From humble beginnings to multiversal battles, Dragon Ball has undergone a massive transformation. Join us as we explore the most significant changes in the franchise's evolution, examining how the anime has shifted in tone, power scaling, and storytelling over the decades.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're looking at Dragon Ball's evolution… no, not that
00:13one.
00:14We're focusing on the anime here, counting down the top ten ways the canon story has
00:18developed since the original series.
00:2510.
00:29Experimenting with Animation Dragon Ball Z favours a grittier tone and
00:33more angular character designs than Dragon Ball, but both series are consistent in their
00:38own animation styles.
00:45Dragon Ball Super, on the other hand, was actively experimenting with each new release.
00:50Dragon Ball Super Broly was a completely new look for the franchise, with CGI segments
00:56breaking up a fresh art style.
00:58Likewise, Super Hero changed the game by using only 3D animation.
01:03The anime stuck with the crisp and colourful new tone, debuted in Battle of Gods, but the
01:08movies continue to make full use of modern graphics.
01:14Daima on the other hand has gone with a unique mix of old and new, and could potentially
01:19be the franchise's standard going forward.
01:249.
01:26There is always a higher deity Fans who came on board the franchise with
01:30Super won't even know his name, but there was a time when Kami was all-powerful in the
01:36world of Dragon Ball.
01:40King Kai emerged early in the sequel, and Kami's role as Guardian of Earth paled in
01:45comparison.
01:47Supreme Kai later appeared, and put both their ranks to shame, but even he is dwarfed by
01:52the Grand Priest and Angels of Super.
01:56They then introduced Zeno, the ruler of everything, and it was hard to imagine there being a higher
02:01rank than a literal Omni-King, but Daima introduced Rhymus, the creator of the multiverse outside
02:09of the Demon Realm.
02:10The universe continues to expand, and Dragon Ball continues to surprise.
02:218.
02:25Death no longer matters Krillin's death in the original series was
02:29a genuinely shocking moment.
02:31Not only was it the first time we lost a major character, but there was no guarantee of bringing
02:36him back.
02:44Finding the Dragon Balls was no easy task back then, and even if they were found, Shenron
02:49drove a hard bargain.
02:51In the current story, the Dragon Balls are always on hand, and Shenron has had plenty
02:56of upgrades.
02:57Even by the end of Z, the destruction of an entire planet was a minor inconvenience.
03:05Emotional sacrifices like Vegeta's and Piccolo's lost their weight when the characters quickly
03:10returned, and to finish where we started, Krillin's death became a running joke.
03:187.
03:20The Dragon Balls play a different role The original series is named Dragon Ball for
03:24a reason.
03:25The wish-granting orbs were central to the story, as our heroes risked it all just to
03:31get their hands on them, or stop their enemies getting there first.
03:34Both sides had to be careful what they asked for, though.
03:41Shenron granted just one wish back then, with a year's wait before he could be summoned
03:46again.
03:47Nowadays, no such limits exist, and Bulma keeps them close at all times.
03:51The Dragon Balls are an afterthought, rather than something to move the plot forward.
03:59This is evident in recent uses, which include Bulma's wish to counter aging, and the balls
04:05themselves being reduced to a game show prize.
04:08Daima, however, has tried to increase their importance with the Demon Realm Dragon Balls,
04:14where our heroes have to defeat the powerful Tamagami in order to obtain them.
04:196.
04:21Goku is not the same hero It's only natural that Goku has changed
04:25over the years.
04:27But how much of that change is down to character development rather than writing inconsistencies
04:31is up for debate.
04:33Goku spent his childhood surrounding himself with friends and loved ones.
04:37He gave everything else up to spend five years raising Gohan.
04:45This Goku carries all the way through to Namek, where Krillin's death sends him over the
04:50edge.
04:51At some point, Goku's love of fighting outweighed his sense of duty.
04:55He not only abandons his friends and planet, he considers everything other than training
05:00a waste of time, and puts his own family's lives on the line to challenge himself.
05:10Even Vegeta is considered a better father these days.
05:185.
05:21Mistakes keep growing Dragon Ball never ventured off Earth, and
05:25King Piccolo's plan for world domination was its biggest threat.
05:37That all changed when the Saiyans emerged at the start of Z, and Vegeta was shown to
05:42blow up planets with ease.
05:44Frieza and Kid Buu continued the trend, reducing entire worlds to dust all across the universe.
05:57Where did Dragon Ball Super have left a go but the multiverse?
06:01The latest anime in the timeline saw the universe's battle to avoid total erasure a far cry from
06:07the literal down-to-earth tone of Dragon Ball.
06:10But it will be interesting to see how much room the mistakes have left to grow.
06:204.
06:24Super Saiyan is less special Goku's Super Saiyan transformation is so
06:28iconic because we'd never seen anything like it before in Dragon Ball.
06:33Or any anime, for that matter.
06:41Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 is a direct continuation, a perfection of the ascended form demonstrated
06:48by Trunks and Goku.
06:50Then things got out of hand.
06:52Super Saiyan 3 gets a spectacular debut, but doesn't have the same build-up or emotional
06:57weight.
07:01In Super, we've seen Saiyan hair turn red, blue, pink and grey, and the original golden-haired
07:07form drops further down the pecking order with each colour.
07:12Super Saiyan, once an unachievable goal, has become the bare minimum for anyone who wants
07:17to keep up.
07:233.
07:27The tone has shifted one way, then back again.
07:30In any long-running anime series, it's normal for the stakes to grow, and the animation
07:35to undergo changes.
07:36Dragon Ball goes a step further, however, and shifts between entire genres.
07:47The original series is first and foremost an adventure comedy, with a few great action
07:52sequences to break it up.
07:54Z runs with that action, with a harsher animation style to reflect the high stakes and buff
07:59physiques.
08:07Dragon Ball Super wants the best of both worlds, with flashy and high-energy action to complement
08:12its colourful animation, but a much lighter tone than its predecessor.
08:17It's hard to imagine Z-Goku having such a good time at a tournament to decide the fate
08:22of the multiverse.
08:23Diamond definitely returned to more of its adventurous roots, but it still maintains
08:28some excellent fight sequences that are reminiscent of later series.
08:372.
08:41Dragon Ball characters have faded into obscurity.
08:45At its heart, Dragon Ball was a very human story.
08:48Before we knew his origins, Goku himself was seen as nothing more than an overpowered kid.
08:57Goku was trained, supported and seriously challenged by his human companions.
09:05Master Roshi was the power benchmark, Tien Shenhan and Yancha actually beat him in fights,
09:11and Bulma was there every step of the way.
09:14That all changed when the Saiyans arrived with their scouters, and power levels became
09:19the name of the game.
09:26The humans were quickly left behind, and the series may have lost some of its relatability,
09:31but we got to witness the rise of Vegeta, Gohan and others in return.
09:561.
10:00Power scaling is off the charts.
10:03Fights in Dragon Ball were usually decided on skill over strength.
10:07Dragon Ball Z puts numbers to power levels, which were supposed to help keep track of
10:11the strongest characters, but only really succeeded in creating a worldwide meme.
10:24In Dragon Ball Super, we see the dangers of applying logic to power levels.
10:29The likes of Krillin, Master Roshi and Android 17 take impossible wins with little in the
10:35way of training or transformations since the Z days.
10:39Tien loses out to once weaker characters despite doing nothing but training, Frieza bypasses
10:44the entire Z power scale in just four months, and Trunks jumps from Super Saiyan 2 to God
10:51Slayer in a single rage boost.
10:53So much for keeping track.
10:58Which of these changes were for the best, and which have you powering up in rage?
11:02Let us know in the comments below.