Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball ( ドラゴンボール , doragon bōru ) is a Manga drawn and scenarized by Akira Toriyama in 1984. Published in French with the editions Glénat, Dragon Ball is one of the most popular mangas in the world. Its 42 volumes were sold with more 250 million specimens throughout the world (15 million in France), exceeding the 225 million the 24 volumes which account the Aventures of Tintin and Milou . From its exit, the series is the source of a multitude of derivative products of which several tens of video games, contributing to this popularity. Many a Shonen S current was inspired by this Manga.

A new edition French E worked again and retranslated is in the course of publication, it aims at approaching the original edition Japanese E.

Summary

The history of the original manga was divided into two series during its televised adaptation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z (the series Dragon Ball WP drawn from the manga but not being created of any part). However, in the manga, this distinction does not exist and the whole of the manga remains entitled Dragon Ball .

This manga describes the adventures of Its Gokû, a young boy equipped with a tail of Singe (which it will lose and regain by the force of the will) and of an extraordinary force thanks to its extraterrestrial origins of Saïyen. The history starts when Its Gokû meets Bulma, a scientific young girl genius, who seeks the seven crystal balls or Dragon legendary Balls. Dispersed on the terrestrial surface , these crystal balls, once joined together, would allow the appearance of a Dragon crowned called Shenron, which exaucerait any wish then.

During its adventures, Its Gokû will meet many friends like Krillin (and of enemies) who will urge it to involve themselves always more and to discover the world. It will evolve/move in a world where its force will be unceasingly put to the test. After a training near Masters like Kame Sennin or Karin and a certain number of championships, Its Gokû will be confronted with its past of Saiyan, a race extraterrestrial quarrelsome humanoïde, and will discover that it had been sent on Earth to destroy the human race. It will have to fight increasingly strong enemies like Freezer, Cell or Boo.

See also: Sangoku, Its Gokû

Genesis of the manga

Dragon Ball finds its first inspiration in the Chinese tale shinto-Buddhist the Voyage in Occident (also translated saiyuki into Japanese, 西遊記 Saiyūki, the legend of the voyage towards the west , just like the manga Gensômaden Saiyuki ). The series preserves several elements like the name of the hero: Its Gokû (reference to the king of the monkeys of the legend) and magic objects like the cloud, the stick and the range.

Dragon Ball , or all at least Its Gokû, exists in the spirit of Akira Toriyama for a very long time. First outlines of the adaptation of this tale, named Gum Gum Songoku Punch! and Journey to West , are carried out whereas it is not yet a confirmed mangaka. Bulma and Oolon, appears already in these stories. Dragon Servant boy and Tongpoo , of the short stories carried out right before Dragon Ball , is also rather close to the adventures of Its Gokû.

Creation

Impassioned by films of Jackie Chan, Akira Toriyama had the idea of a manga based on the kung fu, thus he imagined a manga court of the name of Dragon Servant boy . The success of this manga encouraged it to put a term at Dr. Slump and to create a new series: Dragon Ball . It left in 1984 in famous the Weekly Shonen Jump , it tells the course Initiatique of the hero, His Gokû, through the search for magic balls, he was not by no means question of extraterrestrial transforming itself into giant monkeys at the beginning. Toriyama conceived the history without knowing then which direction it was going to take.

The authentic aspect of the characters and the atmosphere made this history a phenomenal success. Its Gokû becomes the high-speed motorboat of commercials and Akira Toriyama is invited in good number of Japanese tele shows. Not existing more that by Dragon Ball , Toriyama chokes. This success will quickly become a burden. To be able to escape from his obligations, the author draws some short accounts parallel with the universe of Dragon Ball. But these accounts are increasingly difficult to realize. There is no time and in spite of the assistance of his/her collaborators of the Studio Bird, Toriyama is obliged to devote itself exclusively to the adventures of Its Gokû.

