7.7/101,082 votes#1 - The Secret of the Dragon Balls
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 2/26/1986
Bulma's search for six more Dragon Balls leads her to a remote valley and to Son Goku, who is in possession of one of the balls. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start, but after Goku saves Bulma's life, the two join forces in search of the remaining five Dragon Balls. They had better take care, for an evil force - Pilaf - also seeks the Dragon Balls.
Director: Minoru Okazaki
Writer: Yasushi Hirano
7.5/10716 votes#2 - The Emperor's Quest
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 3/5/1986
Without realizing where they are, Bulma and Goku camp near Ryugadani, a foreboding land where one of the Dragon Balls lies hidden. Pilaf dispatches his henchmen to recover the ball, but they and Goku run into each other and a pack of ravenous wolves. Who will emerge the winner?
Director: Daisuke Nishio
Writer: Toshiki Inoue
7.7/10679 votes#3 - The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/12/1986
As a token of appreciation, the Turtle Hermit presents Goku Kinto'un, a magical flying cloud that can be ridden only by someone pure of heart. He gives Bulma an orange bauble that he wears around his neck, a seemingly worthless stone that had washed up on the beach. It turns out that this "bauble" is in fact a Dragon Ball. Unfortunately for our friends, Pilaf and his aids, Mai and Shu, are also after this same Dragon Ball...and now they know that Bulma has it.
Director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Writer: Keiji Terui
7.4/10623 votes#4 - Oolong the Terrible
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 3/19/1986
Goku and Bulma arrive at a certain village, where the fifth Dragon Ball is located. Goku is mistaken for the freely shape-shifting monster Oolong, who raids the village, and is hit by a sudden attack from one of the villagers! Bulma makes a promise with the villagers that “We’ll take care of Oolong in exchange for the Six-Star Ball that’s in this village”. Goku disguises himself as one of the village girls, and the captured monster’s true identity turns out to be a piglet, of all things!! Bulma and Goku obtain the Six-Star Ball. Taking in Oolong as their ally, they continue their adventure to find the remaining Dragon Balls!!
Director: Minoru Okazaki, Daisuke Nishio
Writer: Akira Toriyama, Michiru Shimada
7.3/10596 votes#5 - Yamcha the Desert Bandit
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 3/26/1986
Goku and the others aim for Mt. Frypan. Because Bulma dropped her capsules into a river, they end up having to cross a desert on foot! Completely exhausted, Bulma rests there. At this point, the desert bandit Yamcha appears, and tries to seize Oolong’s capsules. Goku battles Yamcha, but he has no power on account of his empty stomach. At the critical moment, Bulma wakes up and Yamcha, who can’t bear to be around women, runs away with a few sharp parting remarks.
Director: Daisuke Nishio
Writer: Takao Koyama
7.3/10581 votes#6 - Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 4/2/1986
Yamcha attacks at night in an attempt to steal Oolong’s capsules! As Yamcha looks into the condition of their opponents, he learns about the Dragon Balls. Yamcha and Pu’er try to steal Goku and the others’ Dragon Balls through any means necessary, but fail!! At this point, they come up with the plan of waiting for Goku and the others to gather all seven Dragon Balls, and then steal them. Unaware of this, Goku and the others aim for Mt. Frypan in search of the sixth Dragon Ball.
Director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Writer: Yasushi Hirano
7.5/10558 votes#7 - The Ox King on Fire Mountain
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 4/9/1986
After arriving at Mt. Frypan, Goku and the others land in a pinch when they are spotted by Gyumao, who stands guard over his castle!! However, Gyumao’s attitude quickly changes when he learns that Goku and the others know Muten Roshi! In order to extinguish Mt. Frypan’s fire, Gyumao requests Goku go with his daughter Chi-Chi and borrow Muten Roshi’s Basho Fan. Goku finds Chi-Chi, who can ride on Kinto'un, but he powers down when she grabs his tail! Seeing this, Yamcha discovers Goku’s weakness!!
Director: N/A
Writer: Akira Toriyama
7.9/10567 votes#8 - The Kamehameha Wave
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 4/16/1986
Having thrown away the Basho Fan, Muten Roshi heads to Mt. Frypan to extinguish its flames himself!! Muten Roshi’s grand attack, the Kamehameha, puts out the blazing flames! Goku and the others safely obtain the Dragon Ball, and are about to head off in search of the final one. But Bulma is detained by Muten Roshi, since she promised to let him fondle her breasts if he put out the flames. Bulma gets out of this pinch by asking Oolong to transform into her.
Director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Writer: Keiji Terui
7.1/10532 votes#9 - Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 4/23/1986
Goku and the others visit a stand in order to fill up on gasoline. The townspeople are all frightened of Bulma, who is wearing rabbit ears. They don’t understand why, but then some scoundrels calling themselves the Rabbit Gang show up! Their boss, the Carrotizor, has the power to turn anyone who touches his hand into a carrot!! Bulma is turned into a carrot by him. Unable to merely watch, Yamcha rescues Bulma. Goku and the others defeat the Rabbit Gang, and once again set out to search for the Dragon Balls!!
