The Ultimate Guide to Reading the Canon Manga Content of Dragon Ball
We will show you the most accurate way to read the entire Dragon Ball manga in order, including all the canon content.
In this article, we want to present the ultimate guide to reading the Dragon Ball manga in the correct order while following the canon established by Toriyama, from the beginning of Goku's story to its conclusion. Not all of Dragon Ball's canonical story is found in the original work and its continuation, Super. Some parts must be read in Anime Comics and certain spin-offs.
If we asked you, "How and which Dragon Ball manga collections should you read to understand everything?", most would answer: the original manga by Toriyama and the Super manga by Toyotaro. But... that wouldn't be entirely correct.
That's why we've created this article—to serve as your guide, helping you discover where to find, what to read, and in what order to experience everything canonical related to the story of Goku and his friends.
To follow the story in chronological order, adhere to this sequence:
- Dragon Ball Minus: A special included in the Jaco volume, recounting how Bardock sent Goku to Earth.
- Jaco, the Galactic Patrolman: Chronicles Jaco’s adventures with Bulma’s sister. He is sent to Earth to prevent a newly dispatched Saiyan baby from arriving (spoiler: he does, and it’s Kakarot).
- Dragon Ball (Original), Chapters 1 to 350: From Goku and Bulma’s first meeting to the arrival of Androids 16, 17, and 18.
- Trunks: The Story: A special included in volume 33 of the Japanese edition, detailing Trunks' alternate future up to that point.
- Dragon Ball (Original), Chapters 351 to 517 (Page 10): Concludes the Majin Buu saga, just before the 10-year time skip in the manga.
- DB: Goku and His Friends Return: A manga drawn by Ooishi Naho (Dragon Ball SD author), narrating an adventure shortly after the Majin Buu battle, introducing Vegeta’s brother. (Not published in Spain).
- Dragon Ball Super, Chapters 1 to 4: Covers events up until Sorbet begins searching for the Dragon Balls to revive Frieza.
- Anime Comic DBZ: Resurrection ‘F’: This canonical story is not included in the Super manga.
- Dragon Ball Super, Chapters 5 to 42 (Page 34): Ends with the Tournament of Power, leading into the events of the Broly movie.
- Anime Comic DB Super: Broly: This story is not fully depicted in the manga, requiring reference to this anime comic.
- Dragon Ball Super, Chapters 42 (Page 35) to the end: Continues from the events of Broly through to the manga’s conclusion.
- Dragon Ball (Original), Chapters 517 (Page 11) to 519: Marks the end of the original manga, where Goku departs with Uub.