Toriyama decides to put an end to its series after four years of success. It starts by aging the characters and their fact food an ultimate adventure where they will fight the incarnated evil of their planet: the demon Piccolo Daimaô. But Shueisha, the editor of Dragon Ball , refuses the stop of the series. Toriyama will end up yielding but this continuation will not be produced sufficiently quickly so that Toeï Animation, producer of the animated series of Dragon Ball , carries out the adaptation of it. The series Dragon Ball stops with the 153e episode and a new series entitled Dragon Ball Z starts.

Success is always with go but Toriyama is not wearied less by it by the adventures of its heroes. Thus it weighs down the intrigues, making cycle Freezer drawn in length from the saga Dragon Ball . The series falls in the surveys. Toriyama then decides to launch a new series: Cashman . But this parody of Spielvan will not have discounted success. It is at this time that Toriyama gives again a little corrosive with its series headlight. It finds a second breath with the saga Cell . Time arranges the things and Toriyama carries out Dragon Ball drum beating until the 42e volume.

Dragon Ball was translated in a great number of languages: Korean, Italian, Chinese, French, Spanish… The english-speaking were the last to discover the manga.

Chronology

  • December 3rd, 1984  : first pre-publication of the manga in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump (n°51)

  • September 1985  : exit of the first volume connected of the manga Japanese
  • February 26th, 1986: beginning of the Japanese diffusion of the series TV Dragon Ball on Fuji TV
  • March 2nd, 1988: beginning of the French diffusion of the series TV Dragon Ball on TF1
  • April 19th, 1989  : beginning of the Japanese diffusion of the series TV Dragon Ball Z on Fuji TV
  • May 1995  : end of the pre-publication of the manga in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump (n°25)
  • 1995: first French exit of a film of Dragon Ball Z (made up in fact of two films left to Japan this year  : Fusion and the Attack of the dragon )
  • August 1995: exit of the forty-second and last volume connected of the manga Japanese
  • February 1996  : beginning of the Japanese diffusion of the series TV Dragon Ball WP

Characters

See also: Characters of Dragon Ball

Editions in volumes

The albums are listed here corresponding to the 42 Tankōbon S originals. These 42 volumes exist in several editions (the books are published at Glénat with the format 12 cm X 18 cm), including here the three principal ones:

  • the first, begun in 1993 (the last number left in 2000), is an adaptation in the European direction of reading with the names of animates and specific covers.
  • a second, begun in 2001, gathers in only one book two volumes of the Tankōbon S originals. The covers of this edition are all with an orange bottom clearly.
  • a third edition out of boxes, begun in 2003 and having a new entirely re-examined translation. Each box contains two volumes.

Below are the names of each volume at the time of the first edition, share updates when possible of the most recent edition (always in the course of publication at present). Namely that the new titles are revealed only inside the manga, at the time of the first pages, and not about the cover (which preserves the title of the back issue).

New titles translated from Japanese were not given to the first six volumes of the new edition. The titles of the back issue appearing on the cover are quite present (the new titles appear on the cover itself only starting from volume 31), but no new title appears in the first pages contrary to later volumes.

  1. Sangoku/? (without new title)

  2. Kaméhaméha/? (without new title)
  3. initiation/? (without new title)
  4. the tournament/? (without new title)
  5. the ultimate combat/? (without new title)
  6. empire of the red ribbon/? (without new title)
  7. the Threat/ You are continued by the commander Blue!!
  8. the Duel/ Its Gokû passes to the attack
  9. Sangohan/ In the event of problem, will see Baba conspicuous the
  10. miraculé/ 22nd Tenka Ichi Budôkai
  11. the big challenge/ the largest combat which the Earth carried!!
  12. forces of the evil/ terrible Piccolo Daimaô!
  13. the empire of chaos/ Its Gokû counter-attacks?!
  14. the demon/ an extraordinary step ahead
  15. Fuss/ the shock of the Titans!
  16. the heir/ Tiger against dragon!
  17. Saiyans/ a terror without precedent
  18. Main Kaïo/ Its Gohan and Piccolo Daimaô
  19. Vegetated/ Dépêche, His Gokû!
  20. Yajirobé/ the decisive combat which makes tremble planet!!
  21. Mr Freezer/ On the way for Namek!
  22. Zabon and Doria/ the resistance of Nameks
  23. Recoom and Guldo/ the terrible Commando Ginyû
  24. the Ginyu captain/ Gokû?! Or Ginyû?!
  25. Piccolo/ the transformation of Freezer!!
  26. small Dendé/ Its Gokû… the return!!
  27. super Saiyan/ Super Saiyan of the legend
  28. Trunks/ the boy come from the future
  29. androïdes/ the defeat of Gokû!
  30. Reunification/ ill omen
  31. Cell/ Cell approaches with step wolf
  32. ultimate Transformation/ Cell obtains the perfect body!!
  33. the challenge/
  34. the final combat of Sangoku/
  35. the good-bye of Sangoku/
  36. a new hero/
  37. Kaïo Shin/
  38. the Babidi wizard/
  39. Boo/
  40. fusion/
  41. Super Gotenks/
  42. victory/

