Dragon Ball

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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

... Enjoyment- I seriously enjoyed the manga from begining till the end :D

Overall- This is a really good manga that u would want to read :D It is funny and ACTION PACKED!!! You don't wanna miss this old-school manga ;)

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.

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!

well before i start writing the review i wanna say that this is my first review,
I fell in love with dragon ball since I was a kid I saw it first on TV that's how i found this master piece It's the true meaning of epicness!!!

The characters are wonderful the fights are epic the story is a master piece honestly dragon ball is something you can't describe in words because it's that epic!!!


a short preview of the story:

The story start with the hero of dragon ball his name is "son goku"
meeting the second human in his life her name is "Bulma" ... then he became her friend and they went together to find the dragon balls in they're journey to find the dragon balls they made a lot of friends and fought a lot of people
he met master hermit and was trained by him he entered the tournament and fought alot of people.......

and then after a while "goku" became a young man and starting there the story become more interesting chapter after chapter the excitement never ends....

I also liked the idea of the dragon balls you can wish to bring dead people back alive this is what I liked the most In dragon ball It doesn't matter how many times Akira (mangaka) kills his characters the most important thing is an epic fight!!!
because dead characters can be brought back to life with the dragon balls!!!

honestly I wish there was a rating number above 10 that was only for dragon ball (sigh)!!!

I gave it a 10.

When reading dragon ball, it feel's like you're bearing witness to the grandfather of modern manga. The art work at times still feels fresh, and the comedy involved (especially with bulma and the turtle geezer) is still very funny. Part of me wished that dragonball Z (and beyond) had continued on with the adventuring elements found in dragonball, but, regardless of what dragon ball seemingly devolved into over time, the original is an adventure tale full of surprises and fun moments.

Honestly, it feels like one piece before one piece was a thing. This is a must read for all manga readers, and not just ... fans of dragon ball Z and the later battle arcs.

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 ... the West. The goal being the gathering of the wish granting Dragon Balls which will backfire during the course of the story.
The character dynamic of the cast was great since everyone had their own interest in mind:
- Goku didn't want to give Bulma the 4-Star Dragon Ball but went alongside her to learn about the outside world
- Bulma is a selfish teenager using her sexuality to get what she wants. Also using power over others to her advantage. She uses Goku as her body guard and intends to steal his Dragon Ball at some point.
- Oolong is a selfish pig and just tries to survive. He is pretty much held captive by the other two.
- Yamcha is a bandit who acts as a friend in need but uses Bulma and the others to collect the Dragon Balls for him.
Sadly there are no amazing fights Dragon Ball is usually known for.

After this arc for a while it will keep repeating:
- Tournament arc
- Hunt for the Dragon Balls

That is until the Saiyans arrive and the story becomes to:
- Bad guy arrives
- someone gains a new power up usually a transformation
- bad guy tries to blow up the planet and fail
- bad guy gets defeated

It is then when you realize Dragon Ball can get really repetitive as by the time of the Frieza Saga the author panders with way to many chapters. Most of the fights weren't even worth seeing. And many times the author pulls out a power up out of his ass because of laziness. Eventually power creep happens by the Frieza Saga where characters can get stronger when they even lose, can awaken their potential or get a new transformation.
It came to the point that storytelling wise it became unreasonable that a character appears out of nowhere and can challenge the Z Fighters, but Toriyama still didn't shy pulling random overpowered villains out his ass.

But why is it such a big deal? Well, Goku does the following feats during his adventure:
- trains under Master Roshi the strongest known martial artist on earth (who will retire)
- trained under God of Martial Arts Korin learning to make the most out of his movements
- destroyed an entire army by himself
- drank the holy water which awakens his hidden powers
- defeats Demon King Piccolo surpassing his old Master
- Gets trained by God of Earth Kami
- Beats up the reincarnation of King Piccolo: Piccolo Jr who is stronger than Kami becoming the strongest being on planet earth
- fights alien race he apparently belongs too and where the weakest, his brother, beat the crap out of him and Piccolo Jr
- trains under God of the Worlds later only the North Galaxy: King Kai and surpassed him
- fought the strongest Saiyan and survived
- fought the strongest being in the Universe who can blow up a planet with a move of a finger by transforming into a legendary warrior: A Super Saiyan

This is not all. Goku gets stronger as he fights and when he is healed from fatal injuries. Gets multiple more transformation over the course of the series. He already started as an overpowered kid who can barely lose, but what does Toriyama answer with?
- some robots from an army Goku beat as a kid
- another never before mentioned demon king who is stronger than the patchwork of the strongest beings in the universe
- bubble gum monster who always existed and happened to be on planet earth.

Eventually things got so out of hand that Dragon Ball turned into a self parody with the off springs of the Goku and Vegeta in the Boo Saga who defy established logic for some cheap gags.