Director: Minoru Okazaki
Writer: Akira Toriyama
7.4/10519 votes#10 - The Dragon Balls are Stolen!
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 4/30/1986
Goku and the others aim for the final Dragon Ball! However, their Dragon Balls are stolen by Pilaf and his underlings, who are plotting to use the Dragon Balls to take over the world!! Wanting to have his wish granted by Shen Long, Yamcha once again ends up helping Bulma and the others in order to obtain the Dragon Balls. In order to get the Dragon Balls back, Goku and the others invade Pilaf’s secret base. But they are all caught by the ingenious trap set by Pilaf. Goku’s Four-Star Ball is in danger!!
Director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Writer: Takao Koyama
7.5/10502 votes#11 - The Penalty is Pinball
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 5/7/1986
After being put to sleep by sleeping gas, Goku and the others have the Four-Star Ball stolen from them! Pilaf finally has all seven Dragon Balls, and he attempts to call forth Shen Long!! In order to stop Pilaf’s scheme, Goku uses the Kamehameha to open a hole in the wall of the room that they are imprisoned in! As Pu’er and Oolong transform into bats and head out the hole to take back the Dragon Balls, Shen Long is finally summoned! Will the world become Pilaf’s…?!
Director: N/A
Writer: Akira Toriyama
7.9/10503 votes#12 - A Wish to the Eternal Dragon
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 5/14/1986
Shen Long finally appears! Pilaf tries to say his wish, in order to rule the world!! Because Oolong said his wish of “Give me a girl’s panties” a moment sooner, his wish ended up being granted! With the wish granted, Shen Long returns again to the Dragon Balls, and they scatter to the four winds. Enraged, Pilaf imprisons Goku and the others in a room covered in fortified glass and iron plates, intending to kill them with the sun’s hot rays, but…?!
Director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Writer: Akira Toriyama
7.9/10496 votes#13 - The Legend of Goku
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 5/21/1986
Goku and the others have been captured once again by Pilaf. That night, Goku looks at the full moon, and suddenly turns wild and starts transforming into an Oozaru!! He smashes the prison that they are imprisoned in, and Yamcha and the rest manage to escape, but having lost his reason, Goku continues to rampage!! Yamcha then cuts off Goku’s weakness, his tail! Goku wakes up after returning to normal. The party promises to reunite, and the Dragon Team splits up.
Director: Yutaka Satoh
Writer: Keiji Terui
7.1/10588 votes#14 - Goku's Rival
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 5/28/1986
Done with collecting the Dragon Balls, Goku heads to the Turtle Hermit’s place to receive training! However, in order to become the Turtle Hermit’s pupil, the fee is to bring a pichi-pichi gal!! At the same time, a person comes from across the sea. The boy, who calls himself Kuririn, came in order to become the Turtle Hermit’s pupil, just like Goku! In order to be received as a pupil, Kuririn presents a large stash of porn magazines that he brought. Will he manage to safely become a pupil…?!
Director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Writer: Keiji Terui
7.1/10580 votes#15 - Look Out for Launch
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 6/4/1986
Goku and Kuririn set out in search of a pichi-pichi gal, the fee for becoming a pupil of the Turtle Hermit. Saving Lunch, a girl who was pursued by the police, they immediately bring her to the Turtle Hermit’s place! Having passed the test, Goku and Kuririn are recognized as the Turtle Hermit’s pupils!! But it turns out that Lunch is an incredibly peculiar girl with two personalities, and becomes either violent or peaceful each time she sneezes!!
Director: Minoru Okazaki
Writer: Toshiki Inoue
7.2/10571 votes#16 - Find That Stone!
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 6/11/1986
Moving to a large island, the Turtle Hermit begins the training. First, in order to learn Goku and Kuririn’s ability, he measures how fast they can run 100 meters. The two look promising, and the Turtle Hermit gives them some training before dinner. It’s a great trial where he throws a stone with the “turtle” mark on it into the jungle, then tells the two to find it! The person who doesn’t manage to find it will go without dinner! Goku and Kuririn take this severe training in earnest!! The sly Kuririn seizes victory in this contest!
