DRAGON BALL was one of the most popular weekly comics in Japan during the years 1985 - 1995. It was turned into an animated series in 1986, and shown as three different television series -- DRAGON BALL, DRAGON BALL Z, and DRAGON BALL GT. Although the manga and anime have both since ended, the series is still very popular in Japan, as well as throughout the world.

DRAGON BALL was conceived in the mind of Akira Toriyama, and was originally publicized in Weekly Shonen Jump, a magazine publication composed mostly of comics directed at young children. The comic grew to become one of the publication's flagship titles, and became so popular that when it ended in mid-1995, sales of Weekly Shonen Jump decreased dramatically. DRAGON BALL is one of the few comics in the world to have the "Midas Touch" -- it has enjoyed considerable success in every country that it has been introduced in. Its animated incarnations have consistently been #1 on the ratings charts in Spain, France, Japan, and now, the United States of America.

The story of DRAGON BALL chronicles the adventures of a boy named Son Gokuh along with a number of different characters. Such characters include the prince of a long-dead race, a fortune-telling witch, a perverted hermit, a shape-shifting cat, an array of different artificial humans, and a demon who looks suspiciously like a pink glob of Hershey's chocolate. The magic of DRAGON BALL lies in the interaction between these characters, and how each of them changes over time.

I personally believe that DRAGON BALL is one of the best anime and manga to ever be created. It's a great tale of friendship, courage, and perseverance, and is always a blast to read over and over again. I hope that this website, Suushinchuu (taken from the Japanese pronunciation of the name of Son Gokuh's Dragon Ball -- the Four-Star Ball), will do its part in introducing you to this fantastic story. Who knows? Maybe it'll help make you a long running fan of the series just like me.