If Dragon Ball were split into different series from the start, this kind of shift may be excused, but many things established at the start don't carry over. Nobody remembers Master Roshi or the Kamehameha by the time of the Boo Saga that watch the Tournaments and think they are cheating. Except the announcer. Animal human disappeared. Animals no longer talk. No mention of the transformation school Oolong and Puar mentioned.

How about the characters?
Most of the characters get neglected to the background after the arc they were introduced. Examples as such are Tenshinhan, Chaotzu, Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, Lunch etc.
Roshi gets to do a few more things before he becomes obsolete by the power creep. Bulma is only a plot device. In the earlier arcs she felt more involved and moved the plot. But after the first arc she only exist to fix the Dragon Radar and use a space ship. Oh, and give birth to Trunks. Female characters in general are a waste in Dragon Ball. They are either violent, ugly or prices for men to give birth. That included Android 18 who's only memorable trait is that she is a strong female character for 1 fight before being demoted into a damsel in distress in the same arc.


Goku is the main character pretty much. In the first arc he is more a bystander but after that he becomes the most active. He learns the importance of training. Learns about the world and adapts. It is fun to see Goku react to woman. Or when he saw a TV the first time he thought a man was trapped inside so he broke it. But eventually he understands how the world works and even knows how to do basic maths by the time he became a teenager. Goku is also very oblivious to trickery which turns him into victim of pranks of Krillin. It never gets old seeing Goku react to something new or trying a new technique in battle. As an an adult, Goku is now a pretty serious guy. Finally a father of two children. He would be confronted with his sudden origin, having a brother opposite to him and having to accept what he is. That would eventually give him the means to obtain the power no normal Saiyan could archive: Super Saiyan.
After his character arc was over, he would just show to be a character that calls the shots. Do most decision making on how to handle threats. Put the things he learned from his masters to good use to train his son and Master Super Saiyan before obtaining levels far above.
While he does do stupid decisions, they were always with good intend... unlike...

Vegeta... It's the series where he gets introduced. Vegeta would go through several character arcs. He is shown to be confident and in control in the Saiyan Saga. The Frieza Saga he is the opposite where he lurks around looking for opportunity to get what he wants. While being confident, he has less control because the opponents are far stronger.
In the Cell Saga after obtaining the Super Saiyan form the power went over his head. His interactions with his son also gave him some interesting character development. While Vegeta was unbearable, that character arc indeed made him what people enjoy about Vegeta. Lastly while the Boo Saga was a train wreak, he was one of the highlights. He had an identity crisis.
At the end, Vegeta's character would go full circle until Toriyama ruined it with a special chapter and Dragon Ball Super.

Krillin or Kuririn is probably the only useless character that tries to do and move the plot somewhat. He has a good character starting as an insecure kid who tricks Goku several times so only he would receive Roshi's training. He would become Goku's best friend and a punching bag for the badguys to give Goku a power up. Despite all that people like him for having guts. He is scared and avoids fighting even when the elderly and children get killed. But when the time comes, he shows courage even against the likes of Frieza and Cell (not Boo which is sadly only anime exclusive). There is a good reason why he is a fan favorite.

Piccolo started off as the demon king before Toriyama changed that. He was a goofy villain who did serious shit, is an enemy from Master Roshi's past and defeating him would make Goku finally surpass his master for real. He would reincarnate as a different Piccolo who tried to take over the world again and failed, wasting most his time training. Eventually he and Goku needed to team up against the Saiyans where he would bond with Gohan. It was a rushed development in the manga making his first death feel cheap.
What happens with Piccolo is that he would always appear to do something and never succeed. Finishing the final arc he could be relevant being outclassed by the Saiyans.

Gohan is pretty much a secondary main lead... at least intended to be. As Goku's son and being a half Saiyan, he was introduced as a character with very high potential and means to stop the Saiyans. He gets random rage boosts that allow him temporary to get an advantage over stronger opponents. But it is done in a way he doesn't feel like a gary stu since he lacks experience and the power up doesn't manage to shift the tiles in battle.
Eventually Goku would train him proper and he would be the first to get Super Saiyan 2 defeating Cell. That moment finally being able to use his full power properly and him growing up to become independent is what made many like Gohan.
Sadly by the time of the Boo Saga he would be nerved and get another plot induced power up that end up doing nothing. Toriyama must have given up on him being unable to write anything different that a character like Goku. A complete waste for those who got invested.

Frieza is one of the most beloved anime villains. Despite being one dimensional evil bad guy, the way he represents himself made him beloved. Just on his introduction without him doing anything he made everyone shit their pants. He could kill almost anyone with the move of his finger and even the last villain that survived a massive ass whooping didn't even consider challenging him head on.
Frieza managed to survive the strongest moves and defeated the mightiest fighters with ease. Even the gods were scared off him. And as the killer of the Saiyans, the viewers really wanted Goku to be the one defeating him.
Frieza was also a good villain to push Goku far above his own morals and force him to obtain Super Saiyan at the end. Sadly he would eventually be ruined in the next arc and other media, but in the Frieza Saga he is the villain many love to hate.

