Home > Dragon Ball Z > Season 1 « TV Series Page Dragon Ball Z: Season 1 (1989 - 1990) SEASON: Season 1 Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9 Want to see Episode List Season 1 Dragon Ball Z Critics Consensus No consensus yet. 78% TOMATOMETER Critic Ratings: 9 85% Audience Score User Ratings: 16 NEW More Info × Close Want to see Super Reviewer Submit Super Reviewer Edit Review Episodes 1 The Arrival of Raditz Air date: Sep 13, 1996 First telecast in Japan on May 3 1989, "The Arrival of Raditz" was episode one of the four-part DragonBall Z introductory adventure "The Arrival." Long a resident of Earth, Saiyan expatriate Goku attends a reunion at Master Roshi's place, where he is reunited with several old friends--all of whom are surprised that Goku has a son named Gohan. The festivities are interrupted by Saiyan warrior Raditz, who reveals that he is Goku's older brother and that Goku has forgotten his original mission to destroy all mankind. When Goku refuses to rejoin Raditz, the latter retaliates by kidnapping Gohan and thus the saga begins. "The Arrival of Raditz" was shown in the US on September 13, 1996. More 2 Reunions Air date: Sep 14, 1996 More 3 Unlikely Alliance Air date: Sep 20, 1996 More 4 Piccolo's Plan Air date: Sep 15, 1996 More 5 Gohan's Rage Air date: Oct 4, 1996 More 6 No Time Like the Present Air date: Oct 4, 1996 More 7 Day 1 Air date: Oct 4, 1996 More 8 Gohan Goes Bananas Air date: Oct 11, 1996 More 9 The Strangest Robot Air date: Oct 18, 1996 More 10 A New Friend Air date: Oct 18, 1996 More Show More Episodes Dragon Ball Z: Season 1 Photos View All Photos (59) Tv Season Info Series 1 of the animated series that sees an intrepid team called the Saiyan protects Earth from various invaders. Genre: Anime & Manga Network: Syndicated Premiere Date: Sep 13, 1996 Exec. Producers: Gen Fukunaga, Cindy Fukunaga Cast Ian James Corlett as Goku/Master Roshi Michael Dobson as Kami/Nayle Ted Cole as Yamma-Cha Paul Dobson as Zarbon Saffron Henderson as Gohan Terry Klassen as Krillin Linda Young as Frieza James Stanley as Supreme Kai Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma/Marron Chris Rager as Hercule Christopher Sabat Doc Harris as Narrator Brian Drummond as Vegeta Jason Gray-Stanford as Raditz Terry Klassen as Krillin Scott McNeil as Nappa Lalainia Lindbjerg as Bulma Matt Smith as Tien Pauline Newstone as Frieza Show More Cast Episodes 1 The Arrival of Raditz Air date: Sep 13, 1996 First telecast in Japan on May 3 1989, "The Arrival of Raditz" was episode one of the four-part DragonBall Z introductory adventure "The Arrival." Long a resident of Earth, Saiyan expatriate Goku attends a reunion at Master Roshi's place, where he is reunited with several old friends--all of whom are surprised that Goku has a son named Gohan. The festivities are interrupted by Saiyan warrior Raditz, who reveals that he is Goku's older brother and that Goku has forgotten his original mission to destroy all mankind. When Goku refuses to rejoin Raditz, the latter retaliates by kidnapping Gohan and thus the saga begins. "The Arrival of Raditz" was shown in the US on September 13, 1996. More 2 Reunions Air date: Sep 14, 1996 More 3 Unlikely Alliance Air date: Sep 20, 1996 More 4 Piccolo's Plan Air date: Sep 15, 1996 More 5 Gohan's Rage Air date: Oct 4, 1996 More 6 No Time Like the Present Air date: Oct 4, 1996 More 7 Day 1 Air date: Oct 4, 1996 More 8 Gohan Goes Bananas Air date: Oct 11, 1996 More 9 The Strangest Robot Air date: Oct 18, 1996 More 10 A New Friend Air date: Oct 18, 1996 More Show More Episodes Critic Reviews for Dragon Ball Z Season 1 All Critics (9) | Top Critics (0) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (2) There comes a point where the heroes and villains become so strong that merely exercising a fraction of their abilities puts whole worlds in jeopardy, but the good news is that there are plenty of enjoyable episodes before you get to that point. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review… Dave Trumbore Collider For as long as I have been around anime, this series, which is at least twenty years old, just never did it for me. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review… James Brusuelas Animation World Network On an entirely shallow level, the animation and look of the show has aged significantly, yet a bigger problem lies beyond that -- the pacing is awful. Feb 22, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… Ryan King SciFiNow Compared to its predecessor, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, has many more battle and fight scenes and more violent language -- but, then again, it's also more popular. Feb 22, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… Pam Gelman Common Sense Media It's colorful, it's funny and once it gets rolling, it has loads and loads of terrible screaming and almost-pointless violence. Sometimes that's about all you need for a really good time. Feb 22, 2019 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review… D.F. Smith IGN Movies Though the animation might not be as beautiful to look at as in later seasons, the Saiyan Saga still has some of the best writing in the entire series. Piccolo's character arc is an especially interesting one to see evolve. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review… Spencer Coriarty ScreenRant This saga introduces DBZ's first major villain, and, it wouldn't be hard to argue, the series' best character overall: Vegeta. While he isn't too fleshed out yet, it's clear why Toriyama decided to keep the Saiyan prince around. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review… Charlie Heller CBR Learning that Goku had an alien background was such a great shakeup to the franchise, as it helped breathe new life into the story. It also lead to one of the single greatest battles in all of Dragon Ball, Goku and Vegeta's first fight against each other. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review… Sean Aitchison CBR With hyper-kinetic violence, flashy energy attacks, dizzying spectacles of mass destruction, and tense moments of serial escalation, Dragon Ball Z is a singularly important installment in the canon of martial arts action anime. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review… Toussaint Egan Paste Magazine View All Critic Reviews (9) Audience Reviews for Dragon Ball Z: Season 1 There are no featured audience reviews yet. Click the link below to see what others say about Dragon Ball Z: Season 1! See All Audience Reviews News & Features 150 Erotic Movies Ranked worst to best! 2019's Most Anticipated 63 movies coming up this year 200 Essential Movies Chosen by RT staff! 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