Dragon Ball

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Alternative Titles

English: Dragon Ball

Synonyms: Dragonball, DB

Japanese: ドラゴンボール

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 153

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Feb 26, 1986 to Apr 12, 1989

Premiered: Winter 1986

Broadcast: Wednesdays at 19:00 (JST)

Producers: Fuji TV

Licensors: Funimation

Studios: Toei Animation

Source: Manga

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Shounen, Super Power

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.01¹ (scored by 444,121 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #537²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #119

Members: 713,284

Favorites: 13,059

8.01

Ranked #537Popularity #119Members 713,284

Winter 1986TVToei Animation

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Episodes: /153

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Synopsis

Gokuu Son is a young boy who lives in the woods all alone—that is, until a girl named Bulma runs into him in her search for a set of magical objects called the "Dragon Balls." Since the artifacts are said to grant one wish to whoever collects all seven, Bulma hopes to gather them and wish for a perfect boyfriend. Gokuu happens to be in possession of a dragon ball, but unfortunately for Bulma, he refuses to part ways with it, so she makes him a deal: he can tag along on her journey if he lets her borrow the dragon ball's power. With that, the two set off on the journey of a lifetime.

They don't go on the journey alone. On the way, they meet the old Muten-Roshi and wannabe disciple Kuririn, with whom Gokuu trains to become a stronger martial artist for the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. However, it's not all fun and games; the ability to make any wish come true is a powerful one, and there are others who would do much worse than just wishing for a boyfriend. To stop those who would try to abuse the legendary power, they train to become stronger fighters, using their newfound strength to help the people around them along the way.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Adapts the first 194 chapters of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Dragon Ball
Alternative version:	Dragon Ball Movie 1: Shen Long no Densetsu, Dragon Ball Movie 2: Majinjou no Nemurihime, Dragon Ball Movie 3: Makafushigi Daibouken, Dragon Ball Movie 4: Saikyou e no Michi
Sequel:	Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Kai
Character:	Dr. Slump: Arale-chan, Dr. Slump: Hoyoyo! Arale no Himitsu Dai Koukai dayo!!
Spin-off:	Dragon Ball Specials
Other:	Super Dragon Ball Heroes

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Son, Gokuu

Main

Nozawa, Masako
Japanese

Bulma

Main

Tsuru, Hiromi
Japanese

Kuririn

Main

Tanaka, Mayumi
Japanese

Muten-Roushi

Main

Yanami, Jouji
Japanese

Yamcha

Main

Furuya, Toru
Japanese

Piccolo

Supporting

Tsuru, Hiromi
Japanese

Tenshinhan

Supporting

Suzuoki, Hirotaka
Japanese

Norimaki, Arale

Supporting

Koyama, Mami
Japanese

Lunch

Supporting

Koyama, Mami
Japanese

Mr. Popo

Supporting

Nishio, Toku
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Watson, Barry

Producer, Script

Okazaki, Minoru

Director, Episode Director

Hashimoto, Mitsuo

Episode Director

Nishio, Daisuke

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

"Makafushigi Adventure" by Hiroki Takahashi

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Ending Theme

"Romatikku Ageru Yo" by Ushio Hashimoto

More reviews

Reviews

May 10, 2008

153 of 153 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

L-sama (All reviews)

314 people found this review helpful

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 read more

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May 25, 2014

153 of 153 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

HappyHarryHardOn (All reviews)

120 people found this review helpful

This won’t be an in depth review because everyone knows about Dragon Ball and its influence and there are already numerous reviews written about it. This will just give you an idea of whether you should watch it or not, for those who haven’t yet.

Dragon Ball undeservedly doesn’t receive the same attention as its more popular sequel. The Dragon Ball series does receive a lot of flack for being really repetitive and for its unnecessarily long fight sequences but it’s really unfair to compare the franchise to what the shonen genre has become today. Because of this people tend to overlook Dragon Ball.

