<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <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> <P> Dragon Ball Z uses four pieces of theme music in the Japanese version . From episodes 1 - 199, the opening theme is "Cha - La Head - Cha - La" by Hironobu Kageyama, and the closing theme is "Detekoi Tobikiri Zenkai Pawā!" by MANNA . From episodes 200 - 291, the opening and closing themes are "We Gotta Power" and "Boku - Tachi wa Tenshi Datta," both by Hironobu Kagayama . </P>

How many episodes does the dragonball z series have