XIX: "Dragon Ball" series

Okay, this is another multi-anime review, dealing with the universe of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Those familiar with the story Journey to the West may notice that the series mainstay character, Son Goku, has traits of the latter story's Son Wukong. An expanded description of him occurs when Saiyans come into play in the anime's sequel Dragon Ball Z, when he is identified as one of them early in the series' first season.

In Dragon Ball, Son Goku's younger days are explained, starting from his first encounter with Bulma Brief, to the rivalry against Piccolo Jr., and the marriage between him and Chi Chi, daughter of the Ox King. Between the timeline during these events, we get first glimpses at many of the recurring characters in the Dragon Ball universe, among which are fellow Z-Fighters Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Master Roshi. Among the DB characters, there are other characters who are nearly absent in the other series, never to be seen nor mentioned again until later, if not at all.

The plot dealt with the central, titular items called Dragon Balls. Created by the guardian of earth Kami, it is said that possessing seven of these would grant the summoner of the Eternal Dragon any wish possible. Should a wish be cast, the Eternal Dragon Shenron would grant this wish, before returning into the balls. They would then scatter across the earth, turning to stone and becoming unusable until the next year. This is, of course how a number of conflicts begin, and Goku is wrapped in the mess from their first hunt, for initially, he possessed the 4-star ball as a keep sake from his grandfather, Gohan, prior to his first adventure alongside Bulma. The series' main antagonists are Emperor Pilaf, Red Ribbon Army, and King Piccolo, though there are other enemies that Goku does encounter as well (some of which are later an ally.) It has action, but also it's dose of silliness. It gets a 7 of 10 from me. It just came to me that aside from the Funimation and Blue Water dubbings, there was a third one under Harmony Gold, the same group responsible for the dubbed Robotech anime. However, this dub was short lived, and is the least known, yet distinguished for changing the name of Goku to Zero. One episode, not to spoil, featured characters deom another work Dr. Slump (which in turn would feature one of them as a fighter for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.)

In the sequel Dragon Ball Z, it starts off years after the birth of Goku's son, Son Gohan (perhaps named after Goku's adoptive grandfather), who is later to be perceived as a half-Saiyan. However, the fireworks start early after the introduction of Raditz, the brother of Goku and one of the last pure-blood Saiyans around. A bit of the Saiyan history is introduced, and after the battle with Raditz, he meets another who ultimately becomes his rival: the prince of Saiyans, Vegeta. DBZ expands to different planets this time around, having battles not only on Earth, but also the fictional Planet Namek. There was even one instance where events go on in "Other World". DBZ is known for having two different English dubs before its remake as Dragon Ball Z Kai: the original dub was first done by Ocean Productions. which primarily covered to about half of the Namek Saga. From then onward, dubbing was done by Funimation, who also redubbed the start of the series, as well as the remade and compressed DBZ Kai.

A slew of characters was introduced here as well, such as the androids 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 (essentially introducing Dr. Gero), Trunks, a half-Saiyan from the future and son of Vegeta and Bulma, Videl, who ultimately becomes acquainted with Gohan towards the end, and Pan and Uub, who didn't have bigger roles until Dragon Ball GT (yet Uub is a reincarnated from of Majin Buu's Kid form). As such, a number of characters are either returning or reincarnated as well, such as General Tao, albeit mechanized. The plot takes a different stem as well, as people would go as far as even destroying the planet, some not concerning themselves at all with the Dragon Balls. Just as much, a lot of fatalities occur in it, so the use of the said items are that much more prominent. It is also in DBZ that we not only know about the true origin behind the Dragon Balls, but also we see a different Eternal Dragon: Porunga of Namek, who grants 3 wishes. Shenron does return as well, but following the merging of Piccolo and the Earth Guardian, Kami, he is soon remodeled by Dende, introduced in the Namek saga, and plays the guardian role late in the Cell saga onward.

The major baddies this time around would be Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu (through various reincarnations). In spite of Dragon Ball having the first ever Saiyan transformation, DBZ is first for having expansions of the Saiyan powers, with the inclusion of the Super Saiyan, introduced in the Frieza Saga. The Super Saiyan powers are also expanded, eventually to the introduction of Super Saiyan 2 (Cell Games Saga), and Super Saiyan 3 (Majin Buu Saga). Unlike Dragon Ball, DBZ is a tad more serious than its predecessor. It gets from me a slightly better 7.25.

Last, but not least, we have the successor to DBZ: Dragon Ball GT. This anime was made in published like the others, but Toriyama did not do work on this anime. As such, it has not a manga based on it either. In DBGT, Goku returns once more, but thanks to old enemies Emperor Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu, a wish was accidentally granted, reducing the size and age of Goku. At this point, in size, Goku has returned to his younger days, while the other members of DBZ remain older, such as his second son, Son Goten, who is in his teens. The Dragon Balls remain as well, but there's a new set debuting, aside from a flock of new Shenrons. The Black Star Dragon Balls hosts the massive Ultimate Shenron, a red dragon whose wish capacity outclasses even that of Earth's Shenron, yet only one wish could be granted. However, this comes with a price. Once a wish is made, they would scatter throughout the galaxy. In addition to this, the hosting planet is on a one-year countdown before it gets destroyed, and can only be nullified when the Black Star Dragon Balls are returned into place.

However, there are other problems that the three heroes, Goku, Trunks and Pan must also deal with: the first major one being Dr. Myuu and General Rildo. As soon as that's out the way, the created parasite Baby is the next big threat. Following these are Super Android 17 and the seven Shadow Dragons, spawned from the evil Smoke Shenron. Along the way, 2 new Saiyan forms are introduced: the Golden Ape transformation (an upgrade to the basic Ape transformation seen in Dragon Ball), and the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, which is the last known form on the Super Saiyan line. Fitting enough, it didn't last as long as the others. And not a lot of fans were drawn to DBGT as compared to DBZ. This series gets a 6.

A number of movies were also spawned from the 3 anime, most of which coming from DBZ. As such, a few characters who remain nearly nameless in the series overall, such as Broly and Goku's father Bardock, are also introduced, though almost none of the movies are considered canon. As such, there are viewer made parodies of it, some being well popularized (DBZ Abridged, Weekly Tube Show), and others being largely hyped and never created (Dragon Ball AF). There was even a recent live action adaption that was poorly recieved, that being Dragon Ball Evolution. Overall, through manga, anime, merchandise, and even video games, Dragon Ball is massively popular. So, people out there had to hear the name, or something of the like, at least once, seeing how it's that popular. Perhaps is too early to say it, but the universe of Dragon Ball is perhaps a staple name in Funimation that everyone knows.