What is Dragonball Z? I Have an Answer

[salemboy]

Ok, I know that at least one person on the forum is scratching his/her head at the word Dragonball. I, being a Dragonball Z lunatic, know very much about the DBZ series, and a little about Dragonball, and Dragonball GT (this is because Dragonball isn't available to me, and because GT stinks).

A basic rundown of the three: All three series are based on the mystical dragonballs, which can grant any wish to one person when all seven are gathered together. Sometimes, the bad guys wish to collect the dragonballs, and the good guys have to protect the dragonballs, or the bad guys are kicking the good guys all over the place, and the good guys use the dragonballs to their advantage, such as bringing a friend back to life.

All three Dragonball series are centered around the main character; Son Goku. Dragonball takes place when he is a child, Dragonball Z takes place during the prime of his life, and Dragonball GT takes place during his older years, although he has been transformed back into a child by the Dragonballs, a mistake made by an enemy who hadn't been seen since Dragonball.


That's basically the run-down of DBZ. Of course, I can't give away the plot in one post. That wouldn't be fun. Also, it would be a very long post. I, personally, hope to see this section grow really big.

[Paul]

Thanks for the background, Salemboy. My own head is certainly much more scratch-free now. I hadn't realised, until shortly after you suggested this Dragonball forum, that there are a lot of anime and manga books now available (at least here in the UK), including some Dragonball ones. Have you any knowledge of the Dragonball manga books? I'm wondering if they parallel the actual serieses (hee hee - what's the plural of series?) or if they follow on from them?

[salemboy]

I'm not sure which came first, but I think that the comics came first, then the show. While the two are the same, I've noticed that sometimes, the show will have an extra episode or two that's not in the comics (one of them being when Goku and Piccolo try to get Driver's Licenses, lol). Also, I have yet to find a manga version of the tons (around 14) of DBZ movies out. If I find one, then I'll tell you.

But, yes, there are tons of Manga, Anime, and other Japanese Cartoons that are similar. Gundam is another Anime that I like very much. Of course, it is very limited in English where I live, so I get very limited amounts of it. Another that many people like is Naruto, an Anime/Manga about an aspiring Ninjya who gets into trouble a lot, and has a Nine-Tailed Fox Demon sealed within him. Because of these two traits, he is shunned by the other Ninjya.

Then there's Inuyasha, a story about Japanese Girl who gets sent back in time to Feudal Japan, where she meets a half Demon half human named Inuyasha. Together, and with some others, they have different adventures (normally including a couple of fights with some demons along the way).

Another is Bleach, and it's about this kid who (to put it simply) has fights demons in modern-day Japan.

The list goes on and on, you've got Ghost in a Shell, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Shamin Showdown, Hikari No Go, etc. Honestly, the only one I watch a lot is DBZ. But, as you can see, there are a lot of things that can go into the Other Universes Subforum. I honestly only know very few of the total amount of Mangas/Animes, as I can walk into a Japananese book store, and see about a hundred different Manga series' (maybe that's how you spell it).

Oh, and I need to correct myself about something. DBZ isn't just about the prime of Goku's life, as twice throughout the series, Goku dies, and is brought back to life. During the times when Goku is dead, the story forks to focus on the others that are alive still, and his time in the afterlife.

[choki]

I used to read dragonball manga when I was much younger... borrowed my cousin's
but I never got the chance to follow through the entire series... oh I know is the main character, Goku and Krillin when they are young kids and that if the seven dragonballs are congregated together, you can summon the divine dragon to ask for one wish (or was it three)?
that's all I know about dragonball

[salemboy]

Ok, first off, after some research, I can confirm that the Manga for DB/DBZ came before the show, but there is not a manga version of Dragonball GT, it went straight to television (which doesn't surprise me, seeing as how pathetic it was).

Now, as you said, yes there is Son Goku and Kuririn (or Krillin as most people spell it). There was also Yamcha, Bulma, Tenshinhan (also known as Tien), Chi Chi and many others in the Dragonball Series. During the Dragonaball Series, the Dragon (Shenron) grants only one wish, and this carries over into Dragonball Z until the Namekian Sagas, during which the Namekian Dragon, known as two names: In the Manga, I believe they call him Shenlong, in the show; Porunga. Then, during the Android/Cell sagas, the Earth's Dragonaballs become capable of granting two wishes (at least according to the manga, I'm still perusing the episodes trying to find the one that confirms this statement).

Also, in the beginning, the Earth Dragonballs bring can restore somebody's life only once. The Namekian Dragonballs can restore an infinite amount of times, as long as the person did not die a natural death. When the Earth's Dragonballs were transformed to be able to grant two wishes, they also were given the ability to bring people back to life more than once (once again, I need to make sure that the manga and the show are consistent).

Also, I have previously mentioned that the show includes 1 or 2 episodes not contained within the manga. This is partially incorrect. I'm not quite sure why, but the television show contains much more content than the Manga. Simply look at the time frame between the Freeza (also known as Frieza) Saga, and the Android Saga, and you will notice 9 or 10 extra episodes, along with some additional content to what was already there.


This is not to say that the show wastes time. The episodes that they don't have in the manga tend to be humorous and show off the humorous aspects of Dragonball Z, instead of it simply being a full-on fighting show.