Besides Cell the Androids are awful antagonist. Overpowered for no good reason and they are pretty forgettable.
Android 16 only existed as a plot device for Gohan to get serious.

Cell started off as a mysterious antagonist who would then just infodumb everything. He was interesting as he is a patchwork of other fighters. Using the knowledge of others to his advantage and their moves... at least that should be what he does. Eventually he would absorb 17 and become one of the ugliest beings ever. And all we remember of that form is him getting his ass kicked by Vegeta to the point Vegeta had to suggest to absorb 18. After absorbing 18 Cell lost everything that made him special. There was no motivation left for him since he reached his life goal and all he could do is test his new power.
Sadly we need a villain that is worth killing, so Cell threatened to destroy earth if nobody fights him. He would eventually act like Vegeta and Frieza, about to destroy the planet when packed to a corner. All the great moves are also wasted on him since he uses the Kamehameha the most often, the most generic and probably weakest move in his moveset.

Mr Satan started off as a boring comic relief character with a one note joke. In the Boo Saga his character arc with Boo is what made him actually funny. And he would come in clutch defeating Boo at the end.

Fat Boo aka Majin Boo aka. Mr Boo started off as a mindless monster with a child's innocent. He liked killing and eating people. After meeting Mr Satan, he would start to respect others' lives and other good things. But since we need a bad guy to beat, his body would span an evil side who absorbs him and becomes the new villain.

Super Boo who is also just referred as Majin Boo is basically a parody of Cell. Like Cell and Fat Boo he can regenerate. He basically has all of Boo's abilities. Can also absorb others to gain their skills, knowledge etc.
He rather feels like a filler opponent since all fights against him lead to nowhere. Eventually after the fat Boo gets freed he turns into a small Majin Boo who is just a random psychopath and becomes stronger. Because absorbing Kaioshin makes him weaker.

Goten, Kid Trunks and Gotenks are basically filler character. They only parody the accomplishment of their dads and otherwise don't add anything to the plot. You can take them out of the plot and miss nothing of importance.

Art
I think Toriyama uses the panels really to his advantage and knows how to make good fights... but eventually he stopped paying attention to detail. Night times became rare. He forgot about the Saiyan Tail. Super Saiyan exist so Goku's hair doesn't need to get inked. Moon gets destroyed so we don't know the passage of time.
Also iconic moments don't feel as impactful as in the anime. Super Saiyan transformation only lasted for 3 panels and didn't leave much of an impression.

This sadly affects the enjoyment negatively too.
Fights became really repetitive since every opponents is so strong that strategy and technique no longer matter unless you are about even to your opponent. Master Roshi would have no chance to beat Puipui no matter how much he trains or how much experience he has. Many characters get random illogical power ups. Training is usually skipped and new stuff get introduced like I mentioned. Goku didn't even earn drinking the holy water in the manga during the King Piccolo Saga like in the anime. It was given to him directly by Korin.
Fights became essentially a tennis match of power where the other fighter would transform to shift the favour of the battle. Thus there are hardly any even fights by the time the Saiyan Saga begins.
Relationship with Gohan and Piccolo is rushed. Piccolo's fight against Frieza felt even more pointless than in the anime because it only lasted for 1 chapter and Frieza didn't even realize he was fighting Nail again.
The secondary cast is completely useless and the Boo Saga is dragging out the series for too long. The ending of Dragon Ball doesn't feel like it is giving closure to Goku's adventure but just a closure to the Boo Saga itself. Thus even as an open ending it is a failure.

Overall
Dragon Ball didn't age too well. And while filler of the anime is a pain, it still is a much better product than the manga since it fleshes out many characters instead of just putting them on a panel to reminds us: "I didn't forget they exist".
It is a fine manga, but not something to brag about.

I LUV this manga. I originally read the Dragon Ball Z half first and went back later to read the Dragon Ball half and I have to say that the first half had this child-like, playful tone to it compared to the more serious nature of Dragon Ball Z but I love how well it transitioned.

In the first half, it's seen virtually from the eyes of a really powerful kid as he travels around with friends he meets along the way in search of 7 ballls that grant 1 wish when gathered together. This kid is Goku and let me tell you, he's naive, ... he's oblivious, he's cocky, he's childish, and he's a bit of a show off, but all his flaws are what make him likable because time and again, he'll notice his flaws and overcome them as if they were a pebble in his shoe. He's so young and opitmistic that it's contageous and you can't help but root for him to get back up and keep trying. The other characters are a RIOT! Krillin, Roshi, Bulma, Lunch, gut-busting everytime and the motives or personalities of the villains are so petty (with the exception of the Picolo's) it's too much NOT to laugh. The art is simple but suitable and every once in a while, they'll throw in a 4th wall (panel) joke. The Dragon Ball half really captures it from the eyes of a kid and thet's refreshing every once in a while.

