Dragon Ball Z (1989–1996) User Reviews (63)

What Can Be Said about This Show?

[Zombie-Kermit · 10/10 · 12 May 2008]

I mean it is awesome.

This anime is based on the later part of the Dragon Ball manga written by the insanely talented Akira Toriyama. It is the follow on from the incredible Dragon Ball anime. (see review on my comments page)Set 5 years after the battle against Piccolo, Son Goku is living peacefully. But in the Dragon Ball universe peace is never lasting. Pretty soon the past he didn't even know he had escaped from catches up from him leading to a series of epic battles.

The series goes across four main sagas- Saiyan, Freeza, Cell and Majin Boo. It takes place over a time span of about 27 years, which is pretty cool, and something you rarely get to see in a show like this. You get to see the characters grow up and change. Some character you will like a lot more by the time the series is finished. It contains some of the most likable characters of all time. I don't see how anyone could not like Son Goku. Or Son Gohan. Of course almost all of the old characters return in this series, although most have smaller roles. But most of them still get a chance at some action in at least one part. Piccolo and Kuririn still have fairly large roles, in the first half of the series at least. Yamucha and Tenshinhan have a lot less to do in the series, and Chaozu doesn't play much of a role at all. The villains are awesome. Vegeta is an awesome and well rounded character, Freeza may be one of the most memorable villains around, Cell is awesome just because of the basis of his character, and Boo.... well Boo is just the ultimate killing machine.

The series is really different from the first series. Dragon Ball focused more on humour and martial arts, this focuses more on powerful ki blasts, hardcore action and ridiculously powerful character. It will never be the most challenging series around, but it is still a whole lot of fun. Great action scenes, really cool transformations, and a bunch of alien races. What more can you really ask for? The show spans for 291 Episodes, 13 movies and 2 TV specials. And you will still be sad when it ends.

The Dragon Ball Z movies can be seen as separate stories, as most do not fit into the timeline of the series well. Also, you will find some of the material in the anime doesn't fit in very well. For the most part, this is because it is filler material that wasn't in the original manga. An example of filler is the Garlic Jr. Saga, which was put in after the Freeza saga and is a sequel of sorts to the first movie. The movies and filler are sometimes not as good as the stuff taken from the original manga, but that's not to say it isn't enjoyable. Some of the movies are pretty cool with villains like Brolli and Cooler. So I would recommend you check them out.

As with Dragon Ball, there is not much to say about the animation, although by the end it had improved a fair bit. It is drawn well, and is nice to watch. The characters all have their charms in terms of the way they are designed. The music of the series is nothing spectacular either, although I like the theme songs to the series a whole lot.

This is the show that, along with Evangelion: Neon Genesis, helped me get into anime, way back when I was just a dumb kid. Now I've grown up and become a dumb adult and I still love it. I watch it differently now than I did all those years ago. I grew up with the edited and dubbed version, which is great for kids, but if you are looking for the true series, try and get your hands on some DVDs with Japanese language options. I find them much better. But that's just me. No matter how you want to watch it, I would just advise you to sit down, switch off, and enjoy.

With the upcoming Dragon Ball live action movie, I can only hope that it is successful enough to warrant a few sequels, as a Dragon Ball Z movie would be awesome. I would not expect it to quality cinema, just a whole lot of fun.

There is also a sequel to the series, known as Dragon Ball GT, which is not based on the work of Akira Toriyama. Worth a look if you're a fan, but don't expect it to be as good as Dragon Ball Z

10/10

One of the world's unifying Anime milestones!

[Johnny-the-Film-Sentinel-2187 · 10/10 · 2 October 2020]

Dragon Ball has become a super-franchise that's attained a foothold on pop-culture like Star Wars and MARVEL, even if it's a somewhat more niche taste for some fanboys out there. Ever since 1996, when Dragon Ball Z (or DBZ) first got imported in the United States via Cartoon Network, the franchise's status in Western popular culture has become cataclysmic in scale and its characters have become household names, especially Goku himself.

