Ranked #354

Dragon Ball

Ah, Dragonball. The beginning of one of the longest and arguably most popular anime franchise on both sides of the pacific. Unfortunately, this anime seems to be shunned by a few based on its affiliation with its sequels. That's a shame, really.

One huge reason why this anime holds its own is that the entire franchise is in its infancy. There are no Super Saiya-jin stages to worry about, and the fights aren’t stretched out to their barely tolerable limits. The various quests that the young Z-Senshi embark on are just that: quests. There are no interstellar enemies to fight (early on), and the majority of the time spent is on the team simply trying to find the dragonballs. The comedic element in Dragonball shines just as brightly and flows smoothly with the story. The characters have such a genuinely portrayed chemisty between each other. Dragonball never seems to take itself too seriously, allowing the viewer to sit back and enjoy the ride.

For a twenty-year-old series, Dragonball looks the part. Time has taken its toll, as the art and animation haven’t aged very well, though by 1980's standards, it's pretty good. On the other hand, the fights are better planned out, particularly during the Tenkaichi Budokai. Instead of the “beat-down-to-the-brink-of-death-only-to-tap-in-to-a-hidden-power-and-win-at-the-last-second” routine, combatants actually have flaws and human weaknesses, including Goku. Some are actually enjoyable with comedic moments placed within them. As the series begins its final arc, however, we begin to sees shades of the future for this franchise. Fights begin to grow longer and longer and the comedy slowly begins to wane.

Like I said earlier, it’s a real shame that this series gets such a bad reputation because of its successors. Sure, it eventually parts into its lackluster sequels, but as the saying goes, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Dragonball is a fun series that should be worth anyone’s time, be you a newcomer or a seasoned veteran. read more

Influenced heavily by Journey to the West, Dragonball follows the journey of the world's most popular anime and manga character of all time: Son Goku, the innocent yet powerful hero we follow on his adventures as he and his friends explore the mysterious world in search of the seven Dragonballs.

Contrary to common believe, Dragonball is not all about fighting. No, it is about much, much more than that. Dragonball is story of great adventure, friendship, pain and suffering and love. Most of today's seemingly generic morals in series such as "protecting nakama" or "never giving up" are derived from Toriyama's brilliance in this series.

In my eyes, Dragonball will always be the number 1 undisputed anime and manga series. It was the first of its kind to feature such a strong cast and plot in the shounen genre that it became an ambassadorial series to the world, creating conditions under which modern day series such as One Piece, Naruto and many, many others of all genres could thrive under.

As said previously, Dragonball has a strong adventurous plot and cast of characters, all of whom are very interesting and relevant to the story (an unfortunate lacking in the DB's sequel: DBZ). However, Dragonball's greatest charm is its setting, which greatly compliments the adventurous and rather ambitous plot written by Toriyama.

Dragonball takes place in a mysterious world filled with mysterious places and creatures and cohesions of real life cultures. Goku visits a great many strange and unusual places inhabited by strange and unusual people on his journies to collect the Dragonballs at first and later to become the Strongest Under the Heavens. For example, in one of the earlier episodes of Dragonball, Goku visits a village populated by cowboys and Indians (I should say Native Americans), a rather interesting and humurous occurence considering the world of Dragonball being quite futuristic over all, if not in most places. It is this unusualness, this incredible sense of awe and adventure that have made people love the series and its main character and thus made it easy for them to follow Goku's journey, during which we met creatures like Oolong and Puar and animals that could walk on their hind legs and speak the human tongue, and vampires, mermaids and zombies, mummies and androids and aliens. I could go on, but I believe I've already sketched you a painting of what it is I'm trying to convey.

Dragonball sets not limitations on the imagination of the viewers. It is truly a unparallled masterpiece in a league of its own. This is reflected in the fact that Dragonball, 30 years later, remains the highest selling manga series of all time with 300 million world wide sales to Once Piece's 228 million sales and Naruto 180-odd million sales.

