The Dragon Ball manga is where the whole franchise begins. Written and drawn by Akira Toriyama, it ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from November 20, 1984 to May 23, 1995, for a total of 519 chapters collected in 42 volumes. In English it is published by VIZ Media, which famously split it into two titles. This guide covers the story, the Japanese and English editions, and why it is still worth reading if you grew up on the anime.
One story, two names
Toriyama wrote a single continuous series, from Goku's first meeting with Bulma to the epilogue with Uub ten years after Majin Buu. Toei Animation was the one that split it in two when adapting it: the Dragon Ball anime covers the first 194 chapters, and Dragon Ball Z starts with chapter 195 and Raditz's arrival on Earth.
The manga itself never changed title in Japan. The split exists only in some Western editions, and VIZ is the best-known case: to avoid confusing readers who knew the TV shows, it published chapters 1-194 as Dragon Ball (16 volumes) and chapters 195-519 as Dragon Ball Z (26 volumes). Other markets did things differently. Italy kept the original title throughout, while Spain's first edition was divided into two parallel lines at a different point, during the Frieza saga.
How the series evolves
Read from the start and you will see a manga reinvent itself. The early volumes are an adventure comedy loosely inspired by the Chinese classic Journey to the West: gags, chases and the hunt for the Dragon Balls with Bulma, Oolong and Yamcha. Then comes training under Master Roshi, the World Martial Arts Tournament and the Red Ribbon Army, and fighting gradually takes over: King Piccolo, the Saiyans, Frieza, the Androids, Cell and Majin Buu.
Toriyama's linework changes too, from the round, cartoonish shapes of the mid-1980s to sharper, more muscular figures in the 1990s. What never changes is clarity: even in the most chaotic fights, you always know who is hitting whom and from where.
Japanese editions
- Tankōbon (1985-1995): the original 42 black-and-white volumes, given refreshed cover designs on reprints from 2009.
- Kanzenban (2002-2004): 34 larger volumes that restore the color pages from the magazine, with new covers by Toriyama and a picture that runs across the spines.
- Full Color (2013-2016): 32 digitally colored volumes grouped by story arc. Shueisha started with the Saiyan arc and only later released the kid Goku chapters.
- Sōshūhen Chō Gōku Den (2016-2017): 18 magazine-sized volumes that recreate the original Jump serialization, color pages and chapter previews included.
For the 40th anniversary, Shueisha released a 42-volume box set in February 2026, with alternate covers drawn by 42 different manga artists.
The English editions from VIZ Media
VIZ has held the North American license since the late 1990s and has repackaged the series several times. Here are the main versions.
| Edition | Years | Volumes | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly comics | 1998 – 2000 | – | Single chapters in comic book format, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z side by side |
| Graphic novels (Shonen Jump imprint) | 2003 – 2006 | 16 + 26 | The classic split edition, completed in 2004 (DB) and 2006 (DBZ) |
| VIZBIG Edition | 2008 – 2010 | 5 + 9 | Three volumes per book in a larger format |
| 3-in-1 Edition | 2013 – 2016 | 14 | The first English release under the single title Dragon Ball |
| Full Color Edition | 2014 – 2017 | – | Large-format color volumes covering the Saiyan and Frieza arcs |
The English manga has a censorship history worth knowing. In 1999 Toys "R" Us pulled the books after a parent's complaint, and VIZ began editing nudity and innuendo in 2000. A fan petition with more than 10,000 signatures followed, and VIZ restored the material with a "13 and up" rating, though some later printings still alter details such as gun scenes.
Which one to buy
For most readers the 3-in-1 edition is the best balance: the whole story in 14 volumes, under one title, with the familiar VIZ translation and some kanzenban cover art. It is still not entirely uncut, so purists should know that going in. Collectors who want color pages for the Saiyan and Frieza arcs can look at the Full Color books, which leave the Japanese sound effects in place. The old split graphic novels are easy to find secondhand and are fine if you only want Dragon Ball Z, but starting there means skipping the half of the series that builds the characters.
Outside North America, the same VIZ format was used in the UK (first by Gollancz, then by VIZ itself) and in Australia and New Zealand through Madman.
Did you know? The kanzenban is more than a reprint. Along with the new covers, Toriyama used it to slightly touch up the ending, so readers of that edition get a final chapter that differs a little from what Jump readers saw in 1995.
Why read it if you have seen the anime
- Pacing. There is no filler. The battle on Namek, which stretches across dozens of TV episodes, takes a handful of volumes on the page.
- Comedy. Toriyama's gags land better with his own timing, and plenty of visual jokes never made it into the adaptation.
- Panel craft. Toriyama was a master of layout: a few speed lines, clean backgrounds and blows that feel heavy. That is why so many shōnen artists cite him as a model.
- The author's version. No anime-original episodes and no out-of-continuity movies, just the story as Toriyama told it, start to finish.
If the anime you know is Z, the manga is also the best way to discover the original Dragon Ball, which many fans underrate. If you would rather watch something closer to the comic, try Dragon Ball Kai; for the official sequel on paper, see the Dragon Ball Super manga.
Our take
Forty years on, the manga is still the purest way to experience Dragon Ball. The anime is a piece of TV history, but the printed page is where you see why Toriyama changed Japanese comics: fast stories, characters you can recognize from a silhouette, and fights that read like choreography. Our advice is to start at volume 1, not volume 17. The kid who falls off the Flying Nimbus is part of the hero who becomes a Super Saiyan.