I love Dragon Ball. I can’t properly explain why, but I’ve never claimed that my TV habit were sane. Like many American fans, I was exposed first to its sequel series, Dragon Ball Z, on Toonami. They played a fairly butchered version of the start of that show (the Saiyan arc up through the first portion with Freeza’s minions). I had no idea at the time that I had missed out on the real beginning of the story or that it was based on a manga or really anything else. It, Tenchi Muyo, and Sailor Moon made up most of my early anime habit.
It has been many years since I’ve seen just about any of the original Dragon Ball and I’ve never made it all the way through that series. I’ve decided to kick off a new rewatch for myself of the show in order, discussing episodes in roughly groups of 10-15 depending on where the plot points break off. This first post covers the 13-episode “Pilaf Arc” which kicks off the anime.