I recommend all appreciators of manga and anime, new and otherwise, to at least make the effort of trying this great and wonderful series. Once you have watched this masterpiece, you will forever have a different view on manga and anime in general as this series immense influence becomes apparent.

Dragonball, without a doubt in my mind, is the greatest series of all time and deserves all the recognition it has been given and more. read more

Oddly enough, not alot of people know of the anime that started it all. Even though they most likely have watched the sequel.

Dragonball can only be described with one word: Amazing. From the story to the hilarious characters. The amount of enjoyment you get out of Dragonball is absolutely amazing. The story in here is very simple, finding the Dragonballs. At least thats what the gang spends the majority of the series doing. The humour in Dragonball is fantastic and goes well with all the characters and the story.

The characters in Dragonball are all lovable. Every single one from Master Roshi to Oolong. They are all fleshed out over time and you grow attached to them. Especially Goku which is why i was so excited about Dragonball Z to see him grown up. However as we all know the sequels to Dragonball are all less than stellar titles.

The fights are not stretched out to last ridiculous lengths and even when the fights are going on the comedic elements are still there to supplement them in a way that dosen't ruin the fights.

The anime is old and you can tell by the visuals, however this dosen't ruin the series at all. I truly cannot say whether it would hurt the series or not to have renewed visuals, since i found there to be alot of charm in them. That charm may or may not be removed if it were to be remade.

Dragonball is an anime that cannot be missed and it is exactly due to this reason that ranks among my top favorite anime of all time.

Join Goku in his mystical adventure for the Dragonballs! read more

Oh DragonBall, I consider this the greatest anime of all time. Better than DragonBall Z or DB GT (in my opinion).
The story of a boy (with a monkey tale) Goku and a girl Bulma who travel the world looking for the 7 dragon balls that when brought together grants a wish. They eventually make friends who join their team…
I prefer DB over DBZ because DB Kid Goku was a clueless kid which was adorable. DBZ Adult Goku is a clueless adult not really interesting.
DB had more actual fighting hand-to-hand while I found that DBZ had too much standing around charging energy and firing energy.
DB was a nice simple, enjoyable, funny adventure with great characters that were useful, but in DBZ these loved characters were put aside and the show focused on Saiyans (monkey-like warrior aliens from a planet called Vegeta).
DB had a great villain King Piccolo. DBZ also had great villains such as Frieza and Broly, I find the rest of the villains of DBZ to be the same thing repeated…
DBZ introduced us to the SuperSaiyan which was cool but then I find that they went overboard with SuperSaiyan 2, 3, 4…too much.
DB will always have a special place in my heart, I consider kid Goku to be the best anime character of all time.
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The Dragonball Series, is the first in a line of series. It is about the adventures of a young boy Goku, and his travels as he quests to find the 7 magic dragonballs, which can grant anywish! This series is both a comedy and a fighting anime. I enjoyed it quiet a bit and it even enjoys a home in my personal anime collection.


Story

At times the story can be pretty simple, or obvious, or completely random. But overall the general story and the progression through it are very good. Although it doesnt measure up to other animes as well, its own orginal story and characters keep your interested and coming back for more.

Animation

To say it is simple is an understatement. They do recycle alot of animation, like in chase sequences, but over all well done animation, Sometimes it can be a bit crude but it never gets as bad as say: Scooby Do (an American Cartoon from back in the day.)

Sound

A decent sound tract, the intro song I always fast forward through because it is annoying. But other then that the series has decent soundtracks within the series.

Characters

Probly the main draw of this anime. The Characters are funny and orginal and have all kinds of quirks and flaws that makes you laugh. Alot of the characters are exteremly skilled in Martial arts and other techniques which gives the shows action sequences some major rewatchability and excietment.

Enjoyment

I loved this series it made me laugh, or at least chuckle, quiet a bit. A solid favorite of mine that i even went to the trouble of buying the commercial DVDs for the series. In fact writing this review has inspired me to crack it out and rewatch the series.

