The popularity of Dragon Ball anime
Each of us, in our childhood, youth, had his horse. Something around which our whole life revolved. If, like me, you were born in the first half of the 1990s, you probably had a binder full of colorful cards, Bravo posters and very well remember Dragon Ball cards from Chio chips.
One of the most popular „cartoons” of the turn of the 20th century was, without a doubt, the Japanese anime Dragon Ball. It was based on a manga written by acclaimed genre author Akira Toriyama between 1984 and 1995. Between 1999 and 2003, the RTL 7 (and later TVN 7) television station broadcast, the aforementioned anime gathering a crowd of young, loyal fans in front of their screens. Many people remember the French dubbing, which still evokes nostalgia in DB fans. Deserted backyards during Dragon Ball broadcasts said a lot about the popularity of the anime.
Although it has been more than 20 years since BD came off the silver screen, it has become a permanent part of pop culture and still has its enthusiasts around the world.
Today, I want to take you, the reader, on a small, sentimental journey in a time machine, when the whole elementary school was alive with card tournaments or illegal trading of what were more unique cards. All classmates would gather around the person who had just opened a packet of chips, and in addition to the standard question „Will you give one?” there would be a second one, uttered with genuine excitement „And what do you have?”.
The value of the Chio Dragon Ball collection
Chip manufacturer Chio Chips included one of 202 cards with each package of chips. A total of four series were released, with prices today reaching up to $500 per set. The characters on the cards had one of four power levels: normal, SSJ, SSJ2, SSJ3. In addition, the levels were color-coded blue (weak), green (strong), red (very strong), and yellow (powerful), respectively.
Prices of single Chio Dragon Ball cards range from a few to several euro depending on the condition and uniqueness of the card. Often, in order to acquire one missing card, collectors are forced to buy a whole set, the price of which can reach up to several hundred euro!
So it’s worth looking through old cardboard boxes in the attic or basement, search through the long-forgotten recesses of drawers and look for a childhood collection that will not only take you back in time to the carefree days of childhood, bring a wide, sincere smile to your face, but can also be worth a fortune.
