Is Dragon Ball the biggest manga/anime series globally?

[WittyUsername]

I believe there was a similar thread to this posted around five years ago on these forums, but in lieu of the latest movie opening to number one at the North American box office with minimal advertising, this was a question that’s been on my mind.

I realize that in terms of Japan specifically, One Piece has it beat, and is in fact the best selling manga series by far (although to be fair, it’s had significantly more chapters published than the original Dragon Ball manga), but when taking international markets into account, especially places like Latin America, is Dragon Ball number one?

Oh, and for the record, this doesn’t count Pokemon. That’s a video game franchise first and foremost, and people don’t even talk about the anime anymore.

[MasenkoHA]

I would assume still One Piece but that has more to do with length than anything.

Dragon Ball still sold more when averaged per volume https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_b ... ling_manga

[FortuneSSJ]

Pokémon doesn't count, so yeah it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_h ... franchises

[WittyUsername]

I would assume still One Piece but that has more to do with length than anything.

Dragon Ball still sold more when averaged per volume https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_b ... ling_manga

I guess I should have clarified. I’m not talking strictly manga sales. I mean as a whole, when taking in revenue from things like merchandise, video games, the anime etc., is Dragon Ball at the top?

[MasenkoHA]

Pokémon doesn't count, so yeah it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_h ... franchises

The fact that Dragon Ball outsells fucking Batman is kind of impressive.

[Misu]

Pokémon doesn't count, so yeah it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_h ... franchises

Anpanman is above Dragon Ball.

[DBZAOTA482]

If we're talking about strictly anime/manga then yes, Dragon Ball rules the anime/manga kingdom. One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, My Hero Academia, etc. are its children.

[WittyUsername]

Pokémon doesn't count, so yeah it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_h ... franchises

I’m not entirely sure I buy the full accuracy of that list. Fist of the North Star/Hokuto No Ken above One Piece?

[Xeno Goku Black]

As an entire whole worldwide yes. Dragon Ball and Pokémon are the two most well known anime around and the latter is only really still a thing because of the popularity of the games.

The Broly movie was the highest grossing anime movie outside of Japan (maybe Japan and China) except for the first Pokémon movie. It opened at #1 in many countries especially Latin America.

There's no other anime series that has spun off a video game series that is as successful as Dragon Ball. Just the last four consoles games have sold over 25 million copies. The only one that I can recall that sold millions like that was Naruto and that was just the Ultimate Ninja games.

It's a series that's had international break out success not once but twice. It struck big with Dragon Ball Z in the 90's and then it did again with Super. Was one of if not the most streamed anime, was getting the most views on YouTube, it trended on Twitter.

It had a reference in the Shang Chi movie just last year.

A hugely successful series of animes since the 80's, the second best selling manga ever, multi million selling games, hit movies that open to #1 outside of Japan, very successful with merchandise etc.

The only thing it hasn't had is a successful live action movie series.

[SupremeKai25]

Yes, it is the most mainstream. When someone thinks of "anime", they think of "Dragon Ball", the anime where people punch each other, scream a lot, and have yellow hair. No other anime is as iconic and recognizable as Dragon Ball.

By the way, One Piece is not more popular and iconic than Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball Super, a sequel/midquel of the original that, we can all agree, is less iconic than DBZ (since it's been around for only 7 years), overtook One Piece in terms of ratings:

https://www.crunchyroll.com/en-gb/anime ... se-ratings

[MCDaveG]

Also depends on territory. I would say that globally, it is actually Pokémon.
But the most popular would be Naruto. Sure, we might think that we live in the world of streaming and on the message boards, that are basically a bubble, otaku, anime fans and others have niche tastes to general audience.

Also, there is this blog https://diamondlobby.com/geeky-stuff/mo ... lar-anime/

Is Dragon Ball the biggest series globally? Not now I guess... but it is one if the biggest and most succesful ones worldwide and it was probably the biggest in it's heyday at the end of 90s and beginning of 00s.
I know that Naruto was huge in Europe, that it got into the mainstream the same way Pokémon did.
People who weren't into anime were watching it, some people got through it into more anime, to many, it was their "Dragon Ball" a decade after.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

If were talking strictly anime and manga Dragon Ball would be the most well known. As has been said Pokemon is more popular overall, but without the games it would fall short of Dragon Ball, which has far more dedicated fans of the other two aforementioned mediums.

