Dragon Ball, by the legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama, is among the hottest anime franchises on the planet, persevering with to captivate new generations of followers regardless of the passage of time. Because of this, for many years, Son Goku’s journey has been a supply of inspiration for quite a few subsequent anime sequence.
Nevertheless, for the latest followers and those that grew up watching Goku battle and elevating their palms to provide him their vitality with every Spirit Bomb, it is unimaginable to seek out one other anime that fills the void left by Dragon Ball. Nonetheless, Akira Toriyama influenced a whole technology of manga artists who adopted Dragon Ball‘s instance when crafting their works.
From their resemblance to Akira Toriyama’s writing type, their epic fights stuffed with adrenaline, and characters that make viewers chuckle out loud, a few of these anime aren’t solely animation masterpieces with unimaginable tales but additionally titles that Dragon Ball‘s followers should not miss.
Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling has just lately achieved huge worldwide recognition as the last word energy fantasy, which makes it an ideal follow-up sequence for Dragon Ball followers. Whereas Sung Jinwoo later reached an unbeatable state after leveling up, his beginnings have been a easy muscle exercise, very similar to with Saitama and Goku.
Regardless of being based mostly on a Korean novel, Solo Leveling‘s manhwa and anime have included references to Dragon Ball, proving the worldwide impression of Akira Toriyama’s story in shaping the brand new technology of anime. Moreover, Solo Leveling not solely options unimaginable battle sequences but additionally among the finest animation that no motion fan ought to miss.
Kinnikuman: Good Origin Arc
Regardless of Akira Toriyama’s work being sometimes called the daddy of shōnen manga, Kinnikuman performed a giant function in Dragon Ball‘s later success by pioneering most of the tropes within the style. Dragon Ball later beat Kinnikuman, however the anime is a traditional stuffed with thrilling fights that parody actual WWE competitions.
A enjoyable anime, stuffed with motion, gags, distinctive character design, and that includes an alien protagonist and interspace tournaments, Kinnikuman is right for Dragon Ball followers. Whereas Kinnikuman was initially tailored a long time in the past, Netflix’s current revival sequence, Kinnikuman: Good Origin Sequence, serves as an entry level to the franchise.
The God of Highschool
Whereas the anime adaptation of The God of Excessive Faculty has a divisive reception as a consequence of its rushed pacing, its animation undeniably deserves reward as top-of-the-line lately. The God of Excessive Faculty wears its influences on its sleeve, drawing inspiration from each Dragon Ball and Journey to the West.
The God of Excessive Faculty‘s protagonist has the same character design to Goku, and the anime additionally incorporates a martial arts event with unimaginable fights that highlights the attraction of recent animation. This makes The God of Excessive Faculty an possibility that will not disappoint viewers in search of spectacular battles with several types of martial arts.
BLEACH: Thousand-12 months Blood Struggle
One of many huge three shōnen manga, Bleach is an anime that has adopted Dragon Ball‘s legacy with thrilling, eye-catching powers, transformations, and large-scale fights with seemingly invincible enemies. Furthermore, like Dragon Ball, Bleach had advanced and well-developed villains with fascinating motivations that add one other degree of intrigue to the anime.
Though the anime was criticized for its variety of filler episodes, that is not a problem in Bleach: Thousand-12 months Blood Struggle, which adapts the ultimate arc of Tite Kubo’s manga. Due to this fact, followers focused on beginning a long-running anime have the proper time to binge-watch Ichigo’s journey and catch up earlier than the ultimate season.
One-Punch Man
Identical to Dragon Ball, One-Punch Man options one of many strongest heroes in anime historical past, however whereas Goku strives to realize extra energy, Saitama is simply uninterested in defeating everybody. Whereas this reveals the other ways each anime discover energy, One-Punch Man‘s playful method to overpowered characters satisfies a distinct longing for viewers.
One-Punch Man is greater than your typical superhero story, with absurd characters, spectacular battles, and emotional scenes paying homage to Dragon Ball, in addition to that includes beings from different planets in search of to problem Saitama and declare the title of strongest. Regardless of its inconsistent animation high quality, One-Punch Man is an entertaining anime with unimaginable battle sequences.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Though the plots of each anime aren’t significantly related, like a lot of the newer technology of shōnen, Jujutsu Kaisen has been influenced by Dragon Ball. Jujutsu Kaisen takes up among the finest tropes from shōnen manga, having epic powers and plenty of humorous and charismatic characters that can attraction to Dragon Ball followers regardless of having a barely darker tone.
