North America
This is an actual article
- In North America, Dragon Ball didn't become popular until the late '90s, and its heyday was in the early 2000s. However, it was mostly Dragon Ball Z that made it big there. The show gave Cartoon Network some of its best ratings ever (with the show playing on the channel for almost 10 years), and spawned a huge merchandising sensation with T-shirts, action figures, gummies, activity books, trading card games, stickers, board games, video games, birthday party supplies, Halloween costumes, home videos, and more, all in mainstream stores, a feat not accomplished by any other anime not named Pokemon. Its popularity continues to this day with its DVD boxsets still on Wal Mart and Target store shelves years after they came out, which is rare for even mainstream American shows, much less a kids' anime. The show's enduring popularity with older teenage/young-adult audiences also helps this (and not just for nostalgia either), to the point that they became the primary American demographic for Dragon Ball down the line and uncensored dubs of the various series are considered "default" and "standard".
- Dragon Ball GT is also just as popular in the U.S., since it was marketed very carefully, saving the first 15 (unpopular) episodes until the end (with a 20-minute summary covering the story). FUNimation's DBGT DVDs were their #2 selling DVDs in 2013, and a few episodes of the show was even released to Game Boy Player. It also had its own merchandise!
- The original Dragon Ball's success in the U.S. mostly rides on DBZ's, but it was still a modest hit, got good ratings when it was on, and its DVDs are still among FUNi's most popular.
- Dragon Ball's popularity in the West is the main reason Dragonball Evolution got made, and the reason that Dragon Ball Z Kai is continuing into the Buu Saga.
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods received a limited theatrical release in the U.S. at about 700 screens, where it had sold-out showings and made $2.5 million at the box office, making it the highest grossing anime movie in the U.S. not released by a major studio.note It also made $2.4 million in its first week of home video sales. Because of its success, the new DBZ movie could receive an even bigger release.
- On a character level, Cell. In Japan, he's considered the weakest of the major DBZ villains (behind Frieza and Majin Buu, and not counting Vegeta). In the West, he's easily the most popular. On that same note, the Cell Saga is the most popular story arc in the West, whereas Japanese fans consider it the weakest saga due to Goku being benched through most of it, all the Western media-inspired elements, and perhaps above all how unrelentingly dark in tone it is.note
- And since it bears repeating a final time: In the Super Smash Bros. fandom, demanding the addition of Goku (usually alongside Shrek of all characters) is a common meme parodying frivolous or obscure character requests — since, you know, he's not actually a video game character and therefore has no chance of ever getting in the roster. But when polls were taken of various countries for most-desired newcomers, the winner of the ballot in Latin America was — you guessed it — Goku, and by a pretty big margin, too, having as many votes as #2 and #3 put together. Once again: what qualifies as a stupid troll response in any other country, even its home one, was the most popular response by far in Mexico.
- On a level within a country, Dragon Ball Z is also known for having an especially large fanbase among black men and teenage boys within the US, with characters from the show often name-dropped in rap songs. A number of black DBZ fans have compared its story, in which an underdog hero rises up to make something of himself after learning about his long-forgotten, super-powered heritage, to the working-class black experience, while also loving it for its over-the-top action and for its emotional earnestness, with frank discussion and exploration of emotion often seen as taboo among young black men.
- In November 2018, there was the crowning achievement for Dragon Ball in North America: A giant Goku balloon made its appearance in the 92nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, making history as the first anime/manga character to ever appear in a major American holiday celebration! Since 2018, the Goku balloon has been brought back yearly for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As many comments have noted, Dragon Ball has officially transcended fandom and made it into mainstream American Pop Culture.
- While Copy-Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super is considered an uninteresting and lame villain in Japanese version due to being just a Vegeta clone, he is much better received in the English dubbed version due being cast by Brian Drummond, the original Ocean Group dub voice of Vegeta as a form of Casting Gag, causing a hilarious in-universe example of two Vegeta voices clashing against each other.
