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{{Infobox animanga/Header| {{Infobox animanga/Header|
title_name=Dragon Ball title_name=Dragon Balls
|image=DB Tankōbon.png |image=DB Tankōbon.png
|size=300 |size=300
|caption=''Dragon Ball'' tankōbon volume 1 (Japanese version) |caption=''Dragon Balls'' tankōbon volume 1 (Japanese version)
|ja_name=ドラゴンボール |ja_name=ドラゴンボール
|ja_name_trans=Dragon Ball |ja_name_trans=Dragon Ball
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{{nihongo|'''''Dragon Ball'''''|ドラゴンボール|Doragon Bōru}} is a ]ese ] series written and illustrated by ] with an ]. The basis for the storyline took inspiration from two ]-related works, ]'s '']'' and ]'s '']''.<ref>http://www.anime3000.com/information/creators/toriyama.html</ref> In Japan, ''Dragon Ball'' and '']'' were collected into a single 42-volume series<ref> at http://www.viz.com/</ref> (called '']'') after the manga was serialized in '']'' from 1984 to 1995.<ref name="ANN-DB"/> {{nihongo|'''''Dragon Balls'''''|ドラゴンボール|Doragon Bōru}} is a ]ese ] series written and illustrated by ] with an ]. The basis for the storyline took inspiration from two ]-related works, ]'s '']'' and ]'s '']''.<ref>http://www.anime3000.com/information/creators/toriyama.html</ref> In Japan, ''Dragon Ball'' and '']'' were collected into a single 42-volume series<ref> at http://www.viz.com/</ref> (called '']'') after the manga was serialized in '']'' from 1984 to 1995.<ref name="ANN-DB"/>


{{cquote|The setting of ''Dragon Ball'' has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it's not necessarily China. Exactly where it takes place is uncertain. The overall story is very simple, but I'd like to keep making up more details and illustrations as I go along. This way, I can draw anything I want to and enjoy the tension and excitement of figuring out what I'll draw next. — Akira Toriyama, 1985<ref>''Dragon Ball'' manga, vol. 1, page 1 — ISBN 1-56931-920-0</ref>|30px|30px|}} {{cquote|The setting of ''Dragon Balls'' has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it's not necessarily China. Exactly where it takes place is uncertain. The overall story is very simple, but I'd like to keep making up more details and illustrations as I go along. This way, I can draw anything I want to and enjoy the tension and excitement of figuring out what I'll draw next. — Akira Toriyama, 1985<ref>''Dragon Balls'' manga, vol. 1, page 1 — ISBN 1-56931-920-0</ref>|30px|30px|}}

In 2004, the manga was re-released in a 34 volume collection called '']'', which included a slightly rewritten ending, new covers, and color artwork from its ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' run.<ref name="CC-CHDB">http://cartoons-comics.deepthi.com/comic-hero-dragon-ball.html</ref> ], the distributing company ] has released all 42 volumes (nearly matching the first Japanese set) into ] in the ]. Viz titles the second portion of the manga ''Dragon Ball Z'' to lessen confusion for ]n readers.<ref name="CC-CHDB"/> The series is published in the ] by ].

== Plot ==
Simple, monkey-tailed ] boy from outer-space ] goes on a life-long ] beginning with a ] for the seven titular ], befriends many different ]s and faces various ]s, goes through many rigorous martial arts ] regiments and educational programs, defeats a series of increasingly powerful martial artists, dies and comes back to life several times, and becomes the top martial arts ] in the ''Dragon Ball'' universe.<ref>www.dragonball.com</ref>

=== Evolution ===
{{Cleanup-section|date=November 2007}}
A unifing component of the plot accompanying the Son Goku's progression as a martial artist is his search for the eponymous ]. The Dragon Balls themselves are seven magical orbs which are scattered across the world. When assembled, they can be used to summon ], the dragon who will grant one wish within its limit. After the wish is granted, the Dragon Balls are scattered again across the world and become inert for one year. In times past, it would take generations to search the world and gather the Dragon Balls. In the beginning of the story, however, a 16 year old genius girl named ] has created a "]" to detect the Dragon Balls and made the process far easier than it was originally intended to be.