Anime has become an interesting paradox in the entertainment industry: some relish its high-detail animation and storytelling whilst some reckon too many are all the same as each other. Yet in Japan anime is simply a domestic term for 'animation' period: not just specific to their own stuff. DBZ is like a nice concentrated form of all the good stuff that's come to define anime over the past couple of decades, even if it has some of the cliches built-in as part of its story. Thankfully the cliches add to the charm and over-the-top nature of the show's many fight scenes and character-driven comedy helps make DBZ a plentiful experience for even the most casual viewers of animated television.

This show is an energetic blast from the past that still has loads of charm and appeal for modern television audiences everywhere. Even if this isn't the very start of Goku's story (the original Dragon Ball covers that), it's still a great introduction to some of animation's most memorable characters.

One word: The Best!

[srgu_17 · 9/10 · 14 November 2008]

The only reason i gave it a 9 is because in some sagas like Frieza for example the graphics kind of suck and the tendency of the series to"kill time" like showing us the terrain and stuff which clearly is annoying,other than that the plot is awesome with minor holes, basically this is my favorite anime of all time since i was in the 6th grade!I remember back when i couldn't wait to catch an episode of DBZ only the sad part was that the only network that actually aired it in my country was RTL II,but i quickly got used to it,learned German :P and actually understood the series,and in comparison to the us version it was pretty good,the soundtrack was the original Japanese one and it didn't have to chsese lines like funimation does,in other words good ol RTL II saved me some trouble :D

I love it.

[MrLister · 23 June 2003]

I was going to write a huge long comment on this, but a lot of people really seem to hate this show so I just can't be bothered preaching to the unconvertable. I will say, however, I am a big fan of anime and this is one of my favourites. It's certainly my favourite anime TV series. People don't seem to realise that this is for kids, so screw the voice acting (which is better than many other kids shows) and animation (which is also better than many other kids shows). Comparing this to serious anime like Akira is like comparing He-Man to Gladiator. DBZ is light on the brain and heavy on the adrenal gland. Once you get into it it becomes very addictive, and your imagination covers over any bad acting or animation. Unless you have no imagination... Watch it from the beginning and just let yourself get sucked in to the amazing fights and ever increasing displays of power.

the best anime ever

[forint93 · 10/10 · 17 September 2017]

The best anime you'll ever see. I'm a dragon ball z fan for 15 years and I'm still watching it to this day. The plot is genius 10/10 for sure. If you hesitate and can't decide if you should start watching it or not, trust me, you should you won't regret it! Dragon ball and dragon ball gt is weaker a little bit, but Z is immortal, i'll be the fan of this anime forever.

The poster child for serialized anime in the late 80s early 90s...

[justin-fencsak · 10/10 · 16 January 2019]

If you were a millenial growing up in the mid to late 90s, you mightve seen a little known cartoon by the name of Dragon Ball Z. A sequel to the original Dragon Ball saga that debuted in the mid 80s, this successor to the manga based comic book franchise has it all...pryotechnics, stunning animation, and catchy phrases like "This goes to 1000!!!". Goku has become a household name among anime and casual fans that a balloon debuted at last year's thanksgiving day parade and deflated itself!!! Between the american and japanese dubs,i prefer the american version since it's easier to follow.

Kept Me On My Toes and Enjoyable as Hell

[dragonborn-08644 · 8/10 · 25 June 2017]

I've watched all 291 episodes of Z and let me tell you something, its a whole load of fun. The character development in the show really stands out. Take Vegeta and Piccolo for an example. Vegeta went from a villain, to a cold anti hero, to a father and a hero. The action in battles was amazing (The father son KameHameHa was probably my favorite Dragon Vall scene of all time) and the dialogue was great as well. The humor was good (though Z's humor will never compare to the OG Dragon Ball's humor) and every single death was enough to put a lump in my throat, despite knowing that they'll just get revived.

Now. lets move on all to Z's negative points. Each Dragon Ball saga follows one main storyline. A new unheard of villain appears, it takes a few battles and transformations until they eventually beat the villain. Some time passes, and a new villain even stronger pops up. Despite the battles being awesome, they were slow as well. The Frieza battle took like 13 episodes and the Saiyan battle took 10 episodes.

