Fans crown Dragon Ball Z "the greatest anime of all time for EVER" after latest achievement

Modified Jan 17, 2025 17:00 GMT

Dragon Ball Z continues to get achievements in recent years (Image via Toei Animation).

Dragon Ball Z remains a groundbreaking anime, recently becoming the fifth most-watched show of 2024 with over six million views. Despite ending in the mid-90s, it continues to thrive today.

While some downplay its cultural relevance, its viewership surpasses other competitors, solidifying its title as "the greatest anime of all time for EVER." This success highlights its lasting quality and universal appeal across cultures and eras.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and the people quoted.

Dragon Ball Z continues to be a worldwide juggernaut after recent views stats

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The X account named @televisionstats keeps statistics on several topics regarding TV and entertainment as a whole, with a recent tweet revealing that Dragon Ball Z is the fifth most-watched series in the entirety of 2024.

When considering that the legendary Toei Animation anime was only bested by the likes of Yellowstone, The Simpsons, The Boys, and House of the Dragon, that is a massive achievement.

Moreover, the fact that this franchise, originally penned by mangaka Akira Toriyama, continues to have such a grip on people is a testament to its everlasting legacy. There are a lot of older anime fans who started their journey with this series and the former continues to have an impact on the community even after having ended its original run back in the mid-90s.

It also goes without saying that this series has managed to far surpass any other competitor in the anime community, having a very privileged place when it comes to popularity and influence. This was further cemented by Toriyama's passing on March 1, 2024, with the legendary mangaka receiving worldwide recognition and multiple tributes from regular fans to even government institutions.

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Although Dragon Ball Z wasn't separate from the original manga, it marked a new era for the franchise. The introduction of Goku's brother, Raditz, and the twist that he's a Saiyan shifted the story toward a more sci-fi direction, which became a defining aspect of the series for many fans.

Furthermore, the series was already having more visually impressive fights, such as Goku vs. Piccolo Jr. in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, but the Dragon Ball Z portion of the story pushed the envelope even further. Now the battles were contests of strength where the fighters could destroy entire worlds without any major issues, as evidenced by Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta.

"New comers being hooked in as much as old watchers, but ppl will still force themselves to use that dead "nostalgia" narrative Ended 30yrs ago btw," someone said.

"Good, now people can stop that nostalgia argument, which was stupid anyway. How many years did Naruto Air and one piece air? When will people use the nostalgia argument for those? Or is it just used against Dragon Ball? I'm glad to see new fans joining Dragon Ball," another person said.

"Dragon Ball Z is too good," someone else said.

Dragon Ball Z also has the distinction of arguably having the most iconic moments of the franchise in anime format, such as Goku and Vegeta's two battles, the protagonist's Super Saiyan transformation, Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 and later father-son Kamehameha against Perfect Cell, and so many more. That is an element that also makes it quite memorable in people's minds, especially when it comes to the visual impact.

"lol, Dragon Ball Z fans really showed up for their favorite show!" someone said.

"Almost 30 years after its original release is crazy. Shoutout DBZ," another person said.

The worldwide reach of Dragon Ball Z is something that is very unlikely to ever happen again in the anime industry and is also a testament of how important this anime is for the industry.

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Edited by Divya Singh