Dragon Ball is an epic martial arts adventure and one of the greatest adventure stories ever. Dragon Ball is based on a simple premise: whoever posses all 7 Dragon Balls can summon the Eternal Dragon and be granted a single wish. Even though Dragon Ball was originally created as an action-comedy comic for younger boys, it evolved into a tale of astonishing detail and scope, filled with imaginative adventure and exciting martial arts.
Series
The original Dragon Ball manga (Japanese comic strip) ran from 1984 to 1995 in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. In graphic novel form, the manga fills 42 volumes. The Dragon Ball TV series ran 153 episodes in Japan from 1986 to 1989. It was followed by the Dragon Ball Z TV series which ran 291 episodes from 1989-1996. To date there have also been 6 movies and a 2-part direct-to-video mini-series (these kind of mini-series are called OVA in Japan). Dragon Ball GT was the only Dragon Ball TV series not based on the manga. It ran 64 episodes from 1996-1997. Dragon Ball Kai (to start in 2009 in Japan), is a re-release of Dragon Ball Z remastered for widescreen high-def TVs.
Data
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Book - Dragon Ball (Manga 1984) 42 volumes
DVD - Dragon Ball (TV 1986) 153 episodes
DVD - Dragon Ball (Movie 1986) 6 movies
DVD - Dragon Ball Z (TV 1989) 291 episodes
DVD - Dragon Ball Z (OVA 1993) 2 episodes
DVD - Dragon Ball GT (TV 1996) 64 episodes
More Info
Dragon Ball Manga
One
of the greatest manga series ever, Dragon Ball is filled with
fun and adventure. Artist Akira Toriyama has an unparalleled ability
to capture the speed and excitement of martial arts combat in his
drawings. The original Dragon Ball manga (comic book) comprises 42
volumes, each about 150-180 pages in length. In the English version
the manga is divided into two series, Dragon Ball (16 volumes)
and Dragon Ball Z (26 volumes), to match the TV version.
Many editions
of the Dragon Ball comics have been published over the years. For the
English version I recommend the latest editions which bear the
"Shonen Jump Graphic Novel" logo. These versions preserve the original
artwork the best; they are read manga-style (right-to-left) and are uncensored.
The Dragon Ball series volumes have red covers (see illustration above)
and the Z series volumes have white covers.
List
All Dragon Ball Books (USA)
Dragon Ball and Censorship
The English TV version of Dragon Ball is heavily edited to remove scenes of violence, crude humour, and even nudity. The early Dragon Ball episodes included a lot of base humour, mostly revolving around Goku's total innocence, Kammesenin's (Master Roshi's) pervertedness, and Bulma ending up in embarrassing situations. For example when Bulma and Goku first met Master Roshi he said he would give Bulma his Dragon Ball in exchange for a look at her panties. In another episode, Yamcha was trying to fight an invisible man. He was losing so Kululin (Krylin) came up with a plan to help. Krylin pulled Bulma's shirt off which caused Master Roshi to get a massive nosebleed with excitement; the blood splashed onto Yamcha's opponent and made him visible for Yamcha to defeat! In Dragon Ball Z the English TV version was censored mainly for violence, so often you don't see a punch actually land, and of course being "sent to another dimension" in the English version means "being killed" in the original! Many episodes of Dragon Ball are now available uncut on home video and DVD.