Most Similar to Dragonball

[Saiyan-Professor]

My question concerns the two shows that gets argued about the most as being the successor to Dragonball, namely Naruto and One Piece. Which of the shows bears the most similarity to Dragonball? I am not asking what your preferred show is but which has similar themes, characters, use of powers and so forth? In addition, I am not talking about the original manga/show but Z and GT also i.e. the entire story.

[SHINOBI-03]

Now this is a tough question

Naruto got the action and the useage of super powerful energy based attacks. While One Piece got the comedy, adventures, the personality of Luffy and the voices +made by TOEI.

[Chrono Trigger]

One Piece. Dragon Ball has never gotten to the levels of depression and boredom that you see Naruto. That's just my personal opinion though. When I read and watch One Piece it reminds me of Dragon Ball. With it's colorful characters and interesting enemies and fights. Never got that feeling from Naruto. If their is one thing Dragon Ball was good at it was having amazing finishes to battles and the only series I've seen come close that is One Piece.

[rereboy]

One piece.

What makes One Piece more like Dragon ball than naruto is the humor and the main carather, luffy. He reminds me very much of goku.

[Hao_Kaiser]

One Piece.

In my mind, One Piece has always been a spiritual decedent of Dragon Ball (so much so, that just to be an asshole, I put my One Piece DVDs after by Dragon Ball Z DVDs and before my Dragon Ball GT DVDs on my shelf).

One Piece's anime has a similar tone and style to Dragon Ball's anime, which, admittedly, may have a lot to do with the anime adaptations having the same animation studio.

Beyond that, I think Oda's art and writing styles are much closer to Toriyama's, while Naruto's is kinda... Not.

[MisterFlashdude]

Naruto. Why? Off the top of my head...

Specifically between Goku and Naruto:
The perverted masters. (Ero-sen'nin, Kame-sen'nin)
Taught his signature move by his perverted master. (Rasengan/Kamehameha)
Continues to upgrade signature move to reflect his power. (Chou Kamehameha/Odama Rasengan)
Eventually trains with the master of his perverted master, which happens to be a small animal. (Fukasaku/Karin)
Has a transformation that's triggered by his inner demon. (Kyubi/Oozaru)
Transformation initially triggered by rage, but later learned to control. (Kyubi/Super Saiyan)
Gains a second transformation that turns him into uber-holy-shit-wtfpwnage. (Sen'nin Mode/Super Saiyan)

In General:
Naruto's orange/blue color scheme gives him a resemblance to Goku.
Sasuke's blue/white color scheme gives him a resemblance to Vegeta.
Both rely on tournaments and lengthy training arcs to progress the plot.
Both rely on time skips to develop the characters.
Most of the supporting cast of characters are introduced as rivals/enemies but eventually become friends and allies due to interaction with the main character.
Most of the supporting cast is eventually rendered useless background characters due to the main character.

A lot of these things were the defining staples of Dragonball.

As for One Piece, like I've said before, it carries on the light-hearted spirit in better fashion... But Naruto takes the specifics and over all bares a much greater resemblance to Dragonball.

[Chuquita]

One Piece. It's got all the action and adventure of Dragon Ball, and characters in the same vein; personality-wise. Not to mention it can stay fun and exciting while also getting deep from time to time without sticking it too heavy to you. Also the art is in the similar out-of-the-ordinary style.

I subscribe to the whole One Piece as DB's spiritual successor thing.

If I have to make a similar-characters list:
Goku - Luffy
Piccolo - Zoro
Pilaf - Buggy
Kuririn - Ussop
Bulma (and partly Juuhachigou) - Nami

The biggest difference between OP and DB, that I've seen, is that it's far more difficult to die in the One Piece world.

The only similarities Naruto has to DB are superficial ones.
One Piece is Dragon Ball on the open seas. Naruto is Dragon Ball with boat-loads of tween-angst.

Dragon Ball was NEVER, EVER as boring and angst-ridden and "oh here's MY tragic past, let's talk about it for five billion chapters" or "hey, instead of slowly revealing things over time, let's just stand here and exposition about it."
I have nothing against angst, but in Naruto its just SO heavy handed that it takes you out of the story and makes you aware that they're trying to force you into feeling sorry for everyone.


The most interesting characters in Naruto (in my opinion) are the ones who rarely get the screentime they deserve.

[Vekurotto]

I'll agree with everybody else One Piece is pretty much Dragon Ball's brother. I can't really speak for Naruto but I see more resemblance in tone toward Dragon Ball than anything.

Other than One Piece being a a lot more comedic than Dragon Ball and the tone is much more consistent throughout the manga/anime kinda unlike in Dragon Ball where the tone kinda 180's into something that doesn't even resemble the first chapters and episodes.

The problem that I've got with One Piece's anime is the same problem that Dragon Ball's anime has and that's that the arcs are really long when they were a few volumes in the manga. It doesn't bother me as much as DB's anime but somehow in One Piece I started getting fed up and plain dropped the anime all together when the Davy Back Fight came along. I didn't ever do that with DB. Just a side note.

