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Dragonball
Author: Akira Toriyama
Volumes: 42 (Complete at 519 chapters)
Publisher: Shonen Jump [Viz split the English translation to mimic the TV series, click HERE for part one and HERE for part two]
MERRY XMAS TO ANYBODY READING THIS ON THE DAY THIS ENTRY RELEASED!!!
I can’t talk about this one without spoilers. I’m sorry, but to me Dragonball is equally as commonly spoiled as knowing who Luke’s father is in Star Wars.
I cannot talk about this one without bias either, but to be 100% clear, we are talking about the comic Dragonball and not the animated adaptation that later changed its name to Dragonball Z. While it is true that english translations would decide to label the start of the Saiyan arc’s volumes onward Dragonball Z you can still clearly see on a lot (if not all) of the covers the actual volume number in the artwork!
Dragonball goes from the Pilaf arc all the way to the Buu arc.I know it’s a small thing, but I’d buy it all over again to own english translations with the name intact. In Dragonball’s beginning storylines; a variety of stories are told. I know in the latter parts of the story, certain tropes would become more commonplace, but even then each arc feels like it comes with its own theming and goals (even with how messy the Buu arc was).
I think no matter who you ask you’ll get a vastly different answer as to which part of the series was their favourite, but for me I really love the Cell arc, it starts with the return of Freeza, and ends with the defeat of Cell. It’s a part of the story where I sincerely think Toriyama should have either ended the series, or instead decided to take a massive break to figure things out since having Gohan take over as lead protagonist is a great bookend, and could have probably been so much more if things had been given the time to develop proper.
A close second arc for me being the Saiyan arc, the first and only time teamwork is on full display, and is the only reason the main cast live to fight another day after their biggest battle to date. Third of which being the Red Ribbon Army arc, an arc which took all that had come before at that point, and brought us the adventure battle comic that its fans deserved to experience at its best at least once before shifting into a more battle centric plot.
Akira Toriyama often calls himself out as lazy when it comes to his artwork, and though I don’t doubt he looks to cut corners wherever he can, I don’t think there’s any shame in working smart and not hard in an industry that famously destroys the health of many that work in it. Akira Toriyama’s Style is unmistakable, and when it comes to his skills at panelling and composition, Toriyama’s “mostly” visually consistent work is the yardstick I personally measure all others by.
Where Dragonball falls over is with the forgetfulness of its author. Does piccolo have 3 fingers or 4? Does Yamcha have the hair for the current arc or the last? Which god is god of the gods? How does the Dragon’s wishes work again? This list goes on and on, but despite this it’s oddly never too glaringly obvious the first or second time you read through it… I don’t know quite how he does it, but Toriyama forgets in a way where we don’t always catch what he’s dropped right away.
Ultimately, Dragonball compared to what we have now is like a template, a starting point for both readers of comics and aspiring creators alike. It’s simple, but in every positive sense it’s to its strength… just a shame this also means it's a zombified franchise that keeps being resuscitated for better or worse now too.