Over the many years I have been developing my website, I have often pondered and repondered how I should go about reviewing and analyzing each manga and anime I come across. When I originally started reviewing Yu-Gi-Oh!, I wanted to start at the very beginning and analyze everything in the history of the series, beginning with Kazuki Takahashi and working my way forward until I caught up with the present day. I’ll admit, it’s going a lot slower than I thought it would. The original idea for my website is I would follow that same pattern and review the original version of the story first, whether it be the manga or anime, and compare it to any adaptations.

When I started reviewing Sword Art Online, I initially considered reviewing the books first, but I realized I already had a much more in-depth understanding of the anime, seeing as I started watching it 5 years previously. In addition to that reason, I hadn’t finished reading the first book yet. Thus, I changed my original idea for my website and began reviewing the Sword Art Online anime before the novels.

When I started reviewing Dragon Ball back in the Fall of 2019, I followed the pattern of my original idea by reviewing the manga first. Now that I am trying to add a “Thoughts” section to the end of each article, I am reconsidering my direction for reviewing the Dragon Ball series. The reason why is that in order to divulge what I truly think of the manga, I would have to explain my thoughts on the anime first. Hence, that is why I have decided to put my Dragon Ball manga reviews on hold and begin reviewing the anime.

Before Dragon Ball Z, there was Dragon Ball

From what I understand, most people in America were introduced to the Dragon Ball series through airings of Dragon Ball Z on Toonami. For me, the story of how I got into Dragon Ball is fairly similar to that of how I got into Yu-Gi-Oh!.

I began by watching Dragon Ball Z Kai, when it aired on the CW4Kids in 2010. Before that, I knew next to nothing about the series. I had seen a trailer or two for Dragon Ball Z on Nickelodeon, and from what I could make out, it seemed like another Pokémon rip-off. (Oh boy, was I wrong.)

I wasn’t big into anime at the time. The only ones I had seen until then were ones specifically geared for kids such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Sonic X. At the time, I thought most anime seemed pretty weird. That’s what I thought of Yu-Gi-Oh! before I saw it, and my suspicions were confirmed when I started watching Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, but later debunked when I began watching the original Yu-Gi-Oh!. Along those same lines, I started watching Dragon Ball Z Kai and thought it was just as weird as I suspected. The show immediately made me think of what Mrs. Incredible said about those bad guys on Saturday Morning cartoons. Well, these villains in Dragon Ball Z Kai seemed to exercise more restraint than every other cartoon villain I knew.

Despite all of the “patient villains” in the show, what held my attention was how big the threat of the Saiyan invasion felt. What also kept me interested was how much Goku trained hard and pushed himself to the limits.

Years later, much like with Yu-Gi-Oh!, I started to suspect that Dragon Ball Z Kai had a whole story before it that was missing, seeing as there were flashbacks to events that happened before the start of the series. At first, I thought that story was Dragon Ball Z, but I soon learned that Dragon Ball Z Kai was actually a remastered version of Dragon Ball Z that more closely follows the manga. Eventually, my searches led me to discover the anime Dragon Ball, which is indeed the first part of the whole Dragon Ball series.

As I understand it, Dragon Ball originally aired in the U.S. along with Dragon Ball GT and was presented as a prequel to Dragon Ball Z. Most fans were a bit turned off by the show because of how sillier and light-hearted it was compared to its successor. I find that understandable, but it’s important to remember that Dragon Ball was created before Dragon Ball Z, and thus, Akira Toriyama would have improved his craft over the years. So it makes sense that, overall, Dragon Ball Z would be better than Dragon Ball. But should we completely ignore the entire series that came before it? I find that watching Dragon Ball gives me a better understanding of how the characters in the beginning of Dragon Ball Z came together, and it gives me more insights into the world building. This is similar to how The Hobbit movies weren’t as well received as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but you have to understand that J.R.R. Tolkein wrote The Hobbit before he wrote The Lord of the Rings, and thus would have improved his craft over the years.

In the ongoing battle between subbed vs. dubbed anime, it seems that the dubbed version of Dragon Ball Z is generally preferred in the States. Fans seem to enjoy Sean Schemmel’s gruff and intense interpretation of the protagonist, as opposed to Goku’s “old lady” voice in the Japanese version (no offense to Masako Nozawa). Thus, I will primarily refer to the dub when referencing dialogue. I plan to also have a Sub vs Dub comparison at the end of each review, along with a Manga vs Anime comparison. Alright, enough rambling, let’s get started with Dragon Ball, episode 1.

The Monkey Boy in the Woods

Long before Goku fought his Saiyen brother Raditz, he lived alone in the wilderness. At the beginning of Episode 1, we see him rolling a log back to his shrine home. Using his martial arts abilities, he chops the log with his bare hands. He heads out again to find some food. Before he leaves, he says goodbye to an orange ball with four stars in it that he addresses as his Grandpa. Strangely, the orange ball starts glowing.

“Golly, I’ve never seen you shine bright like that before, Grandpa!” says Goku, “Can you do it again?”

The ball remains silent.

