Dragon Ball (Japanese: ドラゴンボール, Hepburn: Doragon Bōru) is a Japanese media

franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The initial manga, written and illustrated
by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, with the 519
individual chapters collected in 42 tankōbon volumes by its publisher Shueisha. Dragon
Ball was originally inspired by the classical 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the
West, combined with elements of Hong Kong martial arts films. Dragon Ball characters
also use a variety of East Asian martial arts styles, including karate[1][2][3] and Wing
Chun (kung fu).[2][3][4] The series follows the adventures of protagonist Son Goku from his
childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts. He spends his childhood far
from civilization until he meets a teen girl named Bulma, who encourages him to join her
quest in exploring the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls,
which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes
several other friends, becomes a family man, discovers his alien heritage, and battles a
wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls.

Toriyama's manga was adapted and divided into two anime series produced by Toei
Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan
from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, the studio has developed 21 animated feature films and
three television specials, as well as an anime sequel series titled Dragon Ball
GT (1996–1997) and an anime midquel series titled Dragon Ball Super (2015–2018).
From 2009 to 2015, a revised version of Dragon Ball Z aired in Japan under the
title Dragon Ball Kai, as a recut that follows the manga's story more faithfully by
removing most of the material featured exclusively in the anime. Several companies
have developed various types of merchandise based on the series leading to a large
media franchise that includes films (both animated and live-action), collectible trading
card games, action figures, collections of soundtracks, and numerous video
games. Dragon Ball has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all
time.

The Dragon Ball manga has been sold in over 40 countries and the anime has been
broadcast in more than 80 countries. The manga's 42 collected tankōbon volumes have
over 160 million copies sold in Japan and 260 million copies sold worldwide,[5][a][c] making
it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Reviewers have praised the art,
characterization, and humor of the story. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and
most influential manga series ever made, with many manga artists citing Dragon Ball as
a source of inspiration for their own now-popular works. The anime, particularly Dragon
Ball Z, is also highly popular around the world and is considered one of the most
influential in boosting the popularity of Japanese animation in Western culture. It has
had a considerable impact on global popular culture, referenced by and inspiring
numerous artists, athletes, celebrities, filmmakers, musicians, and writers around the
world.

Setting[edit]
See also: List of Dragon Ball characters
Earth, known as the Dragon World (ドラゴンワールド) and designated as "Planet 4032-
877" by the celestial hierarchy, is the main setting for the entire Dragon Ball series, as
well as related media such as Dr. Slump, Neko Majin, and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.
It is mainly inhabited by Earthlings (地球人, Chikyūjin), a term used inclusively to refer to
all of the intelligent races native to the planet, including humans, anthropomorphic
beings, and monsters. Starting from the Dragon Ball Z series, various extraterrestrial
species such as the Saiyans (サイヤ人, Saiya-jin) and Namekians (ナメック星
人, Namekku-seijin) have played a more prominent role in franchise media.

The narrative of Dragon Ball predominantly follows the adventures of the Saiyan Son
Goku; upon meeting Bulma at the beginning of the series, the two embark on an
adventure to gather the seven Dragon Balls, a set of orbs that summon the wish-
granting dragon Shenlong.[ch. 1] Goku later receives martial arts training from Kame-
Sen'nin, meets his lifelong friend Kuririn, and enters the Tenkaichi Budōkai (天下一武道
会, lit. "Strongest Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament") to fight the world's
strongest warriors. When Piccolo Daimao, and later his offspring Piccolo, tries to
conquer the planet, Goku receives training from Earth's deities to defeat them. Goku
later sacrifices his life to save the planet from his estranged brother Raditz,[ch. 205] but is
revived after training in the afterlife under the tutelage of the North Kaio to combat the
other incoming Saiyans, Nappa and Vegeta. He later becomes a Super Saiyan and
defeats the powerful alien tyrant Freeza; this sets the tone of the rest of the series, with
each enemy the characters face becoming stronger than the last, requiring them to
attain further training.

Dragon Ball Super establishes that the franchise is set in a multiverse[11] composed of
twelve[d] numbered universes, with the majority of the Dragon Ball series taking place in
Universe 7 (第７宇宙, Dai-Nana Uchū, lit. "Number Seven Universe"). Each universe is
ruled by a number of benevolent and malevolent deities, respectively called Kaioshin
and Gods of Destruction who are appointed by a higher being called Zeno, who
watches over the multiverse.

