Dragon Ball All Movies [ PREMIUM ]
The history of Dragon Ball movies is best understood in three distinct eras, each reflecting the state of the main series at the time. The first era (1986-1996) accompanied the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z TV runs. These early films, such as Curse of the Blood Rubies (a retelling of the first arc) and the legendary The Tree of Might , were typically 45-60 minute “what-if” scenarios. Operating as side stories, they dropped the heroes into compressed, high-stakes conflicts with villains like Turles (an evil Goku clone) or Lord Slug (a Namekian demon). Due to the rapid pace of the manga, Toei Animation often had to invent endings and power levels, resulting in delightful absurdities like Goku using the “False Super Saiyan” form in Lord Slug before the real transformation debuted on TV. These films captured the raw, brawling energy of Z without the luxury of ten-episode power-ups.
To the casual fan, the sheer number of films can feel redundant. Many early villains follow the same template: a powerful alien arrives, defeats the Z-Warriors, and is eventually dispatched by a Spirit Bomb or a new transformation. However, the movies’ true value lies in their aesthetic and narrative freedom. Freed from the constraints of weekly serialization, animators like Kazuhiro Yamada and Naotoshi Shida produced some of the most fluid, detailed fight choreography in the series’ history. The films are where Dragon Ball looks its best. Furthermore, they explore tantalizing “what-ifs” the main story avoided. Fusion Reborn gives us the ghostly Nazi-esque army of Hitler and the brilliant, reality-warping Janemba. The Path to Power beautifully reanimates Goku’s first meeting with Bulma. Wrath of the Dragon gives us Hirudegarn, a kaiju-scale monster, and the heartbreaking origin of Trunks’ sword. dragon ball all movies
The second era was a long winter of dormancy following Dragon Ball GT ’s conclusion in 1997. For over a decade, the franchise survived through video games and reruns until the live-action disaster Dragonball Evolution (2009) inadvertently spurred creator Akira Toriyama back into action. This led to the third and most significant era: the modern revival. Starting with Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) and Resurrection ‘F’ (2015), Toriyama broke his cardinal rule. For the first time, he wrote the screenplays himself, integrating the films directly into the official timeline. These movies introduced Beerus, the God of Destruction, and the concept of Super Saiyan God, effectively launching Dragon Ball Super . The revival culminated in Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022), both of which are masterclasses in modern anime cinema. Broly redefined a fan-favorite villain with tragic depth and contained arguably the most spectacular 60 minutes of hand-drawn and CG-hybrid combat ever produced. Super Hero , meanwhile, bravely shifted focus to Gohan and Piccolo, proving the franchise could evolve beyond its lead. The history of Dragon Ball movies is best
In conclusion, the Dragon Ball movies are not merely a collection of disposable sequels. They are a pressure cooker of the series’ core identity: hope, humor, and hyperbolic combat. From the crude charm of Dead Zone to the emotional, CG-powered climax of Super Hero , these films have served as both a nostalgic time capsule and a proving ground for the franchise’s future. They offer the ultimate fan service: the chance to see Goku and friends face impossible odds without the wait. As long as there is a new transformation to unlock or a villain to redeem, the zany, side-scrolling universe of Dragon Ball movies will continue to wish itself back to life. Operating as side stories, they dropped the heroes
For over three decades, the Dragon Ball franchise has been a cornerstone of global pop culture, its tale of Goku’s relentless self-improvement resonating from manga pages to television screens worldwide. Yet, nestled between the epic sagas of King Piccolo, Frieza, and Majin Buu exists a parallel universe of adventure: the Dragon Ball theatrical films. Spanning over twenty movies from 1986 to 2022, this cinematic side-scroller is often dismissed as non-canonical filler. However, to overlook these films is to miss a fascinating laboratory of ideas, a purveyor of condensed spectacle, and a testament to the franchise’s flexible, mythic power.
Of course, the canon debate rages on. For purists, the non-canonical nature of the first 13 films makes them irrelevant. Yet, Dragon Ball has always operated on a logic of emotional, not literal, continuity. It does not matter that Cooler (Frieza’s brother) never appears in the manga; his metallic transformation and personal vendetta against Goku have become iconic. The franchise is a mythology, and like all myths, it accumulates apocryphal stories. The movies, even the silly ones like Bio-Broly , enrich that mythology by proving these characters can be dropped into any scenario and still feel like themselves.