In Closing

If you enjoy silly humor, amazing martial arts fighting (which comes in later in the series the first several are very light on any actual fight sequences of any length.) But I love this series and Im pretty sure that you will too. So please give it a try. read more

This has got to be one of the best anime out there! I was first introduced by this how when I was but 5 or 6 years old, the american version! I hated it! But now that I watched the Japanese version with English sub. I was taken into a more colorful, more expressive world!

Art 9/10: What can I say? It has it's own unique quality and although I something think Goku looks more like a frog taking, his cute personalities, as well as the other characters, just keep me watching it!

Sound 10/10: Epic, classic!

Character9/10: I thought the character could have developed, more maturely, throughout the series, but, I was guessing the humor just made up the more "dramatic" development I was looking for that I normally fancy! Also, I wanted other characters to develop such as Bulma and Master Roshi, but it's forgivable!

Enjoyment 10/10: I enjoyed every episodes! I sometimes find myself laughing my ass off and rolling on the floor! Hahaha! Really loved it!

Overall 10/10: This is classic! If I wasn't introduced to Dragon Ball episodes, I wouldn't be where I am today, right! Writing a review! read more

This series simply doesn't get the credit that it should, instead DBZ seems to get majority of the praise. I enjoyed both series and have watched them a ridiculous amount of times, but Dragonball has something that DBZ didn't, I don't know what that something is, but it's what makes Dragon ball the better series.

-Comedy (Not much of this carried over to DBZ)
-The series based around the tournaments
-Jackie Chun

Three things that made DB great; don't get me wrong, I would still rate DBZ perfect as well, I just don't think it's as clever as Dragonball.

Dragonball is great story of a boy in search of strength, companions, and adventures. Goku, an orphan boy with a tale, is raised by a hermit by the name of Gohan. Gohan is Goku's first master who teaches him of the marshall arts. However, more importantly, sets an example of morals, such as honesty and integrity. Goku personifies these virtous throughout the series, showing some of the great aspects of the Martial Arts.

As You first begin watching dragon ball you see great animation and scenery. The characters are drawn rather round, creating an atmosphere of drawing that is aimed towards younger audiences. As the story progresses so does the art. They add more and more detail every episode. Unlike other animes where the animation is great only for key points in the story, Dragonball is a great example for dedication to animation following a constant improvement towards the series.

Sorry to say but the music in this anime is fairly corny. For today's time I should say, but one can't knock it for the time it was created. Even so it works. The music does not get annoying with repetition, which is a big plus.

The character development is not the strongest I've seen in an anime. I believe the development of the main characters is vital for any good story. Short or long. Physically it's great development of all the character, but the mental state of the character does not change greatly. Which I can understand with the perfect 8 year old character it's a bit difficult to improve his way of being.

Dragonball is an anime for all age groups, everyone can enjoy the humble warm hearted Goku, and his innocence to the world that he presents. The foundation for this anime is its' morals. Therefore if you can enjoy a story of the balance mind, body, and soul. If you enjoy the good guy doing the right thing. You cannot go wron with this story.

Overall this is a spectacular anime. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if they are fairly young in their anime experience. read more

Intro
Firstly, I must say this anime is a must for anyone who enjoyed Dragonball Z or Dragonball GT and if you are planning on watching Z or GT, please...Watch this first...Z and GT are sequals.

Story
Story...I beleive the story...to be the best out of the dragonball / z / gt programs, it follows the path of Goku as a niave child on his adventures as he makes new friends and protecting the Earth.

Animation
The animation art in this is nice, I like it, the skills Goku learns look pretty good too.

Sound
The sound to Dragonball fits nicely...adds a nice effect to the events that happen in this anime.

Characters
The main character is Goku as some of you may or may not know. Goku is a young boy from another planet and has supernatral powers...he is niave and unsure on the human way of life, his adventures take him to protect te Earth and make new friends along the way who become main characters in Dragonball Z for one reason or another, all the characters Goku meets have their own traits and flaws which go nicely together with each other and creates an at times...comedical atmosphere. On top of that Goku's traits are such...a born warrior with an overly kind nature.

