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Episode Guide
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Following the success and popularity of the DragonBall manga series, Toei Animation began to produce an anime adaptation based on the manga. On Wednesday, February 26, 1986, the first episode of the DragonBall TV series premiered directly into a prime time spot on the Fuji Television network. Due to the manga still being written as the show was airing, Toei Animation would occasionally create original anime-only side-stories, or sometimes even entire story arcs, to ensure that the development of the television show was kept behind that of the manga. This anime-only material is often referred to "filler," as it "fills" the space between events that do occur in the manga. As the story progressed, DragonBall had become much more action-oriented. To denote this change, along with a considerable plot twist, the title of the anime was changed to DragonBall Z while the manga's title remained the same. DragonBall Z would follow up and expand upon DragonBall's 153 episodes and three theatrical movies, with 291 episodes, 2 feature-length TV specials, and 13 theatrical movies of its own. Following the conclusion of both the anime and manga series, Toei Animation picked up the rights to create an additional anime-only series, DragonBall GT (according to Toriyama, GT is short for Grand Touring). The GT storyline picked up right where DragonBall Z had left off, but brought back the comedic aspect of the original series that had been so sparse throughout DragonBall Z. The series had almost reached two years, when it was brought to an abrupt end on November 19, 1997, due to low ratings. For the first time in nearly twelve years, the Fuji TV line-up did not include a DragonBall series. In early 2009, Toei Animation announced (in Weekly Shounen Jump issue #11) that a "refreshed" version of the DragonBall Z TV series, re-titled DragonBall Kai, was being produced for a high-definition (HD) widescreen presentation in honor of its 20th anniversary. The first "refreshed" episode aired on April 5, 2009 (Toriyama's birthday) with re-recorded dialogue, new music, updated sound effects, and new digital effects. Toei's announcement stressed that the series would have a higher "sense of excitement", indicating that the majority, if not all, of the "filler" would be cut, consequently shortening the series from its original 291 episodes. However, due to financial reasons the series abruptly ended following the conclusion of the Cell arc of the series. |
| "Refreshed" Broadcast | ||
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This section provides a thorough look at the "refreshed" episodes that are currently airing in Japan. We'll be providing detailed pages on each episode as they air, including screen shots, a quick synopsis, comparisons to the original broadcast, staff credits, and much more.
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Synopsis/Images by: Hujio