In the end, Z is fun. It has flaws but overall, its awesome and I recommend it.

Thanks for everything, Akira Toriyama (Part 2)

[elonmusk-is_a_moron · 10/10 · 9 March 2024]

The original Dragon Ball series started as a fun, light-hearted adventure filled with many wacky characters. However, as the story progressed, its tone slowly shifted into something more serious, intense and epic, with much higher stakes.

Enter Dragon Ball Z, the action-packed series which introduced millions of viewers into the world of manga and anime during the 90s.

Dragon Ball Z was the first anime to be a worldwide phenomenon, predating the Pokemania.

It inspired countless artists and creators from all the different corners of the world, myself included.

I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to create my own Dragon Ball-esque comic, based on werewolves which resembled super saiyans.

Modern generations probably will find this series a bit too slow-paced for their taste...But guess what? After a very recent rewatch, I realized the series wasn't as slow-paced as I remembered.

In addition to that, the filler episodes were quite enjoyable, with most of them having a similar vibe to the first Dragon Ball. Those who dismiss them for being "non-canonical" are simply missing the fun ways in which these episodes expand the Dragon Ball universe, in contrast with Dragon Ball Super, which made the setting more boring and limited.

Goku was an amazing character here. A bit simple-minded for some stuff, but noble, brave and heroic. A character with flaws, but never unlikeable or annoying.

I miss that Goku. The Goku I admired so much during my childhood and teenage years.

That was the Goku that inspired people. The Goku people loved.

The Goku I will always remember.

This and the original series were wonderful treasures which I will always cherish.

Thanks for everything, Akira Toriyama. Might your legend live on!

Dragon ball z

[trenttrinh · 10/10 · 8 August 2019]

Greatest anime of all time. Watched at least 30 eps each day.

Best Anime ever!

[18Buddha · 10/10 · 8 September 2021]

Theirs not much to say since everyone by now has watched DBZ but if you havent & you're reading this review from the future then please give it a chance! It has impacted lives across the world, kids imaginations, society, cultural impact definitely!

It has Action, it has amazing storyline, it has graphics ahead of its time, it has cool transformations and crazy visual Effects For their power moves.

Need i say more? Check it out now!

Perfect

[inside-me-53076 · 10/10 · 20 March 2020]

I don't want to rate 10/10 any movies, serie or anything else. But DBZ it's the life, and the life deserve 10/10

Baby Beat HD

[BabyBeatHD · 10/10 · 3 February 2022]

The only reason i gave it a 9 is because in some sagas like Frieza for example the graphics kind of suck and the tendency of the series to"kill time" like showing us the terrain and stuff which clearly is annoying,other than that the plot is awesome with minor holes, basically this is my favorite anime of all time since i was in the 6th grade! I remember back when i couldn't wait to catch an episode of DBZ only the sad part was that the only network that actually aired it in my country was RTL II,but i quickly got used to it,learned German :P and actually understood the series,and in comparison to the us version it was pretty good,the soundtrack was the original Japanese one and it didn't have to chsese lines like funimation does,in other words good ol RTL II saved me some trouble :D.

The Buu saga is my favorite part

[Rectangular_businessman · 6/10 · 22 February 2021]

Personally, I think the best part of Dragon Ball Z was the Buu saga.

Yes, I know, narratively speaking it was pretty uneven, introducing many plot points which are quickly abandoned.

And yet, I found it to be far more entertaining to watch than the previous sagas, due how unpredictable it was. By now, it seems pretty obvious than Toriyama largely prefers making comical stories rather than serious ones, which would explain the sudden change in tone once the main antagonist enters in scene.

I also like how in this saga the battle scenes are more varied and less repetitive, with the characters showing some bizarre and unusual fighting techniques, instead of just exchanging punches or throwing ki blasts at each other. This saga also has a lot less of filler.

