History Manga / DragonBall

[[caption-width-right:300:[[AnimeThemeSong Find the Dragon Balls! Look out for them all!]] [[note]][[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters This is barely half of the recurring characters.]][[/note]]]]

''Dragon Ball'' began as a manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama and serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' from 1984 to 1995, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series: ''Dragon Ball'' (which ran from 1986 to 1989), and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' (which ran from 1989 to 1996). It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' (1996-1997) and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' (2015-2018), the latter also having its own [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga]] as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

''Dragon Ball'' began as a manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama and serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' from 1984 to 1995, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series: ''Dragon Ball'' (which ran from 1986 to 1989), and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' (which ran from 1989 to 1996). It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' (1996-1997) and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' (2015-2018), the latter also having its own manga as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

** [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass/DragonBall Crouching Moron Hidden Badass]]

** [[OhCrap/DragonBall Oh Crap!]]

** [[BigBrotherInstinct/DragonBall BigBrother Instinct]]

The last two thirds of the manga depicts Goku as an adult as he learns what he truly is, avenges the destruction of his race, meets even more friends and rivals, is joined by the offspring of him and his rivals, and continues his quest to become ever-stronger and engage in challenging battles (and saving the world along the way). The story was written entirely in a single run and is called ''Dragon Ball'' throughout in its native Japan, with the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime debuting the week after the ''Dragon Ball'' anime without missing a beat. In the West meanwhile, the latter half of the manga was published as ''Dragon Ball Z'', because the anime of the same got its critical exposure there before the earlier half of the story. Even the collected volumes are adjusted in the West so that the first ''Z'' manga issue starts with Raditz's arrival, rather than finishing off the 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai like in Japan.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[AnimeThemeSong Find the Dragon Balls! Look out for them all!]] [[note]][[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters This is barely]] ''[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters half]]'' [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters of the recurring characters.]][[/note]]]]

''Dragon Ball'' began as a manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama and serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' from 1984 to 1995, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series: ''Dragon Ball'' (which ran from 1986 to 1989), and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' (which ran from 1989 to 1996). It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' (1996-1997) and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' (2015-2018), the latter also having it's own manga as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

In the first third of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga (which served as the source material for the eponymous anime), Goku and a huge cast of friends and enemies search for the magical Dragon Balls that they could use to make a wish come true, and encounter many characters and adventures along the way. In between Dragon Ball hunts, Goku and his martial arts-inclined friends train and compete in the periodic "Tenkaichi Budokai" tournament (known as the World Martial Arts Tournament in the West).

The "boyhood" portion of the manga is generally broken down into the following story arcs (not counting filler from the anime): Emperor Pilaf, the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, the Red Ribbon Army, Uranai Baba, the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai (Tenshinhan), Demon King Piccolo, and the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai (Piccolo Jr). After defeating these major threats to the world, Goku, now a young adult, finally wins the tournament on his third attempt and goes off to get married. The filler arcs present in the anime add extra adventures after the conclusion of most arcs.

The last two thirds of the manga depicts Goku as an adult as he learns what he truly is, avenges the destruction of his race, meets even more friends and rivals, is joined by the offspring of him and his rivals, and continues his quest to become ever-stronger and engage in challenging battles (and saving the world along the way). The story was written entirely in a single run and is called ''Dragon Ball'' throughout in its native Japan, with the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime debuting the week after the ''Dragon Ball'' anime without missing a beat. In the West meanwhile, the latter half of the manga was published as ''Dragon Ball Z'', because the anime of the same got its critical exposure there before the earlier half of the story. Even the collected volumes are adjusted in the West so that the first ''Z'' manga issue starts with Raditz's arrival, rather than finishing off the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai like in Japan.

''Dragon Ball'' began as a manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama and serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' from 1984 to 1995, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series, ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the latter also having it's own manga as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

In the first half of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga (which served as the source material for the ''Dragon Ball'' anime), Goku and a huge cast of friends and enemies search for the magical Dragon Balls that they could use to make a wish come true, and encounter many characters and adventures along the way. In between Dragon Ball hunts, Goku and his martial arts-inclined friends train and compete in the periodic "Tenkaichi Budokai" tournament (known as the World Martial Arts Tournament in the West).

The second half of the manga depicts Goku as an adult as he learns what he truly is, avenges the destruction of his race, meets even more friends and rivals, is joined by the offspring of him and his rivals, and continues his quest to become ever-stronger and engage in challenging battles (and saving the world along the way). The story was written entirely in a single run and is called ''Dragon Ball'' throughout in its native Japan, with the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime debuting the week after the ''Dragon Ball'' anime without missing a beat. In the West meanwhile, the latter half of the manga was published as ''Dragon Ball Z'', because the anime of the same got its critical exposure there before the earlier half of the story. Even the collected volumes are adjusted in the West so that the first ''Z'' manga issue starts with Raditz's arrival, rather than finishing off the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai like in Japan.

