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Dragon Ballcovers a tremendous amount of ground from when it begins to Goku flying off with Uub. Goku experiences many changes from when he’s first introduced, many of which come in the form of powerful transformations. Dragon Ball is absolutely rich with forms and the series has reached a point where characters are beginning to develop unique, individualized final forms – from Orange Piccolo, to Black Frieza, and Gohan Beast.

Goku has undergone more transformations than the most Dragon Ball’s characters, but not all of his forms are aesthetically pleasing (to say the least). Power and practicality are obviously fundamental to battle, but Goku’s forms rank a little differently when visual flair and design are the primary concerns.

RelatedDragon Ball Super Just Retconned a Major Goku Achievement From Dbz – & Made a New Plot Hole in the Process

Olibu has brought a major retcon into the Dragon Ball Super...

The canonicity of Dragon Ball movies is always up for debate. Some movies could fit into the series timeline, but others clearly can't. Films like Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might or Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug can't work within the existing canon without breaking it. The Dragon Ball Z films usually introduce a new villain, similar to the villains the cast just fought, and have Goku and the Z-Fighters attempt to fight them off before Goku scores the defeat with a final move. They usually don't extend off of canon much more than that.

For many movies, that's fine, while fans like Turles, Slug, and Hirudegarn can live with these villains, who never appear in canon again. But some villains aren't like this, and with the success of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, some movie events could even be reintroduced into the canon. Villains like the fan favorite Cooler,...

Dragon Ball Z pushed anime’s storytelling to new heights with the introduction of powerful transformations, fusion, and apocalyptic villains who caused unprecedented peril. Dbz covers a lot of ground across 291 episodes, but the anime’s success also led to more than a dozen feature film installments.

While canon, the original 13 Dragon Ball Z movies are not part of the official canon. This means while these movies feature grand spectacles, many of their central figures and villains never actually show up again. Despite this, Dragon Ball Z’s movies feature some incredibly strong characters who should not be overlooked.

Related 10 Dragon Ball Z Movies That Are Better Than Actual Sagas

Dragon Ball Z was built on its amazing sagas, but some of the Dbz movies actually have the anime beat.

Dr. Wheelo Combines His Brilliant Brain With A Mighty Mecha Body Dragon Ball Z, Movie 2, The World’s Strongest

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Dragon Ball is among the most successful media franchises of all time, with numerous movies, TV shows, and video games under its belt. That said, the canon status of its films has often been questioned. The most recent films, 2018's Dragon Ball Super: Broly and 2022's Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, are considered canon to the overarching story, but most of the franchise's movies are not.

Frequently contradicting details from the main plot, many of the Dragon Ball films are entertaining what-if scenarios rather than direct continuations. However, several films are canon or, at least, don't actively contradict the main story, leaving their canonicity up for debate. As such, this leaves viewers in the confusing position of ascertaining the canonical value of each Dragon Ball film and figuring out which Dragon Ball films are canon.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on October 11,2024: Many Dragon Ball movies are in a continuity all their own,...

Akira Toriyamas Dragon Ball continually raises its stakes through rewarding character development, stronger challenges, and an ever-expanding universe. Progress in Dragon Ball is demonstrated in many different ways, but an intimidating transformation is usually the simplest way to visualize a characters growth. Transformations are one of Dragon Balls most popular traditions, and some of these metamorphoses, like Super Saiyan ascensions, have practically become synonymous with the series.

New Super Saiyan transformations complement each of Dragon Ball Zs major story arcs, and this trend has continued in Dragon Ball Super with Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, and beyond. Dragon Ball has no shortage of canonical transformations, but part of what makes this franchise so much fun is that theres endless expanded universe material to explore in Dragon Ball video games, movies, and promotional anime and manga. This extra content also introduces a wide range of transformations and new forms that...

Its easy to get caught up in the lush visuals, heightened action sequences, and suspenseful storytelling that helps bring Akira Toriyamas Dragon Ball Z to life. That being said, this anime wouldnt be nearly as successful without the right musical score to complement the series constant chaos and emotional catharsis. Dragon Ball Zs original Japanese score was composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, who also worked on the original Dragon Ball. Kikuchi developed an iconic sound for this shonen series. However, Funimations early efforts to produce an English dub for Dragon Ball Z explored the utility of creating a new score instead of licensing Kikuchis original music.