Overall
I really enjoyed this and it is rewatchable, although this is an action anime the story line is good and the fighting didn't come til later in the anime but the rivalry between Goku and his opponents who he cannot hate through his kind nature makes this rewatchable many times read more

This anime was a perfect introduction to the long-lasting Dragonball series that would follow its enormous success in the forms of two sequels Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT.
I first saw Dragonball Z because where I come from this series aired before Dragonball but either way I still enjoyed this original version of the trilogy I saw a few years later.
The story in Dragonball is very good and it appears to have been a huge influence to many more that would be created in the future as would some of the characters and their personalities. Goku was probably the most fun character in this show as he is introduced to us as an orphan and does not know anything about the world around him until he meets Bulma. Without spoiling the plot too much I think that in the first season this was the moment that would invoke everyone's interest in the show and get us to appreciate Dragonball for the unique and powerful story that it really has. If you see this anime and really get to enjoy it you will be very much pleased with the sequel Dragonball Z.
I would recommend Dragonball to anyone to anyone interested in the traditional asian style martial-arts. As well as those who enjoy a bit of comedy on the sidelines to the fighting sequences. If you are a fan of Naruto, One Piece, Yuyu Hakusho, Inuyasha, Vampire Knight and Shaman King.
I hope that I have helped anyone who hopes to watch this anime. read more

ANIME NOSTALGIA SERIES
Full lit of the review series can be found on this page, 3rd post from bottom:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?uid=251338&show=userpage&do=blog&blogid=29009&page=0

TEASER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rICAYE-bztU&feature=related

Ah! One of the first anime I really liked several years ago. I know most prefer the more action-based Z series, but skipping the origins of a great series is like not caring about the history of your own country.

The creator of the original story, Akira Toriyama, had just finished his Doctor Slump slapstick comedy and decided to make a more action-oriented show. Dragon Ball was the result and although it began as a slapstick comedy, it progressively dropped the comedy in favor of the battles. I guess he got affected too much by the trend of Saint Seiya and slowly went for that field.

The series began with a very magical atmosphere, reminiscent of ancient China. After a dozen episodes, the ancient China motif gives place to a more sci-fi world, were houses fit into portable capsules, huge monsters roam free in the wild and anthropomorphic animals coexist with humans. It is quite a wacky representation with little sense but with extreme originality and humor. Makes a fine JRPG world. It took me some time to get used to the characters’ chibi looks, as they looked extremely short and cartoonish. But their semi-funny, semi-battle frenzied attitudes make them bearable to watch.

In general, the animation quality began very poor, with crude movements, too short and round objects and cheesy visual effects. But steadily, it improves a lot; especially towards the ending. With some tolerance, even younger otakus can stand them. It has a catchy opening, medium music themes and decent voice acting. But nothing great as a whole; the dialogues tend not to be any smarter than the phrases “I’m going to beat you!” and “Are you looking at my panties?”. So, if you are looking for sophisticated talking, look elsewhere. Sure, there are some very classic shonen phrases in here that fit the genre just fine but then again prefer the smarter way Full Metal Alchemist uses, so I am torn between liking them for being stereotypically cheesy and just being plain silly. I guess the slapstick and the constant wordplays and teasing work fine for its kind but I’m not going to lose my mind over them.

The story began as a slapstick version of the most famous Chinese fairy tale, Journey to the West . Most elements and characters in the story are in fact, comical representations of those in the fairy tale. But the similarities become fewer and fewer as the story progresses. The scenario is about a strong boy, named Son Goku, looking for magical spheres that grant wishes, taking part in martial art tournaments and fighting evil people and demons that want to rule the world. The story can be summed up as followed: Find the Dragon Balls, train to get stronger, fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament, find the Dragon Balls, train to get stronger, fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament, find the Dragon Balls, train to get stronger, fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament… Do you see a pattern forming here?

