Dragon Ball is a Japanese franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The original manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from 1984 to 1995, with 519 chapters collected in 42 volumes. Dragon Ball Z is a tankōbon series by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was initially inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West" as well as Hong Kong martial arts films. The series follows the adventures of the protagonist, Son Goku, from his childhood to adulthood as he trains in martial arts. He spends his childhood away from civilization until he meets a teenage girl named Bulma, who encourages him to join her adventure to explore the world in search of the seven spheres known as the Dragon Balls, which, when gathered, summon a wish-granting dragon. Throughout his journey, Goku makes several friends, becomes a family man, discovers his alien ancestry, and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom are also seeking the Dragon Balls.
Toriyama's manga was adapted and split into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which aired in Japan between 1986 and 1996. In addition, the studio has developed 20 animated feature films and three television specials, as well as two anime sequel series titled Dragon Ball GT (1996-1997) and Dragon Ball Super (2015-2018). From 2009 to 2015, a revised version of Dragon Ball Z titled Dragon Ball Kai aired in Japan, a recut that follows the manga's story more faithfully, removing most of the material that appears exclusively in the anime.