Where to Watch Dragon Ball Dubbed in 2023?
Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is probably the first anime that really made an impact in the West. Created in a period when martial arts movies were popular in the West, Dragon Ball became a global phenomenon that would, more than a decade later, enable the “Big Three” to make anime a part of cinema history. The overall structure of Dragon Ball is not always easy to follow so we will tell you where you can watch all the Dragon Ball series in dubbed format.
Four out of the five Dragon Ball anime series – i.e., Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super – can be streamed on Funimation in both dubbed and subbed formats; other streaming services that have the shows have them only in subbed formats. Dragon Ball Kai, the HD recut of Dragon Ball Z, cannot be watched on any of the major streaming services, only on Adult Swim (via cable provider) and only on demand.
In the rest of this article, we are going to tell you which streaming services offer dubbed episodes of all Dragon Ball series for streaming in the West. We’re going to tell you about all the major streaming services as well, so you’ll have all the information you need if you want to stream this truly great anime franchise.
Is Dragon Ball dubbed available on Netflix?
Dragon Ball is actually not available on Netflix, regardless of where you are in the world. No Dragon Ball series can be watched on Netflix; this shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Netflix doesn’t really invest in older anime series, especially those that have already been licensed by other streaming services.
It might be a little disappointing that a leading network like Netflix didn’t make dubbed episodes Dragon Ball available for streaming, but we assume that it has to do something with the licensing and distribution rights, although we cannot be sure that that is the actual reason.
Netflix is doing a great job in providing its subscribers with great streaming content, but it does have some restrictions in general. So if you live in a country with geographic restrictions, you may not be able to watch some of the content on Netflix even with a full subscription. And yes, in case you were wondering, you can check directly on Netflix to see if your country is geographically restricted.
But, all of that does not matter since an English dub of Dragon Ball is not available on Netflix, regardless of where you are.
Is Dragon Ball available on Crunchyroll?
Surprisingly, dubbed episodes of Dragon Ball are not available for streaming on Crunchyroll, the biggest anime distributor for the Western market. Crunchyroll usually has all of the episodes of an anime series, but Dragon Ball seems to be an exception, as you cannot stream it on the platform. The only series available on the platform is Dragon Ball Super, but only in subbed format.
If you want to watch some other great anime titles, Crunchyroll is your best option if you ask us, but, sadly, Dragon Ball is not on the site. As for the reasons, this is definitely a licensing issue, since Dragon Ball is streamed by Funimation in the West.
Is Dragon Ball dubbed available on Disney+?
Disney+ does not offer any Dragon Ball content at all, which is, as you probably know by now, not surprising as Disney+ is generally very conservative when original content created by other studios is concerned, and anime is not just that, it is also direct competition for Disney, who takes pride in its original animated content. On top of that, this kind of content is definitely not compatible with Disney.
However, if you do not mind Western animation and some other anime series (although the offer is quite limited), Disney+ offers quite a few of them.
One of these animated series is The Simpsons, which is still very popular with 33 seasons as of April 2022. Some other similar shows, both animated and live-action, that might attract your attention include Gravity Falls, The Mighty Ducks, and the Star Wars series, including the very popular The Mandalorian.
Is Dragon Ball dubbed available on Funimation?
The majority of the Dragon Ball series is fully available on Funimation in dubbed format for all fans to enjoy. This is what Funimation usually does, so it’s expected that the series is fully available on the platform in dubbed format. Funimation has Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super in both subbed and dubbed formats; Dragon Ball Kai is the only series not available on Funimation.
One major issue with Funimation is that it is not available around the world, so you’re only able to access it from a limited number of countries around the world, which can be a nuisance.
Is Dragon Ball dubbed available on Hulu?
Dragon Ball is not available for streaming on Hulu, at least not the dubbed version of the franchise. Hulu is not one of the major players in the world of streaming, but nonetheless, it has a solid anime library, which is why it’s a bummer that Dragon Ball is not in it. Still, if you want to watch subbed Dragon Ball episodes, you can check out Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT.
Hulu is a streaming service that primarily offers live-action shows and movies, but, as we have said, there’s also a lot of anime, although Dragon Ball is, unfortunately, not among the anime in Hulu’s library. Another big issue is that Hulu is not available around the world so there are certain restrictions if you don’t live in the United States.
As you can see, Hulu is not a good place to look for Dragon Ball, as it doesn’t have it in its library, but it wouldn’t be your best pick even if it had it, since the location restrictions on Hulu are large and if you’re a non-US fan, you’d have a lot of trouble with Hulu.
Is Dragon Ball dubbed available on HBO Max?
Dragon Ball cannot be streamed on HBO Max either. Namely, the streaming service simply doesn’t have the shows among its titles, so if you’re a subscriber and have been looking to see the show, we don’t have any good news for you.
But, if you actually do have a free trial or an ongoing subscription to HBO Max, you can also watch other great anime shows, some of which are true classics that need to be watched regardless of whether you’re a fan or not.
Luckily, HBO Max has a truly great anime library so fans will definitely find something for themselves if they want to explore other shows aside from Dragon Ball. Some other great anime on HBO Max include Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Death Note, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Re:ZERO.
Is Dragon Ball dubbed available on Amazon Prime?
Dragon Ball still isn’t available for streaming on Amazon Prime in dubbed format. This is relatively strange as Amazon Prime has a solid slate of anime on its service, especially older ones, but it seems that Dragon Ball isn’t on it at this moment. This, sadly, also includes Amazon’s non-Prime pay-per-view library, which means that you cannot rent or buy the individual Dragon Ball episodes as well.
Now, as we have said above, what surprised us the most is the fact that Amazon doesn’t even offer the anime episodes for purchase, as it does with a lot of other shows via its pay-per-view model (for example, One Piece or Black Clover). Such series cannot be streamed, but you can buy each episode individually and then own them, so you can watch them anytime you want.
One advantage of the rent or buy option on Amazon is the lack of restriction, either in time or location. Anywhere in the world, you can buy any available season or episode of a show, which is a good thing since some streaming services don’t offer their full slate for all countries. Once rented, you have only a limited amount of time to watch each episode for the same price, whereas with a purchased copy, you have unlimited time.
But, sadly, none of this applies to Dragon Ball dubbed, whether you’re an Amazon Prime member or not.