**spoiler alert** Krillin is in this one, so you already know it’s an instant classic. I’m gonna be honest with you- The Saiyan saga didn’t do it for **spoiler alert** Krillin is in this one, so you already know it’s an instant classic. I’m gonna be honest with you- The Saiyan saga didn’t do it for me as much as it should’ve. Really, it just felt like an appetizer. This is like the side of fries with your burger, right? It’s not crazy, it’s not great- But it’s really important to have, and it’s really refreshing. Like I said before, it has Krillin in it- With more speaking lines than I think he’s had in the entire series up until now. That’s really the best part, honestly, I think we never really got to know a lot of these characters, so it’s great to have some catch up time with Krillin. Second best thing- The world building just goes fucking nuts here. Namek is crazy, Freeza is crazy- I feel like I’ve learned more about the world of Dragon Ball in this volume than I’d learn in like fifty chapters of the original. It’s awesome. But it is a bit long, and kinda tedious. Also, no good fights. Real bummer there. Still, I like where they’re going with it, and I LOVE not having to deal with Goku for one volume ever....more
**spoiler alert** I’m sorry. I’m sorry guys, I- I just wasn’t feeling this one. I don’t know what to say, I don’t why, but this fight did not do it for**spoiler alert** I’m sorry. I’m sorry guys, I- I just wasn’t feeling this one. I don’t know what to say, I don’t why, but this fight did not do it for me as much as it should’ve. It was good. It was good. But I just- Eh, I dunno. The tactics weren’t crazy enough. Whatever happened to “I went behind you going behind me going behind your back”? This felt more like characters pulling out signature moves for like twelve chapters and then Vegeta loses. Personally, I think there’s an over reliance on “whoa, that was his most powerfullest move!” stuff compared to, like, tactics and trading blows. Goku goes from Kaioken to Kaioken times three in like one book. I dunno, it just isn’t as interesting. I know that’s all just rambling, but it’s how I feel. Still, though, this is a fight in Dragon Ball- It’s basically a given that it slaps. Just not as hard as Teinshinhan or the Piccolo fights. Good volume....more
Unpopular opinion (maybe): Training arcs are great! It was one of my biggest problems with the original series, that they were always just brushed oveUnpopular opinion (maybe): Training arcs are great! It was one of my biggest problems with the original series, that they were always just brushed over, so it felt like whenever characters just kind of wanted to get more powerful, they did. Without working for it. I’m happy to say that isn’t the case here. Toriyama manages to make you feel a year’s worth of effort, hard work and number-raising in just 180 pages- And that’s not all- He did it for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6- 7 characters! Because of this, power feels earned, and not just obtained. Because so much time is spent building up to the main event, the pacing issues from last volume are gone. It’s great. This volume is an incredibly strong start the second leg of the Saipan saga- Even if it doesn’t progress the story much farther than a one year time skip could, it is absolutely integral to making me care about the story at all. And now, I do. So, for that, this is easily better than volume 1....more
Dragon Ball Z starts out with a bang. Pretty literally, actually, with the farmer shooting Raditz. In other ways, too, though- It seems like it’s in aDragon Ball Z starts out with a bang. Pretty literally, actually, with the farmer shooting Raditz. In other ways, too, though- It seems like it’s in a bit of a hurry to get going, and so it kinda brushes over a lot of stuff I think is super important in like, a few pages or not at all- A bad trait of the original already prevailing into Z, I see. Another bad thing about this is the translation work, which seems noticeably worse than what came previously, which- I don’t even know how that’s possible. Piccolo talks weird, Kakarot is spelled bad… It’s nothing unreadable, but it is very noticeable. Bad traits aside, the pacing, while a bit too fast for me, does lend itself well to setting up the story incredibly fast and giving you some absolutely nasty action. Vs. Raditz is a great fight, providing, I think, the first real two on one in series history, a great ending, and some cool twists along the way. It’s far from the series’s best, though, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exceptional. So, yeah, Volume 1 delivers a strong, simple story, great action and some really fun surprises, but the pacing feels a little wonky and so does the translation work. Overall, though, great start....more
I think this book kinda benefits from the fact that the entire thing is just one fight, you know? And it’s a damn good one, too, and it just gets absoI think this book kinda benefits from the fact that the entire thing is just one fight, you know? And it’s a damn good one, too, and it just gets absolutely ruthless with being incredible towards the very end. Unrelenting, intense, incredibly choreographed action is what this volume delivers- And what the Piccolo Jr. saga serves to deliver as a whole. The story’s just okay to good, for the most part, though, it’s a real step down from Demon King Piccolo in pretty much every way. But honestly? I didn’t even care after reading this fight. It was just too fucking cool.
