Where to Watch Dragon Ball Z: How to Stream Online

Dragon Ball Z is bigger than ever, and luckily for fans, the series is widely available on multiple streaming services. Many fans of anime all around the world were introduced to the medium through the Dragon Ball franchise, particularly Dragon Ball Z. The show did a lot to propel anime as a whole to the international stage, and its impact is still felt as the series have inspired many manga and anime.

Dragon Ball Z is an anime based on the second part of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga. The series originally ran from April 1989 to January 1996 for a whopping 291 episodes. It was followed by Dragon Ball GT and later Dragon Ball Super. Despite Dragon Ball Z possessing more than a few filler episodes and arcs, the series is a fairly faithful recreation of Akira Toriyama’s acclaimed original.

Dragon Ball Z even received a remake titled Dragon Ball Z Kai, which removed the filler episodes and improved the art and animation of the original. With many games, movies, and spin-offs produced off the series, Dragon Ball Z is one of the most popular anime of all time, and nowadays, it’s easier than ever to watch it from home.

Where is Dragon Ball Z Streaming?

With a series as big as Dragon Ball Z, there are many companies that want to bring it to their platform. Fortunately for fans, no one platform has complete streaming rights and there are quite a few options to choose from. Dragon Ball Z is most easily streamed on Crunchyroll, which is also the most popular option.

The series is available on Amazon Prime as well, but only if fans buy it, unlike the subscription-based platforms. The re-edited version of Z, Dragon Ball Z Kai, is the outlier among the franchise, as it is only available on Hulu. The original version of Z is not yet available on Hulu, but hopefully, it will be in the future. Ultimately, fans of Dragon Ball Z can’t go wrong with Crunchyroll, as it has every single Dragon Ball show save for Kai.

What Is Dragon Ball Z About?

Dragon Ball Z picks up right where its prequel left off, following the journey of adult Goku. He is revealed to be a Saiyan, an alien species, and he came to Earth after his planet was destroyed. Addicted to fighting, training and becoming stronger, Dragon Ball Z sees Goku and his friends fight off many villains and protect their world. From fighting Saiyans to other aliens, the journey of Goku towards power is one of the most entertaining in anime, and is a must-watch for all anime fans.

How Does Dragon Ball Z’s Home Release Stack Up?

Dragon Ball Z has been released on home media many times, including multiple BluRay releases. It can be found in box set form, as well as purchased one season at a time. It’s easily available from a variety of retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, and even directly from Crunchyroll. Fans should be careful, however; some home releases are recut to be in 16:9 resolution, which involves trimming content from the top and bottom of the frame, meaning some visual information is lost. Fans looking to see it as intended should look for 4:3 releases.

The most recent release occurred in August 2023, which includes all 9 seasons of the series in 4:3 ratio in a special set, across 36 discs. This release includes English surround, English dual audio, and Japanese language versions of the series for fans to choose from. It currently retails on Amazon for around $130, making it by far the most efficient way of owning the entire Dragon Ball Z anime.

Where Will Fans Be Able To Stream Dragon Ball Daima?

Dragon Ball’s next anime is set to be Daima, a series that will follow the cast of the franchise after being turned into children through mysterious means. Given that characters like Mr. Satan and Buu are present, it’s apparent that Daima takes place after the Buu arc, though probably before the Peaceful World Saga that truly capped off Dragon Ball. Though some fans are heartbroken that the latter half of Dragon Ball Super’s manga has yet to be adapted, Daima had creative input from Toriyama himself, meaning the franchise’s most ardent supporters have good reason to be excited about the upcoming release.

Dragon Ball Daima is set to stream on Crunchyroll on October 11th. Considering Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and many of the Dragon Ball movies are already available on the service, it makes sense that Crunchyroll would be the newest Dragon Ball anime’s streaming home for American fans.

How Can Fans Stream Dragon Ball’s Movies?

Currently, Dragon Ball has 21 animated movies, starting with Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies in 1986 and ending with Super Hero in 2022. Though all of Dragon Ball’s animated movies are available online for fans, the streaming situation is a little complicated. All Dragon Ball Z era movies are available on Crunchyroll, as are the Super movies and Resurrection F. Unfortunately, Battle of the Gods is not available on the anime streaming giant, though the movie’s TV adaptation in Super is.

Beyond that, all Dragon Ball movies (save for Resurrection F) are available on Apple TV to rent for $3.99 and to own for $12.99 – $14.99. Given that many Dragon Ball fans, especially Western ones, are more focused on the Z and Super eras of the franchise, this may not be a big deal, but it does amount to quite a hefty price upfront for any fan looking to watch every single official Dragon Ball movie.

Though many of the early Dragon Ball and Z era of films can struggle to hit the same heights as the mainline series, there are more than a few fun movies among them, such as Dead Zone. Iconic characters and moments from those early films such as Broly and Gogeta would even go on to become canon elements of the story in the Super era.

What Is The Best Way To Watch All Of Dragon Ball

While There’s No Single Solution, Some Are Better Than Others

The undeniably most convenient and far-reaching solution for most viewers worldwide to stream Dragon Ball and its various sequels and films is Crunchyroll. However, with this option paywalled behind a monthly subscription service, it’s best to use this option if one plans to watch Crunchyroll’s vast library of anime, including exclusives. Fortunately, Dragon Ball ranks among the best on the service, so it’s money well-spent for fans. With other options, including rental and ownership of the digital series and even alternate streaming homes, weighing the pros and cons of Dragon Ball’s best streaming options is important.

While there are flexible options for Hulu subscribers, and Apple TV has reasonable streaming prices, Crunchyroll remains the best option for the breadth of content. For people who watch anime less regularly, Hulu is a great alternative. Fans should also take into account that Dragon Ball Daima will also be streaming on Crunchyroll. Still, with hundreds of hours available to stream on-demand across the series catalog, each service has convenient methods for viewers to get into the series.

Although more limited, other options for streaming Dragon Ball-related content are available, such as on the Google Play store, although these are largely limited to Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. A great alternative for those seeking a deal is to check Anime Month sales on the Microsoft Store, which can occasionally give discounts as steep as 80% off on select anime, with selections from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super available to purchase in SD or HD.

After the original series of short films is over though, the modern film series starting with Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods are all solid films that any fan of Dragon Ball will want to watch. The latest film in particular, Super Hero is a standout movie that shifts focus away from Goku and Vegeta, letting Gohan and Piccolo take the spotlight. Despite the complicated web of streaming rights, Dragon Ball Z’s films are worth seeking out and streaming for any curious fan.