In many ways, the Buu saga feels like a parody of the "dramatic" path Dragon Ball Z was taking. That kind of genre-twist probably wouldn't work for all series, but honestly, it worked quite well here, finding an appropiate mixture of comedy and action.

Both Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super totally failed at that.

The best anime in the world.......to only the most ignorant and unexposed

[xamtaro · 4/10 · 17 August 2009]

First there was dragonball, then came DRAGONBALL Z which showed(I don't know if it was a first run or a rerun) in my country in 2000. I was 11 going on 12 that year and having loved Dragonball, i immediately grew to like its sequel. Oh how I enjoyed the toys, the keychains, the trading cards, even my water bottle which had pictures of both young and grown up Goku.

I was enthralled by the awesome action and captivated by the vast array of cool looking characters.

But that was a long time ago. Watching it now, 9 years later, the series does not hold the same amount of appeal as it used to. It's a "frog in a well" syndrome. Apparently I only thought Dragonball Z was that great because I was never exposed to anything better.

For starters, the characters I once thought were "cool" are still cool, but nothing else beyond that. There isn't really much character development to speak off as the stories are more focused on the plot and the characters are just pre-set anime stock characters, put in place to advance the plot from one fight to the next. There are a couple of instances where the characters get some development and really shine as being remotely likable, but those come rarely and tend to get buried under all the action.

The story is split into a number of distinct "sagas" but each of them progress slower than a sloth/snail hybrid. The pacing drags to the point of being unbearable only to the most patient and devoted of viewers. The horrendous story progression is not helped by the fact that every episode features lengthy rambling monologues, badly timed close-up shots that linger for too long, unnecessary dialogue and other cheap amateurish tactics just to fill up 25 minutes for an episode which contains no more than 15 minutes of actual story material. What starts off as an interesting premise soon falls into a set formula that goes from unoriginal to just painfully boring. The director's decision to follow different groups of characters on different adventures was a poor one and just made the convoluted plot so much more confusing.

The fights are intense, epic and would please any action junkie out there. However some exceptionally poor animation and an over usage of animation short cuts give this whole show a very cheap look even for its time.(Some of the worse episodes of G I Joe were better animated than Dragonball Z). Thankfully, it makes up for that by providing some stunning and highly detailed artwork.

So many anime fans extol the fact that Dragonball Z was so influential in making anime as famous as it is and influenced a whole generation of anime and manga creators. They cite Dragonball's numerous spin-offs and products as a testament to its greatness. Guess what, Adam West's Batman was influential too but I would hardly call it a good show.

A popular show does not mean a good show

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. To kids who are not exposed to greater world of animated series and graphic novels, Dragonball Z would no doubt be one of the best shows around. People's minds tend to get clouded by the fact that Dragonball Z was so influential or might have been one of the first anime they ever watched(and thus introduced them to anime in general) that they remember only the good points and overlook the numerous jarring flaws of the series.

Objectively speaking, Dragonball Z definitely does not deserve its current rating of 9.0/10. It is like a hot air balloon. It is beautiful to look at and even grand to behold, but look any deeper and it's just an empty basket and whole lot of nothing inside. This show has his moments like some good character progression, but nevertheless, it has too many flaws to speak of.

Weird, don't you think?

[ein2021 · 23 August 2003]

First of all, yes I am a big anime fan and yes Dragonball Z is my hands down favorite anime. And let me tell you I've seen quite a bit. I'm not saying it's the best show out there, it's just "my" favorite. But I didn't write here just to praise the show. Not that at all. Here's why I wrote. I noticed that most of the negative comments written about this series all talk about how the show's sagas are basically the same thing over and over again (and yes I know they basically are). The writers of these comments also, more often than not, talk about how they hated the show so much that they stopped watching it after two or three episodes. Here is the weird part. How could they know all the sagas are pretty much the same thing over and over again if they only watched two or three episodes? More over, if they only watched two or three episodes of a show with well over 150 episodes, they have no right to write any kind of commentary about it at all. Finally, one more point. Lets say yes they did watch more episodes. If they hated it so much, why keep watching? If it was "that" bad, why watch another episode? There must have been something there that cried out for them to keep watching. Something they couldn't ignore no matter how much they tried. Something that had them watching every "crappy" episode in every "crappy" saga. And lets face it, if a show has that, it can't be all bad :)

The first and the best thing I watched on tv.