Production[edit]
See also: List of Dragon Ball characters and Dragon Ball (manga) § Production
Akira Toriyama was a fan of Hong Kong martial arts films, particularly Bruce Lee films
such as Enter the Dragon (1973) and Jackie Chan films such as Drunken
Master (1978), and wanted to create a manga inspired by martial arts films.[12][13][14] This
led to Toriyama creating the 1983 one-shot manga Dragon Boy, which he later
redeveloped into Dragon Ball.[15] Toriyama loosely modeled the plot and characters
of Dragon Ball on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West,[16][15] with Goku
being Sun Wukong ("Son Goku" in Japanese), Bulma as Tang Sanzang, Oolong as Zhu
Bajie, and Yamcha being Sha Wujing.[17] Toriyama wanted to create a story with the
basic theme of Journey to the West, but with "a little kung fu"[18] by combining the novel
with elements from the kung fu films of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.[19] The title Dragon
Ball was inspired by Enter the Dragon and later Bruceploitation knockoff kung fu
films which frequently had the word "Dragon" in the title,[12] and the fighting scenes were
influenced by Jackie Chan movies.[20][17] Since it was serialized in a shōnen manga
magazine, he added the idea of the Dragon Balls to give it a game-like activity of
gathering something, without thinking of what the characters would wish for.[18] His
concept of the Dragon Balls was inspired by the Japanese novel Nansō Satomi
Hakkenden (1814–1842), which involves the heroes collecting eight Buddhist prayer
beads, which Toriyama adapted into collecting seven Dragon Balls.[21][22]

He originally thought it would last about a year or end once the Dragon Balls were
collected.[23] Toriyama stated that although the stories are purposefully easy to
understand, he specifically aimed Dragon Ball at readers older than those of his
previous serial Dr. Slump.[24] He also wanted to break from the Western influences
common in Dr. Slump, deliberately going for Chinese scenery, referencing Chinese
buildings and photographs of China his wife had bought.[25] Toriyama wanted to
set Dragon Ball in a fictional world largely based on Asia, taking inspiration from
several Asian cultures including Japanese, Chinese, South Asian, Central
Asian, Arabic and Indonesian cultures.[26] The island where the Tenkaichi Budōkai is
held is modeled after Bali (in Indonesia), which he, his wife and assistant visited in mid-
1985, and for the area around Bobbidi's spaceship he consulted photos of Africa.
[25]
Toriyama was also inspired by the jinn (genies) from The Arabian Nights.[27]

The Earth of Dragon Ball, as published in Daizenshuu 4:

World Guide
During the early chapters of the manga, Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima,
commented that Goku looked rather plain. To combat this, he added several characters
like Kame-Sen'nin and Kuririn, and created the Tenkaichi Budōkai martial arts
tournament to focus the storyline on fighting. It was when the first Tenkaichi
Budōkai began that Dragon Ball truly became popular, having recalled the races and
tournaments in Dr. Slump.[17] Anticipating that readers would expect Goku to win the
tournaments, Toriyama had him lose the first two while planning an eventual victory.
This allowed for more character growth as the manga progressed. He said that Muscle
Tower in the Red Ribbon Army storyline was inspired by the video game Spartan
X (called Kung-Fu Master in the West), in which enemies appear very fast as the player
ascends a tower (the game was in turn inspired by Jackie Chan's Wheels on Meals and
Bruce Lee's Game of Death). He then created Piccolo Daimao as a truly evil villain, and
as a result called that arc the most interesting to draw.[17]

Once Goku and company had become the strongest on Earth, they turned to
extraterrestrial opponents including the Saiyans (サイヤ人, Saiya-jin); and Goku himself
was retconned from an Earthling to a Saiyan who was sent to Earth as a baby.
 Freeza, who forcibly took over planets to resell them, was created around the time of
[28]

