Five Strange Dragon Ball Facts

When a franchise has been around for decades, you can almost guarantee it’s gained some interesting stories over the years.

Shows like The Simpsons have tons of cultural connotations attached to them, and their trivia can be contained in any number of books. Over in Japan, Dragon Ball has a similar reputation given its global fame and unilateral appeal.

Created by Akira Toriyama back in the 1980s, Dragon Ball began as a simple manga and has since become a worldwide phenomenon. The franchise has published hundreds of manga chapters, anime series, video games, movies, and more. So, naturally, there are plenty of fun-facts fans can glean from Dragon Ball’s long history.

Here at ComicBook, we are breaking down some of the best facts about the shonen title. So, if you have a thing for Vegeta or want to know more about Piccolo, click on through the next slides.

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Piccolo is a lot younger than you might think. The character’s race grows faster than normal humans or Saiyans. As such, the Namekian was fully grown at age three and goes off to fight Goku. By the time Dragon Ball Z kicked off it’s Saiyan Saga, the character was just four years older than Gohan.

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Goku’s voice actor for the English dub passed out when recording the character’s transformation into Super Saiyan 4. You’ve got to give it to Sean Shemmel. He doesn’t quit.

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Goku is a pretty great guy, but he does have a pretty intense temper. Over the course of Dragon Ball, the hero has beatdown plenty of baddies, but Goku has only killed two personally. First, there was Yakon, but Babidi’s accomplice was taken out accidentally. And, when Goku killed Kid Buu, the pink alien was later reincarnated into one very sweet child named Uub.

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Dragon Ball Z has a lot of fights. In the anime alone, more than 180 battles were held. And, when Goku faced off against Freeza for their final battle on Namek, the fight lasted roughly 3.5 hours.

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Do you remember Launch? Well, if so, then you are already more in the know of Dragon Ball than its creator. Akira Toriymama has famously forgotten aspects of the series, but he ultimately left out Launch after Dragon Ball Z introduced Raditz. When asked why, Toriyiama gladly admits that he simply forgot she existed.