This anime classic is somehow better than its legacy suggests

(Welcome to Ani Ani wherea regular column dedicated to helping beginners understand and appreciate the world of anime.)

Anime is more popular than ever, with major American studios now seeking Japanese studios to collaborate on projects based on major intellectual properties, including “Lord of the Rings” and DC Comics. With dozens of shiny new shows coming out every four months, it’s hard to justify spending time watching hundreds of episodes of an old show with limited animation, especially when the things that made it new have been copied, remixed, and parodied to death.

Take “Dragon Ball” for example. Countless manga and anime, from “One Piece” and “Naruto” to “My Hero Academia” and “Hunter x Hunter,” owe their existence to the late maestro Akira Toriyama and his works. He was Live-action superhero movies like “Superman” pay homage to the classic animated series If Dragon Ball hadn’t sparked a million debates about who could beat Goku in a fight?

It’s easy to underestimate the cultural impact that “Dragon Ball” (and its “Z” series) has had both in Japan and abroad. This is it A franchise that helped save Toonami It turned an entire generation of children into anime fans. Likewise, Dragon Ball itself has become synonymous with anime, with Goku becoming the archetypal anime hero. (Just think how many anime characters have spiky hair just like him.) What other show would bring tens of thousands of people together in the streets of Mexico just to watch a cartoon fight?

All of this means that the legacy of “Dragon Ball” is unparalleled. However, if you watch “Dragon Ball” today, you may find that this is somehow a better classic than its reputation (and our collective memories) suggests.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 40 years, “Dragon Ball” follows Son Goku, a young boy who goes on adventures around the world (and to other worlds) in search of magical Dragon Balls that grant any wish. . From there, the series quickly becomes a superhero story as Goku and his friends battle increasingly stronger enemies to save the world, and sometimes the multiverse.

Let’s get something out of the way first: No, you should never skip “Dragon Ball” and go straight to “Z.” To do so would be to miss out on the genius of Akira Toriyama’s storytelling and, most of all, his sense of humor and comedic timing. The original series is less constant brawling and much more A fantasy adventure inspired by Jackie Chan films This is based on a comedy gag. (The first episode devotes an extended scene to young Goku urinating in a river.) It only takes 11 episodes for Goku and his friends to collect all the Dragon Balls, and even then they are used for the first time in a wishing joke. At every turn, the original “Dragon Ball” is about finding the silliest joke, and with it the most original and inventive joke. Even when the series started introducing big tournament arcs, it was mostly about how cool it was to see little Goku defeat much larger and seemingly stronger opponents (or how he obliterated wave after wave of Red Ribbon Army soldiers).

Take, for example, the parade of villains that Goku faces throughout the “Dragon Ball” saga (including “Z” and “Super”), many of whom aren’t so much threatening or intimidating as they are hilariously absurd and ridiculous. In fact, the first antagonist in Dragon Ball was a petty tyrant without a nose, while the Red Ribbon Army was made up of ridiculous generals. This continued with “Z”, where we met the Ginyu Force (incredibly muscular warriors who are more occupied with striking cool poses than actually fighting), or the lovable Majin Buu who turns people into chocolate and eats them.

The action in “Dragon Ball” is also unparalleled, both before and after the show’s focus shifts. Initially, the series revolves around martial arts, with Tiny Goku pulling off Jackie Chan-style moves (and battling a poorly disguised Master Roshi who calls himself “Jackie Chun”) against dozens of enemies in exhilarating battles. (Part of what makes “Dragon Ball Daima” so good is that it brought back the hotel’s martial arts-inspired combat.) However, even as the show essentially evolves into a superhero adventure, it continues to find new ways to raise the stakes and make each encounter memorable and unique. Individual battles can last for dozens of episodes, but every second is exciting and dynamic. The only reason why “Yu Yu Hakusho” defies anime tropes and conventions The way this works is because “Dragon Ball” defined them in the first place.

Although most of the big iconography of “Dragon Ball” involves Goku fighting, the series is much more than that. Part of the beauty of a franchise is that it can be so many things and explore so many genres. Akira Toriyama probably never planned to produce a series like “Dragon Ball” Or to see it develop the way it did, but he made the most of it and managed to maintain the story as it developed. The plot began as a fantasy adventure inspired by Journey to the West and Chinese mythology and culture, though it also involved a fair amount of Goku fighting dinosaurs. However, Dragon Ball could also contain a lot of futuristic sci-fi technology, as well as demons and aliens from distant planets. Hell, “Dragon Ball Super” even brought on the multiverse.

This is the kind of world-building that goes on throughout and that would go on to inspire anime shows like “Naruto” and “One Piece,” resulting in fully-fledged worlds that maintain a variety of tones and characters that are so solidly written that they’re even recognizable. As they change. In fact, the same Goku who used to walk around not knowing what a car or a girl was in “Dragon Ball” is also the same Goku who became a Superman-like alien with inhuman powers, as well as an absent father who trained in both Heaven and Hell, yet he never… He even manages to get his driver’s license.

Arguably one of Dragon Ball’s biggest contributions to the anime world was its take on friendship and making allies. Before The Fast Saga turned deadly enemies into friends you invited over for dinner, “Dragon Ball” had Goku befriending everyone who once tried to kill him. Krillin went from Goku’s biggest rival as a child to his closest friend, while Yamcha became a core member of the team after once trying to steal Goku. Even Piccolo and Vegeta, who started out as irredeemable villains, ended up changing their ways, with the former becoming a surrogate father to Gohan and Vegeta turning into the best husband in the franchise. Vegeta, in particular, even started a trend of anime rivalries that has lasted for decades and still continues today. Everyone from Bakugou to Sasuke owe their bows to Vegeta becoming Goku’s rival.

It’s been 40 years since the “Dragon Ball” manga entered serialization, and the world of manga and anime has never been the same since. Whether you’re a hardcore anime fan who watched “Dragon Ball Z” on Toonami, someone who’s familiar with every modern battle shonen manga but is afraid to go back to the source, or simply a newcomer who’s never dared to watch “Dragon Ball” because it’s too old or too long. Seriously, let me assure you: the trip is worth it.

Even if you think you know what “Dragon Ball” is because of its reputation or the endless memes and famous quotes, the franchise is so much more than that. It’s a hilarious, action-packed, honest, endearing, bone-crunching, spirit-bomb-launching, father-son Kamehameha shooting saga that has earned its reputation as one of the best anime of all time, and certainly the most popular. Again, there’s a reason why every hero in anime looks or acts like Goku, while time skipping and power ups are equally common in anime. It’s not just that “Dragon Ball” did it first; It’s a show that did these things so well that everyone wants to praise it or copy its influence.

Akira Toriyama may not be with us anymore, but Dragon Ball will live on forever.

Watch this if you like: “Hunter x Hunter”, “My Hero Academia”, “Naruto”.

“Dragon Ball” is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu.