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Dragon Ball  
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Description
Dragon Ball follows the adventures of Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires. Along the way becoming the strongest warrior in the universe.

Type
Manga

Related Series
Cross Epoch (Side Story)
Dragon Ball - Episode of Bardock (Prequel)
Dragon Ball Chou (Sequel)
Dragon Ball Heroes - Victory Mission (Spin-Off)
Dragon Ball SD (Spin-Off)
Dragon Ball Z - Rebirth of F (Sequel)
Ginga Patrol Jaco (Prequel)

Associated Names
ドラゴンボール
7 Viên Ngọc Rồng
Dragon Ball Z
Dragonball

Groups Scanlating
Colour Dragon Ball Project
DBRemastered
Fighting Dreamers Scanlations
GMscans
More...

Latest Release(s)
v.34 c.504 by Z Quality Scans (273d ago)
v.33 c.503 + Extras by Z Quality Scans (277d ago)
v.33 c.502 by Z Quality Scans (295d ago)
Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin
42 Tankoubon Volumes (Complete)
34 Kanzenban Volumes (Complete)
8 Full Color Volumes (Ongoing)

Completely Scanlated?
Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter
Starts at Vol 1, Chap 1 (Dragon Ball); Vol 17, Chap 195 (Dragon Ball Z)
Ends at Vol 17, Chap 194 (Dragon Ball); Vol 42, Chap 519 (Dragon Ball Z)

User Reviews
Dragonball by Wellzy4eva
Dragon Ball by Rashid

Forum
16 topics, 470 posts
Click here to view the forum

User Rating
Average: 8.6 / 10.0 (1170 votes)
Bayesian Average: 8.54 / 10.0
10
 35% (413 votes)
9+
 21% (249 votes)
8+
 22% (255 votes)
7+
 12% (141 votes)
6+
 6% (66 votes)
5+
 2% (28 votes)
4+
 1% (7 votes)
3+
 1% (7 votes)
2+
 0% (0 votes)
1+
 0% (4 votes)

Last Updated
April 22nd 2016, 5:26am PST

Image
[Image Disabled for this Series]

Genre
Action  Adventure  Comedy  Drama  Fantasy  Sci-fi  Shounen 
Search for series of same genre(s)

Categories

Category Recommendations
Mushoku Tensei (Novel)
Dragon Ball Heroes - Victory Mission
Oi! Ryouma
Silent Mobius
Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver

Recommendations

Author(s)
TORIYAMA Akira

Artist(s)
TORIYAMA Akira

Year
1984

Original Publisher
Shueisha (1985; 2002; 2013)

Serialized In (magazine)
Shuukan Shounen Jump (Shueisha)

Licensed (in English)
Yes

English Publisher
Viz (42 Volumes & 14 Omnibuses - Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)
Weekly Pos #566 increased(+209)
Monthly Pos #1110 increased(+131)
3 Month Pos #1518 increased(+185)
6 Month Pos #1584 increased(+100)

List Stats
On 839 reading lists
On 397 wish lists
On 2716 completed lists
On 120 unfinished lists
On 294 custom lists

Note: You must be logged in to update information on this page.

Forum Posts
The "Z" is DBZ 184 days, 11 hours, 35 minutes ago
When does it get serious? 514 days, 10 hours, 4 minutes ago
new short dragon ball manga 579 days, 23 hours, 14 minutes ago
Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins 936 days, 2 hours, 4 minutes ago
Favorite form of Gohan? 1125 days, 11 hours, 51 minutes ago

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User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]
 

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avatar
 Ah Nostalgia...   
Rating: 8.0 / 10.0
by plotrobert
April 28th, 2016, 4:03pm
One of the first mangas I ever read, and one I always liked more before it became DBZ ultimately. The fights were always a little more clever and the humor a little more genuine. This is still a classic for a reason, there's never been anyone quite like Goku even though practically every shounen hero since has been a copy of him in some way. Though the series does have some flaws (like the pacing and the fact that most side characters become practically useless) I certainly recommend giving it a read.

... Last updated on April 28th, 2016, 4:07pm
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avatar
 Rose Colored Glasses   
Rating: 7.5 / 10.0
by liquidsin
February 16th, 2016, 8:52am
Dragon Ball may be a classic but that doesn't mean it's a masterpiece.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
Senzu beans (and their like), two sets of dragon balls, elders that release a person's hidden potential with a pat on their head, and a dimension where a year equals a single day cheapen this series.


... Last updated on August 1st, 2016, 4:33pm
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avatar
 classic   
Rating: N/A
by kari+
November 4th, 2015, 5:51am
I rather prefer Dragon Ball then Z because characters development. Then kind push to the side in Z and hardly learn teamwork, more like attack one at a time lol but oh well. Though i guess these pages are together. Not mutch to say but a classic. Art are improve over time or redraw and release again to update art.
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 Seriously, you guys?   
Rating: N/A
by moonmystery
May 2nd, 2015, 3:43pm
How is this so highly rated? I tried really hard to read this, but the power-ups and mini-arcs are pretty dumb to me. The art is also terrible (the bulging muscles are seriously overboard).

I understand this is a classic, but many manga have incorporated the best of Dragon Ball since its completion and improved it tenfold, plot and art. So I don't understand how that so many people rate this manga so highly when there are now so many better stories out there.

