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the_scrivener_named_bartleby's Reviews (140)
Speaking completely divorced from knowing anything about Andrew Dobson, I think this book's perfectly fine. I think there's a need to say something sucks just because the Internet clown's done something objectionable or tweeted something people hated. Divorced from any of that, I seriously don't think this will ruin some kid's life if they pick it up in the kids section of their library, read it, maybe even love it passively, and just kinda forget about it as they get older.
I'm not an artist, but the drawings aren't too bad. There is one instance in the early panel where a woman's eyebrows fly off her face and it's a bit silly. They're simple enough to where I think that same hypothetical kid would read this and make some facsimile fanart in a notebook or on their desk or something. It's honestly charming. The standouts are the two leads, who can be expressive and even though the circumstances and dialogue aren't all there or fully developed to support it, you want them to be romantically entangled or friends at least.
The world is weirdly empty. I am not sure if this is by design, because it seems like a semi-primitive society, but the impression I get is that the only inhabited zones are Keisha's village and the Master Roshi ripoff character. By the end of the book I'm still unclear on what the world's deal is other than that Mezteck has mastered something arcane to dominate it, and that on some level what you take into it is what you take out of it.
On that note, Darian's mystical jacket just holds whatever it needs to for a cheap gag. The bad guy asks for something precious of his and he produces his iPod, har dee har har. To lure in a mysterious masked stalker, he produces a heretofore unseen chocolate bar, and not only does the stalker understand what chocolate is but knows how to unwrap it and leave it behind. On its own, this really doesn't raise any red flags, except Darian doesn't seem to question it like he did with the Master Roshi ripoff character's solar panels and engineering.
The emptiness and lack of definition to the world seems as though it can be populated with whatever the plot will need at a given moment, which is often the case with books and comics and publishers who ask for changes, but it doesn't holistically give the impression that this is fully planned out. That's fine though; assuming this is just a character study, the world can shift to fit them, but there's not much to go off of just yet and I think they need to be a bit more characterized to have it work. For example: Darian comes in and hates Mezteck because he's mean and wants to marry Keisha against her will and he's weird and uses what looks like dark magic. For a kid's book, that's more than enough, I guess. But why is Darian hellbent on treating him like a comic book villain, obvious meta context notwithstanding, when he doesn't really have any impression of the status quo? Mezteck hasn't really done much to show off his goals; he hasn't even done something all that evil yet. More suspicious, certainly, and certainly evil on a personal level, but what's Mezteck's tax policy? What's his long-term goal?
And yes--this is all the first book, so much of this has to be established. But as a comic, these kinds of things should be established visually. Mezteck looks like a villain, but we don't know why he wears a shawl, or if his garb helps with magic. There is a hippie transported from the 60's but maybe his clothes should be tighter on him from outgrowing it, or faded or smelly or ripped. You can tell us a lot about a character just from appearances, but it's just not realized.
Anyways, these are just me being a couch quarterback. Oh, boohoo, a joke about A.D.D. didn't land for me, oh, this character isn't written with Oscar Wilde level complexity. These are things I can't do even if I tried. But there are things I wouldn't do even if I could. The most offensive thing about this whole thing is a character who is a whole ripoff of Master Roshi from Dragonball. There is no line to be blurred between homage and ripoff, it's just Master Roshi and it is embarrassing to look at. His actual literal name is Hippie Young Man and by God I really hope we learn that wasn't always his name or we see a flashback in future volumes to a youthful design that is less derivative because dear God it was loathsome to look at.
I'm not an artist, but the drawings aren't too bad. There is one instance in the early panel where a woman's eyebrows fly off her face and it's a bit silly. They're simple enough to where I think that same hypothetical kid would read this and make some facsimile fanart in a notebook or on their desk or something. It's honestly charming. The standouts are the two leads, who can be expressive and even though the circumstances and dialogue aren't all there or fully developed to support it, you want them to be romantically entangled or friends at least.
The world is weirdly empty. I am not sure if this is by design, because it seems like a semi-primitive society, but the impression I get is that the only inhabited zones are Keisha's village and the Master Roshi ripoff character. By the end of the book I'm still unclear on what the world's deal is other than that Mezteck has mastered something arcane to dominate it, and that on some level what you take into it is what you take out of it.
On that note, Darian's mystical jacket just holds whatever it needs to for a cheap gag. The bad guy asks for something precious of his and he produces his iPod, har dee har har. To lure in a mysterious masked stalker, he produces a heretofore unseen chocolate bar, and not only does the stalker understand what chocolate is but knows how to unwrap it and leave it behind. On its own, this really doesn't raise any red flags, except Darian doesn't seem to question it like he did with the Master Roshi ripoff character's solar panels and engineering.
