Dragon Ball (TV series)

For the manga, see Dragon Ball.

For the microprocessor used in Palm Pilot PDAs, see Freescale DragonBall.

Dragon Ball (TV series)
File:Dbcast.jpg The Main Characters of Dragon Ball
Genre	Shōnen, Adventure, Martial Arts, Comedy
Created by	Toei Animation Akira Toriyama
Anime
Directed by	Daisuke Nishio Takao Koyama
Studio	Toei Animation
Movies
The Legend of Shenlong The Sleeping Princess in the Devil's Castle Mystical Great Adventure The Path to Ultimate Strength (10th Anniversary Special)

Dragon Ball is the first part of the anime adaptation of the Dragon Ball manga written by Akira Toriyama and published in Japan in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga anthology comic. The second (and larger) portion of the manga was adapted into Dragon Ball Z.

The Dragon Ball anime is composed of 153 half-hour episodes and ran in Japan from February 26, 1986 - April 12 1989. Two early attempts at releasing Dragon Ball to American audiences failed. The first attempt was in the late 1980s by Harmony Gold. It featured strange name changes for nearly all the characters, such as changing Son Goku to Zero and Karin to Whiskers the Wonder Cat. It is not well-known, and has been referred to as "The Lost Dub" by fans. The second and more well known attempt was in 1995 with only the first 13 episodes translated and aired. This release was put out by KidMark and utilized Ocean Group for the dubbing. These original 13 episodes are still available on DVD as The Saga of Goku. After Dragon Ball Z became immensely popular on Cartoon Network, the entire series was translated by FUNimation and released in the same scheduling block as its successor on the network. The complete series ran in the US between August 20, 2001, and late 2003. Unlike the theme songs for Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, FUNimation made English versions of the original Japanese opening (OP) and ending (ED) themes for these episodes and left in the original BGM, which was met with delight by most fans. However, some insert (IN) songs were removed or have dialogue dubbed over them.

Dragon Ball is known as being a much less serious anime than its successor, Dragon Ball Z, though later sagas blur the lines a bit.

Sagas

Toei Animation's Sagas

1. Son Gokū Appears! (Episodes 1~28) (2/26/1986~9/3/1986)
2. Showdown! Red Ribbon Army! (Episodes 29~68) (9/10/1986~7/1/1987)
3. White Heat! 22nd Tenkaichi Budōkai (Episodes 69~101) (7/8/1987~2/17/1988)
4. Fierce Fighting! Piccolo-Daimaō (Episodes 102~132) (2/24/1988~11/2/1988)
5. Struggle to the Death! 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai (Episodes 133~153) (11/9/1988~4/19/1989)

FUNimation's Sagas

1. Emperor Pilaf (Episodes 1~13)
2. Tournament (Episodes 14~28)
3. Red Ribbon Army (Episodes 29~45)
4. General Blue (Episodes 46~57)
5. Commander Red (Episodes 58~67)
6. Fortuneteller Baba (Episodes 68~83)
7. Tien Shinhan (Episodes 84~101)
8. King Piccolo (Episodes 102~122)
9. Piccolo Jr. (Episodes 123~153)

Movies, and other

Movies

Toei Animation's titles

1. The Legend of Shenlong
2. The Sleeping Princess in the Devil's Castle
3. Mystical Great Adventure
4. The Path to Ultimate Strength (10th Anniversary Special)

FUNimation's titles

1. Curse of the Blood Rubies
2. Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
3. Mystical Adventure
4. The Path to Power (10th Anniversary Special)

Public Service Videos

• Gokū's Traffic Safety
• Gokū's Fire Fighting Regiment

The special videos "Gokū's Traffic Safety" and "Gokū's Fire Fighting Regiment" are both very rare productions designed to be educational films. They were both completed in June 1988.

Unofficial Chinese Live Action Movie

New Dragon Ball: The Legend of Shenlong is a live-action version of the popular Japanese animated series. An evil king has been stealing the mystical "Dragon Pearls" in an attempt to possess them all. When all but one of the pearls has been stolen, the former guardians of the magic jewels decide to band together and take action. Led by a pig-headed wizard and a half-turtle martial arts master, the team takes on the king's army in a desperate bid to stop him from gaining control of the pearls.

Made in Taiwan and released in 1989, this feature has actually been released in the US as Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (originally titled Xin Qi long zhu Shen long de chuan shuo, or New Dragon Ball: The Legend of Shenlong). While this movie does not follow Toriyama's conception exactly, it is a lot closer to it than it is to any traditional Chinese legends.

