Dragon Ball Summary
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Dragon Ball is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama serialized in the weekly anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, and originally collected into 42 individual books called tankōbon. In 2004, the manga was re-released in a 34 volume collection called Kanzenban, which included a slightly rewritten ending, new covers, and color artwork from its Weekly Shōnen Jump run.
In the U.S., the manga was first released as two American-style comic books Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z starting in 2000. The split corresponds to the two different anime series, though the original Japanese manga does not distinguish between the two. This style of release was unsuccessful due to its large size and expensive cost ($2.95 for an issue of 2, and later 3, chapters), and both series were cancelled in 2003. The Dragon Ball Z manga was transitioned into a launch title for the new U.S. edition of the Shonen Jump anthology, starting in January 2003. In parallel to these releases, VIZ Media has released all 42 volumes (nearly matching the first Japanese set) in English. VIZ titles the second part of the manga Dragon Ball Z to reduce confusion for North American audiences. The series is published in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga.
The story of Dragon Ball follows the life of Son Goku, a monkey-tailed boy loosely based on the traditional Chinese novel Journey to the West (西遊記), from his life and adventures as a child all the way up to being a grandfather. During his life, he fights many battles and eventually becomes one of the strongest martial artists in the entire universe. He is not without help, however, as the manga boasts a large ensemble cast of martial artist heroes and villains which provide the conflicts which drive the story.
The eponymous Dragon Balls are one component of the universe, but are not the focus for most of the plot lines. The Dragon Balls themselves are seven magical orbs which are scattered across the world. When assembled, they can be used to summon Shenlong, the dragon who will grant one wish within its limit. After the wish is granted, the Dragon Balls are scattered again across the world and become inert for one year. In times past, it would take generations to search the world and gather the Dragon Balls. In the beginning of the story, however, a 16 year old genius girl named Bulma has created a "Dragon Radar" to detect the Dragon Balls and made the process far easier than it was intended to be.
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