What is Dragon Ball?

You don't understand anything in this comics? Sure, it's the sequel of Dragon Ball, ten years after the end of Dragon Ball even, so you need to know Dragon Ball, before reading.

As a big summary, Dragon Ball is about fighters with super powers saving the world against very mean monsters with super powers too. All of them can fly, throw fireballs, and find their ennemies by sensing their spirit. But some have their own techniques.

Here are now the characters and the concepts you need to know.

Notes for people who do know Dragon Ball :
1) This page is a summary of what's needed to know at the end of DB, not more. So you will understand many details where dropped.
2) DBGT does not exists.
3) DBM takes places 10 years after the end of DBZ, so 20 years after the Buu saga. The images showed here correspond to DBM design and time.

Note for the others: too many characters? Don't worry, they will be slowly introduced in our comic.

Manga and Cartoon (Anime)

Dragon Ball is a manga, drawn by Akira Toriyama, from 1985 to 1995.
This manga was entierely adapted as an anime, named Dragon Ball, then Dragon Ball Z, this is why sometime we use the term "DBZ".
Most of the images you see here come from the cartoon. All the others were drawn by us.

The Saïyens

They are extra-terrestrials who look like human beings. They come from the planet Vegeta. Natural-born fighters and belliocose, they are at the center of Dragon Ball's story. Their planet was destroyed by the monster Freeza (see part "the villains"). There are only two survivors: Son Gokû, the hero, and Vegeta, the prince of the Saïyens. They both live on the Earth now.

In the beginning, Vegeta hated Son Gokû and always wanted to prove his superiority. In the beginning, Son Gokû was named Kakarot, and was sent on the Earth where he lost his memory and his violent behaviour.

Both have founded a family and have children who are half humain, which give them an even superior power. But these half-Saïyens don't care much about fighting.

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The first son of Son Gokû is named Son Gohan (36 years old). He doesn't fight since a long time, but he was at the end of Dragon Ball, the strongest of all.

The second son of Son Gokû is named Son Goten (27 years old). He help in fights but this really isn't into it.

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Vegeta's first son is named Trunks (28 years old). He is a good friend of Son Goten, and like him doesn't care much about fighting.
While Dragon Ball, a Trunks came from an alternative post-apocalyptic future and took part of the story.

Vegeta also has a daughter named Bra (16 years old).

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Son Gohan gave up on fighting and maried Videl, the daughter of Mr Satan, so-called world's champion in fighting. They have a daughter, Pan (14 years old).

Please note the ages of some characters differ from differents sources. The ones that are given here are the ones we use in our comics.

Transformations

Some beings can change their appearance, which usually release a better power and fighting skills.

The Saïyens and descendants of Saïyens can turn into Super Saïyen (also known as SSJ), if they are strong and skilled enough to. Then their hair become yellow and erected. A yellow aura surrounds them.
If they are more powerful, they can also turn to Super Saïyen level 2 : the hair is longer and the aura is surrounded by electric sparks.
Finaly, a 3rd level exists, that only Son Gokû and Gotenks (see "fusions" part) achieved. The hair become so long they can turn the ground, the eyebrows disappear, and the aura is shaped on a sphere.

Half-Saïyens can transform too. But Son Gohan never transforms, not because of a lack of power (on the opposite), but because a God (Kaioshin) liberated his full potential of power. He doesn't need to turn Super Saïyen and fights immediately with his maximum power.

The monster Freeza (see "the villains" part) and all its family have several transformations where all their body changes of shape.

The fusions

If two people have the same size and can synchronize their power, they can, by performing a little strange dance, fuse into one being, for a time of 30 minutes.
Half-Saïyens Son Goten and Trunks mastered this technique and turn into "Gotenks", who is much stronger than both of them together.

The gods (Kaioshins) also possess earrings named Potala, if two people wear one each, they are fused together, for life. The earrings can be taken off and used again.
In order to fight Buu (see "the villains" part), Son Gokû and Vegeta used potalas to fuse, and became "Vegetto". But unexpectedly, the fusion took off when they were inside Buu. Since then, Son Gokû and Vegeta are back among us.

The Nameks

The Nameks, inhabitants of planet Namek, are wise, powerful, and... asexual. They are green, they speak a Namek language (whereas all the universe speaks English fluently, I'm not kidding!), and can regenerate any of their limb if it's cut.