This Saga is definitely the series coming full circle, and boy are they showing it. Our characters are more powerful than ever. The action somehow manThis Saga is definitely the series coming full circle, and boy are they showing it. Our characters are more powerful than ever. The action somehow manages to keep up with the Demon King Piccolo saga in terms of quality. But the intensity, the drama, the stakes- They’re all toned down. A lot. And the story is pretty much the same thing we’ve gotten twice before. Sure, it’s undeniable that this is the best tournament saga yet, but it’s still the third one in how many issues. No matter how many tricks it pulls out of its sleeve, it always, in the back of my mind, feels like something I’ve read twice before. Because I kind of have. So, yeah, on some level, is it probably as good as the Demon King Piccolo saga? Sure. But does it feel as intense or fresh as it? No. Not by a long shot. To me, the Demon King Piccolo saga was the real ending of Dragon Ball. This is just an appetizer before Z....more
**spoiler alert** Goku loses his tail in this one, so it’s pretty much single-handedly the worst volume ever of all time.
I went in to the Demon King P**spoiler alert** Goku loses his tail in this one, so it’s pretty much single-handedly the worst volume ever of all time.
I went in to the Demon King Piccolo Saga with lowered expectations- And right out of the gate, it blew them away. It’s ending is more of the same- In a very, very good way. The shocking twists and turns, the crazy tactics- The final battle is fantastic, and probably the best yet in the series. But- And there is a but- This volume is not just that ending. It’s also the start of the Piccolo Jr. saga, and the continuation of the worst fucking trend in this goddamn series, like, come on, man- How many times do you need to skip training arcs? Six years and eight months of time total so far, done in four issues. Wow. What a waste. Beyond that, though, the Piccolo Jr. Saga is the return of another trend I’m not a fan of- The Tenkaichi Budokai. We’ve had like four or five (counting muscle tower) tournaments so far, and I, personally, do not need another one. It’s just repetitive, at this point, because it’s the same location with the same people and all of the fights are predictable, once again. But- And there is a but- Man, is it good so far. It’s just so crazy seeing all these characters like this in the same place. It really gives you a sense of how far we’ve come, and it may not be as high-stakes or fresh as the previous saga, but it’s setting up to be damn fun, and more than worthy of capping off this fantastic series. It has kinda killed the momentum, though, like starting a new story usually does. ...more
**spoiler alert** Piccolo does conquer the world in this one, actually, which is pretty crazy, I didn’t really expect that. What’s so impressive about**spoiler alert** Piccolo does conquer the world in this one, actually, which is pretty crazy, I didn’t really expect that. What’s so impressive about it is that he is genuinely incredibly menacing, and the fucking mass of crazy shit he has done to prove it is just insane. Like, they kill Roshi- Roshi, man! That’s crazy! So, yeah, Piccolo is single-handedly the greatest villain in the series and it isn’t even close. But enough about Picollo, that guy’s mean- What about Goku? Well, he gets more powerful. Uh, his fat friend eats too much food. Bulma panty shot. Yeah, when Piccolo isn’t there, the hype dies down a little for me. But when he is there- Oh my god. This is the most hype, insane, shocking, fantastic volume. It’s everything I wanted, and it just keeps getting better....more
**spoiler alert** This volume just goes nuts with the cool shit- Bam, bam bam, Krillin’s dead- Htstsystststs- Goku’s dead- KRAK- Piccolo?! While I thi**spoiler alert** This volume just goes nuts with the cool shit- Bam, bam bam, Krillin’s dead- Htstsystststs- Goku’s dead- KRAK- Piccolo?! While I think the action is certainly a step down from Goku Vs. Tienshinhan for now, it’s undeniable that this Piccolo story is Dragon Ball’s best yet- Real stakes, a menacing villain, new characters and funky Dragon Ball action. It really feels like the beginning of the first truly substantial Dragon Ball story, and I am here for it. They didn’t have to kill off my man Dino-Guy, though, that was just uncalled for....more
**spoiler alert** I say with pride that I have successfully predicted the winner in every fight of this tournament, but there is no way in hell I coul**spoiler alert** I say with pride that I have successfully predicted the winner in every fight of this tournament, but there is no way in hell I could have predicted how any of it happened. Once this book gets going, it DOES. NOT. STOP. It is unrelenting, insane, overly complex, over the top action. Listen to this line: “I went behind you going behind me going behind your back!” WHAT? WHAT!? That is insane! This book is insane! There is absolutely nothing like Goku Vs. Tienshinhan in this series so far. It blows everything previous out of the water. Sure, the story isn’t much to write home about, but come on- THIS IS INSANE!...more
**spoiler alert** Well guys, don’t worry- Goku found the car, and now Team Rocket is blasting