You can never have too much Dragon Ball. The franchise got where it is thanks to its incredibly popular manga and anime adaptation, but there are also tons of games, movies, and OVAs/specials.
The latter is often overlooked, but we've seen some of the best Dragon Ball storytelling from its OVAs and specials. While the movies are getting a lot of attention, here's a look at how all the Dragon Ball OVAs and TV Specials ranked.
7 Nostalgic Anime You Can Stream on Crunchyroll This Weekend
If you're feeling nostalgic this weekend and want to watch something good, Crunchyroll has you covered.
Summer Holiday Special / Dragon Ball Z Final Show!
You've probably never heard of or experienced any of these specials unless you're a die-hard fan. The Special summer holidays he was released shortly after Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!and let Goku and Gohan talk about everything Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z films released up to that time. The Dragon Ball Z at the end of the year! the special is just a look back at what happened in the series in 1993 and was released on New Year's Day of that year.
Aside from being pretty fun, obscure finds, neither is all that interesting. They can be hard to get, but they are moving online.
Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special
You will never see a team like this again. As the name suggests, Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special function Dragon Ball's front man goku, One Piece's future pirate king, luffy and Toriko the eponymous Gourmet Hunter, all teaming up with other characters from their respective series.
The specialty is pure fan service, and that's great. There's not much to do but just sit back and watch interesting matches like Vegeta vs Zoro and Zebra and all 3 main heroes team up to take down a giant sea monster named Akami
The Return of Son Goku and Friends!
Before Battle of the Gods brought the series back for good, The Return of Son Goku and Friends! served as the first new Dragon Ball anime content in years. When Toriyama writes the story, the OVA is considered canon, although he figures out how and where with everything that was introduced in Cool is a bit tricky.
The OVA is most notable for introducing Vegeta's brother, Tarble. Although he has been mentioned in passing a few times since the release of the OVA, it seems that the franchise has no intention of actually doing anything with the character. That might be for the best. Dragon Ball's the roster is pretty crowded already, and Tarble doesn't really bring anything to the table, aside from the shock revelation that he's Vegeta's brother.
A plan to eradicate the Saiyans
The history of the Saiyans is something that has been touched upon Dragon Ballbut it's not something the series returns to very often. Considering how few are left, that makes sense. But whenever Toei or Toriyama decided to use Saiyan history in a story, it usually turned out to be a fun ride.
A plan to eradicate the Saiyans revolves around a Tuffle scientist named Dr. Wanting revenge on the Saiyan race for taking over the Tuffle homeworld years ago, Lychee sets out to destroy the remaining Saiyans left in the universe. This of course puts him at odds with Goku and Vegeta. This leads to Lychee deploying canisters of deadly gas across the Earth and the Z-Fighters having to battle vengeful constructs of fallen enemies to stop his plan.
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Bardock – Father of Goku
The first DBZ special and the one that made Bardock a fan favorite, Bardock – Father of Goku is still loved by many fans all these years later. While focusing in Dragon Ball was always goku Bardock – Father of Goku showed that fans were just as interested in learning about his Saiyan heritage, specifically his father Bardock.
The special does a great job of showing us the moments leading up to the destruction of Planet Vegeta and the near eradication of the Saiyan race. It portrays Bardock as a flawed but ultimately tragic figure, not making him outright a hero but allowing you to sympathize with him at the end. Bardock's brave but ultimately pointless final stand against Frieza is still one of the best moments in the series.
The Bardock episode
20 years later Bardock – Father of Gokufans got another story with a low class Saiyan warrior. This time it was a what if scenario that took place right after the end of the Bardock special.
The Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock The OVA is actually based on a short manga that ran in V-Jump in the summer of 2011. It sees Bardock transported back in time after his confrontation with Frieza, where he ends up on an unknown version of Planet Vegeta (Planet Plant) and is forced to face a member of Frieza's clan named Chilled. Although initially reluctant to help the inhabitants of Planet Plant and powerless against Chilled, Bardock manages to unlock the Super Saiyan transformation and defeat Frieza's ancestor.
A history of suitcases
A history of trunks it's the best Dragon Balll special. It gives us a glimpse into the grim future of Future Trunks and provides a complete tonal shift from what we're used to seeing outside of the series. It also provides a great characterization of Future Trunks that makes you appreciate his journey through the Android and Cell Sagas even more.
The bond between Future Trunks and Future Gohan and the grim situation they find themselves in make this one of the darker stories in the series. Since death is almost always reversible thanks to Dragon Balls, seeing the consequences of a world where that's no longer on the table is a welcome breath of fresh air, but also leads to some gut-wrenching moments.
Dragon Ball Z
- Release date
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1989 – 1996
- Network
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Fuji TV
- directors
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Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai
- Writers
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Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue
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Masako Nozawa
Son Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice)
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Ryo Horikawa
Vegeta (voice)
