Dragon Ballis one of the most popular and profitable anime/manga series of all time, and has been a titan for nearly 40 years at this point. However, the series almost died an inglorious death before one story arc turned everything around.
Dragon Balldebuted as a manga in November 1984 to a mostly positive response. However, the series' popularity quickly began lagging, something that creator Akira Toriyama’s editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, constantly pestered him about.Dragon Ball’s adventure-based premise was losing readers, as there wasn’t enough action to keep them entertained.
With the situation beginning to look dire, andDragon Ballat risk of cancellation, Toriyama was forced to make a choice: should he change the nature of whatDragon Ballwas in order for it to survive, or stick to his guns and hope that fan opinions on the series would turn around?
Dragon Ball’s Popularity Drastically Increased After One Arc
The Shift to a Battle Manga is What Saved Dragon Ball
Toriyama ultimately took Torishima’s advice, although only reluctantly. According toan interview translated by fan site Kanzenshuu, Toriyama stated, “I liked adventure more, but it seemed at the time a road manga just wasn’t what people wanted. The setting changes with each chapter. At first, I thought it’d be good to continue it for about a year, but it wasn’t very popular.”
“Torishima-sanwas really on my case about it, saying’nobody likes it!‘and mean stuff like that,” Toriyama continued.“Though I was reluctant to do it, the series’ popularity did indeed start to pick up around the Tenkaichi Budokai… And despite my reluctance, it still felt pretty good.”
As a result of this, Goku began training with Master Roshi and Krillin, learning how to fight better and becoming a martial artist. That ultimately led to chapter 32, which was published in July 1985, introducing theWorld Martial Arts Tournament(known as the Tenkaichi Budokai in Japanese).
The series saw a marked increase in readership as the fights in the tournament began, andDragon Ballwas suddenly no longer on the chopping block. However, Toriyama still didn’t want to abandon the adventure element entirely, and tried to go back to it with the Red Ribbon Army arc. That didn’t work out, and so he eventually went full battle manga.
The World Martial Arts Tournament Defined Dragon Ball
The Tournament Arc Would Be a Recurring Element of Dragon Ball
For some fans, it wasn’t clear whatDragon Ballwas trying to be in these early chapters. It was certainly an adventure with many strange things going on, but there wasn’t much cohesion keeping the story together other than “obtain the Dragon Balls.” Beginning Goku’s training and setting him on a warrior’s path redefined who he was, and gave the manga purpose.
The World Martial Arts Tournament arc had a clear and easy to understand progression: move from one battle to the next, until at last reaching the finals.It was something that anyone could understand and follow, and helpedDragon Ballgain popularity in a ridiculous way. Soon,iconic elements like the Kamehamehawere introduced, andDragon Ballnever looked back.
The most significant might be the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, which Goku finally wins by defeating Piccolo Jr.
The World Martial Arts Tournament would occur several more times throughout the series, often playing an important role in the plot. The most significant might be the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, which Goku finally wins by defeating Piccolo Jr. By theZera, the World Martial Arts Tournament wasn’t treated as seriously, and is often interrupted by villainy.
There are also numerous other tournament arcs inDragon Ball, like the anime-exclusive Other World Tournament, which saw Goku fighting the greatest fighters in history from across the universe, as well as the Tournament of Destroyers and the Tournament of Power inDragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball Changed the Manga Game With This Arc
The Popularity of Dragon Ball’s Tournament Arc Led to Many Others
Dragon Ball’ssuccess with the tournament arcinspired many other manga to follow in its footsteps, leading to a boom in tournament arcs in manga in the late 80s and early 90s, and the tournament arc remains an exceptionally popular tool to this day, used in series likeMy Hero Academia,Hunter x Hunter, and evenDr. Stone.
The tournament arc has become a staple of battle shonen series for a number of reasons. For one, the stakes of a tournament are immediately clear to anyone, making it simple for even children to grasp. Secondly, it allows characters to battle in situations which aren’t life or death, showing off their technique instead of relying on raw power.
Outside of battle manga, tournament arcs are also extremely popular in sports manga, for obvious reasons that mirror reality. While tournament arcs can have some downsides, like a tendency to drag on too long by focusing too much on each fight, they are overall an exceptionally valuable trope for manga writers to fall back on.
Eventually,Dragon Ballmoved away from tournaments to more serious, high-stakes battles, as a way of escalating beyond the previous fights seen in the series.This first occurs withDemon King Piccolo’s arrival in the story, and would become the norm by theDragon Ball Zera, with combatants like Frieza, Cell, and Buu, although Cell had his own tournament, too.
If it hadn’t been for tournament arcs, though,Dragon Ballmight never have lasted long enough to reach these iconic villains, and the anime world as we know it would be incredibly different as a result. Toriyama’s love of the adventure-style story would remain, and he finally would get to help make the kind of adventure story he always wanted withDaima.
In the end,Dragon Ballowes its success to the World Martial Arts Tournament, and perhaps that’s why the event became such a regular part of the story, even playing a role in the final chapters by offering a place for Goku to meet Uub. Of allDragon Ball’s great legacies, the popularity of the tournament arc may be the most influential.
