Series
Dragon Ball
Year: 1986
Synopsis: A young alien crash-lands on a planet of humans and has to learn to live as the last of his kind while hunting for mysterious wish-granting artifacts.
EMN Notes: It took until watching this on this channel that I realized the original Dragon Ball was much more of a whimsical fantasy than an action show. Kid Goku is just here to be cute and have fun, and it has a really goofy cast of characters and weird little creatures and cool dinosaurs. It’s neat! It’s been a really pleasant surprise thanks to this channel, and because it feels so different from what would come later it helps this channel feel super fresh every time it’s playing. In general this whole marathon channel was a great surprise – Dragon Ball is a shockingly diverse series in tone and the original series in particular just makes me smile.
Dragon Ball GT
Year: 1996
Synopsis: Following Dragon Ball Z, Goku and the gang have integrated into society, but a new generation of heroes means a new generation of threats to the galaxy’s peace.
EMN Notes: This show may not be considered canon anymore and is overall fairly controversial among the fandom but I have fond memories of it and I still enjoy catching episodes when it’s on. Vegeta gets a moustache, which is very funny, and Pan is cute! Anything Gohan-focused gets a thumbs-up from me as well. I don’t have the strongest or deepest feelings about this show, unlike some of my friends, but I care enough to be happy whenever it shows up.
Dragon Ball Kai
Year: 2009
Synopsis: A re-edited and re-told version of Dragon Ball Z, cutting out the filler and tightening up each arc.
EMN Notes: Dragon Ball Z was actually one of the first subbed anime shows I ever watched. My brother had a tape that was a bootleg fansub of a few episodes of the Cell Saga. I had no idea what was going on, though I was familiar with DBZ because of Toonami, and I remember when the episode I watched was finally aired in English I got mad that they had changed the script. An elitist forever, I was. But for real, DBZ was so everpresent and so cool, and yet it took until this channel for me to realize that I actually really really like it. It’s comforting and it’s fun, and it’s full of characters and arcs I remember well. Kai is a great way to experience it, too, with the new dub being full of life and great voices and the re-edited pace being much easier and more fun to follow from a story standpoint. I’m glad it’s here!
Dragon Ball Super
Year: 2015
Synopsis: A true sequel to Dragon Ball Z that sees the gang train with gods, coexist with humans peacefully on Earth, and take place in great fighting tournaments all for the sake of finding the Super Dragon Balls.
EMN Notes: What I really like about this show is how slice-of-lifey it is. It’s fun to see these characters reach their later years and start palling around with gods and monsters and people from the past and all kinds of other threats. Sometimes there will be episodes where Hercule and Buu just kinda chill. Sometimes there will be crazy fights and a time-travel arc with Trunks. It’s a consistently fun and entertaining show and more of these characters now friends powering up and doing cool and flashy things. You can’t really go wrong here.
Dragon Ball Z
Year: 1989
Synopsis: Goku has grown up since the events of Dragon Ball, and now he and his family continue the quest to find the magical Dragon Balls that grant wishes.
EMN Notes: We don’t have a lot of the original Dragonball Z on this channel. Pretty much every arc is already covered with Kai, but there are some fantastic filler episodes that we had to get. My personal favorite set of filler episodes are ones that focus on The Great Saiyaman and Videl, and they’re episodes I have clear memories of watching on Toonami as a kid. I’m amazed they’re specials that were never really part of the manga or show as they superbly set up the relationship between Videl and Gohan. Is it any wonder those two were my favorites?
Movies
A Hero’s Legacy
Year: 1997
Synopsis: In this film set in the GT universe, Goku Jr. has to find the now-legendary Dragon Balls to cure Pan of a life-threatening illness.
Bardock: The Father of Goku
Year: 1990
Synopsis: The story of Goku’s father and his mission to stop Frieza from massacring countless races like he did the Saiyans.
Battle of Gods
Year: 2013
Synopsis: A god named Lord Beerus has come to destroy Earth, but Goku and Vegeta must unlock new power to convince him otherwise.
Bio-Broly
Year: 1994
Synopsis: A mysterious individual invites Mr. Satan and several others to a martial arts tournament, but it’s actually a front to create a clone of the legendary Super Saiyan, Broly.
Bojack Unbound
Year: 1993
Synopsis: An ancient villain has escaped from his prison and invades a martial arts tournament to destroy our heroes.
Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
Year: 1993
Synopsis: A previously-unknown Super Saiyan has emerged with the power to destroy galaxies.
Broly: Second Coming
Year: 1994
Synopsis: After crash-landing on Earth, the legendary Super Saiyan goes into a coma, but it’s only a matter of time before he wakes up to cause havoc.
