Dragon Ball: The Japanese anime that helped to normalize the Catalan language

On a typical weekday afternoon in Catalonia in the 1990s, it was common to see people in bars glued to the television watching Japanese anime - a sight unimaginable today, except for football. 

They were watching Bola de Drac, the Catalan version of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama’s legendary manga series. Its impact on Catalonia was immense, marking generations and becoming the single most influential show in promoting the Catalan language. 

Originally published in Japan's weekly magazine Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, the anime first aired in Catalan in 1990 on public broadcaster TV3 - on a day when it wasn't even scheduled. 

Almost immediately, thousands of Catalans were hooked. TV3 initially bought just 26 episodes, not expecting much. But when they abruptly stopped broadcasting the show, they were flooded with complaints from disappointed viewers.  

The original series had 153 episodes, and TV3 rushed to buy more when they realized they had an unexpected hit. Little did they know that decades later, Bola de Drac would still be remembered as a cultural phenomenon. 

Dragon Ball made Catalan 'sexy'

The series arrived at a time when access to entertainment was limited. There was no internet, and TV was one of the only sources of content available. Soon, Bola de Drac became a phenomenon, and everyone was talking about it. 

"It was the first viral phenomenon of our generation," explains Oriol Estrada, an author and expert in Japanese culture who built a career inspired by Dragon Ball. 

But perhaps the greatest impact Bola de Drac had on Catalonia was its role in popularizing the Catalan language. 

At the time, Catalan was still recovering from decades of repression under Franco’s dictatorship and was not as normalized in public spaces as it is today. 

In addition, many children and teenagers from Spanish-speaking families - descendants of the mass migrations to Catalonia in the 1960s and 1970s - grew up during this period. Many of them learned Catalan thanks to the Japanese anime. 

Estrada highlights that Dragon Ball made Catalan a "cool" and attractive language for many who were not used to speaking it. 

"The key was that Dragon Ball was available in Catalan but not in Spanish. That alone motivated many people to see Catalan culture in a different light," explains Daniel Cassany, professor of Discourse Analysis in the Catalan language at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. 

The love for Dragon Ball in Catalan was so strong that even when the series became available in Spanish in 1997, many Spanish-speaking fans continued watching the Catalan version. 

"Horrendous. The Spanish version is not my Dragon Ball," says Blanca, a longtime fan who watched the series from its beginning until it stopped airing in 2001. The show also sparked her passion for comics and manga. 

But Bola de Drac didn’t just help Spanish speakers in Catalonia learn Catalan—it also reached audiences beyond Catalonia. 

One such case is David Broncano, a well-known Spanish TV presenter. He once revealed that he speaks Catalan because he could pick up TV3 from Jaén, in southern Spain, and learned the language despite never having set foot in Catalonia. 

"This is what happens with fans of any cultural product: they become highly motivated, invest time in it, build a personal connection, and as a result, they learn the language," explains Cassany. 

A dubbing that made history

Cap de suro! (Corkhead), Gamarús! (Idiot), Brètol! (Rascal), Setciències! (Know-it-all)! These are some of the most legendary insults from the Catalan version of Bola de Drac, one of the key elements that has endured over time. 

The translation of the series remains one of the most iconic examples of Catalan dubbing. It was an outstanding adaptation, rich in vocabulary and full of funny, original expressions that quickly became unforgettable. 

Since the anime was aimed at children, the translators couldn't use strong swearing. Instead, they turned to old, archaic Catalan insults that were no longer in common use.

This decision not only avoided controversy but also gave the dialogue a humorous and fresh tone while promoting the richness of the Catalan language. 

"I was told to be very careful with the language because, without realizing it, we were teaching Catalan to many people. It was important to speak it properly," said Marc Zanni, the legendary adult voice of Son Goku, in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

Marc and the other voice actors brought the script to life with incredible intonation and delivery, making the dialogues memorable. Many fans still recreate and remember them today as the voices of their childhood. 

Relaunch on TV3

Celebrating the 35th anniversary since the first episode aired on TV3, the broadcaster is relaunching Bola de Drac once again. 

Last November, the public TV’s streaming platform, 3Cat, brought back the series, along with Dragon Ball Z. In just over 10 days, the relaunch garnered over a million views. 

The platform will also be releasing Dragon Ball Super in Catalan for the first time. 

To learn more about Bola de Drac and its impact on the Catalan language and Japanese culture in Catalonia, listen to this episode of our podcast, Filling the Sink.