the Japanese economic bubble and was inspired by real estate speculators, whom
Toriyama called the "worst kind of people."[17] Finding the escalating enemies difficult, he
created the Ginyu Force to add more balance to the series. When Toriyama created the
スーパー
Super Saiyan ( 超 サイヤ人, Sūpā Saiya-jin) transformation during the Freeza arc,
he was initially concerned that Goku's facial expressions as a Super Saiyan made him
look like a villain, but decided it was acceptable since the transformation was brought
about by anger.[29] Goku's Super Saiyan form has blonde hair because it was easier to
draw for Toriyama's assistant (who spent a lot of time blacking in Goku's hair), and has
piercing eyes based on Bruce Lee's paralyzing glare.[30] Dragon Ball Z anime character
designer Tadayoshi Yamamuro also used Bruce Lee as a reference for Goku's Super
Saiyan form, stating that, when he "first becomes a Super Saiyan, his slanting pose with
that scowling look in his eyes is all Bruce Lee."[31] Toriyama later added time
travel during the Cell arc, but said he had a hard time with it, only thinking of what to do
that week and having to discuss it with his second editor Yu Kondo.[17] After Cell's death,
Toriyama intended for Gohan to replace Goku as the series' protagonist, but later felt
the character was not suited for the role and changed his mind.[17]

Going against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest
in terms of physical size, he designed many of Dragon Ball's most powerful characters
with small statures, including the protagonist, Goku.[32] Toriyama later explained that he
had Goku grow up as a means to make drawing fight scenes easier, even though his
first editor Kazuhiko Torishima was initially against it because it was rare to have the
main character of a manga series change drastically.[33] When including fights in the
manga, Toriyama had the characters go to uninhabited locations to avoid difficulties in
drawing residents and destroyed buildings.[25] Toriyama said that he did not plan the
details of the story, resulting in strange occurrences and discrepancies later in the
series, including changing the colors of the characters mid-story and few characters
having screentone because he found it difficult to use.[20][18][23][34] Since the completion
of Dragon Ball, Toriyama has continued to add to its story, mostly background
information on its universe, through guidebooks published by Shueisha.

During the second half of the series, Toriyama has said that he had become more
interested in coming up with the story than actually drawing it, and that the battles
became more intense with him simplifying the lines.[20] In 2013, he stated that
because Dragon Ball is an action manga the most important aspect is the sense of
speed, so he did not draw very elaborate, going so far as to suggest one could say that
he was not interested in the art.[33] He also once said that his goal for the series was to
tell an "unconventional and contradictory" story.[32] In 2013, commenting on Dragon
Ball's global success, Toriyama said, "Frankly, I don't quite understand why it
happened. While the manga was being serialized, the only thing I wanted as I kept
drawing was to make Japanese boys happy.", "The role of my manga is to be a work of
entertainment through and through. I dare say I don't care even if [my works] have left
nothing behind, as long as they have entertained their readers."[35]

Manga[edit]
Main article: Dragon Ball (manga)
Dragon Ball debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump No. 51, on December 3, 1984 which is also
considered to be highly sought after among fans and collectors
Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball was serialized in the manga
anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 3, 1984, to June 5, 1995,[36][37] when
Toriyama grew exhausted and felt he needed a break from drawing. The 519 individual
chapters were collected in 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha from September 10,
1985, through August 4, 1995.[38][39][40] Between December 4, 2002, and April 2, 2004, the
chapters were re-released in a collection of 34 kanzenban volumes, which included a
slightly rewritten ending, new covers, and color artwork from its Weekly Shōnen
Jump run.[41][42] The February 2013 issue of V Jump, which was released in December
2012, announced that parts of the manga will be fully colored and re-released in 2013.
[43]
20 volumes, beginning from chapter 195 and grouped by story arcs, were released
between February 4, 2013, and July 4, 2014.[44][45] 12 volumes covering the first 194
chapters were published between January 4 and March 4, 2016.[46][47] A sōshūhen edition
that aims to recreate the manga as it was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen
Jump with color pages, promotional text, and next chapter previews, was published in
18 volumes between May 13, 2016, and January 13, 2017.[48][49]

Spin-offs[edit]
Another manga penned by Ōishi, the three-chapter Dragon Ball: Episode of
Bardock that revolves around Bardock, Goku's father, was published in the monthly
magazine V Jump from August and October 2011.[50]

The final chapter of Toriyama's 2013 manga series Jaco the Galactic
Patrolman revealed that it is set before Dragon Ball, with several characters making
appearances.[51] Jaco's collected volumes contain a bonus Dragon Ball chapter depicting
Goku's mother.[52]

In December 2016, a spin-off manga titled Dragon Ball Side Story: The Case of Being
Reincarnated as Yamcha began in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ digital magazine. Written
and illustrated by Dragon Garow Lee, it is about a high school boy who after an accident
wakes up in the body of Yamcha in the Dragon Ball manga.[53]