[trevrphil · 10/10 · 29 August 2020]

Back when we got good channels on tv, DBZ was about to start making its run, and the hype was real. I as a 10 yo loved watching it with my friends and this series was the only discussion we had. And I still love it as much as I did back then. This is probably the only thing on tv I will remember the I die.

DBZ made our childhood way too awesome, and its a shame no tv channels currently run it.

Best Shounen Anime

[tiwareeganesh · 10/10 · 16 July 2020]

I've watched this anime many times. I am not saying it's best but it's my favourite anime. Story is simple bad guys attacks to takeover the world and Goku and hand saves the day but the way they presented it is mindblowing. You get goosebumps every single time. The fights are great I have no other word to say. Villians are total badass not to mention Goku and vegeta's rivalry. By the way Vegeta is my favourite character. This anime first aired in 1989 and yet it's animation is pretty good. Considering fact it was aired in 1989 it is masterpiece. I Totally recommend this anime

The Best Long Running Anime.

[jonny_ · 10/10 · 30 May 2019]

For a lot of us this show was a staple of many of our childhood years, it's hard not to look at it through rose tinted glasses and feel overwhelming nostalgia. Of course it has flaws, but there is no film or tv series that doesn't. I could easily talk for hours about why this show is so great, but it will always boil down to the characters. The show is a big commitment DBZ on it's own is pushing almost 300 episodes which i'm sure is a downside for people looking at it, but it's also a huge strength of the show. You can see the progression of the characters and they aren't like other animated shows, they completely change and they grow up. They all have strengths and flaws, they aren't all perfect and they aren't invincible.

The show sets a good pace, it is split into sagas which has a combination of fast pace action and has a mix of slower paced filler which has become infamous. The filler episodes are usually the go to criticism for many, but in the bigger picture it was necessary in keeping the show true to the source material in terms of it's main storylines. It divides opinion but a lot of the filler adds to show and gives you a break and a bit of a wind down from all of the action as well as some extra insight into the characters. It's easy to follow but there is a lot to the show as well and there's always something new to notice. I'm fast approaching 30 years old and I can still watch this show and not be bored with it which is another benefit of the length of the show.

Hear What I'm Super Saying about this show

[ThunderKing6 · 8/10 · 17 September 2020]

This show was good but the long fights and sagas get boring after 6 episodes.

They spend like 20 episodes fighting 1 person. I'm surprised DBZ has a big fanbase. You'd think before a saga ends fans would get bored and forget about this show.

Verdict: So many jobbers in this show.

I wish I had dementia so I can watch it again

[talynecamelin · 10/10 · 4 February 2024]

I absolutely loved this anime! I watch quite a bit of anime and this kept me coming back for more! The plot was amazing, I really loved this anime. Goku is a great main character! He is nice but he can have no feeling for you. Yeah I'm talking about frieza. There are some useless characters like Yamtcha. The story telling is awesome. My favorite arc was the namek arc. When Goku became a super sayian, I was so excited! The fighting and voice acting was great! I watched Super and that was good but Dragon Ball Z was great! I would recommend watching this anyway! Nothing beats this anime not even JJK.

lower than the previous serie

[erminahotmail · 7/10 · 1 January 2024]

