Each type of dragon ball explained

Key things

• Earth's Dragon Balls grant wishes, but have limits on what can be requested and require a year to recharge.
• Namekian Dragon Balls are larger, have fewer restrictions, and reactivate after 130 days after use.
• The Super Dragon Balls, the original balls, have unlimited power and will summon Super Shenron for any wish.

What would Dragon Ball be without the Dragon Balls themselves? These magical MacGuffins have been the solution (and occasionally the source) of everyone's problems throughout the various series of the franchise. They have been coveted by heroes and villains alike, as by collecting all seven the collector can grant a wish, whether it be bringing the dead back to life or granting immortality.

Or at least that's true of the original Dragon Balls. There are different sets of orbs for different universes, let alone different planets and realms, and they come with different conditions. Keeping track of them all can be tricky, so here's a handy list to help explain each type of Dragon Ball v Dragon Ball series.

1 Land of the Dragon Balls

Dragon Ball

• Creator: Kami
• Position: Canon
• Debut: Episode 1 – “The Secret of the Dragon Balls” (anime), Chapter 1 – “Bulma and Son Goku” (manga)

firstly, Earth Dragon Balls they are the ones the show is named after and have been on the show since day one. So they probably don't need much explaining. They are small orange orbs with 1-7 star patterns that were created by Kami for collectors to track. Once all seven are gathered, they summon the divine dragon Shenron, who grants one or three wishes, depending on its power.

His power has its limits as he cannot make others fall in love with someone or kill enemies who are more powerful than he wishes. But eternal youth, immortality, reviving the dead, etc. apply. People cannot make the same wish twice, and once granted, they must wait a year before they can use the orbs again, as they disintegrate and petrify upon Shenron's summoning.

2 Namekian Dragon Balls

Dragon Ball Z

• Creator: Great Elder Guru
• Position: Canon
• Debut: Episode 44 – “Brood of Evil” (anime), Chapter 53 – “Planet Namek, Cold and Dark” (manga)

Kami was once part of a single being with King Piccolo, who was reborn as Piccolo Jr. at the end of the original series. If the other one dies, so does Kami. Then, if he dies, the earth dragon balls will be permanently inert. But the orbs can be reactivated if someone can bring them back to life, which Krillin, Bulma and Gohan planned to do. Namekian Dragon Balls.

They learned from the Saiyans that the Piccolo and Kami species came from another planet that had its own set of dragon balls made by their elder, the Grand Elder Guru. They are much larger and summon another dragon in Porunza that can grant three wishes by default. Provided the collector can speak Namekian and stays on his good side. After use, the spheres are still inert, but do not dissipate and reactivate after 130 days.

3 Black Star Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball GT

• Creator: Son of Katatz/The Nameless Namekian
• Position: Alternative timeline tracking DBZ
• Debut: Episode 1 – “Devastating Wish”

Before Kami and King Piccolo split into two, they were a single, unnamed Namekian known only as “Katatz's son”. He was more powerful than his divided halves, and it was reflected in his creation: Black Star Dragon Ball. They look like globes but have black stars and summon the Ultimate Shenron, a larger and more powerful dragon that has fewer restrictions on its wishes.

For example, he could kill someone, regardless of their power level, if the collector so desired. But if they did, they would be putting their planet on a timeout. If the orb is not collected back within a year, the planet will be destroyed. The balls scatter across the galaxy when used, so without a decent spaceship, the planet's inhabitants are left without a paddle in the river. At least they don't remain inert after use, so that's a plus.

4 Super Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Super

• Creator: Zalama
• Position: Canon
• Debut: Episode 29 – “The Battle Matches Are On The Way! Captain Is Someone Stronger Than Goku” (anime), Chapter 6 – “Preparing for the Tournament”

How did Kami, Grand Elder Guru and Katatza's son make their dragon balls? By cutting off pieces from Super Dragon Ball. These are the original orbs from which all the others came, created by the dragon god Zalama. Each one is the size of a planet and their power is limitless. Whatever the collector wishes for, they get it, even if it's reviving entire universes.

Once assembled, they summon Super Shenron, a dragon so large that it houses several universes, but can shrink to a more manageable size. They also have to be summoned in the divine language of the gods, which is just Japanese/English backwards, with “pretty pwease/peas and carrots” at the end. The gods work in mysterious ways.