Crossovers[edit]
Toriyama also created a short series, Neko Majin (1999–2005), that became a self-
parody of Dragon Ball.[54] In 2006, a crossover between Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari
Kōen-mae Hashutsujo (or Kochikame) and Dragon Ball by Toriyama
and Kochikame author Osamu Akimoto appeared in the Super Kochikame (超こち
亀, Chō Kochikame) manga.[55] That same year, Toriyama teamed up with Eiichiro
Oda to create a crossover chapter of Dragon Ball and One Piece titled Cross Epoch.[56]

Reception[edit]
Further information: Dragon Ball (manga) § Reception
See also: Weekly Shōnen Jump § Circulation figures
Dragon Ball is one of the most popular manga series of all time, and it continues to
enjoy high readership today. Dragon Ball is credited as one of the main reasons manga
circulation was at its highest between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.[57][58] During Dragon
Ball's initial run in Weekly Shōnen Jump, the manga magazine reached an average
circulation of 6.53 million weekly sales, the highest in its history.[57][58][59] During Dragon
Ball's serialisation between 1984 and 1995, Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine had a total
circulation of over 2.9 billion copies,[60][e] with those issues generating an estimated ¥554
billion ($6.9 billion) in sales revenue.[e]

Dragon Ball also sold a record number of collected tankōbon volumes for its time. By
2000, more than 126 million tankōbon copies had been sold in Japan alone.[61] It sold
over 150 million copies in Japan by 2008, making it the best-selling manga ever at the
time.[62] By 2012, its sales in Japan had grown to pass 156 million, making it the second
best-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga of all time, behind One Piece.[63] Dragon
Ball's tankobon volumes sold 159.5 million copies in Japan by February 2014,[64] and
have sold over 160 million copies in Japan as of 2016.[65]

The manga is similarly popular overseas, having been translated and released in over
40 countries worldwide.[66] The total number of tankōbon volumes sold have reached
350 million copies worldwide.[67][68][69][70][71] not including unofficial pirated copies; when
including pirated copies, an estimated total of more than 400 million official and
unofficial copies have been sold worldwide.[h][f][g]

For the 10th anniversary of the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006, Japanese fans
voted Dragon Ball the third greatest manga of all time.[73] In a survey conducted
by Oricon in 2007 among 1,000 people, Son Goku, the main character of the franchise,
ranked first place as the "Strongest Manga Character of All Time."[74] Goku's journey and
his ever-growing strength resulted in the character winning "the admiration of young
boys everywhere".[16] Manga artists, such as One Piece creator Eiichiro
Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, have stated that Goku inspired their series'
main protagonists as well as series structure.[75][76]

Manga critic Jason Thompson stated in 2011 that "Dragon Ball is by far the most
influential shōnen manga of the last 30 years, and today, almost every Shōnen
Jump artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways."[77] He says
the series "turns from a gag/adventure manga to an nearly-pure fighting manga",[77] and
its basic formula of "lots of martial arts, lots of training sequences, a few jokes" became
the model for other shōnen series, such as Naruto.[78] Thompson also called Toriyama's
art influential and cited it as a reason for the series' popularity.[77] James S. Yadao,
author of The Rough Guide to Manga, claims that the first several chapters of Dragon
Ball "play out much like Saiyuki with Dr. Slump-like humour built in" and that Dr. Slump,
Toriyama's previous manga, has a clear early influence on the series.[79] He feels the
series "established its unique identity" after the first occasion when Goku's group
disbands and he trains under Kame-Sen'nin, when the story develops "a far more
action-packed, sinister tone" with "wilder" battles with aerial and spiritual elements and
an increased death count, while humor still makes an occasional appearance.[79] Yadao
claims that an art shift occurs when the characters "lose the rounded, innocent look that
he established in Dr. Slump and gain sharper angles that leap off the page with their
energy and intensity."[80]

