Dragon Ball Z (Japanese: ドラゴンボールZゼット) 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 on Fuji TV from April 25, 1989 to January 31, 1996, before being dubbed in several territories around the world, including the United States, Australia, Europe, India, and Latin America.​

In Dragon Ball manga, the main character learns martial arts and grows up, marries, and has children. During the story, many sympathetic characters die, eventually even the main character. The theme of tragedy and human growth, including battles as a form of initiation, is a traditional theme in post-War Japanese manga, one that Tezuka Osamu (1928–89) began in 1945–’50s.