In the Z half, the tone gets more serious as Goku grows and matures but he still has that innocence about him. When new, more powerful, and far more serious villains show up, the lives of more innocent people are sacrificed and that number grew with each new villain. Even though you know they'd bring all them back with the Dragon Balls (which, by the way, have been reduced to a meeger plot device as the story progresses), the fact that they were up against people who could erase planets with a flick of the finger as opposed to King Picolo's destroy-one-city-anually plan, you were scared for them. Our favorite heroes fought honorably and died many times and you were TORN to see it. But what I love is that even though you could say there was a happy ending, there technically wasn't. It was happy but there seems to be no end as you see Goku fly of into another adventure as the Acknowledgements show up.

Overall, this was a good manga and for those just planning to read certain parts like I did, chapter 194 is the separater fyi. I may never get the chance to redo my childhood (as I am a 90's girl but missed out due to parental units eg. mother-censorship) and watch the anime but I'm glad I at least got to see the original in all it's glory.

just started reading, i mean, reached volume 11, our bookshops have got released on 14 of this comics volumes!!!! will be forced to download next volumes somewhere.... or order from other sourcesXD

looove the story!!!! characters are lovely, sense of humour typically manly,
love the idea of a GIRL genius-Bulma,
and of course *sigh*-Son Goku!! the dream-guy))) having all the best values of a human!) and i love that he's a little dumb sometimes)))))

The problem with dragonball is the main caracters is to classic and the story just keep repeating it self. They got some problems, then they find a new level so they can defeat the enimies. To bad the idea was great.

Dragon Ball is a beloved series. I'm gonna split this up into 2 parts, one being Dragon Ball/Goku as a kid and Dragon Ball Z/Goku as an adult. A small tip/info I have not grown up with Dragon Ball or have any nostalgia for it yet. So this is a... I guess unbiased review.

Part 1: Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is definitely one of my favorite mangas. Dragon Ball is a great manga that has a lot of love showing in it. It seems like a passion project instead of a easy money grab like a lot of manga/anime do *cough cough GT*. This has a ... lot of wholesome interactions, possibly including Master Roshi's love.... for women. I'll start off with STORY. The story is well, its not the best thing you'll see obviously but Dragon Ball doesn't need story or plot as much as other shows or mangas do. For me this is one of the most entertaining manga out there. For me the tournaments were super fun to read. I don't know why but they were. In general the whole thing was entertaining, for me there was never a boring part. It was funny, and it gave me enjoyment. BTW I HAVE NOT FINISHED ANY OF THE ANIMES Z OR DRAGON BALL. Just putting that out there. But I have watched a bit, because that's what got me into Dragon Ball. But I wanted to switch to the manga because I love Toriyama's artstyle. The characters are really fun and nice to read the story with. They are all usually very good enough written characters, I don't know what to say about how well the characters are done besides .. saying that they are done well. I don't know much else to say about Dragon Ball since it's just very nice and well told story about a young kid and some random ass chick he met off the streets and their journey to collect some shiny balls. So I'll end it here. HIGHLY RECOMMEND, very entertaining like I said I can't say it enough.
Yikes I don't know how much more I can put into a MAL review but let's see.

Part 2: DRAGON BALL Z
Wow so from the time this review is coming out, I don't know if anyone can see the date this was posted but if you can't 5/12/2021. I finished it today. This was a long adventure that well I will say is a teensy bit overrated I can understand that people have a lot of nostalgia for it. Personally I'm not the oldest person nor the youngest on this site so I don't share much nostalgia, although I probably will in the future. So basically it continues a couple years after the end of Dragon Ball and I'll say that the story isn't amazing but it is still quite good and it is enough to grab someone's time and attention. I read this pretty fast I finished about half of it in under 3 days. Now do I like one part better than the other... I guess so. But they all have the same amount of care and thought put into it. This adds a whole lot of new great characters some are even my favorite in the series, one example is Gohan. I love Gohan especially the part where he is in highschool that is probably my favorite part of DBZ actually imma be honest : ). I'm joking.... sort of but anyway it is great everything is good. It's a nice read and like Dragon Ball its entertaining. I guess I will put a summary since I am dumb and can't think of what to put here.