The emptiness and lack of definition to the world seems as though it can be populated with whatever the plot will need at a given moment, which is often the case with books and comics and publishers who ask for changes, but it doesn't holistically give the impression that this is fully planned out. That's fine though; assuming this is just a character study, the world can shift to fit them, but there's not much to go off of just yet and I think they need to be a bit more characterized to have it work. For example: Darian comes in and hates Mezteck because he's mean and wants to marry Keisha against her will and he's weird and uses what looks like dark magic. For a kid's book, that's more than enough, I guess. But why is Darian hellbent on treating him like a comic book villain, obvious meta context notwithstanding, when he doesn't really have any impression of the status quo? Mezteck hasn't really done much to show off his goals; he hasn't even done something all that evil yet. More suspicious, certainly, and certainly evil on a personal level, but what's Mezteck's tax policy? What's his long-term goal?
And yes--this is all the first book, so much of this has to be established. But as a comic, these kinds of things should be established visually. Mezteck looks like a villain, but we don't know why he wears a shawl, or if his garb helps with magic. There is a hippie transported from the 60's but maybe his clothes should be tighter on him from outgrowing it, or faded or smelly or ripped. You can tell us a lot about a character just from appearances, but it's just not realized.
Anyways, these are just me being a couch quarterback. Oh, boohoo, a joke about A.D.D. didn't land for me, oh, this character isn't written with Oscar Wilde level complexity. These are things I can't do even if I tried. But there are things I wouldn't do even if I could. The most offensive thing about this whole thing is a character who is a whole ripoff of Master Roshi from Dragonball. There is no line to be blurred between homage and ripoff, it's just Master Roshi and it is embarrassing to look at. His actual literal name is Hippie Young Man and by God I really hope we learn that wasn't always his name or we see a flashback in future volumes to a youthful design that is less derivative because dear God it was loathsome to look at.
This is where I’d say things are hitting their stride. Bulma makes a great comic relief character and playing off her parents makes her a lot of fun. She’s very expressive and silly. Muten Rōshi acting as an obstacle to fight and when he’s kindhearted towards Namu. Sometimes the power levels are insane, where seemingly cataclysmic events have wider ramifications. Something happens to the Moon at some point, which has already been visited in the previous volumes. Not to say too much, but I wonder what ended up happening to that visitor.
Just like the last books brought me Pilaf, these volumes brought me Mechanical Man No. 8. My metric for how much I think I should be invested is based on how often I see the character in related media, and 8-Man is nowhere to be seen—perhaps expected, since his appearance is Universal’s Frankenstein, but he is thoroughly kindhearted and all his subtle facial expressions make him a wonderful friend for Son Goku during the brief stint they team up. Like Pilaf, I hope we see more of him.
Now this isn’t to say I dislike the character, but I’m not sure I understand the “point” of Kuririn/Krillin. I like him a lot, and his snide remarks and his perseverance, but as best as I can surmise, he just seems to be a measure of power in this world. Like he’s an average person who trains on the same level as Son Goku and is maybe meant for the readers to get a sense of scale—that the average person can train and reach Kuririn’s level, only to understand what a wide gulf exists between himself and Muten Rōshi as well as Goku. Still—these are only qualms with the function of the character, not so much the personality. He just appears quite frequently despite having contributions on par with, say, Pu’ar—at least so far.
It’s a very relaxing read—very simple, and comfortable to slip into when you’re overworked and exhausted.
Just like the last books brought me Pilaf, these volumes brought me Mechanical Man No. 8. My metric for how much I think I should be invested is based on how often I see the character in related media, and 8-Man is nowhere to be seen—perhaps expected, since his appearance is Universal’s Frankenstein, but he is thoroughly kindhearted and all his subtle facial expressions make him a wonderful friend for Son Goku during the brief stint they team up. Like Pilaf, I hope we see more of him.
Now this isn’t to say I dislike the character, but I’m not sure I understand the “point” of Kuririn/Krillin. I like him a lot, and his snide remarks and his perseverance, but as best as I can surmise, he just seems to be a measure of power in this world. Like he’s an average person who trains on the same level as Son Goku and is maybe meant for the readers to get a sense of scale—that the average person can train and reach Kuririn’s level, only to understand what a wide gulf exists between himself and Muten Rōshi as well as Goku. Still—these are only qualms with the function of the character, not so much the personality. He just appears quite frequently despite having contributions on par with, say, Pu’ar—at least so far.
