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Dragon Ball (franchise)

Dragon Ball
DB Tankōbon.png
Cover of the first Dragon Ball manga volume in Japan, featuring Son Goku
Creator Akira Toriyama
Original work Dragon Ball (manga) (1984–1995)
Owner Bird Studio/Shueisha
Print publications
Books See Companion books
Comics See Manga
Films and television
Films See List of Dragon Ball films
Animated series
Television specials
Direct-to-video
Games
Traditional Dragon Ball Collectible Card Game
Video games See List of Dragon Ball video games
Audio
Soundtracks See List of Dragon Ball soundtracks
Official website
Japan

Dragon Ball (Japanese: ドラゴンボール Hepburn: Doragon Bōru?) is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama. The initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters collected into 42 tankōbon volumes by its publisher Shueisha. Dragon Ball was initially inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. The series follows the adventures of the protagonist, Son Goku, from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls.

The Dragon Ball manga has been adapted into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, the studio has developed 19 animated feature films and three television specials, as well as two anime sequel series titled Dragon Ball GT (1996–1997) and Dragon Ball Super (2015–present). From 2009 to 2015, a revised, faster-paced version of Dragon Ball Z aired in Japan under the title Dragon Ball Kai, in which most of the original version's footage not featured in the manga is removed. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising based on the series leading to a large media franchise that includes films, both animated and live-action, collectible trading card games, numerous action figures, along with several collections of soundtracks and a large number of video games. As of November 2014, the franchise generated $5 billion in merchandise, making Dragon Ball one of the most merchandisable anime based media franchises of all time.


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Wikipedia

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