SUMMARY:
Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z I highly recommend. IF YOU SEE THIS PLEASE READ DRAGON BALL BEFORE Z.. why? Personally I think the reader would have a better experience. I'm slightly a little salty towards people that have only watched/read Z and Super but that's them. Dragon Ball can be a little too maybe childish or comedic to the average reader/watcher. I guess that's why people think Z is better, it has some good epic action and cool drawn fights. But it doesn't feel like it has as much heart in it as Dragon Ball does. I can't really choose a favorite DB or DBZ, but they are both good. I'm currently watching Super, I decided to read it not watch it mostly cause.. well I don't want to say it but like there's no point to reading it, I'm guessing not very much story and the fights probably would look more badass. But once I get done with the anime I'll probably read the chapters that have continued after the end of the anime. Ok I don't think anyone cares about what I just said right there but-

summary 2/TLDR:
Good ass read, entertaining as heck. very good very nice very fresh very epic. thank you toriyama ! anyway goodbye and leave a nice comment on my MAL profile, put any manga/anime suggestions there. : )

One of the first manga I can remember reading. I loved watching the americanized version of this TV show after school on Cartoon Network. I was exposed to anime very young through my dad, but it wasn't until Dragonball and Dragonball Z that I found manga. For that reason Dragonball and Dragonball Z will always be important and unique for me.

Growing up I preferred DBZ, the villains looked cooler (although King Piccolo is a badass in Dragonball), and the anime was longer and full of more powerful characters. But looking back now, Dragonball is closer to my heart, and I appreciate it more as a ... manga. The battles seem more tactics oriented- rather than power level oriented as with DBZ. There is also an element of character progression for Goku that just isn't there to the same extent in DBZ. Dragonball was also my first exposure to tournaments in shounen- which are super awesome!

I love you Dragonball, and I love you Akira Toriyama!

Dragon Ball is my childhood favorite. It tells a story of a child named Goku and his adventure with friends to find the 7 magical dragon balls so their wishes can be granted. Unlike other people, Goku isn't human. He is from an alien planet and is a Saiyan. Thus, he is incredibly strong and is a genius at fighting. I enjoyed this manga/anime so much because the author Akira Toriyama is a master at creating storyboards. He is able to tell the story in great details with just a couple scenes of drawing. In my opinion, fighting scenes are the hardest to draw because ... the artists need to use manga to show smooth and natural movements. Akira did some of the best jobs I've seen at drawing fight scenes. Moreover, the story world is extremely interesting. With magical creatures and villains that have interesting backgrounds, everyone characters in Dragon Ball is lovable. Don't get scared away by Dragon Ball's 520 chapters of story because you are going to find yourself getting more and more into the plot as you read. If you haven't checked this world famous manga out, you should do it soon!

Just saying, this is my first review. I have read lots of manga after reading this one but I'm saving my first review for the first manga i read. Dragonball introduced me to the world of manga. Considering the fact I'm a girl, I now prefer romantic manga, but even from a girls point of view, this is actually really good. The first series Dragonball is more comedy. The other 2 are both comedy and a bit more drama. It would have been nice to learned a bit more of the lives of further characters. This also made me cry for some reason at the ... end, which is kind of ridiculous. Anyway, this is a great manga whether you just started or already read hundreds of mangas. I also recomend watching the anime if you enjoy reading it because there is a further series only in anime called Dragonball GT.

Dragon Ball is a manga written by Akira Toriyama published Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995.
It's the story of Goku, a kid with a monkey tail who travel to find the dragon balls, , which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered, and to became the strongest martial artist in the world.
The story is engaging and the pacing is almost perfect, expecially in the first half of the series, with lots of breathtaking fights where the author takes inspiration from Bruce Lee movies.
The characters are managed in a good way at the start of the series being all different from each other up till halfway ... of the series where the author changes their personality to be more functional to the various arcs.
Toriyama's art style is very unique and super recognizable with some amazing character designs, the direction is simply perfect, the author is an absolute genius at making the reader's eye move through the panels giving a strong sensation of movement, while reading Dragon Ball almost feels like.
The writing is not perfect mostly because at some point Toriyama stopped to plan the story and to invent the story week by week.
In conclusion, talking of Dragon Ball in 2021 seems useless, however there are still a lot of people that think that this masterpiece doesn't deserve the reputation it has and consider it overrated, Bragon Ball is not a perfect manga, it has a lot of flaws and errors, but it is still one of the most important manga in all the history, it exported the manga culure in the western world and without it all the modern shonen manga that people consider "better" than Dragon Bal wouldn't probably even exist.

Story:
There's something magical about Dragon Ball. From its starting point searching for the Dragon Ball to the final fight to save the Universe, there's a genuine feel of adventure and progress that is felt while reading this manga. I feel like I've come so far, met so many people, and survived so much despite only reading it on a page. And everything is memorable from the master assassin Taopaipai to the mysterious Android 16, every interaction you observe Goku partake in seems to have some kind of special moment that engrains itself into my memory. I mean, everything was so EXCITING! I had a blast ... reading chapters of the many Budokai tournaments, the horrifying villains that took solace in murder, and the ridiculous comedic perversions of Kame-sennin.

