Every episode you can skip

Dragon Ball Z is the popular anime that tells the story of Goku and his friends fighting iconic and powerful enemies; However, not every episode advances the overall plot, and here is one filler episode guide this will help you analyze what can be ignored. Filler episodes often contain short non-canon stories, providing additional character development and world-building when done well. DBZ There are anime filler episodes that fail to do this, but some are so fun that many fans still don’t realize they are fillers.

DBZ was initially released as a weekly anime series that aired alongside the publication of the manga. However, when an anime comes too close to following the manga’s plot, filler episodes are a method used to give the manga extra time to advance. This led to many iconic moments in the anime, such as Goku’s training on the way to Namek and Gotenks’ first fight with Majin Buu. However, entire filler episodes can be skipped for viewers who want to enjoy the story without extra hassle, but some are worth watching.

Every filler episode of Dragon Ball Z

Every episode that can be skipped

Well-written and entertaining DBZ Filler worth watching

Episode #9 – 16: Gohan and Goku’s training in the path of the snake

The first prominent piece of Dragon Ball Z Filler episodes have comedy with Goku in Snake Way and excellent character development for Gohan and Piccolo. It’s been revealed that in the past, Akira Toriyama originally intended for Gohan to be the main character in the beloved series, and the anime does a better job of setting up that idea. For first-time viewers, the excitement of seeing Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth made the filler episodes feel irritating. Still, in hindsight, they planted essential seeds that would grow into a greater emotional payoff than the manga.

Gohan and Piccolo’s touching bond plays a significant role in several of the Dragon ball the best moments of the franchise. Several anime-only episodes helped further establish their relationship, exploring Gohan’s training with Piccolo. The episodes focus on Goku’s four-year-old son, who is starting to increase his confidence and power level. At the same time, Piccolo’s cold demeanor begins to fade as he cares for his archenemy’s son. The anime’s extra focus on Gohan’s growth and unlikely bond with Piccolo made the Namekian’s sacrifice against Nappa feel particularly heartbreaking.

Goku also had his share of adventures in the filler episodes that explored his journey through the 625,000-mile-long Snake Way into the afterlife. Dragon ballThe Hell version and several comical encounters provided additional lore for the series as Goku tries his best to reach King Kai’s planet. THE the first batch of filler episodes effectively sees the series’ characters grow significantly and are, for the most part, entertaining and successful in enhancing later sections of the story.

Episodes #100 and #102: Super Saiyan Goku versus Full Power Frieza Extended, plus Gohan’s epic attack

The manga makes it clear that Goku is much stronger than Frieza after achieving his first Super Saiyan transformation. However, the anime decided make it seem less one-sided by extending the fight. The epic battle against the galactic tyrant escalated dramatically, especially in the anime adaptation, which gave fans more action than manga readers expected. Goku wasn’t the only one to put on a fun show in the anime.

These two episodes provide another glimpse into Gohan’s hidden powers when Super Saiyan Goku is temporarily knocked out after being hit by Frieza in a pit of lava. In a fit of rage after believing his father had been killed, Gohan launches a stunning attack against Frieza in his final form. Stellar combos and powerful attacks stop the iconic villain until Goku reappears to finish the job.

Episode #108 – #117: Garlic Jr.’s Revenge

Several Dragon Ball Z filler episodes focus more on Gohan than the manga was capable of, especially during the filler arc Garlic Jr. The immortal villain who debuted in DBZ film “The dead zone“was a small Namekian-like enemy who successfully willed the Dragon Balls to become invincible. He fought an incredible battle against Piccolo and Goku, but it was a flash of Gohan’s latent powers that proved strong enough to push the burly Garlic Jr. in a portal he summoned to destroy the world. There, he stayed until he was ready for his revenge.

With Goku still missing after his battle with Frieza and the destruction of Namek, Earth was more vulnerable than it had been in years. Garlic Jr. takes the opportunity to return and transforms much of the world’s population into bloodthirsty creatures. Piccolo’s clever strategies and several intense encounters, including a battle atop Kami’s Overlook with Garlic Jr. and his Spice Boys, cause the filler is one of the most fun and original.