Although the general story is quite simple, it is presented in a non-predictable way. There are various mysteries and some side stories that easily make you forget its predictability. And things get very complicated and atmospheric towards the end that really makes the general shallowness of the story a trivial thing. So yeah, I liked the story despite its simplicity. The world definitely isn’t detailed or realistic but it is still one of the most distinguished worlds, ever made into anime. Some silly explanations from time to time give a simple meaning to all the wackiness.

Plus, the general story becomes more and more grand-scaled (and thus more interesting), as it progresses.
-The first villain, Emperor Pilaf, is a useless idiot who wants to rule the world. If he succeeds, the world will be at the mercy of a hapless asshole but nothing more.
-The second villain, General Black, is also an idiot but a heartless killer as well. If he succeeds, the world will be at the mercy of a hapless asshole in command of a merciless army of assassins. That’s much more serious.
-The third villain, Lord Piccolo, is a serious and very powerful demon. If he succeeds, the world will become a hellish place, at the mercy of demons that don’t care about life and justice. That’s even more serious!

The upscale in interest works just fine, although the resolution to every arc is quite convenient. It may look cool at first but if you look closer you realize it has lots of plot armor in it, which eventually make it look bad in a way. There is conclusion but every time it is like that of a fairy tale, with the villains beaten and the good guys saved or resurrected. Because as Saint Seiya taught, you must never permanently kill your characters if you are to milk the kid audience for decades.

But the cast is definately more interesting and colorful than that of Saint Seiya. Some men are funny, some are dramatic, and some are scary. But the thing they all have in common is that they all solve their problems with violence. Is something wrong in your life? Just kick the shit out of it and it’s solved! Expected in fighting shonen but this anime makes sure to even make fun with the premise. I mean Goku will challenge people to a fight even when there is no reason to it and the opponents are hardly strong. It’s not like the series doesn’t leave the option of diplomacy open… It simply never uses it.

Women are treated purely as fan service. You won’t find any good female fighters in it. Bulma, Lunch and Chichi are a bunch of brainless lolitas that exist just for to undress and make sexual jokes about boobs and marriage. Toriyama is a phalocratic bastard! It is yet another staple of shonen which holds true even today and it is fine for the target audience. I mean, who would cheer a girl or want to be like one if it’s a 100% male oriented show? But it’s true that a few token female warriors would be nice just to break the monotony.

In general, all the characters have a strong presence in the series (usually funny). Son Goku is one of the most distinctive fighting shounen characters, the Turtle hermit one of the most famous sleazy old men and Shen Long the most renowned Chinese dragon. All the character’s names are based either on the original fairy tale (Son Goku) or some cultural (Oolong) or fetish (Bulma) object. It is very funny to look for the meaning and origin of each one’s name. Their personalities are simply either comical or battle frenzied, making them quite repetitive so you almost feel like the series has only two characters that change cloths all the time. Still, they are two quite distinctive characters.

They all have their simple backdrop stories (just enough to excuse their existence in the story) and practically zero character development. No one really matures; just gets older and/or stronger. And always fights! No one tries to reason with his enemies; he just fights them. No one tries to trick his enemies with cunningness; he just gets stronger and fights them. This again sounds typical of shonen but it is true that Saint Seiya had given far more attention to backdrom stories and even the development of each major character would be triggered by an important event. There is no such thing in Dragonball as everybody is practically goofing around and just trains to get stronger.

I admit the Dragonball bunch has a lot more vividness and quirks to remember them more fondly. It is very cool to see them getting taller, breast-enlarged or stronger but it is also quite disappointing to see them acting the same way, no matter how many years pass and regardless of how many hardships they face. If some become a bit more mature, it is only after they lose to Son Goku. They were interesting antagonists up to the point they rival him; but after their defeat, they change to stunts and uninteresting underlings (such was the case with Yamcha, Krilin, Chaosu and Tien). Which feels poor to say the least.