Some specialize in fight and can be very powerful. Others do in magic and can heal people, or create Dragon Balls (see next part). All can create useful items from thin air, like clothing

Two Nameks live on Earth, in the Earth's God Palace : Piccolo, a fighter, and Dende, a magician.

The Dragon Balls

It's a set of 7 transparent balls containing each stars that differenciate them. One ball contain one star, another 2, etc. until 7 stars.

If you gather the 7, you can call (in the right language) the holy dragon, who appears and grant you one or several wishes. After that, he disappear and the 7 balls spread out around the world, transformed into mere rocks.
After some time, balls become transparent again, and you can gather and wish again.

You can wish for almost anything, like bringing back a dead into life. For example Son Gokû already died two times (Vegeta too), but he is alive today. You can also resurrect several people if you wish it in one sentence. For example all earthling were dead, but they feel better now :)
The dragon can't grant a wish that asks for more power than his creator already has, like destroying a very powerful monster.

One Dragon Ball set in on Earth. Created by Dende, the dragon's name is Shenron, he grants 2 wishes.
Originally, he was created by the "father" of Piccolo and could grant only one wish, and never granted the same thing two times.

Another is on Namek. Created by the Nameks' chief, the dragon's name is Porunga, he grants 3 wishes.
Originally, he could not resurrect more that one guy per wish. He only answers to wishes asked in Namek language, although he answers in a perfect English.

The villains

Numerous extremely powerful monsters threatened the survival of the Earth, or the universe. Almost all of them were destroyed by our heroes.

Freeza, with his father, King Cold and his brother Coola, was the first monster. He possess several transformations, in which all his body changes, and his power is increasing. All the family was killed by our heroes recently turned into Super Saïyen.

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Cell is a geneticaly created monster, who possess in himself all the skills and powers of all our heroes (saiyens, nameks, humans, and even Freeza). He can heal of any wound and recreate a limb of even a whole himself. The only way to kill him is destroying him completly, to the last cell.
He was killed by Son Gohan turned into Super Saïyen 2 (a transformation he's not using any more, as you now know)

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Broly is the Legendary Saïyen. He possess a superpower that never stops growing. He is almost invincible and totally impossible to restrain.
When he was little, he saved himself and his father from the destruction of planet Vegeta, thanks to his already enormous power. His father then made him wear a hair-band that made him unable to use his power. Alas, his meeting with Son Gokû, who he hates since he is born, made him break the hair-band and he transformed into, well, the Legendary Super Saïyen.
Yes in fact, on planet Vegeta, when Son Gokû was just a baby Saïyen named Kakarot, he was constantly crying, and prevented Broly, a baby too, to sleep. Some hatred just never go away... ;)
He was vainquished by the power of all the team reunited. Well.. we think he was !

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Buu is a magical monster manipulated by the wizard Babidi. This candy-pink monster can change of shape, and separate into many pieces, stretch, recover missing bits... as long as he has some power left, he can be blown to bits as many times as necessary, he always comes back.
He has got got the magical hability to turn is opponent into candy, that he likes to eat. But worse (if that can exists), he can absorb an opponent (by surrounding him with his body) and take his power. He can keep in himself as many people he wants, and, it seems, add up their powers. He wears the clothes and is shaped like the more powerful being inside him.
Thousands of years ago, Buu killed or absorbed all the Gods (the 5 Kaioshins) except one, but the more powerful of them wasn't the stronger, on the opposite, and changed his personnality completly. Since, Buu was fat, merry and quick-tempered. Back on Earth with Babidi, he killed his naughty master and became friend with Mr Satan, who teach him to not kill people for no reason.
But, in order to become fully good, Buu separated into two. The good one, with the same chubby body, now named Mr Buu, and the bad one, who will fight our usual heroes.
The bad part will absord Piccolo and Gotenks, then Son Gohan. But even like this, he couldn't win against Vegetto, who willingly got absorbed in order to free his friends. In his body, Vegetto was suddently separated into Son Gokû and Vegeta, who could still free their friends.
Losing his inner support, Buu came back into his original shape, that you won't see here, and was definitly vainquished.
However, on Son Gokû's request, his soul was reincarnated and the earthling Uub was born. Son Gokû took on him to train him. Of Buu's existance now, two things remain: Mr Buu (kind but not powerful comparred to the original) and Uub (human, but with great inner power).

Here it is, you know everything you need to read our comic !

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