"Dragon Baaaaall, the final quest of the seven crystal balls from the stars ..." If you read these words, you started to sing, it's because you grew up with Dragon Ball . The credits of Club Dorothée , sung by Ariane, who died in early September, rocked several generations of children and adolescents. And for good reason: Dragon Ball begins to date. The manga of Akira Toriyama celebrated this week its 35 years! And yet, the work of the awesome mangaka has not aged. Better still, she is still popular with young people (and not so young).
A slow start before planetary success
It was November 20, 1984. Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine , the most popular weekly of manga, published the first chapter of Dragon Ball, written and drawn by Akira Toriyama, already a successful author with Dr. Slump ( at Japan, they appear at first in chapter before being grouped in bound volumes, only format available in France , ed ). A first chapter in which we discover Sangoku, a kid with a monkey's tail and hair in firecracker, launched with his friend Bulma in search of the seven balls of crystal, which once assembled, make appear the dragon Shenron who grants a wish .
"The first chapter promises an interesting but light-hearted adventure story, not much drama happens, it's almost perky!" Recalls Hiroki Gotô, editor of the Weekly Shōnen Jump at the time , interviewed by Europe 1 at the Japan Expo. A comical tone that does not please more than that to readers. Akira Toriyama thus makes some alterations, enhances the personality of Sangoku and especially, makes him participate in a martial arts tournament filled with colorful fighters.
Therefore, Dragon Ball will continue to evolve over 42 volumes and eleven years of publication. Sangoku even becomes an adult in the middle of the series, turning the manga into a series of epic battles. "I had no idea how much the series would be transformed later, it was a surprise from year to year", abounds Hiroki Gotô. Transformed into a warrior of space, the hero develops extraordinary powers: superhuman strength, teleportation and above all, the Kaméhaméha, a beam of energy sent with both hands that all the children fans of Dragon Ball have tried to reproduce at least once .
Each generation had "his" Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball really arrives in France in 1988, in the wave of Japanese animated broadcast in the Club Dorothée , with the generic cult played by Ariane. The young spectators discovered shōnen , a kind of manga for boys mixing titanic battles, surpassing oneself, virile friendship and the importance of the family. Because if Sangoku overcomes terrible adversaries such as Freezer, Cell and Buu, it is thanks to his friends and his family: his son Sangohan, his rival Vegeta and his son Trunks, his taciturn friend Piccolo, the humans Yamcha and Tenshinan, etc.
The recipe, imitated later by all shōnen authors, works miracles and Dragon Ball becomes in a short time a global phenomenon. As a result, it has sold more than 250 million copies of manga worldwide in 35 years! Added to this are six animated series (including Dragon Ball Z , the best known), twenty films and some 70 video games. Each generation has had "his" Dragon Ball . A tradition and legacy that continues today with Dragon Ball Super , Dragon Ball Z suite approved by Akira Toriyama.
A reference of popular culture
The longevity of Dragon Ball and its strong roots in popular culture have sown seeds. Today, footballers, actors and artists proudly claim the legacy of Dragon Ball . This is particularly the case in rap. For years, rappers have used Dragon Ball to color their lyrics and distill punchlines ultra referenced. In 1996, on Does it do it? , title of the album Première consultation, Doc Gyneco compared himself to Vegeta with his "heart of ice". More recently, Nekfeu did not hesitate to recall the flaws of Sangoku and his "suffering heart" in Nekketsu.
And the Dragon Ball madness is far from over. The younger generations of today continue to be bitten by super warriors. Thus, the best-selling manga of 2018 was the 3rd volume of Dragon Ball Super , paper adaptation of the animated series, with more than 100,000 copies sold! And the fourth volume is on the third step of the podium, with more than 80,000 units sold. Same craze in the cinema: Dragon Ball Super: Broly , the last film of the saga, released last March, attracted more than 500,000 spectators in cinemas. The quest for crystal balls is eternal.