When it comes to the world of anime (shōnen), there is a group of anime known as the "Big Four." Among them, Dragon Ball is considered the predecessor, while the other three—Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece—are considered the "Big Three" since they all came out around the same time. While Toriyama's anime is a bit older, One Piece also holds the status of the longest-running anime in the world with a lot of influence. Therefore, we decided to compare the two anime and see which one, One Piece or Dragon Ball, is better, and why?

Dragon Ball is a better anime franchise than One Piece because of its popularity, influence, iconic characters, world, and overall storyline. One Piece is certainly one of the best anime in the history of the genre, but it can't really compare to Dragon Ball's cult status. Dragon Ball is and will long remain synonymous with anime, even for groups of people who aren't necessarily fans of the art.

In the rest of the article, we will compare Dragon Ball and One Piece. In the first two sections, we will give you an overview of both series and their plots, while the last section will contain a comparison of the two anime series, in which we will reveal the reasons for our choice. Enjoy!

Dragon Ball: A Preview

Dragon Ball is chronologically the fourteenth story by Akira Toriyama. The action takes place in an imaginary universe resembling Earth, the world in which other works by the same manga artist are located. Thus, the author sometimes integrates characters belonging to a different story, giving the reader a glimpse of the existence of a shared fictional universe.

Dragon Ball tells the story of Son Goku, from childhood to adulthood. Accompanied by numerous characters, he repeatedly searches for the seven Dragon Balls. These magical crystal balls, when assembled together, can summon the dragon Shenlong, which, thanks to a specific formula, can grant the wish of anyone who speaks to it. Throughout his life, Son Goku is called upon to fight increasingly powerful opponents, some of whom become allies.

The anime adaptation is divided into two distinct parts. These are separated according to the main character's development: Dragon Ball depicts his childhood, and Dragon Ball Z his adulthood. The first series has an overall incredibly zany and goofy tone (despite the tragic moments); the second, on the other hand, focuses on physical violence and the psychological development of the various protagonists, keeping only very occasional humorous interludes.

There are four other anime series set in the same universe: Dragon Ball GT, which is an alternate sequel; Dragon Ball Z Kai, which is a new anime version of Dragon Ball Z that lacks filler and elements that were not in the original manga (decreasing the number of episodes from 291 to 167); Dragon Ball Super, which is a direct sequel to the manga; and Super Dragon Ball Heroes, which is not a sequel to the original manga.

One Piece: A Preview

One Piece is an anime and manga series written and illustrated by Eiichirō Oda and is currently the most purchased manga series in the world. It began publication in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 22, 1997; to date, 196 volumes have been published.

On the other hand, Toei Animation produced the anime that aired on Fuji TV since October 20, 1999 and is still running, being one of the longest-running anime in history.

Toei's production of the anime is known for being extremely faithful to the original anime, with the exception of filler content added so that the anime could continue to air while the manga was still being written. The series premiered in Japan on October 20, 1999, and over 1,000 episodes have aired to date, and has also been exported to several other countries around the world.

Dragon Ball vs One Piece: World, animation, narration

Now that we've covered the introductory section, we can continue analyzing these two shows. We'll analyze the shows across several categories before delivering our final verdict. The things we'll be comparing will be the plot, characters, depth, animation, and the overall influence of the anime itself. The analysis will focus primarily on the anime, not the manga. Let's begin.

Dragon Ball has a better plot

The plot of Dragon Ball shares many similarities with the plot of One Piece when considering the "Big Four," especially in the first part, when Son Goku was still a child. Collecting the Dragon Balls shares many similarities with Luffy's quest for the One Piece treasure, and while Dragon Ball has a much more pronounced world-saving element, the narrative is still relatively similar.

Yet, even though One Piece has retained its basic structure, Dragon Ball has expanded its fictional universe, not only by adding new storylines and evolving characters, but by literally expanding the universe, with the most recent iterations of the series focusing on confrontations on a cosmic scale. Dragon Ball even introduced a multiverse, while One Piece remained in its own world. The worldbuilding Toriyama has given us is enough for us to give Dragon Ball this point.

Dragon Ball has better characters

When it comes to characters, Dragon Ball, like One Piece, focuses on one main protagonist—Son Goku—but as the stories progressed, Toriyama added other characters who were very close to Son Goku's status. Still, the character development Toriyama portrays is one of the things we love about Dragon Ball.

But, aside from Goku, the other characters are also very likable, and what made Dragon Ball so popular is the fact that Toriyama created some of the most iconic characters in anime history; most anime fans, whether they like Dragon Ball or not, are familiar with Krillin, Piccolo, Majin Bu, Master Roshi, Vegeta, and the other characters in the franchise.

When it comes to One Piece, the show cares about its characters, which can't be denied, but when you write a 1,000 episode plot, you have to put in a lot of secondary narrative elements that distract from the characters themselves.

This is why One Piece is so different in this aspect. One Piece also has a lot of characters who are either stereotypes or just comic relief characters, even the main ones, which isn't too present in Dragon Ball. This is why we give this point to Dragon Ball as well.

Dragon Ball has a deeper story

In terms of depth, Dragon Ball isn't as complex as Bleach for example, but it does tackle darker themes much more than One Piece, which is a very brave type of anime with a lot of humor.

The adventure aspect of both shows distracts from the darker themes, but having to save the world from alien and divine threats gave Dragon Ball a different dimension, a way to become deeper without becoming dark. This is what One Piece lacks, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing; on the contrary, One Piece's optimism is what made the series so popular and lovable. Furthermore, the shared themes of friendship, loyalty, determination, and not giving up connect these two shows. Overall, we'd say that Dragon Ball is a bit more complex and deeper than One Piece, which is why we give the former that point as well.

Dragon Ball and One Piece have quality animation

In terms of animation and overall technical direction, both series are truly excellent, especially considering the fact that Dragon Ball is much older and was animated at a time when standards weren't as high as they are today. However, Dragon Ball not only did an incredible job with its animation, but it also showed us how it can evolve, as recent iterations of the franchise have absolutely incredible animation.

A lot of dynamics were required to fully animate these two shows, as they were heavily focused on combat and complex movements, so it was difficult to determine the winner. On the one hand, Dragon Ball showed us how it can evolve and improve, while One Piece showed us what consistency looks like. Given these two facts, we decided to call it a tie.

Dragon Ball has cult status

The overall influence of these two is difficult to compare due to Dragon Ball's cult status. Namely, as good and influential as One Piece may be, it will never come close to the cultural significance of Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball is an anime that influenced an entire generation of 90s kids and became synonymous with anime for an entire group of people.

For many people, Dragon Ball is the only anime they've ever seen, and even those who haven't seen any anime are familiar with Dragon Ball. One Piece is an undeniable global phenomenon, but it will never reach the level of popularity and influence of Dragon Ball.

So, is Dragon Ball better than One Piece?

The situation here is very clear, and there's not much to debate here. Dragon Ball is the better and more important anime of the two. One Piece is good; it's great and very popular, but the overall influence of Toriyama's story and its nearly half-century-long tradition make Dragon Ball the better anime.