It has never been confirmed one way or the other, the wiki entry remains without sources, and it is a mystery I have tried to look into.
The one time a native has made reference to the series airing, however vaguely, I’m aware of was one case on Reddit a friend directed me to.
Conversely, I asked one of the major Ukranian YouTubers on this video and received the following response:
As Google translates:
While this does not say with 100% certainty Ukraine never received Dragon Ball on TV, at the moment there aren’t any signs pointing towards it. Many promos for QTV are available online, but I have not seen any Dragon Ball footage or mentions of the show.
The archived section from QTV’s old website mentions Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Bleach, Neon Genesis Evangelion but not Dragon Ball.
It is worth noting there are channels like POP TV in Slovenia, which aired Dragon Ball in the late 90s to early 2000s with a voiceover but didn’t mention it on their website.
If I do uncover any information about it I will be sure to document it. Please fill out the contact form, I’d love to hear if you remember anything at all about it.
Now the Kino Polska group-owned channel GameToon has announced they will be launching an anime strand, which will feature both “Dragon Ball” and “World Trigger” and broadcast several times a day. As both series are TOEI Animation productions it is possible they were acquired in a package deal.
Fans hoping for a Polish dub as Dragon Ball Kai and Dragon Ball Super have received during their broadcasts on Polsat Games may be disappointed as it appears GameToon will be airing original Dragon Ball with only Japanese audio and Polish subtitles, althoughsources have said it is so viewers can appreciate the atmosphere and authenticity of the production.
GameToon have scheduled a daily anime stream Monday-Friday where the first episodes of Dragon Ball and World Trigger will be aired with additional reruns at various times throughout the day.
6:20am – Repeat of the previous day’s “Dragon Ball” premiere
7:00am – “Dragon Ball” premiere
2:20pm – Repeat of the previous day’s “World Trigger” premiere
3:00pm – “World Trigger” premiere
3:45pm – Repeat of the previous day’s “Dragon Ball” premiere
4:30pm – “Dragon Ball” premiere
11:20pm – Repeat of the previous day’s “Dragon Ball” premiere
00:00am – “Dragon Ball” premiere
00:45am – Repeat of the previous day’s “World Trigger” premiere
01:30am – “World Trigger” premiere
This will mark not only the second channel to begin airing original Dragon Ball this year (as Cartoon Network India has just commenced their rerun) but also the second channel for the series to be launched on within the space of just over a week, and a first for GameToon.
As the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball’s debut in the 51st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on November 20, 1984 approaches expect more to be announced in the near future to commemorate the work that made Akira Toriyama a globally recognized mangaka.
Perhaps more broadcasts or releases of the original Dragon Ball will be on the cards to test the waters for a kid Goku-centric show as countries around the world await the international licensing of Dragon Ball Daima. That would certainly be something to look forward to as the original Dragon Ball is often overshadowed by its successors, most notably Dragon Ball Z, but this may be the time loyal fans have long waited for.
Last time we reported on the status of original Dragon Ball on Cartoon Network India there seemed to be hints it would be returning to the channel alongside the debut of Bardock: The Father of Goku.
Cartoon Network is available to Indian audiences through satellite provider Dish TV (channel 176) and content distribution platform TATA Play (channel 667).
And if these listings weren’t enough, TV Wish’s general episode summary can only point to the original Dragon Ball series.
This is wonderful news, as it’s been a long time since original Dragon Ball was shown on the channel, and today Cartoon Network dubs more Dragon Ball content than ever and in more languages than in the past with the addition of Malayalam and Kannada dubs. Kai, Superaswellasvariousmovies have
Only a Hindi dub of original Dragon Ball was known to exist before the announcement the show was returning, which means in addition to the redub the Tamil and Telugu dubs are probably new audios as well.
Super Android 13 preceded the airing of original Dragon Ball at 1pm, Bardock: The Father of Goku will follow this day next week at the same timeslot, and original Dragon Ball has been announced to air on Cartoon Network India at 2pm every Sunday with multiple episodes, so expect more movies and specials as well.
In promos Cartoon Network continues to pull all the punches describing this “legendary story” as being “of a boy who became” the “mightiest warrior Goku”. Its this kind of promise other broadcasters should have considered given original Dragon Ball to allow it to perform to the best of its ability.
Stay tuned for further updates on “the adventure that started it all” as Cartoon Network markets the original series as. The 2009/2010 broadcast didn’t cover the whole series, so it would be truly amazing for Indian audiences to finally receive the entire series.
As Kai and Super were dubbed in full within less than a year this could very much become a reality for original Dragon Ball, and who knows what else that will follow. GT? Daima of course should come eventually, but there’s so much content that Indian Dragon Ball fans would be spoiled for choice if their local Cartoon Network continues dubbing in five languages as it has been doing for the last two years.
As we reported previously, current TV schedules seem to indicate Dragon Ball Super will air in original Dragon Ball’s place this Sunday at 2pm on the channel, although equally its possible these listings are just using Dragon Ball Super as a placeholder.
