Summary: Five years after the end of the Dragon Ball Z anime (10 years in the Funimation dub),[1] Goku is turned back into a child by the Black Star Dragon Balls (ダークドラゴンボール Dāku Doragon Bōru, lit. "Dark Dragon Balls") used by Pilaf and is forced to travel across the universe to retrieve them along with his granddaughter Pan and Trunks. The trio go through various adventures in their journey to find the Black Star Dragon Balls, until they encounter the evil artificial Tuffle, Baby, who intends to destroy the Saiyan race.
Baby has the ability to invade other people's bodies and turn them into Tuffles, as well as using a body to combine it with his own power and become a fighter. After turning practically all of the Earth's population, including the Saiyans, into Tuffles, Baby decides to remain inside Vegeta's body and use it to confront Goku. Goku fights him and is defeated, but after having his tail regenerated, transforms, achieving the power of Super Saiyan 4 (超サイヤ人フォー Sūpā Saiya-jin Fō), and destroys Baby, propelling him into the sun with a Kamehameha Wave. Piccolo then sacrifices himself to turn the Black Star Dragon Balls into stone permanently when the Earth explodes after Goku and the others helped everyone evacuate to the Tuffle Planet.
A year after Baby's defeat, Dr. Myuu (Baby's creator) and Dr. Gero (creator of the Red Ribbon Army androids), create a replica of Android 17 and has it fuse with the original Android 17, creating Super 17. Super 17 at first seems impervious to Goku's attacks, but when Android 18 attacks him for killing Krillin, Goku takes advantage of the distraction to penetrate through Super 17 with his Dragon Fist technique, then fires a Kamehameha Wave through the wound.
Due to overuse of the Dragon Balls, seven Shadow Dragons are then created. All but the most powerful, Syn Shenron, are defeated. Syn Shenron appears to be losing until he absorbs the Dragon Balls and gains more power, becoming Omega Shenron and overwhelming Goku. Goku is about to sacrifice himself to destroy the evil dragon, but then Vegeta becomes a Super Saiyan 4, thanks to Bulma's new device, the Blutz Wave Generator. Goku and Vegeta fuse, using the Fusion Dance technique, creating Gogeta, who uses his immense power to taunt Omega Shenron. However, after being too confident in their ability to defeat Omega Shenron, they use up too much time in an attempt to embarrass Omega Shenron, their fusion then ends and Goku loses his Super Saiyan 4 form along with Vegeta. Eventually, using the energy of every living being in the universe, Goku makes a Spirit Bomb powerful enough to destroy Omega Shenron, and end the battle.
The real Shenlong appears to grant Goku and his friends one last wish, and then proceeds to disappear — along with Goku and the Dragon Balls. Several decades later, Goku's great-great-grandson, Goku Jr., participates in the World Tournament against Vegeta Jr., as his grandmother Pan cheers for him. Pan then sees Goku and tries to approach him but Goku disappears into the crowd. Goku then leaves the World Tournament with a flashback of his timeline. After the flashback of his timeline ends, Goku then catches his power pole and rides off on his Flying Nimbus cloud.
Summary: Dragon Ball Z picks up five years after the end of the Dragon Ball anime, with Son Goku as a young adult and father to his son Gohan. A humanoid alien named Raditz arrives on Earth in a spacecraft and tracks down Goku, revealing to him that he is his long-lost big brother and that they are members of a nearly extinct extraterrestrial race called the Saiyans (サイヤ人 Saiya-jin). The Saiyans had sent Goku (originally named "Kakarrot") to Earth as an infant to conquer the planet for them, but he suffered a traumatic brain injury soon after his arrival and lost all memory of his mission, as well as his blood-thirsty Saiyan nature. Goku refuses to help Raditz continue the mission, which results in Raditz kidnapping Gohan. Goku decides to team up with his former enemy Piccolo in order to defeat Raditz and save his son, while sacrificing his own life in the process. In the afterlife, Goku trains under Kaiō-sama until he is revived by the Dragon Balls a year later in order to save the Earth from Raditz' comrades; Nappa and the Saiyan prince Vegeta. During the battle Piccolo is killed, along with Goku's allies Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaozu, and the Dragon Balls cease to exist because of Piccolo's death. Goku arrives at the battlefield late, but avenges his fallen friends by defeating Nappa with his new level of power. Vegeta himself enters into the battle with Goku and after numerous clashes, Goku manages to defeat him as well, with the help of Gohan and his best friend Krillin. At Goku's request, they spare Vegeta's life and allow him to escape Earth. During the battle, Krillin overhears Vegeta mentioning the original set of Dragon Balls from Piccolo's home planet Namek (ナメック星 Namekku-sei). While Goku recovers from his injuries at the hospital, Gohan, Krillin and Goku's oldest friend Bulma depart for Namek in order to use these Dragon Balls to revive their dead friends. However, they discover that Vegeta's superior, the galactic tyrant Lord Frieza, is already there, seeking the Dragon Balls to be granted eternal life. A fully healed Vegeta arrives on Namek as well, seeking the Dragon Balls for himself, which leads to several battles between him and Frieza's henchmen. Realizing he is overpowered, Vegeta teams up with Gohan and Krillin to fight the Ginyu Force, a team of mercenaries summoned by Frieza. After Goku finally arrives on Namek, the epic battle with Frieza himself comes to a close when Goku transforms into a fabled Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人 Sūpā Saiya-jin) and defeats him.