Bruce Faulconer is responsible for the sound of Funimations Dragon Ball Z English dub and many fans have grown so attached to his music that Dragon Ball Z just doesnt feel right without it. There are plenty of anime purists who prefer Shunsukes compositions, but...

The fourth film released under the Dragon Ball Z title (and the franchise’s eighth theatrically released film), Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug was originally released in 1991 during the show’s Freiza saga. As such, this feature reflects the timeline by not containing vital inclusions such as Super Saiyan forms, and fan-favourite character Vegeta. The plot sees Goku and the Z Warriors trying to stop the titular Super Namekian, whose plans involve invading Earth and destroying it through the atmosphere.

In the UK, this film was released in the early 2000s on a DVD that was titled Dragonball Z: The Movie – Super Saiya Son Goku. While the DVD contained charmingly retro features such as animated trading cards and weblinks, it was otherwise limited with no option for subtitles and the only version of the film being dubbed into English. As such, this review will focus on the version of the...

The Dragon Ball franchise has given the fans several memorable moments. But the most iconic of all remains when Goku transformed into Super Saiyan for the first time against Frieza. Goku was consumed by rage after the latter killed Krillin in front of him. Since then, there has been no stopping for the transformation, with the latest one being the Ultra Instinct in Dragon Ball Super.

Dragon Ball had a Martial Arts theme, and after the Frieza Saga, it started to focus more on the transformation. But there is a flaw in the Dragon Ball timeline, which was missed by most of the fans. Even before the Super Saiyan transformation, there was a ‘False Super Saiyan’ form, which was featured in Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug film.

False Super Saiyan Was a Thing Before Super Saiyan False Super Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (Credit: Toei Animation)

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug...

Streaming recent and classic Dragon Ball movies has just gotten significantly easier.

According to Crunchyroll, they have added a slew of tie-in films from the long-running franchise to its streaming service. This includes Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, which sees Goku and crew face off against Frieza's older brother, and Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13, which depicts the epic showdown between Earth's strongest defenders and a new group of Androids that are faster and more dangerous than those created by the evil Doctor Gero.

Related: When Did Dragon Ball Z Become All About Power Creep?

The Dragon Ball Movies Coming to Crunchyroll

Other Dragon Ball movies that have already hit the platform include Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, Dragon Ball Z: World's Strongest, Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug and Dragon Ball Z: Return of Cooler. Multiple other films are scheduled to appear on...

Anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, has revealed that almost every Dragon Ball film ever made will now be available to stream. A press release from the company states that fifteen films from the hit franchise are going to be added to Crunchyroll's already impressive catalog. There are already seven available with the remaining eight coming soon in a total of three release waves.

The Dragon Ball franchise began with the manga's serialization in 1984. The anime adaptation came shortly after, beginning in 1986. It has since become one of the most popular manga and anime franchises in the world. There have been six animated series and twenty-one animated feature-length films following its debut. At present, Crunchyroll's streaming options will include films centered in the Dragon Ball Z franchise, with one Dragon Ball Super film also coming soon.

Crunchyroll Adds Dragon Ball Z Films to its Streaming Library

As of now, the following films...

Hardcore Dragon Ball fans should be aware that the villain Lord Slug from the eponymous Dragon Ball Z completely rips off Great Demon King Piccolo from the final part of Dragon Ball.

When the film Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug debuted, the series was saturated with villains who sought the titular magical spheres to wish for immortality, with Vegeta and Frieza leading the charge. By comparison, the old and beleaguered Lord Slug's desire to be young again felt naive but also fresh. This mentality did not evolve much after two decades, with Dragon Ball Super villains wishing for ultimate strength, which many fans feel like an abuse of the "cheating" power of the Dragon Balls. Lord Slug's wish for eternal or restored youth also didn't have any known drawbacks, unlike immortality, which Garlic Jr.'s unfortunate experiences proved in Dead Zone, and also unlike wishing to become the strongest, as...