[Jerseymilk]

Bulma (and partly Juuhachigou) - Nami

I always thought of Nico Robin being a closer equivalent to #18 personally.

This is an interesting topic by the way. I'm just hoping it doesn't get off topic and turn into another "Let's be elitist and bash Naruto" thread. The Daizex forums unfortunately have a habit of doing that I find. -_-

[B]

One Piece. It's humor, characters, and fantasy world very much resemble Dragon Ball.

Outside of fighting and Naruto's clothes, Naruto isn't very much like Dragon Ball at all. Naruto likes to advance the story with plot devices and underlying plans from a character; Dragon Ball pretty much just rushes into its plot, with little backstory. Stuff just happens most of the time. Nothing "just happens" in Naruto; someone from the main cast is a catalyst. It's a VERY character-driven series.

Also, they're all shonen, and they all bear the same themes at some point in each series. In terms of Dragon Ball's successor, Naruto wins. One Piece's bastardization by 4Kids and its removal from Cartoon Network have really stung its possible fanbase, while Naruto is fucking everywhere, much like DB was. OP is bigger in Japan, but for the msot part, that's it. Also, Naruto has lots of angst, which is more accesible to today's youth. Even if OP had gotten proper treatment in the US, it probably still wouldn't be as big as Naruto, but it'd be a lot better off than it is now.

[jda95]

One Piece is and always has been the true successor to DB, for all the reasons stated above.

But I gave up on watching it because it's too long.

[Chuquita]

Bulma (and partly Juuhachigou) - Nami

I always thought of Nico Robin being a closer equivalent to #18 personally.

This is an interesting topic by the way. I'm just hoping it doesn't get off topic and turn into another "Let's be elitist and bash Naruto" thread. The Daizex forums unfortunately have a habit of doing that I find. -_-

I only thought of Juuhachigou because of Nami's love of money compared with Juuhachigou's. :3


I have legitimate reasons (and a history) on why I don't like Naruto, but I'm not gonna write an essay or anything.


I don't hate it though, there are characters from it that I do like.

[B]

One Piece is and always has been the true successor to DB, for all the reasons stated above.

But I gave up on watching it because it's too long.

OP is not butt of anime jokes. It can't be DB's successor. Not until it has it's own "30 EPISODES TO FINISH A FIGHT", "OVER 9000", or "BELIEVE IT!"

[jda95]

One Piece is and always has been the true successor to DB, for all the reasons stated above.

But I gave up on watching it because it's too long.

OP is not butt of anime jokes. It can't be DB's successor. Not until it has it's own "30 EPISODES TO FINISH A FIGHT", "OVER 9000", or "BELIEVE IT!"

I meant the good reasons. The humour and the adventure, not the poor handling in the US.

[JulieYBM]

One Piece is and always has been the true successor to DB, for all the reasons stated above.

But I gave up on watching it because it's too long.

OP is not butt of anime jokes. It can't be DB's successor. Not until it has it's own "30 EPISODES TO FINISH A FIGHT", "OVER 9000", or "BELIEVE IT!"

So basically, One Piece is just plain better than Dragonball and Naruto?

EDIT: As for long arcs, let's look at Sasuke's with his brother and all of that other crap. It's the longest and most drawn out arc of all, if I do say so.

[MisterFlashdude]

I like One Piece. I've got every volume of the manga on my shelf, right next to the 33 volumes of Naruto and 42 volumes of Dragonball.

I've had problems with both Naruto and One Piece. The Chunin Exam arc is so dull that I'm not surprised it's where most of the people on this forum felt their interest die. It introduces dozens of characters you'd rather see but they're thrown to the side lines just you as get interested. And in the last hundred or so chapters, the author's come down with Rowling-Syndrome and killed off just about every character I actually like.

Though, with One Piece, the story arcs and characters can be so repetitive and formulaic that I've skipped entire arcs in a heart beat. (Most of Alabasta/All of Skypia/Most of Water 7 and CP9/All but three or four episodes of Thriller Bark)
The characters have become so cookie-cutter that I'd rather burn every volume I have than hear about the next crew member. (I'm a {insert life's passion; swords, cooking, archaeology, music, etc} and everyone I knew was a {instert passion}, then someone close to me died. Now watch my snot bubbles as I cry.)

But I think people are overlooking the stated purpose of the thread. It's not about which series we liked more. But which one has the most common in Dragonball.
I think if Akira Toriyama had ever drawn a manga about pirates, it'd look like One Piece. One Piece has the Toriyama tone. But since it was a martial arts "epic", Naruto comes out having the most in common with it.

[B]

So basically, One Piece is just plain better than Dragonball and Naruto?

Just because people think poorly of Naruto and Dragon Ball doesn't mean they're right. But yeah, DB>OP>Naruto.

