Dragon Ball

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Dragonball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragonball Z

Japanese: ドラゴンボール

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 42

Chapters: 520

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 20, 1984 to May 23, 1995

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Themes: Martial Arts, Super Power

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Toriyama, Akira (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.43¹ (scored by 101,488 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #198²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #61

Members: 166,835

Favorites: 15,136

Resources

Wikipedia

8.43

Ranked #198Popularity #61Members 166,835

MangaShounen Jump (Weekly)Toriyama, Akira (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /42

Chapters: /520

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Synopsis

Bulma, a headstrong 16-year-old girl, is on a quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls—seven scattered magic orbs that grant the finder a single wish. She has but one desire in mind: a perfect boyfriend. On her journey, Bulma stumbles upon Gokuu Son, a powerful orphan who has only ever known one human besides her. Gokuu possesses one of the Dragon Balls, it being a memento from his late grandfather. In exchange for it, Bulma invites Gokuu to be a companion in her travels.

By Bulma's side, Gokuu discovers a world completely alien to him. Powerful enemies embark on their own pursuits of the Dragon Balls, pushing Gokuu beyond his limits in order to protect Bulma and their growing circle of allies. However, Gokuu has secrets unbeknownst to even himself; the incredible strength within him stems from a mysterious source, one that threatens the many people he grows to hold dear.

As his prowess in martial arts flourishes, Gokuu attracts stronger opponents whose villainous plans could collapse beneath his might. He undertakes the endless venture of combat training to defend his loved ones and the fate of the planet itself.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Dragon Ball has become one of the most successful manga series of all time. With over 260 million copies sold worldwide, the series is the fourth best-selling manga of all time as of 2024. It is often credited for the "Golden Age of Jump," where the magazine's circulation was at its highest.

The series was serialized in English by VIZ Media in a monthly comic book anthology format from March 1998 to March 2005. The publisher later collected the series into traditional tankoubon volumes from March 12, 2003, to June 6, 2006. To closely follow the English anime localization, the series was split, with volumes 17 through 42 titled Dragon Ball Z and renumbered as volumes 1 through 26. Other releases by VIZ Media include the large format VIZ Big Edition, kanzenban cover-based 3-in-1 edition, and a full-color edition of chapters 195 through 245. The series was also published in Spanish by Planet DeAgostini Cómics; in German and Danish by Carlsen Verlag; and in French and Dutch by Glénat Editions.

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Characters

Son, Gokuu

Main

Vegeta

Main

Son, Gohan

Main

Piccolo

Main

Bulma

Main

Kuririn

Main

Future Trunks

Supporting

Freeza

Supporting

Trunks

Supporting

Muten-Roushi

Supporting

Reviews

Sep 20, 2008

kingofranger

Recommended

Meh :D I read the the whole manga and is awesome :D

Story-

The story is well-developed and does everything to make a kid happy :D Awesome fighting,Training,Aura,comedies and stuffs :D

Art- Well the art is ok but the ears seem a little big to me :P

Character- Aliens and stuffs were good :D The characters were well-developed and have different personalities

...

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Dec 18, 2009

Chenoan

Recommended

Ever since I was little I was a hardcore fight fan, I loved watching shows where the antagonists had to battle for the survival of all they held dear, even now I hold fondly the anime that had given me my first taste as it aired on my morning cartoon network "Cheese TV." It was a boring morning when I stumbled upon the Dragonball manga and I soon found that morning cheering up as I delightfully relived the story of Goku and his Dragonball adventures.

Story [10/10]
If a manga like Dragonball were to only appear now, I would have probably given it an 8 or 9, ... though I have chosen to keep its original context in mind.
As I just mentioned; if Dragonball were to be released now, then it wouldn't have been as popular as it is today, this is because when the manga came out it was something new and unbelievable that the world had never really seen. The manga was one of the crucial founders of shounen fighting manga and anime; it set all the stereotypes and the benchmarks. Dragonball was one of the greatest stories of its generation and would leave a legacy on all shounen manga that would follow as the style continues to advance and refine to suit the times. Popular anime and manga like Naruto and Bleach all have roots in Dragonball.
Now, as for the story itself, I would say it's very good on its own terms. It takes an ancient Chinese tale and turns it into something completely different: a wacky adventure of a monkey-tailed jungle boy and a blue-haired tech head heiress of which would later be joined by more and more companions, some with rocky beginnings though all charmed by the protagonist, Goku's, innocence.
Goku's natural strength would always be questioned until later in the manga when his true identity is revealed as an adult (I would expect everyone to know, but I won't spoil it, just in case) which would give him the opportunity to face opponents stronger than he'd ever faced in an intergalactic setting.
Dragonball's sense of romance was kind of vague; the manga would skip large amounts of time, rarely even offering as much as a montage to explain the gap. Most romantic relationships would take place between these times. I felt that this was probably one of the best methods, the concept of lovey-dovey romance happening within Dragonball is shudder-worthy, it would undermine the true focus of the anime and so, as a result, even the cutest pairing were laced with violence, screaming spouses throwing threats at one another, it was the manga's own form of love.

Art [10/10]
The style enjoyed sitting out of the box.
Before Dragonball most anime and manga were similar to Astro Boy or the work of Hayao Miyazaki, but then came Dragonball sporting veined muscles and antagonists like king Piccollo and Frieza.
The settings were unique as well, like an alternate universe to our own world filled with amusing sterotypes from around the world, the terrain ranging from desert to jungles, cities to islands.
The world was made the playground for this manga.

Characters [10/10]
Like any fighting manga or anime, it was very character driven, creating unique and wacky personalities and character designs with very well thought out back story that would always come back to bite them somewhere in the manga, no matter how far forward. In Dragonball especially, the character development was evident, as the characters changed and aged physically and mentally, maturing in all their own chosen occupations.

Enjoyment [10/10]
I will have to say that the reason I enjoyed this manga the most was because of the nostalgia that I felt from reading it, I could remember a time back when I was just four or five years old when I would sit and watch, even though I can't remember much about my childhood, I still hang onto so many memories of watching Goku fight Frieza on planet Namek, of trunks and his father fighting cell among others.

I remember and it feels good to be reminded.

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Nov 19, 2022

WhatAGoodShow

Mixed Feelings

Well-written

Dragon Ball manga is the source material of the famous anime series Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z and has the key indigence that make these shows as good as they are. Usually when something doesn't make sense and stupid retcons are introduced in Dragon Ball Super, people are using this manga in means of defence and site it as the superior Dragon Ball experience.
But is it?

Story
Being a combination of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in being in one manga, the source material of Dragon Ball has its own can of worms.

Dragon Ball started off as an adventure story with elements of Journey to ...

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