Dragon Ball Z
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| Dragon Ball Z | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 "Dragon Ball Z" Series Title | |||
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| Original Run | 26 April 1989 – 31 January 1996 | ||
| Broadcast | Fuji TV (Wednesday, 7:00 – 7:30PM) | ||
| Animation | Toei Animation | ||
| Production |
Fuji TV Toei Animation | ||
| Episodes | 291 (List of Episodes) | ||
| Chapters | Chapter 195 to Chapter 519 | ||
| Main Staff | |||
| Series Director |
Daisuke Nishio (1-199) None Credited (200–291) | ||
| Series Organizer | Takao Koyama | ||
| Planning |
Keizō Shichijō (Toei Animation) Kenji Shimizu (Fuji TV) | ||
| Character Design |
Minoru Maeda (1-199) Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru (200-291) | ||
| Art Design |
Yūji Ikeda (1-199) Tokushige Ken (200-291) | ||
| Music | Shunsuke Kikuchi | ||
"Dragon Ball Z" (often abbreviated as DBZ, or simply Z) is a Japanese animated television series produced by Toei Animation. The animated series is adapted from the final 325 chapters of the Dragon Ball manga series by Akira Toriyama, which was originally published in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995. The first 194 chapters of the manga were adapted into the Dragon Ball TV series. The series' title was provided by Akira Toriyama[1], although prior to this established title the anime staff had been considering such names as "New Dragon Ball", "Dragon Ball 2", "Dragon Ball 90", "Dragon Ball: Wonder Boy", and "Dragon Ball: Gohan's Big Adventure".[2]
The Dragon Ball Z TV series is comprised of 291 episodes and two feature length TV specials that were broadcast from 26 April 1989 to 31 January 1996 on Fuji TV. The series held an average household TV ratings share of 20.5%[3] during its initial broadcast run, with episode 218 receiving the highest rating share at 27.5%[3].
Plot
Five peaceful years have passed since Goku's victory over Piccolo in the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai and his marriage to Chi-Chi, when a mysterious alien warrior arrives on Earth in search of "Kakarrot". The alien eventually finds Goku, identifying him as Kakarrot, and introduces himself as Goku's older brother, Raditz. He proclaims that Goku is actually a Saiyan, the strongest warrior race in the universe, that was sent to Earth to exterminate humanity. From here the series takes to the stars, with even stronger and stronger opponents appearing before Goku and friends.
History
Japan
As the Dragon Ball anime series approached one of the manga's major turning points, the anime staff approached Akira Toriyama about changing the name of the anime series to help change the "image" of the series. Thinking he would be ending the series sometime soon, Toriyama decided to signify this by simply adding the last letter in the alphabet to the series name. Little did he know that Dragon Ball Z would go on to be one of the most successful, popular, and recognized action anime series of all time.
Taking over the Dragon Ball time slot at 7:00PM every Wednesday on Fuji TV, the first episode of Dragon Ball Z aired on 26 April 1989. The main staff of the series remained relatively unchanged from its predecessor and they continued on right where they had left off the week before. The story picked up five years after the end of Dragon Ball, and would greater explore Goku's mysterious background. With each villain stronger than the last, the series' battles and popularity quickly escalated, reaching new heights. The series TV ratings were amongst the best in Japan, with Dragon Ball Z remaining in the "Top 10" rated animated shows during its entire run.[4]
In May 1995, Toriyama announced he would be ending the manga series after 519 chapters, spelling the inevitable end for one of the most successfully popular action anime series of all time. After 291 episodes, 2 feature length TV specials, and 13 theatrical films, the Dragon Ball Z anime series came to an end when the final episode aired on 31 January 1996. However, Toei Animation had no intention of letting the fabled franchise die just yet and created an anime-only series of their very own — Dragon Ball GT.
