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Dragon Ball #1-16

Dragon Ball Complete Box Set

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Goku and friends battle intergalactic evil in the greatest action-adventure-fantasy-comedy-fighting series ever!

The Dragon Ball Complete Box Set contains all 16 volumes of the original manga that kicked off the global phenomenon. Also includes an exclusive double-sided poster and collector’s booklet featuring fun Dragon Ball trivia and guides as well as an interview with its legendary creator.

Legend has it that if all seven of the precious orbs called “Dragon Balls” are gathered together, an incredibly powerful dragon god will appear to grant one wish. Unfortunately, the orbs are scattered across the world, making them extremely difficult to collect. Enter 16-year-old Bulma, a scientific genius who has constructed a radar to detect the exact locations of the Dragon Balls. She’s on a mission to find all seven orbs, but first she must convince young Son Goku to join her on her quest. With a monkey tail, superhuman strength and a magic staff for a weapon, Son Goku is ready to set out on the adventure of a lifetime…

3112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

18 people are currently reading
301 people want to read

About the author

Akira Toriyama

1,819 books1,727 followers
Akira Toriyama (鳥山明) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the popular manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball (his most famous work) and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. Toriyama came to be regarded as one of the most important authors in the history of manga with his works highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.
He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo manga with Dr. Slump, and it went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into a successful anime series, with a second anime created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended.
His next series, Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting anime's popularity in the Western world. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts.
In October 2024, Toriyama was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.

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5 stars
449 (69%)
4 stars
146 (22%)
3 stars
40 (6%)
2 stars
9 (1%)
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5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Drew Canole.
3,168 reviews44 followers
March 23, 2023
I've always wanted to read Dragon Ball. I had seen a few episodes of the show and lived while Dragon Ball Z was still all the rage. So it was quite cool to get the opportunity to dive in and read every single page. (Dragon Ball Z is still on the to-read list for now!)

It was super cool to follow Son Goku along from an innocent, but powerful young boy to hero of the world. Akira Toriyama introduces a large cast of characters that all have their own distinct look and personality. The world slowly expands and expands and the creativity is wonderful. At times you get the feeling that Toriyama is just flying by the seat of his pants, but then there's parts where it's clear a lot of thought went into making things gel.

It's a big journey, but something I can certainly recommend to anyone interested in great comics.
Profile Image for Bhavik (Semi Hiatus).
207 reviews97 followers
April 28, 2017
This is definitely one of the best mangas I have ever read which is extremely funny , extremely action packed and the artwork is superb with awesome characters ,both heroes and supervillains!
What could you possibly ask for?
And I am telling you this...I probably haven't laughed as much like this in a while as I read it!
Not to mention the past , present and the future all together? And Brief Capsules? DAAAAAAAAAAMN

Also did I mention that I read the whole Dragon ball + Dragon Ball z manga in just 5 days? It's friggin unputdownable

(This review is same as DBZ as I read it whole under Dragon Ball and yes this has to be the most iconic work which inspired many others in coming years and also has inspirations taken from others as well)
Profile Image for ~Cyanide Latte~.
1,823 reviews90 followers
Want to read
November 28, 2019
It's been a long, long time since I last read the full Dragon Ball manga series, and when I saw this box set was available on Amazon for over 50% off yesterday, I had to get it, especially since I've somehow gotten back into the franchise as a SpIn hyperfocus and I want to revisit the entire story as a whole before I get into Dragon Ball Super.

The box set has not yet arrived, and probably won't until Black Friday due to the holiday tomorrow, but when it does arrive, I'll wind up reading through each volume and reviewing them individually. (Actually, since I also picked up Jaco: The Galactic Patrolman as well, I'll probably start with that, then move onto the volumes in this box set.)

