On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the series?

[Doctor.]

The manga? I guess a 8.5-9 it is a very good series. Better than most other shonen titles like Bleach, Toriko, Fairy Tail etc.

It's not as good as the Naruto or One Piece manga though.

Naruto? Er... Ok...

I would say that One Piece is better than Dragon Ball overall, while Toriko is more or less equivalent overall. Bleach, Fairy Tail and Naruto, are all inferior overall, even though they have some good parts.

As for a numerical rating, I'm never comfortable with those. I prefer to classify it with adjectives. So, I would say that the Dragon Ball manga is overall a very good manga.

Shonen that come to mind that are better than Dragon Ball would be One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist and Rurouni Kenshin. I feel like Toriko still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to having likeable characters.

But I wasn't really trying to strike a comparison between Dragon Ball and other Shonen and I'm not really sure such a discussion would even have a place in this site. Nevertheless, there's my opinion above.

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

Dragon Ball
Manga: 9/10
Anime: 8/10

Dragon Ball Z
Manga: 9/10
Anime: 7.5/10
Kai: 8.5/10

Dragon Ball GT
Anime: 6/10

I'll give the movie's scores as well because... Well, why not?
(I've yet to watch the Dragon Ball movies so I'll only be doing DBZ)
Movie 1: 6/10
Movie 2: 7/10
Movie 3: 6/10
Movie 4: 6/10
Movie 5: 7/10
Movie 6: 5.5/10
Movie 7: 7/10
Movie 8: 8/10
Movie 9: 6.5/10
Movie 10: 5/10
Movie 11: 4/10
Movie 12: 8.5/10
Movie 13: 8/10
Battle of Gods: 9/10
Fukkatsu no F: ....soon...
Bardock, Father of Goku: 8/10
The History of Trunks: 9/10

[rereboy]

Shonen that come to mind that are better than Dragon Ball would be One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist and Rurouni Kenshin. I feel like Toriko still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to having likeable characters.

But I wasn't really trying to strike a comparison between Dragon Ball and other Shonen and I'm not really sure such a discussion would even have a place in this site. Nevertheless, there's my opinion above.

I have all the Rurouni Kenshi manga and, despite having a huge nostalgia factor and still being a good series, it simply doesn't hold up as well as one would expect upon reviewing it, imo. So, I wouldn't consider it superior to Dragon Ball.

I do think FMA is perhaps overall better, though.

As for Toriko, I disagree. Toriko is amazing at what it does, one of the most fun stories/mangas I've ever read, and the tense moments and action are top-notch. Its a top grade shonen manga and it never tries to be more than it is just to fall short afterwards, like Bleach and Naruto. It lacks in character development but its very clear that its a conscious choice by the author and one I actually find appealing and interesting after so many stories and mangas with cliches and unsatisfying character development. Its an on-going manga so I can change my mind if in the future Toriko drops the ball, but so far, its as I've stated.

As for this discussion, I don't think its really off-topic since we can only rate Dragon Ball as a manga and as a series if we have other mangas and series to serve as terms of comparison... Otherwise, Dragon Ball would be the best and worst manga ever at the same time, automatically.

[dae428]

I've always been a fan of Dragon Ball for as long as I could remember, if I rated it purely on my own liking (odd phrasing... Sorry about that) I would give it a 10 out of 10 for the manga anyways. It's a fun series that I just get a crazy amount of fun out of. However, rating it as objectively as I can (again odd phrasing given that reviews are considered to be purely subjective) without my own personal biases I guess I'd give it around a 7 out of 10.

The art is great and the characters are a load of fun with many of them being memorable with interesting designs (though some slightly reused). The action scenes go together really smoothly without too much junk in the way making it really easy to read through. However, the plot is often not completely thought out with some random inconsistencies and odd plot decisions due to the lack of proper planning from the author particularly in the Boo arc. I will say though that despite this, I feel that the author does a surprisingly decent job at covering his butt. Even regarding the messiness of the Boo arc, I never really noticed any major plot inconsistencies until going back to the series and actually analyzing it. That's not to the say that its because they weren't really noticeable, but rather because I was so engrossed into the story that I never really noticed. (Though this is probably my own biases speaking...) The tone for better or worse fluctuates within arcs. Lastly, while the simplicity of the series (in regards to art and plot) makes the series easy to read through an unfortunate effect of this is that there are often new really interesting concepts introduced such as zenkai boosts and fusion that are never fully explored.

[baneofdemon22]

I give the Dragon Ball manga a 9/10. I think it's an incredible action/gag series, despite its many flaws. Personally, I've checked out so much anime and find most of it to be terrible. I don't understand the praise on this site for shows like Full Metal Alchemist and Ruroni Kenshin. They seem like really bad video game stories or like something from the imagination of kindergartners who got a hold of their older siblings textbooks. They're so pretentious with their juvenile dialogue! Dragon Ball is silly and it knows it. I think the series got worst after the Freeza arc, but the Cell arc was still really good. The Boo arc....whatever. I thought the Freeza arc was such a good ending for the series that anything is just extra. I can pick at Dragon Ball to death, but I wouldn't be such a fan if I didn't believe it was so good. Flaws doesn't equal bad. It's like the difference between "Man Getting Hit By Football" and "Pukahontas."

[sintzu]

I haven't read the manga so the scores are for the anime which I've only seen in English :

Dragon Ball : 7
Dragon Ball Z : 5
Dragon Ball Kai : 9
Dragon Ball Gt : 3

[Kid Buu]

I would give it a 5/10. Not too strong on the characterization or story, but the art and action are pretty cool. Some funny gags too.