Nevertheless, whereas Jujutsu Kaisen has included clear Dragon Ball tributes, equivalent to Yuji wanting to fireside a Kamehameha and a Dodon ray, and the Grasshopper Curse within the Shibuya Arc resembling Cell, what makes the anime a vital look ahead to Akira Toriyama followers is its glorious battle choreography that has positioned it on the top among new-gen shōnen.
YAIBA: Samurai Legend
One of many most underrated anime of 2025, YAIBA was clearly impressed by Dragon Ball. Created by the creator of Case Closed, Gosho Aoyama, YAIBA shares sure key components with Dragon Ball, from the protagonist coaching remoted by civilization who needs to change into the strongest, to a journey to gather particular spheres, and a perverted hermit trainer.
Nevertheless, regardless of the same shōnen tropes, YAIBA has its personal essence, managing to change into an exponent of manga within the 90s. With unimaginable sword fights, vitality bursts, dazzling animation, and loads of gags, the YAIBA reboot is a must-see for viewers in search of an action-packed anime and those that benefit from the retro ambiance.
Sand Land: The Sequence
One other work coming from Akira Toriyama’s portfolio, which sadly premiered just some days after his passing, Sand Land‘s anime adaptation is predicated on one of many outdated one-shots by the manga artist. Whereas the manga was first tailored into a movie, Sand Land: The Sequence additionally included an entire new arc specifically written by Toriyama for the anime.
Sand Land seems like a signature Toriyama story, with people and demons teaming up on an journey, however with a twist, because it units a highway journey in a post-apocalyptic world the place assets are scarce. Sand Land additionally has wonderful CGI, permitting for fluid motion and practical vehicles, tanks, and chase scenes. This made Sand Land the proper tribute to Toriyama.
Dragon Quest: The Journey of Dai (2020)
Akira Toriyama was accountable for character and monster design for the unique Dragon Quest video games. So, whereas he solely contributed to the characters’ look, it is no shock that his affect is current all through the Dragon Quest franchise. In Dragon Quest: The Journey of Dai, Dai is a younger boy who grows to change into a hero much like Son Goku.
Moreover, past simply sharing the old-school artwork type, The Journey of Dai has every part to fulfill Dragon Ball followers craving one other traditional shōnen, from magic and friendship to battles towards highly effective villains. Moreover, Toei Animation efficiently revived Dragon Quest: The Journey of Dai, making a trustworthy and full adaptation of the manga that can hold followers hooked.
Dragon Ball Daima
Whereas it is pure to suppose that no fan of Akira Toriyama’s franchise would miss his newest undertaking, many viewers skipped Dragon Ball Daima as a consequence of its striking resemblance to Dragon Ball GT and its obvious concentrate on a youthful viewers. Nevertheless, Dragon Ball Daima managed to earn a spot within the franchise by itself deserves.
Though Goku’s return to being a baby and exploration of one other world appears unoriginal, Dragon Ball Daima expanded the franchise’s lore, revealing extra in regards to the Demon Realms and its connection to primary characters. Moreover, Dragon Ball Daima options unimaginable animation, battle choreography, and transformations, sharing the sense of journey of the franchise and changing into a satisfying anime for Dragon Ball followers.
- Created by
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Akira Toriyama
- Newest TV Present
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Tremendous Dragon Ball Heroes
- First Episode Air Date
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April 26, 1989
From the artistic thoughts of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans again to the Nineteen Eighties. Dragon Ball expanded rapidly, beginning as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Bounce in Japan. It made its manner abroad through manga and an anime adaptation that’s loved worldwide. Dragon Ball was the preliminary beginning animated sequence that adopted the adventures of the younger Son Goku as he wanted the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the want of any who gathered them collectively. Then, the sequence would department off into the immensely in style Dragon Ball Z, which adopted Goku as an grownup and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s unending search to be the strongest. The sequence has additionally loved a number of in style online game variations and continues to launch a number of new animated sequence and theatrical movies as much as the current in style Dragon Ball Tremendous: Tremendous Hero.
