Series Review: Dragon Ball
An anime that I’ve been wanting to watch fully for around 20 years, the original Dragon Ball series is one I very much enjoy. While it tends to be overlooked compared to the ultra-popular Dragon Ball Z, it was the second series I ever got to see on TV, despite both series not being complete and English dubbed in the 90's at the time. This review of the series will keep spoilers to a minimum and was watched with English dubbing. When I re-watch it again someday in the future, it will be the original Japanese voice work.
The Dragon Ball series was created by famous Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama and was a serialized manga in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1984-1995, comprising both the original and Z series into 42 volumes in total. The original Dragon Ball debuted as in anime by Toei Animation in Japan in 1986 and finished in 1989. Like the manga, the anime was a huge hit in Japan and the sequel, Dragon Ball Z, made it even more popular. As mentioned above, both series were dubbed in the west in the 90’s but they were only for a handful of episodes.
Here's the original opening intro in Japanese (I'm not a fan of the English dub and would switch to Japanese for this intro and then switch to English once it ends):
Click to viewAnd here's the original ending credits in Japanese (The English dub is actually very good!):
As a bonus, here is the 1990's opening in English that I remember seeing back in the day:
Here’s what I wrote about the anime during my review of Dragon Ball Origins 2 in April 2018:
I should point out my history with the original Dragon Ball cartoon series, particularly in Canada. Both the US and Canada had different voice work and English translation by their respective studios. The US had Funimation do the English dubbing, which is the standard, including the DVD sets. Canada used Ocean Group in Vancouver and I think their division, Blue Water Studio, in Edmonton too for the English dub. I do not know why this happened (I later found that this version was aired in the UK too). The first showing of Dragon Ball I saw around 18-19 years ago on YTV and it used to only give a single episode on Friday nights. It only showed the episodes of the first saga, the "Emperor Pilaf Saga", but then that is where it would stop and go back to the beginning. Due to my ignorance, I thought that was all the series had and then Dragon Ball Z picked up from there, albeit many years later when all the main characters, especially the protagonist Goku, had grown up. But come about 2002 or 2003, YTV brings back the series with a new intro (I would find that both the previous version and this one was nothing like the original 1986 Japanese release) and re-did the English dubbing and dialogue. During my first part-time job on weekday afternoons cleaning an office building in Surrey, I would clean and take my break in a walk-in clinic which had cable TV, so I got to watch the series. I saw the same first saga that I did around a few years earlier but then something happened: the series continued into the "Tournament Saga" and they didn't repeat back to the very first episode! I was excited since they introduced Krillin. He was as young as Goku and had a rivalry with him (at first but it doesn't last long, and they quickly become friends in the saga). I knew of Krillin in Dragon Ball Z, but I didn't know he originated in the previous series. Anyways, the series continued past "Tournament Saga" and got into the "Red Ribbon Army Saga". I think after that one, the series once again reseted back to the first episode. I suspected they only dubbed up to that point but I watched the series again on and off while working and when they finished the "Red Ribbon Army Saga" again, it continued with the "General Blue Saga" and even the "Commander Red Saga". Once again, they reset the series back to the first episode even though I knew there was more. At that time, I kind of stopped watching it but I would end up regretting it. One day, I tune in and find that the series was continuing with the "Fortuneteller Baba Saga" and I believe it went all the way to the end of the series! "Shit!" I thought. So, I waited for the series to end and reset so I could wait to watch the "Fortuneteller Baba Saga" and beyond. The problem was, YTV eventually stopped showing Dragon Ball for good which meant that they only showed the series in its entirety once! I was so crushed! This is important because the Ocean/Blue Water dub is unique (some may say the American Funimation dub is better) and when the entire DVD sets were released in recent years, there is no Ocean/Blue Water dub! So essentially, the episodes are pretty much gone for good and no one has uploaded full episodes to YouTube or torrent sites as far as I know (they would be VHS transfers recorded off the TV). But in the end, it made me a fan of the series and in the past, I was also watching Dragon Ball Z and then while I was working my second graveyard job at SFU in 2005 or 2006, the Ocean/Blue Water dub of Dragon Ball GT.