Theme songs

• OP
  1. Makafushigi Adobenchā!; 摩訶不思議アドベンチャー！ ("Mystical Adventure!")
     • Lyrics: Yuriko Mori, Music: Takeshi Ike, Arrangement: Kōhei Tanaka, Performance: Hiroki Takahashi; he is not to be confused with the seiyu Hiroki Takahashi)
       • Version 1: episodes 1~101
       • Version 2: episodes 102~153 (not on FUNimation's DVDs)
• ED
  1. Romatikku Ageru Yo; ロマンティックあげるよ ("I'll Give You Romance")
     • Lyrics: Takemi Yoshida, Music: Takeshi Ike, Arrangement: Kōhei Tanaka, Performance: Ushio Hashimoto)
       • Version 1: episodes 1~21 (not on FUNimation's DVDs)
       • Version 2: episodes 22~101
       • Version 3: episodes 102~132 (not on FUNimation's DVDs)
       • Version 4: episodes 133~153) (not on FUNimation's DVDs)

Censorship

The US version of Dragon Ball that was aired on Cartoon Network (before that, it was aired in syndication) had a lot of edits done to it. Most of the edits were digital cosmetic changes, which were done to remove nudity and blood, and dialogue edits. Sometimes, some scenes were deleted altogether, either to save time or cut out strong violence. For example, when Gokū dives into the water naked to kick a fish he catches for dinner, a digital water splash was added on his groin; on other occasions when he is naked, he has some digital underwear added. Also, references to alcohol and drugs were removed, for example, when Jackie Chun (Muten Rōshi) uses Drunken Fist Kung Fu in the 21st Tenka-ichi Budōkai, FUNimation called it the "Mad Cow Attack." Also, the famous "No Balls!" scene was deleted from episode 2, and when Bulma puts panties on the fishing hook to get Oolong (in fish form), they digitally painted away the panties and replaced it with some money.

While implied throughout the General Blue saga, Blue is finally revealed to be a homosexual during a scene in which he recoils at Bulma's seductive advances as she tries to distract him. Blue is further revealed to be a pedophile upon displaying sexual interest towards a young boy on Penguin Island, who stops to repair Blue's damaged car. All references to General Blue's sexual orientation were eliminated in the American TV release, and the scene involving the boy was redubbed to suggest that Blue believes to have found his long-lost younger brother.

Many of the changes were ill-received by long-time fans of the series, who believed the cable networks' censorship destroyed or diminished the original humor. These edits, however, were necessary in order to air on American TV. The DVDs do not contain these edits.

It's an interesting note on inconsistency in censorship that a scene in Dragon Ball where young Gokū charges completely through Piccolo Daimaō, putting a hole in the villain's chest, was edited so that the hole wasn't shown for the American broadcast, but the same scene was shown uncensored on American TV, in a flashback in a Dragon Ball Z episode, with the hole in Piccolo Daimaō's chest clearly visible.

Creative changes

A number of creative changes were made to the dialogue. For example, when Pu'er says why Oolong was expelled from school, instead of saying that he stole the teacher's panties, they say that he stole the teacher's "papers."