It’s a very relaxing read—very simple, and comfortable to slip into when you’re overworked and exhausted.
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.
By this point you kinda get what you're in for. There's always a bigger bad, and Son Goku works to crush it. I think the only thing I really take issue with is that things just crop up out of nowhere without any real history to them so you're never really sure about the state of the world. Honestly, most of the backstory has amounted to Bulma being the inheritor of the Hoi-Poi Capsule technology, and that seems to be a consistent piece of the world building. That being said, it's not really the "gimmick" of this anime, or at least not yet if it ever does become that. It's just a bit of world building.
Another improvement is that we realize people can die in this world, in quite a straightforward fashion too. So there are stakes, which is good because they were missing. Though Son Goku is bulletproof, that's not to say that the rest of the world is, and so we know to take situations of regular people seriously because they can and will die.
But the characters are just so charming that it doesn't really matter. There weren't really any standout new characters, but a lot of the familiar established faces are very charming already and I'm just happy to see them again and doing their thing. Aside from the return of my favorite villain near the end driving a fucking Mercedes-Benz at the end, Bulma is as fun as she ever is as the comic relief--vacillating between being an entitled prick to a constantly punished "why me?" dork who's way in over her head. Still not a fan of Kame-Sen'nin.
Four stars. Is it high art? I dunno, that's subjective. It's certainly not an intensely deep story. But what I am saying is that after an exhausting day of work, these are very comfy to slide into and just enjoy myself before I go to bed, and I think of them more fondly than the things I force myself to read in some ways.
Another improvement is that we realize people can die in this world, in quite a straightforward fashion too. So there are stakes, which is good because they were missing. Though Son Goku is bulletproof, that's not to say that the rest of the world is, and so we know to take situations of regular people seriously because they can and will die.
But the characters are just so charming that it doesn't really matter. There weren't really any standout new characters, but a lot of the familiar established faces are very charming already and I'm just happy to see them again and doing their thing. Aside from the return of my favorite villain near the end driving a fucking Mercedes-Benz at the end, Bulma is as fun as she ever is as the comic relief--vacillating between being an entitled prick to a constantly punished "why me?" dork who's way in over her head. Still not a fan of Kame-Sen'nin.
Four stars. Is it high art? I dunno, that's subjective. It's certainly not an intensely deep story. But what I am saying is that after an exhausting day of work, these are very comfy to slide into and just enjoy myself before I go to bed, and I think of them more fondly than the things I force myself to read in some ways.
(This may have just been my copy, but some of the pages were cut off, with incomplete page numbers or—worse—dialogue. This affected my amount of stars somewhat, although I maintain that it could have just been my copy.)
I almost feel bad rating these so high consistently, but they really are the balm at the end of a weary workday. No nostalgia for the series, but I’m becoming a fan, slowly but surely. At the end of this, I’ll be very fond of the whole experience. I might take a break before tackling Super, though.)
Not as much Bulma this time around, but more Pilaf. It almost sucks that the reputation of this series precedes it, as any character deaths are often transparent when their appearance in other media is so pronounced. Still, the intrigue is there! I want to see how they come back or what gets lost.
Stories are simple fun. Nothing special. Piccolo cuts an intimidating figure; a lot of villains so far were jerks or incompetents, so meeting Piccolo, you finally get the sense you can’t mess around anymore. Mfs are dying!
I almost feel bad rating these so high consistently, but they really are the balm at the end of a weary workday. No nostalgia for the series, but I’m becoming a fan, slowly but surely. At the end of this, I’ll be very fond of the whole experience. I might take a break before tackling Super, though.)
Not as much Bulma this time around, but more Pilaf. It almost sucks that the reputation of this series precedes it, as any character deaths are often transparent when their appearance in other media is so pronounced. Still, the intrigue is there! I want to see how they come back or what gets lost.
Stories are simple fun. Nothing special. Piccolo cuts an intimidating figure; a lot of villains so far were jerks or incompetents, so meeting Piccolo, you finally get the sense you can’t mess around anymore. Mfs are dying!
This had the most satisfying fight so far, with a final action panel smashing the baddie that feels absolutely iconic, you really feel the impact.
