Category:Songs

There are two types of music in the Dragon Ball franchise: songs and background music (BGM). Songs almost always have singing, as the name implies; however "Battle Point Unlimited" is a notable exception of an instrumental piece being classified as a song, and there are instrumentals (including song remixes) on various albums that are dedicated specifically to the songs.

The songs fall into a few categories: opening themes (OP), ending themes (ED), insert songs, and image songs. Openings and endings are sometimes used as insert songs, often in an instrumental version based on the song's karaoke track, but sometimes with the singing. Openings, endings, and insert songs can also be image songs, but there are a number of image songs that are never used in the anime; like the theme song remixes, these are exclusive material for the numerous song collections.

Songs are generally composed and arranged by someone other than the series composer. Exceptions include the Dragon Ball image songs "The Son Goku Song" and "The Teachings of Muten Rōshi", and the Dr. Slump: Arale-chan opening song "Wai Wai World", all composed by series composer Shunsuke Kikuchi. However, Kikuchi and the other Dragon Ball franchise composers often arrange the opening themes and (more rarely) the ending themes as background music; these pieces are not classified as songs, even when they are based on the song's karaoke track.

Opening and ending songs have full-length versions and "TV Size" or "Movie Size" versions. Usually both versions of the song will be released, but rarely on the same album. TV Size and Movie Size versions are typically released alongside background music, while full-length versions are released on the song collections (listed under 0 below).