Dragon Ball has had a long storied history. Even if some fans seem to swear by—and only by—Dragon Ball Z. This is a franchise that extends far beyond Super Saiyans, Battle Power, and villains whose ashes literally need to be obliterated from existence for them to actually die. Naturally, a series that's run as long as Dragon Ball has goes through many phases. Although the original manga was simply titled Dragon Ball, Toei chose to split their adaptation up.

Not just that, but the anime extended into an official sequel through the form of Dragon Ball GT. Even without Toriyama's involvement, Dragon Ball has been continuously pumping out new content for years. The video games took the place of the anime as the "main" product for a time, but Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super have ensured that the series' anime adaptations are here to stay–even if 2per is nowhere in sight.

1. Dragon Ball (1986 - 1989)

153 Episodes

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Simply titled Dragon Ball, the series' original anime adaptation is arguably the best of the bunch. Not only does it adapt its six-story arcs far better than Dragon Ball Z does its four, but Dragon Ball also doesn't suffer from nearly as much inconsistent animation or awkward filler as its successors. What filler contributions Dragon Ball makes tends to add depth to the main story, expanding what was already present in the manga.

Interestingly, Dragon Ball's shift into Dragon Ball Z came with a staff not after the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc, but during. It was actually this tournament that marked the DBZ staff's introduction into the series. It's noticeable, too. In terms of pacing, the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai is much slower than everything that came before, really getting the most out of every single moment. While this style of pacing would become a massive problem for Dragon Ball Z, it manages to give the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai added gravitas.

2. Dragon Ball Z (1989 - 1996)

291 Episodes

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In many respects, Dragon Ball Z is just a continuation of Dragon Ball. The first episode aired one week after its predecessor's last, and DBZ's introductory episode was even scripted as a Dragon Ball episode–not Dragon Ball Z episode 1. Still, the opportunity to rebrand helped pump lifeblood into the anime's staff, budget, and popularity. For as messy Dragon Ball Z gets, there's a reason it's so overwhelmingly popular.

Beyond the at times excellent adaptations of Toriyama's fight choreography (and the outstanding performances from the Japanese cast,) Dragon Ball Z opens with Toei's best effort as far as Dragon Ball goes: the Saiyan arc. This is a near-perfect adaptation that reaches movie quality animation during the fight between Goku and Vegeta. Dragon Ball Z made early on a statement that it was larger than life. Although only covering four story arcs, Dragon Ball Z would go on to be the longest-running Dragon Ball anime.

3. Dragon Ball GT (1996 - 1997)

64 Episodes

Akira Toriyama may have been done with Dragon Ball by the end of the Buu arc, but Toei still wanted to milk the dragon for what it was worth. In spite of the series' decreasing popularity following the end of the manga, Toei went ahead with one last sequel series: Dragon Ball GT. Completely rooted in new material, GT would be an anime-only follow-up to the anime.

It's worth noting that while GT is not canon to the main series, it is canon to the original anime's continuity. Toei's original animated canon for Dragon Ball consisted of the first Dragon Ball adaptation, Dragon Ball Z, and finally Dragon Ball GT. The last episode of DBZ even transitions directly into the first episode of GT with a next episode preview at the end of the former.

It perhaps goes without saying, but Dragon Ball GT was fairly unpopular and remains widely disliked within the fandom, even if its reputation has improved slightly within recent years. Uninspired, derivative, and generally filled with lackluster fight choreography, Dragon Ball GT was a lousy note to end the series' anime continuity on.

4. Dragon Ball Kai (2009 - 2011)

167 Episodes

Coinciding with Dragon Ball Z's 20th anniversary, Toei decided to recut DBZ to be more in-line with Akira Toriyama's original manga. With re-edited scenes, a lower episode count, a brand new score by talented plagiarist Kenji Yamamoto, and brand new performances from the cast. Some of this is really hit or miss depending on the arc, but Kai makes for a much brisker digestion of Dragon Ball Z.

You're missing out on a lot of what made Dragon Ball Z the anime such a great experience, but Kai does offer a nice reinterpretation of Z's first three story arcs, notably making the Freeza arc actually bearable in animated form. The Saiyan arc isn't quite as good, but the rescore arguably suits this portion of the story better, and Kai by the Cell arc manages to wrap up nicely.

5. Dragon Ball Kai: The Final Chapters (2014 - 2015)

69 Episodes

On a whole, Kai: The Final Chapters is a very disappointing follow up to the original Dragon Ball Kai. While Kai was by no means perfect, including filler that very easily could have been cut at times, it at least had a clear vision and didn't have a green tint perverting the entire screen. With Kenji Yamamoto fired, The Final Chapters also suffers from a painfully generic (and annoying) score.

Honestly, The Final Chapters does not cut enough to justify its existence. The animated Buu arc still feels quite bloated, and the Japanese version features worse performances on a whole. If nothing else, the English dub is actually quite good, following in Kai's footsteps, so there's plenty of merit in watching both Kai and The Final Chapters in English over their Dragon Ball Z predecessor.

6. Dragon Ball Super (2015 - 2018)

131 Episodes

No one could have possibly expected for Dragon Ball Super to suddenly end with the Tournament of Power, yet, here we are. The anime is been done for quite a while now, and, while we've had more canon animated content in the form of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the manga has essentially taken the reins of the DBS brand for the time being.

Still, Dragon Ball Super is quite an interesting series in its own right. Plagued by scheduling problems, DBS' early run was quite lousy and a disappointment to many fans. Starting with the Goku Black arc, however, Super managed to bring in a good bit of Dragon Ball Z's tension. By the time the Tournament of Power hit, Dragon Ball Super seemed to be in legitimately good shape production-wise.

While the anime suffers narratively, not too unlike Dragon Ball GT, Super manages to ground itself better within the context of the series. Even when Super's dropping the ball with plot and character development, there's almost always a slice of life episode around the corner to remind fans why they love Dragon Ball: the characters.

7. Super Dragon Ball Heroes (2018 - Present)

43 Episodes (Ongoing)

Dragon Ball Super may be over, but Super Dragon Ball Heroes has been keeping the animated side of the franchise busy since 2018. At only around 6 minutes long, it's important to recognize that Super Dragon Ball Heroes' episodes are a different breed; they tell a story, but really only for promotional purposes.

Still, Super Dragon Ball Heroes manages to bust out some good animation rarely, and the sheer insanity of the plot is honestly kind of fun to indulge in. This is an anime that goes balls-to-the-walls and understands that it can do pretty much whatever it wants, whenever it wants. There's merit in that for a series like Dragon Ball.

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