Dragon Ball started in 1984 (the franchise).
Dragon Ball lead the way before the world was introduced to
Ever since this
- Tropes.
- Cliches.
- Themes.
- Comedy.
And everything you see in the Shounen genre in 2019.
It’s all thanks to
anime industry.
It’s now become one of the top-selling anime and manga of all time.
But Dragon Ball’s franchise will always be bigger than Naruto
Notice how I said bigger, NOT better.
There is a difference.
I’m not here to debate the quality of each series.
But I will speak on why
1. Dragon Ball Z is the Godfather of Shounen

“Do it first, or do it different.” – Unknown
There isn’t an
You could argue that
The 1980’s and 90’s was a time of explosive growth for the
It’s the era that changed the entire anime industry.
Because the Dragon Ball franchise inspired modern-day Shounen, plus other Shounen in the 1990’s and 2000’s, it’s only natural it’s more popular.
Or in this case – more popular than Naruto.
Had
This has given
That comes with being an OG in the game.
2. Dragon Ball Super BROKE anime streaming services

In fact – the franchise took a long break and was STILL killing it in mainstream media.
But with the introduction of Dragon Ball Super, and the legendary fight that BROKE services like
This was a big deal.
This fight between Goku and Jiren single-handedly punished tons of
I’ll get into that a little later.
3. Goku has his own day called “Goku Day” on May 9th in Japan
This might seem small or worthless, but we’re talking about popularity so it’s 100% relevant.
In 2015 Japan recognized “Goku Day” as an official anniversary in Japan. Dedicated to Goku and the love Japan has for Goku’s legendary status.
This is the equivalent of “Google” in the 2000’s being added to the Oxford Dictionary as a verb.
Good luck waiting for
It’ll likely never happen within our lifetimes. And that only adds to
Related: 27+ GREAT Dragon Ball Z T Shirts For Your Wardrobe
4. Dragon Ball Super is a better “upgrade” than Boruto
If you wanna use MAL ratings to make a point, that becomes clear when you look at Boruto and
- Dragon Ball Super = 7.62/10.
- Boruto = 6.44/10.
6.44 is a horrible rating for any
And by
And even if we ignore MAL stats when talking about popularity, the
I’ve followed both
Most
My point is: Boruto’s performance isn’t helping the
At least compared to the Dragon Ball Franchise. That’s why DB is bigger.
Plus the new
Naruto is a little brother at this point and always has been.
Related: The Most Memorable Boruto Quotes You Need To See As An Anime Fan
5. Dragon Ball Z created a movement like no other

It’s mad what
One aspect we can thank DB for is the influence its had on gym enthusiasts and fitness trainers.
People literally look to

There are personal trainers like JaxBlade who take a lot from the
Some personal trainers even base the names of their works outs (or gyms) on names taken from Dragon Ball itself.
This movement stretches far outside of Japan and the amount of people it affects is endless.

And then there’s Dragon Ball’s influence on Hip Hop and
I can name rappers all day who love
And rappers who are inspired by it in their lyrics, or their lives in general.
That’s not to say
That’s why DB is still the bigger, more popular franchise.
Related: The BEST List Of Rappers Who Like Anime, Know About It (Or Grew Up Watching It)
–
And let’s not forget –
Dragon Ball outsells
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