I would like to preface this by stating this will be my first review of many to come. I decided to choose Dragon Ball because it is a series near and dear to me as is with thousands, tens of thousands, yet probably more. With that said, let's take a look at one of the most celebrated works of art in manga, and the artistic world as a whole.
NOTE: For the sake of being fair to the series, I am ignoring Super for the time being. This is strictly Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z
If you lived in the 90s, chances
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 Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Dragonball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragonball Z Japanese: ドラゴンボール More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 42
Chapters: 520
Status: Finished
Published: Nov 20, 1984 to May 23, 1995
Demographic:
Shounen
Serialization:
Shounen Jump (Weekly) Authors:
Toriyama, Akira (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #2032 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #61
Members: 162,328
Favorites: 14,732 Resources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 37 / 40
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Dec 31, 2021
Dragon Ball is cute. Even if pretty misogynistic, it tells a fun, creative story that was engaging to binge-read. It didn't have any substantial themes or have any memorable character arcs, but that's not what it was trying to do; it was trying to be a fun martial arts manga about a pure-of-heart powerhouse child and it succeeded.
Whereas Dragon Ball had characters busting out unique martial arts techniques and creative uses of characters' abilities to win fights, Dragon Ball Z is all about which character is intrinsically more powerful. The story beats aren't about characters finding a way to overcome or outsmart a more powerful ... 
Jun 10, 2020
I have read the entire manga series, each chapter and word.
And I cannot say there was a single arc or page I did not fully enjoy The comedy is great. The action is great. Although exaggerated and unbelievable, the characters are enjoyable and funny. The art is spectacular. Really there isn't much to say. Just read it. I enjoyed it even more than Z The story is of Son Goku, little weird kid with kickass power doing kickass things. He isn't the most enjoyable character, but the situations he's put in utilise the small amount of character he has to great effect. The side characters are the best part of the manga. ...
Jul 3, 2020
I read and enjoyed the first 3 volumes of Dragonball. Although it was a bit on the longer side, it didn’t feel like it because it was very engaging. As a shounen manga, I expected nudity and sexual jokes, however, it went far beyond my expectations. I was a bit uncomfortable reading many of the jokes involving Bulma, a young girl, and the Turtle Hermit, an old man, as most of them centered around Bulma doing low level sexual acts such as flashing him. It almost seemed to normalize pedophiles, although I know that was not the intent. I enjoyed the book, but I don’t
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Jan 20, 2021
Dragon Ball is one of the most influental manga series, and media series in general, of all time. For better or worse, all of anime was changed by this title, and so talking of it through the modern lense is somewhat unfair. The cliches it has didn't exist until this series. Regardless, I'm going to try to take you through this series, and why it's still good today. (Skip to the endparagraph for a spoiler-free summary).
The first arc of Dragon Ball is an action-comedy not unlike the creator Akira Toriyama's earlier series, Dr. Slump. Goku and his buddies Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha go on a ... 
Sep 1, 2021
Story-wise, it's definitely not great. I do recommend manga more than the anime though. The manga isn't dragging the fights, it's straightforward. There isn't much to the story, it's just goku slapping enemies.
the art, I'll give it a 8. It's not as amazing and detailed like Inoue's art, but there's this charm to it. as a kid, I prefer art style like DB rather than Slam dunk. Art is simple, clean and characters are recognizable. There aren't much into characters, they didn't go into depths of the characters. throughout the series, I only like goku, vegeta and gohan. the rest aren't likeable or not that good. however, ... 
Oct 28, 2021
It's Dragon Ball! What is there left to say?
The writing mostly isn't the best, too many supporting characters fall into irrelevancy, the Boo saga drags a bit to much and the ending isn't terrible but it's lacking very much, especially since Goku's final decision is very out of character. (especially in the anime where it's made clearer that he basically abandons Pan, even though she loves her granddad) Every singe aspect of Dragon Ball has been analyzed to HFIL and back, so anyone that grew up with it, knows that it is not a perfect series. But it's iconic and it's iconic for a reason. DBs ...
Dec 30, 2021
It's hard to review Dragon Ball as a whole, through its run it becomes many different things, the first chapter and last chapter are barely recognizable. I tend to prefer the early part of the manga which is an adventure comedy series over the more fight heavy action series it develops into, but the series is engaging all the way through, only seriously stumbling towards the very end. Toriyama's art is beautiful (especially in the first half), and his use of pannelling for action is awesome.
