Dragon Ball

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"Dragon Boy" redirects here. For the Canadian mini-series, see Dragon Boys.

This article is about the media franchise. For other uses, see Dragon Ball (disambiguation).

Dragon Ball
First tankōbon volume, released in Japan on November 10, 1985
ドラゴンボール (Doragon Bōru)
Genre	Bangsian fantasy, Martial arts, Science fiction
Manga
Written by	Akira Toriyama
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	Madman Entertainment Viz Media Gollancz Manga
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine	Shonen Jump
Original run	1984 – 1995
Volumes	42 (List of volumes)
TV anime
Directed by	Minoru Okazaki Daisuke Nishio
Studio	Toei Animation
Licensed by	FUNimation Entertainment
Network	Fuji TV, Animax
English network	Network Ten, Cartoon Network YTV Cartoon Network, CNX, Toonami Cartoon Network, Colours TV, Funimation Channel, Toonami Jetstream, KIKU
Original run	February 26, 1986 – April 12, 1989
Episodes	153 (List of episodes)
TV anime
Dragon Ball Z
Directed by	Daisuke Nishio
Studio	Toei Animation
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment
Network	Fuji TV, Animax, Tokyo MX
English network	Network Ten, Cartoon Network YTV Cartoon Network, Toonami Cartoon Network
Original run	April 26, 1989 – January 31, 1996
Episodes	291 (List of episodes)
TV anime
Dragon Ball GT
Directed by	Osamu Kasai
Studio	Toei Animation
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment
Network	Fuji TV, Animax
English network	Network Ten, Cartoon Network YTV Cartoon Network Toonami, CNX
Original run	February 7, 1996 – November 19, 1997
Episodes	64 (List of episodes)
TV anime
Dragon Ball Z Kai
Studio	Toei Animation
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment
Network	Fuji TV
English network	Nicktoons, The CW, Toonzai (2010-)
Original run	April 5, 2009 – ongoing
Episodes	66 (List of episodes)
Related
Films, specials, and original video animations Video games Soundtracks Collectible card games Dragon Ball Dragon Ball Z
Anime and Manga Portal

Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール, Doragon Bōru^?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 through 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West. It follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, most of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires.
While Dragon Ball is in a prominent position in the licensing in Japan, you may notice a slight drop compared to previous years. Already Dragon Ball, shows a decrease of 51% over the same period last year. Having, thus, the results more modest in recent years relative to earnings in Japan. Dragon Ball remained slack as the flagship of Toei Animation in anime sales abroad. Accounting for almost 50% of all profits. Dragon Ball accounts for no less than 64.8% of all profits from licensing for the first quarter of 2011. Saint Seiya remained the second most lucrative series outside of Japan and Dragon Ball generates incredible 76.5% of all profits from licensing outside the Toei Animation. ^[1]
The 42 tankōbon have been adapted into three anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. Additionally, Toei has developed seventeen animated feature films and three television specials. In 2009, Toei started rebroadcasting Dragon Ball Z under the name of Dragon Ball Kai which changes the footage from the original anime. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising such as a collectible trading card game, and a large number of video games.
The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Australia and New Zealand by Chuang Yi. The anime series was licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English language release worldwide, although the series has been dubbed several times by various studios. In China, a live-action film adaptation was produced in 1989. In 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to produce an American-made live-action film, which was released on April 10, 2009 to critical lambast.
Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular manga series of its time in both Japan and North America. It enjoys a high readership, with over 150 million volumes of the series sold by 2007. Several manga artists have noted that the manga series was the inspiration for their own now popular works, including Naruto and One Piece. The anime is also highly popular, ranking number 3rd among the best anime series of all time in 2006. Reviewers praise the art, characterization, and humor of the manga story.