From Kanzenshuu Dragon Ball Wiki
Before Dragon Ball
| Date |
Event
|
| 1989
|
Harmony Gold (known for the 1985 Macross-to-Robotech adaptation) attempts the franchise with a cut of Dragon Ball movies 1 and 3 (which air as a special feature on certain local networks) and the first five episodes
|
| 1992
|
Nippon Golden Network (a channel out of Hawaii) begins playing the Dragon Ball television series with their own original subtitle translation, running through to completion in 1994
|
| 1994
|
After completing the original series, Nippon Golden Network moves on to the Dragon Ball Z television series with their own original subtitle translation; the subtitled broadcast gets through about 100 episodes subtitles before FUNimation's license kicks in and interrupts things
|
| FUNimation gets the license through Gen Fukunaga's uncle Nagafumi Hori, a producer at Toei; they produce a pilot version of of the first Dragon Ball movie titled "Curse of the Blood Rubie" (which never goes into wide distribution) and which uses the Harmony Gold character names (e.g., "Zero" for Goku)
|
| 1995
|
FUNimation produces an English dub of the first Dragon Ball movie (this time redone with the new/original names) and first 13 episodes, which air in syndication; they had plans to go beyond this (in particular at least up through the 21st Tenka'ichi Budokai), but plans changed
|
| 1996
|
FUNimation shifts to Dragon Ball Z, and through 1998 they produce two seasons (covering roughly 68 episodes edited down to 53, plus a three-episode-cut of Dragon Ball Z movie 3) that air in syndication
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| 1997
|
FUNimation and Pioneer release uncut/bilingual versions of Dragon Ball Z movies 1, 2, and 3 (out of order as 1, 3, and 2) on VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD
|
| The International Channel begins playing the Dragon Ball Z television series in raw Japanese, running through to completion in 2002
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