Eath's greatest hero...is from outerspace! Dragon Ball introduces a young monkey-tailed boy named Goku (a wry update of the classic Chinese "Monkey King" legend), whose quiet life changes when he meets a girl named Bulma who is on a quest to collect seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are scattered all over the world, and Bulma could use the help of a certain super-strong boy... (In Japan,
Dragon Ball and
Dragon Ball Z were originally a single 42-volume series. VIZ Media's
Dragon Ball contains vols. 1-16 of the original Japanese
Dragon Ball, from the beginning of the series to the climax of Goku's last fight with Piccolo.)
Before there was
Dragon Ball Z, there was Akira Toriyama's action epic
Dragon Ball, starring the younger version of Son Goku and all the other
Dragon Ball Z heroes! Meet a naive young monkey-tailed boy named Goku, whose quiet life changes when he meets Bulma, a girl who is on a quest to collect seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are scattered all over the world, and Bulma needs Goku's help (and his super-strength)! With a magic staff for a weapon and a flying cloud for a ride, Goku sets out on the adventure of a lifetime...
About the AuthorRenowned worldwide for his playful, innovative storytelling and humorous, distinctive art style, Akira Toriyama burst onto the manga scene in 1980 with the wildly popular
Dr. Slump. His hit series
Dragon Ball (published in the U.S. as
Dragon Ball and
Dragon Ball Z) ran from 1984 to 1995 in Shueisha's
Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. He is also known for his design work on video games such as
Dragon Quest,
Chrono Trigger,
Tobal No. 1, and
Blue Dragon. His recent manga works include
COWA!,
Kajika,
Sand Land,
Neko Majin, and a children's book,
Toccio the Angel. He lives with his family in Japan.