Story
Dragon Ball is divided into multiple story arcs, some longer than others, which are hilariously funny and manage to entertain with fantastic battles. Dragon Ball is gut bustingly hilarious, and it might surprise people how sexual the jokes are and how comfortable Goku is naked but the gags never got stale. The fights were always entertaining and well thought out. It was never just a case of running in, attacking and (if a foe was just too great) tapping into a hidden power. Although the first two thirds of the show are quite funny, the tone grows a lot more serious starting with the last third, a lot like the tone throughout Dragon Ball Z.

Characters
Goku might come off as one dimensional since he was one of the first traditional shonen hero archetypes, but the more you watch the show, you’ll realise he isn’t just some stupid and strong fighter. The rest of the cast move the plot along pretty well with some of them playing major roles, which is a shame really because in the sequels they basically serve no meaningful purpose, not in the story or with the fighting.

Art
The animation is dated, but one does get used to it rather quickly. Sometimes the same animated shots are reused but this doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. Characters designs are also exaggerated for comedic slapstick purposes that manage to gain quite a few chuckles.

Sound
I saw the dubbed version and all the voice actors fit their roles well, especially Barbara Goodson as Goku and Mike McFarland as Master Roshi. The English OP was really catchy (some may disagree) but the ED was forgettable. The Japanese songs scattered throughout the series were not too shabby but were usually drowned out by the chatter of the characters.

Enjoyment
A classic that will forever be in the shadow of its sequel that manages to be fun from start to finish. Despite a few hiccups in the animation, Dragon Ball is truly a remarkable and fun show to watch. It’s long, but it never stops being entertaining. If for some unexplainable reason you have yet to watch the Dragon Ball franchise, this is the perfect place to start.

10/10

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Mar 29, 2013

153 of 153 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

ligemeget (All reviews)

94 people found this review helpful

Oddly enough not alot of people know of the anime that started it all. Yet most of them have probably watched the sequel. Why is this? I catch myself in this thought all the time, because the prequel is strikingly good when compared it to it's Z counterpart.

This anime succeeds despite it's shortcomings in my book. This is simply because it know's it's a goofy fighting anime and thus dosen't try to be anything else. The focus is therefore put on fighting, cracking jokes and gags, and last but certainly not least: The journey that Goku goes on in itself.

The story in here is very simple; finding the Dragonballs. At least that's what the gang spends a large bulk of the series doing. Due to the length of this series it's obvious that there will be fillers. However the fillers do more than just fill in the time where we aren't fed the canon story. The fillers generally retain the quality of the canon episodes, and there aren't that many of them either. his is largely due to the fact that the humour in Dragonball is fantastic and feels naturally woven in with all the characters and the story. This also applies to the fillers.

Some viewers may criticize Dragonball for the reptitive nature of the story, saying that it's the exact same thing over and over again. And to a certain extent they're correct. But this leads back to what i was previously talking about; a "proper" story would do more bad than good here. It would leave less freedom to make this anime as goofy and hilarious as it is. And you shouldn't be watching a fighting shounen for the story.

The characters in Dragonball are all lovable. No matter the size of their role in the story. They are all fleshed out over time and you will either love or hate them. Goku in particular is very fun to watch, because the majority of Dragonball viewers saw Z first, which may have left you wanting to see what Goku was like during his early years. He is truly a treat to watch, and is quite clearly the staple for all other shounen protagonists.

The fights are the main driving points of this anime along with the comedy aspects. Thankfully they don't make the fights ludicrously long in an attempt to make them exciting. The pacing of the fights is well done the fights well thought out. Strategy plays an integral role in the majority of the fights earlier on the series, and as the series progresses it slowly reaches the point Z is at.

The anime is old and you can easily tell by the art and the visuals. (hehe penises.) No, but seriously. The animation and art are average for their time, which means that it obivously pales in comparison to modern standards. But if you look at it through a more objective scope it has suprisingly aged quite well. Remaking this series with updated visuals would be mistake because I feel there is a charm in the old art style. The magic of the show would certainly go lost along with the old feel of it.

Dragonball is an anime that cannot be missed. Do not let the length or the visuals of this anime discourage you. It's truly worth your time.

Join Goku in his mystical adventure for the Dragonballs!

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Jun 27, 2007

153 of 153 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Sandgolem (All reviews)

53 people found this review helpful

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 read more

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