While the tv series did come first, the movies followed shortly after in 1986 which was just two years after Dragon Ball had debuted. So, we know that Dragon Ball was a comic series written by Akira Toriyama in the early 80s, who first depicted his art in magazines, and then shortly after moved to the television screen. But first, where did the movies originate? The History of Dragon Ball Movies We’ve compiled a list of all the Dragon Ball films in order, along with a little about each so that you will be caught up in all there is to know about every Dragon Ball film to date. So, what makes the series and films so special?
They say that the Dragon Ball anime series and films are so popular and so large that it could influence just as much of a crowd as any other popular anime series out there. The fact that these films continue to push out different series is quite possibly what has kept them so popular for so long. The three series of films created by Akira is widely known as Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super, all intertwining with one another creating new storylines and new characters in each, sometimes even new transformations and forms. The Dragon Ball movies have become some of the best selling, most popular anime films now to date.
Toei Animation created 20 anime films out of these 23, while two movies were unofficial and one movie was an official live-action film. In 1984 Akira Toriyama began the Dragon Ball series, and in 1986 the movies started to take off and has since created 23 theatrical films.