off again. Oh, and we’re getting a new arc with the same**spoiler alert** Well guys, don’t worry- Goku found the car, and now Team Rocket is blasting off again. Oh, and we’re getting a new arc with the same premise as an old one, and the first two matches play out pretty much exactly like they did last time. Yamcha loses. Roshi wins. Riveting stuff here over at Dragon Ball HQ, where all the ideas are had. There is some good stuff, though- Despite how lame Pilaf and his Cronies are, and how garbage the Fortuneteller Baba tournament was, the Red Ribbon Army saga has a satisfying ending that delivers on what it promised. And, despite how utterly predictable and depressingly repetitive this new Tenkaichi Budokai feels, it has, as always, great fights, and the villains are pretty solid, too, with some fun reveals here and there. Out of everything this volume messes up, though, I’d say where it fails the most is skipping over a THREE YEAR LONG TRAINING ARC. Come on! It was bad the last time when we had like four issues for eight months, but this is ridiculous. Did Toriyama think it wouldn’t be interesting? Did he think it wouldn’t make this tournament more impactful if we’d seen how far the Dragon Squad (that’s what I’m calling them) had come? It’s an absolutely asanine decision that only serves to hurt this saga. Still, like I said, the fights are good, and as always, the writing’s very good, but the story? Yeah, not so much. I’m hoping for better as we go on....more
**spoiler alert** What a pointless waste of a volume. Literally NOTHING happened. It’s like all the development of the writing style and the abandonme**spoiler alert** What a pointless waste of a volume. Literally NOTHING happened. It’s like all the development of the writing style and the abandonment of substance-less one-shot stories has just evaporated so Goku can fight universal monster characters to learn where a car is. Like, what? I guess you have Son Gohan, which feels nice, but would’ve been better in a better story. Plus, he doesn’t do anything, really. He just tells Goku to train his tail. What a revelation. Worth my time for sure. So, this volume? Pointless story, subpar fights. terrible villains and nothing to back it up. It just feels like padding. Like filler. And now, we’re getting to the real stuff. Hopefully. ...more
**spoiler alert** An absolutely fabulous end to the Commander Red Saga that resolves every issue I had with the Red Ribbon Army Saga so far, Volume 8 **spoiler alert** An absolutely fabulous end to the Commander Red Saga that resolves every issue I had with the Red Ribbon Army Saga so far, Volume 8 of Dragon Ball ups the ante in every way over everything previous and proves itself as the best volume yet, with nothing but good things ahead. Not only does this volume deliver in spades with incredible action, but it does two very, very important things. It gives Goku (and the reader) a reason to care about collecting the Dragon Balls and introduces possibly the only truly threatening villain yet in the entire series. Think about it. Sure, Goku’s fought guys- But name one that was stronger than him and just a straight up bad guy. Oh, oh you’re thinking Jackie Chun? That was Roshi the whole time, you absolute dunderhead. What, what is it, Jiggler? Really? Jiggler? Come on. Taopipi is menacing, one of Goku’s only true opponents and just very entertaining in his own right. He’s a great villain that did what a villain needs to do- Make you actually wonder how, how our hero could POSSIBLY get out of this one. But that’s not even it- They put a whole entire Bora in this one. What’s Bora? Who’s Bora? CHARACTER MOTIVATION. I’ve said this in previous reviews, but it didn’t seem like there was any real reason to be getting the Dragon Balls again- Kinda like the first time- But now, we have it. Bora almost single-handedly saves this saga because I actually want him to have his happy ending. How are we gonna let Bora Jr. cry? You can’t do that. Finally, though, that ending- MAN. There’s no more Taopipi, so you don’t really worry for Goku at all because these guys are actually morons, but it is just a complete power trip. It is just three chapters of Goku absolutely messing shit up and I am here for it. Also, the twists- General Black as the true villain? How cool was that? So, yeah. This was super duper good and I loved it....more
Despite my lack of interest in the previous volume and the ongoing story, this volume managed to recapture that interest with great action, an entertaDespite my lack of interest in the previous volume and the ongoing story, this volume managed to recapture that interest with great action, an entertaining villain and a story that feels like it has real stakes- For the first two or so thirds of the book. The last third kind of blows, only feeling like it exists for a pointless cameo and nothing more. It destroys the pacing and the world building, and just feels like a massive waste. Still, the last chapter sets up what looks to be a fun little story for the next volume, and despite my woes with its ending, General Blue was a really entertaining, funny saga that really upped the ante in every way over the previous one. This volume is exemplary of that, and no matter how it ended, that’s worth four stars. ...more
