Goku decides to team up with his arch-enemy Piccolo, who was also defeated by Raditz in an earlier encounter, to defeat him and save his son. When Goku refuses to join them, Raditz takes Goku and Krillin down with one strike, kidnaps Gohan, and threatens to murder him if Goku doesn't kill 100 humans within the next 24 hours. Raditz along with two elites, Vegeta and Nappa, are the only remaining Saiyan warriors, so Raditz comes to enlist Goku's help in conquering frontier worlds. The Saiyans had sent Goku (originally named 'Kakarot') to Earth as an infant to conquer the planet for them, but he suffered a severe blow to the head shortly after his arrival and lost all memory of his mission, as well as his blood-thirsty Saiyan nature. Plot summary Saiyan Saga ĭragon Ball Z picks up five years after the end of the Dragon Ball anime, with Goku now a young adult and father to his son, Gohan.Ī humanoid alien named Raditz arrives on Earth in a spacecraft and tracks down Goku, revealing to him that he is his long-lost older brother and that they are members of a near-extinct alien warrior race called the Saiyans ( サイヤ人, Saiya-jin). 4.4 Television specials and original video animations.2.2.1 English dub production and broadcasting.2.1 English dub production and broadcasting.

ĭragon Ball Z has since been followed by two sequel series: Dragon Ball GT (1996–1997) and Dragon Ball Super (2015–2018). Dragon Ball Z remains a cultural icon through numerous adaptations and re-releases, including a remastered broadcast titled Dragon Ball Z Kai. The anime's popularity has also spawned numerous media and merchandise that has come to represent the majority of content within the Dragon Ball franchise. At the same time, the story parallels the life of his son, Gohan, as well as the development of his rivals, Piccolo and Vegeta.ĭue to the success of the anime in the United States, the manga chapters making up its story were initially released by Viz Media under the Dragon Ball Z title. ĭragon Ball Z continues the adventures of Son Goku in his adult life as he and his companions defend the Earth against villains including aliens ( Vegeta, Frieza), androids ( Cell), and magical creatures ( Majin Buu).

The series aired in Japan on Fuji TV from April 1989 to January 1996 and was later dubbed for broadcast in at least 81 countries worldwide. Part of the Dragon Ball media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 Dragon Ball anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama, which ran in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1988 to 1995. Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation.

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