Cast list

Character Name	Voice Actor (Japanese)	V.A. (FUNimation English)	V.A. (Blue Water English)	V.A. (Ocean Group English)	V.A. (Harmony Gold English)
Son Gokū (Toriyama's spelling: Gokuh)	Masako Nozawa	Stephanie Nadolny Sean Schemmel	Zoe Slusar Jeffery Watson Scott Roberts	Saffron Henderson	Barbara Goodson
Bulma	Hiromi Tsuru	Tiffany Vollmer	Katie Rowan	Lalainia Lindbjerg	Wendee Lee
Muten Rōshi/Kame-Sen'nin	Kōhei Miyauchi	Mike McFarland	Dean Galloway	Michael Donovan	Greg Snegoff
Umigame (Sea Turtle)	Daisuke Ghori	Christopher Sabat	Dave Pettitt	Alec Willows	???
Oolong	Naoki Tatsuta	Bradford Jackson	Jessie Cody	Alec Willows	Dave Mallow
Yamcha (Yamucha)	Tōru Furuya	Christopher Sabat	Victor Atelevich	Ted Cole	???
Pu'er (Pu-erh) (Dub: Puar)	Naoko Watanabe	Monika Antonelli	Eden Davis	Kathy Morse	Cheryl Chase
Chi-Chi	Mayumi Shō	Laura Bailey Cynthia Cranz	???  ???	Andrea Libman	N/A
Kuririn (Toriyama's spelling: Kulilin) (Dub: Krillin)	Mayumi Tanaka	Lori Steele Sonny Strait	???  ???	N/A	???
Lunch (Dub: Launch)	Mami Koyama	Monika Antonelli Meredith McCoy	???	N/A	Edie Mirman
Tenshinhan (Dub: Tien Shinhan)	Hirotaka Suzuoki	John Burgmeier	Jonathan Love	N/A	Eddie Frierson
Chaozu (Dub: Chiaotzu)	Hiroko Emori	Monika Antonelli	???	N/A	Rebecca Forstadt
Gyū-Maō (Dub: Ox King)	Daisuke Ghori	Kyle Hebert	Dave Pettitt	Dave Ward	N/A
Uranai Baba (Fortuneteller Baba)	Junpei Takiguchi	Linda Young	???	N/A	N/A
Emperor Pilaf	Shigeru Chiba	Chuck Huber	Dean Galloway	Don Brown	???
Shū (Dub: Shao)	Tessho Genda	Chris Cason	Jessie Cody	Doug Parker	???
Mai	Eiko Yamada	Julie Franklin	???	Teryl Rothery	???
Mr. Popo	Toku Nishio	Christopher Sabat	Dave Pettit	N/A	N/A
Karin-sama/Neko-Sen'nin (Dub: Korin)	Ichirō Nagai	Christopher Sabat	Jessie Cody	N/A	???
Kami-sama	Takeshi Aono	Christopher Sabat	???	N/A	N/A
Yajirobe	Mayumi Tanaka	Mike McFarland	???	N/A	N/A
Jinzōningen #8 (8-chan)	Shozo Iizuka	Mike McFarland	???	N/A	N/A
Commander Red	Kenji Utsumi	Josh Martin	Mike Thiessen	N/A	N/A
General Blue	Toshio Furukawa	Sonny Strait	Jessie Cody	N/A	???
General White	Tessho Genda	Sean Schemmel	???	N/A	N/A
Sergeant Metallic	Shin Aomori	Chris Rager	Lucas Gilbertson	N/A	???
Colonel Violet	Kazuko Sugiyama	Kasey Buckley	???	N/A	N/A
Captain Silver	Banjō Ginga	Christopher Sabat	Adam Hunter	N/A	N/A
Sergeant Purple (Ninja Murasaki)	Takeshi Aono	Duncan Brennan	???	N/A	N/A
Boss Rabbit (The Carrotizor)	Hiroshi Ootake	Duncan Brennan	???	Ian Corlett	N/A
Hasky	Toshiko Fujita	Meredith McCoy	???	N/A	N/A
T'ao Pai-pai (Taopaipai) (Tao Paipai)	Chikao Otsuka	Kent Williams	???	N/A	Michael McConnohie
Assistant Black	Masaharu Satou	Christopher Sabat	???	N/A	N/A
Tsuru-Sen'nin	Ichirō Nagai	Chuck Huber	???	N/A	???
Bora	Banjō Ginga	Dameon Clarke	???	N/A	???
Upa	Mitsuko Horie	Carol Hope	???	N/A	???
Sno (Snow) (Dub: Suno)	Naoko Watanabe	Susan Huber	???	N/A	N/A
Ghost Usher	Ryouichi Tanaka	???	???	N/A	N/A
Piccolo Daimaō (Great Demon King Piccolo)	Takeshi Aono	Christopher Sabat	Jonathan Love	N/A	N/A
Piccolo (Ma Jr.) (Piccolo Jr.)	Toshio Furukawa	Christopher Sabat	Jonathan Love	N/A	N/A
Piano	Masato Hirano	???	???	N/A	N/A
Drum	Daisuke Ghori	???	???	N/A	N/A
Tambourine	Ryuusei Nakao	Dameon Clarke	Adam Hunter	N/A	N/A
King	Joji Yanami	Kyle Hebert	???	N/A	N/A
Dr. Brief	Joji Yanami	Chris Forbis	???	N/A	N/A
Mrs Brief	Mariko Mukai	Cynthia Cranz	???	N/A	N/A
Nam	Kaneto Shiozawa	Jerry Jewel	???	N/A	N/A
Giran	Banjō Ginga	Andrew Chandler	???	N/A	N/A
Ranfan	Youkou Kawanami	Laura Bailey	???	N/A	N/A
Bacterian	Yasuo Tanaka	Chris Rager	???	N/A	N/A
Arale Norimaki	Mami Koyama	???	???	N/A	???
Grandpa Son Gohan	Osamu Saka	Christopher Sabat	???	N/A	N/A
Annin	Keiko Yokozawa	???	???	N/A	N/A
Tenka-ichi Budōkai Announcer	Kenji Utsumi	Eric Vale	Tommy James	N/A	N/A
Shenlong (Dubs: Dragon God, Eternal Dragon, Shenron)	Kenji Utsumi	Christopher Sabat	Dave Pettit	???	Michael Reynolds
Narrator	Joji Yanami	Brice Armstrong	Steve Olsen	Jim Conrad	???

Episode lists

• List of Dragon Ball dubbed episodes
• List of Japanese Dragon Ball episodes

See also

• List of Dragon Ball characters
• Makafushigi Adobenchā
• Dragon Ball (franchise)
• List of Dragon Ball films
• Dragon Ball DVDs
• Power level (Dragon Ball)
• List of Dragon Ball special abilities
• List of Dragon Ball video games

External links

• Toei Dragon Ball website
• English Dragon Ball website
• Dragon Ball ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• The Dragon Ball Wiki