So this is the sequel to Dragon Ball and I'll tell you a curiosity because the title is this one Well Because the author Akira Toriyama wanted to call this series Dragon Ball 2 for him he hadn't managed to draw the numbers well so everyone exchanged the 2 with a Z and so it went So thissecond series to me between this and three classic Dragon Ball series the second is the one I liked least And I know that all people love this series very much and I'm not surprised at all that a lot of people always give them 10 but the reason that I'm not very happy aboutanymore and it doesn't even make me my favorite of all time They are a lot of problems but that doesn't mean I didn't like it I liked it and I even gave it a good rating but I'll tell you the reasons why So I liked all the sagas except for two I didn't likethe cell saga here I'll tell you why since in this saga there are really a lot of forcings for example how does a human scientist create a being that is stronger than the universe If it had been an alien scientist I couldn't understand it But he was just as simple a human as he could bebuild a being I also have androids that come out even stronger than Freeze it's one thing I don't like Cell at all because I hate this villain very much for me he's truly the worst villain in the entire Dragon Ball anime and I respect everyone the people who love this characterbut to me cell will always remain the worst villain of all Anime and then I didn't even like the Majin Buu saga because this seems like a zany saga to me because there are just a lot of very zany comedy here for example that Then Majin Buu makes a fussthe biggest reason is that I don't really like this second part and how they treated Goku because in the previous series he really did a lot of things and sorted out the bad guys, here he doesn't really do anything very important, only her is allowed enough and then he doesn't killnot even bad guys the only bad guys he kills are only two But you can't even know why they're treating Goku very badly in recent years and he should also be the protagonist of these stories And instead they make him treat him very badly and I tell you that the most beautiful saga of allDragon Ball Z is that Freeze because it was truly a great moment when Goku for the first time when he transforms into Super Saiyan it was truly beautiful that moment I watch all the sagas except these two which for me are always the worst but yes lets watch forconclude the vote 7-

A really cool show.

[lucas-42 · 10 June 2001]

It may have been years since this ORIGINALLY came out, but to most of us Americans, the show is brand new material. Sometimes people may say the shows tend to "drag on," but this is a clever way to keep you begging for more and tuning in again and again. Also, the characters actually develop and change throughout the series, unlike some other shows. The american translated versions may lose something in the translation, but the show is still a very cool show, and I hope Cartoon Network picks up the entire seven year run of the series. The adjusted script makes some previously "possibly offensive" terms absent, replacing them with less intimidating terms like "bully." But this show IS for kids, and if they didn't take away some terms, it wouldn't air. Then we would be stuck buying the videos for $15.00 a piece instead of taping entire sagas for free. ;) The voice actors aren't spectacular, but they get the point across and tell a good story. The storylines are intriguing and make you want to watch every last episode to see what happens next. The show, despite it's older animation techniques, is still a good looking animated piece. I watch the series everyday on Cartoon Network when they air two episodes side-by-side (which makes since seeing as how the show moves along so slow). The show is divided into "sagas" or series of episodes telling a certain story. My favorite sagas are the Saya-jin Saga, Frieza Saga, Garlic Jr. Saga, Android Saga, and the Cell Saga. I hope this show keeps airing again and again. It's truly remarkable.

Overdramatic

[briancham1994 · 6/10 · 3 June 2020]

This series tries too hard to seem epic with an overly dramatic style. The voice acting is loud, the action is bombastic and in general I found it too over-the-top to enjoy compared to others in my generation. The characters and story were not bad, mind you.

Probably the greatest animated series of alltime.

[max-61 · 16 January 1999]

Probably the greatest animated series of alltime.The drawings are simply superb, the characters and the whole story is so complex and thrilling you simply can't miss it. It's great the way they involve humor features in an epic story. 9,9/10

Came in 2002 (Where I live), looked like garbade, but underrated

[Gir_is_here · 9 November 2004]

Wha-? Are you crazy, Nah...the thing is, I really like this show, and it's NOT because of the fighting. Too many people just dimiss the show as a mindless punch-a-thon, as "that fighting anime that turned me off all fighting anime." The thing is, the characters are all really nicely developed. As we watch the show over the years, we get to see the characters grow, and it happens so gradually that we don't even realize it's happening. Toriyama's Freeza saga was probably the best-told part, despite the fact that the anime completely f-ed it up--the reason for everyone to be there in the first place actually made sense, and the transition from the Vegeta fight to the Freeza fight (and the reason Vegeta eventually joined with the rest of the group) was actually logical. I think the show has a lot more substance than everyone else says, but I realize by now that everyone's already made up their mind about the show and no matter what I say, their opinions will stay the soon.