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Dragon Ball Z is probably the most popular anime series of all time and the recent passing of author Akira Toriyama has shown the impact of the series, even beyond the industry that the franchise is a part of. However, many fans did not have a lot of knowledge of the series beyond the classic anime adaptation of the '80s and '90s, thus leading to quite a divide between the original series and Z.
A lot of people don't know that the original series and Z were just one story throughout the manga, which led to a recent discussion online that showed how some fans don't know the origin of the story.
However, this is a fundamental aspect of the series in terms of tonal shift and something that probably marked an entire generation of anime fans all over the world.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.
Certain anime fans don't know that Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are not two separate stories
Once Goku defeated Piccolo Jr. in the final of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai in the anime adaptation by Toei Animation, the original Dragon Ball series ended there and Dragon Ball Z began with the arrival of Raditz. However, that was only in the anime. This separation doesn't exist in Akira Toriyama's manga, which starts with the Pilaf Gang arc and ends with the Majin Buu one.
Since most people grew up watching Dragon Ball Z, they fail to remember that the separation between those two portions of the story didn't exist in the manga, which was probably due to the fact that, in the West, the source material wasn't very available back in the 90s and early 2000s.
This separation not only surprises people, but also serves as a way to influence the audience's opinion of the story. There are a lot of people who love the Z portion of the series, but have never watched the original Dragon Ball, which is very different from the high-stakes, battle-driven shonen it eventually became.
Fans react online to Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z being part of the same story
Some people in the fandom don't want to accept the fact that Dragon Ball Z is just one portion of the story in the manga. While everyone has their opinions and reasonings, it could be argued that most people grew up with the separation, thus viewing those two portions of the series as separate entities.
"Manga yes. The anime no/yes. As someone who grew up on this series in the west, it was Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. The whole brand and manga redirects to Dragon Ball. It's just a different marketing route. You have your OG content, Z and then GT. The Trilogy."
Other fans like to mark the separation as a way to highlight how the story changed from one point to another.
"Umm yes they are lol. Db is a story showing gokus growth, while dbz is a story of everyone's growth around goku."
Some fans didn't like this separation, which, in a way, did hurt the prospects of the original portion of the series. That is why a lot of people only grew up watching Z and not the original Dragon Ball.
"I really hate that Toei felt the need to brand the second half of the manga as its' own thing."
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