... Last updated on May 2nd, 2015, 3:44pm
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avatar
 The Archetype of ALL SHONEN MANGA   
Rating: N/A
by findy37564
December 28th, 2014, 6:25am
im not exaggerate it its true every shonen manga will one way or another steal some element from dragon ball,
and this manga is already withstand the test of time for decades. even to this day remake still coming out, games, anime action figure
this manga has everything shonen series is all about and everything in it is all original to boot
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 not for me   
Rating: N/A
by Narufan1st
August 28th, 2013, 1:21pm
im not rating this as my view on it is biased but i hate this anime (i didn't read the manga) once they were showing a dragon ball z marathon when i was on holiday in california and i woke up to see some guy in ovebulging muscles sreaming "Whatever your name is , I will fight you!" Theen some lizard guy appears and says "you can't beat me Goku!" Then i had to fight to change the channel as my seven year old brother loved it. I think its mostly for kids , Naruto is a way better version if this
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 The best the best   
Rating: N/A
by mayid
February 19th, 2013, 10:04am
Everywhere in the world were you go, you will find people who heard about dragon ball. I dont exagerate. I have been in europe and afrika and yes they have all heard about dragon ball.

And also dragon ball is the first anime that i have ever seen.

Akira toriyama has made a masterpiece of a manga. It is animated and was sold world wide.

If you dont know dragon ball you dont know what you are missing.
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 Definition of a flawed masterpiece   
Rating: 7.0 / 10.0
by The New Flesh
May 17th, 2012, 12:46am
Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball shouldn't even be worth reviewing at this point. Nearly everybody is familiar with the story, the characters, the ridiculous battle scenes, the even more ridiculous haircuts. But I think there are some overlooked aspects of the series that are still worth talking about.

A favorite of mine (and many others) growing up, with hindsight it is easy to point out the flaws in Toriyama's manga. The plotting in the later volumes is the most prominent, as characters get stronger and stronger with seemingly no limit, and bad guys just keep on coming (this guy is the strongest in the universe. Wait, no I lied, THIS guy is the strongest in the universe. Now go train for a day, come back with a new technique, and kick the crap out of him.)

Alas, though these flaws are glaring, I am willing to overlook them for the sheer joy this manga has brought me over the years. Toriyama crafts an interesting world with memorable characters who the reader genuinely grows to care about. From the series' beginnings as a whimsical fantasy adventure, to its gradual shift in focus to larger-than-life martial arts battles, Toriyama has always kept a good sense of pace. It's a manga where you start reading and you just don't want to stop, regardless of how many times you've experienced the story before. And through re-reading, I've noticed several subtleties that Toriyama injects that help the series aspire to something a little deeper (for example, the complex father-son-caretaker relationshiip of Goku, Gohan and Piccolo, and the gradual, not immediate, redemption of several supposedly irredeemably evil characters).

Though the manga is not perfect by any means, and the last couple arcs produce some truly cringe-worthy moments, it never stops being enjoyable, and actually contains some deeper aspects that push it above the average shounen manga. I will be re-reading this series for the rest of my life, and each time I will enjoy it just as much as the last.
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 my childhood favorite manga ^_^   
Rating: N/A
by tsukushi makino
May 11th, 2012, 8:14pm
actually, dragon ball is my favorite manga since i was a child -a little girl. It was my past time or just watching it was my past time, though since then I started to watch other manga series. i love Goku's adventures. just when he defeated those enemies and other rivals.. And when he punch and kick those funny guys and put them on in a funny situation,. I also like those times when he had the good times and had those happy moments. It' really nice.. And it's also my brother's favorite manga in his childhood days.
And talking about the story itself. It' really a great story too, coz it's about looking for the dragon balls and defeating those enemies and especially when he finally got the dragon balls, and then the dragon comes out and ask for their wishes..that's really awesome. and when he comes back to life from the other world....yeah,.. definitely awesome..!
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 DO NOT SKIP THIS MANGA!!!   
Rating: N/A
by kimihoshi
February 13th, 2012, 2:40pm
Dragonball was the first manga I read. It's my childhood manga, both the manga and the anime. I was 9 when I read a manga for the first time, and thanks to Dragonball it dragged me to the manga world =]
The story is really special, unique, an exciting story. Goku, the main character is so funny and the whole story is really funny. The author got absolute sense of humor, I laughed at least 3 times in every volumes. Well, I have to admit that the humor decreases a bit when Goku and everyone becomes adult (around Babidi's saga) but don't worry, none of these sagas is shallow biggrin
There's holy bunch of characters in dragonball, and I'm the typical person who forget easy who's who. But the good thing about this manga is that every character has their own uniqueness (even evil monsters hahaha) and there's a lot of action and abnormal stuff happening wink Every saga has a great plot, trust me.

Of course there's some downsides about the story, but it's nothing really big in my opinion:
Goku is the main character, so it's obvious everything is about him but I didn't always like that at first there's always his friends who fights a battle and Goku always finish the final blow at the strongest monster in almost every saga.
There's a lot of questions which might appear in your head which might not be cleared u e.g
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
how did Kuririn /Krillin get a child together with an android? How did Trunks and Goten achieve to be a super saiyan (though Goten said he didn't remember how).

PS: The anime and the game is also awesome! I would recommend Dragonball and One piece among Shounen manga I've read most wink!
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