(Welcome to Any-time Any-where(a regular column dedicated to helping the uninitiated understand and appreciate the world of anime.)

Anime is more popular than ever, and major American studios are now looking to Japanese studios to collaborate on projects based on major IP, including Lord of the Rings and DC Comics. With dozens of shiny new shows coming out every four months, it's hard to justify spending time watching hundreds of episodes of an older show with limited animation, especially when the things that made them new have been copied, remixed, and parodied to death.

Take "Dragon Ball," for example. Countless manga and anime, from One Piece and Naruto to My Hero Academia and Hunter x Hunter, owe their existence to the late maestro Akira Toriyama and his work. I would Live-action superhero movies such as Superman pay homage to classic anime series didn't Dragon Ball start a million playground discussions about who could beat Goku in a fight?

It's easy to underestimate how much of a cultural influence Dragon Ball (and its sequel series Z) has had both in Japan and abroad. This is it a franchise that helped save Tonami and turned an entire generation of kids into anime fans. Similarly, Dragon Ball itself has become synonymous with anime, with Goku becoming the archetypal anime protagonist. (Just think how many anime characters have spiky hair just like him.) What other show would bring tens of thousands of people to the streets of Mexico just to watch an animated fight?

All of this is to say, the legacy of "Dragon Ball" is unequivocally unmatched. However, if you watch Dragon Ball today, you might find that this is a classic that's somehow even better than its reputation (and our collective memories) suggest.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past 40 years, Dragon Ball follows Son Goku, a young boy who goes on adventures around the world (and other worlds) in search of magical dragon balls that grant every wish. . From there, the series quickly becomes a superhero story where Goku and his friends battle increasingly powerful enemies to save the world and sometimes the multiverse.

First, let's get something out of the way: No, you should never, ever skip Dragon Ball and go straight to Z. To do so would be to miss the genius of Akira Toriyama's storytelling, and most of all, his sense of humor and comedic timing. The original series is less constant brawling and more a fantasy adventure inspired by the films of Jackie Chan it relies on gag comedy. (The first episode devotes an extended scene to little Goku just peeing in a river.) It only takes 11 episodes for Goku and his friends to collect all the Dragon Balls, and even then they're used for the first time in a joke. desire. At every turn, the original "Dragon Ball" is about finding the dumbest gag and, thus, the most inventive and imaginative joke. Even when the series started introducing major tournament arcs, they were mostly about how funny it was to see little Goku defeat much larger and seemingly stronger opponents (or wipe out waves of Red Ribbon Army soldiers).

Take the parade of villains Goku faces throughout the "Dragon Ball" saga (including "Z" and "Super"), many of whom aren't so much menacing or scary as they are laughably stupid and absurd. In fact, the first antagonist of "Dragon Ball" was a little tyrant with no nose, while the Red Ribbon Army was made up of funny generals. This continued with "Z", where we met the Ginyu Force (incredibly muscular warriors who are more preoccupied with striking a cool pose than actually fighting), or the cute Majin Buu who turned people into chocolate and ate them.

The action in "Dragon Ball" is also unparalleled, both before and after the show's shift in focus. At first, the series is all about martial arts, with Tiny Goku pulling off Jackie Chan-esque moves (and battling a poorly disguised Master Roshi who calls himself "Jackie Chun") against dozens of enemies in exciting fights. (Part of what makes Dragon Ball Daima so good is that it brought back the martial arts-inspired estate fight.) Yet even as a show essentially evolves into a superhero adventure, it continues to find new ways to raise the stakes and make each confrontation memorable and unique. Individual fights can last dozens of episodes, but still every second is exciting and dynamic. The only reason Yu Yu Hakusho defies anime tropes and conventions the way it does is because "Dragon Ball" defined them in the first place.

Despite much of the great Dragon Ball iconography that Goku has fought in, the series is much more than that. Part of the brilliance of the franchise is that it can do so many things and explore so many genres. Akira Toriyama May Never Have Planned To Make A Series Like 'Dragon Ball' or to see it unfold as it unfolded, but he made the most of it and managed to sustain the story as it unfolded. The plot began as a fantasy adventure inspired by Journey to the West and Chinese mythology and culture, though it also included a fair amount of Goku fighting dinosaurs. And yet, "Dragon Ball" can also have a lot of futuristic sci-fi technology, in addition to demons and aliens from distant planets. Heck, "Dragon Ball Super" even brought in the multiverse.

This is the kind of world-building that would go on to inspire anime shows like Naruto and One Piece, giving rise to overgrown worlds that maintain diverse tones and characters so strongly written that they can remain recognizable even as are changing. Indeed, the same Goku who used to monkey around and not know what a car or a girl was on "Dragon Ball" is also the same Goku who becomes a Superman-like alien with inhuman powers, as well as an absentee father who trained both Heaven and Hell but could not to get his driver's license.

Arguably one of Dragon Ball's greatest contributions to the world of anime was its take on friendship and making allies. Before The Fast Saga turned mortal enemies into friends you invite to dinner, Dragon Ball had Goku hanging out with everyone who once tried to kill him. Krillin went from being Goku's biggest rival as a child to becoming his closest friend, while Yamcha became a key member of the team after once trying to rob Goku. Even Piccolo and Vegeta, who started out as incorrigible villains, eventually changed their ways, with the former becoming a surrogate father to Gohan and Vegeta transforming into the best husband in the franchise. Vegeta, in particular, even started a trend of anime rivalries that has carried over for decades and continues today. Everyone from Bakugo to Sasuke owe their arcs to Vegeta becoming Goku's rival.

It's been 40 years since the Dragon Ball manga went into serialization, and the world of manga and anime hasn't been the same since. Whether you're a hardcore anime fan who watched Dragon Ball Z on Toonami, someone who's familiar with every modern battle shonen manga but dreads going back to the source, or just a newcomer who's never dared to watch "Dragon Ball" Because it's old or too long, let me assure you: the journey is worth it.

Even if you think you know what Dragon Ball is because of its reputation or endless memes and iconic quotes, the franchise is much more than that. It's a hilarious, action-packed, heartfelt, cute, bone-crunching, spirit-bomb-launching, father-son shooting epic Kamehameha that more than earns its reputation as one of the best anime of all time, and certainly the most famous. Then again, there's a reason why every anime protagonist looks or acts a bit like Goku, while time skipping and power-ups are equally common in anime. It's not just that "Dragon Ball" did them first; it's that the show did those things so well that everyone wants to pay homage to it or copy its effect.

Akira Toriyama may be gone, but Dragon Ball is forever.

Watch this if you like it: "Hunter x Hunter", "My Hero Academia", "Naruto".

"Dragon Ball" is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu.