Dragon Ball

About

Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995. The manga has since been adapted into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, Toei has developed nineteen animated feature films and three television specials, as well as two anime sequels, Dragon Ball GT, which takes place after the events of the manga, and Dragon Ball Super, which takes place in-between chapters 517 and 518 of the manga.

History

In late 1984, the first issue of Dragon Ball appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump.^[1] The series ran for nearly eleven years, ending in May 1995. Dragon Ball became the best-selling manga of all time, before being overtaken by One Piece. Shortly after the first publication of the manga, Toei Animation began production on an anime adaptation. The anime series premiered in February 1986 on Fuji Television. It ended in 1989, with the sequel series Dragon Ball Z picking up where the original series left off. Dragon Ball Z ran until 1995. Several movies and OVAs were also made over the years. A full length movie titled Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was announced on July 10, 2012.^[2] It premiered in Japanese theaters on March 30, 2013. The movie takes place after Dragon Ball Z and is co-written by series creator Akira Toriyama. A sequel movie titled Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of “F” was announced in July 2014.^[3] The film premiered at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California, on April 11, 2015. The first new Dragon Ball series in over 18 years, titled Dragon Ball super, was announced on April 28, 2015, and aired in Japan on Fuji TV on July 5, 2015.^[4]^[33]

Online Presence

Dragon Ball has an immense online following, both within the online anime community, as well as outside of it. The franchise has been referenced under numerous tags on Tumblr. ^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] There are also numerous Tumblr pages based around Dragon Ball in the vein of Single Topic Blogs, such as Dragon Ball Lovers,^[9] Fuck Yeah Dragon Ball Z,^[10] Fuck Yeah Saiyans,^[11] Fuck Yeah DBZ Memes,^[12] and several others.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16] On Reddit there are several subreddits dedicated to the franchise.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20] On Fanpop there are various clubs dedicated to the franchise.^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25] The franchise also has numerous pages on My Anime List.^[26] There are also various sites dedicated to organizing and cataloging details from the franchise such as the Dragon Ball Wiki^[27] and TV Tropes. ^[28] On YouTube various clips from Dragon Ball gain tens of millions of views.

Dragon Ball Z was later re-cut into an abridged series by the group Team Four Star. Dragon Ball Z Abridged, is Team Four Star’s most popular series with each episode having at least a million views.

Fan Animations

On YouTube there are various fan-made films and animations about the Dragon Ball universe.

On October 27, 2011, YouTuber Gonzossm uploaded a video entitled “Dragon Ball Zee (18 +)” as a parody of the final fight of the first season of Dragon Ball Z. The video has gained nearly 7 million views as of May 2015. Gonzossm later released a sequel entitled “Dragon Ball Zee 2 (18+)” on October 11, 2012. The video has nearly 10 million views as of May 2015.

On December 19, 2011, YouTuber OneyNG uploaded titled “Dragonzball P” as a parody of the final episodes of Dragon Ball Z’s first season. As of May 2015 the video has over 20 million views. On December 20, 2012 OneyNG released a sequel entitled “Dragonzball PeePee”. As of May 2015 the video has over 23 million views.

On November 22, 2012 YouTuber Mellavelli uploaded the first episode in his fan made series titled Dragon Ball Absalon (shown below), which takes place after the events of Dragon Ball GT. As of July 2015 the video has over 11 million views.

Live-Action Fan Adaptations

On December 4, 2012, YouTuber K&K Productions uploaded a video entitled “DragonBall Z – Saiyan Saga (DBZ Live Action Trailer)” depicting a live-action adaptation of the first arc in Dragon Ball Z. The video has over 9 million views as of May 2015. Several years later on February 24, 2015, YouTuber RobotUnderdog2 uploaded a video titled “Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope – Pilot” as a live-action adaptation of the Dragon Ball Z“The History of Trunks” TV special. As of May 2015, the video has over 15 million views.

Fan Art

Dragon Ball has a very lively and active fan art community. On DeviantART there are over 300 groups dedicated to the franchise,^[29] as well as over 228,000 pieces of fanart.^[30] On the Japanese fanart site Pixiv, there are over 42,000 images under the tag “ドラゴンボール”,^[31] as well as over 14,000 videos on the Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico.^[32]

Notable Sub-memes

It’s Over 9000!

It’s Over 9000! is a catchphrase from the DBZ character Vegeta, typically used as an innumerable quantifier to describe a large number.

Bitch, I Look Like Goku

Bitch I Look Like Goku is an exploitable catchphrase and lyrical reference to Soulja Boy’s 2010 hip hop single “Goku,” a musical tribute to the protagonist character in the popular Japanese manga / anime series Dragon Ball Z.

Shoop Da Whoop / I’M A’ FIRIN’ MAHLAZER!!

Shoop Da Whoop is an exploitable image from the face of Semi-Perfect Cell. It shows a blackface mouth and eyes suddenly shooting a powerful stream of laser.

Yamcha’s Death Pose

Yamcha’s Death Pose is an image exploitable series based on a stillshot of Dragon Ball character Yamcha fallen on the ground after suffering a fatal injury. The images depict Yamcha or other anime character lying inside the crater and they are typically used to indicate failure or weakness.

The Balls are Inert

The Balls are Inert is catchphrase from an scene from Dragon Ball Z, that were parodied in some videos.

Daily Dose / Piccolo Dick

Daily Dose (or Piccolo Dick) refers to a gif of Dragon Ball character Piccolo having sexual intercourse with fellow character Vegeta. The gif is usually associated with various images of the colors green and purple in order to introduce a trigger in which whenever one sees the associated colors, they will think of the explicit gif.

Super Saiyans are Real

Super Saiyans are Real is a YouTube video of a teenager named Jalen discussing the possibility of becoming a Super Saiyan, the transcendent state of being assumed by the warring members of the Saiyan race.

Ginyu Force Pose (Tokusentai)

Ginyu Force Pose (Tokusentai) is a pose made by the Ginyu Force. The pose has become popular with Dragon Ball fans, as well anime fans in general, due to its flamboyancy, despite the fact that the characters preforming said pose are said to be among the most powerful individuals in the universe.

Hide Your Power Level.

Hide Your Power Level is an expression used to describe individuals who actively hide their interest in various forms of entertainment such as anime and manga in order to avoid negative connotations. The phrase is used commonly on image sharing boards such as 4chan