Dragon Ball

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Dragonball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragonball Z

Japanese: ドラゴンボール

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 42

Chapters: 520

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 20, 1984 to May 23, 1995

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Theme: Martial Arts

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Toriyama, Akira (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.45¹ (scored by 108,383 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #190²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #65

Members: 178,942

Favorites: 16,185

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8.45

Ranked #190Popularity #65Members 178,942

MangaShounen Jump (Weekly)Toriyama, Akira (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /42

Chapters: /520

Dragon Ball

Vol. 1
$6.99

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Synopsis

Bulma, a headstrong 16-year-old girl, is on a quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls—seven scattered magic orbs that grant the finder a single wish. She has but one desire in mind: a perfect boyfriend. On her journey, Bulma stumbles upon Gokuu Son, a powerful orphan who has only ever known one human besides her. Gokuu possesses one of the Dragon Balls, it being a memento from his late grandfather. In exchange for it, Bulma invites Gokuu to be a companion in her travels.

By Bulma's side, Gokuu discovers a world completely alien to him. Powerful enemies embark on their own pursuits of the Dragon Balls, pushing Gokuu beyond his limits in order to protect Bulma and their growing circle of allies. However, Gokuu has secrets unbeknownst to even himself; the incredible strength within him stems from a mysterious source, one that threatens the many people he grows to hold dear.

As his prowess in martial arts flourishes, Gokuu attracts stronger opponents whose villainous plans could collapse beneath his might. He undertakes the endless venture of combat training to defend his loved ones and the fate of the planet itself.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Dragon Ball has become one of the most successful manga series of all time. With over 260 million copies sold worldwide, the series is the fourth best-selling manga of all time as of 2024. It is often credited for the "Golden Age of Jump," where the magazine's circulation was at its highest.

The series was published in English by VIZ Media in a monthly comic book anthology format from March 1998 to March 2005. The publisher later collected the series into traditional tankoubon volumes from March 12, 2003, to June 6, 2006. To closely follow the English anime localization, the series was split, with volumes 17 through 42 titled Dragon Ball Z and renumbered as volumes 1 through 26. Other releases by VIZ Media include the large format VIZ Big Edition, kanzenban cover-based 3-in-1 edition, and a full-color edition of chapters 195 through 245. The series was also published in Spanish by Planet DeAgostini Cómics; in German and Danish by Carlsen Verlag; and in French and Dutch by Glénat Editions.

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Reviews

Mar 17, 2025

todoke333

Recommended

As a kid, we’ve all imagined what it would be like to go on a grand adventure, pushing our limits and discovering hidden strength we never knew we had. Dragon Ball isn’t just a manga—it’s the blueprint for every epic journey that came after it.

From the moment we meet Goku, a wild kid with a tail and an insatiable appetite, we know this is something special. It starts as a lighthearted adventure—hunting for the Dragon Balls, meeting unforgettable characters, and getting into ridiculous fights. But before you know it, it transforms into an all-out battle for survival, power, and legacy.

The humor, the fights, the sheer ...

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Dec 30, 2024

yasinshehata

Recommended

*Spoiler free*
Throughout all the time I've spent reading manga and watching anime, I never gave Dragon Ball a chance. From what I had seen, it just didn't appeal to me. I dismissed it for a very long time. After Akira Toriyama passed away, I felt more inclined to give his story a chance.

I seriously wish this series was something I had picked up a long, long time ago. If you're getting into it because you've seen some crazy colorful transformations and insane planet-busting fights, the beginning of Db may not appeal to you. Admittedly, I had to ground myself in order to start it, ... and realize that the muscular men flying around with crazy hair and auras won't come for a little while. The beginning of Db is a humble story that never takes too long explaining itself and never takes itself too seriously, but neither of these things are to its fault, as a matter of fact, I would say these two factors contributed the most to my enjoyment of early Db. It may have you rolling your eyes at something that's outright dumb and anticlimactic, but it's hard for me to say I ever expected what I got. It's also hard to say that I wasn't chuckling a lot reading this. From the start, Db is a manga that bleeds with the feeling that the author was enjoying creating it.

Overall, the characters are brilliant. They seem to come so effortlessly, and are so convincing that even when you're just introduced to someone you feel like you already know them. Toriyama played into tropes so well without being cliche, something that I'm not sure how he managed, which just makes it even more impressive. Not to mention that the characters are excellently designed. He conveys a lot through the shape language and subtle appearances of every character and it's just so damn well done every time. I have no doubt he had a lot of scrapped designs hanging around that he went through to get to the perfect depiction of each character he introduced.

The art amazes me still. I always respected Toriyama from what I had seen here and there, but actually reading the manga is so different. I imagine I'll feel a similar feeling when I pick up a physical copy of Db for the first time, and read it on the paper as opposed to on a screen. Toriyama perfectly portrays just about everything he puts on the paper. Weight, impact, fluid movement, timings, everything leaves me feeling like I've just watched an animated clip after I've read a sequence. Seriously, the choreography is so effectively done, which is made even more impressive by the fact that Toriyama's art is made never over-the-top or flashy to drive a point home. The man's pen was as consistent as.. Idk, taxes and death? The art style underwent minor changes as the story went on, obviously the first chapter of Db looks different to the last one of Z, and Toriyama definitely improved over the years, but from the start his skill was impeccable and the vision he had was made crystal clear through his art style, which he effectively stayed true to.

TLDR: Never gave Db a chance, but now I'm floored by every aspect of it. I wish I could read it for the first time again.

Rest in peace Akira Toriyama, you genius.

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Mar 2, 2025

shreyas16062002

Mixed Feelings

I would say the original Dragon Ball (Chapters 1 - 194) is a strong 8-9/10 while Dragon Ball Z (Chapters 195 onward) is like a 5-6/10.

The original was all about Akira Toriyama writing anything he wanted for fun and had great balance of good humor and good fights. In the fights, it felt like it wasn't just about who was physically stronger, martial arts techniques and tricks mattered. Fights had good choreography. Aside from fodder, Goku couldn't just overpower everyone, he had to be clever during the tournaments. Characters didn't feel irrelevant. The story actually focused on humor and the humor was genuinely good. Story ...

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