212 Dragon Ball characters enter — but only one will come out on top. And the winner is up to you! As part of the ongoing 40th anniversary festivities for Dragon Ball (which debuted on this day in 1984, making this its 41st anniversary), Akira Toriyama's hit manga series is launching its first-ever global popularity poll. Fans from around the world can cast their vote in the "DRAGON BALL THE ONE" poll, declaring a fan favorite. DRAGON BALL THE ONE Character Poll Trailer Dragon Ball the One first stage visual RELATED: Dragon Ball DAIMA Named Best Anime Series at 2025 Astra TV Awards Voting will be held across four stages, with the first stage open now and running until 11:59pm JST on November 24. Votes reset daily at midnight JST, so be sure to vote for your fave every day! The first round of voting will more than halve the number of competitors, bringing the field down from 212 characters to 80. After each stage, a loser's bracket will be held on the campaign's official X (formerly Twitter) account , with the winner advancing to the next stage. The final stage will run from December 17-24, narrowing down a field of 21 beloved characters to one global fave. The winner will be announced on January 24, 2026 during a special broadcast on the official Dragon Ball YouTube channel . RELATED: Dragon Ball Official Store Opens in Tokyo in Fall 2025 Shueisha published the original Dragon Ball manga in their Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine from 1984 – 1995, and VIZ Media also publishes an English language version of the series. Crunchyroll streams the Dragon Ball TV anime as well as its sequels and spin-offs: Dragon Ball Z , Dragon Ball GT , Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball DAIMA . Source: Comic Natalie
