Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Dragonball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragonball Z Japanese: ドラゴンボール
Information
Type: Manga
Volumes: 42
Chapters: 520
Status: Finished
Published: Dec 3, 1984 to Jun 5, 1995
StatisticsScore: 8.461 (scored by 12568 users)
Ranked: #1582
Popularity: #40
Members: 17,848
Favorites: 2,556 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
action adventure comedy shounen undefined |
SynopsisDragon Ball follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires. Along the way becoming the strongest warrior in the universe.
Part II of Dragon Ball is also known as 'Dragon Ball Z' in North America.
(Source: Wikipedia) |
Related MangaAdaptation: Dragon Ball Z (U.S.), Dragon Ball Z (Original), Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Kai
Spin-off: Cross Epoch, Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock
Side story: Dragon Ball: Heya! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
Alternative version: Dragon Ball SD, Neko Majin
Character: Dr. Slump, Toriyama Akira Marusaku Gekijou
Reviews
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Chenoan
44 of 57 people found this review helpful
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520 of 520 chapters read
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Art |
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| Character |
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| Enjoyment |
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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. read more
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changster1123
19 of 25 people found this review helpful
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520 of 520 chapters read
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Art |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
I read the whole series as a teen, so it may sound or come out different from me than other reviewers. But as it is coming from a "teen", i found this to be extremely enjoyable. There are many flaws and weaknesses in this manga, but i seemed to understand why many called Toriyama, the creator of DragonBall, a genius. DragonBall surpasses all odds in its infinite path of making new friends, fighting new foes, and discovering new powers. In other words, you can call it the perfect raw shounen manga for younger audiences and perhaps teens like myself.
Story 9/10
To me this is both a weakness and a strong point of the series. Different arcs have different stories behind them but they all connect and make sense in the end. Although everything connects however, some parts seem like they lose understanding and basic common sense. Though rare, sometimes, the reader might feel or want to say "Well this makes sense, but why didn't they do this, or why couldn't they have done that before."
I do give the author credit though, for it is not easy to connect everything perfectly clearly with such a long series. I think the author balanced everything to work out pretty well.
However, when the plot gets really good into something you didn't expect, that's when the series really starts to shine. Secrets are uncovered and mysteries you could never imagine occur in this wonderful storyline giving it a solid 9/10.
Art 10/10
This one's quite obvious i think. The action sequences are very nicely drawn with wonderful design of landscapes and characters. Also the way the technology is drawn still amuses me :)
Character 9/10
First thing first, I have to say the way the characters were created and how it applies to them is pure genius. Absolute amazing creativity with variety as well. This series ranges from humans to saiyans to animals to aliens to different aliens to organisms to BUBBLE GUM. I mean BUBBLE GUM. If thats not enough of variety u also got two types (SPOILER* xP). A fat one and an evil looking one.
There is a backside to this though, which is why i rated it a 9 out of 10, and that is the character development. This seems to come out as a fatal flaw in the series. Important characters who were good friends of goku (SPOILER* xP) like Yamcha and Tien have seemed to lost their importance. Bulma who first discovered Goku, seems to have almost no part in his life afterwards. She seems to end up as the casual techno girl and cheerleader for Goku while he's fighting. But, even though there are some characters who seem to become unimportant, some new characters undergo a very nice change in development. For example characters like (SPOILER* xP) Vegeta, Piccolo, the androids, Buu, even Satan, seem to become important and likable characters in the series. Despite it's flaw in the development of some characters, it doesn't do quite much to affect the wonderful variety of characters and enjoyment in DragonBall.
Enjoyment 10/10
Really enjoyed this series. What more to say about it. x)
Overall 10/10
Don't get intimidated by the flaws i posted. (I'm just a mean reviewer :P)
Overall, DragonBall is a wonderful series filled with adventure and excitement. It's just incredible. You can't miss it! read more
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Mixes humour with fantastical action-adventure storyline. Unlike a lot of shounen, not every character is a teenager; you have a mix of ages and backgrounds (so again, not everyone is at school or some form of ninja school...) which adds a richness to the setting and a feeling that it's more than just generic wish-fulfilment crap like Bleach and Naruto.
As shown in the cross-over between these series, almost all the main characters deal some similarities, so do the villians, the major fights and most of the dialogue's and characteristics of people in the series. The storyline and the art are the things that are the things that are different for the most part, but for the rest, they are pretty similar.
They have almost the same huge pack of originalty, adventure, emotion, epicness and an uniquie style that makes One Piece the successor of the best anime/manga title. One Piece is destined to be as famous as Dragon Ball if it ever gets a decent dub.
Akira Toriyama's 'Dragon Ball', and later 'Dragon Ball Z' was what sparked One Piece author, Eiichiro Oda, to go into manga writing.
He studied Akira Toriyama's art in every chapter released. Though Eiichiro Oda developed a style all his own, his muse will always be Akira Toriyama's work.
To top it off, Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda are now good friends and have worked together or collaborations. Their collaborations include puzzles, art of eachothers characters, a special displayed on the Going Merry floating museum, and a one chapter comic merging the characters together.
The special: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYSdWbcLGuE
One Piece is commonly accepted as being the Dragon Ball of the modern day. Both series start out as lighthearted adventures but then get into some serious battles with a lot at stake. The main characters are similar and both series take place in unique and developed universes.
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Both series deal with maturing characters throughout the series, as in aging. Villians try to either take over or destroy the earth, which the main characters try to prevent for various reasons, this involves a series of random adventures and trainings.
Very smiliar main characters and drawings.
Both series are longer than usual one's and feature maturing throughout the series, not like any typical shounen, but characters which grow older and older over time. Both series deal with several plots which are the same (bad guy wants to destroy earth for some reason), the style which the series are drawn in look-a-like. But furthermore, most of the characters and idea's/plots are pretty similar and will get you hooked for sure.
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