So, what is Dragon Ball all about? In the first “Emperor Pilaf Saga” the main protagonist is an orphaned child named Goku who lives in the mountains by himself sometime after the death of his grandfather, Gohan. Despite his age, his naïve nature, and the fact he has a monkey tail, Goku has incredible strength and is very adept at martial arts due to training from Gohan. While coming home after capturing a large fish for dinner, a teenage girl driving a car crashes into Goku by accident. This doesn’t faze Goku too much given his strength, much to the relief of the girl who introduces herself as Bulma. Given Goku has spent his whole life up in the mountains, he has never met a girl before and has very little knowledge about life beyond his home as Gohan could only tell him little. Goku invites Bulma over for lunch at his home and on the way, she pulls out a special radar as she is in search of something. When they arrive inside, she notices a small yellow ball with four red stars on it and immediately picks it up as it was what she was searching for. Goku snatches it from her and says it is his grandfather (he wrongly believes Gohan inhabits the ball after he died). She then reaches into her bag and pulls out two other balls with different numbered stars, much to Goku’s shock. She explains that these are “Dragon Balls” and that there are 7 in all. According to legend, if you assemble all 7 Dragon Balls, you can call on Shenron - the Eternal Dragon, who will appear and grant you a single wish. She cautions that there are those who covet the Dragon Balls to make evil wishes. She then asks if she can have Goku’s ball as her wish is to have a boyfriend. Goku refuses as he inherited his ball from his grandfather and doesn’t want to lose it. But Bulma invites him to come with her on an adventure to search for the remaining 4 balls as he will finally leave home and see the world, content that his grandfather would want this of him. To find the remaining balls, Bulma uses her “Dragon Radar” to home in on the balls unique energy signature, making the job easier. He agrees, and together they begin their first of many adventures. Unbeknownst to Goku and Bulma, the evil Emperor Pilaf is also searching for the Dragon Balls so he can become ruler of the world. But throughout the rest of the saga, Goku would meet many new people who will end up being lifelong friends and allies. This includes the shape-shifter pig Oolong, the desert bandit Yamcha and his flying cat friend, Puar (who I also a shape-shifter), and the young Chi-Chi - who is in love with Goku and is the daughter of the Ox King (above but with armor on, one of the most sexiest bears in the series!).
This is how Dragon Ball begins but then becomes a lot more. After the first 13 episodes of the Emperor Pilaf Saga, the next 15 episodes comprise the Tournament Saga. It has Goku training under the great Master Roshi (who was introduced in episode 3) and introduces Krillin, a boy about Goku’s age who starts as his training rival but soon becomes his best friend. They both compete in the World Martial Arts Tournament with the final fight between Goku and an aged fighter named Jackie Chun (Master Roshi in disguise). The next 39 episodes is the Red Ribbon Army Saga including the General Blue and Commander Red Sagas. After the tournament, Goku decides to go looking for his grandfather’s four-star Dragon Ball but the evil Red Ribbon Army is also looking for the Dragon Balls for (presumably) world domination. In his travels he deals with the likes of Generals Silver, White, and Blue until he finally goes after Commander Red and crushes the Red Ribbon Army. After nearly getting killed by the world famous assassin, Mercenary Tao, Goku trains under Master Korin up atop Korin Tower to become stronger and faster. After the fall of the army then begins the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, which are the episodes I ever got to see in the past. It lasts for 15 episodes and has Goku needing the help of Fortuneteller Baba to search for the final 7th Dragon Ball. The saga finishes with Goku travelling around the world and training for 3 years to compete in the next World Martial Arts Tournament. These are episodes that has Goku mainly by himself and helping various people he meets. He soon runs into a man named Tien Shinhan, a fighter who would compete in the Tournament and views Goku as his enemy since Mercenary Tao came from the same school as him. The 19 episodes of the Tournament comprise the Tien Shinhan Saga. It ends on a very dark note and has Goku avenging the death of a friend who was murdered. This brings in a major, powerful villain that terrorises the world and is murdering all fighters who competed in the tournament. The next 21 episodes is the King Piccolo Saga and has some major characters killed. Goku manages to avenge his friends but it causes a new villain to emerge and won’t reveal himself to Goku for awhile. We then get to the final 31 episodes of the series in the Piccolo Jr. Saga. Goku and his new friend, Yajirobe, go to Master Korin who recommends that Goku train under Kami, the Guardian of the Earth, who resides further above Korin Tower and can only be reached by Goku’s Power Pole extending higher into the heavens. For a handful of episodes, Goku trains under Mr. Popo, the servant of Kami, and must learn many new techniques. I should point out that this part of the series is kind of weak… we constantly see Goku fail in his training and learn very little. I would have preferred seeing Goku figuring things out slowly and transition to allow the viewer to imagine what possibilities await him as time goes by. When we reach episode 133, 3 years have passed, and the final World Martial Arts Tournament of the original series is beginning. Goku arrives and meets his friends but is now a grown teenager (so the final episode of seeing Goku as a child is “Hotter than Magma”). We get to see Goku’s training come to fruition and see even how much stronger his friends have gotten too. After his friends are defeated far into the tournament, the final battle pits Goku against Piccolo Jr. in an intense fight to prove who is the strongest in the world. The series ends with Goku and Chi-Chi getting married, paving the way for the Dragon Ball Z series to begin 5 years later.