“You can wait until later if you have to,” says Goku, “I’ll see you in a little while.”

As Goku leaves his house, he ponders what he should eat today. Based on his tummy, he decides on fish, but first, he grabs an apple for a snack. While chowing down on the apple, he gets attacked by a panther. Goku lets the panther chase him until he leads it to the edge of a cliff and sends the panther falling into the river below. While at the river, Goku sticks his tail in the water and uses it as bait to catch a fish.

For those Dragon Ball Z fans out there: remember that Goku used to have a tail as a kid, just like Gohan. For those unfamiliar with the Dragon Ball series: yes, Goku has a tail. More will be explained in the future.

Goku drags the big fish he caught back to his house, but along the way, he gets hit by a car. The girl in the car is surprised that he is still alive, but Goku thinks the car is a monster, so he lifts it up and tosses it on its side. Goku draws a pole from his back, but the girl pops out of her car and fires a gun at him. Goku survives that too. The girl is shocked again.

“So you thought you could finish me off again?” says Goku, “Your black arts won’t work on me! Alright, monster! It’s your turn!”

“Hold on! I’m not a monster, kid! I’m a human being! Just like you are!” says the girl as she hops out of the car, “You can see that for yourself, can’t you?”

“Well, you look human enough, but you’re different. You’re thin and scrawny.”

“I’m a girl, silly. That’s why. Are you saying you’ve never seen a girl before?”

“Nope, besides my grandpa, you’re the only human being that I’ve ever seen! But Grandpa told me about girls. He told me if I ever ran into a girl, that I should be as polite as I possibly could.”

“Your grandpa sounds like a very wise man.”

“Well, he was! He died a long time ago,” says Goku, as he lifts up the girl’s dress.

“Shame on you! What do you think you’re doing?” cries the girl, as she smacks her dress back down. (I guess living in the forest means that Goku doesn’t know how to act around people.)

“I was just checking to see if you had a tail,” responds Goku. It was then that the girl noticed the tail sticking out of Goku’s rear end. What a weirdo, thinks the girl.

Goku invites her to his house for lunch. She agrees as long as he promises not to do anything improper. Along the way, they introduce themselves to each other.

“My name’s Goku,” says the boy, “What’s yours?”

“Bulma,” responds the girl

The Legend of the Dragon Balls

They arrive at Goku’s house where Bulma sees the orange ball sitting on a black table.

“Oh my goodness, it’s a dragon ball!” cries Bulma. (Roll credits!) She shoves Goku aside and picks it up. Goku tells Bulma to give it back because that’s the only thing he has to remember his Grandpa by. Then, Goku’s dragon ball starts glowing again. Bulma pulls out of her pouch two orange balls identical to Goku’s. Well, almost identical, the only thing different is the number of stars inside.

“Your ball started glowing because it was reacting to the two that I have,” explains Bulma, “These gems have the power to do great things, and not so great. Let’s just say if a bad person got a hold of these balls, he could really wreak some havoc.”

Speaking of the devil, the episode cuts to a character named Emperor Pilaf and his stooges, Mai and Shu. The three of them find the one-star dragon ball sitting on a pillow in some sort of ancient palace. Emperor Pilaf retrieves the ball and says, “I’m ready to make my wish!”

Mai interrupts and says, “Sir, I hate to break it to you, but you can’t make a wish with just one ball, you have to have the others as well. There are seven dragon balls, sire. You have to unite all seven of them before the dragon will appear and grant your wish.”

Emperor Pilaf says he will wish to rule the entire world.

We now cut back to Goku and Bulma. Since we last left them, Bulma explains to Goku what Mai explains to Emperor Pilaf.

Bulma says she wants to wish for a boyfriend. She asks if she can use Goku’s dragon ball so she can make her wish in as cutesy of a way as possible, but Goku tells her to forget it. Then, Bulma comes up with an idea. She asks if Goku wants to be partners. Goku is hesitant, but Bulma convinces him that his Grandpa would be happy if he went, so Goku agrees to go with Bulma as long as he gets to keep his dragon ball. Bulma thinks to herself that Goku will make a good bodyguard as she hunts down the rest of the balls.

And so, Bulma and Goku head off at, what Bulma says is, “The start of a great adventure!”

(Indeed…full of dinosaurs, talking animals, evil organizations, aliens, androids, and evil bubble gum monsters.)

Goku asks Bulma how she plans on finding the rest of the dragon balls. She pulls out a device that looks like a big stopwatch. Bulma says this device is a radar that allows her to pinpoint the exact location of each ball. The next one is quite some distance away, so she pulls out another fantastic contraption in the form of a small capsule. She presses the button on the top and tosses it. It explodes and turns into a motorcycle. Bulma says this invention is called a Dino Capsule, and everyone in the city has them.

They begin driving down a dirt road when suddenly, Bulma has to pee. She hides behind a rock, but tells Goku to come quickly. When he arrives, he sees that Bulma has been captured by a Pterodactyl (dinosarus, check!). Being as clueless as ever, Goku asks if the Pterodactyl is friends with Bulma.

