A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAGON BALL

In 1984, twelve-year-old Son Goku and his friends were first introduced to the world in Dragon Ball, a manga based loosely on the Chinese story, "Journey to the West." Though comedic in nature, Dragon Ball featured quite a bit of fighting, including a world martial arts tournament, the Tenkaichi Budokai, of which five are depicted (although the first is the 21st and the last is the 28th, so three weren't ever shown, only talked about). As with most things, Dragon Ball wasn't an overnight success, and its popularity in Japan never really picked up until a new character, Kuririn, was introduced shortly before the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai.

On February 26, 1986, Dragon Ball made the jump to TV, and eventually, to the silver screen in four theatrical incarnations. The TV series spanned a total of 153 episodes. In the late 1980s, it was released in the United States by Harmony Gold, the company responsible for such other anime imports as the ever-popular Robotech. Although some character names were changed, the original music was left intact and the script was translated fairly faithfully. Later, in the mid-1990s, the series was again acquired, this time by FUNimation Productions. Thirteen episodes were dubbed using the Ocean Group from Vancouver, British Columbia. Music and script changes were made, and of course, censorship occurred. Dragon Ball was a spectacular failure in its 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning timeslot, and so on we went to the next option.

After 153 episodes, the Dragon Ball TV series became Dragon Ball Z on April 26, 1989 (although the manga remained "Dragon Ball" all the way through). Throughout Dragon Ball, the series had been slowly progressing from comedy to fighting, and although Dragon Ball Z has its comedic moments, its focus is unquestionably martial arts. Dragon Ball Z picked up five years after the conclusion of Dragon Ball. Now our hero, Son Goku, is all married grown up and with a four-year-old son, Gohan. In the first episode, we're immediately thrust into our next conflict when a new arrival on planet Earth proves too much even for Goku's arch rival, the evil Piccolo.

Commonly broken up into several sagas named after the main villain of each one, Dragon Ball Z spanned 291 episodes, thirteen theatrical movies, two TV specials, and an OVA series. Although Son Goku always remained the star, Gohan was originally intended to steal the spotlight after the death of Cell. Really, Dragon Ball Z is Gohan's story, as we see him grow from a scared, sheltered four-year-old to the strongest fighter on Earth before stepping back after his father's death. By the end of the series, Gohan has settled down, married, and has a daughter of his own.

After twelve years at the helm, Akira Toriyama finally ended Dragon Ball. But Toei didn't. Following the conclusion of Dragon Ball Z on January 31, 1996, Toei created Dragon Ball GT to keep interest up in the series while the last few videogames and such were released. GT returned to the comedy roots of the series and lost quite a few viewers. Although it turned around and moved back toward martial arts, it was doomed from the beginning, mostly due to the fact that it sucked. A lot. Dragon Ball GT lasted 64 episodes and one TV special, aired March 26, 1997, and on November 21, 1997, Dragon Ball, in all its original incarnations, was finally over.

Not so in the rest of the world, though. In 1997, Dragon Ball was still in its infancy in the United States. It wasn't until August, 1998 that Dragon Ball Z first showed its face on Cartoon Network, and sinc ethen, it has gone on to become the longest running and highest rated show on the channel, and one of the highest rated shows on cable TV. The final season, however, is only about seven months away now, and soon Dragon Ball Z will be finished in the U.S. However, just as Dragon Ball Z is finishing up, Dragon Ball has finally been re-started and has met with considerably more success than on its first run. A first season has already aired and been reran, and a second season is currently being shown on Cartoon Network in the timeslot preceding Dragon Ball Z. Furthermore, the current plan is for the beginning of Dragon Ball GT to be hot on the heels of Dragon Ball Z's end in the U.S., probably starting in September, 2003, when a seventh season of Z would premiere if there were one.

When all is said and done, Dragon Ball ran for a respectable 508 episodes, 17 movies, three TV specials, and one OVA. Dragon Ball has been over in Japan for four and a half years (although the manga is going to be reprinted soon), but it's still rising in popularity elsewhere in the world, where it has yet to be seen in full. As of this writing, 53 episodes of Dragon Ball and three movies have been released in the United States. The first 238 episodes of Dragon Ball Z have also been released, although the number of actual episodes is significantly lower due to heavy censorship in the first two seasons that cut 67 episodes down to 53. Both TV specials and seven movies have also been released, and more are slated for release later this year. Nothing of Dragon Ball GT has yet been released in the United States, but it's only a matter of time now...

Written by Dash