However, I did want to say that since I've got the box set logged here on GR as being in my shelves, I'll be returning here once I'm finished to give an overall series review, for those of you who want my thoughts on the complete series as a whole. Not sure who all will be interested, especially since there's probably going to be some inevitable nostalgia bias, but I'm looking forward to revisiting the series and giving a full report about my thoughts on it once I'm done!
Profile Image for Jesse Graczyk.
109 reviews
August 26, 2023
As a dragon ball z kid I missed out on tye dragon ball era. It was great to read the back story without have to watch 200 episodes. So frigen iconic.
Profile Image for MJ.
128 reviews7 followers
April 25, 2023
"You have proven yourself worthy..."
Profile Image for Gean.
19 reviews
December 29, 2023
Absolutely loved this series! So funny and I can't wait to get stuck into Dragon Ball Z 😄
Profile Image for Martin.
58 reviews3 followers
May 2, 2025
I’ve always wondered why I love Dragon Ball so much more than Dragon Ball Z, and I think I’ve finally cracked it. Dragon Ball feels like an adventure, pure and simple. You’re not just watching fights...you’re on a globe-trotting quest for the Dragon Balls, stumbling into pirate caves, dodging traps, battling strange monsters, and toppling evil armies. It’s got that old-school RPG energy where anything could happen next.

There’s something magical about training under Muten Roshi...delivering milk, dodging bees, swimming across shark infested lakes... all while wearing the iconic turtle shell! You climb the Karin Tower in pursuit of strength, and soar through the skies on the Flying Nimbus. The world feels alive and weird and wonderful. And the characters (Bulma, Oolong, Kuririn, Master Roshi, Yamcha, Tenshin even Yajirobe) are quirky, lovable and we feel like we get to know them...for better or worse!

Dragon Ball doesn’t just punch aliens. It wanders, discovers, laughs, and grows. And that’s why I keep coming back.
Profile Image for ellis.
529 reviews6 followers
June 29, 2018
i was worried that my enjoyment of this series would be entirely fueled by nostalgia... i was partially right.
the series makes a whole lot of weird sex jokes & characters make lewd comments and sexually harass women. that sure was bad.
but i also found a lot of good in db. goku is so, so sweet, innocent, and cute.

goku wearing sunglasses
goku saving a mouse from a cave in by putting it in his mouth and running

he's a gem in the anime/manga scene.
i also love bulma, tho she got less and less page time as it went...

fights, especially early on, seemed to drag. there was a whole volume for one fight!!
the story is average, imo, though the scifi/fantasy world is super fascinating to me.
Profile Image for Max McKinnon.
216 reviews7 followers
April 3, 2021
I’ve read this three times now. (This review is for both dragon ball and dragon ball z mangas)

Once as a kid who loved Dragon Ball Z on cartoon network but didn’t see or understand much of it, I went to Barnes and Noble and read the whole thing in a day. Unfortunately Barnes and Noble didn’t have every book in the series so I missed some

I again read it in college, this time everything, from Dragon Ball’s stories of Goku and Bulma to Dragon Ball Z with Frieza, Cell, and Buu.

This weekend I binged through the whole series again, up until the new Dragon Ball Super books that I’m excited to get into now.

There’s so many nice memories in these stories. So much intensity, struggle, and progression. The philosophy scattered in is really great too, such as an Android being the one that snaps Gohan into harnessing his emotion.

Dragon Ball is more of the backstory of Goku.

There are a number of metaphors of the journey being the destination. Two examples are when Goku dies and has to run the 1 million km road above hell to meet his next trainer, doesn’t need any water/food/sleep since already dead, the challenge is pushing harder and harder, and that itself is the training. Similarly with the legendary Z sword, Gohan training to pull it out, as well as training to use the stupidly heavy thing, was the reward itself. It turned out the sword was just a dumb very heavy sword.

Lots of comedy as well. The weigh in world tournament where everyone was trying to hide their real strength on the measurement device then Vegeta simply destroyed it was so funny.

Also it was a great scene funny and feel good scene where Hercule takes credit for the victory over Cell, befriends the nice Buu, and through this he is actually the one that helps defeat evil Buu by asking his fans to hold up their arms after Goku and Vegeta fail to get any response on their same request.

Adding to the top all time list. Looking forward to my fourth read through at some point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jacob James.
68 reviews1 follower
November 18, 2025
Read via the Shonen Jump app. The fact that the app subscription is $2 a month is insane.

