Thirty years ago today, the anime widely regarded as the father of modern action shonen came to an end on January 31, 1996. In the decades since, it has given rise to countless legendary shonen series that, in one way or another, draw inspiration from the standard it set. It established a blueprint for action-driven storytelling that has since become tradition across the genre. Yet no series has managed to surpass the sheer execution of this landmark anime even after all these years. That enduring influence belongs to the Dragon Ball franchise’s most defining entry: Dragon Ball Z.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The second installment in the Dragon Ball franchise, and the last major entry directly written by Akira Toriyama before a wave of spin-offs and successors emerged, first aired on April 26, 1989. It ran for 291 episodes before concluding on January 31, 1996, bringing its historic run in Japan to a close. Only after its Japanese finale did the series fully make its way to Western audiences, where its broadcast ultimately wrapped up in 2003. Even decades after its conclusion, Dragon Ball Z is still widely considered the pinnacle of the franchise, and its legacy shows no sign of ever being eclipsed.
30 Years Ago Today, Dragon Ball Z Ended
The second installment of the franchise opened with the shocking revelation that Goku was an alien, instantly adding a new layer of intrigue and inviting natural comparisons to Superman. With that premise, fans were eager to see how far this “Superman of anime” could rise, and Goku’s journey more than fulfilled that anticipation. The series’s most defining moment arrived when he finally awakened the legendary Super Saiyan form at the climax of the Frieza saga, paying off years of buildup. As Dragon Ball Z went on to introduce new Super Saiyan transformations, power-ups became the driving force behind each new victory, establishing a formula that would go on to influence not just this series but action shonen as a whole.
As the story entered its final stretch in the Majin Buu saga, fans witnessed the debut of Super Saiyan 3, the unforgettable fusion of Goku and Vegeta into one of the franchise’s most beloved warriors, and the ultimate showdown where Goku destroyed Kid Buu with a Spirit Bomb powered by the energy of the entire universe. Dragon Ball Z then closed on a symbolic note, with Goku passing the torch to Uub at the World Martial Arts Tournament.
Since then, new installments like GT and the recent Daima have arrived, while Super has carried forward Toriyama’s legacy as the next major chapter, continuing to receive new adaptations and evolutions. The Dragon Ball franchise remains as vibrant as ever, undeniably sustained by the foundation that Dragon Ball Z built, and it is remarkable that a series that ended over 30 years ago still shows no sign of fading.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of Netflix