[ParkerAL]

Story - 6.5/10 - The emphasis on this series is clearly not complex, profound, or intriguing story-telling. This isn't something like Fullmetal Alchemist. When it tries to be serious, many plot-holes arise, or things are not built up properly. When it tries to be light-hearted, it's, well, silly (in a good way). The sagas are meant to be entertaining and simple enough for anyone of any age demographic to enjoy and understand. It succeeds in this department, but anyone actually wanting to see an anime or show, or read a manga for a great story/plot will obviously not find it here. Despite this, the story still has a little of everything, from comedy, to action, to drama, and so on. It's supposed to attract young boys, and it does so beautifully without tainting the tone with the pretense found in shows/manga like Naruto and Bleach, which is why I'm not too critical.

If its not trying to be complex or profound, why grade it based on those merits? Wouldn't it make more sense to rank it based on how it succeeds within its own genre of goofy action adventure fun? Not every "great story/plot" needs complexity or depth. Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey are both amazing science fiction movies - but in vastly different ways. One is definitely more thought provoking than the other, but people don't always want to watch thought provoking films all the time.

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

I haven't completed Dragon Ball yet, so I will only rate what I've seen.

Z - 8.5/10 - Loses points for poor animation and filler.
Kai 1.0 - 8.3/10 - Loses points for Kikuchi's music, Yamamoto's removal
Kai 2.0 - 5/10 - Not much good music, piss-poor "remastering."
GT - 3/10 - I never saw much, but it's shit in my opinion. Ending was nice though.

[ABED]

GT - 3/10 - I never saw much, but it's shit in my opinion. Ending was nice though.

Never saw much, but you are more than confident in calling it shit?

Overall I think the series is about an 8 for what it is, a fun martial arts fantasy.

If its not trying to be complex or profound, why grade it based on those merits? Wouldn't it make more sense to rank it based on how it succeeds within its own genre of goofy action adventure fun? Not every "great story/plot" needs complexity or depth. Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey are both amazing science fiction movies - but in vastly different ways. One is definitely more thought provoking than the other, but people don't always want to watch thought provoking films all the time.

Really? I just found 2001 ridiculously boring, dry, and a tad pretentious. Star Wars knew exactly what it was and executed it to damn near perfection. That said, I do agree that things don't have to be graded on one scale, it's perfectly okay to judge them based on what you are looking for out of it. If you are looking for something deep and profound, DB isn't necessarily the series for you, but if you want something that's fun with enjoyable characters, good humor, and great action, DB has those elements.

[TheGreatness25]

If you asked me between the ages of 6-20, I would have told you it's a 10. I guess when I was a kid, it was the time where it was the hottest thing out, and then after that it was more of a sentimental feeling towards it. Now when I watch the dub, a lot of it is cringe-worthy and the Japanese version is okay, but then the animation comes into play and how much time is wasted in episodes of just standing around and talking. Then there's all the filler, which I swear, makes less and less sense as I get older. As for Kai, it doesn't really give off that sentimental feeling, so I find it very hard to sit through it.

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

GT - 3/10 - I never saw much, but it's shit in my opinion. Ending was nice though.

Never saw much, but you are more than confident in calling it shit?

Overall I think the series is about an 8 for what it is, a fun martial arts fantasy.

Let me just point out that most people hate it. The fact that you like it and gave it an 8 shows that you're the minority.

[MarCas92]

Well, in terms of writing, the manga is obviously the most cohesive narrative. It's fun and the action is great, but it's not particularly deep. But it's not trying to be. Toriyama's style of writing keeps the story fresh and fun, but his lack of foresight definitely becomes a problem, especially during the later arcs. Subjectively, I would rate the manga a 10/10. Objectively it's a bit trickier. It really comes down to this. How important is the series popularity and impact on the medium in relation to it's story structure and character? If we view the art independently of all it's real world influence and impact, it would suffer. However, for it's time and what it created it's definitely one of the greatest manga series of all time.

The Anime is good too, but it has the same issues as the manga when it comes to analyzing its artistic merits.The anime has even more problems due to the gargantuan amount filler and sometimes sloppy animation.

Here are my subjective ratings.

Dragon Ball Manga: 10/10
Dragon Ball Anime: 9/10
Dragon Ball Z Anime: 9/10
Dragon Ball GT Anime: 7/10

Here are my objective ratings. This is my best attempt to take my nostalgia and bias out of it.

Dragon Ball Manga: 8/10
Dragon Ball Anime: 8/10
Dragon Ball Z Anime: 7/10
Dragon Ball GT Anime: 6/10

[Black_Liger]

For all it's flaws, it's pierced deep withing my heart. I don't think I'll ever like a series as much as DB, and even if I think a series is better, DB will always be my favorite.

10/10, personal, heartfelt, deeply but honestly biased score.

[ABED]

GT - 3/10 - I never saw much, but it's shit in my opinion. Ending was nice though.

<br abp="770">Never saw much, but you are more than confident in calling it shit?<br abp="771"><br abp="772">Overall I think the series is about an 8 for what it is, a fun martial arts fantasy.

<br abp="773"><br abp="774">Let me just point out that most people hate it. The fact that you like it and gave it an 8 shows that you're the minority.

Are you arguing that you hate it because other people hate it or just to point out that a majority doesn't like it? I'm well aware that it's not well liked, however, I think it's unfairly maligned, and I don't base my opinion on what other's think.

Regarding my grade, it wasn't an 8 for GT, it was an 8 overall for all of the DB series.

[ConfusedPhantom]

Even with all its flaws, its easily the most enjoyable series for me. Toriyama's indifference is both the series' strength and weakness. He has likable characters, even though he doesn't use all of them to their fullest. Lots of fun gags, lots of fun action. It's just...a fun series. haha If I were to judge it critically for what its trying to do, it'd be a 7/10. But, I don't think I like any other series more than I do Dragon Ball (well, ok there is Kenshin, but still).