Here are 10 fun facts about Dragon Ball 1. Inspired by journey to the West Dragon Ball was heavily inspired by the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West especially the character of Goku, who mirrors the legendary Monkey King, Sun Wukong. Goku even carries a staff, just like Sun Wukong. 2. Original Manga's First Title The first working title for *Dragon Ball* was "Dragon Boy." Akira Toriyama initially wanted to make a more traditional martial arts manga but evolved the story into a science fiction and fantasy adventure. 3. **Goku’s Hair Color Wasn’t Always Consistent**: In the early manga, Goku's hair was depicted as black, but when the anime was created, it was changed to dark brown. Later, in Super Saiyan form, it became iconic golden blonde. 4. **The Power of 7**: The number 7 is significant throughout *Dragon Ball*. For instance, there are seven Dragon Balls, and Goku’s Kamehameha attack was first used in episode 7 of the anime. 5. **Chi-Chi’s Name**: Chi-Chi, Goku's wife, has a unique name in that "Chi" means "rice" or "energy" in Japanese, while "Chi-Chi" can also refer to "milk," playing into her character's maternal role. 6. **Frieza's Voice**: The character of Frieza was originally meant to be voiced by a male voice actor, but when Toriyama heard the audition for the role, he felt that the voice sounded more intimidating when done by a woman. So, Frieza is voiced by the female voice actor, Ryūzaburō Ōtomo. 7. **Goku's Original Design**: Akira Toriyama originally designed Goku with a tail to make him look more monkey-like, but as the story evolved, the tail was eventually removed as it no longer fit the character’s growing role. 8. **Yamcha Was Supposed to Be a Main Character**: Early on, Yamcha was intended to be one of the primary protagonists, but his role eventually became more comedic and secondary. His downfall started when he started losing more fights than winning them. 9. **First Super Saiyan Transformation**: The iconic Super Saiyan transformation debuted during the epic battle between Goku and Frieza. This transformation was such a huge shift that Toriyama nearly made it a one-time-only power-up before realizing how popular it would become. 10. **Toriyama’s Reluctance to End the Series**: Akira Toriyama has mentioned multiple times that he wanted to end *Dragon Ball* several times, but due to the popularity of the series, he was persuaded to continue. Even after the main story concluded, *Dragon Ball Z* continued with new arcs and characters. *Dragon Ball* continues to be one of the most beloved and influential anime series in history!