The story of ''Dragon Ball'' unfolded gradually over 11 years of publication. During those years, the tone and the style of the stories gradually changed to reflect the tastes of the readers and the editors of Japanese ''Shonen Jump''. The early volumes of the ] (chapters 1-134) are primarily humorous ] stories, but containing some minor ] elements, much like '']''. Notable fantasy elements include not only the monkey boy Son Goku and the Dragon Balls themselves, but also many talking animal characters, unlikely ] techniques, and characters identified as gods and demons. Despite the fantasy elements, the world does contain highly advanced technology including hoi-poi capsules, space-saving capsules which are pocket sized but can store almost any object, including cars, planes, houses, and other "near future" objects. The overall mood of the earlier volumes is light with few deaths and an emphasis on adventure and humor.

A subtle but significant change in mood began after Son Goku's best friend ] was killed (the first of many deaths in this arc). This began the Piccolo Daimao arc (chapters 135-194) in which the manga enters a darker tone compared to its earlier volumes. ''Dragon Ball'' fully transformed into an action based shōnen manga at the onset of the ] (chapters 195-241). Starting with introduction of Son Goku's first son, things begin to take a much more serious and harder sci-fi approach. Many characters which previously had fantasy origins (Son Goku, Piccolo) are recast as aliens from other planets. Space travel, alien threats, and powerful ]s & ]s take center stage instead of more fantastic villains. After the defeat of ], and the conclusion of the Saiyan arc, the survivors of the vicious Saiyan attack head off to the Planet Namek to resurrect their friends. This begins the ] (chapters 242-329). The Freeza arc is noteworthy for introducing the first ], now a staple of the series. It also set the tone for more awesomely powerful characters. For example, the antagonist ] has a "power level" (the series' futuristic measure of a fighter's speed and strength, i.e. one average human is listed as 5) of 530,000. He then transforms into a more powerful form, at which point his power level is over one million. After two subsequent transformations, he reveals that he is still only using a fraction of his full power.

The ] (Chapters 330-420) introduced ], a mysterious Half-Saiyan Half-Human from a destroyed future world where all of the Z Senshi have been killed by evil, seemingly invincible war machines called the ], and the enigmatic and villainous ] who was made from the cells from most of the heroes as well as some of the villains. It was between this arc and the last arc that creator Akira Toriyama stopped measuring characters' power levels in the stories, deciding that it limited the stories. This arc is notable for being the only arc in which Goku does not defeat the main villain, but instead it is his son, ], who defeats Perfect Cell. It is in this arc that Son Gohan surpasses the level of Super Saiyan and reaches the stage of Super Saiyan 2 in order to defeat Perfect Cell.

After these arcs and Son Goku's death and staying in heaven is the ] (chapters 421-519) which is the very last arc of the manga. The Majin Buu arc features more of the humor and fantastic plot elements that were present in the very early volumes of the manga. The beginning of this final arc concentrates on a teenaged ] mostly. Son Goku makes his return after being dead for seven years. All the male saiyans manage to reach the level of ] at least (including fusions). Super Saiyan 2 is reached by Son Gohan, Son Goku and Vegeta. And the ultimate level of the Saiyans, Super Saiyan 3, is reached by Son Goku and Gotenks. A considerable number of fusions also take place to add to the series, allowing Son Goten and Trunks to merge to form ], and Son Goku and Vegeta fuse to create the incredibly powerful, invincible ]. During this series, Majin Buu manages to kill everyone on ] including central characters like Vegeta and increasing his own power by absorbing Gotenks, Piccolo and Son Gohan. Majin Buu also succeeds where the villains Vegeta, Freeza and Cell had previously failed and destroys Earth. Everyone (including Earth) is restored using the Dragon Balls, and Majin Buu's evil side is destroyed by Son Goku's Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb).

