# Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (ドラゴンボールZ この世で一番強いヤツ)
**Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest** (*Dragon Ball Z: Kono Yo de Ichiban Tsuyoi Yatsu*, ドラゴンボールZ この世で一番強いヤツ) is a 1990 Japanese animated film, the fifth theatrical release in the [Dragon Ball](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-ball) franchise and the second based on *Dragon Ball Z*, in which Goku and his allies fight the scientist Dr. Wheelo, a brain in a cybernetic chassis who wants the body of the world's strongest fighter as his new vessel.[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%ABZ_%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%96%E3%81%A7%E4%B8%80%E7%95%AA%E5%BC%B7%E3%81%84%E3%83%A4%E3%83%84) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | March 10, 1990; fifth Dragon Ball theatrical film, second *Dragon Ball Z* film[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%ABZ_%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%96%E3%81%A7%E4%B8%80%E7%95%AA%E5%BC%B7%E3%81%84%E3%83%A4%E3%83%84) |
| Staff | Director Daisuke Nishio; screenplay Takao Koyama; animation director Minoru Maeda; producer Kōzō Morishita; production by Toei[3](https://eiga.com/movie/41632/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) |
| Premise | Dr. Kochin uses the Dragon Balls to resurrect his mentor Dr. Wheelo, whose body was destroyed by an avalanche fifty years earlier; Wheelo seeks the strongest fighter's body as his new vessel[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) |
| Timeline placement | Falls in the television series' span after Vegeta's first appearance and before Goku departs for Planet Namek[5](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151021) |
| Runtime and rating | 60 minutes; rated PG[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) |
| Reception | IMDb 6.6/10 from about 7,000 votes; Rotten Tomatoes audience score 68% from more than 5,000 ratings[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) |
| Home and streaming | Collected in the Dragon Ball theatrical DVD-BOX of April 14, 2006, with a standalone DVD on August 8, 2008; streaming in the US on Crunchyroll and the Crunchyroll Amazon Channel[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%ABZ_%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%96%E3%81%A7%E4%B8%80%E7%95%AA%E5%BC%B7%E3%81%84%E3%83%A4%E3%83%84) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Dr. Kochin uses the Dragon Balls to resurrect his mentor, Dr. Wheelo, whose body was destroyed by the avalanche that killed him fifty years before. Wheelo, preserved as a brain in a large cybernetic machine, desires the body of the strongest fighter in the world as his new vessel.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) Believing Master Roshi to be the world's strongest warrior, a belief rooted in Roshi's victory in the World Martial Arts Tournament decades earlier, Kochin abducts Bulma and forces Roshi to surrender himself to save her.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) Roshi is tested against Wheelo's fighters, and the villains learn that the title of world's strongest now belongs to Goku, whom they then try to bring to their laboratory.[6](https://www.dbzn.net/moviereviews/strongest.shtml) When Goku hears of the abduction, he goes to the rescue, and the heroes battle through the scientist's stronghold, where they face a barrier, high-voltage currents, and Piccolo, whose evil heart has been placed under the villains' control.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) • [7](https://anime.eiga.com/movie/103014/)
## Production
The film was directed by Daisuke Nishio, written by Takao Koyama, and had Minoru Maeda as animation director, with Kōzō Morishita credited as producer and production by Toei.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/41632/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) The Japanese cast draws on the television series' regulars: [Masako Nozawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/masako-nozawa) voices Son Goku and Son Gohan, Toshio Furukawa voices [Piccolo](https://www.edgepedia.org/piccolo-dragon-ball), Mayumi Tanaka voices Kuririn, Hiromi Tsuru voices Bulma, Kōhei Miyauchi voices Kame-sen'nin (Master Roshi), and Naoki Tatsuta voices Oolong; Koji Yada voices Dr. Kochin and Kōji Nakata voices Dr. Wheelo (Dr. Uirō).[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest)
## Place in the series
The film is set in the television series' timeline between Vegeta's first appearance and Goku's departure for Planet Namek.[5](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151021) Like the other early *Dragon Ball Z* theatrical films, it is a side story rather than part of the manga's main continuity.[6](https://www.dbzn.net/moviereviews/strongest.shtml) Audience commentary has noted that it departs from the series' usual formula of a single overwhelming villain: the story is science-fiction based, recalls the Red Ribbon army era of the original *Dragon Ball*, gives Master Roshi a prominent role, and has been read as a forerunner of the later android saga, with Dr. Wheelo as a prototype for Dr. Gero.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest)
## Reception and availability
The film runs 60 minutes, in line with the short runtimes of the early *Dragon Ball Z* theatrical releases.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) It holds an IMDb rating of 6.6 from about 7,000 votes and a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 68% from more than 5,000 ratings.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest) Audience reviewers have generally treated it favorably among the early Z-era films, praising the action and the use of an evil, mind-controlled Piccolo, while noting that some comic sequences with Oolong and Gohan sit awkwardly in the story.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest)
The film was collected in the *Dragon Ball* theatrical DVD-BOX released on April 14, 2006, and received a standalone DVD on August 8, 2008.[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%ABZ_%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%96%E3%81%A7%E4%B8%80%E7%95%AA%E5%BC%B7%E3%81%84%E3%83%A4%E3%83%84) In the United States it is currently available for streaming on [Crunchyroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/crunchyroll) and the Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, with digital rental and purchase options on other platforms.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest)
## References
1. [ドラゴンボールZ この世で一番強いヤツ, Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom)](https://dragonball.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%ABZ_%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%96%E3%81%A7%E4%B8%80%E7%95%AA%E5%BC%B7%E3%81%84%E3%83%A4%E3%83%84)
2. [Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-ball-z-the-worlds-strongest)
3. [ドラゴンボールZ この世で一番強いヤツ : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/41632/)
4. [Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_ball_z_the_worlds_strongest)
5. [ドラゴンボールＺ この世で一番強いやつ（1990）, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151021)
6. [The Dragonball Z Network, Movie Reviews, The World's Strongest](https://www.dbzn.net/moviereviews/strongest.shtml)
7. [劇場版 ドラゴンボールＺ この世で一番強いヤツ, アニメハック](https://anime.eiga.com/movie/103014/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1932 to 1998*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license