Dragon Ball Just Turned 40, and Its First Chapter Still Feels as Fresh as Ever

After news of Akira Toriyama’s tragic passing in March 2024, the world that latched onto his Dragon Ball franchise has never intended to let go. The love for Son Goku manifests in hundreds of millions of manga copies sold, merchandise, and clothing. It’s gotten to the point where the color orange overlaid with a kame symbol is ubiquitous to the point of instant recognition, with fans around the globe throwing their hands up for the Genki Dama in light of Toriyama’s passing.

But Dragon Ball is far more than the fights of Dragon Ball Z, the debates about canon surrounding GT, or the frustrations surrounding the animation of Super without even going into its films. The series began on November 20, 1984 as Dragon Ball in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump with greater hints of comedy-adventure or gag manga than its future as a battle shonen series would suggest. But as fans know, even revisiting the first chapter of Dragon Ball prompts potent nostalgia and admiration for Toriyama’s unique vision that feels as fresh as ever.

Dragon Ball Chapter #1 Still Feels Unique 40 Years Later

Bloomers and the Monkey King

Revisiting the original Dragon Ball still feels worlds apart from even contemporary manga debuts that come and go, with chapter #1 accomplishing far more in thirty four pages than most mangaka can hope. One can see intimate detail and weight in Goku’s punches and kicks, but instead of interstellar conquerors or rival martial artists, he breaks wood or decimates massive fish with one kick. There’s an easy and convincing portrayal of Goku’s otherworldly traits, namely his tail as his original conceptual nod to Journey to the West, but the cultural references don’t stop there.

Dragon Ball chapter #1 also visits Goku’s inevitable comparisons to Superman in the most Goku-coded way possible, attacking Bulma’s Capsule Corporation car as if it were a monster, hoisting it above his shoulders like in Action Comics #1. Able to shrug off gunshots to the face yet totally clueless about women, Goku brings Bulma home, where she discovers a Dragon Ball staged as a shrine to his grandfather. The result is comedic hijinks, wonderfully detailed paneling, a highly approachable introduction to its main characters, and a build-up to a surprisingly tragic backstory, all in Dragon Ball chapter #1.

Akira Toriyama’s Paneling Is Still a Masterclass in Dragon Ball

Some of the Best Spatial Awareness in the Business

Despite Toriyama’s habits to write himself out of corners and various other quirks in Dragon Ball, his spatial sense shown in his paneling is in a class of its own. Toriyama’s art style has influenced much of the manga industry, including contemporary creators of today’s hits and even inspiring new spins on subsequent hits, like Mikio Ikemoto on Boruto. Even something as simple as Toriyama’s unique vehicle designs and depictions of motion feel as if they occupy an authentic 3D space before even considering their applications for action.

Despite Goku not even fighting a human opponent, but rather focusing on an array of beasts and even a pterodactyl in Dragon Ball chapter #1, there’s a degree of flexibility to his style. It’s seen later on in future arcs, such as the World Martial Arts Tournaments, where even silly fights like Krillin vs. Bacterian create visually memorable instances as well as some of Dragon Ball’s most memorable quotes. But Toriyama showed confidence in his work on the earliest chapters of Dragon Ball because, by its debut, he’d had four years of serialized manga under his belt, including Dr. Slump.

Dragon Ball Chapter #1 Engages Reader Curiosity Better Than Most Contemporary Debuts

Shonen Jump Hits Aspire to Toriyama’s Knack for Compelling Stories

With many plot elements merely teased in Dragon Ball’s first chapter, it’s no wonder the manga continued for eleven years and forty-two volumes. It’s a bit of a sad running joke that amid multiple high-profile conclusions like My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen’s ending, new manga try to rise to the occasion and meet the sudden vacuums in their predecessor’s place. While some manga exhibits similar strengths and may gain a following, it’s doubtful they’ll meet Dragon Ball’s benchmark of success with how saturated the medium is now.

That was the magic of Dragon Ball as manga continued to emerge in the United States and elsewhere into the late 1980s and beyond. There are few manga that have lived up to its hype since then. Within the first chapter, and a relatively short thirty-four pages, readers are introduced to Bulma and Goku, the Dragon Radar, a new adventure to summon Shenron (or Shenlong), and an ambiguous story about Grandpa Gohan. The wonder of Bulma’s Capsule Corp technology and Goku’s comical level of childhood ignorance make an instantly compelling introductory chapter.

Even the foremost creators in the medium can return for later series like Toriyama did, only for even their best efforts to go overlooked. Cases like Tenmaku Cinema’s cancellation, even with the creative team of Food Wars behind it, can fail within a year despite plenty of pedigree and quality associated with their names. This was the power and appeal of Dragon Ball, and for new readers, it’s a strong case to check it out as the highest-quality iteration of the series outside a modern-budget anime remake.

Dragon Ball Daima Recaptures the Same Magic of the Original

A New Beginning for All Fans

Meanwhile, the most important consideration given the current trajectory of Dragon Ball is how much the latest anime, Dragon Ball Daima, recaptures the original’s magic. While it’s not a total remake, given the somewhat poorly aged aspects like the early gags surrounding young Bulma, Dragon Ball Daima confidently understands and portrays the adventure Toriyama always wanted to convey. Daima incorporates both Dragon Ball Z and Super elements, but its greatest reference still lies within its throwbacks, such as Goku’s Power Pole from the original series. Within an episode, lore was expanded, and a new grand adventure began.

While much of Dragon Ball Daima’s appeal was tapping into Toriyama’s lightning in a bottle, the structure of its debut episode wisely focuses on what made the franchise great, expanding out from there. It too creates a vast web of mysteries ranging from allegiances within Gomah’s inner circle, why the Demon Realm might not be present in future iterations, all packaged in the best TV-length production the series has ever had. Revisiting Dragon Ball chapter #1 confirms Toriyama’s series isn’t just coasting off nostalgia: its natural appeal as a franchise is the envy of creators worldwide.