Dragon Ballis easily one of the most notable anime of all time, with the massive popularity ofDragon Ball Zleading to this shonen series becoming a key piece of pop culture. From incredible powerups to awe-inspiring fights, the series is full to the brim with some of the most memorable and epic moments in shonen history. Akira Toriyama certainly brought his A-game when it came to penning this legendary manga.
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Most people consider the anime to be slightly less enjoyable than the manga due to the drawn-out fights and unnecessary filler. However, regardless of its faults, there are some avenues where the anime surpasses its manga counterpart. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the most notable ways in which theDragon Ballanime ends up being a marked improvement over the manga.
10Fight Scenes That Truly Feel Epic
The fight scenes inDragon Ball’s manga are certainly great in their own right. However, even the most ardent fan of the manga has to admit that it’s the anime that truly makes these fights feel all the more epic and powerful.
From massive punch rushes to blinding beam attacks — theDragon Ballanime pulls no punches in this department. It’s easy to see why most of the fights inDragon Ball Zhave remained legendary to this day.
9A Score That’s Amazing For Both The Japanese And American Counterparts
This might be an unfair point to bring up, since it’s obvious that the manga would be incapable of incorporating audio into the overall experience. However, props must be given to theDragon Ballanime for featuring an excellent score that is infinitely watchable.
This is especially true in the case ofDragon Ball Z, with both the Japanese and American counterparts featuring unique scores of their own that have gone down in history as some of the best anime scores of all time. The American score is especially notable in this regard, with Bruce Faulconer becoming a legendary figure due to his amazing score for the anime.
8The Transformations Feel More Awe-Inspiring
A big part of what makesDragon Ball Zso legendary isthe numerous transformationsundergone bythe major players of the series. These are present in the manga as well, but these moments don’t really feel as epic as their anime counterparts.
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Watching Goku and Vegeta reach new heights in powerover the course of the series is a visual treat for the ages.These transformationsare further bolstered with the addition of great animation and music that help them stand in a class of their own.
7The Z Fighters Only Team Up Against Cell In The Anime
This might be a minor change, but it’s indicative of how badly the side cast ofDragon Ballis shelved over time in the manga.During the Cell Games, the entire Z Fighter force bands together in a bid to distract Cellduring his fight with Gohan.
However, in the manga, only Vegeta has the honor of distracting the powerful android. This leads to the other Z Fighters feeling rather useless as they watch helplessly from the sidelines.
6The Fanservice Has Been Toned Down In The Anime
A big sticking point that ends up annoying fans to no end in most anime and manga is the unnecessary level of fanservice that hampers a person’s experience. TheDragon Ballmanga is especially guilty in this regard, featuring copious amounts of fanservice in areas where it was completely unwarranted.
The anime still features moments of fanservice that can be incredibly annoying to bear, at times. However, for what it’s worth, these moments are nowhere near as horrid as the manga, which makes them a bit easier on the eyes.
5The Anime Tones Down The Gore To Make It Less Gratuitous
Another aspect of the manga that has been considerably toned down in the manga is the level of gore in the show. The manga faced no restrictions in this regard and ended up going a bit too overboard, with one rather queasy scene coming in the form of Dr. Gero sucking the life out of a human before ripping his head apart!
Thankfully, the anime shies away from this unnecessary gore. While the amount of blood in the series is fairly high, there’s little to no unnecessary gore strewn across the series. It might be a sore spot for a minority of viewers, but most people would prefer their viewing experience ofDragon Ball Zto be completely untainted in this regard.
4Some Dragon Ball Movies Touch Upon Canon In A Tasteful Manner
The movies ofDragon Ballare also quite notable in their own right. For the most part, the majority of these movies are filler that serve as nothing more than excuses to show off some cool moments that couldn’t be placed in the anime
However, there are some movies that end up touching upon canon moments in the series that didn’t get their limelight in the manga.Dragon Ball Z Special 1: Bardock, The Father of Goku,Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock, andDragon Ball Z Special 2: The History of Trunksare a few notable mentions in this regard that fans absolutely adore.
3Dragon Ball Kai Took Care Of Most Of The Original Anime’s Issues
There are several faults that one can pick out in the original run ofDragon Ball Z. The fact that the anime was incredibly slow and featured copious amounts of filler was definitely a sticking point that would’ve deterred modern anime viewers from experiencing this epic for the first time.
However, the release ofDragon Ball Kaihas removed all of these issues. Now, episodes feature little to no downtime and are quite enjoyable to get through. The only issue here is the score, and most people can put a fair bit of effort by digging around on the internet to bring either the original Japanese or American score back into the mix.
2Dragon Ball Super’s Anime Adaptation Features More Epic Moments
Dragon Ball Superwas a much-awaited continuation of the events ofDragon Ball Zthat was released two decades after the latter finished its run. It features new powerups, fights, and epic moments that have become legendary in their own right.
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However, viewers who are following the manga will realize that this version is certainly inferior to the anime. Many cool moments are either changed or removed, which makes the act of reading the manga rather painful. Viewers who want to enjoythe definitiveDragon Ball Superexperienceshould stick to the anime instead.
1The Iconic “It’s Over 9000!” Line Exists Only In The Dub
This might seem like a minor point, but most people understand that the “It’s Over 9000!” is easily one of the most iconic parts of the entireDragon Ball Zviewing experience. However, most people don’t know that this line was a mistranslation.
In the original script, Vegeta actually mentions the number 8000 instead of 9000. It’s a small change, but the legendary nature of this dialogue means that even the smallest change is bound to be an unwelcome one.
