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badoit90 's review for:
Dragon Ball Z, Vol. 26
by Akira Toriyama
5 Stars // Cha-La Head Cha-La
Mangas, and this series especially like no other, defined my Teenage years. And now, 20 years later, rekindling a spark for the medium, gave me bolts of unimagined joy that must have laid dormant for years, fuelled by nostalgia and - honestly! - great storytelling in Akira Toriyamas epic tale of Son-Goku and the Dragon Balls.
What makes Dragon Ball so great in its story-telling and thereby so gripping to read is the constant ‘karrot (or: Kakarot) on a stick’. You follow a group of martial-arts fighters having to become ever stronger, because their foes gain exponentially in strength. Toriyama is really excellent at showing true despair when our heroes are yet again overpowered by a new evil, with the fate of the world hanging on bare threads at times, and yet there is always a logical (as in: in-universe logical) way out for them - most of the times at least that is.
Dragon Ball is funny, dramatic and in its best moments really, really gripping - there were times where I just wanted to read a few chapters and had to force myself to stop, a few books in and a few hours later. It has an absolutely fantastic cast of characters that you will feel really close to after finishing all 42 books in the series and may shed a tear when it finally all has to come to an end. Dragon Ball became a cultural phenomenon for a good reason: It gave people strong emotions and a reason to care - and that’s a feat not easily achieved.
One thing needs to be addressed nevertheless: The series sadly can’t hide the different times it was created in: A lot of vulgar and sexual humour (sometimes even crucial to the plot…), especially in the earlier books and an overly stylised ‘blackface’ character dampen the otherwise great flow of the books, but both have to be seen in their respective context.
I’m glad to have returned to the medium now. Sometimes I feel like your 30s are a bit like your teenage years in renaissance - enough time has passed for nostalgia to hit you like a brick and yet again you are grown-up enough to own your ‘guilty’ pleasures. This for sure was one of mine and I enjoyed every second of it.
Mangas, and this series especially like no other, defined my Teenage years. And now, 20 years later, rekindling a spark for the medium, gave me bolts of unimagined joy that must have laid dormant for years, fuelled by nostalgia and - honestly! - great storytelling in Akira Toriyamas epic tale of Son-Goku and the Dragon Balls.
What makes Dragon Ball so great in its story-telling and thereby so gripping to read is the constant ‘karrot (or: Kakarot) on a stick’. You follow a group of martial-arts fighters having to become ever stronger, because their foes gain exponentially in strength. Toriyama is really excellent at showing true despair when our heroes are yet again overpowered by a new evil, with the fate of the world hanging on bare threads at times, and yet there is always a logical (as in: in-universe logical) way out for them - most of the times at least that is.
Dragon Ball is funny, dramatic and in its best moments really, really gripping - there were times where I just wanted to read a few chapters and had to force myself to stop, a few books in and a few hours later. It has an absolutely fantastic cast of characters that you will feel really close to after finishing all 42 books in the series and may shed a tear when it finally all has to come to an end. Dragon Ball became a cultural phenomenon for a good reason: It gave people strong emotions and a reason to care - and that’s a feat not easily achieved.
One thing needs to be addressed nevertheless: The series sadly can’t hide the different times it was created in: A lot of vulgar and sexual humour (sometimes even crucial to the plot…), especially in the earlier books and an overly stylised ‘blackface’ character dampen the otherwise great flow of the books, but both have to be seen in their respective context.
I’m glad to have returned to the medium now. Sometimes I feel like your 30s are a bit like your teenage years in renaissance - enough time has passed for nostalgia to hit you like a brick and yet again you are grown-up enough to own your ‘guilty’ pleasures. This for sure was one of mine and I enjoyed every second of it.