Dragon Ball: 40 Years of Anime Dominance

On February 26, 1986, Dragon Ball first premiered in Japan, produced by Toei Animation. Based on the Dragon Ball manga that first came out in 1984, Dragon Ball tells the story of Son Goku, a young boy with a monkey tail, going on adventures with new friends Bulma, Yamcha, and Krillin to look for the Dragon Balls as well as train under Master Roshi. The series would later come to the United States, dubbed with English voice actors.  The Dragon Ball series would show the growth of Goku and create several sequel anime series and plenty of movies and TV specials, with more on the way. Like many kids in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I grew up watching Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. Dragon Ball was an introduction to anime and Toonami for many of us. What makes the Dragon Ball anime so iconic and dominant for forty years?

Dragon Ball has a large cast of characters throughout all its series and movies. Every great series needs a great cast of characters, and Dragon Ball succeeds in that. The main protagonist, Goku, is one of the funniest yet strongest characters in any series. Goku starts off as a young boy who lives with his Grandpa Gohan. Goku is naive, revealing that he had never met another human until he met Bulma, but also pure-hearted. He meets Bulma and goes on adventures looking for the Dragon Balls. Along with being kind and protective of his friends, Goku loves to eat and train. He has a drive for battle and to get stronger. In Dragon Ball Z, it is discovered that Goku is really a Saiyan sent to Earth to rule and conquer it. Despite this discovery, Goku remains true to himself and his friends. Despite Goku’s kind nature, he gets mad when his friends and loved ones are hurt and killed. The most iconic moment in the entire series is when Goku goes Super Saiyan for the first time because Frieza killed Krillin, Goku’s best friend, wounded Piccolo, who recently became Goku’s friend and was needed for the Earth Dragon Balls, and was about to kill Gohan, Goku’s son, and was raging mad at Frieza.

Goku’s other big trait is giving others a second chance, like Piccolo and Vegeta. Piccolo started off as a villain in the last arc of the original Dragon Ball anime, wanting revenge on Goku for killing his father, King Piccolo. When Dragon Ball Z begins, Goku and Piccolo team-up to fight Raditz, Goku’s brother, and save Gohan. Piccolo takes Gohan and trains him, bonding with the boy and even sacrificing himself for Gohan and admitting Gohan was his first true friend. Piccolo helps Goku and the others in the fight against Frieza, even nearly dying to save Goku. Piccolo turns into one of Goku’s closest friends, even being the unofficial leader of the Z fighters whenever Goku is gone, and caring for Gohan as if he were family. Piccolo’s development from wanting to conquer Earth to being one of Earth’s best defenders is one of the best developments for any character in a show or anime.

Vegeta is another character with great character development. Vegeta starts off as the first main antagonist of Dragon Ball Z, who is the ruthless Saiyan prince. In the Frieza Saga, he becomes a reluctant ally to the Z fighters. Over the course of the series, Vegeta slowly settles down on Earth, becoming a father and marrying Bulma. Vegeta still shows his arrogance and pride, but like Piccolo, he eventually turns into one of Earth’s best defenders. Vegeta even has one of the best sacrifices when fighting Majin Buu. Dragon Ball Super takes it up another level with Vegeta showing how protective he is of Bulma and pride in having a daughter when their daughter Bulla is born.

Dragon Ball has other iconic characters. Frieza is considered one of the best anime villains ever created. He even fights alongside Goku and the other Z fighters in the Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super. Krillin is Goku’s best friend, who always has his back. Whenever Krillin dies, Goku shows rare anger and goes out of his way to avenge his best friend. Master Roshi is Goku and Krillin’s mentor, who is like a father figure to them, but is also perverted. Gohan is Goku’s oldest son, who we see grow up throughout Dragon Ball Z, including him defeating Cell and getting married. Bulma is Goku’s oldest friend, who has been there since the first episode of Dragon Ball. She helps him and the others find the Dragon Balls and eventually marries Vegeta.

The Dragon Ball series would have some of the best action any anime would have. This would mostly be in Dragon Ball Z. The Frieza Saga would demonstrate this with Goku taking many episodes to take down Frieza. The Cell Saga had the iconic Gohan vs Cell fight, along with other iconic fights like Piccolo vs Android 17. It never mattered how many episodes a fight was, as long as the action delivered on being excellent. Even Dragon Ball, with its tournament fights like Goku vs Piccolo and Goku vs Jackie Chun (Master Roshi), remain classics years later.

Like many others who grew up watching the English dub of the Dragon Ball series, we are more used to the English cast. While there were different English dubs, most of us grew up on the Funimation dub where Sean Schemmel is the voice of Goku, Chris Sabat as Piccolo and Vegeta, and others. Compared to other anime franchises and their English dubs, Dragon Ball remains the best. These voice actors are going all out in voicing these iconic characters. Schemmel gives it his all as Goku in moments like Goku going Super Saiyan. He’s even passed out doing Goku’s iconic screams. Still, respect and acknowledgement have to be given to the Japanese voice cast for their long-term voicing of these iconic characters. Masako Nozawa has voiced Goku since 1986 in the Japanese dub. Ryo Horikawa has voiced Vegeta since the character first appeared in 1989. The Japanese cast has remained loyal to the series and continues to voice these characters forty years later.

Dragon Ball Z itself has some of the best and funniest filler episodes. For example, one episode had Goku and Piccolo going to driving school. Goku, after he dies in his fight with Cell, has a filler arc of fighting with other great deceased fighters like Pikkon. The Return of Garlic J. Saga, set between the Frieza Saga and Androids Saga, also ties into the first Dragon Ball Z movie, Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone. Usually, filler episodes in anime tend to be worthless and annoying, since they sometimes delay more exciting arcs. Dragon Ball Z manages to avoid that.

Dragon Ball has multiple series beyond the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball GT is an anime sequel without a manga that has Goku turn back into a kid and introduces Super-Saiyan 4. Despite the mixed response, GT has gained a cult following. Dragon Ball Z Kai came out, retelling the Dragon Ball Z series but without the filler episodes. Most of the voice cast returned. Dragon Ball Super came out in the 2010s, introducing new Super Saiyan forms, bringing in Lord Beerus and Whis, and bringing back iconic characters like Frieza, Android 17, and Future Trunks. Recently, Dragon Ball Daima came out doing something similar to GT, and is the last series Akira Toriyama made before passing away in 2024.

Many Dragon Ball movies have come out throughout the years. Recently, Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero came out. Some of the movies expanded on lore. For example, Dragon Ball Z had two movies with the main villain being Frieza’s brother Cooler, called Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge and Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler. The legendary Super Saiyan Broly appeared in various Dragon Ball movies. TV specials like Dragon Ball Z: Bardock-The Father of Goku and Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks also helped expand the series, focusing on other characters like Bardock and Future Trunks.

Dragon Ball isn’t done telling stories either. The manga has continued outside of the anime. It was recently announced that a retelling of Dragon Ball Super’s arc Battle of Gods, called Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, is slated to be released sometime in 2026. A sequel to it, called Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, is in production. It will be based on the manga arc where Goku and Vegeta take on a new threat called Moro. There are rumors of a Dragon Ball movie based on Vegeta’s past being in development, but nothing is confirmed.

What do you think of Dragon Ball? Do you have a favorite character or fight sequence? What will be talked about next on The Movie Nerds? Find out in the next article from The Movie Nerds.