Manga DB Arc 9: Piccolo Jr. and Final Thoughs
(manga chap. 162-194, anime ep. 123-153)
PREMISE: King Piccolo is dead, but he left a son to avenge him. Goku and Piccolo Jr. will fight each other in the next World Martial Arts Tournament. But before that Goku will face the creator of Dragon Balls himself. (Introduces: Piccolo Jr., Kami, Mr. Popo)
THOUGHTS: Final fight with Piccolo takes 6 episodes. It's epic undoubtedly, but it did drag a little and I worry for the DBZ. 3rd Tournament this quickly is a little jarring as well, but most fights were still pretty fun. Overall I found this a satisfying conclusion to the show. Also I already miss Krillin and Goku child voices.
ANIME FILLER: First time in ages filler is somewhat low, only major one being some scenes of baby Piccolo, which are good enough. (But I must say that Goku’s talk with Mystery Female Fighter has some weird translation choices. This is the only time I noticed an important scene being changed in dub, rather than a small joke or dirty moment). But that was about episode padding. There are 11 'pure filler’ episodes. 127-132 shows Goku training with Mr. Popo. And it’s actually pretty good. It’s low key, creative, and (racist or not) I really like Mr. Popo, who gets very little time in manga. My only problem is that 1) training doesn’t feel finished, the show just skips forward. 2) Tien & rest have a boring 2-part story. As for 149-153 (last episodes of the show), it’s a cool idea for an epilogue, with pretty boring, sometimes dumb and languid execution. If you really want to see Goku’s wedding, just watch the last three minutes of 153.
FINAL THOUGHTS Is OG Dragon Ball best anime of all time? Not really, but it still stands test of time, which is all we can ask for. It's fun lighthearted adventure with cool battles and likeable protagonist. It's main flaw is that as with each chapter, all supporting characters become more and more useless, only being there for character interactions and cheering for Goku. This isn't manga with much character development or intellectual problem solving, just fighting and training to fight. Keep that in mind and you'll have a good time. Manga or Recut Anime are superior experience to watching all filler, but I understand if you're curious. In my reviews I listed my favorite filler moments and there is always wiki to help you out. Dub Vs Sub is always matter of preference, personally I prefer dub and looking at animation that focusing on the bottom of the screen. Most voices are really good, but there is occasional weird translation here and there.
Manga DB Arc 8: King Piccolo
(manga chap. 135-161, anime ep. 102-122)
PREMISE: Ancient Evil, King Piccolo was released from his prison. He begins his world conquest plans with murdering world greatest martial artists and search for Dragon Balls. (introduces: King Piccolo, Yajirobe)
THOUGHTS: Good, but not perfect. Piccolo is the most menacing villain yet. There are powerful shocking moments and the conclusion is the epic sized battle. BUT! Size is the word. Where duels used to be 50% power 50% tactics, now we’re leaning to 90% power and spectacle, which is a finite resource. Whole thing is just a little too long and most of the cast are just useless. Newcomer Yajirobe is the first major character I dislike. None of those problems ruin this arc though, it's still a blast.
ANIME FILLER: Actually not too bad. Surplus, but most of it makes sense. In manga we mostly see Goku, while anime shows us the rest of the world dealing with Piccolo’s threat. It could have been done better (and my god, everything in Kame House was a drag), but overall I appreciate it. My favorite moments were Tien dealing with his past (ep 107) and surprisingly decent search for Ultra Divine Water (115-116).
Manga DB Arc 7: Tien Shinhan
(manga chap. 113-134, anime ep. 84-101)
PREMISE: Goku and his friends once more enter the World Martial Arts Tournament. This time they will face students from Crane School, led by Master Roshi’s old rival. (introduces: Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Master Shen)
THOUGHTS: But I’m happy to say this arc really picks up in quality. Plenty of great fights with cool choreography. Only the final fight could have been better. Not terrible, but despite its long length, it didn’t meet my action or emotional expectations.
ANIME FILLER: Still bountiful. The 1st fight of the tournament has some small but cool little additions. and during the 3rd match Master Shen gets fleshed out a little. Rest of the filler I could live without. I understand the logic of giving secondary characters more screen time (Bulma or Oolong), but when they just delay the cool bits I end up liking them less, not more.
