Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once a... Read allDragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.
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Summary
Reviewers say 'Dragon Ball' is celebrated for its adventure, comedy, and martial arts action. Goku's quest for Dragon Balls introduces diverse characters, emphasizing friendship and perseverance. Goku's evolution from a naive child to a powerful warrior is notable, alongside significant growth in characters like Piccolo and Krillin. The series balances humor and serious moments, creating a dynamic narrative. Despite pacing issues and filler episodes, the overall reception is positive, highlighting its impact on the anime genre.
Featured reviews
The series that simplifies and introduces anime.
Dragon ball is the cartoon that pioneered the fame that anime enjoys today. "What FF7 did for Rpg's, DB does for anime". It showcases wacky characters that each develop over time. It is definitely for kids but, considering Japanese culture, some actions(e.g. young Goku touching/smelling "genitalia") may seem vulgar but of course in a comedic and innocent manner. This is as well, slapstick humor.... not in its finest... BUT IN ITS EXTREME FORM! (e.g. One of Goku's enemies, Ninja Murasaki, falls from the roof. Then.... the "poor" ninja lands ass-first on Goku's stretch stick, protruding from the ground. Talk about the worst anal probe ever! Thats how the guy loses. Hahahaha....)
The plot is built around an odd little boy that that is blessed with great strength and physical prowess. The general formula of the series is one of a "Boss saga" type. What i mean by this is that each "chapter" always begins with a new enemy boss introduced while it ends with the protagonist defeating that boss. Later on, in the series (DBZ), the origins of Goku is revealed. Dragon ball is centered on how Goku attains super hero status. By the latter parts of Dragon ball, Goku actually "grows up". A trademark as well of the show is the many memorable characters that it has. What is memorable?? This is simply: Ulong (the shape-shifting pig), Yamcha (the outcast that fights using his "Wolf fang fist"), Bulma (the main focus of "fan service"), Goku (the monkey boy), Lange (the schizophrenic sneezing babe).....
This is actually a good example of what anime generally is. All the peculiar humor that Japanese cartoons portray are nicely shown. From the sexual overtones, slapstick, stupidity, childishness, super deformed "chibi" and what not considering Jap-humor. Don't forget that this is a kiddie show. It is enjoyable though even for adults as the "oddities" (goku's old master, the ultimate "hentai" "perv" Tortoise Genie, in his eternal pursuit for sexy women.) are enough to keep you laughing.
The plot is built around an odd little boy that that is blessed with great strength and physical prowess. The general formula of the series is one of a "Boss saga" type. What i mean by this is that each "chapter" always begins with a new enemy boss introduced while it ends with the protagonist defeating that boss. Later on, in the series (DBZ), the origins of Goku is revealed. Dragon ball is centered on how Goku attains super hero status. By the latter parts of Dragon ball, Goku actually "grows up". A trademark as well of the show is the many memorable characters that it has. What is memorable?? This is simply: Ulong (the shape-shifting pig), Yamcha (the outcast that fights using his "Wolf fang fist"), Bulma (the main focus of "fan service"), Goku (the monkey boy), Lange (the schizophrenic sneezing babe).....
This is actually a good example of what anime generally is. All the peculiar humor that Japanese cartoons portray are nicely shown. From the sexual overtones, slapstick, stupidity, childishness, super deformed "chibi" and what not considering Jap-humor. Don't forget that this is a kiddie show. It is enjoyable though even for adults as the "oddities" (goku's old master, the ultimate "hentai" "perv" Tortoise Genie, in his eternal pursuit for sexy women.) are enough to keep you laughing.
Old is gold
I can't explain how much amazing is this series, at first I think of skipping it as it is to old and will be boring but I'm that kind of person who loves to understand the whole concept so I stared watching it. The beginning of the series it is so hilarious that I completely loved it and creates some interest in me but when the series started to go further it becomes little bit boring to watch it till 60 episodes I guess so I decided to watch the episode ASAP but then when the 2nd world martial arts competition begins it was so freaken awesome to watch it and from this there whole series just got changed I loved it.
The final fight was awesome and the starting to something new then I just feel like uhhh now here we go again but I was completely wrong as the series continues to amaze me, the pikolo arc was the best and turst me I did not expect some thing like this from a anime from 1986 (and cretes intrest in me to watch more anime to that time). The series just got amazing and I loved it so much.