Upon his return to Earth a year later, Goku encounters a time traveler named Trunks, the future son of Bulma and Vegeta, who warns Goku that two Artificial Humans (人造人間 Jinzōningen, lit. "Artificial Humans") will appear three years later, seeking revenge against Goku for destroying the Red Ribbon Army when he was a child. During this time, an evil life form called Cell emerges and after absorbing two of the Artificial Humans to achieve his "perfect form," holds his own fighting tournament to decide the fate of the Earth, called the "Cell Games". After Goku sacrifices his own life a second time, to no avail, Gohan avenges his father by defeating Cell after ascending to the second level of Super Saiyan. Seven years later Goku, who has been briefly revived for one day and meets his youngest son Goten, and his allies are drawn into a fight by the Kaioshin against a magical being named Majin Buu. After numerous battles resulting in the destruction and recreation of the Earth, Goku (whose life is permanently restored by the Elder Kaioshin) destroys Majin Buu with a Genki Dama attack containing the energy of everyone on Earth. Goku makes a wish for Buu to be reincarnated as a good person and ten years later, at another martial arts tournament, Goku meets Buu's human reincarnation, Uub. Leaving the match between them unfinished, Goku departs with Uub to train him to become Earth's new defender.
Summary: The series begins with a monkey-tailed boy named Goku befriending a teenage girl named Bulma, whom he accompanies to find the seven Dragon Balls (ドラゴンボール Doragon Bōru), which summon the dragon Shenlong to grant the user one wish. The journey leads them to the desert bandit Yamcha, who later becomes an ally; Chi-Chi, whom Goku unknowingly agrees to marry; and Pilaf, an impish man who seeks the Dragon Balls to fulfill his desire to rule the world. Goku then undergoes rigorous training regimes under the martial arts master Kame-Sen'nin in order to fight in the Tenkaichi Budōkai (天下一武道会, "Strongest Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament"). A monk named Kuririn becomes his training partner and rival, but they soon become best friends. After the tournament, Goku searches for the Dragon Ball his grandfather left him and almost single-handedly defeats the Red Ribbon Army and their hired assassin Taopaipai. Thereafter Goku reunites with his friends to defeat the fortuneteller Baba Uranai's fighters and have her locate the last Dragon Ball to revive a friend killed by Taopaipai.
At the Tenkaichi Budōkai three years later Goku and his allies oppose Kame-Sen'nin's rival and Taopaipai's brother, Tsuru-Sen'nin, and his students Tenshinhan and Chaozu. Kuririn is killed after the tournament and Goku tracks down and is defeated by his killer, Piccolo Daimao. The samurai Yajirobe takes Goku to the hermit Karin, where he receives healing and a power boost. Meanwhile, Piccolo fights Kame-Sen'nin and Chaozu, leading to both their deaths, and uses the Dragon Balls to regain his youth before destroying Shenlong. Goku then kills Piccolo Daimao, who, just before dying, spawns his son/reincarnation Piccolo. Karin then directs Goku to Kami-sama, the original creator of the Dragon Balls, to restore Shenlong and revive his slain friends. Goku trains under Kami for the next three years, once again reuniting with his friends at the Tenkaichi Budōkai, where he narrowly wins against Piccolo before leaving with Chi-Chi to keep his promise to marry her.
Five years later, Goku is a young adult and father to his son Gohan, when Raditz arrives on Earth, identifies Goku as his younger brother 'Kakarrot' and reveals to him that they are members of a nearly extinct extraterrestrial race called the Saiyans (サイヤ人 Saiya-jin), who sent Goku to conquer Earth for them, until he suffered a severe head injury and lost all memory of his mission. Goku refuses to continue the mission, sides with Piccolo, and sacrifices his life to defeat Raditz. In the afterlife Goku trains under the North Kaiō until he is revived by the Dragon Balls to save the Earth from the invading Nappa and Vegeta. In the battle Yamcha, Chaozu, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo are killed, and the Dragon Balls cease to exist. Kuririn and the galactic tyrant Freeza learn of another set of Dragon Balls on planet Namek (ナメック星 Namekku-sei), whereupon Bulma, Gohan, and Kuririn search for them to revive their friends and subsequently the Earth's Dragon Balls, leading to several battles with Freeza's minions and Vegeta, the latter standing alongside the heroes to fight the Ginyu Force, a team of mercenaries. The long battle with Freeza himself comes to a close when Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人 Sūpā Saiya-jin) of legends and defeats him, with Namek being destroyed in the process.
A group of Androids (人造人間 Jinzōningen, "Artificial Humans") created by a member of the former Red Ribbon Army, Doctor Gero, appear three years later, seeking revenge against Goku. During this time, an evil life form called Cell also emerges and, after absorbing two of the Androids to achieve his "perfect form," holds his own fighting tournament to challenge the protagonists. After Goku sacrifices his own life to no avail, Gohan avenges his father by defeating Cell. Seven years later, Goku, briefly revived for one day, and his allies are drawn into a fight against Majin Boo. After numerous battles, including destruction and re-creation of the Earth, Goku destroys Boo with a Genki-Dama (a sphere of pure energy drawn from all intelligent beings on Earth) and wishes for him to be reincarnated as a "good person." Ten years later, at another Tenkaichi Budōkai, Goku meets Boo's human reincarnation, Oob. Leaving their match unfinished, Goku departs with Oob to train him to be Earth's new guardian.
