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A review by elijahmwh
Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King by Akira Toriyama
2.0
Note: This is my rating and review for the entire series.
Dragonball is a classic among the anime and manga mediums. It gave birth to many stories that came after it. It is the most inspirational manga to ever exist. I respect the praise and notoriety it receives.
However, this was just not for me. I read it because I wanted to experience a classic manga; a manga that has inspired my favorite series along with many, many others. Yet, I was highly disappointed in it.
I’ll start with my praises of the series first though. The choreography and paneling are spectacular for the shonen demographic, and hold up incredibly well even today. The comedy usually hits, although it usually just made me smirk. The themes of self-discovery are relatively well-done, but usually fail to entice me.
Now the negatives. For me, a story needs SOMETHING to draw me in and make me really care about the characters and world. This series doesn’t have that for me. There are absolutely no stakes whatsoever and the arcs typically consist of just Goku, Vegeta, & crew gaining a new powerup and defeating an even stronger foe to save the world once again. It’s repetitive and Toriyama doesn’t really do much to make the repetitive scenarios feel individual and creative.
It also utilizes my absolute least favorite trope: reviving dead characters. The Dragon Balls negate any deaths and consequences the series could have. I felt bored reading fights because I knew if someone died during it, they’d simply be revived anyway.
I don’t think this series is utter trash, and Toriyama is definitely not a bad mangaka. It’s just really not for me.
Dragonball is a classic among the anime and manga mediums. It gave birth to many stories that came after it. It is the most inspirational manga to ever exist. I respect the praise and notoriety it receives.
However, this was just not for me. I read it because I wanted to experience a classic manga; a manga that has inspired my favorite series along with many, many others. Yet, I was highly disappointed in it.
I’ll start with my praises of the series first though. The choreography and paneling are spectacular for the shonen demographic, and hold up incredibly well even today. The comedy usually hits, although it usually just made me smirk. The themes of self-discovery are relatively well-done, but usually fail to entice me.
Now the negatives. For me, a story needs SOMETHING to draw me in and make me really care about the characters and world. This series doesn’t have that for me. There are absolutely no stakes whatsoever and the arcs typically consist of just Goku, Vegeta, & crew gaining a new powerup and defeating an even stronger foe to save the world once again. It’s repetitive and Toriyama doesn’t really do much to make the repetitive scenarios feel individual and creative.
It also utilizes my absolute least favorite trope: reviving dead characters. The Dragon Balls negate any deaths and consequences the series could have. I felt bored reading fights because I knew if someone died during it, they’d simply be revived anyway.
I don’t think this series is utter trash, and Toriyama is definitely not a bad mangaka. It’s just really not for me.