Piccolo is the scariest force they’ve taken on so far, but I don’t really buy his whole puppy-kicking plan. What’s the long term goal here? If he was gonna wipe out all 43 districts in the Dragonball universe, what’s to stop any survivors in other cities from scuttling over to the ruins of some old place, since they know that place is out of the running for every Piccolo Commemoration Day? Sure, I guess Piccolo can just change his mind on a whim and re-smite the place, but they treat it almost like a non-possibility, but it’s basically an annually predictable 9/11. Also I’m not sure I get the mentality behind abolishing law enforcement and allowing looting and killing. If it was explicitly a new world order of “might makes right”, I think it would be interesting if he were trying to establish a stable of powerful underlings to maybe even take on greater threats and go intergalactic with his empire. Maybe something like the demon endings in any Shin Megami Tensei game. I dunno, maybe I’m overthinking it, I don’t wanna be out here asking what Piccolo’s tax policy would have been and how he would have enforced something or other, but he’s been the most intimidating villain so far and it feels like a strangely simplistic motivation relative to his powers and eloquence.
I love seeing everyone’s new designs after the timeskip when they’re all allowed to be taller. There’s a passage of time, which I really appreciate. People grow up and get older. They physically age and change. Lunch always stays the same which is good, you can’t improve on perfection. Muten Rōshi/Kame-Sen’nin does too, but I guess he’s old already. You can’t really stack even more wrinkles on the guy or make him any balder.
It’s a little lame that Yam’cha reached a skill ceiling and he’s forever on a bottom rung. Since Toriyama takes (took…) the effort to always draw all the background characters, giving a very diverse crowd to react to all the shit happening in any battle, it almost feels crual to keep having Yam’cha participating and getting wiped each time. With Muten Rōshi/Kame-Sen’nin no longer in the proceedings it’s starting to get a little mean. I dunno. Maybe Bulma bullies him into it…
Piccolo is the scariest force they’ve taken on so far, but I don’t really buy his whole puppy-kicking plan. What’s the long term goal here? If he was gonna wipe out all 43 districts in the Dragonball universe, what’s to stop any survivors in other cities from scuttling over to the ruins of some old place, since they know that place is out of the running for every Piccolo Commemoration Day? Sure, I guess Piccolo can just change his mind on a whim and re-smite the place, but they treat it almost like a non-possibility, but it’s basically an annually predictable 9/11. Also I’m not sure I get the mentality behind abolishing law enforcement and allowing looting and killing. If it was explicitly a new world order of “might makes right”, I think it would be interesting if he were trying to establish a stable of powerful underlings to maybe even take on greater threats and go intergalactic with his empire. Maybe something like the demon endings in any Shin Megami Tensei game. I dunno, maybe I’m overthinking it, I don’t wanna be out here asking what Piccolo’s tax policy would have been and how he would have enforced something or other, but he’s been the most intimidating villain so far and it feels like a strangely simplistic motivation relative to his powers and eloquence.
I love seeing everyone’s new designs after the timeskip when they’re all allowed to be taller. There’s a passage of time, which I really appreciate. People grow up and get older. They physically age and change. Lunch always stays the same which is good, you can’t improve on perfection. Muten Rōshi/Kame-Sen’nin does too, but I guess he’s old already. You can’t really stack even more wrinkles on the guy or make him any balder.
It’s a little lame that Yam’cha reached a skill ceiling and he’s forever on a bottom rung. Since Toriyama takes (took…) the effort to always draw all the background characters, giving a very diverse crowd to react to all the shit happening in any battle, it almost feels crual to keep having Yam’cha participating and getting wiped each time. With Muten Rōshi/Kame-Sen’nin no longer in the proceedings it’s starting to get a little mean. I dunno. Maybe Bulma bullies him into it…
The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, and we finally get a scope of the limitations of the Dragonballs and the wishes. So now we know the stakes of a given situation and what it means to die, so a fight is no longer such a willy-nilly affair. Things are very tense, and Toriyama’s fleshed-out characters are more interesting than they’ve ever been. Piccolo’s arc was especially interesting and is almost the focal point, it weren’t for Vegeta’s debut. Still, Piccolo steals the show for me—I’m paying attention to Vegeta because of real-world knowledge that he either persists for a while or matters greatly, but Piccolo and Gohan have a fascinating dynamic. Should Piccolo carry on the legacy of his “father”? The father was the mote of evil present in Kami-Sama, but is he really meant to follow in those footsteps?
Anyways—the info on what Goku and Piccolo are in the first place is fascinating all on its own, and seeing where that takes us will be interesting. Can’t wait to read more! Long live Dragonball!
