Produced by Toei Animation Co Ltd.
Directed by Various [?]
Ah!!, Dragonball. People tend to either love it or hate it. Most anime fans, in my experience, hate it. Saying its style over substance. The main qualm many people have with the show is that it basically just an ever progressing series of fights, with the strength of the combatants increasing exponentially with each fight. This unfortunately is true. Dragonball is basically about fights. Although this is it’s main attraction, it can also be what causes it to be annoying to most people, as it comes across a story lacking, crowd pleasing show. However the first part of the anime Dragonball wasn’t too action intensive.
Also, until about the late Buu Saga, the show has awful animation. Compared with most anime where the animation can be used to convey emotions or the inexpressible, Dragonball seems dreadfully static at parts and jumpy and random at other parts. Compared with something like Cowboy Bebop or Blue Submarine 6 it’s pretty damn ugly.
However Dragonball’s main attraction, although it’s hard to see as it is buried under so much fighting, is that it is an epic. The show is extremely lengthy and for those who have seen every Movie, Special and Episode there is a whole invented mythology in there. The show is often accused of having no story but that’s not true, it’s just that the story telling is occasionally separated by long periods of crap.
Not many shows have a character that undergoes as complete a catharsis as Vegeta, who becomes a loving father after previously being a species exterminating maniac. He is also one of the few characters in anime who’s pride I find believable. In most anime I don’t get the lengths some guys go to for the whole “honour” thing, but with Dragonball Z Vegeta’s Pride is understandable, he just hates everyone and everything and thinks he is the best.
The story has many atmospheres to it ranging from Sci-Fi extravaganza in the Freeza saga to a Chinese Adventure story (like Journey To The West) in the earlier parts of the series. The show has lots of emotion to it, although it tends to be condensed into occasional, but very moving scenes. Examples are before Vegeta sacrifices himself or Gohan’s transformation at the Cell Games. Very emotional scenes but separated by a lot of fighting.
The most important thing in Dragonball however is the main protagonist, Son Goku. He is an instant lovable, innocent and flawless human being (Well Saiya-jin). Gokou is as good as any person gets! He's not very smart, but he's a brilliant fighter. He has no evil in him what so ever. He cares for everything and always expects the best of people. He has a great loving family and although strong is he is a gentle guy. Goku is basically the supreme mortal. He's every quality a human wants all wrapped up into one package. It’s good to see a main character with no troubled past or issues or personal demons to face. He’s an unmovable rock, everyone else changes and grows up but Goku is always Goku.
The show is host to many characters ranging from a homosexual ghost to a galaxy destroying super being, but nobody ever fades away completely and we often get to see old faces again just to show that they’re doing alright.
The Music of the Show is also superb, especially the once off Music such as Hikari No Tabi when Goku’s life is being recapped and Spirit no Spirit when Gohan goes SSJ2.
Dragonball however suffered form one of the most horrendous dubs ever. If you have seen the English show you haven’t seen Dragonball, except for the Buu Saga which was done alright. The music was appalling compared with the Japanese version and the dialogue was so polluted with Americanisms and corny jokes that it pales in comparison to the Japanese version.
Dragonball tends to be a non-anime fan’s anime, because it isn’t quite as “Japanese” for lack of a better word, as some anime tends to be. Try to watch Ghost in the Shell or anything else without having watched anime before and it can be difficult, however Dragonball is pretty accessible. Dragonball is effective as a gateway anime. Watch it then watch some others.
The action, the music, the epic nature of the show and Son Goku’s enduring goodness are what make this a wonderful show in my opinion. Sure some might fault it’s over emphasises on action but remember Dragonball didn’t really overemphasize fights it was Dragonball Z.
Overall I would highly recommend this anime to anyone and I would even more highly recommend the manga [published by Viz] as fight scenes don’t choke it. Don’t be fooled by people who say there is no story. There is, it’s just it takes a while to fully appreciate the show.
Seven
out of Ten
*This
review covers Dragonball and Dragonball Z, not GT as Dragonball’s original
creator did not create it.