Dragon Ball, Vol. 1

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Fine

I have had this comic book for so many years and for so many years i never got around to reading it as it seemed to find a life just lying on my book shelf as an ornament. With the recent re-releases of the DBZ DVD uncut re-mastered box sets I found myself finally being able to watch DBZ as I couldn't before. The reason being that when I wanted to watch DBZ on the cartoon network it was already way to deep in the storyline for me to follow and catch up so I decided to never jump on the DBZ nation. Now with the DVD sets being so affordable and just jammed with so many episodes I couldn't pass the opportunity. So I ended up really loving the cartoon and it did take about 1 episode for me to get comfortable with the English voice cast.Now DB isn't available on DVD box set uncut re-mastered so I thought I would turn to the comics to see where it all began. I finally read the book on my shelf that's been there for years and I really enjoyed it. I am glad I never threw it out on one of my weekly apartment cleaning splurges. The artwork of course is stellar and I love Japanese comics because they have so many pages unlike US comics that only have about 21 pages. It's nice to see how Bulma met Goku and how Oolong & Yamcha all fell into the scheme of things. I always wondered where Chi Chi came from & now I know. I found the book so enjoyable that I ordered the other 15 issues that rounded up the original DB saga. I found myself just waiting for the next page to turn. The creator/artist does a wonderful job of balancing action, humor, friendship, & dirty jokes all in one. This truly is a piece of art that is a masterpiece to own. It also makes a great quick read on any vacation or bus ride. The version I have is the 1st one published by Viz Comics and is the exact same one displayed here except it has a white cover & not red. It is also a little bigger which I like. I am a bit shocked by some reviews that say it's too racy for teenagers. The comic is in cartoon animated children like format; i doubt it's harmful unless your child needs psychiatric help if a comic book influences them that heavily to want to beat people with a stick that magically extends or imagines that people can sit on clouds that fly you places. I am also certain young children won't find the humor the way a grown teenager or someone in their 20's would. I didn't find any racy or uncomfortable content in the comic whatsoever. Everything is in for humor effect. This comic is for any art lover and any DBZ lover. It's simply the best and one of the best artistic contributions to the world.

I have been a fan of the Dragon Ball Z anime since my days in 6th grade. I'm 24 now, and I've just unlocked every single character in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (great game if you love the series by the way). However there has always been a part of me that really wanted to see what Goku was like in his youth, and I debated for a while on whether I should look into the show or the manga. I eventually settled on buying the first volume in order to experience Dragon Ball in a different manner, and I am so glad that I chose this medium.First of all, the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z manga tend to be a little less "filled" than the anime. The story keeps moving forward in a nice, timely fashion, and though the fights themselves are still fantastic, there's no period of stare-downs and pointless dialogue in between the explosive action. A great example of this is in DBZ when Goku dies the first time during the Saiyan Saga. In the anime I believe it takes almost 15 to 20 episodes before Goku finally reaches King Kai and trains for his upcoming battle with Vegeta and Nappa. In the comic, it's only about 20 pages. So if you're the type of person that likes a story told to the point, the manga is definitely for you. I still prefer the DBZ show to the comics overall, but I'm of the opinion that the story of little Goku and his friends is best told through the humorous panels that Akira Toriyama worked on so diligently nearly 25 years ago.Second, the humor in Dragon Ball is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Master Roshi is a bit of a pervert (as always), the bickering between Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar is still tongue-in-cheek goodness, and Goku's naive nature and willingless to become the strongest fighter ever blends together into a neat little tale of innocence lost (but any fan of DB knows that Goku never really loses that quality). I don't consider myself as a fan of comedy in general (I prefer bloody Samurai films and Tarantino/Chanwook noire), but Dragon Ball had me laughing so hard at some points that I had to stop reading momentarily.All in all, I highly recommend this purchase for anyone who loves comics and/or Dragon Ball. If you're new to the series, this may be a great starting point, but don't expect any of the hardcore fight scenes that later appear in the stories of DBZ. Instead, expect some interesting characters, like a thief who lives in the desert with his best pal (a cat), a martial arts master who tends to come off too strong on the ladies, and a little boy with a monkey's tail who could probably eat the whole selection of a Las Vegas buffet and still demand seconds. Enjoy!