Episode 1 – Bulma and Son Goku
English Dub Title: The Secret Of The Dragon Balls
Japanese premier date: February 26, 1986
Hong Kong premier date: February 21, 1988
French premier date: March 3, 1988
Thai premier date: April 23 1988
Spanish premier date: March 2, 1989
US premier date : January 1, 1990 (Harmony Gold dub), September 9, 1995 (BLT dub), August 20, 2001 (Funimation inhouse dub)
Canadian premier dates: March 23, 1996 (BLT dub), September 1, 2003 (Blue Water dub)
Greek premier date: September 16, 1995
Portuguese premier date: April 19, 1996
Indonesian premier date: June 29, 1996
Brazilian premier date: August 19, 1996
Singapore premier date: May 31, 1997
Hungarian premier date: December 3, 1997
German premier date: August 30, 1999
Polish premier date: October 1, 1999
Romanian premier date: December 14, 1999
Swiss premier date: September 4, 2000
Austrian premier date: January 8, 2001
Slovenian premier date: November 19, 2001
Serbian premier date: December 31, 2001
Bosnia and Herzegovina premier date: January 14, 2002
Macedonian premier date: February 9, 2002
UK premier date: October 6, 2003
South African premier date: January 14, 2004
Corresponding manga chapter: Chapter 001, “Bulma and Son Goku”
In West City, Bulma learns from a book in her home of the existence of the Dragon Balls, said to grant any single wish if all seven are gathered. She builds a Dragon Radar that picks up the electric waves emitted by the Dragon Balls, and sets out on a journey to find them. Midway through her journey, she meets the peculiar tailed boy Son Goku! Bulma recognizes that Goku’s keepsake from his adoptive grandfather is the Four-Star Ball, one of the Dragon Balls. She invites him on her journey to collect the Dragon Balls, and the two set out for an adventure!!
Anime-only/filler content: Goku eats an apple and engages in some Looney Tunes shenanigans with a sabre tooth cat; the Pilaf crew find their first Dragon Ball and Mai explains the Dragon Balls.