Since its debut in 1984, theDragon Ball franchise byAkira Toriyama has had a considerable impact on global popular culture.^[1][2] In 2015, the Japan Anniversary Association officially declared May 9 as "Goku Day" (Japanese:悟空の日,Hepburn:Gokū no Hi) after the main characterSon Goku; in Japanese, the numbers five and nine can be pronounced as "Go" and "Ku".^[3] It is similarly influential in international popular culture across other parts of the world.^[1]Dragon Ball is widely referenced in American popular culture, from television and music to celebrities and athletes, and the series has been celebrated with Goku making an appearance at multipleMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parades,^[4] and with murals based onDragon Ball appearing in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Kansas City, and Denver.^[2]

Dragon Ball is immensely popular in Latin America, where public screenings of theDragon Ball Super finale in 2018 filled public spaces and stadiums in cities across the region, including stadiums holding tens of thousands of spectators.^[1] Illegal screenings of the 2018 finale even caused a diplomatic incident between Mexico and Japan.^[5] Mexico has moreDragon Ball fans than even Japan,^[6] andGoku has been referred to as "a Latino icon" due to his popularity there.^[7][8][4]

Dragon Ball creatorAkira Toriyama was decorated aChevalier (Knight) of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in May 2019 for his contributions to the arts, particularly forDragon Ball which has been credited with popularizing manga in France.^[9][10]

Vegeta's quote "It's Over 9000!" from an English dub ofDragon Ball Z is a popular Internet meme among the English-speaking fandom.^[11]

Dragon Ball has been cited as inspiration across various different media. It is credited with setting trends for popularshōnen manga andanime since the 1980s, with manga criticJason Thompson in 2011 calling it "by far the most influential shōnen manga of the last 30 years." Successful shōnen manga authors such asEiichiro Oda (One Piece),Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto),Tite Kubo (Bleach),Hiro Mashima (Fairy Tail) andKentaro Yabuki (Black Cat) have citedDragon Ball as an influence on their own now popular works. According to Thompson, "almost everyShōnen Jump artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways."^[12]

French comics artistTony Valente citedDragon Ball as an influence, especially the adventure aspect of its early portion.^[13] Comic book artist André Lima Araújo citedDragon Ball as a major influence on his work, which includesMarvel Comics such asAge of Ultron,Avengers A.I.,Spider-Verse andThe Inhumans.^[14] Filipino comic artist Dexter Soy, who has worked on comics such asCaptain America, citedDragon Ball as a major inspiration.^[15]Tony Stark: Iron Man #11 (2019) makes references toDragon Ball Z, includingMiles Morales asSpider-Man referencing the Super Saiyan transformation.^[16]

Ian Jones-Quartey, a producer of the American animated seriesSteven Universe, is a fan ofDragon Ball andDr. Slump, and uses Toriyama's vehicle designs as a reference for his own. He also stated that "We're all big Toriyama fans on [Steven Universe], which kind of shows a bit."^[17] French directorPierre Perifel cited Toriyama andDragon Ball as influences on hisDreamWorks Animation filmThe Bad Guys.^[18]

In December 1990, an unofficial live-action Korean film adaptationDragon Ball: Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku was released.^[19][20] Another unofficial live-action film adaptation of the series,Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins, was released in Taiwan in November 1991.^[21] In the Philippines, a children's musical titledDragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z: Myth, Magic, Music, was staged in June 1996.^[22] Hong Kong action film starJackie Chan is a fan of the franchise, and said Goku is his favorite character. In 1995, Chan had expressed some interest in adaptingDragon Ball into a film, but said it would require "a lot of amazing special effects and an enormous budget."^[23] Later in 2013, Toriyama said his ideal live-action Goku would have been a young Jackie Chan, stating that "nobody could play Goku but him."^[24]

TheMatrix franchise echoesDragon Ball Z in several action scenes, including the climactic fights of the 2003 filmsThe Matrix Reloaded andThe Matrix Revolutions.^[25] Filipino-American film storyboard artistJay Oliva has citedDragon Ball as a major inspiration on his work, particularly the action scenes of 2013 Superman filmMan of Steel, which launched theDC Extended Universe.^[26] Several films in theMarvel Cinematic Universe have also been visually influenced byDragon Ball Z.Erik Killmonger's battle armour inBlack Panther (2018) bears a resemblance to Vegeta's battle armour,^[27][28] which actorMichael B. Jordan (himself aDragon Ball fan) said may have inspired Killmonger's battle armor.^[29] The fiery look ofCarol Danvers' Binary powers inCaptain Marvel (2019) also drew some influence fromDragon Ball Z.^[30] InShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021),Katy refers to one ofShang-Chi's techniques as a "Kamehameha fireball";^[31] the film's directorDestin Daniel Cretton citedDragon Ball Z as an inspiration behind the film's climactic fight scene.^[32]