North America
Characters
Main Staff
- Original Author: Akira Toriyama
- Planning
- Toei Animation: Kōzō Morishita
- Fuji TV: Kenji Shimizu[5]
- Production Supervisor: Matsuji Kishimoto (1-58), Take Torimoto (59-109), Akihiko Yamaguchi (110-169), Yūichi Matsue (170-291)
- Series Organization: Takao Koyama
- Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi
- Chief Animator: Minoru Maeda (1-199)
- Character Design: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru (200-291)
- Chief Designer: Yūji Ikeda (1-199), Tokushige Ken (200-291)
- Series Director: Daisuke Nishio (1-199)
- Producer: Kenji Shimizu, Kōji Kaneda (118-291)
- Art Progression: Minoru Nakamura (1-171), Haruo Tamura (172-192), Tomō Fukumoto (193-291)
- Editing: Shin'ichi Fukumitsu
- Recording: Kenji Ninomiya
- Sound Effects: Hidenori Arai
- Music Selection: Shigeru Miyashita
- Audio Director: Nobuhiro Komatsu
- Recording Studio: TAVAC
- Film Development: Toei Chemistry
- Production: Fuji TV & Toei Animation
Themes & Insert Songs
Opening Theme
- "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" (Episodes 1-199)
- Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori / Composition: Chiho Kiyo'oka / Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
- "WE GOTTA POWER" (Episodes 200-291)
- Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori / Composition & Arrangement: Keiju Ishikawa / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
Ending Theme
- "Come Out, Incredible ZENKAI Power!" (Episodes 1-199)
- Lyrics: Naruhisa Arakawa / Composition: Takeshi Ike / Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: MANNA
- "Light's Journey" (1st TV Special; "A Final Solitary Battle")
- "The Blue Wind's Hope" (2nd TV Special; "Defiance in the Face of Despair!!")
- Lyrics: Dai Satō / Composition: Chiho Kiyo'oka / Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
- "We Were Angels" (Episodes 200-291)
- Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori / Composition: Takeshi Ike / Arrangement: Osamu Totsuka / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
Insert Songs
- "Battle-Colored Warriors" (Episode 20)
- Lyrics: Sakiko Iwamuro / Composition & Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: Kōji Kaya
- "Fly High" (Episode 46)
- Lyrics: Sakiko Iwamuro / Composition: Chiho Kiyo'oka / Arrangement: Ken'ichi Sudō / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama & Broadway
- "Solid State Scouter" (1st TV Special; "A Final Solitary Battle")
- Composition & Arrangement: Iwasaki Yasunori / Performance: Dragon Magic Orchestra / Vocals: TOKIO
- "Battle Point Unlimited" (Episode 120)
- Composition & Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: MONOLITH
- "MIND POWER ...Energy..." (Episode 139)
- Lyrics: Sakiko Iwamuro / Composition: Chiho Kiyo'oka / Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama & YUKA
- "Day of Destiny –Spirit vs Spirit–" (Episode 184)
- Lyrics: Sakiko Iwamuro / Composition: Chiho Kiyo'oka / Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
- "If I Don't Do It, Who Will?" (Episode 289)
- Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori / Composition: Tetsuji Hayashi / Arrangement: Osamu Totsuka / Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
Episodes
Television Specials & Theatrical Films
Television Specials
- A Final, Solitary Battle: The Father of Z-Warrior Son Goku, who Challenged Freeza (17 October 1990)
- Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans – Special (Summer 1992)
- Defiance in the Face of Despair!! The Remaining Super-Warriors: Gohan and Trunks (24 February 1993)
- We'll Show You Everything: Forget the Year's Cares with Dragon Ball Z (31 December 1993)
- Toriko × One Piece × Dragon Ball Z: Super Collaboration Special!! (07 April 2013)
Theatrical Films
- Dragon Ball Z – Return My Gohan!! (15 July 1989)
- The World's Strongest Guy (10 March 1990)
- A Super Decisive Battle for Earth (07 July 1990)
- Super Saiyan Son Goku (09 March 1991)
- The Incredible Strongest vs Strongest (20 July 1991)
- Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors (07 March 1992)
- Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans (11 July 1992)
- Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Raging, Super-Fierce Fight (06 March 1993)
- The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy (10 July 1993)
- The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can't Rest (12 March 1994)
- Super-Warrior Defeat!! I'm the One Who'll Win (09 July 1994)
- The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta (04 March 1995)
- Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won't Do it, Who Will? (15 July 1995)
- Battle of Gods (30 March 2013)
- Revival of "F" (18 April 2015)
Home Video Releases
Toei Animation (Japan)
VHS
Unlike many other countries around the world, the Dragon Ball Z TV series had no proper home video release in Japan following its initial television run. This was in large part due to the high VHS retail pricing at the time and the continuous re-runs of the series on numerous cable and satellite channels.
