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 ki blasts (kinda like fireballs), and find their enemies 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 entirely 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 Saiyans

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 Saiyans. 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 human, which give them an even superior power. But these half-Saiyans don't care much about fighting.

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The first son of Son Gokû is named Son Gohan (36 years old). He hasn't fought in 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 helped in fights, but just 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, although both of them are increadibly strong.
In Dragon Ball, Trunks first 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 married 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 different sources. The ones that are given here are the ones we use in our comics.

Transformations

Some beings can change their appearance, which usually releases a higher power and fighting skills.

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

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

The monster Freeza (see "the villains" part) and all of it's family have several transformations in which their entire body changes shape.

The Fusions

If two people are the same size and can synchronize their power, they can, by performing a little strange dance, fuse into one being, for a period of 30 minutes.
Half-Saiyans 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), and can regenerate any of their limbs if it's cut.

Some specialize in fighting and can be very powerful. Others specialize 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 a certain number of stars each that differentiate them. One ball contains 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 disappears and the 7 balls spread out around the world, transformed into mere rocks.
After some time, the balls become transparent again, and you can gather and wish again.

You can wish for almost anything, like bringing back the dead to 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 earthlings 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 is 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 twice.

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 than 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 increases accordingly. All of the family was killed by our heroes, who recently turned into Super Saiyans.

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Cell is a genetically created monster, who possess in himself all the skills and powers of all our heroes (saiyans, nameks, humans, and even Freeza). He can heal any wound and regenerate a limb, even his entire self. The only way to kill him is destroying his kernel or nucleus, it's his primordial cell, that can regenerate his whole body.
He was killed by Son Gohan turned into Super Saiyan 2 (a transformation he's not using any more)

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Broly is the Legendary Saiyan. 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 transform into, well, the Legendary Super Saiyan.
Yes in fact, on planet Vegeta, when Son Gokû was just a baby Saiyan named Kakarot, he was constantly crying, and prevented Broly, a baby too, from sleeping. Some grudges just never go away... ;)
He was overcome by the sum of all the team's power. Well.. we thought 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 possible, he always comes back.
He has the magical ability to turn his opponent into candy, which he likes to eat. But worse (if that can exist), 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 their clothes and is shaped like the most powerful being inside him.
Thousands of years ago, Buu killed or absorbed all of the Gods (the 5 Kaioshins) except one. But the most powerful of them, wasn't the strongest, on the opposite, and changed his personality completely. Ever since, Buu was then fat, merry and quick-tempered. Back on Earth with Babidi, he killed his naughty master and became friend with Mr Satan, who taught him to not kill people for no reason.
But, in order to become fully good, Buu separated into two beings. The good one, with the same chubby body, now named Mr Buu, and the bad one, who will fight our usual heroes.
The bad Buu will absorb 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 suddenly 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 definitely defeated.
However, on Son Gokû's request, his soul was reincarnated and the earthling Uub was born. Son Gokû took on him to train him. From Buu's existence now, two beings remain: Mr Buu (kind, but not powerful compared 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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