Aside from the lewd jokes that didn't age well at all, this is about as fun, if not more so, than the original TV series I remember watching as a kid. I never read the manga before, so I was interested in how it is paced, as well as catch storylines that I missed growing up without the ability to read the physical volumes.

It is clear that this is for kids; it lacks the depth that I'm in increasing need of from the media that I read/watch. Still, no regrets in reading all of this. Curious to see how DBZ reads next.
50 reviews2 followers
June 5, 2024
Because of the passing of Akira Toriyama Sensei I decided to honor him by reading all of the Dragon Ball manga. I watched DB and DBZ anime when I was in college and have always been a fan, but never had the chance to read the manga up until now. I read all of it, and loved it. I hadn't watched Super, but that's also something I'm doing now. Reading it in manga form is a little bit different, but you can appreciate the genius of Toriyama, the graphic design, the values, the fun, it was a great experience.
32 reviews
December 10, 2018
This is one of the most revolutionary manga ever made. It was a fantastic read and I am well aware of this series faults, but I don't care much about them because of what this series did for manga. It literally revolutionized the medium creating a path for every major shonen series after it to follow. Not the best manga ever made but still very enjoyable and good. Overall I would give this a 9/10 (this is both my dragon ball and dragon ball z manga review).
Profile Image for Ciaran Hyland.
8 reviews
December 19, 2025
The first arc is very good, just incredibly charming but as soon as you hit the second as arc with the introduction of Kuririn/Krillin the manga hits it's stride and does not let up till near the end.
Profile Image for Seban Pulickan.
13 reviews
December 26, 2024
Yes, it is a product of it's time, and no, I still love the original to death. It was so freaking funny but got emotional and serious when it needed to be.
Profile Image for David.
123 reviews6 followers
February 8, 2021
Una infancia hecha dibujo. Horas de diversión y de un Goku niño que nos transporta a la niñez en la nube Kinton. Héroe.
Profile Image for Guido.
1,186 reviews8 followers
August 14, 2020
Caja inconseguible que a su vez recopila los primeros 16 tomos de la edición argentina, varios de ellos difíciles de conseguir. Incluye las sagas que años después se reeditarían en la colección Color como Saga Origen y Saga Piccolo Daimaoh.
Profile Image for Tyler Davis.
Author 1 book1 follower
April 5, 2021
**3.5

Wow, 16 Volumes later I must say, Dragon Ball is a classic even if it ain't all that great.

Dragon Ball is Akira Toriyama's first venture into the adventures of Goku and friends, and it's magical albeit a little rough. It definitely doesn't hold up to 2021 social standards in terms of sexualization and while it does feature many fun female characters like Chi Chi, Bulma, Lunch, and the Crone, it is still an important point for those who don't enjoy reading material that doesn't quite hold up in that regard. But for me, that doesn't take away from what makes it great.

Dragon Ball ain't deep, dark, or even that well written, but it's full of heart, passion, and love. My love of manga as a medium is much to do to how personal it feels.. It's a single creator building and it's always something that feels special. From Horimiya to Bleach. From Ayako to Mob Physco, it always feels special. Dragon Ball is no different. Sure it's a battle manga about collecting McGuffins but it never feels like anything else. It's wild and I love it, and while I can't reasonably give it more then a 3.5 because it has some real storytelling issues, Dragon Ball is just special.

And to me, a special and personal art, not a corporate piece of entertainment, is worth reading regardless of quality. Dragon Ball's solid, not perfect. The art is great, the fights are awesome and the characters are genuine and humorous.