DVD Box Sets
Beginning in 2003, Toei Animation, in cooperation with the DVD manufacturing company Pony Canyon, began releasing a series of four box sets in Japan covering the entire Dragon Ball TV series property, which were dubbed the "Dragon Boxes". By mid-2005, all three TV series had been released, although out of chronological order, which marked the first time that any of these properties were available on a home video format in Japan.
| Release | Date | Retail | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Ball Z DVD Box – Dragon Box Z Volume 1 | 19 March 2003 | ¥100,000 | 1-147 |
| Dragon Ball Z DVD Box – Dragon Box Z Volume 2 | 18 September 2003 | ¥100,000 | 148-291 |
Individual DVD Volumes
Following the release of the TV series Dragon Boxes, Toei announced the release of their individual discs, giving fans that didn't own the Dragon Boxes a chance to own these properties. Unfortunately, these individual discs wouldn't contain any of the extras that came with the Dragon Boxes, but instead special diorama sets were created exclusively for those that purchased all of the individual discs.
| Release | Date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #1 | 02 November 2005 | 1-6 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #2 | 7-12 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #3 | 13-18 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #4 | 07 December 2005 | 19-24 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #5 | 25-30 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #6 | 31-36 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #7 | 11 January 2006 | 37-42 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #8 | 43-38 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #9 | 49-54 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #10 | 01 February 2006 | 55-60 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #11 | 61-66 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #12 | 67-72 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #13 | 01 March 2006 | 73-78 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #14 | 79-84 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #15 | 85-90 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #16 | 05 April 2006 | 91-96 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #17 | 97-102 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #18 | 103-108 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #19 | 26 April 2006 | 109-114 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #20 | 115-120 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #21 | 121-126 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #22 | 07 June 2006 | 127-132 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #23 | 133-137 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #24 | 138-142 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #25 | 05 July 2006 | 143-147 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #26 | 148-153 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #27 | 154-159 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #28 | 02 August 2006 | 160-165 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #29 | 166-171 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #30 | 172-177 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #31 | 06 September 2006 | 178-183 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #32 | 184-189 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #33 | 190-195 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #34 | 04 October 2006 | 196-201 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #35 | 202-207 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #36 | 208-213 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #37 | 01 November 2006 | 214-219 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #38 | 220-225 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #39 | 226-231 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #40 | 06 December 2006 | 232-237 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #41 | 238-243 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #42 | 244-249 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #43 | 10 January 2007 | 250-255 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #44 | 256-261 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #45 | 262-267 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #46 | 07 February 2007 | 268-273 |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #47 | 274-279 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #48 | 280-285 | |
| Dragon Ball Z Volume #49 | 286-291 |
Pioneer & FUNimation (North America)
References
- ↑ "Akira Toriyama × Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru" Interview. TV Anime Guide: Dragon Ball Z Son Goku Densetsu. Japan: Shueisha, 03 October 2003. ISBN 4-08-873546-3. (pp. 92-93)
- ↑ "Planning, Part 1: TV Animation". Dragon Ball Supplemental Daizenshuu: TV Animation Part 3. Japan: Shueisha, 18 August 1996. ISBN 4-08-102019-1. (pp. 66-67)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Top Ten Excellent Ratings!! Vol. 2". Dragon Ball Z DVD Box – Dragon Box Z Volume 2. Japan: Toei Animation, 18 September 2003. (Dragon Book; pp. 90-91)
- ↑ "Dragon Ball's Hit Chronology". Nikkei Entertainment!. Japan: Nikkei Business Publications, May 2013 Issue (No.194), 04 April 2014. (pp. 18-19)
- ↑ "Staff" (12 December 2013). Toei Animation's Official "Dragon Ball Z" Website. Retrieved: 30 December 2014.
External Links
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