Dragon Ball (Japanese: 西遊記 romaji: Saiyűki, ドラゴンボール romaji: Dragon Ball -Doragon Booru)is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama serialized in the weekly anthology magazine Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and collected into 42 individual books.
Originally loosely based on the traditional Chinese folk tale Journey to the West, the story concerned the travels of the young boy Son Goku and his various friends seeking the seven Dragon Balls, which could together summon a great dragon who would grant any one wish.
Later stories began to deal more with Goku's various martial arts battles with a variety of opponents. During the course of the series Goku grew from a young boy to an adult, saved the world numerous times, learnt of his origin as an alien, fathered two children, died, returned to life, visited other worlds, died yet again, returned to Earth and returned to life all the while honing his martial arts skills.
Characters