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Dragon Ball American Release Chronology

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The following is a brief chronology of the Dragon Ball franchise's journey to the United States of America, starting back with its first official license attempt via Harmony Gold in 1989. From here, the series makes its way to certain cable channels for specialized broadcasts before ultimately landing in the hands of FUNimation as the primarily license holder in 1994, with Viz also picking up the manga in 1998.

For a listing of Dragon Ball's release history in Japan, see: Dragon Ball release chronology


Date Event
1988
(TBD) 1988 The Nintendo Famicom video game Dragon Ball: The Mystery of Shenlong receives an English release as "Dragon Power" on the Nintendo Entertainment System with altered character sprites and names
1989
December 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[1][2]
1992
January 1992 Nippon Golden Network, a channel out of Hawaii, begins playing the Dragon Ball television series with their own original subtitle translation[3][4], running through to completion in 1994[5]
1994
December 1994 After completing the original series, Nippon Golden Network moves on to the Dragon Ball Z television series with their own original subtitle translation[6][7]; the subtitled broadcast gets through about 100 episodes subtitles before FUNimation's license kicks in and interrupts things
(Unknown) 1994 A small, brand new Texas company called FUNimation gets the Dragon Ball license through a connection with co-founder 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)[8]
1995
September 1995 FUNimation produces a different English dub version of the first Dragon Ball movie titled "Curse of the Blood Rubies" (this time redone with the new/original names) for home video release, as well as the original television series' first 13 episodes which air in syndication that fall/winter, featuring a replacement musical score by Peter Berring and a Canadian voice cast in conjunction with BLT Productions; the company seemed to have plans to go beyond this (in particular at least up through the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai)[9], but these plans never came to be contemporary with their original 1995 attempt
1996
September 1996 FUNimation shifts to the 1989 sequel series Dragon Ball Z, and through early 1998 they produce two seasons (covering roughly 68 episodes edited down to 53, plus a three-episode-cut of the third Dragon Ball Z movie that air in syndication; this dub features a new replacement score (from Shuki Levy and Ron Wasserman) and a Canadian voice cast in conjunction with Ocean Studios
1997
Early 1997 The International Channel begins playing the Dragon Ball Z television series in raw Japanese[10][11], running through to completion in 2002
August 1997 Pioneer takes on the home video distribution for FUNimation's English dubbed Dragon Ball Z productions, starting with the "Dragon Ball Z: Arrival" VHS release
September 1997 The PlayStation video game Dragon Ball: Final Bout receives an English release as "Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout" by Bandai (featuring non-FUNimation dubbed voices on the character select screen, and the original Japanese voices during fights), marking the first Dragon Ball franchise video game to hit America under its own title
December 1997 FUNimation and Pioneer begin releasing uncut/bilingual versions of Dragon Ball Z movies 1, 3, and 2 (out of order as such) on VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD
1998
January 1998 After two seasons of Dragon Ball Z broadcast in syndication (the latter of which is still actively airing at this time), Saban (the company handling the actual network distribution for FUNimation) announces their upcoming exit from the children's programming syndication business[12]
March 1998 Viz begins releasing the Dragon Ball manga in monthly floppy format (akin to American comic books) as a split "Dragon Ball" and "Dragon Ball Z" production[13]
August 1998 Cartoon Network picks up the first two syndication seasons of Dragon Ball Z from FUNimation to air on their afternoon cartoon block Toonami
December 1998 FUNimation produces an English-dubbed version of the second Dragon Ball movie ("Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle") with local Texas voices (while keeping the original Japanese score), which gets released on VHS, marking the first total "in-house" production[14]
1999
September 1999 A third season broadcast of Dragon Ball Z begins on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from FUNimation using yet another replacement score (from Faulconer Productions) and local Texas voice actors cast through an audition process largely meant to mimic the original Canadian cast; over the course of several more seasonal blocks of episodes, the series runs through to completion on Toonami in 2003
2000
June 2000 FUNimation begins producing and releasing their own line of uncut/bilingual DVDs, featuring a faithful subtitle track translation by Steven J. Simmons, starting with the Dragon Ball Z "Season Three" content
August 2000 Viz begins a "Graphic Novel" (collected edition) release for their "Dragon Ball" portion of the manga
September 2000 Viz begins a "Graphic Novel" (collected edition) release for their "Dragon Ball Z" portion of the manga
November 2000 Infogrames (later folded into the "Atari" brand) secures a sub-license to distribute Dragon Ball video games in North America and Europe[15]; this license ran through to 2009, at which point Bandai (then Bandai Namco) takes back full control
2001
August 2001 FUNimation returns to the original 1986 Dragon Ball television series, including a redub of its first 13 episodes; over the course of several more seasonal blocks of episodes, the series runs through to completion on Toonami in 2003
August 2001 Alongside their work on the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z television series, FUNimation picks back up with movie releases starting with the fourth Dragon Ball Z movie on edited and uncut English dubbed VHS; a DVD follows the next month
2002
November 2002 The International Channel begins their broadcast of the Dragon Ball GT television series in raw Japanese[16], running straight through to completion in 2004
December 2002 Viz begins releasing their monthly Shonen Jump print magazine, which takes over as the primarily serialization source for their ongoing "Dragon Ball Z" manga release; picking up with "Dragon Ball Z chapter 134," the series runs through to the end of the Cell arc with "Dragon Ball Z chapter 226" in the May 2005 issue, after which point "Dragon Ball Z" moves back to "Graphic Novel" format only for the run of the Boo arc
2003
April 2003 Viz begins the shift to Japanese tankōbon-sized releases with their "Shonen Jump"-branded "Graphic Novel" release line; previous "Dragon Ball" and "Dragon Ball Z" volumes are re-released under this line[17][18], and continue onward to the end of their series in 2004 and 2006, respectively
August 2003 Pioneer's home video distribution sub-license expires, paving the way for an uncut/bilingual release of the first two Dragon Ball Z broadcast seasons by FUNimation
November 2003 FUNimation moves on to an English dub of the 1997 Dragon Ball GT television series, initially skipping the first 16 episodes (instead creating their own, dub-only recap episode) before eventually looping back around to the beginning which they release on home video starting in July 2004 and on Cartoon Network in February 2005 as "The Lost Episodes" (which were never actually lost); the whole series is ultimately kept all together in its proper order with subsequent home video and streaming re-releases
2005
April 2005 Following Pioneer's 2003 home video sub-license expiration, FUNimation begins releasing "The Ultimate Uncut Special Edition," an uncut/bilingual re-release of the first two Dragon Ball Z broadcast seasons (which will ultimately be cancelled after nine volumes in favor of "season"-based box sets starting in 2007); these versions of the episodes also later air on Cartoon Network
May 2005 FUNimation is acquired by the multimedia publisher and distribution company Navarre[19]
2006
March 2006 FUNimation presents a limited theatrical release of the twelfth Dragon Ball Z movie (as a double-feature with the the sixth) ahead of its upcoming DVD release[20]
2007
February 2007 FUNimation begins releasing "complete season" sets of the Dragon Ball Z television series in a cropped-to-widescreen "remastered" version on DVD (colloquially known as the "orange bricks"); the series runs to completion with nine sets through May 2009, marking the first complete, sequential, consistent release of the Dragon Ball Z television series in America[21]
2009
March 2009 The American live action movie Dragonball Evolution is released in theaters
July 2009 At the anime convention Otakon, FUNimation announces their license of the Japanese Dragon Ball Z "Dragon Box" DVD sets for American distribution[22]
2010
February 2010 FUNimation's license of Dragon Ball Kai (as "Dragon Ball Z Kai") is announced during a Navarre earnings call[23]
2011
April 2011 FUNimation is purchased back from Navarre by co-founder Gen Fukunaga[24]
2014
July 2014 FUNimation hosts a special preview screening of their English dub of the 2013 theatrical film, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, in Los Angeles, California[25]
August 2014 FUNimation brings the 2013 theatrical film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods to American theaters for a limited run[26]
2015
March 2015 FUNimation announces their license of that year's theatrical film, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'[27]
April 2015 FUNimation hosts a special American preview screening of that year's theatrical film, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, California; the film was screened in its original Japanese language track and was accompanied by guests from the Japanese production and English dub[28]
July 2015 FUNimation hosts a special preview screening of their English dub of that year's theatrical film, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', at the anime convention Anime Expo[29]
2017
July 2017 Sony acquires a majority stake in FUNimation[30]
2018
