Dragon Ball Z starts 5 years after the original Dragon Ball anime ended. It follows the protagonist Goku into his young adult life. Goku now has a son named Gohan, and the story begins when an alien called Raditz comes to Earth and finds Goku. He tells him he’s his big brother and that Goku is actually an alien of the Saiyan race, who was sent to Earth to overtake it and rule it. Due to a severe head injury though, he lost his memory and forgot everything about the plan.

Raditz wants Goku to continue the mission and when Goku refuses, Raditz kidnaps his son. In the quest for saving his son Goku is joined by his friend Piccolo. They save his son, but Goku actually dies in the process. But not to worry, he’s still fine in the afterlife, training actually, and the dragon balls bring him back to life a year later, just in time for revenge.

Dragon Ball Z was the highest rated show on Cartoon Network at the time it was playing and was generally received very well all across the board. It is an epic series which has hugely helped spread anime into the mainstream. While Dragon Ball is a fun show, Dragon Ball Z takes it to the next level, since the characters are more mature. One could almost argue that anime would not be what it is today without Dragon Ball Z. Even though the animation may be a bit lacking, at least for my taste, the soundtrack more than makes up for that. And unlike Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z isn’t just about the fights.

If you love Dragon Ball Z, and you should, here’s some of the best Dragon Ball t-shirts we found!