Dragon Ball Recalls 40-Year-Old Manga Announcement, Showing Original Series’ Genre

As a gamer who has grown up with the iconic Dragon Ball series, I can attest to its evolution from a comedy-focused manga to the epic adventure it is today. Having followed Goku’s journey since the early days, it’s fascinating to see the transformation in the genre and tone of the story.


For four decades now, fans have been enjoying the Dragon Ball series. Back in November 1984, Akira Toriyama’s manga first graced our shelves, eventually earning a devoted following and serving as a blueprint for numerous shonen series that followed in its footsteps, inspired by Goku’s journeys. Originally conceived within the action-adventure genres, the initial idea behind Dragon Ball was actually humor-centric.

The demonstration comes from the promotional art of Dragon Ball, which is nearly 40 years old and was recently published on the official Dragon Ball website as part of the Toriyama Archives series. This collection presents the creator’s historical works and can be viewed on the site for a period of 24 hours (as shared by CBR).

On the poster, there stands Shenron atop a Dragon Ball, with a large red heading announcing “the pinnacle of comedic manga.” This implies that the comic’s initial emphasis was on its humor, rather than the adventure, action, or martial arts that Akira Toriyama’s work is now renowned for.

Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, Shueisha, 1984

In the early days of Dragon Ball, comedy played a significant part, often provoking controversy with its humor that might seem outdated today. Nowadays, however, Dragon Ball (DB) primarily focuses on intense battles and thrilling journeys led by Goku. This shift is evident in Dragon Ball Super, which was temporarily halted, and the current series, Dragon Ball Daima, streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix. Despite being four decades old, the popularity of Toriyama’s work remains strong, showing that it still captivates audiences today.

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2024-11-18 16:02