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So many newbies, so little time. For those of us who have never experienced Dragon Ball, you need to read this before continuing your journey into the world of the Saiya-Jins. This is the Dragon Ball / Dragon Ball Z / Dragon Ball GT FAQ...
A: Created during the early 80's by a man named Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is the story of a young monkey tailed boy named Goku who gets involved in many misadventures during his growth from childhood to manhood.
The original Dragon Ball (called DB for short) followed Goku in his boyhood years as he searched for the 4 star Dragon Ball owned by his grandfather, then continued into his training, adolescence, and his marriage to Chi-Chi. Dragon Ball ran for about 150 episodes.
Suddenly, the series changed to Dragon Ball Z (called DBZ for short). The series took a more serious nature. It revealed that Goku was a member of an alien race called the Saiya-Jins (english translation: Saiyan)), and he would have to fight his own brother, Radditz. From there, Goku wound up fighting the evil Saiya-Jin prince, Vegeta (who later became a series mainstay and fathered one of the pivotal charachters of the Android Saga, Trunks), then traveling to Namek to do battle with the evil Frieza, then coming back and dieing in battle with Cell, then coming back and fighting Majin Buu. Boy, lots of fighting in this one, eh? The most popular of the three series, Dragon Ball Z ran for over 200+ episodes.
Afterwards, Toriyama declared he was through with the Dragon Ball series. But TOEI Entertainment (the company that released Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z) decided to move ahead without Toriyama. A new writer was brought in and Dragon Ball GT (called DBGT for short) was made. Unfortunatly, the series was horrible. Towards the end of DBGT, Toriyama returned, wrapped it up, and declared there would NEVER be a new Dragon Ball series. The least popular of the three, DBGT only ran for around 60 episodes. There is presently no scheduled date to bring DBGT to the U.S., but with the movie due out late 2003/early 2004, about three handfuls of DBZ movies and more DB eps to bring here, it's going to be surprising in DBGT shows up anytime soon. Of course, there are rumors circulating that FUNimation is dubbing some of DBGT, so who knows?
A: FUNimation Entertainment Ltd. is the American company who owns the rights to American release os DB and DBZ. They edit and dub the episodes, as well as allow certain networks and companies to release them. Though they do their own dubbing, the Saiya-Jin Saga and half of the Frieza Saga were dubbed by a different company, Ocean Entertainment Group, who has also dubbed Mobile Fighter G Gundam and Inu Yasha. CN only airs the FUNi dubs of the later half of DBZ, but you can find episodes on VHS which are dubbed by Ocean.
A: As learned in DBZ, Goku is one of the last members of an ancient race called the Saiya-Jins (or Saiya-Jins in Japan) who were killed by Frieza, once the strongest fighter in the Universe (he was defeated by Goku once he became a Super Saiya-Jin). A monkey-like tail is a common charachteristic of all pure-blooded Saiya-Jin's, though it can be permanently removed.
Q: Why don't Goten and Trunks have tails?
A: It's never really been explained, and Toriyama's very tight-lipped about it. You can click here to read my theories on the subject though.
A: Whenever a Saiya-Jin reaches a power level at or higher than 1,000,000, they may acheive a level called Super Saiya-Jin. In this transformation, there hair will turn gold and stick up more than usual, and there eyes will turn green. There's an entire page dedicated to Saiya-Jin transformations, which you can read by clicking here.
A: Akira Toriyama admitted what created the original Dragon Ball. About 500 years ago, a legend was started about a young monkey king with a magical staff who rode atop a flying cloud and sought 7 priceless, sacred sutras. During his journey, he met a buddhist priest and a smart-aleck pig. Remind you of anything?
A: At the beginning of Dragon Ball GT, Emperor Pilaf from the orginal Dragon Ball returns and we learn of the Black Star Dragon Balls: 7 more powerful, much more sinister Dragon Balls. Pilaf gathers the balls, just in time for Goku to walk by. Pilaf uses the balls to wish Goku be a child again. Unfortunatly for Pilaf, Goku still has the benefit of his years of training and he's rather easily beaten. Unfortunatly, the Earth Dragon Balls are far too weak to reverse the wish, and the Black Star Dragon Balls spread across the entire Universe instead of just the Earth! Thus Goku, Trunks, and Pan (Gohan and Videl's daughter) spend the series going from planet to planet searching for the Dragon Balls. During the battle, they encountered Super 17 (a revamped Android 17), Bebi, and the evil Shenlong. At the conclusion of GT...
SPOILER!!! Click and drag downwards to see the end of Dragonball GT!
...Goku fuses with all 7 Dragonballs and acheives power level 1,000,000,000, making him stronger than the Eternal Dragon himself!
The reason GT was critically panned? While Akira Toriyama had wrote DB and DBZ, he decided to pass on GT and a new writer was brought in. After ratings dropped and the fan base dwindled, Toriyama returned and wrote the last few episodes, then called it quits and declared there would be no more Dragon Ball series. Ever.
Q: What's this I hear about a new Dragon Ball series?!
A: Some fanboys seem to get a sick thrill our of misleading the public. Click here to see what I mean.
A: Goku's son, and the strongest fighter in the world. At the end of the Android Saga, he even surpassed his own father! You can read his bio by clicking here.
Q: Why does it take so long for new episodes to arrive in the U.S.?
A: In all reality, those episodes aren't new! Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT all ended a long time ago in Japan. In order to bring them to the U.S., they have to be dubbed and edited. If you want to get unedited versions with sub-titles, just shop around anywhere like Suncoast or Best Buy. You may also want to search a popular website, such as Yahoo! or even eBay to see if anyone is selling tapes.
Q: Why can't I place the movies in normal continuity?
A: Because they don't take place in normal continuity! All Dragon Ball Z movies just sort of happen and aren't considered legit. That's how Turles was a Saiya-Jin and Frieza had a brother. Consider them bonuses for being a good fan.
Q: But what about Dead Zone and the Garlic Jr. Saga?
A: The Garlic Jr. Saga is a mystery to me too. While all the other movies take place out of continuity, Dead Zone defies logic by taking place in continuity, since it's mentioned in the Garlic Jr. Saga. The best fit is before the first episode of DBZ, but even then it doesn't fit (since no one knows about Gohan in the beginning). The biggest theory is that it wasn't suppossed to happen, and the writers were just really bored and in need of a paycheck...but that's probably not true.
If you have a question on Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT, just send them to me at JCBaggee@yahoo.com and I'll try to answer them!
--J.C. Baggee
