Dragon Ball or DragonBall?

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Hey guys sorry if this is a stupid question to ask, but I'm going to ask it anyway:

Would it be Dragon Ball or DragonBall when written out?

The only places on the internet where I've seen it written out as DragonBall is Kanzentai and Daizenshuu EX. Everywhere else on the internet its written out as Dragon Ball, a few examples are: Wikipedia, Gamespot, FUNimation.com, Anime News Network, Atari.com and many more.

I know the logo suggests that it should be one word, but then wouldn't it be Dragonball without the capital "b" and sometimes it is actually written out as two words on offcial merchendise like the Dragon Ball Z "Legends" cover.

Am I reading too much into this? What are your thoughts?

[Savage68]

Toriyama has it as 'Dragon Ball' all throughout the original version of the manga.

It's that.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Toriyama has it as 'Dragon Ball' all throughout the original version of the manga.

It's that.

Yeah I know but I just got confused because Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai keep writing it as DragonBall which is incorrect.

[Big Momma]

I really don't think it matters. But I think the VIZ manga has it written out as "Dragon Ball". I prefer it that way myself.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I really don't think it matters. But I think the VIZ manga has it written out as "Dragon Ball". I prefer it that way myself.

Yeah Dragon Ball looks much nicer than Dragonball or DragonBall.

[Savage68]

Toriyama has it as 'Dragon Ball' all throughout the original version of the manga.

It's that.

Yeah I know but I just got confused because Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai keep writing it as DragonBall which is incorrect.

I think because, unromanized, - it's 'doragonbooru'.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Toriyama has it as 'Dragon Ball' all throughout the original version of the manga.

It's that.

Yeah I know but I just got confused because Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai keep writing it as DragonBall which is incorrect.

I think because, unromanized, - it's 'doragonbooru'.

But wouldn't that make it Dragonball.

[Savage68]

Yes, but when Toriyama draws the words out, it's 'Dragon Ball'.

Then again, he also has names like 'Gokuh' and 'Kulilin'.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Yes, but when Toriyama draws the words out, it's 'Dragon Ball'.

Then again, he also has names like 'Gokuh' and 'Kulilin'.

Gokuh and Kulilin are correct translations, they just look weird.

But who can forget "Red Ribon" on the cover of volume six.

[Savage68]

There's no need for that last letter in 'Gokuh' in English. Like like for the proponents of 'Gokuu'. It's redundant.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

There's no need for that last letter in 'Gokuh' in English. Like like for the proponents of 'Gokuu'. It's redundant.

Its true there is no need for the last "h" and "u" but Gokuh and Gokuu are both acceptable translations, redundant or not.

[VegettoEX]

I think I've explained it before, but here goes:

(1) Written in katakana, it's all one word: ドラゴンボール (doragonbooru)
(2) Written on the tankoubon in "English", it's all in uppercase, but split into two words: DRAGON BALL
(3) Written on the kanzenban in "English", it's all one word in mixed case: Dragonball
(4) Written in many adaptations in "English", it's split up into two words with each word first-letter-capitalized: Dragon Ball
(5) onwards and onwards, etc. and etc.

"DragonBall" (all one word, mixed-case) is my personal compromise combining all of the individual elements from various "spellings". There's no "correct" way when it's wildly inconsistent. For the record, though, I typically spell "Dragon Ball" as two words when referring to the actual objects in-universe, themselves.

[Hujio]

Basically, what Mike said. And for me, it's what has been used the longest on the net by fans, as far as I remember. It's just how I've written it since the mid-90s.

[RoarkVegeta]

I go with Dragon Ball, after seeing "Mystical Adventure!" write it as "DRAGON BALL".

[Tyro]

The Kanzenban calls it "Dragonball" and that's good enough for me.

[Gaffer Tape]

I used to type it "DragonBall" until recently when I switched over to the two word version, believing it more "correct." Interestingly, when referring to the objects themselves, I do the opposite of what Mike just said, referring to them exclusively as one-word non-camel case: "dragonball."

[Amigo Ten]

I just use Dragonball whether I'm talking about the series of the objects for some reason (lower case D for the objects).

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I think I've explained it before, but here goes:

(1) Written in katakana, it's all one word: ドラゴンボール (doragonbooru)
(2) Written on the tankoubon in "English", it's all in uppercase, but split into two words: DRAGON BALL
(3) Written on the kanzenban in "English", it's all one word in mixed case: Dragonball
(4) Written in many adaptations in "English", it's split up into two words with each word first-letter-capitalized: Dragon Ball
(5) onwards and onwards, etc. and etc.

"DragonBall" (all one word, mixed-case) is my personal compromise combining all of the individual elements from various "spellings". There's no "correct" way when it's wildly inconsistent. For the record, though, I typically spell "Dragon Ball" as two words when referring to the actual objects in-universe, themselves.

I understand how you personally write it out as DragonBall, but it hasn't appeared like that on any official media so it isn't technically correct even though it is a combination of all the spellings.

[SaiyaMel]

What's with the h in "Gokuh" anyways? It kinda goes against the rules of Japanese phonetics..

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

What's with the h in "Gokuh" anyways? It kinda goes against the rules of Japanese phonetics..

A bit off topic, but I'll answer your question: "Gokuh" is and acceptable romanization of the Japanese name written in Kanji, plus "Gokuh" was used on the cover of Volume 6.