**spoiler alert** For the first time, Dragon ball regresses, with no stakes, no drama, an awful opening fight in a mediocre arc, and a new arc that do**spoiler alert** For the first time, Dragon ball regresses, with no stakes, no drama, an awful opening fight in a mediocre arc, and a new arc that doesn’t seem to improve much. The most worthwhile thing in here is chapter 68, which is just fantastic. It’s a fun little reprieve from all the pointless action and ball hunting, with good humor to boot. Other than that, it’s okay to good, for the most part, but I find myself far from invested in the story, because it’s given me no reason to be invested. The Red Ribbon Army are not the serious villains Dragon Ball needs. They’re a series of dull punching bags in a pointless saga. I just really don’t care about anything that’s happening in this story....more
**spoiler alert** The final fight of the Tenkaichi Budokai is electrifying and hilarious, never relenting with the twists, special moves and absolutel**spoiler alert** The final fight of the Tenkaichi Budokai is electrifying and hilarious, never relenting with the twists, special moves and absolutely insane action I expected. It’s a great end to a great arc, and it thoroughly satisfied me. That said, there’s also a whole other part of this book where Goku fights a robot for a Dragon Ball to save the mayor because a girl saved him and then told him about the mayor so he has to save him, and then he fights a ninja and- It’s just a bit much, and a bit too little at the same time. The momentum of the plot is now gone because Goku isn’t really doing this for any reason. The comedy isn’t as present, so it’s less entertaining, and when they bring it back it feels jarring. Something about this new arc doesn’t quite work, and the feeling sticks into the next volume. That being said, I still really enjoyed this, and it’s great for the final fight alone. ...more
The action, the humor, the plot- It’s all there, and it’s all great. The second volume surrounding the Tenkaichi Budokai is exactly what I expected anThe action, the humor, the plot- It’s all there, and it’s all great. The second volume surrounding the Tenkaichi Budokai is exactly what I expected and exactly what I wanted, even if it is a little too predictable for its own good. I understand the idea that a story is about the journey and not the destination, but I think this is a little extreme. There was a single fight I couldn’t predict the outcome of, and it was VERY early on. Everything else, there’s not much tension, there are no real surprises, and even the “Big Twist” feels halfhearted. Like they expected you to know right off the bat, so didn’t bother to hide it at all. The story feels less like Splash Mountain and more like It’s A Small World- It’s not gonna take you to any new heights or leave you shocked, but it maintains a consistent quality throughout....more
**spoiler alert** Dragon Ball Volume 3 is just shy of great, and, once again, marks a massive improvement on almost all fronts from its predecessors. **spoiler alert** Dragon Ball Volume 3 is just shy of great, and, once again, marks a massive improvement on almost all fronts from its predecessors. Unfortunately, a slow beginning and rushed middle greatly impact it’s overall quality. The sad thing is, once it gets going, and even during the middle, it’s great. Still zany and fun as always, but with a real, consistent ongoing plot for the first time in its run. Plus, the action is just fantastic. It’s just nothing can really make up for the four issues lost on picking up hot chicks that could’ve been spent training. Instead, we get two and a half chapters of actual training, barring the cute little warm up stuff. Eight months of meaningful character development skimmed over because Toriyama thought it was just SO funny that Roshi is a creep. I mean, it’s kinda funny- But it isn’t worth sacrificing the meat of the series for it, you know? Those first four issues could’ve been condensed down to two or even one if he really wanted to. But, he didn’t. So, at the end of the day, the fantastic ending issues don’t make up for what came before- But this series is getting DANGEROUSLY close to a four out of five....more
Dragon Ball continues to be delightful as it slowly incorporates more serious plot elements and some real action into its story while maintaining the Dragon Ball continues to be delightful as it slowly incorporates more serious plot elements and some real action into its story while maintaining the lighthearted charm of the original book. Sadly, though, Dragon Ball fails to end its first arc satisfyingly due to its failure to take itself seriously and to add in any serious villain threat by its end. Even though the “Final Battle” is entertaining, at the end of it all, I’m thinking about where these twenty or so issues got the story. And, honestly, they didn’t get it far, and really only served as an introduction that sets up far more interesting stories in the future. That being said, this book was a charming continuation of the story set up by the first volume that improved upon it in every way, but ultimately failed to provide me with a satisfying ending. ...more
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