Episode #124: Goku, Gohan and Piccolo grow stronger while Vegeta breaks

Training arcs often help build anticipation for epic battles and allow viewers to see their favorite heroes grow stronger before testing their new strength against a previously overwhelming force. Before Future Trunk’s warning from the Androids appeared, the anime showed more training with the Z Warriors than the manga. We spend little time training Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo, but it’s a sneak peek Vegeta’s obsessive and torturous desire for a power-up makes the episode one that fans shouldn’t miss.

Vegeta’s time in Capsule Corp and training at 300 times Earth’s gravity provides scenes that are arguably the Saiyan prince’s crucial first steps toward beginning his life on Earth and eventually becoming a trusted ally. Vegeta’s pride was hurt by Goku and Trunk’s ability to unlock Super Saiyan, so he began pushing his body and eventually his mind to the limit. More of Vegeta’s brutal training and iconic monologue about achieving the transformation are included in extended scenes in episode 129, but not before one of anime’s most beloved filler episodes.

Episode #125: Goku and Piccolo’s Driving Lesson

Slice-of-Life is a genre of anime that often features quirky characters in relatable situations. The episode that shows Goku and Piccolo trying to get driver’s licenses gets this definition right. Chi-Chi’s anger reaches new heights after she pressures Goku and Piccolo into getting their driver’s licenses if they want her to continue washing their training clothes and cooking meals. The resulting test saw Piccolo in one of his funniest outfits: tight jeans, a vibrant yellow t-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap. At the same time, he and Goku fail a driving test miserably.

Dragon ball is a franchise that arguably has more comedy than action, and episode 125 is a prime example. As Goku struggles to even start the car, Piccolo begins to become an effective driver, while a woman with severe road rage acts as his teacher. The two begin racing aggressively and even crash their cars before helping to save a bus full of children. It’s a filler episode of Dragon Ball Z This doesn’t move the overall plot forward, but it is a silly adventure that stuck with fans for years after viewing it.

Episode #195 – #199: Another World Tournament

Another short but exciting tournament arc shows Goku’s adventure in the other world after he sacrifices his life to save the world against a self-destructing cell. Although the sequel series, Dragon Ball SuperExpands the universe drastically by introducing a multiverse containing 12 separate universes, the Other World Tournament introduced other Kai and their strongest warriors from each quadrant of the universe in a tournament comprised of the deceased fighters.

Each Dragon ball The series contains its fair share of tournament arcs, many of which feature Goku finishing off multiple opponents. However, the Saiyan encountered a formidable foe during the Other World Tournament in Pikkon. When introduced as West Kai’s number one student, the warrior made a huge impression on fans. His skills were demonstrated when he quickly dispatched Frieza and Cell to Hell. He and Goku faced off in one of the DBZThe most fun filler fights from and returned in one of the best films in the series: Dragon Ball Z Fusion Reborn.

Episode #274: Super Buu’s Worst Meal Returns

Goku and Vegeta’s plan to rescue their family and friends engrossed in the Super Buu’s interior is slightly enlarged compared to the manga. The filler episode shows the two Saiyans fighting to avoid being digested, a fate that Vegeta vehemently refuses to accept. The two eventually head towards Buu’s brain, fighting consistently regenerating versions of the captives until Super Buu becomes distracted by eating candy. They take the opportunity to discover the original unconscious bodies of their loved ones before the canonical disaster strikes.

Episode #170, #171 and #174: Slice-Of-Life Before The Cell Games

After Cell achieved his perfect form and became one of the Dragon Ball ZHe gave the Z Warriors and the world a week to prepare before the start of their Cell Games Tournament. While several scenes showed the heroes training for the next battle, some episodes included the return of a classic Dragon ball villain and a look back at Gohan’s life before his dramatic fight against Cell.

Before the climactic battles against Cell, the anime took some time to breathe with low-stakes episodes which contained enchanting moments of life. Goku and Gohan trained by maintaining their Super Saiyan forms for long periods of time and were shown struggling to control their strength to the detriment of Chi-Chi and the now partially cyborg General Tao. The scenes provide the heroes with relaxing moments, away from the series’ normally intense situations, showing a side of the characters that is often not explored while their lives are under constant threat.

The DBZ Filler that does little other than fill time

Episodes #39 – #44: The journey to Namek faces some obstacles

The hero’s first ship en route to Planet Namek and the only other set of Dragon Balls they knew of contained Gohan, Bulma, and Krillin. Filler episodes explored their journey toward the Namekian homeworld, where they encountered space pirates and a planet full of mind-reading aliens. They managed to trick the trio into thinking they had arrived on Namek and collected several Dragon Balls, but the illusion was dispelled. The small collection of episodes provides almost nothing to the Dragon Ball Z history or tradition, right before, without a doubt, one of the best arcs in the Shonen medium.