What's especially amazing is how the manga exponentially increases in quality with each passing arc. Each arc brings something new to the table and culminates with something unique and unpredictable. It's filled with moments that seem boisterous and extravagant but also have a subtle level of intimacy to their characterization. Most notably is the first moment that Goku becomes Super Saiyan. The rising action to this revelation is brilliant and the moment it happens, so much is implied about what Goku is thinking without him uttering a word. In fact, this happens many times within Dragon Ball and it really lends to the creative talent of Akira Toriyama.

However, with a manga as long as this one, it's evident that there would be problems, and that's most recognized with the final arc. Although there's a bit of a balance to how one can look at it, the ending isn't exactly what I would call satisfying as I would say acceptable. The Cell arc precedes the Majin Buu arc and with how the Cell arc ends, it feels as though the world of Dragon Ball is in for a treat with the following one. It even teases this transition with the Great Saiyaman arc, implying that what you might be expecting is actually going to become true. However, upon finishing the Majin Buu arc, you're subjected to a world-class ruse and left feeling a little hollow. Does it truly impact my experience with Dragon Ball? Not as a whole, but as a grade? Yes. It's so detrimental that it's bumped my opinion of Dragon Ball as a whole from a 10/10 to a 9/10 solely for the climax of the Majin Buu arc. It's why I'm eager to see where Dragon Ball is headed with the new movies and hopefully Dragon Ball Super (assuming it has an original arc beyond what we've seen in the new films.)

But, all in all, Dragon Ball's story isn't just an extravagant out-of-this-world martial arts manga, it's a great character narrative where everyone becomes a little more of themselves with each passing page. Although everyone stays largely static, there are subtle changes in everyone that makes for a realistic feel to it. I've come to love Krillin as the most powerful human on Earth. I've come to respect Piccolo as an amazing surrogate father and warrior. I've come to look up to Vegeta and how his determination and pride didn't take over his life in the end. There's so much to love about Dragon Ball, and recognizing its impact on the Manga community isn't enough to do it justice. Reading it and experiencing it for yourself is absolutely recommended.


Art:
Brilliant, amazing art. Although backgrounds become rubble regularly and the art near the end of the manga becomes a little rough, the character designs, worlds, and 'animation' of each page and panel is so excellent I cannot even begin to describe how monumental of an achievement it is. I mean, this is a seriously big deal. For each character to have their own traits, for each world to look have subtle yet recognizable locations, and most importantly, for the pages to look so fluid. Hoooo boy. I mean, You will be falling in love with how the manga reads. Every moment looks like it's truly alive. Every punch, kick, and jump looks like it's coming right out of the page and happening before your eyes. It's incredible.


Character:
Again, I mentioned how each character has such subtle yet realistic growth. Most importantly, it happens over a long, long time. I mean, this manga spans what can be assumed nearly a third of Goku's life. From childhood to a father of two, there's so much growth to not only Goku but those around him. And, anyone who's been alive for a long time knows that change can take a long time. At times, you're left wondering when characters are going to stop with their old habits, or when they're going to finally be strong enough to fight back. All in due time.

Their character designs are also quite impressive, and I have to admit that I've come to love Akira Toriyama's work. I used to find it a little too cartoony for me but now I miss how unique and recognizable it is. I wish more artists would seek to find their own style rather than imitate so many other types of artwork, especially now in this day where so much looks the same (darn you, moe anime!).


Enjoyment:
Man, I had a blast! I'm so sad it's over but I'm SO EXCITED to get into the current content. But also, I'm super excited to experience it all over again in the anime adaptions. Although I'll be a little timid about the DBZ adaption (since it's so long and arduous) I'm real excited to watch DBZ Kai and especially Dragon Ball. I watched DBZ as a child but not so much Dragon Ball. And, while GT is abhorred by many, I'd be interested in watching it solely for more Dragon Ball content (despite it's many, many flaws).

I'm just super hooked on Dragon Ball content, that's all. I want more. But, can you blame me?


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

This is epic! A total bomb!
It is true that the last passage is perhaps the weakest, but anyway this is very high.
1000000000000000/10
Lots of great announcements, excellent fights, you never know where it can go.
I fell in love with the character of Son Goku.
It barely took me a week to read the whole manga, I didn't want to go to sleep.
I had never seen a Dragon ball anime before, so I had no idea what to expect. Anyway, I have many theories that the author of Naruto must have been inspired here or that Naruto and Dragon Ball are the same universe?
There is a Turtle Hermit ... who is deviant, Naruto has a Frog Hermit who is also deviant. We have Kage bunshin in both worlds.
While here is the inner power of KI, naruto has chakra.

Yes, I did grow up on Dragon Ball, but I do not cling to it as a infant would their mother's breast. No. I'm being completely unbiased.

