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Summary
In the ’90s, every little boy was entranced by the absolute phenomenon that isDragon Ball–or at least, that’s the way it felt to me. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have access to cable, and couldn’t watchDragon Ball, except for catching an occasional episode at a friend’s house now and then.
By the early 2000s, however, that all changed, and I discovered the wonder that is anime. I was quickly intoseries on Adult Swim, likeCowboy Bebop,Fullmetal Alchemist,andBleach, and it felt as if a whole new world opened up. Yet, even in spite of that, I never felt any compulsion to go back and see what I missed. I did once try to giveDragon Ball GTa shot, since it was airing at the time, but the show’s relatively low quality (and my lack of context, having not seenDragon Ball Z) caused me to lose interest pretty quickly. Despite existing in the anime fandom for 15 years at the time, my secret became the fact that I’d never seenDragon Ball.
What Dragon Ball Was Like After All These Years
Dragon Ball Holds Up Surprisingly Well
It wasn’t until around the time thatDragon Ball Superwas starting to come out that the buzz got to me, and I decided to finally learn about this enormous hole in my anime knowledge. I watchedDragon Ball Z Kaiall the way through over a fairly long period of time, and while I wasn’t particularly impressed at first, I soon found myself completely drawn in.Like my friends did in the ’90s, I cheered when Goku finally went Super Saiyan against Frieza, and watched with terror as Buu killed each and every one of these characters I’d grown to love.
After that, I dove headfirst intoSuper, and watched it eagerly week-to-week, and came to enjoy it greatly, too. Beerus and Whis are excellent additions to the cast, and the show managed to make new power-ups exciting. I only watched the originalDragon Ballduring COVID lockdowns, and while it’s quite dated in a lot of ways, I was again surprised to see how well it stood the test of time. It was clear to me thatDragon Ballwas a classic because of its quality, not just its influence on later series.
How Dragon Ball Measures Up to the Modern Shonen
What Dragon Ball Still Does Best
The impact thatDragon Ballhas had on those series which have followed in its footsteps is undeniable.Everything from tournament arcsto transformations and power-ups can be traced back toDragon Ball, and who knows how many villains have been directly inspired by Frieza or Cell. WatchingDragon BallZafter many of the shonen which took after it was certainly an interesting experience; it’s not often that you get to see exactly what inspired some of your favorite moments in fiction, after all.
There are a lot of things that, even now,Dragon Ball Zdoes better than those anime that came after it. One of the most interesting, to me, was watching Goku age. While anime series today aren’t afraid of the occasional timeskip, it’s hard to imagine a show likeMy Hero Academiaallowing its protagonist to just suddenly become an adult. The characters' ages are too closely tied to that of the intended audience, so aging them up just doesn’t necessarily work the same way. By having Goku age, we’ve gotten to see him mature from a curious young boy to a powerful and honorable man, and even into a father.
Dragon Balldefinitely popularized the enemy-to-ally trope, and it arguably still does it best. From Yamcha in the original on down to Buu,Dragon Ballmanages to redeem its villains with shocking ease.Characters like Vegeta and Piccoloin particular have great characters arcs based on them coming around to Goku, and there’s no rivalry in any anime series that can match up to Vegeta and Goku’s. Vegeta is a fascinating character, never fully free from his evil past, but he does good regardless.
A lot of this can be traced back to Toriyama’s fairly loose writing style, with little detailed planning ahead. Toriyama just had such an incredible innate understanding of character development that, even without a plan, he could still sculpt a character like Vegeta into the complex man that he is. This also allowed Toriyama to respond to criticism quickly and easily, as seen in some arcs like the Android Saga, where the antagonists were changed several times before settling on 17 and 18. This style of writing is hard to pull off, and there’s really no one today working like that, so far as I know.
Where Dragon Ball Falls Short Today
Dragon Ball’s Comedy has Aged Worst
Of course, no work of fiction is perfect, and that’s as true ofDragon Ballas anything else. One of the biggest areas whereDragon Ball(especially the original series) falls flat today is with some of its comedy.Frankly, there are simply too many jokes about harassing Bulma for my taste; Goku largely gets a pass due to his “innocence,” but characters like Master Roshi become grating quickly. The more physical comedy holds up better, for the most part.
Another problem with the anime in particular is, of course, filler. I watchedKai, so filler wasn’t a big deal, but even simply looking at what was cut out was rather overwhelming. The idea of entirefiller arcs started withDragon Ball Z, and it would become a plague upon later series likeNarutoandBleach. Filler is especially out of favor nowadays, with series likeMy Hero AcademiaandDemon Slayeropting for a seasonal-style approach, simply going off the air rather than producing filler. This is one area where I wishDragon Ballhadn’t blazed the trail.
Overall,Dragon Ball Zis still an incredible shonen series, one that can hang with the best out there today. It’s a master of breaking tension without ruining the drama, and its world is a whimsical one with everything from magic to dinosaurs to spaceships, completely unlike any modern series. Perhaps most importantly,Dragon Ballis just plain fun, and that’s true no matter what’s going on. I may not have been aDragon Ballfan since the beginning, but I am now, and I can’t wait forDAIMA.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
