Has One Piece surpassed Dragon Ball or is DB still king?

[emperior]

If Akira Toriyama continued with Dragon Ball it would have sold much more copies than One Piece.

[Gog]

If Akira Toriyama continued with Dragon Ball it would have sold much more copies than One Piece.

But, it would have been complete and utter garbage, considering that he was burned out. Imagine super burned out Akira Toriyama? A creation to surpass the android arc and the cell arc in their entirety. Horrifying

[emperior]

If Akira Toriyama continued with Dragon Ball it would have sold much more copies than One Piece.

But, it would have been complete and utter garbage, considering that he was burned out. Imagine super burned out Akira Toriyama? A creation to surpass the android arc and the cell arc in their entirety. Horrifying

Obviously in that case Toriyama wouldn't have been burned out. Though I wonder what kind of stories he would have invented after Buu arc.

[mute_proxy]

If Akira Toriyama continued with Dragon Ball it would have sold much more copies than One Piece.

But, it would have been complete and utter garbage, considering that he was burned out. Imagine super burned out Akira Toriyama? A creation to surpass the android arc and the cell arc in their entirety. Horrifying

Obviously in that case Toriyama wouldn't have been burned out. Though I wonder what kind of stories he would have invented after Buu arc.

Probably some adventure story involving Uub. We got a glimpse of how they were doing in the Neko Majin manga
[spoiler][/spoiler]

[dougo13]

In Japan I'm sure it has surpassed DB but the rest of the world prefers Dragon Ball much more.

The world loves Pocket Monsters the most.

Yeah, Pokemon is video game King.
I didn't know there was anyone who actually called it Pocket Monsters though. It just seems so strange

I call it Pocket Monster every time I pass a display of the toys...

[DBZAOTA482]

Yep. One Piece is the king for the past I don't know how many years. I must add while Dragon Ball when it was in serialization as far as I remember didn't face much competition, atleast not until Yuu Yuu Hakusho showed up. One Piece, on the other hand faced competition against Naruto and Hunter X Hunter (in its early years), two big titles and still came out on top.

Also, Toriyama was a huge name thanks to Dr.Slump and that played a part in making Dragon Ball even bigger in Japan. That's not to say name matters most or anything, but it definitely helps. Oda was not a big name, I mean he was known among fan-circles, but he was a nobody when compared to the likes of Toriyama and Togashi. It was really impressive to see this guy reach the top.

I've just recently started reading the One Piece manga and while it has issues, the world Oda has created is amazing. Also, the anime has helped in improving several of my favorite animators' quality and styles. Tate became a star in it, Shida has done some of his most incredible work in it, then there's Hayashi, Watanabe and Oonishi who also have done some amazing stuff. I'm thankful for that too.

It'll be very hard for another WSJ title to top One Piece, and One Piece is still on-going. It has a very strong impact culturally. I don't think it'll or any other title will reach Gundam levels of popularity and legacy, but it definitely will be remembered for a long time.

Not true. Dragon Ball had Hokuto no Ken, Saint Seiya, Kinnikuman (the pioneer), and Jojo's Bizzarre Adventures. DB had very stiff competition.

[SaiyanGod117]

One Piece is only more popular in Japan, for now. Super has already outsold it in merchandise sales for the fiscal year of 2016, manga sales don't really determine a franchise popularity. For instance, One piece has more than almost double the sales of Naruto in terms of Manga, but even Oda himself admits Naruto is more popular worldwide. Though if you do wanna compare popularity that way (however misguided it may be) Dragon Ball ended years ago, while One Piece is still going and has many more volumes than Dragon Ball. In addition, Dragon Ball sold more copies per volume (5 or 6 million) while One Piece has only sold like 2 or 3 million.

[DBZ Macky]

Dragon Ball is definitely the most popular Anime on YouTube. Especially now that Attack on Titan and Death Note seems to have decreased in popularity, for some reason.

From what I've seen of One Piece, it's really good. But I can't continue to watch it because of the daunting episode count. That's really one of the biggest problems of the series.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

Not true. Dragon Ball had Hokuto no Ken, Saint Seiya, Kinnikuman (the pioneer), and Jojo's Bizzarre Adventures. DB had very stiff competition.

Maybe you're right. I remember reading somewhere Yuu Yuu Hakusho gave Dragon Ball a serious competition for the top spot, but other than that DB was mostly safe.

