Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball Z originally aired from '89 to '96, and nearly 25 years later, it's still just as popular. Dragon Ball Z is frequently viewed as a signature shonen series that helped define the '90s and pushed the animated medium forward in important ways. Dragon Ball Z has several anime peers that were also incredibly popular during their initial runs, only to later fall into obscurity.
Dragon Ball Z doesn't suffer from this issue, and there's a timeless quality to it that's kept it alive at the forefront of the anime industry. Some fans love Dragon Ball Z for its nostalgic qualities and how it sends them back to their childhoods, but there are many other reasons why the series remains an all-time classic.
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10 DBZ Has A Lovable Protagonist
Goku is an inescapable presence in Dragon Ball Z, and he's become one of anime's most celebrated characters on an international level. There are many factors that contribute to an effective shonen protagonist, and Goku stands out because he never lets his immense strength get in the way of his childhood glee and excitement.
Goku is still just a big kid at heart, and his forgiving tendency to see the best in the most evil of individuals makes him both inspirational and aspirational. Certain larger-than-life anime protagonists begin to feel more like powerful ciphers rather than real people. Goku's humanity and empathy help Dragon Ball Z shine.
9 DBZ Has Iconic Transformations
Dragon Ball Z is full of super-powered fighters who are able to elevate their strength to even greater levels through prolific transformations. Dragon Ball Z's flashy Super Saiyan transformations have practically become synonymous with the series, and they're so archetypal that countless other pop culture properties have adopted and parodied them.
Audiences continually return to Dragon Ball Z to witness the start of this popular anime trope as well as marvel at the many other transformations that the series showcases, whether it's Orange Piccolo, Great Ape Vegeta, or any of Frieza and Cell's stronger forms.
8 DBZ's Staples Lay The Foundation For Modern Shonen Series
One of the most important things to realize about Dragon Ball Z is that its framework helped inspire some of the biggest modern shonen anime. In fact, all of Weekly Shonen Jump's "Big Three" series — One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach — have been candid about Akira Toriyama's influence on their work.
There are so many anime that have used Dragon Ball Z's ideas and structure to build their own classics, which certainly speaks to the series' enduring appeal and why newer anime fans return to this older series. It's irrevocably changed the nature of shonen storytelling.
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7 DBZ's Moving Timeline Isn't Rooted In Stasis
It's not uncommon for anime to condense their stories down to such tight timelines that their characters remain the same age for the entire run. This can be limiting when it comes to more substantial character development. Dragon Ball Z tells such a long story that Goku becomes a grandfather by its end.
Gohan begins Dragon Ball Z as an infant and leaves the anime as a grown man with a family of his own. It's much easier to return to an anime like Dragon Ball Z when there's such a clear sense of progression in its storytelling and characters. Dragon Ball Z isn't just interested in power but rather in what it means to mature into an individual.
6 DBZ Has A Playful Approach To Filler Episodes
Filler episodes that tell anime-original stories can derail some of the strongest anime series or turn them into bloated messes. Dragon Ball Z does use filler to pad out some of its battles.
However, it also uses them to indulge in tonal experiments like Goku and Piccolo's attempt at driving school or understated human stories like Gohan's time with Lime during his Cell Games training. Dragon Ball Z even tells self-contained battle stories like Garlic Jr.'s return and Goku's participation in the Other World Tournament that establish that there's a way to maximize filler content into an anime's secret weapon.
5 Goku & Vegeta Have An Ongoing Rivalry In DBZ
Rivalries are plentiful in shonen anime. However, these rich dynamics can come across as contrived when they're not properly developed. Dragon Ball Z establishes a competitive conflict between Goku and Vegeta early on in its run, and it becomes the series' most satisfying relationship.
Goku and Vegeta come from different backgrounds and have contrasting priorities in battle, yet they're able to rub off on each other in fascinating ways. Goku and Vegeta's rivalry evolves from one based on hate to a bond that comes out of friendship and understanding as they push each other past their limits. It's rich character development that sets a template for how to turn enemies into allies.
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4 DBZ Has Severe Evil Villains
An anime is sometimes only as strong as its villains, and Dragon Ball Z goes above and beyond in this regard. All of Dragon Ball Z's major threats contain unimaginable power, but they're also genuinely terrifying when it comes to their cruelty and carnage. Some anime introduce intimidating villains that end up not leaving much of a lasting mark on the series.
Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Buu all cause massive casualties and even the eradication of most of the Earth's population in the case of the latter. Admittedly, there are some repetitive elements that carry across Dragon Ball Z's villains, like their copious transformations, but they've become as iconic as the anime's heroes.
3 DBZ Has Many Standalone Feature Films
Dragon Ball Z has nearly 300 episodes of entertaining content, but there are also more than a dozen feature films that present isolated stories that can stand on their own. This extra content is a fun alternative canon to explore, and those who don't have the time to binge-watch all 291 episodes can at least work their way through these movies with ease.
Dragon Ball Z's feature films feature extravagant enemies and epic climaxes that celebrate everything that fans love about the anime. Cinematic spectacles are nothing new for popular anime, but Dragon Ball Z goes above and beyond in this area, and its movies become fun traditions for the fandom.
2 DBZ Features Shunsuke Kikuchi's Passionate Musical Score
Music can be an underrated element when it comes to an anime's general vibe and personality. Dragon Ball Z benefits from a superior score, whether it's its now-classic opening and closing themes or the basic music that plays in the background of climactic moments. Shunsuke Kikuchi's Dragon Ball Z score is the perfect blend of silly, serious, and special.
Sequences like Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 ascension work as well as they do because of their music. Dragon Ball Z's English dub scores also establish their own complementary styles that have become equally famous and are still regularly listened to on Spotify.
1 DBZ Lacks Gratuitous Fan Service
Fan service, which is a compulsion to gratuitously feature female characters through the male gaze, is sometimes viewed as a necessary evil in the anime industry. The original Dragon Ball indulges in this department quite a bit, especially when it comes to Bulma and her time around Master Roshi.
Dragon Ball Z is much more restrained, firmly prioritizing action and storytelling over frivolous visuals. Heavy fan service can seriously date a series and make it difficult to appreciate by modern standards, yet Dragon Ball Z's relative resistance on this front helps it stay relevant.