(I'm a {insert life's passion; swords, cooking, archaeology, music, etc} and everyone I knew was a {instert passion}, then someone close to me died. Now watch my snot bubbles as I cry.)

Dear God, this. The only things that save OP from being the most repetitive thing ever are:

1) The Pokemon anime is still running.
2) The crew's backstory is actually pretty sad. Oda excels at creating drama, IMHO. If you didn't tear up and/or have to sit there for awhile after reading/watching the Arlong Park arc, you are a fucking robot.

[Onikage725]

I haven't really watched OP, but Naruto used to give me a major DB vibe. I'll admit I haven't been watching that much either. Mostly due to laziness, and when they turn their mind to filler that anime really shuts me off. I think some of what Chuquita expressed as negatives can be attributed to the anime's way of padding out an ep. Example, you may see a new attack or learn some new backstory in the manga with a description or almost comical 4th-wall breaking side note, and then the story moves on. In the anime, this turns into long-winded exposition, flashbacks, etc. There was one ep in Shippuuden where they flashed back to the same episode. Now that's just excessive.

On topic though...

As I was watching Naruto, the boy with the incredible endurance due to the circumstances of his birth compared to his peers go around making close friends out of his enemies, I got a DB vibe. When he was learning techniques that were technically above his level and should have taken years to learn, I thought of Goku. When he was being goofy and immature I kinda thought of Goku (let's not forget, Little DB Goku was plenty immature and could be a prick). And there's Naruto's constant hunger cravings (though he's more specific than Goku).

And there are other characters, too. Kiba gives me a Yamcha vibe. Neji was running the ego game so far I wasn't sure if he was a Vegeta caricature or straight up rip off. He even nearly quotes him when going on to Naruto about how the battle is decided because people's potentials are decided at birth. Jiraiya being the perverted teacher joined the ranks of such classic anime characters as Happosai, Giuseppi Mayart, and of course Muten Roshi.

I used to hate Sasuke/Vegeta comparisons, but there is a good case to be made. Both are survivors (Vegeta of his race and Sasuke of his clan) who feel that they have to strive to be numero uno to kill a certain someone (Vegeta-Freeza, Sasuke-Itachi). I thought that was superficial, but then the Sasuke Retrieval arc hit. Sasuke basically realizes that Naruto was better then him, goes off the deep end, and decides on a dime to become Vegeta in all but name. And Orochimaru gives me a major Freeza vibe, with that whole mildly effeminate sickeningly polite mannerism masking the true psycho within. And the two of them just have the coolest ability to attract colorful henchemen :p

There's also the basic story arc. The pacing is different, and the story specifics are not the same, but there are still similarities.

Both shows start out with a plucky young spiky-haired hero. The heroes partner up with a group of supporting characters and have adventures where its obvious something is just not normal about them. Shortly thereafter, martial arts tournaments became the main attraction and best way to showcase new characters and skills. The heroes have to deal with a monster living inside of them. There's a subplot with a loose end from the wise old character's past showing up to kill everything. There's a time skip where the characters come back older and more mature. The storyline's shift a bit in tone and the battles seem to be less martial arts-ish and more about flashy powers and big finishes. The heroes have to accept their inner monster (per se) and use that strength to increase their own powers.

They're also both known for dragging on with ridiculous filler in their anime formats.

Oh, and one other thing. Lee vs Gaara. The whole "I'm fast, but not fast enough. So let me take off my training weights for SUPER SPEED" thing was straight lifted from Goku vs Tenshinhan in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. And then his opening of the gates bit where we learn that it could tear his body apart, and then he's surrounded by a red aura and has a brief period of greatly enhanced strength? Kaio-ken x3 anyone?

[Bussani]

One Piece has more in common with Journey to the West when it begins, so some similarities should be expected. But I do feel it carries on the spirit of Dragon Ball better.

Personally, I actually like Naruto. Or at least, I want to like Naruto. But every time I try to watch it they seem to be talking about something that just happened. If it were more like Hunter x Hunter (which it seems to try desperately to be at times) I think it would be a lot more watchable.

Basically, One Piece is the new Dragon Ball and Naruto is the new Hunter x Hunter.

[B]

I just don't get Goku/Naruto comparisons. Thousands of anime leads excel at their trade/sport, like to eat, and have spiky hair. Sometimes, I just think people can't get past the orange and blue.

Naruto is a tragic hero, to the max. Since the day he was born, he was looked upon as a monster and a freak. And why wouldn't he be? This ferocious demon killed and injured your family and your friends, the people you loved, and the damn thing is living less than a mile away from you. I'd probably hold a grudge against him, too. Naruto was alone, no one wanted anything to do with him, so he acted out for attention. He strived to be the best and prove he wasn't the piece of shit people made him out to be, and he succeeded in doing this with many of his opponents and fellow villagers. He rose above the hate, and fought for people who condemned him, because it was right. Goku never dealt with something of that magnitude.