It seems to be a rather bad legacy this show left to the following shonen, who in an attempt to mimic the glory would also opt for goofy characters and simplistic backdrops. Damn, looks like the subtle formula Hokuto no Ken began with faded even more and got replaced with a bunch of hapless idiots.

My enjoyment equals the percentage of the worthy episodes. I personally have the following remarks about the flow of the story.
-Episodes 1 to 13 were pure slapstick/erotic comedy, with some cool explosions here and there. Not very funny or imposing but definitely bearable and worthy.
-Episodes 14 to 28 were still funny but had a lot of martial art fighting that made them more interesting.
-Episodes 29 to 59 were boring, as Goku feels like Rambo while protecting innocent people from the Red Ribbon Army of terrorists. Not much of story or battles. There was a cameo appearance of the Doctor Slump characters here, but who cares.
-Episodes 60 to 68 were great! Goku fights the extremely ruthless Tao Pai Pai (the first cool villain in the series who kills people in VERY cruel ways) and then storms the Red Ribbon Army base.
-Episodes 69 to 101 were boring, as I didn’t found interesting the ghost tournament, or Tien Shin Han’s quest for revenge. And the battles were quite stale.
-Episodes 102 to 148 were great again, as Piccolo appears, kills people by the HUNDREDS, mountains start blowing up, characters change and mysteries are solved. Very action-based, violent and cool.
-Episodes 149 to 153 were a simple adventure and an atmospheric but also anti-climactic ending to the first series.
If you sum it up, out of the 153 episodes, about 80 were worthy, giving an average of 5.

But hey, it’s the series that hooked millions of people to shonen. It has memorable characters and a distinctive world and it’s not afraid to fool around for dozens of episodes before the actual story kicks in. Because back then the competition was almost zero and even 30 filler episodes in a row felt ok. It is still better than most modern shonen since it never lost its passion; like let’s say Naruto or Bleach. Or at least it didn’t up until GT came to be… I still consider One Piece the only superior descendant of the formula it left behind, which for a 25 year old shonen, that means a lot.

If you like Akira Toriyama’s style of animation, look for the series Doctor Slump and Blue Dragon as well as games such as the Dragon Quest series and Chrono Trigger.

And let’s not forget Journey to the West , the fairy tale Dragon Ball was based upon. read more

Dragon Ball is surely a nice way to be introduced into the anime world. It's just amazing to watch.

The anime itself is not entirely based on Dragon Balls, it's far more than that. Friendship, love, adventure, hope, these are its main characteristics.

It's really funny, no stupid jokes or absurd situations, only natural, truly pure laughts. Sure it still has its share of action moments, focused on the countless fights and problems that Goku and his friends encounter through their numerous journeys, but those are just responsible for maintaining the anime's perfect "balance".

Also, it's possible to notice a huge variety of cultures as the story goes on and even how people from that time ('80s - '90s) imagined the world would look like after many important technological advances.

Dragon Ball is a classic and should not be underestimated by anyone. You could get really impressed with it, just like I did (again). read more

The series that started it all! In my opinon i always liked dragonball more than Z itself. This series was more focused on martial arts than the other series. You also get to know how the whole gang met(goku,krillin,bulma,yamcha,tien etc.) If you have never seen this than there will be alot of surprising things. Like tien yamcha and piccolo where all evil at one time. My favorite villian throughout this series has to be Tien. Seeing him in Dragonball made him my favorite character throughout the dragonball and Z :D By far this is the best anime ever. Good to start watching if you're new to anime. read more

"Bulma, your balls are gone!"

Yup, that's Dragon Ball alright. One of the most famous anime series in the history of anime. Maybe THE most famous? I don't know, it might have to wrestle with pokemon for that title.

Anway, Dragon Ball was created by the ingenius Akira Toriyama in 1984. At the time anime wasn't that popular, internet was in its infancy and the only way to find out about a particular series was either to stumble across it on the TV or read about it in a tabloid.