STORY

Con: the occasional discontinuity and gag scenes. It doesn't take itself seriously enough, such as when Goku bites his opponents. I do understand that Toriyama wishes to remain true to its comical roots, but you have involved aliens and the entire universe INCLUDING HEAVEN AND HELL THEMSELVES with the cast. So as a result of trying to remain true, whenever those gag scenes pop up, they seem really out of place with the rest of the story's atmosphere. Though, ... part of this humor is creativity, such as the silliness of Gotenks and Buu screaming to create portal back to the regular dimension, which I really enjoyed because it matched with the feel of the scene; Gotenks and Buu, both immature children, using their awesome abilities as childish solutions. I find that there are certain parts where the target demographic humor is a appropriate and when it is not. Though, I suppose it is very relative, as the enjoyment of the gag scenes is dependent on your sense of humor.

Pro: Toriyama's storytelling technique is classic and the plot goes through a lot of evolution. There is obviously, no way to avoid Dragon Ball being labeled as a "typical Shounen" when it is the archetype for Shounen mangas. So I will be using a double standard. For its time, Dragon is highly imaginative and creative, with antics being performed on a regular basis and silly boyish humor.
Since so much of it is battles, talking about the fight scenes is unavoidable. The unfeasible antics and maneuvers that belonged in a cartoon, but then the fight scenes began to evolve. Of course, the maneuvers remained unfeasible, but as time went on, there was a lot less charge-jump-hit and more grappling between opponents. Then the implantation of ki attacks was absolutely brilliant. The combatants could manipulate its path; they could keep it at bay starting from the very beginning of the fight and use it as their trump card later on, whatever! There were endless possibilities.
Once the fight scenes got more and more intense, the story followed suit. All of a sudden, the enemies were more capable, they could do just the same things that our heroes could (even more), and sometimes better too. And so, Toriyama crafted opponents around the new abilities he’d given the cast. He also exposed our heroes’ weaknesses and made characters that could and would use the weaknesses to their advantage. So Dragon Ball went from a silly stylistic adaption of an ancient Chinese epic poem to a serious face-to-
face brawl in which the stakes was the very existence of everything.

ART

Con: Toriyama, I get it, you’re a good artist. I know. We all know. It’s plain since you show off through your awesome and completely irrelevant depictions of your characters riding exotic animals or intricately detailed machinery in exotic backgrounds.

Pro: Why do I need to talk about this? The art evolution is VERY obvious. Take a look at the very first chapter then the latest. The art started off as unpolished and choppy thick lineart and became more angular and fluid and Toriyama started using screen tone too. There’s not much too it.

CHARACTER

Con: why the hell did over 80% of your cast stop having character development starting with Gohan’s kidnapping? Seriously. The very first episode of what is known to Americans as Dragon Ball “Z”, Krillin pretty much gets kicked in the stomach, rolls up into a ball and is utterly useless for an entire season. The next time he proved useful was at the end of the Saiyan arc, and that was only because he was the least injured. Then he fades into the background for the ENTIRE SERIES. After Piccolo gets killed off, he’s useless. Don’t even get me started on Yamcha…oh…poor Yamcha, never useful after Goku hits puberty.

Pro: the characters Toriyama actually chooses to focus on go through a great deal of development. Especially Goku. The kind-hearted, dense boy lacking any social decency grows up into a gentle, honorable, and wise man, whose ideology inspired the greatest fighters of all time. This is the standard protocol for all of the characters who have any sort of development as they are also befriended and converted into good people. (Goku is quite an effective missionary, just without the official title, haha.)

ENJOYMENT

A very relative measurement, but I digress, I quite enjoyed Dragon Ball. It certainly was unique until others jumped onto the bandwagon to make money (I’m looking at you Naruto, One Piece, Bleach.)
One good thing about Dragon Ball out of them all: the creator had enough balls to end it when he wanted to, so I never really felt like it was dragging.

OVERALL

I enjoyed it enough. The manga didn’t have that much filler besides that one mini filler right before Buu arc about Gohan’s high school education. The plot was always progressing, the ones Toriyama chose to work on, he put them through a lot, so the characters grew a lot.
Dragon Ball is a light hearted yet somewhat serious story that is straight forward, it doesn’t overwhelm you with a bajillion side stories like Naruto or Bleach or One Piece. My only concern is that most readers will overlook the philosophy that the Z-fighters put their lives on the line for, and think it’s a mindless story about sacks of testosterone wrestling one another.
But I felt that overall, the art, the story and the characters went through a lot of evolution, and such development is missing in modern mangas and would like to see more works like this.

Dragon Ball is probably the most important manga to come out after the works of Osamu Tezuka. Just about every shounen ever written is still either trying to be Dragon Ball or trying to prove that it's "not like Dragon Ball". It's the first thing (okay, maybe the second, after Pokemon) that most non-anime fans picture when they hear the words "anime", "manga", or even "action cartoon".

