Dragon Ball is one of the best anime series of all time, with the series still going strong to this day courtesy of the new interest brought about by Dragon Ball Super. The interest in this series reached new heights with the advent of Dragon Ball Z, with Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, and the rest of the Z Warriors becoming incredibly popular all over the world.
While many people may say that Dragon Ball has a lot in common with most other popular battle shonen anime, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, many people would argue that many modern shonen anime series are still trying to emulate what made Dragon Ball successful but still haven't perfected the formula set by this series.
1 Epic Transformations
If there's one thing Dragon Ball is synonymous with, it's the many transformations that have come from this series. Watching Goku turn into a Super Saiyan is still immensely epic to this day, with pretty much everyone recognizing the spiky blond hair and green eyes that are a part of this transformation.
This color grade was so consistent across Dragon Ball Z that most people simply couldn't imagine any other color for a Super Saiyan, and that's when Super came in to break the mold. Of course, the villains also transform into unique and powerful entities that have also become quite memorable in their own right.
2 Unique Fusions
The idea of fighters fusing together to combat a threat sounds pretty simple, but it's the infinite possibilities afforded by this technique that make it such a blast to witness in Dragon Ball. To this day, many people associate fusing with Dragon Ball, which shows how well the series used this technique and allowed fans to experience a whole new level of fanservice that tied in pretty well with the main story.
Gotenks, Vegito, and Gogeta are some of the most popular characters in anime history, being used sparingly throughout the series and having a massive impact whenever they make an appearance. No other anime has nailed fusion the way Dragon Ball has, becoming another iconic part of a series that is full to the brim with so many crazy power-ups.
3 Earth-Shattering Battles
There's no denying that many other battle shonen anime feature large-scale battles between two individuals, with the consequences of said battle being truly mind-blowing. However, the first that comes to mind when it comes to destructive combat is usually Dragon Ball, simply because of just how over-the-top and awe-inspiring some of the powers used in these battles are.
At this point, most fighters have enough power to destroy entire planets and solar systems if they wish, which is a testament to just how powerful the characters of Dragon Ball really are. Even the sturdiness of a galactic arena made solely for combat between the most powerful fighters of every universe can't bear the immense scale of destruction that follows.
4 Switching Between Different Genres
Given how epic and high-stakes Dragon Ball has become, it's fair that most people may not even remember how the series started. Goku was nothing more than a child who did eventually learn to use ki in battle against his opponents, but the scale of those attacks was nowhere near as immense as the levels that have been reached now.
Dragon Ball used to be an adventure anime before shifting more into cinematic battles, with Goku growing up just so that Toriyama could draw fighters that didn't stretch the limbs of kid Goku to impossible lengths. Not many manga series survive this shift in genres, but not only did Dragon Ball pull it off, but it became even more successful because of this masterstroke of a decision.
5 Showing The World Evolve And Grow
The universe of Dragon Ball is never stagnant and doesn't stick around for too long, keeping things fairly fresh and exciting. Time skips happen numerous times and characters grow from children to fathers, with their sons reaching adulthood too. The characters of Dragon Ball have a deep and established legacy that makes even the weakest Dragon Ball side characters have an impact of their own.
This is a great move that ensures people won't get bored of the same setting in Dragon Ball. While Dragon Ball Super didn't really feature this growth, the advent of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero showed teen Goten and Trunks for the first time in this continuation, which is a promising sign of what's to come.
6 Maintaining Long-Lasting Popularity
Dragon Ball Z's run ended all the way back in 1996, with the English dub lasting for a few years after that. The end of Dragon Ball Z came after a lengthy set of episodes, but fans were so enamored by this series that they never stopped talking about it years after it ended. The inflow of regular Dragon Ball content in the form of games and action figures definitely helped.
As a result, when Dragon Ball Super came out, pretty much no one was surprised that it absolutely shot up the ranks to become one of the most popular anime once again. The new Dragon Ball Z movies had hyped many fans up for this new anime, with Dragon Ball jumping right back into the mainstream once again.
7 A Wonderful English Dub
It's a common thing among most people that anime should be watched subbed with Japanese voiceovers to truly capture the essence of the medium. This is true for pretty much every show, barring Dragon Ball, which has one of the best English dubs of all time and is simply unwatchable for many without the iconic English voices that everyone has grown to love.
This was very important for the rise of Dragon Ball, with an epic English dub coupled with original music from Bruce Faulconer endearing the series to a new generation of children who would grow up and fall in love with the series. It also helps that Dragon Ball Z Kai smoothed out some of the edges and gave people an easy-to-watch series chronicling the events of Dragon Ball Z with everyone's favorite English voices coming back as well.