How to Watch ‘Dragon Ball’ in Order

The Dragon Ball franchise has been around for nearly 40 years, and is an incredibly popular creation from Akira Toriyama. The franchise started as  a manga inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, combined with elements from popular martial arts films. Now, Dragon Ball has spiraled into a massive saga of films, TV shows, fandoms, manga, and more. Four decades of content may seem hard to follow in one straight timeline. Luckily, we’re here to help show you how to watch Dragon Ball in order.

Dragon Ball is divided into canonical and non-canonical content. The original TV show, Dragon Ball, helms the canon, with a handful of other series like Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super also joining the group. But most of the franchise’s films, like Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug and Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest are outliers, using the original ideas but not falling in line with the rest of the story.

Looking to watch Dragon Ball in order? Here’s how you can do it canonically, chronologically, and where you can watch the saga:

How to watch Dragon Ball in canonical order:

Looking to watch a start-to-finish storyline? This isn’t the same order as the franchise was released in real time, but here’s the order that the Dragon Ball canon follows:

• Dragon Ball, all episodes
• Dragon Ball Z or Kai, until the end of the Frieza Saga
• Dragon Ball Z: Bardock — The Father of Goku (TV Special)
• Dragon Ball Z, from the end of the Frieza Saga until the end of the Cell Saga
• Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (TV Special)
• Dragon Ball Super

In what order did Dragon Ball release? Dragon Ball chronological order:

Some diehard Dragon Ball fans may look down upon this method of viewing, but it’s worth referencing. This order does not take into account which parts are canon and which are not, meaning it includes a lot more content than just the canonical order. Here’s the chronological order in which Dragon Ball was released:

• Dragon Ball
• Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 1-86
• Dragon Ball Z: Bardock — The Father of Goku (TV Special)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 87-107
• Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 108-123
• Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (TV special)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 124 and 125
• Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 126-146
• Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 147-173
• Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z to episodes 174-194
• Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 195-207
• Dragon Ball Z: Broly’s Second Coming (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 208-250
• Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 251-253
• Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 254-288
• Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (movie)
• Dragon Ball Z episodes 289-finish
• Dragon Ball GT, all episodes
• Dragon Ball Super episodes 1-3
• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods (movie)
• Dragon Ball Super episodes 4-18
• Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F* (movie)
• Dragon Ball Super episodes 19-finish
• Dragon Ball Super: Broly* (movie)
• Dragon Super Dragon Ball Heroes*

*denotes Dragon Ball content that is not considered a part of the Dragon Ball canon

Dragon Ball streaming guide: where is Dragon Ball available to watch?

Most of the Dragon Ball universe is streaming over on Funimation. Dragon Ball Super is also available to stream on Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, and Hulu.

Where to stream Dragon Ball Z