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

[Doctor.]

We're all fans here, obviously, but this doesn't stop us from criticizing the series, as we do so everyday we're here. So, I'm curious to see how well the Kanzenshuu members think Dragon Bal is written. I was thinking more of the original manga, but I wouldn't have a problem if people felt about discussing the adaptations.

[Bullza]

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.

[dbzfan7]

I guess an 8 as a whole perhaps.

[Hellspawn28]

I think 7/10 would be the best rating for me if I view the series critically.

[Kamiccolo9]

6/10. This is an overall score; there are things DB does very well, and then things that it does very poorly. When things are good, they're great and vice versa.

It's good fun, and if I just want to sit down and watch DB, then it does its job perfectly well. It's not consistent enough for a higher score, though, and there are parts that just drag on and on and on, and Toriyama isn't the best at character development.

So yeah, as far as quality goes, I'd consider it about average.

[fadeddreams5]

Depends what I'm rating it for. I'm basing this on DBZ:

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.

Action/Cool-factor - 10/10 - No anime compares, imo. This aspect is why this series became as popular as it did in the west; nobody had ever seen anything like it. The high speed, chaotic combat is over-the-top. The transformations are ridiculous on paper, but executed so well on the screen. The Goku time moments are epic. The villains are memorable. Vegeta's arrogance is badass. The list goes on.

As for the manga in its entirety... honestly, I've only read the DBZ portion of it. Watched the Dragon Ball dubbed anime, but that's it. lol.

[Hellspawn28]

While I give the series a 7/10, it's still one of my favorite franchises. You don't have to give something a high rating in order to like it or love it. I mean. I like the Friday the 13th series a lot despite most of them are mediocre or terrible expect for the first two.

[DBZAOTA482]

Dragon Ball:
8.4/10 (anime)

Dragon Ball Z:
8.2/10 (manga)
7.8/10 (anime)
7.4/10 (Kai)

Dragon Ball GT:
5.5/10

[Hellspawn28]

I think I will give the first DB show a 7.5/10, normal DBZ a 5/10, Kai a 6/10 and GT a 4/10.

[Ajay]

Dragon Ball is, without a doubt, an incredibly influential series. It helped define and mold the shounen action genre into what it is today. Just consider how many protagonists are Goku-like in personality - Naruto, Luffy, and even Gon, to an extent, are all shaped around that kid who loved to fight, dreamed to better himself, but always did what he believed was best - even if it meant being incredibly selfish and defying logic. The shounen protagonist owes itself to Goku.

There's also the tournaments, the power-ups, the transformations, the training and its tropes - so many aspects were popularised by Toriyama's work. It's quite remarkable, really. Naruto goes as far as to pay homage to the man's humour by introducing the 'Frog Hermit' who asks Naruto to bring him a 'hot babe' before they can begin training. Ring any bells?!

It's a defining piece of fiction that will be remembered for years upon years. It is not without its flaws, though. For all the great stuff, there's some incredibly lazy, piss-poor writing. The dragon balls became a crutch that destroyed any shred of finality the series had to offer. When all hope was lost, giant deus ex machinas popped up to save the day! The convenience of the Namekians deciding to change the dragon balls in the Boo arc was just mindnumbingly lazy writing.

Yet, other acts of laziness are absolute genius! Just look at the Super Saiyan - it's a simple hair redesign and colour change, and yet it's the most recognisable aspect of the series. It's backed up by an incredibly dramatic build-up that challenges the very core of the show. Goku truly pushed to the limit through the reveal of his heritage, this ruthlessness of Freeza, and the shockingly violent demise of his friends. It's a far cry from even the darkest moments of the Piccolo Daimao arc. It's just brilliant.

While some villains were rather mediocre rehashes of what came before, Toriyama managed to subvert expectations and create some very interesting successors. Majin Boo's arc may not be backed up by the greatest narrative, but the idea of a misunderstood pink blob helping a blind kid and loving a dog before being forced into a sadistic, miniature form, was absolutely brilliant! After Cell disappointed many fans by feeling too close to Freeza, Boo was a nice attempt at something fresh. Its success is debatable, but you can't knock its intentions.

Lastly, and most importantly, Goku's journey from a young, wild fighting maniac into a marginally maturer, self-aware, sensei-like character at the end of Z was fantastically realised. I never once saw that development falter. From his reality check as he sees Kuririn killed, to the realisation of his mistakes during the Cell arc, Goku's evolution is just great. The same can easily be said for Vegeta, and even Piccolo.

I would award Dragon Ball a 7/10 for its contents, but a 9/10 for its influence, originality and effect on the genre. There's shows out there that have since surpassed Toriyama's efforts, but I absolutely cannot knock the sheer originality, charm, and trademark Toriyama humour. It's a flawed masterpiece and I absolutely love it. If I wasn't trying to be as critical as possible, I'd give it a flawless score without a second thought.