I've never grown up with this series, but I can say without a hint of nostalgia, it's worth checking out ... 
Nov 19, 2019
(just for the record, this is a mixing of my anime reviews about it)
The creator 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 chapters, the ancient China motif gives place to a more sci-fi world, were houses fit into ...
May 4, 2019
I never watched the Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z anime, besides clips. I have heard about all the nostalgia that many people have, but I read this manga for the first time not too long ago. But from anime clips that I have seen, the anime seems to be much slower. The manga is much faster paced, and this really helps the manga.
Story: 7 The story is about a boy who searches for the Dragon Balls, while fighting many villains and organizations. He meets different characters and grows up over the course of the manga. The story isn't very deep, but many say that it ... 
Feb 10, 2023
Absolute Masterpiece. Dragon Ball holds a special place in my heart for various reasons. Is it perfectly written? No. Is it's story anything mind blowing? No. But it's a damn good tale which had been adored by millions around the world. I personally prefer the manga over the anime adaptation. From Goku's childhood all the way to his departure with Uub thus has been a story I wholeheartedly adored.
The story is a simple yet effective one. The characters are likeable and the villains are menacing. It's everything a good action shonen should be. While many other stories have taken it's ideas and improved upon ...
Dec 6, 2016
The DB anime adaptation was the first piece of Japanese animation I ever saw back in the 90s, so I felt it fitting to make it the manga I first read all the way through.
It's aged better than both DB and DBZ anime with no old animation and dodgy voice acting with Toriyama's art still looking good and the manga moves at a much better pace without fillers and dragging the fights out. It's one of the better shounen series (better than most modern ones) with great character designs and fighting techniques. One of the things I like most about DB was how it ... 
Jan 17, 2022
Ah, Dragon Ball. Quite possibly the most well-known piece of media to ever come from Japan, its influence and popularity are absolutely undeniable. It's essentially the grandfather of modern shonen, and you could go as far as to say that anime and manga wouldn't be what they are today if it never existed. Reading it in the present day, I think it still manages to be a very entertaining experience despite its problems that I feel only become more prominent as time goes on.
I'm just going to say right off the bat that the overall story of Dragon Ball is one of those problems. ...
Jun 6, 2022
I love the more lighthearted and comedic parts of Dragonball. From the time Goku begins training with Master Roshi up to the beginning of the King Piccolo arc is some of the best manga out there imo. It's hilarious, engaging, well paced and beautifully drawn.
During the King Piccolo arc, the dramatic/ battle manga themes begin to take center stage. As a shounen battle manga Dragonball is alright. It was a pioneer of the genre in it's time but I don't think it holds up that well. To be fair, everything up till the cell arc was enjoyable in a nostalgic kind of way. To the ... 
Sep 16, 2022
Dragon Ball needs no introduction. The story is fantastic, with each story being well told with a few hiccups here and there in some of the arcs, but that doesn't ruin the readthrough and won't bother you so much, with the lowest I would say for the few arcs as good. The characters are some of the most well-known in modern fiction history, because of how well written they are. Akira Toriyama's artwork is so amazingly well fitting for the story. You would re-read it without hesitation. Sure, there are a few hiccups here and there throughout some of the arcs, but that doesn't ruin
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Mar 17, 2023
To clarify a few things, I have never seen the anime, so I have no nostalgia or anything like that making me biased.
Dragon Ball is probably the most famous anime/manga in history and one of the most hyped....It deserves it. Dragon Ball is the perfect Shonen, the battles are very damn good but the characters also are very likeable and really make the series. It isn't the most consistent and maybe a 9/10 is a bit high but this series got me sad when it wanted, got my hyped when it wanted and made me have fun....can't ask for much more. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Chi-Chi, Bulma, the ... 
Mar 5, 2024
I'm glad I decided to read Dragon Ball instead of watch it, because subjecting myself to hundreds of hours of this shit would be torture. What makes DB and DBZ so insufferable is not only the dog shit story but also the brainlet fans of the series that only consume DBZ content like its the only anime/manga that ever existed. But this is a review on the manga not its awful dumbass fanbase. Some pros of Dragon Ball are the artwork and world. I do think the world is interesting to an extent, I love the character/vehicle design and the art style for the most
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