“Yeah, that’s it! As a matter of fact, we have fancy dinner engagements but the reservations are only for two!” says the Pterodactyl as he ties Goku to a tree and flies off.

“Don’t just stand there, idiot! Get! Me! Down!” screams Bulma.

Goku unties himself, but wonders how he is going to catch the Pterodactyl. Suddenly, he gets an idea. He hops on the motorcycle and drives it really fast until he comes to a hill. He uses the hill as a ramp and launches himself and the motorcycle into the air. He tries to reach out for Bulma’s hand, but it is just out of reach. He leaps off the motorcycle, but that’s still not enough. He grabs the stick holstered to his back and says, “Power Pole extend!” The stick grows to an incredible length. Goku uses the stick to smack the Pterodactyl right in the skull. (One hit-KO!)

Bulma starts falling out of the sky. Goku tosses his power pole and skewers it into the side of a cliff, giving Bulma a chance to break her fall. Despite being saved, Bulma still ends up having an “accident”.

And that is the end of the first episode in the greatest anime to ever exist.

Sub vs Dub

The first noticeable difference is in the title of the episode. In the dub, this episode is titled, “Secret of the Dragon Ball,” but in the sub, it is called “Bulma and Son Goku.”

The biggest difference I noticed when I first watched the subbed version was in Bulma’s personality. In the dub, Bulma seems to be like a bossy big sister who shows her gentle side every now and then. I think her character was modeled after Lucy from Peanuts to better connect with a Western audience. In the sub, Bulma’s voice makes her sound like a genuinely good-mannered girl who likes to let her naughty side show a little too often.

Both voices are a bit higher than they are in the dub, and in both versions, Goku is voiced by a woman.

The next biggest difference is in the names of the items. I know when dubbing, voice actors have to match the lip flap of the character, and this usually takes precedence over accurate translations. First, Bulma’s capsules are called “Dyno-caps” in the dub and “Hoi Poi Capsules” in the sub. Second, Goku’s extendable stick is called a “Power Pole” in the dub and “Nyoibou” in the sub. “Power Pole” is definitely more alliterative, but “Nyoibou” comes straight from Journey to the West. Third, the dragon that grants the wish after the seven dragon balls are gathered is called “Shenron” in the dub, but “Shen Long” in the sub. I know for a fact that long means “dragon” in Chinese, so “Shen Long” seems to be more correct. I’ve mentioned before that the “l” and “r” sounds are interchangeable in Japanese, so “Shenron” is somewhat of a mistranslation, which is quite a shocker to someone who came from watching Dragon Ball Z Kai.

The last difference that’s apparent is that the sub has a lot less narration than the dub. From what I understand, Japanese audiences prefer to let their own thoughts interpret the story they are seeing rather than having a voiceover tell them how to interpret it. American audiences, on the other hand, prefer everything to be spelled out for them. For example, when Goku is deciding what he wants to eat, he doesn’t say “fish” until he is at the water.

Manga vs Anime

The manga and anime versions are very similar, with only a few differences. The manga has fewer differences to the subbed version than the dub.

First of all, the title of the manga chapter is “Bloomers and the Monkey King”, referring to Bulma and Goku respectively.

The biggest difference is that the origin of the dragon balls is told by Bulma in the manga, but by Mai in the anime. I prefer Bulma telling the story since she is one of the protagonists, and that way, she can explain why searching for the dragon balls is so important to her.

Another big difference is that Emperor Pilaf does not appear in the manga at all. Personally, I like him appearing early on to show the audience who our heroes will eventually have to face, and thus, establishes a conflict early on in the series.

The last major difference is that, in the manga, Goku and Bulma introduce themselves to each other after they leave Goku’s house. In the anime, they introduce themselves on their way to Goku’s house. Nothing drastic, just noticeable.

One final difference to take note of is that in the narration, at the very end of the first chapter of the manga, the author makes it clear that this story is drawing on inspiration from an ancient Chinese fairy tale called Journey to the West.

Thoughts

In case you haven’t noticed yet, Yu-Gi-Oh! is my favorite anime/manga primarily because I identify more with the characters of that story. However, even I can pick out flaws with its writing. The first chapter of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga introduces 6 new characters (Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Grandpa, and Ushio), 7 if you count Yami-Yugi, and 1 of which (Ushio) won’t appear for the rest of the series. Introducing many characters makes it harder for the audience to fully understand each one. This is the main explanation people give as to why the MCU has consistantly succeeded and the DCEU has largely failed. The Marvel Cinematic Universe took its time to introduce each superhero one at a time, whereas the DC Extended Universe tried to shove as many characters as they could without giving them the story arcs they needed.

From the first chapter, I can already see why many have considered Dragon Ball to be the greatest and most influential manga of all time. The first chapter of Dragon Ball introduces us to only two characters: Goku and Bulma. The rest of the series will follow a pattern of introducing one character at a time, maybe more than one if they are connected to each other. This allows the reader enough time to develop a better connection and understanding of the characters before introducing new ones.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now, but more in-depth thoughts are to come in the future. Be sure to follow my blog for more Dragon Ball reviews!