But, it's only from what I've heard and I could be wrong. Do you have any sources for how stiff the competition was back when Dragon Ball was in serialization?

[rereboy]

I think it's very important to keep in mind that although One Piece has outsold Dragon Ball, it also has more chapters. It's not so cut and dry.

Yeah, almost 350 more chapters at that. If OP ended around the ~500-600 range, things might be different.

Actual detailed info on One Piece sales:

[spoiler]

[/spoiler]

Here's the above data translated, with some additional info:

1997, 1st year - 300k copies printed, 1 volume, 300k copies per volume! Note that 300k is the first print of volume 1, because it was released in 24 of December, a second print would be accounted in the next year.
1998, 2nd year - 6 Million copies printed, 6 volumes, 1 Million copies per volume.
1999, 3rd year - 17 Million copies printed, 11 volumes, 1.55 Million copies per volume.
2000, 4th year - 37 Million copies printed, 16 volumes, 2.31 Million copies per volume. An anime boost of 767k copies per volume printed, and this only if we don't account the 2 first months of anime boost in the previous year.
2001, 5th year - 54 Million copies printed, 21 volumes, 2.57 Million copies per volume.
2002, 6th year - 73 Million copies printed, 26 volumes, 2.81 Million copies per volume.
2003, 7th year - 90 Million copies printed, 31 volumes, 2.90 Million copies per volume.
2004, 8th year - 99 Million copies printed, 35 volumes, 2.83 Million copies per volume. First decrease in the average of volumes per volume, this represents the year of the end of Skypiea, Davy Back Fight and the beginning of Water 7.
2005, 9th year - 112 Million copies printed, 40 volumes, 2.80 Million copies per volume. Reached 100 Million copies printed in February of 2005 with volume 36. With this One Piece is the fastest title to reach 100 Million copies in print. Dragon Ball was only able to reach 100 Million after its ending and it run for 11 years and with 42 volumes.
2006, 10th year - 125 Million copies printed, 44 volumes, 2.84 Million copies per volume.
2007, 11th year - 139 Million copies printed, 48 volumes, 2.90 Million copies per volume.
2008, 12th year - 153 Million copies printed, 52 volumes, 2.94 Million copies per volume.
2009, 13th year - 177 Million copies printed, 56 volumes, 3.16 Million copies per volume.
2010, 14th year - 216 Million copies printed, 60 volumes, 3.60 Million copies per volume. Reached 200 Million copies printed in November of 2010 with volume 60.
2011, 15th year - 257 Million copies printed, 64 volumes, 4.02 Million copies per volume.
2012, 16th year - 281 Million copies printed, 68 volumes, 4.13 Million copies per volume.
2013, 17th year - 302 Million copies printed, 72 volumes, 4.20 Million copies per volume. Reached 300 Million copies printed in November of 2013 with volume 72. First on only title reaching 300 Million copies printed!
2014, 18th year - 320 Million copies printed, 76 volumes, 4.21 Million copies per volume.

I would say that, based on the info, it is cut and dry.

[Lord Beerus]

One Piece has been king for years and by the time that it ends will reach a plateau that I don't think any manga will ever reach in terms of popularity and sales. Of this is strictly within Japan. Worldwide, I'd Dragon Ball is still the most popular anime franchise there has been.

[Kerunou]

I think it's subjective. You could try and make an objective observation based on viewer counts and money grossed and all sorts of other variables, but I don't know how accurate that would be in terms of really determining which was truly the more popular overall at a world scale. I feel Dragonball, as a franchise has a bigger legacy and presence in the form of multimedia than One Piece has and that's largely because Dragonball has been around for a long time and its subsidiaries aired/got released at various times around the world. Now that Dragonball also has a new installment and it's hot property again, I feel it has no where to go but up, once again.

As for One Piece, it's certainly bigger than I ever thought it would be and I think that has to do with its long running nature and the fact that it's only about half finished from what I understand. I like one piece, it shares a lot of qualities with DB that I like, but also does a fuck ton differently with its characters and stories. So, I do understand why it's gotten so big and if it does continue on that path for as long as Dragonball has, it will probably reach Dragonball levels of popularity across the globe.

[Big Green The Yoshi]

Dragon Ball is still king. One Piece is the successor, but it has never surpassed Dragon Ball in popularity. One Piece may have more sales but Dragon Ball was around during a time where Shonen Magazines were a thing and Volumes weren't.

