Dragon Ball started off as a manga series called Dragon Boy. The story depicted a young boy named Tanton and his quest to return a princess to her homeland. The series was a loose adaptation of the Chinese legend Journey to the West, depicting monkey king Sun Wukong. Due to the series’ unpopularity, Toriyama re-wrote Dragon Boy, adapting it as Dragon Ball. All the character’s personalities were changed except for Goku. The re-adaptation named Dragon Ball became a hit.