Manga DB Arc 6: Fortuneteller Baba
(manga chap. 97-112, anime ep. 68-83)
PREMISE: Goku seeks help from Fortuneteller Baba in finding the last Dragon Ball. However she will only help if Goku and his friends defeat her five mysterious warriors. (introduces: Mysterious Fifth Warrior AKA Goku’s grandpa Goham.)
THOUGHTS: Honestly I didn’t care much for this arc, fights or any new characters, even the Mystery Warrior. The flaws that started by the 3rd arc are now impossible to ignore: by now Goku’s so strong that it’s hard to buy anything that can harm him, which will lead the franchise to creating more and more absurdly strong villains. Even worse, all of his allies are basically useless next to him. working as glorified cheerleaders.
ANIME FILLER: Plenty of padding scenes and it’s a mixed bag. There are few heartwarming moments with Upa and Goku, but also a lot of pointless attempts to hype you up for next battles, which only makes them more underwhelming. I can’t say if this arc is better with or without all of this, but I’m leaning to “no”. Episodes 79-83 are pure filler stories, ranging from forgettable to rrrrrrreallly forgettable.
Manga DB Arc 5: Commander Red
(manga chap. 84-96, anime ep. 58-67)
PREMISE: Final confrontation with Red Ribbon Army. Tired of his men’s failures, Commander Red hires Tao, the world’s deadliest assassin, to kill Goku.
THOUGHTS: The “manga filler” Red Ribbon saga comes to conclusion. More-less on the level of previous chapters, EXCEPT everything around Tao, best villain Dragon Ball had so far. That part rocked pretty hard. For that reason, I think this arc deserves checking out, at least partially.
ANIME FILLER: Another arc with no filler episodes yet like 50% new scenes. In a shocking twist, some of those scenes are really great (around 58-62). The scene with Tao Vs Sniper was better than many manga moments. But good things don’t last, and the second half of the arc is filled with some shameless padding and really overdone jokes, a few moments getting significantly worse due to changes.
Manga DB Arc 4: General Blue
(manga chap. 70-83, anime ep. 46-57)
PREMISE: Goku continues the search for Dragon Balls and the fight against the Red Ribbon Army. This leads him, Bulma and Krillin to look for pirate treasure. (also: crossover with Dr. Slump)
THOUGHTS: Search for pirate treasure has its charm (the robot was really cool), but in the end it boils down to walking through some traps. I never read Dr. Slump but I found crossovers veeery dull. In my eyes, it’s still ‘Manga Filler’. Better than ‘Anime Filler’, but still filler.
ANIME FILLER: No filler episodes, but cannon ones are padded beyond my patience. Few decent jokes aren’t worth it. If you're a Dr Slump fan you might appreciate way more cameos, but for me it had opposite effect. I highly recommend watching the Recut version.
Manga DB Arc 3: Red Ribbon Army
(manga chap. 54-69, anime ep. 29-45)
PREMISE Goku searches for his grandpa's Dragon Ball, but so is the new treat: Red Ribbon Army. They will be the main threat of the next 3 arcs. (Introduces: Red Ribbon Army, Bulma’s parents)
THOUGHTS I hate that “filler” in anime means “stuff added by anime that wasn’t in manga”, because this arc is 100% canonical "Manga Filler". It really is just Goku beating some soldiers and super weapons and collecting Dragon Balls. Quality is still way better than most "Anime Filler" episodes, fights aren’t bad (Purple Ninja being quite humorous and creative) but the narrative around it is bland. No big story progress, no iconic characters. It’s skippable.
ANIME FILLER Dragon Ball Anime has around 14% pure Filler Episodes, but if you count canon Padding (new scenes added to Manga stories) it’s above 40%. This arc is the first time I really felt it (and it’s gonna only get worse). Some new scenes were a little funny, many were just stretched fights or pointless interruptions. I recommend using “Recut” from now on. Filler Episodes range from somewhat okay-ish (half of 42 and 44, full 45) to waste of time (part of 29, full 30-33), unless you really want to see Pilaf or Chi-Chi again.
Manga DB Arc 2: Tournament
(manga chap. 24-54, anime ep. 14-28)
PREMISE Goku begins his training under Master Roshi, in preparation for upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. (introduces: Krillin, Launch)
THOUGHTS Training with Roshi is okay, but a little underwhelming. I suspect it's because later anime (My Hero Academia) came up with much more interesting training scenarios than hard manual labor. Story picks up when we reach the Tournament. Comedy takes back seat to actual cool martial fighting, with colorful opponents and surprisingly epic climax. If first arc didn't sell you, give this one a try.
ANIME FILLER Filler scenes are even fewer, some better, some worse, mostly harmless.
Manga DB Arc 1: Emperor Pilaf
(manga chap. 1-23, anime ep. 1-13)
PREMISE Goku and his friends are on a quest to find seven mystical Dragon Balls which summon a wish granting Eternal Dragon. (introduces: Goku, Bulma, Master Roshi, Oolong, Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Pilaf)
THOUGHTS Bulma wants to wish for a boyfriend. Main villain is not a Frieze-like complete monster, but tiny clown with Napoleon complex. And there is rabbit that turns people into carrots. What I'm saying is that DB at start was very comical, on verge of parody even. It's charming, but that's is. Just a decent fun. If you plan to experience Dragon Ball, this arc in not to be skipped. But don't expect best manga of all of times.
ANIME FILLER Trying to figure out the optimal experience I watched anime episodes with dub, then compared it with the manga and DB wiki. Manga's biggest strength are action scenes. Panel layout and movement is more expressive than anime. Plus it's just faster paced. (I briefly looked at colored version, but it wasn't very good). Anime has it strengths. Some scenes do look better with colors and movement, and it's always nice to hear voices. Animation and voice acting aged pretty well and if I had to pick only one form, I would probably pick anime. Dub is not 1:1 translation from manga, but for 90% time you won't notice anything. And some names are more English-sounding (Bulma instead of Buruma), which I consider a plus. Anime Filler is very scarce in this arc and actually improves experience a little. Emperor Pilaf is introduces way earlier, giving him bigger presence in the arc. But if you are a manga purist, there is fan made "Dragon Ball Recut" version that removes all filler.
Manga The heart and soul of the series.
Dragon Ball is really the only manga series that's really clicked with me to any noteworthy degree; in fact, it's the only sequential art series of which I own the entire series of books. Even so, whenever I decide to re-read it every three years or so, interest sort of inevitably drops off after the conclusion of the more light-hearted pre-Z books are done with. The series just sort of lost more and more of the elements that made me dig it in the first place, eventually becoming a series of overly long, increasingly Darker and Edgier arcs with more shocking swerves than a Vince Russo wrestling program. Not that it isn't insignificant in this regard compared to the anime, eh guys?
At its best, Dragon Ball is a simply joyous mix of hardcore martial arts action, kooky characters, and indeed very delectable wimmins. Centered around a never-ending search for the titular seven dragon balls—which, when brought together, summons forth a mighty dragon that grants any one wish you may have (though really, the dude gives Genie a run for his money in the fine print department...)—which of course attracts the attention of forces both good and bad, for both good and bad reasons.
Centered mostly around incorruptibly good youth Goku and his increasingly unlikely menagerie of insanely neurotic friends, Dragon Ball balances out the "dragon ball hunt" arcs (once a wish is granted, the balls are scattered all over the world and rendered inert for a while) with frequent martial arts tournaments, providing breathers at choice instances. Bouts of epic drama are offset by DB's innocently racy and occasionally puerile humor to great effect. It knows when to get serious and downplay the humorifics for tonal consistency, but its breathtaking balancing act of the two is Dragon Ball's greatest virtue; one that is unfortunately all but gone in the Z arcs.
I realize this may come off as "Z totally sucks you guys" sentiment, but it's just that for me personally, the series didn't evolve on basis of its strengths. If you enjoy the epic action of Z more than its predecessor, more power to ya. It's all great entertainment, no matter how you slice it. Any detractors of Z's "brainless action" really should give the original arcs a try.
Manga Volume 2: The Word Of The Day Is "Arc"
Just before the final pages of volume 2, DB's definitive first arc has been completed. Bulma and Goku went on a quest to find the dragon balls and were eventually joined by Yamcha and Oolong. They were one ball away when they were captured, but they escaped and defeated their captor by making a stupid wish, after which the balls flew away, and because of Goku's convenient turning into a giant gorilla. Yamcha suddenly got over his fear of women for no reason and began a relationship with Bulma, Oolong went with Bulma and Yamcha into the city because...um...and Goku, done with helping Bulma, goes off to the Turtle Hermit to train.
Time will tell if it was wise to not end the story here, but if I did, I would be satisfied.
Akira once again handles his characters with finesse, though there are some bumps to be had here. Aside from Yamcha's flash paper character development and Oolong's decision in the name of nothing, Bulma has her playboy bunny outfit from volume 1 on for a bit too long, though it is removed, and a little girl named Chi-Chi arrives on the scene to help move along the plot by having a somewhat contrived relation to a previously introduced one.
The dialogue is well done, and the characters are likable. The humor remains, and Akira's experimentation with the fourth wall has been done to excellent effect. The combat/violence looks cool and is funny in its own way but still has some tension to it.
However, the bad writing persists. Akira is showing a nasty habit of pulling characters, plot elements, events, and just about anything else straight out of nowhere. Big Lipped Alligator Moment and Giant Space Flea from Nowhere abound. A rabbit that turns people into carrots? T-Rex decapitated by a little girl? Lasers that somehow put out a fire? All of this happens with little foreshadowing, if at all. Maybe Japanese stories differ (I'm an American nerd), but it seems to me as though he's making it up as he goes with no thought to World Building at all.
But Akira is an awesome artist, and even if I should come to hate his franchise, I appreciate the drawing put into it.
40 volumes to go...
Manga Volume 1: How To Gather Characters
Hello everyone, I have embarked on an epic quest: to absorb the entirety of the DB franchise by the end of this year. Planning to read manga before anime before movies, I have started with the humble page 1 of volume 1 of Dragon Ball.
Let me say that the first volume really nails it with the characters. All the characters seem really well done, despite some of them only first appearing in the latter half. Bulma is an adventurous teen who has a bit of an angry streak, but she's really nice at heart. Oolong is well...a little perverted, but his antics have (thankfully) all ended in hilarious failure, and I am sure some character development will get rid of his inappropriateness around Bulma. Goku is naive and as innocent as a little kid despite his 14 years of age, and though he is firmly established as a badass from the first few pages, his non-violent interactions with other people have more than enough meat to prevent him from becoming the team's "fight man".
As for plot, what can I say? I'm going into a serial work, and many plot developments are just being introduced. So far, Goku has met Bulma, who wants to find the seven wish granting dragon balls. He agrees to help. However, the rapidity of the acquisition of the balls disturbs me. In 1 volume, they went from having 2 to having 5. Considering we have only two left to go, something will slow them down enormously, considering the length of the series.
This is not a complaint, merely an observation: the universe is built quite strangely: why does Goku have a tail and superpowers? Why do people like Bulma have houses in a pill (sure beats hamburger in a pill, huh Jetsons?) yet there are pre-industrial era villages? Magical items and creatures are introduced with little explanation, and some characters come at you straight out of nowhere. PS Those are rhetorical questions; don't spoil the answers for me in the comments.
One scene I really liked the first confrontation with Yamcha. By that point, everything Goku had punched exploded. Even bullets merely hurt. With the magical flying cloud, hs movement was unimpeded. He had dished out two Curbstomp Battles, one to a generic Giant Mook and another to Oolong. He was dangerously veering into Boring Invincible Hero, but the fight with Yamcha proved that he was fallible.
41 more volumes to go...
Manga Easily changed my opinion
When I was growing up, I watched a lot of Dragon Ball Z. I thought it was one of the coolest shows I knew. Occasionally I'd come across it's counterpart, Dragon Ball, and watched a whole of two episodes before declaring it dull and boring and not as awesome as DBZ. Years later, after watching the entirety of Dragon Ball, I was terribly wrong about it. It was fantastic! It's easily become one of my favorites.
I remember hearing old fans complain about how DBZ wasn't nearly as good as Dragon Ball and I just thought they were talking out of their ass. After seeing much of both, I have to agree with them. Dragon Ball just out plays DBZ. It really does. I can't even believe that I feel that way, but hell, I do.