Nonetheless, while rumours have suggested original Dragon Ball performed poorly when it first aired in India back in 2009 Cartoon Network has been demonstrating confidence in its promos. In the aforementioned promo we see the series being advertised as “a legendary story”:
In the promo fans are also treated to various shots from the early arcs:
Of course the marketing train doesn’t stop with original Dragon Ball, it keeps going for the Bardock special:
What is even more interesting about the Bardock promo is not the hype terminology Cartoon Network uses, but the fact it showcases some shots from the Piccolo Diamao and 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arcs, it is as if the channel wishes for viewers to stay tuned for September 1st when they will be able to witness both the TV special and the original Dragon Ball series return to India on the same day.
Indeed the promo goes on to point to either the Bardock special by itself or the Bardock special and original Dragon Ball as being the beginning of something:
It may be because of the subject matter of the special, Goku is sent to Earth as his father fights against the forces of Freeza’s empire. Original Dragon Ball takes viewers to where Goku’s story begins on Earth. As such premiering both on the same day seems like a clever business move, but this remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, as mentioned the promo offers brief glimpses into where Goku’s journey takes him in original Dragon Ball:
The special is being marketed as a “blockbuster”, which may suggest Cartoon Network has had major success with the movies (Dragon Ball Z movies 5-9, 12 and 13) it aired in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada last year.
Original Dragon Ball and Bardock: The Father of Goku will receive the same treatment, which should allow both to reach audiences far and wide in India.
So will original Dragon Ball grace Indian audiences within the next two days or will it be another week? Only time will tell, but for sure, exciting times are ahead for all Dragon Ball fans in India.
The former Sony Pictures Television broadcaster, which is now owned by Narrative Entertainment has responded to a fan enquiry about them airing Dragon Ball Kai.
Dragon Ball Kai previously aired in the UK and Ireland on the now defunct channel Kix (owned by another one of POP’s previous owners CSC Media), but despite a lot of rumours at the time the channel ended up airing the Funimation dub, allegedly because TOEI gave them no other option. This may have been because Manga UK’s season DVDs of Dragon Ball Z, which contained the Funimation dub were being released at the time as a means of avoiding marketing confusion, or Funimation might have pulled some strings, but unfortunately clarity was never given on this.
It would inevitably be a great opportunity for POP if they were to air Dragon Ball Kai with an English dub that is not widely available or seen, and has a built-in fanbase with actors like Brian Drummond and Scott McNeil, but until then the best that can be hoped for is enough fans reach out to them advising they seek out the Ocean dub.
In its place Dragon Ball Super appears to be airing from 2pm-3:45pm following another airing of Dragon Ball Z movie 7 Super Android 13 at 1pm. The movie was previously shown on May 7th last year, and Dragon Ball Super has been airing at the same timeslot since June of this year.
If episode descriptions are anything to go by it seems Cartoon Network India will be rerunning the series from episode 1, as this listing from TVWish suggests the Battle of Gods arc is being aired, although this arc began its most recent rerun at the beginning of July.
This may be a placeholder, as this has happened before. Alternatively, as another fan I’ve spoke to suggested it is possible Cartoon Network India plans to air original Dragon Ball after the Bardock special, which debuts on September 1st and follow it up with a rerun of Kai.
In any case watch this space for further updates on India and the original series return after almost 15 years.
All schedules are sourced from Star Times TV guide at the time each respective schedule was live. Credit goes to sangofe for informing me of when this channel began airing Dragon Ball Super.
As we previously reportedBardock: The Father of Goku, the Takao Koyama and Katsuyuki Sumisawa-penned TV special is set to air for the first time ever in India on the native Cartoon Network, which has had massive success with the Dragon Ball over the past two years with Super, Kai and various movies.
The special, which has commonly been mistaken for a movie, possibly because it had the same runtime as any of the 17 original movies is in fact a TV special, and during its first ever release on October 17, 1990 it aired on Fuji Television, like the rest of the series between Dragon Ball Z episodes 63 and 64, so it is in fact every bit as much a part of the TV anime as the 291-episode series that aired during the same timeslot.
September 1, 2024, the special will air on Cartoon Network with five dubs in different languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada at 1pm. This will be a week after original Dragon Ball returns to Cartoon Network.
There may be more or less episodes of original Dragon Ball premiering the week before, although the Bardock special is airing later than Dragon Ball Z movie 5 did so Cartoon Network India may be taking their time with dubbing it more so than they did with Kai, which all 167 episodes of were aired between April 16th and November 12th last year.
When I find an upcoming Sunday schedule for Cartoon Network India I will be sure to update this.
In any case it is great that Indian audiences finally have a way of legally watching and supporting the much loved TV special, and hopefully History of Trunks will follow, and more of TOEI’s Dragon Ball catalogue if ratings are good.
As we speak Dragon Ball episode 103, the second episode of the Piccolo Daimaō arc has just aired in South Korea on the Daewon Media-owned channel AniBox.
Currently AniBox air Dragon Ball on Sundays starting with 1 rerun of the last week’s newest episode at 8pm followed by 3 new episodes from 8:30pm-10pm.
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