It also has some of the most crisp, understandable, and beautiful linework of any manga ever created. It's easy to forget how difficult it is to tell what's going on in manga fights. Even genius artists like One Piece's ... Oda, Berserk's Miura, and Naruto's Kishimoto have a great deal of trouble making it 100% clear what exactly is going on in any given panel involving combat. Dragon Ball has no such issue. If someone told me they'd pay me a year's salary to find a single panel of Dragon Ball where "you can't even tell what's going on", I seriously doubt I would make that money.

The story is more fun than anybody remembers, and more sincere than it will ever get credit for. The characters are iconic to the point of becoming exaggerated parodies of themselves in my mind when I remember them. Their motivations and personalities are simple, their arcs are satisfying. Read them to realize they were more complex than you remember! Read them again to realize they're even simpler than you worried. Learn to love Goku's flickering from "courageous hero" to "probably a sociopath". Hate the villains! Love them even more. Get angry that Toriyama's throwaway one-fight characters are gone since they are often good enough to carry their own arcs (along with pretty much the entire cast of the pre-Saiyan Arc with the exceptions of Goku, Kuririn, Bulma [kind of], and Piccolo).

Why a 9 instead of a10? I decided this when I saw the "enjoyment" scale on MAL's charts and immediately remembered a slight hiccup in my read-through. The Freeza section felt slow! There's a section of it where Kuririn is the protagonist, and Kuririn has no personality after the OG Dragon Ball arcs. The Buu ending felt rushed! It felt like Toriyama wanted to make sure he got every last Dragon Ball "thing" in that ending, but he didn't decide that until five chapters before the finish line. The most stupidly subjective of all my reasons to dock an enjoyment-point however, would be that I believe that the replays on Toonami, the endless video games, Dragon Ball Kai, and the fates of all the characters involved makes it VERY difficult to appreciate the Saiyan saga with all sincerity. I saw that three times on tv! I've played it at least twelve times on at least eight different games. There are arguments to be made that it could be the strongest Dragon Ball arc, but I said I didn't seriously slow down when I read it, I would be a liar. However, if I docked more than one point off of this glorious manga for reasons of personal overexposure to ONE arc, I would be a hater.

Here is what I will say about Dragon Ball Z: It is a mixed, mixed bag.
There is no real plot work going on here, because Toriyama does not know how to write. So, things are not set up: They just happen. Twists are not rational: They are surprising. Stakes are not built because there is a reason for stakes to build: They are built because WOAH SO COOL!!! THE MOST POWERFUL ENEMY!??!?! BIGGER STAKES???!??!
Goku does not get more powerful because he should: He gets more powerful because he is Goku. And this is Dragon Ball Z. And that is what happens to Goku in ... Dragon Ball Z so stupid children lose their minds over the meaningless, anti-art nonsense we now call power scaling.
It is a series for stupid children, and as such is written stupidly.
All of this said, and let it also be said that the fight choreography is, as the kids say 'utter mid', Dragon Ball Z has the same appeal as.. The Fast and The Furious, for example. In that it is dumb. And badly written. And for children (or manchildren).
But yet it looks very, very pretty and is quite a good time. It's funny, it's silly, it's kinda cool. And if you learn to laugh at what it fails to do and appreciate all it succeeds at, you will enjoy it.

Now, the original Dragon Ball..
Is near perfect. The fight choreography is actually insane. I have never been more excited by manga than I was during the Tienshinhan arc. I was losing my mind. It was that awesome, and that brilliantly drawn, and that inventively choreographed... It is what Shonen combat should be. Dragon Ball understands Shonen combat. And it understands every other aspect of a good battle Shonen.. Because it is one. And maybe one of the best ever. It is such a pure, perfect and shockingly heartfelt distillation of the genre, with one of the best protagonists of all time.. It does not get much better than OG Dragon Ball.

So. Here's what I would say:
If you want fine dining, read the original.
If you want a 7/11 hotdog that tastes way better than it should for spinning on that rack for so many days, read on to Z.

Dragon Ball is awesome dude. Kinda the most awesome thing you can watch/read. Is the plot kinda mid? Yeah. Is there much character development? Not really. Does the series have a profound message? Nope. But none of this matters. Dragon Ball is fun, and that's all it needs to be. It has awesome fights, loveable characters you can root for, comically evil villains, and some great humor and jokes. Dragon Ball isn't trying to be deep or smart by overcomplicating its story, or giving its characters huge existential questions; it knows what it is and stays in its lane, which is why it's so effective. ... It was great to read this right after watching Monster; I didn't have to think and could just enjoy seeing Goku be cool and beat up bad guys. This is where the huge difference lies between Dragon Ball and other shonen like Naruto. Naruto tries to be deep and smart, but in doing so just overcomplicates its story and bores the hell out of its audience. Dragon Ball plays it straight, and does it better than almost every other shonen on the market.