To say “Dragon Ball Z” is big would be like saying Batman is mildly popular. The version of this I own is the 6th printing of a three-in-one omnibus, and it’s over 3 years old. SIXTH! This series literally birthed one of the biggest anime distributors in America (Funimation) and was a defining show for a generation.
I also never liked the show and, as such, watched little of it and read even less.
I have been told this was a mistake. To rectify my transgression, I thought I’d dig up the first three volumes of “Dragon Ball” (spoilers later obvs) and start from the beginning, when Goku was small, non-sexual nudity standards were different, and the biggest show of strength was moving a pretty big boulder and running fast.
Cover by Akira ToriyamaWritten and Illustrated by Akira Toriyama
Translated by Mari Morimoto
Lettered by Wayne TrumanLegend has it that if all seven of the precious orbs called “Dragon Balls” are gathered together, an incredibly powerful dragon god will appear to grant one wish. Unfortunately, the orbs are scattered across the world, making them extremely difficult to collect. Enter 16-year-old Bulma, a scientific genius who has constructed a radar to detect the exact locations of the Dragon Balls. She’s on a mission to find all seven orbs, but first she must convince young Son Goku to join her on her quest. With a monkey tail, superhuman strength and a magic staff for a weapon, Son Goku is ready to set out on the adventure of a lifetime…
If you’re only familiar, or vaguely familiar like I was, with the Z part of “Dragon Ball,” then the first two and a half volumes of the manga will be quite a shock. Starting off in the same vein as his previous, highly popular series “Dr. Slump,” “Dragon Ball” is a straight up comedy, filled with more raunchy humor and puns than you can shake a poop-covered stick at. There’s very little in the way of Z’s trademark lengthy fights or even any martial arts at all. It’s a very simple premise, Goku, the naive Tarzan-esque boy, is dragged along to find the dragon balls so Bulma can wish for a boyfriend, and Toriyama pushes it to its comedic extremes.
Y’all, Bulma straight up tries to kill Goku in the first chapter and it’s played for laughs. You can’t really get much farther away from the tone of Z if you tried. That actually works in “Dragon Ball’s” favor. By keeping the premise simple and light, it slowly eases you into this world by juxtaposing the science fiction/fantasy (houses and cars all stored in tiny, lightweight capsules and A TRANSFORMING PIG CREATURE) with the absurdity it generates in us, an outside viewer.
The capsules are called Hoi-Poi capsules, because that’s the sound effect that accompanies them. Side note: I do not know if they were called anything else. If they were something different, please do not eat me. I only go by what the translators use. Gamera, the flying turtle associated with Godzilla, becomes a method of transportation. Literally everyone who wants to use the dragon balls wants it for something trivial and silly (a boyfriend, to not be afraid of girls, fresh panties, etc.). The boat’s sound effect is BOOOOAAA**T!
It’s silly, it’s ridiculous and it makes the comic endearing and fun. You can tell Toriyama, and the English localizer, is having a blast in his recaps and chapter ending teasers, which are preserved in this omnibus, one being, and I shit you not, “Kame Kame Kame Kame Kame Chameleon.” This isn’t some grand adventure to save the world, it’s a hunt for these super powerful objects with a bunch of carefree morons, playing against the types of the time. Hell, they find all the dragon balls by chapter 20, and summon Shenron by chapter 24! It runs at a breakneck pace, upending traditional manga journeys and allowing the comic to evolve past its premise.
In much the same way that “Mashle: Muscles and Magic” and “Mitama Security: Spirit Busters” are foils for the more “serious” titles in Weekly Shonen Jump today, it’s clear that “Dragon Ball” was that foil to titles such as “Fist of the North Star” and Hirohiko Araki, that “JoJo” guy’s, first manga “Baoh.”
Continued belowThis can be seen in the way Toriyama draws as well. His linework is very clean, taking a cue from Tezuka and the like, and his characters are well defined and expressive. There is a reason why Toriyama’s art is instantly recognizable and why video game series like “Dragon Quest” and “Chrono Trigger” employed him as a character designer — this man knows how to make memorable characters. On top of that, his page composition is unparalleled.
Read any one of his fight or action scenes and not only will you be able to follow it with ease but each fight tells you something about the characters within. Are they impulsive or calculating? Who is stronger or faster? Are they haughty or taking the fight seriously? Take this one panel from Goku’s fight with Yamcha. Yamcha swings his sword and Goku dodges by jumping up. Simple, right? But because of the way he draws his action lines, you know that Goku anticipated the swing and was jumping even before it got near him. You can also see in Yamcha’s face and body language, like how he’s holding the sword, that he underestimated Goku.
Toriyama’s strength in portraying action is on display more as the book goes on, as the comedy fades little by little into the background, which is probably for the best. As you may have gathered from the intro, the comedy in “Dragon Ball” has not aged particularly well. Some of it has, like the puns, which were always groan-worthy, and the slapstick and situational comedy, which is sold by well defined characters. The rest, however, leaves a lot to be desired.
A lot of it comes down to the trope of the lecherous old man and the focus on jokes that are predicated on people trying to take a peek at Bulma’s underwear or touch her breasts. Sometimes it works, like when it’s based in Goku’s naivete about anatomy or humans in general. Other times, it’s an excuse to have Bulma flash an old man or to have a character peek in on her while she sleeps. It’s creepy and uncomfortable. These kinds of jokes don’t play well nowadays, especially because Bulma is 16 (age of consent but still), Goku is 14, and Kame-Sen’nin (Master Roshi) is old enough to have trained Son Goku’s “grandfather.”
It’s not that bawdy humor is bad or that acknowledging that sexual attraction and sexuality is messy for teens, especially when they’re as oblivious as the ones in “Dragon Ball.” It’s that the execution is lacking, predicated on a male gaze of lecherousness that was once considered funny but no longer is. And I think Toriyama recognizes this as the manga goes on, with the exception of the lecherous old man trope, but at least the jokes are at his expense and it’s adults not teens. As the comedy falls away, the bawdier stuff goes first, replaced by more puns and personality based humor.
And that’s the risk with comedy. What was once envelope pushing becomes mundane. What was once accepted is now too far. You can never know if a joke will hold up because context is important for making it land.
“Dragon Ball’s” opening three volumes are a great time-capsule for that era’s comedy as well as a fascinating look at how Toriyama, and “Dragon Ball,” evolved from being related to “Dr. Slump” and its tone, growing into its own. It has its problems when read today but the beginnings of what makes it great are here. For those curious about “Dragon Ball” before it becomes power-creep central, and can look past some of the poorly aged comedy, you can’t go wrong by starting at the beginning.
