Summary
The peak of fighting anime,Dragon Ball Zhas long been one of the best shows around, capturing the hearts and minds of fans all across the globe. Set across several series and multiple generations, Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters have been protecting the world, and at times, the universe, by going toe to toe against the toughest fighters the multiverse has to offer.
If you’re looking to experience everything that creator Akira Toriyama has to offer, you might think to start at the beginning of the series. Get the Hyperbolic Time Chamber ready, you’re going to need it to watch all Dragon Ball has to offer in a weekend.
Exactly How Many Episodes Of Dragon Ball Are There?
Depends On What You Find Canon
Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are technically the same series but were split up when the anime was brought over to English audiences.
If we’re looking at the entirety of the Dragon Ball series, we’re going to have to look at Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and then, the curious case of Super Dragon Ball Heroes, not to be confused with the Dragon Ball Super Heroes film.
153
291
197
65
131
50
All these episodes bring thetotal count up to 690 episodes!
However, the actual number of episodes you will watch will bedetermined by what order you want to watch. Going from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z can feel like a huge difference in style, and might not be for everyone. Similarly, the often-pannedDragon Ball GT is often seen as skippable for many fans, especially since Dragon Ball Super has pushed the show firmly out of the timeline.
To throw another wrench into the plan is the recut version of the show with Dragon Ball Z Kai. This remastered iteration of the original Dragon Ball Zcut down the original show from 291 episodes to 167. This recut also brought with it a re-recorded audio track featuring most of the voice actors from the original cast, digitally enhanced animation, and more. While not every fan was happy with this abridged version, it does cut the total run time down, making it a bit more manageable by removing 124 episodes.
If you were to watch Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and then go straight to Dragon Ball Super, which is the current canon of the show, you’re looking at amuch more manageable 451 episodes.
How Long Will It Take You To Watch All Of Dragon Ball Z?
You’ve Been Training For This
Now that we know how many episodes there are across all the different seasons, we can start taking a look at how much time it will take to complete it. On average, an episode of Dragon Ball Z ranges between 22 to 24 minutes, so if we cut it in the middle, we get 23 minutes per episode.
If you’re after the complete Dragon Ball Z experience, watching the adventures of Goku, Vegeta, and more from start to finish, you’re looking at 15,870 minutes,which works out to be 264.5 hours of pure Dragon Ball action. That will take you just over eleven days of nonstop watching Dragon Ball Z to complete the whole thing.
If you don’t mindskipping a bit of filler and go the Dragon Ball Z Kai route, while also going straight to Super, you cut a fair amount of time out of the total investment. This route will only set you back 10, 373 minutes, or 172.9 hours. Boiling that down further takes you to a solid seven days straight.
You Can’t Forget The Films
We Can Skip Evolution Entirely Though
Adding the films to the lineup increases the amount of time you’ll have to add to your endeavor, especially since there are 21 animated films from across Dragon Ball’s history plus six TV specials and short films.
1986
1987
1988
1996
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
2013
2015
2018
2022
1997
Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
2009
2011
20 Minutes
Dream 9 Toriko x One Piece x Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special!!
46 Minutes (Total)
Very few of these films are considered canon, with none of the Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z films being considered part of the main timeline. Some of the specials take place during or in between specific episodes, likeThe History of Trunks taking place between episodes 175 and 176.
Adding all these runtimes comes up to 1,523 minutes, or a little more than 25 hours worth of screen time. All this brings the grand total up to289.5 hours to get the complete Dragon Ball Zexperience.