The original anime series also spawned four theatrical films in Japan, all of which are fast-paced retellings of the first four {{Story Arc}}s that, while honoring the manga and anime, are completely unafraid to tell them in their own way. The first three movies produced in the late 80s, ''Curse of the Blood Rubies'', ''Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle'', and ''[[Anime/DragonBallMysticalAdventure Mystical Adventure]]'', form their own trilogy due to how one leads naturally into the next. The fourth film, ''[[Anime/DragonBallThePathToPower The Path to Power]]'', was released during the production of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' as part of the franchise's tenth anniversary in 1996. While none of the Japanese movies ever covered anything related to Piccolo, the live-action movie produced in the US, ''Film/DragonBallEvolution'', did.

Since the conclusion of the manga in 1995, Toriyama has produced three stories related to Dragon Ball: the self-parody ''Neko Majin Z'' in 2005, [[spoiler:''Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman'']] in 2013, and a one-shot contained in the collected volumes of the previous listing called ''Dragon Ball Minus'' that shows Toriyama's take on Goku's father, Bardock. Toriyama has also contributed multiple character designs for various movie and video game characters, and was involved in the writing process for ''Videogame/DragonBallOnline'', ''Anime/YoSonGokuAndHisFriendsReturn'', ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of Gods]]'', ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection F]]'', the continuation ''Dragon Ball Super'' in both [[Anime/DragonBallSuper anime]] and [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga]] forms as well as ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''.

''Dragon Ball'' began as a 1984-1995 manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama and serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'', after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon.. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series, ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the latter also having it's own manga as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

%% Although the Manga titled "Dragon Ball" covers all events from Bulma finding Goku through Goku going off to train with Uub, the cooresponding Anime is renamed to "Dragon Ball Z" after Goku marries Chi-Chi. Any tropes related to events after that moment (In the manga, from Volume 17 onward) should be placed in the pages for Anime/DragonBallZ.

[[quoteright:302:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon_ball_original_characters.png]]
[[caption-width-right:302:[[AnimeThemeSong Find the Dragon Balls! Look out for them all!]] [[note]][[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters This is barely]] ''[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters half]]'' [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters of the recurring characters.]][[/note]]]]

The original anime series also spawned four theatrical films in Japan, all of which are fast-paced retellings of the first four {{Story Arc}}s that, while honoring the manga and anime, are completely unafraid to tell them in their own way. The first three movies produced in the late 80s, ''Curse of the Blood Rubies'', ''Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle'', and ''Mystical Adventure'', form their own trilogy due to how one leads naturally into the next. The fourth film, ''Anime/ThePathToPower'', was released during the production of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' as part of the franchise's tenth anniversary in 1996. While none of the Japanese movies ever covered anything related to Piccolo, a fifth movie produced in the US, ''Film/DragonBallEvolution'', did.

''Dragon Ball'' began as a 1984-1995 manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon.. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series, ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the latter also having it's own manga as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/25ce2156797499ef52e56861021a48b2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: [[AnimeThemeSong Find the Dragon Balls! Look out for them all!]] [[note]][[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters This is barely]] ''[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters half]]'' [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters of the recurring characters.]][[/note]]]]

''Dragon Ball'' began as a 1984-1995 manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon.. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong, in turn inspired by [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Hanuman]]). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series, ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. It also received two anime sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the latter also having it's own manga as well and considered in continuity with the ''Dragon Ball'' manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

-->-- '''Shenron''', whenever he is summoned.

->''"Our story begins, as many stories often do, with a young girl shooting a little boy in the face."''
-->-- '''Perfect Cell''', ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' [[note]]And no, this is not an abridged parody joke. That's really how this whole franchise started![[/note]]

-->-- '''Perfect Cell''', ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''

''Dragon Ball'' began as a 1984-1995 manga series written by Creator/AkiraToriyama, after concluding his previous mega-hit manga ''Manga/DoctorSlump'', and spawned [[Franchise/DragonBall a franchise]] that would become a global phenomenon.. ''Dragon Ball'' chronicles the adventures of a cheerful monkey boy named Son Goku, in a story that was initially inspired by the Chinese tale ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' (the character Son Goku was inspired by ''[[BilingualBonus and directly named after]]'' Sun Wukong, in turn inspired by [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Hanuman]]). The manga was soon adapted into two popular anime series, ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. It also received two anime-only sequels, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the latter considered in continuity with the manga due to Toriyama's involvement with the story development.

Since the conclusion of the manga in 1995, Toriyama has produced three stories related to Dragon Ball: the self-parody ''Neko Majin Z'' in 2005, [[spoiler:''Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman'']] in 2013, and a one-shot contained in the collected volumes of the previous listing called ''Dragon Ball Minus'' that shows Toriyama's take on Goku's father, Bardock. Toriyama has also contributed multiple character designs for various movie and video game characters, and was involved in the writing process for ''Videogame/DragonBallOnline'', ''Anime/YoSonGokuAndHisFriendsReturn'', ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of Gods]]'', ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection F]]'' and the continuation ''Dragon Ball Super'' in both [[Anime/DragonBallSuper anime]] and [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga]] forms.