It seems almost impossible to discuss Dragon Ball without discussing its music at some point. A good deal of fans in the west still think of Bruce Faulconer’s replacement score when reflecting on Dragon Ball Z, but the franchise’s actual sound direction is far more sophisticated than anything Faulconer provided. From Shunsuke Kikuchi’s score to Kenji Yamamoto’s many video game tracks, Dragon Ball has a rich history of music.
As far as anime is concerned, there’s no piece of music more immediately gripping than an opening, and Dragon Ball has often had great theme songs. Some better than others, of course. While the series has a penchant for solid openings, a key few are just blatantly better.
8 Super Opening 1: Chozetsu Dynamic
Dragon Ball Super’s first opening, Chozetsu Dynamic, managed to capture the whimsy of Dragon Ball coming back. For those first few episodes, it was an anthem that marked a low stakes return to the series. It’s also irritating as hell after a few listens and wears out its welcome midway through the Resurrection F retelling.
Chozetsu Dynamic also feels painfully out of place during the Goku Black arc. The chipper music does not match the tone of the arc whatsoever. It’s really little wonder Dragon Ball Super changed openings for the Tournament of Power. At its worst, Chozetsu Dynamic is a reminder of how incohesive Dragon Ball Super was for most of its run.
7 Kai Opening 2: Kuu-Zen-Zetsu-Go
Kuu-Zen-Zetsu-Go is an energetic song that captures some semblance of the Boo arc rather well while failing to really capture the full tone of the story arc. Not helping matters is a fairly generic-looking opening as far as direction goes. The biggest issue with this song is how bland it sounds in comparison to other Dragon Ball themes.
This is a song that can be slapped on just about any Shonen anime. It has some Dragon Ball references in its lyrics, but the sound is far too modern. Not helping matters is the fact that the Boo arc already has an incredibly fitting opening with WE GOTTA POWER back during the DBZ days.
6 Kai Opening 1: Dragon Soul
Dragon Soul isn’t a bad song by any stretch of the imagination, but it, like Kuu-Zen-Zetsu-Go, suffers for serving as a replacement for a much better song. In the case of Dragon Soul, it’s basically Kai’s version of Cha-La Head Cha-La, and it is not nearly as good. That said, Dragon Soul is a fun song and would be at home in one of the DBZ video games.
The opening itself is also rather nice, recreating a few key moments from the Saiyan, Freeza, and Cell arcs. Props in particular to Funimation for having some fun dubbing over Dragon Soul. Multiple voice actors sing the opening over the course of the series and, while not all voices are created equal, it makes for a nice change of pace every now and again.
5 Super Opening 2: Limit Break X Survivor
It’s honestly kind of shocking how much better of a theme song Limit Break x Survivor is for Dragon Ball Super. It captures the raw energy of a Dragon Ball revival, using the Tournament of Power as a great setting for the opening. It’s a shame that Universe Survival arc ends up such a narrative mess, but it’s hard not to feel energized listening to this song.
Limit Break x Survivor is also incorporated shockingly well into the score, to the point where it’s jarring to think Chozetsu Dynamic was ever Dragon Ball Super’s main theme. Hopefully whenever (if ever) Dragon Ball Super comes back, its main theme is more in-line with Limit Break x Survivor.
4 Dragon Ball Opening: Makafushigi Adventure
Nothing screams “adventure” quite like Makafushigi Adventure. The series’ first main theme, this is a song loaded with history. It’s the song that defined the franchise before Cha-La Head Cha-La. Makafushigi Adventure has been with Dragon Ball almost as long as Akira Toriyama himself. It’s a part of its DNA, and the series’ sound owes a lot to this theme.
If Toei really wants to excite fans, they should consider referencing Makafushigi Adventure for once instead of perpetually bringing Cha-La Head Cha-La back over and over again. In many respects, Makafushigi Adventure is the theme of Son Goku. Give it a listen.
3 Z Opening 1: Cha-La Head Cha-La
It’s really no wonder why Cha-La Head Cha-La keeps being brought back for games and movies: it’s just such a good song. No amount of nostalgia pandering will ever diminish Cha-La Head Cha-La’s legacy. It’s synonymous with Dragon Ball at this point, completely eclipsing the fact it was only featured in Dragon Ball Z– and not even for the whole series!
That’s really a testament to Cha-La Head Cha-La’s quality as a song. At the same time, it starts to sound a bit out of place in the Cell arc. Perhaps that’s because the Cell arc in itself can feel out of place in the context of Dragon Ball, but it makes sense why DBZ made the switch over to WE GOTTA POWER.
2 Z Opening 2: WE GOTTA POWER
Speaking of, this is just one of the most fun openings in the series. It’s energetic, it’s funny, it’s got this feeling of whimsy and action– it perfectly captures the tone of the Boo arc. Even once the arc veers and Gohan is no longer the main character, the song justifies how irrelevant everything in the opening animation becomes less than halfway through the story arc on sound alone.
WE GOTTA POWER doesn’t have the same staying power as Cha-La Head Cha-La, but it’s an endearing song that doesn’t outstay its welcome. It’s perfectly at home sounding off the end of Dragon Ball.
1 GT Opening: Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku
Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku is a beautiful song. So good, in fact, it might even trick you into watching Dragon Ball GT. It sounds off like a love letter to Dragon Ball, a ballad to everything that came before and what little left there is to come. Across all 64 episodes of Dragon Ball GT, Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku eases in this sense of finality that bursts in the final episode.
Making this the song that caps off the Dragon Ball animated saga is a stroke of genius and far & away the single greatest moment in Dragon Ball GT. This is not a sentimental series, but it’s hard not to feel emotional listening to a song so intimately tied to what was once the end of Dragon Ball as we knew it.