Does anyone actually die? I've started watching Naruto and was wondering if anyone actually dies or if it is like Dragon Ball and it never really happens.

Please no spoilers about who dies, just if someone does or if there are serious injuries inflicted.
Yes, people die.  The first major arc (Zabuza arc) features multiple deaths. Several villains die throughout the story.  Some country leaders also die, as do some fairly plot-important characters and/or their relatives.  A lot of the most important characters end up near-death, but survive for various reasons.  Not all of those are able to recover well enough to resume their previous lives.


   Some of the dead ones don't stay dead, though.  Some of those come back as zombies.  But then they go back to being dead.  Others just get a resurrection spell cast on them.  Kind of like in Dragon Ball.