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A review by vimcenzo
Dragon Ball (3-In-1 Edition), Vol. 1, Volume 1: Includes Vols. 1, 2 & 3 by Akira Toriyama
3.0
Okay, cards on the table—I don’t have any nostalgic attachment to this series; in fact, I kinda just didn’t like it and over time it’s had pressure put on it as a classic, but as a classic that’s fully embraced its identity. Most manga/animé that people try to entice others with is done so with language like “it’s the manga/animé for people who DON’T usually like manga/animé,” and no one even pretended as such with this. This, as well as the perceived length that this has a million episodes and thus a million volumes, put me off.
(For those who are also looking to get into this with the massive influx of fans thanks to Gen Z and Alpha, let me cut your work down—there’s just this series and a spinoff called “Super”, at least books-wise. The rest are dubiously canon promos for tie-in media. This book’s a threefer with only 13 more of a comparable length.)
So. No nostalgia goggles to wear, no knowledge of the series other than vague names and memes here and there, not even much Toriyama fanhood going in besides Chrono Trigger. What do I think?
Admittedly, lots of frustration that I hope alleviates itself the further along we go.
Is it too much to say that the sexuality is uncomfortable? I don’t want to clutch my pearls here, I’m just saying that my image of fans never seems to be about this so much as battle, conflict, and getting stronger. The pervert geezer just wears on my patience a lot and I get tempted to skip his parts. And when it’s not that, it’s a lot of just peeing and pooping and farting and surprisingly childish crap.
I won’t say the innuendo never lands—there’s some pretty funny dialogue that stems from it. It also helps that the main protagonist has zero interest so in spite of what one might expect in a stereotypical animé (and Dragon Ball is as stereotypical as they get!) the main character is above lust and actually clueless. Most of the jokes that land revolve around his genuine confusion.
On that note, the characters other than the Muten Rōshi are fantastic. I thought I would hate Bulma but I like that she constantly suffers; there’s always some divine comeuppance for being so entitled and she’s the most fun when she’s screaming or looking terrified rather than cutesy. Her ending was very obvious, but nice all the same. Son Goku is incorruptible and a very charming protagonist. Kuririn (I know it’s Krillin) is a version of the old man I find tolerable. Yamcha was great! I almost felt a little bad the story calls him a villain. He’s fine, honestly—he has reasonably good motives and isn’t all that selfish. His ending was a little less obvious, but almost Wizard of Oz-like, where he had it all along. I was really happy for him! Even minor characters like the Ox Kig, Chi-Chi, and Lunch all had a level of charm to them. Oolong I didn’t like all that much until the climax, but the thing he contributed was one of the few lewd jokes I thought was hilarious, especially as the joke takes several panels of anticlimax to land on his head.
My absolute favorite character was Pilaf. Everything about him, his design, the absurdity of his proposed empire being called the “Reich Pilaf”, his little Scrooge pajamas, his very unlewd and almost pedantic nature—he was absolutely precious and he just up and vanishes. I hope he comes back, he was so wonderful for too short of a time.
Another critique I guess I have is the story weirdly continuing. It seems obvious, sure, and the way the story is structured there may be a cyclical nature to things where the events continue, but the very sudden interim is strangely low-stakes, although it does introduce Kuririn and Lunch, who were a lot of fun. I will keep reading, simply to keep up with the great characters and wonderful art even if the story is what it is and the jokes are very frequently not to my taste.
(For those who are also looking to get into this with the massive influx of fans thanks to Gen Z and Alpha, let me cut your work down—there’s just this series and a spinoff called “Super”, at least books-wise. The rest are dubiously canon promos for tie-in media. This book’s a threefer with only 13 more of a comparable length.)
So. No nostalgia goggles to wear, no knowledge of the series other than vague names and memes here and there, not even much Toriyama fanhood going in besides Chrono Trigger. What do I think?
Admittedly, lots of frustration that I hope alleviates itself the further along we go.
Is it too much to say that the sexuality is uncomfortable? I don’t want to clutch my pearls here, I’m just saying that my image of fans never seems to be about this so much as battle, conflict, and getting stronger. The pervert geezer just wears on my patience a lot and I get tempted to skip his parts. And when it’s not that, it’s a lot of just peeing and pooping and farting and surprisingly childish crap.
I won’t say the innuendo never lands—there’s some pretty funny dialogue that stems from it. It also helps that the main protagonist has zero interest so in spite of what one might expect in a stereotypical animé (and Dragon Ball is as stereotypical as they get!) the main character is above lust and actually clueless. Most of the jokes that land revolve around his genuine confusion.
On that note, the characters other than the Muten Rōshi are fantastic. I thought I would hate Bulma but I like that she constantly suffers; there’s always some divine comeuppance for being so entitled and she’s the most fun when she’s screaming or looking terrified rather than cutesy. Her ending was very obvious, but nice all the same. Son Goku is incorruptible and a very charming protagonist. Kuririn (I know it’s Krillin) is a version of the old man I find tolerable. Yamcha was great! I almost felt a little bad the story calls him a villain. He’s fine, honestly—he has reasonably good motives and isn’t all that selfish. His ending was a little less obvious, but almost Wizard of Oz-like, where he had it all along. I was really happy for him! Even minor characters like the Ox Kig, Chi-Chi, and Lunch all had a level of charm to them. Oolong I didn’t like all that much until the climax, but the thing he contributed was one of the few lewd jokes I thought was hilarious, especially as the joke takes several panels of anticlimax to land on his head.
My absolute favorite character was Pilaf. Everything about him, his design, the absurdity of his proposed empire being called the “Reich Pilaf”, his little Scrooge pajamas, his very unlewd and almost pedantic nature—he was absolutely precious and he just up and vanishes. I hope he comes back, he was so wonderful for too short of a time.
Another critique I guess I have is the story weirdly continuing. It seems obvious, sure, and the way the story is structured there may be a cyclical nature to things where the events continue, but the very sudden interim is strangely low-stakes, although it does introduce Kuririn and Lunch, who were a lot of fun. I will keep reading, simply to keep up with the great characters and wonderful art even if the story is what it is and the jokes are very frequently not to my taste.