Reviews

Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King by Akira Toriyama

nilocennis's review against another edition

4.0

First volume of Dragon Ball - I'm making it one of my goals to read it all this year to see what I missed out on as a kid. So far, I'm really enjoying it. It's really silly & fun, though the cultural differences are definitely apparent in some of the comedy.

I'm excited to see where this goes!

knitasgonnaknit's review

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

solilablau's review against another edition

2.0

Hey Joyce, this was bad but I will read it for you since you love it, Anna

helpfulsnowman's review against another edition

4.0

I'm embarking on this journey once again. The journey to finish something started by Cartoon Network when I was a teen and they showed Dragonball Z every afternoon.

Man, that show was kinda terrible. Not the show itself, but it was like every episode was 20 minutes long with 40 seconds of content.

Sort of like my reviews. I learned a lot from Cartoon Network. Nothing good, though.

lipsandpalms's review against another edition

5.0

I'm very familiar with the story because I've watched the anime on and off for many years. It's fun to see the original ideas that sparked undoubtedly the most successful anime in the world. I'll probably end up finishing the whole series this year

bexter's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Whilst I enjoyed Son Goku's character in general and the overarching plot of starting the quest to find the dragonballs, it was pretty difficult to look past the nature of some of the jokes. Bulma is oversexualised and every other joke is about looking at her underwear and the stuff that happens when she's asleep is completely unnecessary. When you take into account her age it get's even weirder.

Almost all of the characters are completely unlikeable. I did enjoy Son Goku and his innocence/silliness but even he goes too far on occasion.

I didn't mind the story with the dragon balls and trying to collect them all. It seems very fast paced which I liked as that was the kind of read I was looking for.

By the end of the volume they already have most of the dragon balls and are at the place to find the next.

I'm going to continue on and see if it improves as I know it's a classic. I hope the comedy evolves with the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

daniel1501's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

twilliamson's review against another edition

4.0

I love the introduction to Toriyama's Dragon Ball, as it pulls from a rich history of literature and blends together postmodern elements of science-fiction and fantasy. What is ostensibly a long quest adventure is full of humor and creative invention. I admit to not loving the later portions of the manga run as much as these first couple of volumes, Dragon Ball on the whole is a worthy manga to read.

starchild1996's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It the adventure of Son Goku and help Bulma find the dragon ball.

iamjamface's review against another edition

2.0

1.5/ 5 ✨

Just not my vibe, didn’t really want to finish it