Cold Reception
- Studio
- Tôei Company Ltd., The Ocean Group (US Dub)
- Distributor
- FUNimation Productions Ltd., Pioneer Entertainment, YTV
Synopsis
Goku is dragged into his most exciting adventure yet, literally. The treacherous Red Ribbon Army threatens a peaceful village. Soldiers ravage the land in search of another Dragon Ball, destroying anything that gets in their way. And a dark secret looms in a mysterious tower, which holds the source of the villager's woes. But forget all of that, Goku discovers snow!
Characters
Goku, Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha
Credits
Directing
Writing
Animation
- Animator
- Minoru Maeda, Ryukichi Takauchi, Masayuki Uchiyama
Voices
- Voice
- Stephanie Nadolny (Goku), Tiffany Vollmer (Bulma), Bradford Jackson (Oolong), Christopher Sabat (Yamcha)
Music
- Music
- Shunsuke Kikuchi
Crew
- Design
- Tadamasa Tsuji, Yuji Ikeda
Production notes
Release date reflects first US showing on Cartoon Network.
Akira Toriyama, the series' creator, incorporated elements from "Journey to the West." In 1984, he revamped his early strip "Dragon Boy," publishing it as "Dragon Ball."
The resulting anime series ran in Japan for 153 episodes until 1989, but only 26 ran in the United States before distributors FUNimation discontinued the series, relaunching the franchise with "Dragon Ball Z."
Three 45-minute theatrical films were released. Daisuke Nishio's "Dragon Ball: Legend of the Dragon" (1986) introduced villains Pasta and Pongo. Nisho directed "Dragon Ball: Sleeping Beauty in the Magic Castle" (1987). Kazuhisa Takenouchi directed "Dragon Ball: Marvelous Magical Mystery in the Magic Castle" (1988), in which the cast wandered into the Penguin Village- the setting of "Doctor Slump," an earlier series by Toriyama. Each movie had plots separate from the continuity of the original anime series.
"Dragon Ball Z" ran in Japan for 291 25-minute episodes until 1996, after Toriyama dropped drawing the manga due to exhaustion. Set three years ahead of "Dragon Ball," it included the characters Gohan (Goku's son) and Raditz. Violence and some nudity were edited out for the U.S. release.
Fourteen theatrical spinoff films, running from 14 to 80 minutes, were released twice yearly in conjunction with major school holidays. These were: "Dragon Ball Z" (1989); "The World's Strongest" and "Dead Zone" (both 1991), released in the U.S. after the "Dragon Ball Z" TV series became successful; "Super Sayajin Son Goku" and "Tree of Might" (both 1991, and both released in the U.S.); "Collision: Billion Powered Warriors" and "Extreme Battle: Three Super Sayajin" (both 1992); "Ignite! Burning Fight! Greater Fight! Super Conflict Fight!" and "Galaxy Flex! Very Threatening Guy" (both 1993); "Dangerous Duo! Super Warriors Never Rest" and "Super Warrior Destructive Fist: I Am the Victor" (both 1994); "Return Fusion! Goku and Vegeta" and "Strike Out Dragon Punch: Who'll Get Goku?" (both 1995); and the 80-minute "The Strongest Way" (1996).
A month after "Dragon Ball Z" stopped running, the franchise re-emerged as "Dragon Ball G[rand] T[our]." Directed by Osamu Kasai, This ran for 64 25-minute episodes until November 1997. Emperor Pilaf returned in the series, which had the new characters Pan (Goku's granddaughter) and an older Trunks (son of Bulma and Vegeta).
Joe Chan directed a live-action Cantonese adaptation, "Dragon Ball: The Movie" (1996).
Akira Toriyama, the series' creator, incorporated elements from "Journey to the West." In 1984, he revamped his early strip "Dragon Boy," publishing it as "Dragon Ball."
The resulting anime series ran in Japan for 153 episodes until 1989, but only 26 ran in the United States before distributors FUNimation discontinued the series, relaunching the franchise with "Dragon Ball Z."
Three 45-minute theatrical films were released. Daisuke Nishio's "Dragon Ball: Legend of the Dragon" (1986) introduced villains Pasta and Pongo. Nisho directed "Dragon Ball: Sleeping Beauty in the Magic Castle" (1987). Kazuhisa Takenouchi directed "Dragon Ball: Marvelous Magical Mystery in the Magic Castle" (1988), in which the cast wandered into the Penguin Village- the setting of "Doctor Slump," an earlier series by Toriyama. Each movie had plots separate from the continuity of the original anime series.
"Dragon Ball Z" ran in Japan for 291 25-minute episodes until 1996, after Toriyama dropped drawing the manga due to exhaustion. Set three years ahead of "Dragon Ball," it included the characters Gohan (Goku's son) and Raditz. Violence and some nudity were edited out for the U.S. release.
Fourteen theatrical spinoff films, running from 14 to 80 minutes, were released twice yearly in conjunction with major school holidays. These were: "Dragon Ball Z" (1989); "The World's Strongest" and "Dead Zone" (both 1991), released in the U.S. after the "Dragon Ball Z" TV series became successful; "Super Sayajin Son Goku" and "Tree of Might" (both 1991, and both released in the U.S.); "Collision: Billion Powered Warriors" and "Extreme Battle: Three Super Sayajin" (both 1992); "Ignite! Burning Fight! Greater Fight! Super Conflict Fight!" and "Galaxy Flex! Very Threatening Guy" (both 1993); "Dangerous Duo! Super Warriors Never Rest" and "Super Warrior Destructive Fist: I Am the Victor" (both 1994); "Return Fusion! Goku and Vegeta" and "Strike Out Dragon Punch: Who'll Get Goku?" (both 1995); and the 80-minute "The Strongest Way" (1996).
A month after "Dragon Ball Z" stopped running, the franchise re-emerged as "Dragon Ball G[rand] T[our]." Directed by Osamu Kasai, This ran for 64 25-minute episodes until November 1997. Emperor Pilaf returned in the series, which had the new characters Pan (Goku's granddaughter) and an older Trunks (son of Bulma and Vegeta).
Joe Chan directed a live-action Cantonese adaptation, "Dragon Ball: The Movie" (1996).