Introduction
Dragon Ball Super is the latest to join the Dragon Ball series. It takes place right after the battle with Majin Buu and is considered the canon of the saga, there by replacing Dragon Ball GT. Akira Toriyama had two goals when creating Dragon Ball Super. One objective was to make Dragon Ball fans worldwide happy by providing them with an alternative to the Dragon Ball GT saga. The second was to reintroduce the Dragon Ball franchise to the modern crowd. The last couple of Dragon Ball movies have been leading up to this series. The movies have already generated a lot of buzz among fans about Goku’s and Vegeta’s new forms and the real strength of Beerus and Whis. Dragon Ball Super introduces new transformations, new enemies, and also a bunch of new friends to the Dragon Ball universe. An interesting fact is that one of the new characters, Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, is from another series that Toriyama created.
Plot
Dragon Ball takes place 6 months after Majin Buu was defeated. Goku and friends have started settling down and moving on with their lives. Goku has taken to agriculture, while Vegeta tries to become a true family man. Buu has moved in with Mr. Satan, Videl and Gohan are about to get married. Krillin is now a police officer and Piccolo still keeps a watchful eye on Gohan. It was around this time that Beerus the God of Destruction wakes up remembering the prophecy predicted by Yogen Gyo (The Oracle Fish) about the Super Saiyan god. His search to find this legendary god leads him and his attendant Whis to Earth, the home of the last remaining Saiyans. This time around, not even Super Saiyan 3 is going to be a match for the God of Destruction. The series is going to follow how Goku and Vegeta and the rest of the Z-fighters find the long-lost Super Saiyan god transformation technique to stop Beerus from destroying Earth. This is shaping out to be a series that has the perfect ingredients for an exciting story line and is sure to keep the fans craving more.
History
Illustrated and written by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball was first published on November 20, 1984 in the Shonen Jump manga. Later on, Toei Animation produced the Dragon Ball anime series based on the manga, and lasted from on February 26, 1986 to April 12, 1989. Soon afterwards on April 26, 1989 Dragon ball Z started. Following the final chapters of the Dragon Ball manga, Dragon Ball Z ended on January 31, 1996. Finally, after a gap of 18 years, Dragon Ball Super premiered on July 5, 2015.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Super is the revival of the Dragon Ball series and has so far been able to keep its signature style to the core. Keep in mind Dragon Ball is the series that got the western world taking a closer look at the world of anime. It also has paved the way for a lot of popular anime to have a better stage in the world. Dragon Ball started off with the adventures of a monkey tailed little boy named Goku and a girl named Bulma who joined each other in the search for the 7 legendary dragon balls so that they could summon the eternal dragon(Shenron) to grant them one wish. Along the way they meet interesting characters, make new friends, and even face the infamous Red Ribbon army who are also in search of the Dragon Balls. The Dragon Ball series has different characters searching for the Dragon Balls for uniquely different reasons, that show that different people prioritize different things. Later the series follows Goku on his quest to surpass his limits as a fighter by training under legendary martial arts masters like Master Roshi, Korin, Kami and entering the “Strongest under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament” (Tenkaichi Budokai). The series ends with Goku finally winning the tournament after he beats Piccolo.
Dragon Ball Z
The Dragon Ball Z series began with Earth's peace being disrupted by the arrival of Goku’s Brother - Raditz. From there on out, Goku has had an uphill battle in which he had to train constantly to fight stronger, badder, tougher opponents not even letting death stop him from protecting Earth. Constantly learning different techniques and continuously pushing himself to his limits has helped him take on impossible tasks, but it is his heart that gives him strength, the strength to protect his loved ones.
The Dragon ball series gained a huge fan base in the west when the Dragon Ball Z Saiyan Saga was released, partially because Goku was portrayed with similarities to superhero Superman, who was quite popular at the time. Goku and Superman, both aliens sent to earth as children right before their home planet was destroyed, both chose to call their adopted planet home and also choose to defend it with their lives. This has even brought about constant internet debates on who would win in a fight between them.
Dragon Ball Z has an amazing roster of villains, which were not only diabolical but showed no sign of remorse and were evil because they wanted to be. There are a lot of unlikely team ups like with Goku and Piccolo to fight Raditz, The entire Z fighters to fight Nappa and Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan to fight Frieza’s Henchmen. Krillin, Gohan ,Vegeta to fight the Ginyu Force and even Frieza. Fusions were also part of the package where Piccolo and Kami fuse to become a super Namek, one that is more powerful than a super Saiyan. Saiyan fusions like Goten and Trunks to get Gotenks, Goku and Vegeta to get Gogeta. Dragon Ball Z was the first japanese anime series to successfully grasp the attention of the western audience.
Dragon Ball GT
There is an important reason to mention Dragon Ball GT as it is one of the main reasons Akira Toriyama decided to come back into the Dragon Ball franchise. The series that he started does need his finishing touch so that all the fans can truly be satisfied. Even most of the original team that voiced the characters have come together to give the series its authenticity.
Dragon Ball GT can be missed but because it no longer has anything to do with the main story line, but if possible do still watch it because whether you love it or hate it, the whole series is still has some interesting villains and still manages to be entertaining. It has Goku’s and Vegeta’s Super Saiyan level 4 transformation. Finally Vegeta catches up to Goku, at least towards the end of the series which makes the rivalry more meaningful as now they are equals.
Dragon Ball Super is a series that is made for a generation that grew up on Dragon Ball Z and was disappointed by the Dragon Ball GT saga. This series would bring back nostalgic moments because not only are the whole Dragon Ball characters getting back together but also most of the cast that voiced the Dragon Ball series back to help voice your favorite characters. This is the series that is going to remind us why we loved Dragon Ball so much and why it still has a legendary anime status.
Throughout the years, Goku has defeated a lot of opponents, but has also managed to make most of them his friend or rival. His eternal struggle to become stronger in order to protect earth from immensely powerful enemies has had fans rooting for him because he is the one character that breaks all limits. He doesn’t quit no matter how bad things get or how badly he is injured. He keeps pushing on, in a way that is what inspires fans to keep cheering. Dragon Ball isn’t a one man show, it has tons of supporting characters that also get stronger and help Goku in protecting earth, even sometimes becoming stronger than him in the process. Dragon Ball always manages to makes us laugh, even in the face of a hopeless situation. It gets us to sit at the edge of our seat worried if Goku will make it on time or be able to gather up enough energy for his final attacks.
Dragon Ball is a series that is also made for a generation that has never seen the Dragon Ball series. It will initially give people a feeling of being out of place and now knowing who these characters really are but even without knowing any of them we would fall in love with each and every one of them. But for those who must know who the characters really are, please watch both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.
There are two Dragon Ball movies out there that I highly recommend: Dragon Ball, Battle of the Gods and Dragon Ball, Resurrection F. These two movies are a preview for what to expect in the Dragon Ball Super series. There are other Dragon Ball movies which are worth watching. Please keep in mind though that not all the Dragon Ball movies are linked to the series story arc. The movies do have recurring villains though, some of them might show up in the series. One can but only hope to see Brolly or Cooler again, or maybe even another secret Android of Dr. Jerome.
There are quite a few anime series that are similar to Dragon Ball with respect to fighting. Naruto, Bleach, One piece, Fairy Tail are the popular ones, but Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, Hajime no Ippo, Baki the Grappler and Kinnikuman are also really similar, with an awesome mix of both action and comedy.
