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 are you have tried to fire off a Kamehameha wave at least once and likely to no avail. This isn't to call up one of the over-done "90s kids cliches", but there is no other way to call how influential and defining the Dragon Ball franchise was for an entire generation.
You may be looking at the ratings and raising an eyebrow at the numbers, but let's look at this franchise objectively. The story is the series weakest point. Even for it's time it hits all of the formulaic beats that is expected for a 'battle' manga, not to mention it's riddled with numerous deus ex machina plot points that only get more and more exaggerated as time goes on. It's most egregious offense is that there is simultaneously a great importance placed on power levels and strength that mean nothing after a single tide-turning event that is dubious at best. There is nothing that is inherently offensive, but when you look at it objectively the story is average at best. Imagine if the story continued with the same tone is had during the first few volumes in Dragon Ball.
Are you doing all right? Calmed down? It's difficult to hear something negative about Dragon Ball, but let's keep our composure. It gets better.
Despite having a weak story, Dragon Ball is still carried by its genius art style by Akira Toriyama and the diverse and interesting characters. Now, let's get this out in the open. Every character exhibits standard Akira Toriyama face structure. Take away the character frame, clothes, and hair, there are only three faces left; male, female, and animal. To compensate for this, every character is fully fleshed out with immediately identifiable features and personalities to distinguish themselves.
The beautiful art does not end solely on the characters. The battles and action scenes are fully fleshed out in the highest of detail. Every scene perfectly conveys the intensity and emotion of the situation. Looking strictly at the manga, the true impressiveness comes from the panel layout. This is admittedly a very technical aspect of the process, but it is one of the most important arts that is not appreciated. Each panel expertly lends itself to the next making it incredibly easy to picture the scenes coming to life in your mind.
So the art is terrific and the story is mediocre. Where does the magic come from then? Why is this series so critically acclaimed and fondly remembered? The obvious answer is that it's largely nostalgia. This series exists inside the heart of many individuals and witnessing its greatness forces you to revert to when you were only the playground trying to go Super Saiyan. If it were just that it would fade into the annals of history like many others, but the reason it remains at the top is hard to describe, but the best way to explain it would be it is sincere and honest. Dragon Ball knows exactly what it is and what it wants to be. It is that charm that makes it so that new fans can easily come on board and the old fans are happy to relive it.