5 Dark Dragon Balls

Dragon Ball Super Heroes

• Creator: Xeno Dende
• Position: Not Canon
• Debut: Dragon Ball Super Heroes (video game), Episode 33 – “A New War in Space! The Ultimate Savage Battle Begins!” (anime) Chapter 2 – “Dark Dragon Ball” (Dark Demon Realm manga)

Another problem with earth dragon balls is that more wishes can cause negative energy to build up. IN GTthis causes the orbs to summon the evil Black Smoke Shenron, who then splits into seven Shadow Dragons based on humanity's various wishes over the centuries. video game, Dragon Ball Heroesplays on this theme with Dark Dragon Balls.

Created by Xeno Dende, the evil counterpart of Kami's successor, they are red orbs with black stars that can summon Dark Shenron. Only this time, since they are based on negative energy from the start, they can produce evil Shadow Dragons with a single wish instead of several. They also dissipate over time and space once used, making memorization a difficult task.

6 Special Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Super Heroes

• Creator: Phew
• Position: Not Canon
• Debut: Dragon Ball Super Heroes (video game), Episode 1 – “Goku vs. Goku! The Transcendent Battle Begins on the Prison Planet!” (anime), Chapter 1 – “Prison Planet” (A space mission manga)

Dragon Ball Super Heroes also brought in Special Dragon Ball. They are basically the same as Earth Dragon Balls in that they summon Shenron. But instead of being MacGuffins for treasure hunters, they function as keys to escaping the Prison Planet, a cluster of worlds altered together that captures anyone its creator Fu deems fit for his social experiment.

The only way to escape the prison planet is to collect all seven special dragon balls, each held by a different prisoner. In the end, the Dragon and Time Patrol teams from the series just use their power to overcome Fu and the evil Saiyan Cumber to break the Prison Planet's seal. The orbs are then just used to free everyone and restore the separated planets to their original orbits.

7 Dragon Ball Cereal

Dragon Ball Super (manga)

• Creative: Cereal Namekians
• Position: Canon
• Debut: Chapter 69 – “Cereal Planet Evolution”

The series has seen the Dragon Balls get bigger and bigger. So it's kind of refreshing to see Dragon Ball Cereal go in the opposite direction. Made by the Namekians on the planet Cereal, they are the size of marbles and there are only two to collect. They play a big role in the Granolah arc, where the titular character wants to use them to bring back his massacred Cereals.

It's a sympathetic goal, but Cereal's last Namekian, Monaito, thinks the return of the Cerealians could spell doom for planetary refugees from Sugar. This may be why his dragon Toronbo is surprisingly polite, advising collectors of the consequences of their wishes and offering alternatives if they turn out to be more palatable. Finally, if the collector is 100% sure of their wish, good or bad, Toronbo will make it happen.

8 Crystal of Omnipresence

Dragon Ball Legends

• Creator: Zalama (probably)
• Position: Not Canon
• Debut: Dragon Ball Legends mobile game

Every dragon ball in the series is eventually tied to the Super Dragon Balls. But if a mobile game Dragon Ball Legends is something that would work, they were just Zalam's result after working with a prototype: a singular giant sphere known only as crystal of Omnificience. It is formed by combining a smaller blue and red crystal to create its signature yin-yang symbol.

It does not summon a dragon, nor does it split or scatter. The crystal will grant as many wishes as its energy can fuel, which became a problem when the swordsman Zahha gained control of it. He used her power to nullify Beerus' Hakai power, removing Ki Detection as a concept in Universe 7 and forcing the new Saiyan Shallot's allies to forget about him and think he was the villain instead. Good thing DBL not canon…yet.

9 Demon Realm Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Daima

• Creative: The Demon Realm Namekians
• Position: Canon
• Debut: Episode 1 – “Conspiracy”

Finally, the latest set of dragon balls to join the series are Demon Realm Dragon Ball. While not as massive as the Super Dragon Balls, they are still much larger than the Namekian Dragon Balls. Fortunately, there are only three. Unfortunately, they are each their own Tamagami, powerful warriors created by the Namekian demon empire, Neva.

The Tamagami were able to keep the orbs out of the hands of anyone else in the underworld, indicating that they are even more powerful than demon kings like Dabura. Still, King Kadan of the 3rd Demon World thinks that Goku might be strong enough to overcome them, even as a child. Only time will tell what happens when the three orbs gather and what they summon.