What really stood out for me was how vibrant and full of life the world was. It was based on modern day Japan (at the time - the eighties) crossed with the world of Chinese folk tales with bits of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. This is apparent in the very first chapter of Dragon Ball: A boy with a tail living on his own in the wilderness destroys a girl's subcompact sedan, forcing her to using a Capsule motorcycle she had packed away in her purse.
I like to look out for little things in the background. I've always had the idea that events happening on the sidelines were just as important as the main story. It shows how much care the author put into the world and it shows the reader or viewer that there is more to the world than just what the story happens to be focused on. Backgrond details are things people can easily overlook, but can subconsciously give the reader the idea that the world is big and full of life - a world where everyone and everything has its own story and you're only being shown one small part of it.
Eventually, Namek happened. Up to this point, Goku and his friends have traveled the world from deserts to snowy mountains and from the depths of the ocean to the highest point in the sky. On Namek, there was a lot of opportunity to develop a completely new world and to depict Namekian towns and their way of life. Near the beginning, the story looked like it would be a throwback to the series's roots in which Bulma, Gohan and Kuririn would have a new adventure going around world to track down the Dragon Balls. Unfortunately, most of what we saw were vast fields and mere glimpses of villages.
Something changed when they returned to Earth. The world lost its depth. There were now only large generic cities, fields or wastelands. The things that people in the world saw as commonplace were now strange and unusual. This can be seen just by looking at the contestants chosen for tournaments. Early on those who competed were creatures such as Man-Wolf, Giran (a dragon) and Chiaotzu (look it up). They competed among humans that had unique abilities and martial arts skills. From this point onwards, contestants consisted entirely of humans which, while skilled fighters in their own right, had very little interesting about them other than their personalities. It's most apparent during the Cell Games, where all the serious contestants are seen as strange by audiences around the world watching it live on television.
The biggest thing I took away when watching the whole series is how the world became less and less interesting over time. When I'm asked why I prefer Dragon Ball over Z which is never, it's because I'm not as much a fan of the action as I am of the adventure that it began with.
