What is Dragonball ?

SSJ Goku

Dragonball is Japanese battle/humor oriented animation series that was originally created by Manga (comic) artist Akira Toriyama.

The show is devided into three different series', Dragonball, Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT. They all mainly revolve around a chracter named Goku, who is incredibly strong but alos a bit dense, dimwitted, but very good hearted. And what is most strange about him, he has a weird monkey-tail. Later it is found out that Goku is infact part of a alien warrior race, and was originaly sent to earth to destroy it. However, as a child, Goku hit his head and became the goodhearted dimwit we all know and love.

Anyway, back to the story: After living in the wildreness for many years, Goku (who is now around 12) encounters Bulma, a 16 city-girl who is looking for the Dragonballs to wish herself a perfect boyfriend. Goku joins Bulma in the hunt, hoping he might get to wish his grandfather Gohan back from the dead. And so the adventure begins.

Dragonball

Goku and Chichi, Bulma (in the middle) and Goku and Chichi again, this time adults.

The very fisrt series -Dragonball- was created somewhere in the early eighties (I presume), and it's story lines revolve mainly around the Dragonball hunts. The Dragonballs are seven magical orbs, which gathered together can grant one wish. During most the fisrt series Goku is a little boy, who with his freinds searches for the Dragonballs, fights enemies who also try to get the balls, and of course attend marchal art tournaments, which the series is notorious for. One thing I have to mention is the hilarious humor in the series, which is ever present in name-puns, regular character gags and hilarious situations.

Dragonball Z

Goku, Trunks, Vegeta and Gohan in SSJ form, and Chichi worrying over Goku's heart disease.

Dragonball Z picks up where Dragonball left off, making Goku a grown man with a wife and child. In this series there's less humor and more fighting, world-saving and that kind off stuff. But some great characters are introduced, including Vegeta and Trunks. This is the most popular and well known series of the three and was made in 1995. The series alos intrudeces the Super Saya-jin (SSJ) form, which Sayans or half-Sayans(the warrior race from Planet Vegeta, Goku, Vegeta...) can trasnform into, and come a considerable amount stronger. In this form the persons hair changes to bright blonde, and eyes to pale green. Dragonballs are still part of the story, but they are mainly used to bring people back form the dead ect.

Dragonball GT

Goku, Trunks and Pan in DBGT.

In Dragonball GT the story goes back to it's roots, the Dragonballs. Goku is wished by his old enemy to beacome a child again, and in order to change back to an adult, he must go searching for the black-star (the regular Dragonballs have orange stars) Dragonballs with Trunks and Pan. This series wasn't actually written by Akira Toriyama, so some fans don't even seriously consider it part of the Dragonball saga. The idea of the series is quite interesting, but the ending and some details do raise more than a few annoyed eyeybrows. But I suppose in general the series is ok. And hey! Without GT we probably would never have thought of Trunks and Pan being a couple. A toast to that!

Anyway, if you want more detailed info on Dragonball (I probably didn't explain it that well) go to some other DBZ site. For example www.dbzgtlegacy.com is a great place to visit.

What makes DB so good?

One of the most important things in the whole series are it's chracters. They have a great amount of personality and charm, and the range of eccentric personalities is wide and interesting.

The second thing must be humor, which catully goes hand in hand with the characters. Dragonball would not be the same without it's gags. I don't think any other series has used humor quite the way DB does. Like Toriyama said, at heart he is a gag-manga artist.

And of course there's the drawing that sticks out of the anime world like a sore thumb. No other series has such an eccentric and daring style in potraying it's charcters. Not everyone likes it's simplicity and crudeness, but I for one find it appealing.

And then the plots, the great battles and well...it just is good. Trust me.

Oh yeah, this may be a bit aiside the point but the couples add aspice to the show. The pairings in the series are more than interesting, and the range of characters give a nice moving ground. I especially like Vegeta and Bulma, who make such an amusing and interesting couple. I mean come on, the arrogant 'I'm so tough' Prince of Vegitasei and the bimboish, loud mothed, but yet extremely smart Bulma. Nothing can top these too.

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