September 2018 As promotion for the upcoming Dragon Ball Super: Broly theatrical film, Toei and FUNimation present a limited theatrical release of the eighth Dragon Ball Z movie[31]
November 2018 As promotion for the upcoming Dragon Ball Super: Broly theatrical film, Toei and FUNimation present a limited theatrical double-feature release of the twelfth Dragon Ball Z movie and the Bardock television special[31]
2021
August 2021 Sony (FUNimation) completes their acquisition of Crunchyroll[32]
2022
March 2022 "FUNimation" branding sunset begins with streaming content, marking the move for all future branding to/as/from Crunchyroll[33]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "The Lost 80s Dragonball Dub" (14 August 2000). Temple O' Trunks. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "The Dragon Ball Z American Debut Date" (01 September 2021). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "Dragonball the series" (03 January 1992). rec.arts.anime. Retrieved: 19 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "Authorized Viewers Guide to Jones Spacelink of Hawaii, Inc". Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Sunday, January 5, 1992. (p. 51). Retrieved: 15 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "Authorized Viewers Guide to Jones Spacelink of Hawaii, Inc". Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Sunday, December 11, 1994. (p. 75). Retrieved: 15 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Authorized Viewers Guide to Jones Spacelink of Hawaii, Inc". Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Sunday, December 18, 1994. (p. 74). Retrieved: 15 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "REQ; Dragon Ball Z In Hawaii??" (03 January 1995). rec.arts.anime. Retrieved: 19 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "A Different Missing Link: From Zero to Goku (Again)" (28 May 2020). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Spotlight – Dragon Ball Synopses". Protoculture Addicts, November/December 1995: Issue 37. America: (TBD). (pp. 22-24)
    Kanzenshuu Press Archive: Protoculture Addicts "Dragon Ball Synopses"
  10. ↑ "DBZ to begin airing on International Channel" (25 February 1997). rec.arts.anime.misc. Retrieved: 15 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "DBZ ON THE I-CHANNEL/NA DBZ A REPEAT! HMMM!" (03 March 1997). rec.arts.anime.misc. Retrieved: 15 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Viz Announces Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z Manga English Release" (05 January 1998). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Television News" (05 March 1998). ZENtertainment. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "FUNimation To Release Second DragonBall Movie" (06 November 1998). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Dragon Ball Z Finally Comes Home" (15 November 2000). IGB. Retrieved: 24 October 2019.
  16. ↑ "DBGT IS NOW ON I-CHANNEL" (10 November 2002). alt.fan.dragonball. Retrieved: 24 October 2019.
  17. ↑ Advertisement. Shonen Jump, April 2003. San Francisco: Viz, 04 March 2003. (p. 321)
  18. ↑ "Viz's Dragon Ball Manga 'Shonen Jump' Edition Spine Art Updates" (17 March 2003). Kanzenshuu.
  19. ↑ "Navarre Acquires FUNimation" (11 May 2005). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Podcast Episode #0019" (26 March 2006). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Remastered Season Box Sets". Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "FUNimation Dragon Box Announcement Follow-Up" (19 July 2009). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Navarre/FUNimation Announce “Dragon Ball Kai” License" (02 February 2010). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Navarre Sells Funimation to Group with Gen Fukunaga (Updated)" (04 April 2011). Anime News Network. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "“Battle of Gods” North American Debut Coverage" (04 July 2014). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "FUNimation Announces “Battle of Gods” Theatrical Run" (30 May 2014). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  27. ↑ "FUNimation Acquires 2015 DBZ Movie: “Resurrection ‘F'”" (15 March 2015). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "FUNimation Announces “Resurrection ‘F'” Premiere Guests" (07 April 2015). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  29. ↑ "“Resurrection ‘F'” English Dub to Premiere During Anime Expo 2015" (17 June 2015). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  30. ↑ "Sony Pictures TV to Acquire Majority Stake in Funimation" (31 July 2017). Anime News Network. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "“Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan” and “Saiyan Double Feature” Scheduled For American Theatrical Screenings in 2018" (19 June 2018). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  32. ↑ "Sony's Funimation Global Group Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T (Updated)" (09 August 2021). Anime News Network. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "Funimation Content Moving to Crunchyroll for World’s Largest Anime Library" (01 March 2022). Crunchyroll. Retrieved: 19 June 2026.
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