Dragon Ball Kai
English title: Dragon Ball Z Kai
Japanese title: ドラゴンボール改
Alternative titles: Dragonball Kai, DBK, DB Kai, DBZ Kai
Type: TV
Source: Manga
Episodes: 97
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 5, 2009 to Mar 27, 2011
Broadcast: Sundays at 09:00 (JST)
Duration: 23 min per ep
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Studios: Toei Animation
Producers: Fuji TV
Licensors: Funimation
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Themes: Martial Arts
Demographics: Shounen

Five years after the events of Dragon Ball, martial arts expert Gokuu is now a grown man married to his wife Chi-Chi, with a four-year old son named Gohan. While attending a reunion on Turtle Island with his old friends Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma and others, the festivities are interrupted when a humanoid alien named Raditz not only reveals the truth behind Gokuu's past, but kidnaps Gohan as well.

With Raditz displaying power beyond anything Gokuu has seen before, he is forced to team up with his old nemesis, Piccolo, in order to rescue his son. But when Gokuu and Piccolo reveal the secret of the seven mystical wish-granting Dragon Balls to Raditz, he informs the duo that there is more of his race, the Saiyans, and they won’t pass up an opportunity to seize the power of the Dragon Balls for themselves.

These events begin the saga of Dragon Ball Kai, a story that finds Gokuu and his friends and family constantly defending the galaxy from increasingly more powerful threats. Bizarre, comical, heartwarming and threatening characters come together in a series of battles that push the powers and abilities of Gokuu and his friends beyond anything they have ever experienced.

Dragon Ball Kai is an edited and condensed version of Dragon Ball Z produced and released in 2009 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the original series. In addition to its new music tracks and re-recorded voice acting, Toei Animation updated the series' visuals to take advantage of high-definition televisions. The series concluded after 98 episodes, whereas the original Dragon Ball Z took 194 episodes to reach the same point. Kai was continued in 2014 with what is considered its own series, Dragon Ball Kai (2014).