Director: N/A
Writer: Akira Toriyama
7.4/10562 votes#17 - Milk Delivery
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 6/18/1986
The basic training finally begins! To start off, Goku and Kuririn are given milk delivery as their early morning training! Carrying the milk boxes, they do things like skip and zig-zag around rows of trees!! Furthermore, they climb stone stairs that rise high into the air, cross over a valley on a large tree, cross through a desert of quicksand and a raging river while keeping their balance, and get chased by dinosaurs as a bonus! This is their ultra-hard milk delivery training that surpasses ordinary knowledge!!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/10563 votes#18 - The Turtle Hermit Way
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 6/25/1986
With their early morning training over, they continue on to their morning training. In order to strengthen their arms and legs, they train by plowing a field barehanded! After breakfast it’s study time!! After lunch, they take an afternoon nap until 1:30. During the afternoon they help out with construction work. It’s training where they sweat, toughen their muscles, and even receive a part-time job salary! Furthermore, they carry themselves through rough training to toughen their reflexes, swimming ten laps around a lake while being chased by sharks and dodging the frenzied attacks of bees, to finally end a full day of training!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10557 votes#19 - The Tournament Begins
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 7/2/1986
Goku and Kuririn continue their training by wearing 40 kg shells on their back! The two are aiming for the Tenkaichi Budokai, which opens in a month!! The day before the tournament, the Turtle Hermit takes them to the island where it will be held! At the tournament registration area, Goku reunites with Yamcha, Bulma, Oolong, and Pu’er. Goku is delighted when he learns that Yamcha is also participating! The next day, the Tenkaichi Budokai is at last decided!!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10554 votes#20 - Elimination Round
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 7/9/1986
The Tenkaichi Budokai is held once every five years! A mere eight people are able to participate in the tournament’s main event! The preliminaries to select those eight people are divided up into four blocks!! Goku and Kuririn fully display the results of the harsh training that they received from the Turtle Hermit!! Tossing a veteran to his defeat, Goku splendidly gains the right to participate in the main event! What’s more, Yamcha also advances well, and wins his ticket to the Tenkaichi Budokai main event!!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/10555 votes#21 - Smells Like Trouble
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 7/16/1986
The first round of the Tenkaichi Budokai main event is Kuririn vs. Bacterian! Bacterian is a formidable opponent who uses his filth as a weapon, with his foul smell paralyzing his opponents. With bad breath, farts, and the like, he assaults Kuririn with foul-smelling attacks!! The helpless Kuririn is finally downed!! At that time, Kuririn awakens from this nightmare of smells when Goku tells him “You don’t have a nose!” Launching a fierce counterattack against Bacterian, Kuririn breaks through the first round!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10551 votes#22 - Quarterfinals Begin
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 7/23/1986
It’s the second match, Yamcha vs Jackie Chun! The mysterious old man Jackie Chun defies Yamcha’s rapid attacks, and breaks through even his special attack, the Roga fufu-ken (Wolf Fang Gale Fist)!! Furthermore, Jackie seizes victory by raising a wind with a swing of his left hand, blowing Yamcha out of bounds! In the third match, the serious Namu is assaulted by Ran-Fan’s sex appeal strategy!! But Namu achieves a turnabout victory when he defeats Ran-Fan with a single blow after freeing himself from distracting thoughts!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10543 votes#23 - Monster Beast Giran
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 7/30/1986
At last it’s Goku’s turn! The one facing Goku in the fourth match was the powerful opponent Giran!! Goku is knocked around by Giran’s stream of unfair attacks! Giran traps Goku in the rubbery Guru-Guru Gum that he shoots from his mouth!! Goku is in an absolutely desperate pinch! Just as he is about to be thrown out of the ring, his chopped-off tail suddenly grows back, and his power multiplies! Seeing this, Giran surrenders!!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10539 votes#24 - Krillin's Frantic Attack!
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 8/6/1986
The fifth match is the semi-finals fight, Kuririn vs. Jackie Chun. Kuririn and Jackie’s battle unfolds at ultra-fast speed that the eye can’t follow!! The spectators who came to watch the Tenkaichi Budokai are extremely excited by the pair’s high level battle!! Kuririn puts up a good fight against Jackie, but he rushes to win! Because of this, he is hit by Jackie’s karate chops after Jackie goes around behind his back, and is downed!! Sadly, Kuririn is defeated during the semi-finals.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10545 votes#25 - Danger From Above
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 8/13/1986
The sixth match is Goku and Namu’s semi-finals fight. Goku attacks Namu by imitating the Zanzouken that Jackie displayed during his fight with Kuririn. Namu skillfully dodges this attack! Namu attempts to finish Goku off with his special attack, the Tenku pekeji-ken! Goku is hit by the attack and downed, but revives right before the count of ten! Namu further comes out him with the Super Tenku pekeji-ken, but Goku breaks through the technique. Goku then advances to the finals!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Dragon Ball Season 1
Every episode of Dragon Ball Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Dragon Ball Season 1!
Long ago in the mountains, a fighting master known as Son Gohan discovered a strange boy whom he named Son Goku. Gohan raised him and...
Genres:AnimationAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
Network:Fuji TV
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"The Secret of the Dragon Balls" is the best rated episode of "Dragon Ball" season 1. It scored 7.7/10 based on 1082 votes. Directed by Minoru Okazaki and written by Yasushi Hirano, it aired on 2/26/1986. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "The Emperor's Quest".