Can you honestly say you’ve seen all of Dragon Ball?
Spoilers ahead!
Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are two classic anime series, but surprisingly, the former never achieved the critical and commercial success of the latter, at least outside of Japan, despite being essentially the same story. It wasn’t until the 2000s that Dragon Ball was officially published and licensed in English by Funimation, due to the demand created by the popularity of Dragon Ball Z.
So, how come Dragon Ball Z is so popular and how come it caught on with audiences who had to jump into the story that had 153 episodes before it? Are they really that detached from each other that you aren’t missing anything by skipping it? Well, the answer is complicated.
The truth is that, yes, a lot of anime newcomers safely get hooked on Dragon Ball Z without any prior knowledge. What helps is that the story is divided into clearly concise arcs that tell mostly complete stories, so much so that fans argue that the Cell Saga of Dragon Ball Z fits perfectly as a conclusion to the series and the Buu Saga was unnecessary. And Dragon Ball Z’s story overall feels much different from Dragon Ball, as it became more about space and aliens, as opposed to Dragon Ball’s more martial arts and mystical approach.
In truth, it was pure coincidence. The manga has never had such a distinction as the anime and went on in a single continuous streak. The change to the space theme happened simply because by the time Dragon Ball Z started, Goku had no rivals on Earth who could match him. Except for one, Piccolo. As soon as Dragon Ball Z starts, the animosity between the characters is established, but never explained, because the show assumes you have seen Dragon Ball and know their history. Piccolo is one of the central characters in both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z who eventually lets go of his grudge against Goku and becomes a loyal friend.
But the rivalry between Goku and Piccolo is only ever shown in Dragon Ball. In fact, not even once do Piccolo and Goku fight in Dragon Ball Z. Some might deem it as unnecessary, but imagine if Vegeta’s entire character arc wasn’t shown and he was already Trunks’ father, that would be skipping a lot, wouldn't it? And Piccolo’s prominence isn’t fading away at all, as he’s arguably the lead star of the most recent Dragon Ball Super: SuperHero movie.
In Dragon Ball, it is shown that Goku killed Piccolo’s father, the Demon King Piccolo, and he tried to avenge him in the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament. Demon King Piccolo’s death, Piccolo’s attempt at revenge, and eventually Piccolo’s switch to the guys all go hand in hand and without seeing Dragon Ball it’s fair to say that you will miss some truly beautiful character development.
It is highly recommended not to skip the original Dragon Ball, as it is a truly beautifully made anime that shouldn’t be seen as a lesser older brother of Dragon Ball Z.