Dragon Ball
Find your seven Dragon Balls and your wishes will come true! Do you know the secret of the Dragon Balls? They contain the power of magic! Son Goku you are our hero, you fight bravely through the world. Danger lurks everywhere, because everyone is looking for the Dragon Balls!
Nightmare Frieza
The planet-trading despot Frieza is one of the most popular villains in the Dragon Ball universe — and one of the most feared. This is not only due to his character, but his appearance. With his pale skin and different shapes, Frieza is the stuff of nightmares. Literally, because his creator Akira Toriyama based the look on real nightmares he had as a child! With one key exception: Frieza's final form is intentionally smaller and less scary to counter the expectation that monsters get bigger and more vicious the stronger they are.
Why Dragon Ball is so iconic for us!
The other day we had an epic discussion about whether Dragon Ball can accurately be considered a cult classic. We didn't really want to believe our ears, but we went along with it. And we couldn't help making the following observation: all the (supposed) counter-arguments are exactly the reasons why we love Dragon Ball and especially Dragon Ball Z so much! Is it just us? Are we bigging it up too much? Or maybe you feel the same way?
How a minus becomes a plus
The biggest criticism has to do with the way the story was strung out. The fact that Son Goku needs what feels like 20 episodes to gear up to an attack. Or that Frieza announces the destruction of the planet Namek in the next five minutes, but then nine episodes drag by before anything happens. And there are always the strangest side stories that have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. But none of that ever bothered us. On the contrary, we looked forward to each new episode. And afterwards we talked about it with our friends, regardless of the nature or pace of the plot. And the fact that Son Goku subsequently works up to a technique like the Genki Dama only underlines for us how immense the powers are that are being unleashed.
The constant shouting in battle has also attracted negative comments, as has the ludicrous increase in combat power to almost ridiculous levels. But we watched videos of voice actors like Tommy Morgenstern in awe and admire him for his sustained roar. (Which can rival the volume when we sing along to the intro songs — Cha-La Head-Cha-La!) The Power Level, on the other hand, may not always be completely convincing, but it's still a pretty amazing tool to compare Son Goku, Vegeta, Cell, Son-Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks and whatever other characters you fancy.
But we draw the line when Dragon Ball is described as "too wacky". That's exactly the fun bit! When we found out that God was just an alien from the planet Namek? Fantastic! Or that a day lasts a whole year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? Epic! That two warriors can do a silly Fusion Dance to merge and increase their Power Level! It's hilarious! As are iconic quotes such as "Now you're gonna get a taste of my real power!" or the idea of giving a joke figure like Mr. Satan so much time.
Indisputable passion
Honestly, at this point we can stop and just say, in our view, Dragon Ball is absolutely iconic! That's why we still watch old episodes today. Or alternatively, the not-so-old episodes of Dragon Ball Super. Or the successful feature films Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero or Broly. We play games like Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. And we surround ourselves with Dragon Ball merchandise! And as far as Dragon Ball merch goes, the selection has a guaranteed Power Level of over 9,000!
With the right T-shirt (maybe in orange with the Kame symbol!) we share our passion with the outside world, while making space on our bookshelf to accommodate more manga. Meanwhile, we have at least one collector's figure on our desk, our coffee goes into a sensible mug, the couch is lined with matching cushions, and the walls are adorned with epic posters of our favourite anime. And frankly, we couldn't care less if someone disagrees with us about Dragon Ball's iconic status.