Episodes #202 – #204: The Great Saiyaman’s antics and Gohan’s love life

Before Majin Buu’s incredibly desperate arc begins, the Dragon Ball Z anime provided filler episodes dedicated to exploring Earth several years after Cell’s defeat. Gohan is now a high school student who has donned the secret identity of the Great Saiyaman to fight crime. However, his appearance and exploits earned him the attention of the girls in his class, including Hercules’ daughter and fellow crime-fighting student, Videl. Although the plots presented in these filler episodes often border on the ridiculous, they do look into Gohan’s origins and his future wife’s relationship.

Gohan’s first encounter with a girl from his class, an attack by a gang who hates Hercules, and a possible dinosaur attack on the city all see Videl fighting to save her hometown while trying to discover who the Great Saiyaman really is. While the episodes do a great job of showing viewers what life is like for an older Gohan, they are hard to recommend to anyone other than completionist fans who doesn’t get tired of Dragon ball universe.

Episode #288: Celebrations of Kid Buu’s defeat before DBZ’s dramatic ending

Kid Buu’s defeat would have been impossible without the help of Hercules to power Goku’s massive Spirit Bomb. However, the anime features several extended scenes and a full episode of the heroes celebrating their hard-earned time of peace. Scenes of Buu acclimating to living on Earth and a barbecue at Bulma’s house are not in the manga. After the incredibly intense ending of Dragon Ball ZIn the Buu arc, the heroes and viewers deserved a sigh of relief, exactly what the filler offers before moving ten years into the future to deliver a much more effective ending to the Dragon Ball Z series.

How does Dragon Ball Z’s filler compare to other great Shōnen anime?

How does the filling of Dragon Ball Z compare?

Despite Dragon Ball ZIn terms of length and story, it has surprisingly few arcs and filler episodes compared to other long-running episodes. shōnen anime. At 38 episodes, not counting the episodes that feature canonical material with original content, Dragon Ball ZFiller only accounts for about 13% of its anime; in comparison, two of his most immediate contemporaries, naruto and Bleachare 40% and 45% filling, respectively. This means that despite its impressive length, Dragon Ball Z has one of the least fillers of any major shōnen animemaking its length the only major obstacle a would-be fan would have to deal with.

Dragon Ball Z falls short of other long-lasting shōnen anime in terms of filler content, of course. One piecefor example, it only has about 9% of its anime as filler, despite it being almost four times longer than Dragon Ball Z. Not only that, but anime like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibathere’s no filler of note due to it being a seasonal anime rather than running for years without a break, so while it’s not a completely fair comparison, Dragon Ball ZThe small amount of filler is still large by modern anime standards.

Should fans watch all of Dragon Ball Z or just skip the filler?

Is the Dragon Ball Z filler worth watching?

Most Dragon Ball ZThe filler content of does little more than drag out plot points that were originally just short sequences in the manga, if they were sequences at all. In addition to being tedious, this type of writing is also antithetical to the typical fast pace of manga, as it rarely lets things drag on longer than necessary to convey the point of the story. General, most Dragon Ball ZThe filler, as is often the case with anime, is not worth watchingand fans would typically be better off skipping to canon stories.

That being said, it’s not like any of Dragon Ball ZThe filler is worth watching. The episode where Goku and Piccolo take driving lessons, for example, is a fun slice-of-life episode filled with great comedy, and the way the anime expanded on Gohan’s training in the Saiyan saga and his time as the Great Saiyaman did a lot for expand his character in a way the manga never did. Although few and far between, some of the Dragon Ball ZThe filler does a good job of complementing or completely elevating the mangaand these few episodes are certainly worth watching.

Some of the Dragon Ball ZThe padding does a good job of fleshing out the story, but at the same time, a lot of it is largely pointless and completely detracts from the story most of the time. Because of this inequality, the best way to watch Dragon Ball Z It’s probably skipping the filler episodes that aren’t just one-off stories and saving the longer arcs for later viewing; Watching it like this can give the fan a fairly accurate portrayal of Dragon Ball Z from the beginning and as such it is easily the best way of doing things.