On a side-note: the anime is inconsistent as all hell. Kai makes improvements in terms of pacing but falters in a majority of other areas. You can't fix inconsistent animation without spending excessive money, but hey, that's Toei for you! We've got as good as we'll ever get, and what we've got is pretty damn good. Nozawa, Horikawa, Furukawa, Nakao, Wakamoto - the list is endless. Their voice work is legendary and brought those characters from the pages to life. You can't knock it!

[sbk]

Everything up to Freeza - 10
Cell - 7
Buu - 6

8 overall

[fadeddreams5]

9/10 for its influence, originality and affect on the genre.

I agree.

[Ajay]

9/10 for its influence, originality and affect on the genre.

I agree.

And now I realise I wrote 'affect' instead of 'effect'. Well, shit.

[Doctor.]

Dragon Ball is, without a doubt, an incredibly influential series. It helped define and mold the shounen action genre into what it is today. Just consider how many protagonists are Goku-like in personality - Naruto, Luffy, and even Gon, to an extent, are all shaped around that kid who loved to fight, dreamed to better himself, but always did what he believed was best - even if it meant being incredibly selfish and defying logic. The shounen protagonist owes itself to Goku.

I get Naruto and Luffy, but why did you say "Gon, to an extent"? Up to the Chimera Ant arc, where his character gains some depth and he actually develops into his own character (just like Naruto and Luffy do later on in their respective series), he was Goku's archetype to a T.

Yet, other acts of laziness are absolute genius! Just look at the Super Saiyan - it's a simple hair redesign and colour change, and yet it's the most recognisable aspect of the series. It's backed up by an incredibly dramatic build-up that challenges the very core of the show. Goku truly pushed to the limit through the reveal of his heritage, this ruthlessness of Freeza, and the shockingly violent demise of his friends. It's a far cry from even the darkest moments of the Piccolo Daimao arc. It's just brilliant.

The first sentence is basically how I feel about Fukkatsu no F (and even the Dragon Ball manga in general). Freeza turns golden just like the being he spent his life fearing, the perfect irony. The entire movie is seemingly establishing a parallel to the Freeza arc but switching Goku and Vegeta's places. This is lazy, but artistic laziness, if that makes any sense

Lastly, and most importantly, Goku's journey from a young, wild fighting maniac into a marginally maturer, self-aware, sensei-like character at the end of Z was fantastically realised. I never once saw that development falter. From his reality check as he sees Kuririn killed, to the realisation of his mistakes during the Cell arc, Goku's evolution is just great. The same can easily be said for Vegeta, and even Piccolo.

I agree completely in regards to Goku. I think that people don't give enough credit to the development he goes through, and this is especially apparent with the more casual fanbase. Whether intentional or not, Goku's character goes through various phases of development that actually makes him a complexly written character, I can't name too many occasions (or any at all) where I'd think he does something out of character. Vegeta, well, the general consensus is that he's already the best written Dragon Ball character. Whether I agree with that or not is irrelevant, but it is true that he's well written.

Piccolo, though. I can't say his character development was badly written, because it wasn't, but I feel like the anime handled it better. We have a large number of filler episodes showcasing Piccolo's heart becoming softer and softer due to Gohan's influence. And we see this gradual change. In the manga, however, we have just a couple of chapters of their training: it begins with Piccolo cold-hearted, we have a moment where Piccolo gets soft and gives Gohan food and then jump to the arrival of the Saiyans. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely rushed when compared to how the anime did it.

I would award Dragon Ball a 7/10 for its contents, but a 9/10 for its influence, originality and effect on the genre.

I find this a bit contradictory, don't you think? If you're being critical you shouldn't be judging it on outside factors like influence and effect, no?

It's a flawed masterpiece and I absolutely love it. If I wasn't trying to be as critical as possible, I'd give it a flawless score without a second thought.

Huh, strange, what I normally use to characterize the Dragon Ball manga is the expression "accidental masterpiece." And yes, I'm sure most of us would, we're all here because Dragon Ball is our favourite (or one of) series.

[Lord Beerus]

Manga - 9
DB Anime - 8.5
DBZ Anime - 8
DB Kai - 8.5
DB GT - 3

[SSJ God Gogeta]

Dragon Ball:
10/10 (manga)
8/10 (anime)

Dragon Ball Z:
9/10 (manga)
8/10 (anime)
8.5/10 (Kai)

Dragon Ball GT:
6.5/10

[Ajay]

I find this a bit contradictory, don't you think? If you're being critical you shouldn't be judging it on outside factors like influence and effect, no?

No, that's why I separated the scores so as not to contradict my answer to the question in this thread.

If I personally want to consider outside factors in my own time, that's on me, but I wanted to share both - hence the separation.

[Dayspring]

I'd give it an 8/10. It's thoroughly lacking in character development, which, while part of its charm, just means it can't be a perfect 10. The inconsistencies on Toriyama's part are too glaring in a series like this compared to his other works, too.

[TheLegend23]

OVER 9000!!!

[rereboy]

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.