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Dragon Ball is one of the most notable manga series out there. Created by the prominent manga author Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West. The storyline of this manga series features adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through middle age as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which are known to grant any wish. The original publisher of Dragon Ball is the Japanese company Shueisha. Around the world, Dragon Ball is published by Chuang Yi in Australia and Oceania, Viz Media in Canada and United States and Gollancz Manga in the United Kingdom.

Dragon Ball is a shonen manga, meaning that it’s aimed at boys and male demographics. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 through 1995, and later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankobon (books) volumes by Shueisha. In the United States, Dragon Ball circulated in the Shonen Jump magazine by Viz Media.

Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular manga series of its era in both Japan and international market of North America. It has a high readership, with over 150 million volumes of the series sold by 2007. Several manga artists have claimed that the Dragon Ball manga series was the inspiration for their own now popular works, including Naruto and One Piece. Dragon Ball is also very popular, ranking number 12 among the best anime series of all time in 2006. Critics acclaim the art, characterization, and humor of the manga story. The anime series have had more mixed reviews, with the first also praised for its characterizations, but the second was criticized for its long, repetitive fights, and the third series considered repetitive with childish fights and "goofy" character designs.

At its central theme, Dragon Ball maintains the central motifs of the Weekly Shonen Jump core philosophy of "friendship, struggle, and victory." As the series shifts from a "heart warming" story into a more action-oriented work, the protagonists go through an endless cycle of fights, victories, loses, learning important lessons, then returning to fight. As the series progresses, the heroes of the story perpetuate this cycle by using miraculous items to achieve life after death while continuing their on-going battles with the dead heroes who continue to learn lessons as they defeat their challengers. So essentially immortality is a key feature of Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball made its appearances beyond paper. The popular manga series was broadcasted on television and even released in many movies.

The first television series was titled Dragon Ball and it premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on February 26, 1986 and ran until April 12, 1989. Through out its run, there was a total of 153 episodes, covering the first 16 volumes of the 42 volume series.

Dragon Ball Z television series is the continuation to the previous TV series, covering the remaining final twenty-six volumes of the manga series. Dragon Ball Z premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on April 26, 1989, and ran for 291 episodes until its end on January 31, 1996. Dragon Ball Z was shown on Network Ten, Cartoon Network in Australia and Oceania, YTV in Canada, and Cartoon Network in United States and Cartoon Network, Toonami in United Kingdom.

The next animated show of the manga series was Dragon Ball GT, which premiered on Fuji TV on February 2, 1996, and ran until November 19, 1997 with a total of 64 episodes. Unlike the first two series Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT was not based on the original Dragon Ball manga. In Dragon Ball GT, Goku is turned back into a child by the Black Star Dragon Balls and is forced to travel across the universe to retrieve them. Dragon Ball GT was shown on the same TV networks as the previous series.

Dragon Ball series expanded further into animated form with a total of sixteen anime films. The first four movies were based on episodes of the first Dragon Ball anime with a few aspects of the original episodes changed. The remaining 12 films were set in Dragon Ball Z and featured original stories that were based on neither the manga nor the anime. Funimation Entertainment licensed and released all of the films in DVD format in North America. The list of the sixteen Dragon Ball movies includes Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies, Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle, Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest, Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, Dragon Ball Z: Return of Cooler, Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!, Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, Dragon Ball Z: Broly Second Coming, Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly, Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon, Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!.