Latin America/Hispanic World
- Nobody doubts Dragon Ball Z's popularity in North America… unless you grew up in Latin America, where the popularity and exposure of the LatAm dub absolutely dwarfed the comparatively tiny American fandom (and DBZ is still North America's most popular anime!). In recognition of this, Funimation actually sells the Spanish dub in specialty shops that cater to LatAm immigrants or their kids.
- Notably, Dragon Ball started showing sometime around 1995-96, quickly growing huge during its run. By the late '90s, most teens in Latin America already knew about Dragon Ball Z but it wouldn't be until 1999 that DBZ would finally air in Latin America. Many kids ended up watching the unsubbed/undubbed OVA and movies in Japanese even if they couldn't understand a thing!
- Dragon Ball is insanely popular in pretty much all of South America. But special mention must be made of the absurd popularity the franchise has specifically in Mexico, where anything Dragon Ball related is absolutely adored... yes, even Dragon Ball GT. To put into perspective how big the Latino fanbase for Dragon Ball is, just look at how much money Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods makes in South American countries. Keep in mind that Battle of Gods is a short anime movie and had limited screening and it still debuted in some countries as the #1 movie in the box office, and even beat out movies like Flight and Captain Phillips! Needless to say, Dragon Ball has a Latino fanbase so large that only Saint Seiya and maybe Sailor Moon can be brought up in terms of what anime can be considered as to having the largest Latino fandom.
- In Mexico, the Dragon Ball Z dub is insanely popular, and the original cast is revered to this day, whatever they said being considered gospel. To put an example, when Dragon Ball Kai was dubbed by a new cast, the ratings plummeted and it was quickly pulled out of circulation, being replaced by Dragon Ball Z re-runs. Much fan outcry lead to the announcement that the WHOLE series (in order to tie-in with the dubbing of the Buu saga) was going to be done by the original cast. Much fan rejoicing happened afterwards. When rumors began to circulate that there was NOT going to be a Dragon Ball Super Latin American dub (or worse, that it was going to be dubbed by the Kai cast) the outcry was so massive that it forced Goku's voice actor, Mario Castañeda, to record a video stating that the original cast was indeed going to dub it. Take into account the anime was not even complete when the dub was announced.
- News articles have been written about DBZ's impact in Latino America.
Europe
- It might be the best selling manga of all time when global sales are added up, but possibly nowhere was it bigger than in Portugal. It was one of the first well-done anime to reach Portuguese television. Every nineties kid watched it (and for some years after too), and at its peak it transcended age and gender. Universities would stop classes because all students would be watching Dragon Ball. Even old ladies would watch it like if it was a soap opera. It should be noted that the Portuguese dub was very special. Many might have called it unprofessional or unfaithful. Most would praise its humor, personality, and randomness.
- Dragon Ball is so popular in Italy that the channel Italia 1 has shown it for 12 consecutive years.
- Did you know it's so popular in France that Emmanuel Macron (French President since 2017) owns an autograph of Akira Toriyama?
- Don't forget the rest of Europe, particularly Spain and the United Kingdom. There are surprisingly large fanbases for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in those countries still to this day. Mainly due to the fact that Dragon Ball and/or Dragon Ball Z are seen as a Gateway Series for many people in Europe.
- Dragon Ball is the most notable anime franchise to achieve relevance among general audiences in Hungary. Its initial cancellation sparked a large outcry, and it remained popular despite being off the air in the following decade. Even after the anime market had crashed during the 2010s, certain TV networks decided to reach back to the franchise, producing dubs for Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super and re-airing Dragon Ball Z because they knew people would watch them. The fact that the franchise is broadcast at all in a media environment that otherwise doesn't see much potential in Asian animated productions is a testament to its popularity.
Asia
- Dragon Ball Z is so popular in China that when Akira Toriyama died, the Chinese government actually sent their condolences. Considering the frosty relations between Japan and China during this time periodnote , this is HUGE.
Arab World
- The anime is so popular in the Saudi Arabia that they built a theme park based on the series.
