Dragon Ball

:This is about the Dragon Ball manga series. For the microprocessor used in Palm Pilot PDAs, see Motorola Dragonball.

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Microprocessor - Palm Pilot - PDAs - Motorola Dragonball

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Dragon Ball (???????) is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama serialized in the weekly anthology magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, from 1984 to 1995 and originally collected into 42 individual books called Tankôbon. In 2004, the manga was re-released in a 34 volume collection (called Kanzenban) which included a slightly rewritten ending, all new original covers, and original color artwork from its Weekly Jump run.

Related Topics:
Japanese - Manga - Akira Toriyama - Weekly Shonen Jump - 1984 - 1995 - 2004

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In the US, 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 them. See below.) This style of release was unsuccessful due to its large size and expensive cost ($12.95), and both series were cancelled in 2002. The "Dragon Ball Z" comic was transitioned into a launch title for the new US edition of the Shonen Jump anthology, starting in January 2003. In parallel to these releases, Viz is in the process of releasing the 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 American audiences.

Related Topics:
American - Comic books - Dragon Ball - Dragon Ball Z - 2000 - 2002 - Shonen Jump - January 2003 - Viz

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The story of Dragon Ball follows the life of Son Goku, a monkey-tailed boy loosely based on the traditional Chinese folk tale Journey to the West (???), 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 (arguably) the strongest martial-artist in the universe. He is not without help, however: the comic boasts a large ensemble cast of martial-artist heroes and villains which provide the conflict that drives the story.

Related Topics:
Son Goku - Chinese - Journey to the West

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The titular Dragon Balls are one component of the universe, but are not the focus of most of the plot lines of the title. The Dragon Balls are seven magical spheres which are scattered across the world. When assembled together, they can be used to summon the dragon Shenlong (Shenron) who will grant one wish (within limits). After the wish is granted, the balls are scattered again across the landscape and become inert for a year. In times past, it would take generations to search the world and gather the balls. In the beginning of the story however, A teenage genius girl named Bulma has created a "Dragon Radar" to detect the balls and making the process far easier than it was intended to be.

Related Topics:
Shenlong - Bulma

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