Dragon Ball
▶
Our Review
Before the energy blasts that could crack a planet, there was a weird little kid with a tail riding a cloud. The original Dragon Ball is Goku’s childhood: a loose, funny adventure series that slowly turns into the greatest tournament anime ever made.
The early episodes are a gag manga brought to life, and the humor holds up better than you would expect from a show that premiered in 1986. What sneaks up on you is the escalation: the Red Ribbon Army arc and the Piccolo arcs at the end are genuinely tense, and the tournaments are still the gold standard for fight choreography in animation.
Purists will tell you to start here before Z. They are right that it makes Z land harder, but the honest answer is that you can jump straight to Z and come back. If you do come back, you will find one of the most charming animated shows ever produced.
Our take: 8/10. The foundation of the greatest action anime franchise in history, and a great time on its own.