Majin Buu's evil side is reincarnated into a being of pure good called Uub. Son Goku and Uub fight at the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai, Uub enters to get money (zennie) for his village. Son Goku decides to train Uub to become even stronger than himself, the strongest fighter in the entire Universe. Uub's village will get money from ]. To say goodbye every hero character to ever appear in the entire manga (except minors), all wave to the readers and a huge "THE END" sign floats above them.

After completing this series, Toriyama had a rest and then made another manga called '']''. This manga featured many elements and characters from Dragon Ball, including Mr. Buu, Vegeta and even Son Goku himself.

{|border=0
|-
!bgcolor=E0E0F0|]
!bgcolor=E0E0F0|Dragon Ball
!bgcolor=E0E0F0|''similis''
|-
|bgcolor=F8F8F8 align=center|]
|bgcolor=F8F8F8 align=center|]
|bgcolor=F8F8F8|monkey tail, riding a flying cloud, wielding an extendible magic staff<ref>www.myfavoritegames.com/dragonball-z/Info/JourneyToTheWest.htm</ref>
|-
|colspan=2 align=center bgcolor=F0F0F0|(])
|bgcolor=F0F0F0|borrowing the palm-leaf fan from the Gyū-Maō to dowse the Flaming Mountains
|}

== Viz ==
<!--Go ahead and use the full image!-->
] cover)]]

By 2005, ] had published the entire ] series in ] unedited as "Dragon Ball" and "Dragon Ball Z" to a ]n audience and re-released volumes one through three.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}

''']'''

* ]'s lips and other dark-skinned characters were edited because of complaints made by ].
* ]s were edited into ]s.

In 2006, Viz began releasing a second, A-rated (All Ages) edition of the series ] some ] and ].
* The name ] was edited "Hercule".
* ]s were edited into "]",<ref>''Dragon Ball'' manga, vol. 2, chapter 20 — ISBN 1-56931-921-9</ref><ref>''Dragon Ball Z'' manga, vol. 24, chapter 289 — ISBN 1-4215-0273-9</ref> though a ]-armed robber was able to shoot a character without being censored.<ref>''Dragon Ball Z'' manga, vol. 20, chapter 227 — ISBN 1-59116-808-2</ref>
* ], ]s and ] were edited.

<!--This doesn't need to be mentioned:
In later volumes, the translator used words such as "Blast/curse you" over "Damn him/you" and "shoot" over "damn."
Those words are synonyms!-->
'''Other changes'''

* The name "]" (] + ]) was edited "Vegerot" (Vegeta + Kakarot)<ref>''Dragon Ball Z'' manga, vol. 26, chapter 310 — ISBN 1-4215-0636-X</ref>
<!--What does this mean?
* Slight zoom-in.{{fact}}-->
<!--Who cares? These needn't be mentioned(!):
* printing errors
* mistranslations-->

== See also ==
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== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
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Revision as of 20:13, 10 December 2007

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Dragon Ball (manga)
Dragon Balls tankōbon volume 1 (Japanese version)
GenreAction, Science fiction
Manga
Written byAkira Toriyama
Published byJapan Shueisha

Dragon Balls (ドラゴンボール, Doragon Bōru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama with an anime adaptation. The basis for the storyline took inspiration from two Chinese-related works, Jackie Chan's Drunken Master II and Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West. In Japan, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were collected into a single 42-volume series (called tankōbon) after the manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995.

The setting of Dragon Balls has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it's not necessarily China. Exactly where it takes place is uncertain. The overall story is very simple, but I'd like to keep making up more details and illustrations as I go along. This way, I can draw anything I want to and enjoy the tension and excitement of figuring out what I'll draw next. — Akira Toriyama, 1985

  1. ^ Dragon Ball ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  2. http://www.anime3000.com/information/creators/toriyama.html
  3. Dragon Ball at http://www.viz.com/
  4. Dragon Balls manga, vol. 1, page 1 — ISBN 1-56931-920-0
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