The first through fifth films were shown at the Toei Manga Festival ( 東映まんがまつり, Tōei Manga Matsuri), while the sixth through seventeenth films were shown at the Toei Anime Fair ( 東映アニメフェア, Toei Anime Fea). These were generally screened back to back with other Toei films for that season as special theatrical events in Japan. These films were mostly alternate retellings of certain story arcs involving new characters or extra side-stories that do not correlate with the same continuity as the manga or TV series. These films have a running time below feature length (around 45–60 minutes each) except for the 1996 film, at 80 minutes. Seventeen films were produced in this period-three Dragon Ball films from 1986 to 1988, thirteen Dragon Ball Z films from 1989 to 1995, and finally a tenth anniversary film that was released in 1996 and adapted the Red Ribbon arc of the original series. Background Original run (1986–1996) Theatrical event circuit films (1986-96) 1986ĭuring the franchise's original broadcast run (1986-1997), Toei produced Dragon Ball films rapidly, often two a year to match the Japanese spring and summer vacations.