The Glénat editions also proposed an edition into 85 sold in points presses and 21 volumes, corresponding each one to two volumes in one.

Adaptations

Animated series

The Studio Toei made of it an animated adaptation appreciably faithful under the names Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z . An animated continuation of the manga was created under the title Dragon Ball WP .

Animated films

See also: List of films and telefilms Dragon Ball

Parallel to the diffusion of animates, Dragon Ball is adapted to the cinema, as of December 1986. These films are generally means-measurings of about fifty minutes, which leave within the framework biannual the Toeï Anime Fair . These films form part with difficulty of the continuity of the intrigue of the traditional series and put in scene the new malicious ones. Between 1986 and July 1995, they are three films of Dragon Ball and thirteen films of Dragon Ball Z which are carried out, followed by a film-birthday of Dragon Ball , with modernized graphics, in 1996.

In France and Belgium, these films are directly published in video, except for the last four Dragon Ball Z , joined together in two feature films left in rooms in 1995 and 1996 and distributed by AB Productions, which diffuses animates it in the Club Dorothée .

In addition, three telefilms are carried out for the chain Fuji Telebi, the history of Trunks , the father of Songoku and Dragon Ball WP: 100 years after . They are placed completely out of the chronology of the series. The company Bandaï also produces a OAV, to close the video game DBZ gaiden saiyajin zetsumetsu keikaku (1993).

Films live

In 1989, the manga is very freely adapted in a film philippino- Taiwanese, under the title the Legend of the 7 crystal balls .

In March 2002, pushed by the American success of Dragon Ball Z , the studios of the 20th Century Fox acquire the rights of adaptation to the cinema. After various unfounded rumors, the film is truly put in building site at the end of 2007, under the direction of James Wong, and with as Co-producer Stephen Chow for an exit during 2008. James Marsters should incarnate there the role of Piccolo, Justin Chatwin that of His Gokû and Camila Sodi that of bulma.

Video games

See also: List of video games of Dragon Ball

More than 20 years after its creation, Dragon Ball is still the source of many video-ludic conversions on all the generations of game consoles  : Born, Super Nintendo, NEC, Megadrive, Game Boy, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Portable PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS and Wii. These video games, whose majority are plays of combat reproducing the universe of the series, largely contributed to the success of Dragon Ball .

Derivative products

In addition to the video games, Dragon Ball is also declined in a multitude of products, starting from the Japanese diffusion of animates, in 1986. Many series of charts to be collected are published (Carddass, Trading Card, etc…), as well as many models of figurines (Chara Puchi, etc). Dragon Ball is also used for board games, plays of combtas, clothing, sets of table, cuddly toys, but also of candies and snack bars. It is an enormous merchandizing in very strong expansion which has known for a few years a new passion with the discovery of this series by the young generation.

Parodies

Akira Toriyama parody itself the series in the manga Neko Majin , published in 2001, in which the author re-uses the characters of Dragon Ball . In 2006, in Cross-country race Epoch , Co-signed with Eiichirō Oda, certain characters meet those of One Piece .

The universe of Dragon Ball is used also basic for the Spanish series Dragon Fall , published since 1997.

See too

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