Anyways—the info on what Goku and Piccolo are in the first place is fascinating all on its own, and seeing where that takes us will be interesting. Can’t wait to read more! Long live Dragonball!
This one was a very stressful read. Of course, it should go without saying that the fact I care so much about the characters is why I’m invested in whether they live or die, but in the earlier volumes there was a give and take with these things. The Tenkaichi Budokai would happen while the Dragon Balls recuperated, and then the new big bad would show up. With this volume, it’s all constant buildup, with stronger and stronger foes, and there’s no letting up. It’s a little exhausting to read! Entertaining, though. I’m just saying some genuine R&R (that isn’t in a hospital) would be appreciated.
Vegeta is an interesting addition to the cast, and these three volumes end up really showcasing his depth more than anything. I didn’t like the last three-in-one for lacking downtime, but this one showed a lot of introspection from Vegeta that makes him worth keeping around. It made up for it.
Vegeta is very self-absorbed, but not to a point where he won’t acknowledge that Son Goku or even Kuririn and Gohan lack anything to teach him. He’ll simply absorb their techniques into his repertoire, because he understands that to dismiss the techniques thar may help him, such as scouter-less chi detection, is only to his detriment. His alliances are only out of convenience, and he doesn’t hesitate to do things to benefit himself first and foremost. But his capacity for edification is very interesting to keep watch of. In many ways, he is a much more mindful Goku.
The other characters take a backseat a little; my favorite, Bulma, doesn’t really show up much. She has a really funny panel where she’s sitting in a dinky little lawn chair eating a meatloaf by jamming a fork into it and nabbing bites off it without using a knife, like a child. But otherwise nothing much. Goku shows up and he’s cool and all; the twist at the end was an interesting curveball to throw considering how much he trained before reaching Namek now to have that (sort of) backfire. Curious where that’s going to go and how we’re going to resolve the sticky Freeza, village elder, and dragon ball situation.
Vegeta is very self-absorbed, but not to a point where he won’t acknowledge that Son Goku or even Kuririn and Gohan lack anything to teach him. He’ll simply absorb their techniques into his repertoire, because he understands that to dismiss the techniques thar may help him, such as scouter-less chi detection, is only to his detriment. His alliances are only out of convenience, and he doesn’t hesitate to do things to benefit himself first and foremost. But his capacity for edification is very interesting to keep watch of. In many ways, he is a much more mindful Goku.
The other characters take a backseat a little; my favorite, Bulma, doesn’t really show up much. She has a really funny panel where she’s sitting in a dinky little lawn chair eating a meatloaf by jamming a fork into it and nabbing bites off it without using a knife, like a child. But otherwise nothing much. Goku shows up and he’s cool and all; the twist at the end was an interesting curveball to throw considering how much he trained before reaching Namek now to have that (sort of) backfire. Curious where that’s going to go and how we’re going to resolve the sticky Freeza, village elder, and dragon ball situation.
This left on such a cliffhanger that I moved to the next book immediately before writing this review, I needed the resolution that badly.
From the word “go,” the ensuing character deaths, the high stakes of those who survive, and the development of Son Goku as he obsessively pursues perfection in combat is unmatchable. The crackerjack timing that’s required of so many small plans to be pulled off all in the wake of the insanely destructive battle against Freeza is terrifying and the paves fly by as you’re desperate to find out if everyone makes it out okay. This might be the best in the series even if I prefer the relatively comfier stories in the Dragonball-not-Z saga. I won’t deny this was exciting.
Thank God I didn’t like DBZ as a kid. If I got to that cliffhanger as a kid, I would have torn my own hair out waiting or begging for the next book.
This might be a five but I don’t want to suggest the series peaks here. Hopefully it can still surprise me, or I might consider earlier volumes more deserving retroactively.
From the word “go,” the ensuing character deaths, the high stakes of those who survive, and the development of Son Goku as he obsessively pursues perfection in combat is unmatchable. The crackerjack timing that’s required of so many small plans to be pulled off all in the wake of the insanely destructive battle against Freeza is terrifying and the paves fly by as you’re desperate to find out if everyone makes it out okay. This might be the best in the series even if I prefer the relatively comfier stories in the Dragonball-not-Z saga. I won’t deny this was exciting.
Thank God I didn’t like DBZ as a kid. If I got to that cliffhanger as a kid, I would have torn my own hair out waiting or begging for the next book.
This might be a five but I don’t want to suggest the series peaks here. Hopefully it can still surprise me, or I might consider earlier volumes more deserving retroactively.