The Dragon Ball franchise is one of the biggest manga and anime franchises of all time. It has only grown bigger in the past few decades with a lot more than just manga and anime series. What started as a brainchild of much-celebrated manga author Akira Toriyama has turned into a global manga and anime phenomenon over time. The Dragon Ball franchise's legacy is only going to get more rich in every way possible. All the media relating to the franchise comprises what is known today as the Dragon Ball Extended Universe.

The Dragon Ball Extended Universe is so massive and full of different kinds of entertainment media that the potential audience that wants to start exploring it is in turmoil and faced with the paradox of where to start. The people who are new to the Dragon Ball franchise and the Dragon Ball Extended Universe in general have a lot to catch up with while deciding on a decent order pattern to explore it. Do not worry, we have got everything covered. Let's explore the Dragon Ball Extended Universe.

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Manga and Anime

The basics of the Dragon Ball Extended Universe or its foundation are the Dragon Ball manga and anime franchise. It all started with the Dragon Ball manga through which Akira Toriyama introduced the world to his genius and forever changed the manga and anime industry. Started in December 1984 and serialized in Shueisha's weekly shōnen jump, the Dragon Ball manga created waves soon enough after its release. It gave the world numerous truly phenomenal things like the Saiyan race, a unique set of characters, and breathtaking action sequences. But most importantly, it introduced the world to one of the most loved and admired shōnen protagonists of all time, the Saiyan warrior Son Goku.

As soon as the manga received an overwhelmingly positive response from its readers, it got an anime adaptation two years after its debut. The anime series followed the story of kid Goku going on an adventure to find the seven Dragon Balls with a teenager Bulma. This was the beginning of what would eventually become the Dragon Ball franchise and the Dragon Ball Extended Universe in the true sense. The original Dragon Ball series might seem a bit boring in the beginning, but it gets super exciting with time and the people who want to start watching Dragon Ball should start with the original Dragon Ball series as it gives the entire context of Goku's story and origin. Afterward, the new audience can move to the Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) series which is the highlight of the entire franchise for all the right reasons, it has the best story arcs, characters, and antagonists.

It is followed by the next installment in the franchise, Dragon Ball GT, which is not canon at least in the manga timeline. While Dragon Ball GT has some of the best character designs like the Super Saiyan 4 style, it is still very much skippable as far as the Dragon Ball franchise is concerned. Things get better after Dragon Ball GT as the franchise gets exciting with the Dragon Ball Super (DBS) series which is based on the manga of the same name written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou.

It is the ongoing and the latest series in the Dragon Ball franchise that the fans have been enjoying lately because of good story arcs, a new set of unique characters, and incredible fights. However, the truth remains that the original Dragon Ball series, DBZ, Dragon Ball GT, and DBS are all canon in the anime timeline though this is not true about the manga timeline. Dragon Ball GT and DBS are spin-offs of the original Dragon Ball and DBZ series. These series have been super important in shaping the franchise that the fans love and follow across the globe. A new spinoff series called Super Dragon Ball Heroes based on the video game of the same name was released recently while it's entertaining, it is not canon and can be skipped.

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Dragon Ball Movies

There is a trend that almost all big anime franchises follow when their global viewership increases by leaps and bounds which is making feature anime films related to the anime series or franchise. Almost all the big shōnen anime franchises like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, and Hunter X Hunter have their feature films released in the past years. Dragon Ball franchise has numerous feature anime films, from non-canon movies like DBZ: The Return of Cooler, and Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy to canon films like DBS: Broly, and DBS: Super Hero. One thing is quite certain about the movies of the Dragon Ball franchise their quality has improved a lot as can be observed from its last two movies which have performed very well at the box office and have also been praised by the critics. Even though some of the older Dragon Ball movies are enjoyable they are still skippable, however, the latest ones are super recommended for the new audience.

Video Games

Although video games based on the Dragon Ball franchise became a thing with the release of Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō in 1986, it was not until the 2000s that the franchise really elevated and made its mark in the video-game industry as well. This was mainly possible due to the release of a video game based on the franchise which would eventually become a hit video game series in itself called DBZ: Budokai and capture the hearts of its fans. Another hit video game series based on the franchise came in the 2010s known as Dragon Ball Xenoverse. Apart from the above-mentioned series, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, and DBZ: Kakarot are some of the most popular titles that gamers and Dragon Ball fans in general worldwide enjoy. All of these video games are super enjoyable and pretty much recommended.

Dragon Ball Super is available to stream on Prime Video.

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