Watching the original Dragon Ball series from beginning to end felt like a long but rewarding journey. It’s why I enjoy cartoons of the 80’s where going on adventures and seeing the characters grow keeps you invested. I should also mention that the series is very funny, especially the first bunch of episodes involving Goku and Bulma, plus Master Roshi being a total perv. Seriously, Roshi is one the biggest old pervs in all of anime! He objectifies beautiful young women and Bulma tends to be his favourite to sexually harass throughout the series. I’m glad Funimation didn’t do much censoring as Dragon Ball contains some sexual humour that would have never been allowed over here in the west. You even see Goku naked at least a few times and his genitals are not covered up - unlike in previous versions published for TV in which you can easily tell are covering him up. I figure that such things are not controversial to the Japanese compared to western sensibilities. What helps in the comedy is that Goku has no idea what the facts of life are as he is not very civilized, living in the mountains and all. While he does become less naive when he becomes a teenager, he still doesn't quite understand the whole male and female dynamic. As I said above, this is mainly in the earlier episodes and you get some innuendo jokes on and off for the rest of the series, mostly coming from Master Roshi. The series is definitely not politically correct and would offend some in this day and age (but you know my response to such people - fuck em'!).
While Dragon Ball is kind of slow paced, it is nowhere near the slow pace of Dragon Ball Z. Actually, things flow relatively okay and a lot is accomplished in 153 episodes. It tends to go slow during the 3 tournaments but that doesn’t compare to Z’s major battles that last over 30 episodes each. This obviously makes Z’s battles much more epic but slow down the story considerably.
There were 4 Japanese theatrically released movies of the original Dragon Ball from 1986-1996 but I’ve never seen them yet. All I know is that the art and animation are a step up from the anime. If I get to see them, I’ll do a separate entry on them.
Currently, picking up the 5 “blue bricks” Funimation DVD sets of the original Dragon Ball series is still relatively easy on Amazon. If you like classic anime or even cartoons from the 80’s, I highly recommend this series! Disappointingly, there are no real extras in the sets. I would have loved some interviews with Toriyama and the makers of the anime, some archival footage, etc. I don’t see any Blu-Ray remaster of this series coming any time soon, so this is currently the only way you’ll get the series in its entirety. Dragon Ball Z is another matter altogether. I’m not sure when I’ll be tackling that series as I heard the original “orange bricks” Funimation DVD sets are inferior and have a cropped aspect ratio. They released a Blu-Ray remaster over 2 years ago, so we’ll see if I’ll take that route in the future. I heard there was a limited release of the series that was near-perfect for fans, but it is very expensive to get, sadly. The less popular Dragon Ball GT will then be tackled whenever I finish Z. You can alternatively watch all series on Funimation's website for free but there are a TON of commercials. You can also pay a monthly subscription fee for their ad-free streaming service through an app on certain devices.
Funimation's website of the original Dragon Ball series is here.
