Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール Doragon Bōru?) is a manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The manga series began serialization in the Shōnen list from 1984 to 1995 with 519 chapters and was later published in 42 thick volumes by Shueisha. Contrasting with the Chinese novel Journey to the West, the series depicts Son Goku’s journey from childhood to adulthood, through his quests to learn martial arts and explore the world in search of the Dragon Balls. wish from the sacred dragon. Throughout Son Goku’s journey, he has met many friends and fought off villains who intend to use wishes from the sacred dragon to rule the world.