Dragon Ball 

Son Gokû, a fighter with a monkey tail, goes on a quest with an assortment of odd characters in search of the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can give its bearer anything they desire.

Stars:

Masako Nozawa, Jôji Yanami, Brice Armstrong

Top Rated TV #168 | See the Top Rated TV as rated by our users.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Masako Nozawa	...	Son Gokû 153 episodes, 1986-1989
Jôji Yanami	...	Narrator / ... 153 episodes, 1986-1989
Brice Armstrong	...	Narrator / ... 152 episodes, 1986-1989
Stephanie Nadolny	...	Goku 126 episodes, 1986-1988
Hiromi Tsuru	...	Bulma 114 episodes, 1986-1989
Mayumi Tanaka	...	Kuririn / ... 105 episodes, 1986-1989
Tôru Furuya	...	Yamcha 101 episodes, 1986-1989
Naoko Watanabe	...	Puar / ... 101 episodes, 1986-1989
Kôhei Miyauchi	...	Kamesennin Muten Roshi / ... 99 episodes, 1986-1989
Naoki Tatsuta	...	Oolong / ... 91 episodes, 1986-1989
Mami Koyama	...	Lunch / ... 78 episodes, 1986-1989
Kenji Utsumi	...	Announcer / ... 71 episodes, 1986-1989
Hirotaka Suzuoki	...	Tenshinhan 64 episodes, 1987-1989

Storyline

What starts off as a bizarre re-telling of the Chinese legend "Journey to the West" quickly transforms into pure madness. On a twisted version of Earth, the ridiculously strong child-fighter Son Gokû is joined by several companions in the quest for the seven "dragon balls", which, when assembled, will summon the Grand Dragon, who will grant the bearer of the balls one single wish. The problem is, the Grand Dragon can only be invoked once a year, and villains battle Goku and friends constantly for possession of the Dragon Balls.

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Plot Keywords:

older actors younger roles | supernatural power | dragon | multiple english dubs | song during opening credits | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Official Sites:

TOEI Animation Co., Ltd

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

9 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dragon Ball

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Bird Studio, Toei Animation, Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 min (153 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

When FUNimation started doing their 2000 dub, they held auditions with several voice actors, and let fans vote on their favorites. This is how they ultimately decided who did the voice acting.

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Goofs

On the airship Pilaf flies on with Piccolo Daimao, the name "PILAF" on the side of the airship appears and disappears between scenes.

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Quotes

[Japanese opening song]
Singer: Grab them in the hands! Dragon Ball! / One of the world's most thrilling secrets / Hunt those down! Dragon Ball! / One of the world's most pleasant miracles / This world is a huge treasure island / That's right, right now, Adventure! / The chest is tightened excitedly in love, dreaming lots of various colors / Somewhere in this world it's glowing / Let's go and find those, boy, striking out the ghosts and goblins / We'll also fly on the cloud machine today / Let's try, ...

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits are a montage of images based on covers from the "Dragon Ball" manga.

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Alternate Versions

The French version, distributed across most of Europe during the 90s, reinterpreted or outright deleted several scenes in an effort to make the series suitable for their intended audience, young kids. Most famously, much of the perverted antics of Master Roshi and a great deal of crass jokes were rewritten, but the animation was often left intact. This has lead to the animation at times clearly showing that the characters were thinking "dirty" thoughts, even though the dialogue itself was more kid-friendly. For example, Yamcha's fear of seeing naked women was twisted into him being afraid of shampoo. However, several similar gags were actually kept and only slightly toned down.

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Connections

Referenced in Carmilla: Zones of Friendship (2015)

User Reviews

It's a good show.

I have watched this show and i guarantee its good. Well it may start off a little slow but it gets really good. It's child friendly and adults will enjoy it too. Like Dragonball Z and Dragonball Gt it will keep your interest. The fighting and powers of the warriors can keep children and adults all over the world amused. The show does have a little bit humor to it than the other two series, but thats what it was originally created for. The humor doesn't stop the show from having a good plot. Throughout the show they have great adventures and they always meet new allies and villains. To the last comment, I wouldn't say that your comment wasn't true, but I don't want to say it was true. The creators have made special uncut versions, but those must be bought on DVD or VHS. The edited version airs on television. They just wouldn't put extreme adult content on a show for children. So, what if a few of the characters like girl magazines and one is obsessed with females its all part of the humor. There are no female body parts that are revealed in the show, not even on the uncut versions. So, when i was reading the last comment I figured that the person who wrote must be misjudged. Watch the edited version. If you are not offended by anything enjoy the uncut version which is more adult oriented.