Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ(ゼット) Doragon Bōru Zetto?, commonly abbreviated as DBZ) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Dragon Ball Z is the sequel to the Dragon Ball anime and adapts the last 325 chapters of the original 519-chapter Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama, that were published from 1988 to 1995 in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Dragon Ball Z first aired in Japan from April 25, 1989 to January 31, 1996 on Fuji TV,[1] before being dubbed in several territories around the world, including the United States, Australia, Europe, India, and Latin America.
Dragon Ball Z details the continuing adventure of Goku as a young adult and father to his son Gohan. After learning he is a Saiyan, Goku dies and is revived after training in the afterlife under the god North Kaiō. Goku defends Earth from the Saiyans under Vegeta, and leaves Earth to ultimately defeat them again and the galactic tyrant Frieza. Three years later an evil life form called Cell holds a fighting tournament to decide the fate of the Earth. Goku sacrifices his own life and Gohan avenges his father by defeating Cell.
Seven years later, Goku is revived and quickly drawn into a fight against a magical being named Majin Buu. After numerous battles, destruction and recreation of the Earth, Goku destroys Buu with the energy of everyone on Earth making a very powerful attack called "Spirit Bomb".
Due to the success of the anime in America, the manga comprising Dragon Ball Z was released by Viz Media under the title Dragon Ball Z. Additional manga works, called animanga, were released which adapt the animation to manga form. Dragon Ball Z's popularity has spawned numerous releases which have come to represent the majority of content in the Dragon Ball universe; including 14 movies and 57 video games and a host of soundtracks stemming from this material. Dragon Ball Z remains a cultural icon through numerous adaptations, including a remastered broadcast as Dragon Ball...