Cooler’s Revenge
Year: 1991
Synopsis: A new galactic warlord named Cooler aims to destroy Goku as revenge for the defeat of his brother, Frieza.
Curse of the Blood Rubies
Year: 1986
Synopsis: A mad king looks for the Dragon Balls to sate his own endless desires, and Son Goku & Master Roshi have to stop him.
Dead Zone
Year: 1989
Synopsis: Garlic Jr. collects the Dragon Balls and kidnaps Gohan, looking to destroy Earth out of his lust for revenge.
Dragonball: Evolution
Year: 2009
Synopsis: An American live-action film loosely based on Dragonball, featuring a teenage Goku looking to stop King Piccolo’s evil machinations.
Dragonball: The Magic Begins
Year: 1991
Synopsis: A Taiwanese live action film based on Curse of the Blood Rubies, featuring a Bull Demon King who wishes to obtain the Dragon Pearls and control mankind.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly
Year: 2018
Synopsis: In this canonical Dragon Ball Super film, Broly was a Saiyan so powerful he was sent as a baby to a distant planet with only his handlers for company. Now he’s back, and he’s ready to fight.
Episode of Bardock
Year: 2011
Synopsis: After the events of Bardock: The Father of Goku, Bardock protects a village from a warlord named Chilled.
Fusion Reborn
Year: 1995
Synopsis: After a mishap with an Evil-Cleansing Machine, a young demon mutates into the monstrously powerful Janemba.
Lord Slug
Year: 1991
Synopsis: A Super Namekian named Slug comes to invade Earth.
Mystical Adventure
Year: 1988
Synopsis: Master Roshi looks to test Goku and Krillin by enrolling them in a tournament hosted by Chiaotzu, but a duplicitous royal looks to take over and find the Dragon Balls for his own gain.
Resurrection ‘F’
Year: 2015
Synopsis: Two surviving members of Frieza’s army look to gather the Dragon Balls and revive their master.
Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
Year: 1987
Synopsis: Master Roshi promises to take Goku and Krillin on as his students but only if they save a sleeping princess from a vile Devil.
Super Android 13!
Year: 1992
Synopsis: There are new androids in town – #13, #14, and #15 – and #13 may be the scariest android yet.
The History of Trunks
Year: 1993
Synopsis: In the bad future, Gohan takes Trunks in as a student to finally stop the androids once and for all.
The Path to Power
Year: 1996
Synopsis: A remixed retelling of the beginning of Dragon Ball and the Red Ribbon Army arc.
The Return of Cooler
Year: 1992
Synopsis: Following Cooler’s Revenge, Cooler resurrects himself as a robot to terrorize New Namek.
The Tree of Might
Year: 1990
Synopsis: The Z Warriors and Gohan’s dragon friend Icarus team up to stop a group of evil pirates from eating from The Tree of Might.
The World’s Strongest
Year: 1990
Synopsis: The evil Dr. Kochin uses the Dragon Balls to resurrect his mentor, Dr. Wheelo, in an effort to take over the world.
Wrath of the Dragon
Year: 1995
Synopsis: A warrior named Tapion is freed by the Z-Warriors from a music box in which he imprisoned himself and the monstrous Hildegarn.
Other
Dragon Ball FighterZ: Story Mode
Year: 2017
Synopsis: The Z Warriors are besieged by the revivals of some of their toughest opponents, and at the center of it all could be a threat to the universe far greater than ever.
EMN Notes: DBFZ is such a fun game. Arc System Works is one of my favorite developers, with Guilty Gear being my favorite fighting game franchise. It’s so cool that they were allowed to make multiple story modes for DBFZ, all featuring wild dream matches and a big teamup of heroes and villains, all focused around a really cool brand new character as well. It’s fun!
Dragon Ball Xenoverse: Story Mode
Year: 2015
Synopsis: An original character joins Trunks as they go through various sagas and arcs from the Dragon Ball series.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2: Story Mode
Year: 2017
Synopsis: Two years after the events of Dragon Ball Xenoverse, the Time Patrol has expanded and has new threats to contend with.
Dragon Ball Z Abridged
Year: 2008
Synopsis: Team Four Star takes Dragon Ball arcs and movies and re-dubs and re-edits them into joke-filled retellings complete with unique gags.
EMN Notes: The originator of the abridged series and still one of the best, DBZA is so funny so consistently. I think a lot of that has to do with the superb editing and lengthy devotion to gags. There are episodes that end in giant parodies of My Way by Frank Sinatra. There are killer quips, great bits, and all in all are fun ways to experience or re-experience classic Dragonball arcs and films. It’s extremely funny when it comes on and I’m not expecting it as it usually takes a moment for me to realize it’s not a normal episode. Good times, great variety!