<P> Dragon Ball Z ( ドラゴンボール ゼット , Doragon Bōru Zetto , commonly abbreviated as DBZ ) is the long - running anime sequel to the Dragon Ball TV series , adapted from the final twenty - six volumes of the Dragon Ball manga written by Akira Toriyama . The manga portion of the series debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump in October 4 , 1988 and lasted until 1995 ; the anime adaptation premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on April 26 , 1989 , taking over its predecessor 's time slot , and ran until its end on January 31 , 1996 , lasting 291 episodes in Japan , and 276 episodes in the United States originally , although all 291 episodes were later broadcast when content from the first 67 episodes was restored . </P>
how many episodes are there in dragon ball z
291 episodes