[Lord Beerus]

I suppose? I mean, One Piece, Gundamn and Anpanman are bigger series in Japan than Dragon Ball, but Dragon Ball is more recognisable in a worldwide census when you consider anime and/or manga series specifically.

[MCDaveG]

Well, the Pokémon anime is pretty damn popular and is one of the few Japanese series, that actually caters to the same demographics worldwide.
I remember being a bit of an outsider back in the day, being a fan of the games starting with Red and not really enjoying the anime, but everyone watched it! Everyone knows who or what Pikachu is, even non fans, which puts it on the same level as Darth Vader, Batman and other pop icons. Son Goku is not that iconic outside of Japan and maybe US.

And two decades after, there are kids on the streets with Pokémon on their bags, trading card game still selling with other merch and the series has the same popularity steady power entering a third decade.

I think that saying that, oh but Pokémon is a game series mainly, so it doesn't count next to Dragon Ball as anime series, is wrong.
And while Pokémon still goes strong in mainstream, Dragon Ball Super ended a long time ago, it was hyped, but now it goes on re-runs in the middle of night on sat TV.
Also, Dragon Ball is mostly popular due to the anime outside of Japan. Same goes for Pokémon and if kids got into the Pokémon games, it was thanks to anime. Which is insane, as that is the same model that actually works in Japan, as all the other series are took as the main game outside of Japan and the merch is just there to complement the TV run.

I would like to see a breakdown, if we would take it not by popularity, but by how much money each series made on different continents. That might be telling. We have Japan and US, that are probably the biggest markets in their own ranks and are pretty homogenic and then we have Europe with different tastes (with some countries not airing Dragon Ball at all).

[DBZAOTA482]

Pokemon as a media franchise is far bigger than Dragon Ball but people don't really care about the Pokemon anime these days outside nostalgia for the first season. The Dragon Ball anime franchise has remained highly popular throughout the years without an anime series consistently running (even though it declined a bit in popularity during the late-2000s to early-2010s).

Pokemon's a fad. Dragon Ball is legendary.

[Soppa Saia People]

yeah probably, there's a few of series' that are bigger in japan, but i don't think any of them have had the crossover dragon ball has had. i do think some dragon ball fans tend to get a little weird about it though.

[Koitsukai]

I don't know about current or historical sales, readers, box offices, in Japan or worldwide, but I doubt another series is so ingrained in popular culture. Pokemon, yes, I can see it being a contender, but the new series I don't think so.

I could approach a stranger on the streets, of any age, and they'll know to what show Goku belongs to, however I doubt they'll know who Luffy is or where he belongs to. Or the Kamehameha, I don’t think a random guy would know Naruto’s signature move.
For instance, there are hooligans nicknamed after DB characters, even though probably many people might not know who they are, they know where they belong to. Like, 30 years ago, the nickname for a guy like that, in such a devious environment would be a well-known character like, say, He-Man or Sandokan, and today is Majin Buu. Something similar happens with Pokemon but on a smaller scale, Pikachu is the name given to the device used to trim down weed before smoking it.

I mean, I don’t even know what this means, but well, DB characters are certainly famous beyond their fandom.

[Zephyr]

Pokemon's a fad. Dragon Ball is legendary.

The highest grossing media franchise of all time (nearly four times that of DB) is definitely a fad.

[MasenkoHA]

Pokemon as a media franchise is far bigger than Dragon Ball but people don't really care about the Pokemon anime these days outside nostalgia for the first season.

Clearly the cartoon does well with its target audience. Its just adults seem less interested in the anime. Kids are people too. Barely. But still.

Pokemon's a fad. Dragon Ball is legendary.

Fads go away in a year or two. They don't make big money over 25 years later.

[GatoF]

No franchise is bigger than Pokémon not even Marvel can compete with it moneywise.