Dragon Ball however managed to make it big and dazzle the world with its originality. How? Because of its story which is as epic as it gets. A small boy with a tail called Goku, living alone somewhere in the mountains has his daily schedule interrupted by a blue haired girl, Bulma. The first scene is already something that you'd expect only to see in a King Kong movie, the girl crashes into the boy with a CAR. The small one strikes back in an adrenaline fueled rage, PICKS the car up and THROWS it. From that moment on we know that the boy is not a normal human but a being who possesses incredible strength and stamina.

The meeting of those two characters marks the true beginning of the series and from then on they set out to collect the so-called "dragon balls" which have a mystical power hiden within. On their journeys they stumble upon many interesting and... heh, confusing characters such as Master Roshi. Goku's un-human strength will help the heroes get out of jam on many occasions.

The art is fair considering it's nearly 30 years old now and the style is really old-school. You're not going to see an anime with that kind of style pop up nowadays. The biggest difference can be seen in the eyes. These days in most animes we see large, disproportionate even, eyes with the irises and pupils clearly defined. In Dragon Ball the eyes are smaller and all you can see is a smal black dot inside a white polygon. You may think that the style may somehow affect the enjoyability of the series. It will certainly, the younger viewers might be put off by it while most old anime fans will enjoy it. If you're one of the younger viewers, you can always watch the HD version. While it won't change the style, it will make the anime look a bit more modern, if you want.

The music in dragon ball is a timeless masterpiece. I enjoy listening to it even now. They don't make music like that anymore, when you listen to it you know that it's something that could have only been created in the 80s. Happy, fast paced and cheerful. Need I mention the awesome sound the Nimbus cloud makes?

All of that combined makes a classic. Dragon Ball is a true heavyweight among anime classics and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who likes watching anime in general. You may not be a fan of the fantasy genre but Dragon Ball is just something you've got to watch. read more

This is the prequel series to a very popular anime that many of you know as Dragon Ball Z. It follows the story of a young boy named Goku who has lived in the woods all his life with his grandfather named Gohan. After his grandfathers death he meets a girl named bulma who is on a quest to find all seven dragon balls in order to grant a wish. Goku sets out on a journey with her to collect the dragon balls discovering many new things and eventually fighting villians and participating in martial art tournaments. He encounters many new friends along the way and you watch him grow up gradually from a little boy to a teenager.

The series is full of comedy, action and a bit of drama and should be seen by anybody who loves martial arts or fighting in general or who just wants to sit back and have a few laughs. The art is still decent for a older anime series and the English dub is actually good if not better to watch if you are English yourself which is rare when it comes to anime.

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Where oh where do I begin? Firstly, you can rate this review as 'not helpful'. It's my opinion anyway, so if you like it, that's fine too. I just...DON'T.

First, with the story. 4/10. I gave this anime a try. I truly did. At around episode 50 or so I just...stopped. I mean, the first arc, the Pilaf saga, where Bulma, Goku and friends go to get the dragon balls to make a wish - that was the ONLY arc i liked. after that, the plot repeated itself again and again. Goku would fight against enemy, lose, train, win. Next arc would follow the same thing. It got boring really fast.

Art ......... 2/10. Goodness. I will say that the 80's didn't have the greatest of animation at that point, but, that's not the whole problem. I didn't find any of the characters remotely appealing in any way - except Puar, that cat-thing. That was about it. Towards the end, all the guys look the same. When they go Super Saiyan ect., I can't even tell whose who. Overall, not very appealing character designs. Though, that's just me.

Sounds 4/10. I will admit some VA's in Japanese version sounded ok. English sounded like nails on a chalk board. The only thing keeping this rating high is Japanese VA and some openings were catchy. Though, that's about it.