Try it out. It's not for everyone, especially in today's pretentious literary climate of fake 9,000 iq's, but it's a Japanese Classic.
Profile Image for Nacho.
95 reviews1 follower
April 10, 2025
Si alguna vez digo que me gusta Dragon Ball en realidad me refiero a esta parte. No es que Dragon Ball Z no me guste, porque sí lo hace, pero Goku niño me llama mucho más. Antes de ser la legendaria historia de artes marciales, transformaciones al infinito y enemigos cada vez más fuertes, Dragon Ball eran simplemente las aventuras de un pequeño e ingenuo niño con cola. Y es que no solamente Goku era inocente, sino también la trama; en muchos casos no llevaba a ningún lado, pero esto es precisamente parte del encanto. Hay un nivel de sinceridad y optimismo que no se ve en otras obras, y simplemente es una experiencia mágica.
Desde primaria soy fan de la serie, pero siempre la he vivido por trozos y nunca de la manera correcta; comprensible en cierto modo puesto que el anime es eterno y nunca he tenido la paciencia suficiente pese a que realmente me gusta. Este año falleció Akira Toriyama, el autor, y me pareció que era el momento adecuado de revivir esta pasión y hacerle frente de la manera más directa, leyendo el manga que salió de su puño y letra. Por el momento esto se queda en el capítulo 195 de 593 dado que ahí es donde ocurre la transición a Z, pero esta aventura continuará pronto. Descansa en paz, Akira Toriyama.
4/5
Profile Image for Versus Tai.
75 reviews2 followers
September 15, 2025
Acá deberían venir todas las peleas y personajes involucrados con la serie hasta lo que sería lo inmediatamente anterior a la etapa Z.


Personajes [ch] de estos 16 tomos (en proceso), incluyendo cameos:
ch-bacterian, ch-bulma, ch-chaos, ch-chichi, ch-comandante-red, ch-giran, ch-gyumaoh, ch-jefe-conejo, ch-kami-sama, ch-karin-sama, ch-krilin, ch-lanfan, ch-lobo-hombre, ch-lunch, ch-mr-popo, ch-nam, ch-norimaki-arale, ch-norimaki-senbei, ch-oolong, ch-piccolo, ch-piccolo-padre, ch-pilaf, ch-presentador, ch-puar, ch-roshi, ch-rr-coronel-silver, ch-rr-general-blue, ch-rr-general-white, ch-shen-long-o-polunga, ch-shu-y-mai, ch-son-goku, ch-suppaman, ch-tao-pai-pai, ch-ten-shin-han, ch-tsuru-sennin, ch-upa-y-bora, ch-uranai-baba, ch-yamcha, chi-yajirobee.
Profile Image for Vaith Schmitz.
3 reviews
January 11, 2021
Kid Goku is a jovial pure soul embarking on his quest to save the world countless times. First, however, he must learn to hone his innate talents and will do so by wearing heavy turtle shells, finding girls' panties and fighting in the Tenkaichi Budokai - a tournament with some of the weirdest characters under the sun. In the first part of the Dragon Ball series, Goku will meet all manner of folks, including Oxens, demons and Frankenstein's monster.

It's a great series, lighter in tone than the following Dragon Ball Z series, with quirky characters, vulgar humor and exceptional feats of strength by a cast of soon-to-be superheroes.
Profile Image for Fugo Feedback.
5,084 reviews172 followers
August 30, 2016
Me tardé un buen tiempo en conseguir la dichosa cajita y reseñé el box mil años antes, pero ahí va. Lo bueno de estos "box set" es que te permiten hacer una reseña general de la serie toda en lugar de perderse en las nimiedades de cada tomito. Algún día aprovecharé para hacer tal reseña :P

Y ahora que finalmente se editó completa la serie en edición argentina, quién te dice si eventualmente no le pegaré una releída (aunque a partir del tomo 20 se nota una baja enorme en la calidad literaria de la edición argentina).
Profile Image for Variaciones Enrojo.
4,158 reviews51 followers
Want to read
October 5, 2014
Caja de cartón promocional que incluye los 16 primeros tomos de Dragon Ball en edición argentina. Si bien este manga box incluye todos los tomos de la serie conocida como Dragon Ball a secas, el final de la pelea de Goku contra Piccolo Jr. está incluida a principios del tomo siguiente (primero de la etapa conocida por la serie de tv como Dragon Ball Z.
El Box-set, junto a los de Hellsing (1-10) y Caballeros del Zodiaco (1-28) se puso a la venta en Animate 2010 y hoy resulta inconseguible.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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