Animerica felt the series had "worldwide appeal", using dramatic pacing and over-the-
top martial arts action to "maintain tension levels and keep a crippler crossface hold on
the audience's attention spans".[81] In Little Boy: The Art of Japan's Exploding
Subculture, Takashi Murakami commented that Dragon Ball's "never-ending cyclical
narrative moves forward plausibly, seamlessly, and with great finesse."[61] Ridwan Khan
from Animefringe.com commented that the manga had a "chubby" art style, but as the
series continued the characters got more refined, leaner, and more muscular. Khan
prefers the manga over the slow pacing of the anime counterparts.[82] Allen Divers
of Anime News Network praised the story and humor of the manga as being very good
at conveying all of the characters' personalities. Divers also called Viz's translation one
of the best of all the English editions of the series due to its faithfulness to the original
Japanese.[83] D. Aviva Rothschild of Rationalmagic.com remarked the first manga
volume as "a superior humor title". They praised Goku's innocence and Bulma's
insistence as one of the funniest parts of the series.[84]

The content of the manga has been controversial in the United States. In November
1999, Toys "R" Us removed Viz's Dragon Ball from their stores nationwide when
a Dallas parent complained the series had "borderline soft porn" after he bought them
for his four-year-old son.[85] Commenting on the issue, Susan J. Napier explained it as a
difference in culture.[85] After the ban, Viz reluctantly began to censor the series to keep
wide distribution.[86] However, in 2001, after releasing three volumes censored, Viz
announced Dragon Ball would be uncensored and reprinted due to fan reactions.[86] In
October 2009, Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland banned the Dragon
Ball manga from their school district because it "depicts nudity, sexual contact between
children and sexual innuendo among adults and children."[85]

Anime[edit]
Main article: List of Dragon Ball anime
Additionally, Dragon Ball is an anime television metaseries. Dragon Ball (1986–
89), Dragon Ball Z (1989–96), and Dragon Ball Super (2015–18) are set in a uniform
main continuity, while Dragon Ball GT (1996–97) and Super Dragon Ball Heroes (since
2018) explore several alternate continuities.

Dragon Ball[edit]
Main article: Dragon Ball (TV series)
Further information: List of Dragon Ball episodes
Toei Animation produced an anime television series based on the first 194 manga
chapters, also titled Dragon Ball. The series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV on February
26, 1986, and ran until April 19, 1989, lasting 153 episodes.[15] It is broadcast in
81 countries worldwide.[87]
Dragon Ball Z[edit]
Main article: Dragon Ball Z
Further information: List of Dragon Ball Z episodes
Instead of continuing the anime as Dragon Ball, Toei Animation decided to carry on with
their adaptation under a new name and asked Akira Toriyama to come up with the
title. Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボール Z(ゼット), Doragon Bōru Zetto, commonly
abbreviated as DBZ) picks up five years after the first series left off and adapts the final
325 chapters of the manga. It premiered in Japan on Fuji TV on April 26, 1989, taking
over its predecessor's time slot, and ran for 291 episodes until its conclusion on January
31, 1996.[15] Two television specials based on the Z series were aired on Fuji TV in
Japan. The first, The One True Final Battle ~The Z Warrior Who Challenged Frieza –
Son Goku's Father~, renamed Bardock – The Father of Goku by Funimation, was
shown on October 17, 1990. The second special, Defiance in the Face of Despair!! The
Remaining Super-Warriors: Gohan and Trunks, renamed The History of Trunks by
Funimation, is based on a special chapter of the original manga and aired on February
24, 1993.

Dragon Ball GT[edit]

Main article: Dragon Ball GT
Further information: List of Dragon Ball GT episodes
Dragon Ball GT (ドラゴンボール GT(ジーティー), Doragon Bōru Jī Tī, G(rand)
T(ouring))[88] premiered on Fuji TV on February 7, 1996, and ran until November 19,
1997, for 64 episodes.[15] Unlike the first two anime series, it is not based on Akira
Toriyama's original Dragon Ball manga,[89] being created by Toei Animation as a sequel
to the series or as Toriyama called it, a "grand side story of the original Dragon
Ball."[88] Toriyama designed the main cast, the spaceship used in the show, the design of
three planets, and came up with the title and logo. In addition to this, Toriyama also
oversaw production of the series, just as he had for the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball
Z anime. The television special episode, Goku's Side Story! The Proof of his Courage is
the Four-Star Ball, or A Hero's Legacy as Funimation titled it for their dub, aired on
March 26, 1997, between episodes 41 and 42, serving as a kind of precursor to the
epilogue to the series shown at the end of episode 64.

Dragon Ball Z Kai[edit]

Main article: List of Dragon Ball Z Kai episodes
In February 2009, Dragon Ball Z cele