A key characteristic that setDragon Ball Z (and later other anime series) apart from American television shows at the time was a serialization format, in which a continuous story arc stretches over multiple episodes or seasons. Serialization has since also become a common characteristic of American live-action streaming television shows during the "Peak TV" era.^[33]

As a martial arts series,Dragon Ball has had an impact onmartial artists and other athletes.Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the founder ofPride Fighting Championships andRizin Fighting Federation, noted how the manga depicted a tournament featuring martial artists of various disciplines competing against each other in 1985, beforemixed martial arts was coined or established.^[34] Mixed martial artists inspired byDragon Ball includeKana Watanabe,^[35]Yushin Okami,Yoshihiro Akiyama,Yuya Wakamatsu,^[36]Katsunori Kikuno,^[37] andMarcus Brimage.^[38] Canadian mixed martial artistCarlos Newton dubbed his fighting style "Dragon Ball jiu-jitsu" in tribute to the series.^[39] Japanese mixed martial artistItsuki Hirata is nicknamed "Android 18" due to her resembling theDragon Ball character,^[40] while Vietnamese martial artistNguyễn Trần Duy Nhất cited Goku as his inspiration.^[41] Similarly, Japanese kickboxerPanchan Rina took her nickname from theDragon Ball character Pan,^[42] and Japanese kickboxerTakeru Segawa cited the series as an influence.^[43]

Numerous other athletes have channeled and referencedDragon Ball, includingNBA basketball players such asDe'Aaron Fox,Lauri Markkanen,Jordan Bell, andLonzo Ball,American footballNFL players such asDarren Fells andDavid Njoku, mixed martial artist and professional wrestlerRonda Rousey,^[2] and professional wrestlersThe New Day.^[44][45] For her appearance atWrestleMania 31 in 2015, Rousey wore a shirt that referenced the character Vegeta and the quote "It's Over 9000!" from an English dub ofDragon Ball Z.^[46] ForWrestleMania 32 in 2016,The New Day dressed in Saiyan armor in tribute toDragon Ball Z.^[47] The French groupYamakasi citedDragon Ball as an influence on their development ofparkour, inspired by how its heroes attain extraordinary abilities through hard work.^[48]

Dragon Ball has also been channeled and referenced by numerous musicians. It is popular in the hip hop community, and has been referenced in numerous songs by rappers and artists such asChris Brown,Chance the Rapper,Big Sean,Lil Uzi Vert, G-Mo Skee,The Weeknd,Childish Gambino,^[2]Denzel Curry,Thundercat,B.o.B,Soulja Boy,^[49]Drake,^[50]Frank Ocean, and Sese.^[51] Mark Sammut ofTheGamer notes thatGohan occasionally performed thedab move (as the Great Saiyaman) decades before it became a popular hip-hop dance move inAmerican popular culture.^[52]

The producer of theTekken video game series,Katsuhiro Harada, said thatDragon Ball was one of the first works to visually depictchi and thereby influenced numerous Japanese video games, especially fighting games such asTekken andStreet Fighter.^[53] Masaaki Ishikawa, art director of the video gameArms, said that its art style was largely influenced byDragon Ball andAkira.^[54] French video game designerÉric Chahi also citedDragon Ball as an influence on his 1991 cinematic platformerAnother World.^[55] Othervideo game industry veterans who were inspired byDragon Ball includeSuda51,SWERY,Insomniac Games,Nina Freeman,Heart Machine,Iron Galaxy, andMega64.^[53]

The neologismpuff-puff, coined by Toriyama inDragon Ball, is frequently used in theDragon Quest video game series, which he was the lead artist of.^[56] Due to the term's usage inDragon Ball andDragon Quest, it has also been referenced in games such as3D Dot Game Heroes,^[57]Yakuza: Like a Dragon,^[58] andFinal Fantasy XIV.^[59]

After searching for a real-life equivalent to the supernaturally nutritiousSenzu seen inDragon Ball, Mitsuru Izumo founded Euglena Company in 2005 and started making supplements and food products out ofEuglena.^[60][61] In 2014, entomologist Enio B. Cano named a new species ofbeetleOgyges toriyamai after Toriyama, and anotherOgyges mutenroshii, after theDragon Ball characterMuten Roshi.^[62]

Motorola'sFreescale DragonBall and DragonBall EZ/VZmicrocontroller processors, released in 1995, are named afterDragon Ball andDragon Ball Z, respectively.^[63]

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