Dragon Ball

Z? Z who?

So I just finished re-reading Dragon Ball, and I have to say, it still holds up extremely well. There's a reason it's one of the most popular manga of all time. Dragon Ball was written and drawn by Akira Toriyama from 1984 to 1995, after Dr. Slump. Out of all 42 volumes, 1-16 are designated as Dragon Ball and 17-42 are designated as Dragon Ball Z (re-labeled as 1-26). I should point out that this is only the case outside of Japan. Over there, the whole series is just "Dragon Ball," and runs volumes 1-42. It's not really that big of a deal, because it's not like the story changes or anything. I'm not sure why the series was split in the U.S., but I'd guess it had something to do with the TV broadcasts of the anime.

I would say that having read the whole series, volumes 1-16 are definitely more entertaining than the later ones. Toriyama really hits his stride in terms of storytelling and humor. It's more of a never-ending adventure split into small mini-quests. Things like traveling through the desert, encountering Pilaf and gang, helping Ox King with his castle, training with Muten Roshi, freeing a village from Oolong, climbing Karin tower, taking on the Red Ribbon army, helping Upa and his father, seeking out the all-seeing crone, or even the early tournaments. They all felt like little standalone stories, and I enjoyed them a lot. It's all pretty lighthearted with a good sense of humor. At its foundation, it's just a lot of fun.

Goku's personality helps a lot with allowing the stories to be all over the place. Nothing is locking him down, and has a general carefree attitude about everything. Even in the stories themselves, it's pointed out how truly innocent and void of sin Goku is. I should point out that this only really works when he is a kid, yet his character remains intellectually unchanged through adulthood (as is described below). The supporting characters, for the most part, also have strong personalities. Bulma, Kuririn, Lunch, Roshi, and others make the stories much more interesting, and their personalities are varied enough to make a really nice cast. It's usually in the fighting segments that they're pushed to the background, not really having anything to contribute simply because "only the strongest can succeed, and Goku is always the strongest."

In Dragon Ball, Goku is a kid. This means that physically, he's not the omnipotent god he will become as an adult. His mind is also that of a child. This is one of the most important things that make Dragon Ball much better than Dragon Ball Z. Things will happen around Goku as opposed to only against him. He's part of the story, not the story itself. Yet even nearing the end of Dragon Ball, it starts to falter. Volume 16 is solely Goku vs. Piccolo. That's it. Just one huge battle for 150+ pages. I understand the importance, but it drags on for quite a while.

Later sagas (i.e. Dragon Ball Z) get into the huge drawn-out epics of fighting "the ultimate threat," one after another. Even the tournaments, which started out as very enjoyable, quickly turn into fierce battles between the few main characters that are still physically able to match one another. Almost all of the humor is phased out in favor of reaching for highest possible level of intensity. But since it's only that again and again, it gets old pretty fast. As stated before, the supporting characters get pushed to the background during fighting segments. And since the entire manga basically becomes only fighting, they have absolutely nothing to contribute. Often they are left behind entirely.

And again, since Goku is always the strongest, even characters that are able to fight well can't do anything anymore (e.g. Tenshinhan). For Dragon Ball, I could ask, "What awesome adventure will happen next?" Anything and everything was up for grabs. For Z, the question changes to, "What diabolical force will Goku have to destroy next?" There's absolutely no question that another evil force will rear its ugly head and force Goku to do battle in order to save the Earth/Galaxy/Universe/Reality.

Goku's character retains that sense of innocence throughout his entire life. It makes sense when he's a kid, often leading to humorous situations. But as an adult, it doesn't really work out. It actually makes him into a completely inconsiderate jerk. He is married, has kids, and has the responsibility of defending the Earth among other things. Yet he still jets off on a whim, carefree as ever, without ever considering how his actions affect others. But even if someone outright calls him on it (which almost never happens), he still can't fit the pieces together on why he's being an asshole, and everyone just kind of lets it go. Lather, rinse, repeat.

There aren't really any new notable characters introduced past volume 16 that aren't "the next strongest guy," which is too bad. Characters like Pilaf, Oolong, Yamcha, Bulma, Kuririn, Roshi, Lunch, Taopaipai, the All-seeing Crone, Mr. Popo, and Commander Red aren't presented anymore. It's ground down to just the main fighters, and even then there's not really any more character development. The whole series loses that sense of fun, which is what made it great in the first place. Sure, there are maybe one or two exceptions (i.e. Ginyu Force), but they rarely ever happen.

The root of the problem is that the stories become extremely formulaic. Nearly every single time, an extreme battle will be taking place, and one (or both) of the combatants will claim to a) be preparing for the ultimate attack, or b) not using their full power. Both claims cause everyone present to freak out. After said "ultimate attack" or "full power" is used/reached, it will often happen again. And again. The common tropes associated with the series are not exaggerated. I'm not saying that it's bad. It just becomes a very predictable paint-by-number scenario.

The artwork differs a bit from Dr. Slump. I don't really feel that one is better than the other, though. In Dr. Slump, there's a lot of attention to detail, especially for interior shots of buildings and for machines. There's a great sense of wackiness to it all, and anything can (and does) happen with the art. The backgrounds don't really blow my mind, and I would say the very rural setting contributes to that. In Dragon Ball, however, the panoramic scenic shots are very impressive. The stories take place in every type of location on Earth (and beyond), and Toriyama can draw it all brilliantly. He also captures action very well. The characters are very distinctive and have a good aesthetic design in both series. But Dragon Ball gains much harsher linework, which assists in matching the level of intensity.

All in all, Dragon Ball feels much more controlled than Dr. Slump. Having concrete story-lines helps this a lot. There are set objectives and obstacles, and Point B is actually reached time and time again. Though I do have my complaints about the series, it's still one of my favorites. I feel that part of truly enjoying something is being able to point out the imperfections as well as the brilliancy (as opposed to subjectively clinging to it as the "greatest thing ever" simply because you can't even entertain the fact that it might not be perfect).

I feel that Toriyama is a better comedic storyteller than a serious one, so volumes 1-16 of Dragon Ball will always hold up better in my mind than the later ones.