Character 2/10. Design aside, I found most of the characters either really annoying or useless. The females all drove me crazy - abusive, butch - not really what I would call a "strong female character" (or me, a strong female would be someone like Lina Inverse from Slayers, who can easily deal some damage, stand her own ground with little to no assistance, but does have female qualities as well. Watch the anime/ read the manga for more info. None of the females did it for me. Bulma drove me crazy acting like a bit of a floosy the whole time, or getting herself in trouble. Overall, not very strong and didn't do a thing really. With ChiChi, I could at least stand her a bit, until she got to be a complete control freak and hypocrite (she used to fight, then when she got married she didnt want Goku or her son to fight, instead had him study.) As for the guys - either they were very useless like Yamcha who got killed or lost a lot, or just god-moding like Goku. Other characters like Vegeta didn't really do much for me either. Also, no character developement. At all. At least, not that I could tell.

Enjoyment 3/10. I just didn't enjoy it with a repetitive plot, poor design, no character development, god-moding and honestly lack of plot I should add.


Overall 2/10. I wouldn't recommend it. I really wouldn't.

Though I do give it props since it helped influence many other animes out there like Bleach, Naruto, One Piece ect., but that's about it. I also am aware many people grew up with it, and that is one reason why so many like it.
Anyway, thanks for reading - helpful or not helpful c(: you still read it anyway! read more

This is arguably one of the most inspirational anime and manga series of all time. A lot of shounen is modeled after this series (they atleast take key elements from it's delivery). It's filled with great characters, fun stories, and highly imaginative adventures. It is a must watch or at least a must read if you can grab the manga.

This is from the Dragonball manga when Goku is a child. Splitting the manga into 2 series was a great idea (naruto ended up doing the same thing later), because it kept the distinctly different parts of the story separate. This part of the story is so much fun to watch, and it's filled with action and comedy.

This anime is great for children, but I personally think this part of the story doesn't hold up over time for adults. Those that grew up watching it will still love it (we have a fan boy in all of us), but newcomers may have trouble watching it due to the age of the animation. The sound is pretty aweful compared to what we are accustomed to these days, so be warned.

To wrap it all up, it's definitely worth watching, but it's distinctly different than it's sequel. Don't expect a super saiyan, but do expect some super fun. read more

I'm probably going to be very unpopular for saying this, but I enjoyed the original Dragonball series way more than Dragonball Z.

The story, while essentially the same repetitive concept wearing a different jacket, is intriguing, and feels fresh each time a new arc is introduced.

The characters: classic. They're downright hilarious. Their overall charm is emphasized during Goku's demonstrations of being EXTREMELY naive. It's easy to grow attached to them. Sadly, they must be appreciated while they're around, because once Dragonball Z picks up, the only dialogue you will hear will be about powerlevels or will be grunting.

The music is addicting! Especially the main theme. It added an overall feel of nostalgia to the series. The soundtrack made me feel like I was the one who had conquered a crazy enemy.

Dragonball doesn't disappoint. If you like Shounen and you enjoy comedy, don't pass up Dragonball. However, be prepared for some immense changes if you decide to watch Dragonball Z. read more

Good old Dragonball, the first anime I ever watched. Without this one I wouldn't even be on this site, or worse: wouldn't even know what ''anime'' is!

Dragonball is a very good anime! I was always looking forwarth for the next episode I was going to watch, since every episode ended with a good cliffhanger.
I liked the way the characters fought and I just liked the characters overall.

I don't want to take the risk of spoiling so I'm not going to mention ''favorite moments'' and stuff, but dragonball's story is really something!
The hero's were awesome and most villains were pretty good too.

I can recommend this anime to everyone who likes adventure, action, humor and fighting.
Goku will put a smile on your face too! read more

This was the first one I saw.
It is clear it is written for preschool kids.

My review is from the stand point of a adult who is a anime fan. A reminder that Anime in japan is generally watched by adults and not kids.... Like action seems to be the preference for kid viewing.

Overly simplistic story, hero is rather dim witted, plots are ... well... non-existent it seems.

It seems to be the source of the further mythology later on. Kinda sad to base a series on something so dull witted.
Another problem is EVERYONE is on steroids....
Again this is were it kinda started off on a bad footings.....

Doing this to help save people's sanity and intellect.
If you're like me and a adult and looking for content, not animated WWE/WWF then I suggest moving on.... read more