out!
Episode 145: Peace Returns! A Time of Rest for the Warriors!

DB Super:

Episode 4: Aim for the Dragon Balls! Pilaf Gang in Action!
Episode 15: Make a Miracle, Satan the Hero! A Challenge from Outer Space
Episode 42: Trouble at the Victory Celebration! Showdown at Last?! Monaka vs. Son Goku
Episode 43: Goku's 'Ki' is Out of Control?! Looking After Pan is A Lot of Trouble
Episode 44: Seal of Planet Potofu - Secret of the Superhuman Water is Unleashed
Episode 45: Vegeta Disappears?! The Threat Of Duplicated Vegeta!
Episode 46: Goku vs. Duplicated Vegeta! Who's Gonna Win?!
Episode 68: Come Forth, Shenron! Whose Wish Will Be Granted?!
Episode 69: Goku vs Arale! A Ridiculous Battle Will End The Earth?!
Episode 70: Champa's Challenge! This Time We Fight With Baseball!
Episode 73: Gohan's Misfortune! An Unexpected Great Saiyaman Movie?!
Episode 74: For the Ones He Loves! The Unbeatable Great Saiyaman!!
Episode 75: Goku and Krillin Back to the Old Training Grounds
Episode 76: Defeat These Terrifying Enemies! Krillin's Fighting Spirit Returns!

On a general note, Dragon Ball GT is an anime-only series and thus all its episodes are technically considered filler in that they don't have a manga counterpart. Thus, it's best to consider GT a separate canon and/or a spin-off series.

Movie list

DB:

Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)
Mystical Adventure (1988)
The Path to Power (1996)

DBZ:

Dead Zone (1989)
The World's Strongest (1990)
The Tree of Might (1990)
Lord Slug (1991)
Cooler's Revenge (1991)
The Return of Cooler (1992)
Super Android 13! (1992)
Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
Bojack Unbound (1993)
Broly – Second Coming (1994)
Bio-Broly (1994)
Fusion Reborn (1995)
Wrath of the Dragon (1995)

DB Super:

Battle of Gods (2013)
Ressurection F (2015)
Broly (2018)
Super Hero (2022)

OVAs

OVA 1: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans/Super Saiyans (1993/2010)

OVA 2:Yo! Son Goku and Friends Return!!/Dragon Ball: The Return of Son Goku and Friends! (2008)

OVA 3: Episode of Bardock/Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011)

TV Specials

DBZ:

Special 1: Bardock - The Father of Goku (1990)

Special 2: Movie Overview Special (1992)

Special 3:The History of Trunks (1993)

Special 4: Looking Back at it All: The Dragon Ball Z Year-End Show! (1993)

Crossover Special: Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special (2013)

DB GT special:

A Hero's Legacy (1997)

DB Super specials:

This is the Ultimate Battle in all the Universes! Son Goku vs Jiren!!* (2017)

*As part of DB Super episodes 109 and 110, this aired as a one-hour special to promote the debut of Ultra Instinct Sign.

History of Japan (2017)

Right Before the Dragon Ball Super Movie Debuts! Looking Back on the TV Show's Climax (2018)

Dragon Ball plot synopsis

As Dragon Ball comes first, this watch order guide suggests that series first. The first series begins with a young monkey-tailed boy named Goku befriending a teenage girl named Bulma after nearly being run over by her. Together, they journey to locate the seven mystical Dragon Balls. These balls have the ability to summon the powerful eternal dragon Shenron, who can grant whoever summons him one wish.

By DBZ, Goku and Bulma have both grown up. Goku is married and has a son named Gohan. But when Gohan is kidnapped by Goku's supposed brother Raditz, Goku has to jump into action with former enemy Piccolo to save his son. It only gets crazier from there.

By Super, Goku is now enjoying a somewhat peaceful life. Then the god of destruction Beerus shows up looking for a Super Saiyan God. Goku turns out to be that God and enters a whole new chapter of fighting, time travel, and tournaments, deciding the fate of the multiverse!

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Edited by Vinay Agrawal