10klv17
So Much Better than Z, & Yet No Love
There are no fights with people staring at each other for an entire episode, & 10 minutes turns into half of a saga as in the last half of the Frieza series. nor are there any ridiculous power levels.. No huge inaccuracies in the plot-lines, & lame filler that has you scratching your head.
Since when was Mercenary Tao a General? Since when did Dr. Gero lead the red ribbon army? He didn't.. It was Commander Red. Goku never met Dr.Gero, because he never existed.
I think the whole power level thing is great for video games, but makes for a "yaaawn" of a series.
Dragonball is actually believable, but fantastical all at once. You are never sitting & waiting & waiting for what you know is going to happen, because you simply don't know.
Always new characters, adventures, & twists in the stories that actually make for a fun series. Awesome humor, & magical places. Tests of strength & purity of character, & friendships built on realistic type events.
You see how Goku wins over the most evil of hearts & minds, From Yamacha, to Tien to Piccolo. All the characters are involved & help to solve the crisis at hand.
Do yourself a big favor if you're a fan of Goku & the crew, & make sure you watch this series from the very beginning. Don't just pick it up in the middle from seeing one episode & say yuck!!!
I did exactly that. Then when i saw how god-awful GT was, I decided to start here instead. Was well worth it. It really is so much better than Z hands down..
Since when was Mercenary Tao a General? Since when did Dr. Gero lead the red ribbon army? He didn't.. It was Commander Red. Goku never met Dr.Gero, because he never existed.
I think the whole power level thing is great for video games, but makes for a "yaaawn" of a series.
Dragonball is actually believable, but fantastical all at once. You are never sitting & waiting & waiting for what you know is going to happen, because you simply don't know.
Always new characters, adventures, & twists in the stories that actually make for a fun series. Awesome humor, & magical places. Tests of strength & purity of character, & friendships built on realistic type events.
You see how Goku wins over the most evil of hearts & minds, From Yamacha, to Tien to Piccolo. All the characters are involved & help to solve the crisis at hand.
Do yourself a big favor if you're a fan of Goku & the crew, & make sure you watch this series from the very beginning. Don't just pick it up in the middle from seeing one episode & say yuck!!!
I did exactly that. Then when i saw how god-awful GT was, I decided to start here instead. Was well worth it. It really is so much better than Z hands down..
The best anime for kids!
Young Goku is here. Lovable, kind, and pure-hearted. Also discover the origin of how it all started. To be honest, this was the best anime cartoon I ever saw next to my other favorites, Akira and Galerians.They don't compare at all but its funny and perfect for the family. If you heard DBZ was good, watch this series. The best shows are the first two sagas, when Goku did the most comedy. Although this isn't REALLY recommend for kids, due to violence and nudity. I recommend this to ages 9 and up. Young Goku journeys with a girl named Bulma hoping to find the seven dragon balls. During there journey they run into enemies who also have the same objective. Will Goku and Bulma receive all of the dragon ball and summon the dragon or will there plan be a failure. The whole search rides on a dragon radar created by Bulma.
IMDb's Top 50 Anime Series
IMDb's Top 50 Anime Series
See which anime series our fans recommend the most. Titles with more than 10,000 votes are featured in our ultimate anime watchlist.
Did you know
- TriviaIn the original 1989 dub of Dragon Ball by Harmony Gold, Goku was renamed Zero.
- GoofsIn the original English dub for the episode The Kamehameha wave, Kamehameha is misspelled as Kamehameah on the title screen.
- Crazy creditsWhen FUNimation redubbed the original Dragon Ball in 2000, they kept the Japanese intro/outro credit songs, and had English speakers sing them. This was the first time FUNimation kept music from the Japanese version of a Dragon Ball series.
- Alternate versionsThere are four different distinct English dubbed versions of this series:
- a dub from Harmony Gold in 1989 that played very briefly in the US,
- a heavily edited dub from Kidmark in 1995 that played in several English-speaking countries,
- an uncut dub from Funimation in 2001 (played edited on US TV) that is shown in only in the US and Australia,
- and a slightly edited Canadian dub from 2003 that plays only in Canada and in the UK.
- ConnectionsAlternate-language version of Dragon Ball (1986)
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Everything New on Hulu in November
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- 7 Viên Ngọc Rồng (Tiếng Anh)
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