'Dragon Ball (Chapters 1-194)' [Spoilers; Talkback]

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Story & art: Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball introduces a young monkey-tailed boy named Goku (a wry update of the classic Chinese "Monkey King" legend), whose quiet life changes when he meets a girl named Bulma who is on a quest to collect seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are scattered all over the world, and Bulma could use the help of a certain super-strong boy... (In Japan, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were originally a single 42-volume series. VIZ Media's Dragon Ball contains vols. 1-16 of the original Japanese Dragon Ball, from the beginning of the series to the climax of Goku's last fight with Piccolo.)


This talkback is solely for the discussion of the first 194 chapters, the Saiyan through Buu sagas will be discussed in another talkback. I assume the mods will be kind enough to mirror this on over to the CBC forum.

[Mr. Toto]

So is Pu'erh a boy, or a girl?

This series is one of the greats. Hilarious and charming the entire way through. It's really a shame that the creator of it doesn't believe so too.

[DrTooth]

Dragon Ball > Dragon Ball Z. I mean, the more action oriented things in DBZ were pretty good, but just not as fun or whimsical as DB was. I mean, Not knowing Goku was an alien, the odd world that's not quite Earth they live in. The fact they actually quested for the balls numerous times and met interresting and weird new characters.... it's just more magical than anything DBZ did. I mean, Akira experimented with a more magical/ fun concept with the Buu saga... but it's just not the same.

[aalong64]

I used to really enjoy Dragon Ball Z, but then I started reading the earlier Dragon Ball manga, and found that I enjoyed the older comedy-adventure stories much more than the mindless fighting found often in DBZ.

[Jin Kazama]

I love the original DB. As others have stated, the humor is a big part of that. DBZ got old fast because of that, but DB had such a good mixture of action and humor. Plus it was spaced out more, so when the World Tournaments started, they actually seemed big, unlike Z where each arc is a fight.

Really wish they'd do more with it. Z gets all kinds of stuff, but DB's only really had the Game Boy game that I can remember.

[sleepydumbdude]

I used to think I liked the series but now that I think about it, I really only like the Frieza and Cell Games Saga.I didn't like the stuff in between, I found the androids and imperfect cell saga really drawn out and boring. I kindof like the later episodes of Dragon Ball when he was older and in tournament. I would've probably liked it more if I was younger but I was 16 when it came on toonami and just couldn't get into it.

[rubberchicken]

Originally Posted by Jin Kazama

Really wish they'd do more with it. Z gets all kinds of stuff, but DB's only really had the Game Boy game that I can remember.

You mean you never played Dragon Power?

Come on, it was in English and everything!

[MajorTom]

I like this far more than the later Cell and Buu sections, but I think that the Saiyan and Freeza arcs are great and a logical continuation (and conclusion in some ways) Still, the first section of the story is by far the best thing about the beast that is Dragon Ball. Toriyama was able to combine the humor of Dr. Slump and his one-shots with great action, and extremely endearing characters. Even if you found Dragon Ball Z boring, I highly recommend Dragon Ball if you like whimsical adventure.

[DrTooth]

Originally Posted by Jin Kazama

Really wish they'd do more with it. Z gets all kinds of stuff, but DB's only really had the Game Boy game that I can remember.

Well, DB did have some stuff, but it's impossible to find now, and probably pretty pricey. Off the top of my head, I know of several things

-DVD releases in Saga sets (long out of print, however) and three of the four movies uncut in a box set. There were also edited video tapes with English dialogue. If you go to a dollar tree, you may find them.
-Bandai had some DB toys back in the day, but they never caught on. In fact, I think these were made in the 90's, just before the DBZ line.
-IF Labs had some action figure/diorama sets. 2 series of 4 characters (Goku, Yamcha with Puarr, Roshi, Emperor Pilaf with Shao- was series one. Series 2 included Mai and Launch)
-a series of small Homies like 50 cent US capsule figures featuring DB and DBZ (mostly DB) characters was available for a while.

That's pretty much about it.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Recently picked up and read volume sixteen and I am now forced to agree that Gokû's fight with Ma Junior is the single most awesom fight in the entire series. The dialogue in particular is sharp and the choreography is intense. To be able to see the martial arts like this--before Toriyama began to slip off into his 'high speed lines'--is phenomenol. It's a shame that Son's battle with Piccolo in the 'live action film' will probably not be half as intense.

[Mandi-chan]

My sister loves Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z, and has been buying it every chance she gets.

We both have been reading it, and I gotta say...it's so much better than the terribly drawn out anime.

[Reg]

Dragon Ball was win sauce. I loved the comedy elements and the martial arts fights were pretty cool as well. Back then it seemed more skill and technique was involved in the fights and not just power. Don't get me wrong, I love DBZ even with it's flaws (and there are many), but DB is some of the best stuff out there. I have all 194 unedited chapters in the form of VIZ manga before those hacks started editing things.