First of all, it kills the feeling of watching filler. Some of the major fights in Dragon Ball are dragged out for the sake of pumping the tension into it, but for the most part, it's incredibly tame compared to Z. They're still just as fun to watch and you'll be with them the whole way through. And somehow I was laughing while watching all of this. How Dragon Ball pulls off ass-kicking action and moments that should clearly be serious, but still amuses you to the point of laughter, I don't know how. But one of the most important things I think is that they make other characters useful in their own regard. Okay...remember Yamcha? Tien, Master Roshi, Puar, Krillin and all the others they showed to you in Z and you were too busy saying "Screw them I don't care about what they're doing!"? You will actually LIKE them in Dragon Ball. Really really. But why do I think it's better than Z?
Personally? I think it's all because Dragon Ball isn't afraid of having fun. It has it's share of light-hearted and dark-hearted moments (especially when Piccolo comes in) but it's a wonderful ride and one you won't forget.
Manga It's an okay show I guess. Not the best, but okay.
EDIT - Removed review
Manga Watch the first show!!!
Dragon Ball is revered as one of the foundations of the Shounen Jump-style Shounen Action genre, and is probably the most important series of its type. But at a daunting 508 episodes altogether, many casual anime fans will doubtless wonder: is it really worth my time?
What the newbie should be aware of before diving in is that Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are really two series with very significant differences. (See the main article.) I much prefer the original series, but due largely to its TV broadcasting timeline, Z is much more popular in North America. Just look at the trope list, and the characters sheet, and everything else — there's a huge Z bias. But Dragon Ball is often the one looked at with more nostalgia in Japan, and for good reason. It's a fun, free-spirited, innocent adventure story with liberal doses of martial arts action and a weird but endearing mishmash of ancient Chinese themes, modern technology, and Akira Toriyama's bizarre personal touches (like Petting Zoo People). The Journey to the West references fall away fairly quickly. Goku's the originator of all those naive but loveable shounen protagonists, and his archenemy Emperor Pilaf is a ridiculous megalomaniac. Meanwhile, Z focuses much more on intense, dramatic battles, science-fiction settings and action, and drawn-out plot arcs. It's much more repetitive, and although the stakes and "power levels" in the battles are higher (and climb as the series marches on), that doesn't necessarily make them more interesting. Episodes infamously consist of lots of trash-talking and preparation and recycled animation, although the fights do get intense at times.
Given the length of these shows, it's understandable if you pass them up due to their datedness and tiresome length. But if you're a newcomer, or have only watched Z, try watching Dragon Ball first. It's a lot more fun, and that's what counts. You will also understand the characters and situation much much more. (Frankly, the opening of DBZ is one of anime's great Wham Episode, but watching it before you've seen Dragon Ball ruins that.) As for Z... try watching the Abridged Series and see if it interests you. DBZ isn't as good as modern shounen series but it does have its moments.
Manga Dragon Ball Movies (all, 1-4)
OG Dragon Ball has 4 movies, all of which are curiosity and nothing more, easily skipped and not even remotely canon. First 3 are retellings of manga arcs with large changes and lasting around 45 min. Animation is slightly crispier than in anime, with nice backgrounds and one or two cool shots, but generally action is pretty dull. Also the English dub is kinda clunky, most voices are different from anime.
- “Curse of the Blood Rubies” adapts Goku meeting with Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha and Roshi but the villain collecting Dragon Balls is generic baddie King Gurumes. Half of the movie is just rushed scenes from the anime, other half is bland filler.
- "Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle" adapts meeting with Krillin, Launch and first Great Ape transformation, but the majority of the story is filler about a visit to the titular Devil’s Castle and fighting some monsters. Best I can say is that the opening scene is showing the castle is pretty and has nice horror vibes.
- "Mystical Adventure" is a bizarre mix of Tournament, Dr Slump Crossover and Tao arcs, but the actual story is about Chiaotzu as good emperor, Shen as evil vizier and Tien as his servant. It’s as big of a mess as it sounds.
- Lastly, The Path to Power is yet another retelling of meeting with Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha and Roshi, and this time the main villains are the Red Ribbon Army (Muscle Tower and Main HQ). With 80 minutes it’s still just really rushed retelling, story wise inferior to manga. The only selling point this movie has is very pretty animation. In some ways I still prefer anime (fights), but it's hard to deny some movements (Kamehameha) look quite gorgeous. While technically OG Dragon Ball movie, it came out much later than other 3 or anime, so you might wanna watch it in release order (after DB GT, before DB Super) to space things out.