DRAGON BALL｜Anime
“DRAGON BALL” is a manga work by Akira Toriyama that was serialized in ‘Weekly Shonen Jump’ from 1984 to 1995. It was originally serialized as an excuse to end the serialization of “Dr. SLUMP,” which preceded “DRAGON BALL,” but it was adapted into an animated television series and became a world-famous work.
It is an adventure anime with gags and adventures, in which the main character, named Son Goku, searches for “Dragon Balls,” a hidden treasure that will grant him any wish if he collects seven of them and summons a divine dragon. As can be seen from the name of the main character, Son Goku, the setting was initially based on “Journey to the West.
Although it contained adventure and fighting elements from the beginning of its serialization, it did not grow in popularity and changed its story line. After changing the main storyline to a tournament-style martial arts tournament, “World Martial Arts Tournament,” the series gradually turned into a battle manga and began to gain popularity.
The story then developed along with the growth of the main characters from the Red Ribbon Army version and the battles with Piccolo and others, and the gag and adventure elements were reduced and the story became a more serious battle manga fighting rivals and vicious enemies. However, even in this more serious story, the humorous characters and settings typical of Akira Toriyama’s works, along with comical elements, serious stories, powerful battle scenes, and friendships with fellow characters, have made it a work loved by people all over the world.
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