[Footlong Shoe]

Dragon Ball is still king. One Piece is the successor, but it has never surpassed Dragon Ball in popularity. One Piece may have more sales but Dragon Ball was around during a time where Shonen Magazines were a thing and Volumes weren't.

Actually, the Dragon Ball Tankōbon volumes were released concurrently with the chapters in Jump, just like One Piece.

[Gog]

If Akira Toriyama continued with Dragon Ball it would have sold much more copies than One Piece.

But, it would have been complete and utter garbage, considering that he was burned out. Imagine super burned out Akira Toriyama? A creation to surpass the android arc and the cell arc in their entirety. Horrifying

Obviously in that case Toriyama wouldn't have been burned out. Though I wonder what kind of stories he would have invented after Buu arc.

Probably some ridiculous like a purple cat god who likes pudding, or Freeza coming back, or evil Goku

[FortuneSSJ]

One Piece is definitely the King in Japan, however:

I think it's very important to keep in mind that although One Piece has outsold Dragon Ball, it also has more chapters. It's not so cut and dry.

A lot of people conveniently forget this detail which is actually important, because One Piece didn't surpassed Dragon Ball when both had the same number of volumes.

It's always cool to remember Dragon Ball was one of the main reasons that caused the Golden Age of Jump - "The mid-1980s to the mid-1990s era when the magazine's circulation was at its highest (6.53 million). However, since then it has experienced a drastic decline and had a circulation of 2.2 million copies in mid-2016."

Dragon Ball is still the King Worldwide and the cultural impact that had is undeniable. There aren't much manga/anime franchises out there that can brag of going strong for 30+ years. And unlike Pokémon who never stopped being on the frontlines since it started, Dragon Ball brand stayed dormant for over a decade.

[Vertical]

I think it's very important to keep in mind that although One Piece has outsold Dragon Ball, it also has more chapters. It's not so cut and dry.

Yeah, almost 350 more chapters at that. If OP ended around the ~500-600 range, things might be different.

2005, 9th year - 112 Million copies printed, 40 volumes, 2.80 Million copies per volume. Reached 100 Million copies printed in February of 2005 with volume 36. With this One Piece is the fastest title to reach 100 Million copies in print. Dragon Ball was only able to reach 100 Million after its ending and it run for 11 years and with 42 volumes.

I would say that, based on the info, it is cut and dry.

I think the point has to be raised about accessibility.

Back in the 80's/90's, shifting large numbers of manga was vastly different and more difficult than it is today. With the age we live in, it's not surprising that something as popular as One Piece has outsold DB.

That being said, DB has far more international popularity than One Piece... and recognition. Mention DB and most people will know what you're talking about. One Piece? Still below Naruto...


At the end of the day One Piece is incredibly popular and successful. It's DB-inspirations are obvious (even without the author openly admitting to such)... and it does what it does well.

...but... let's be real... it's only popular because the main character is voiced by Krillin/Yajirobe. >_>

[NintendoBlaze53]

...but... let's be real... it's only popular because the main character is voiced by Krillin/Yajirobe. >_>

Then why is the manga the preferred way of viewing One Piece? And One Piece shares a lot more actors with Dragon Ball then just Mayumi Tanaka.

I feel it's unfair to compare international popularity considering the fact One Piece's dub was born with a disability known as 4Kids. Say what you want about Funi's treatment of DBZ at least it kept the action and violence that got it popular in the West.

[Gog]

...but... let's be real... it's only popular because the main character is voiced by Krillin/Yajirobe. >_>

Okay buttercup, lets be real here, the One piece manga is actually the preferred way of consuming the series. No Luffy voiced by krillin, or Yajirobe here. But in actuality the reason why people read one piece is because of the story. And the fanservice. So MUCH OF IT

[Vertical]

Then why is the manga the preferred way of viewing One Piece? And One Piece shares a lot more actors with Dragon Ball then just Mayumi Tanaka.

Okay buttercup, lets be real here, the One piece manga is actually the preferred way of consuming the series. No Luffy voiced by krillin, or Yajirobe here. But in actuality the reason why people read one piece is because of the story. And the fanservice. So MUCH OF IT

Sorry for making a joke, guys. Lesson learned. I won't do it again.