Rank 2: Dragon Ball
- Release: 1986 to 1989
- Episodes: 153
What is it about? The 16-year-old inventor Bulma has one goal: she wants to search for the 7 Dragon Balls to fulfill her wish of having a perfect boyfriend. During her journey, she meets a little boy named Son Goku. She is astonished to discover that the boy has a tail and superhuman powers.
She takes the boy with her on her journey, and together they encounter further quirky characters like the pig Oolong or the desert bandit Yamcha, who falls head over heels in love with Bulma. Meanwhile, Son Goku learns from the Turtle Hermit to maximize his powers and participates in the Great Martial Arts Tournaments to measure himself against others.
Why is the anime in this position? With this series, the entire anime franchise began 40 years ago. It’s no surprise that the nostalgia factor kicks in here. This foundation established many rules of the world that still apply today, such as the concept of the Dragon Balls or Son Goku’s iconic Kamehameha.
Dragon Ball was initially much less serious and not yet molded by galactic beings as in later series. Instead, it is very focused on its own roots and is more of an action-comedy, where we go on a grand adventure. However, it must be said that many jokes from the 80s do not hit as well today as they used to.
