Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King

I have been a fan of the Dragon Ball Z anime since my days in 6th grade. I'm 24 now, and I've just unlocked every single character in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (great game if you love the series by the way). However there has always been a part of me that really wanted to see what Goku was like in his youth, and I debated for a while on whether I should look into the show or the manga. I eventually settled on buying the first volume in order to experience Dragon Ball in a different manner, and I am so glad that I chose this medium. First of all, the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z manga tend to be a little less "filled" than the anime. The story keeps moving forward in a nice, timely fashion, and though the fights themselves are still fantastic, there's no period of stare-downs and pointless dialogue in between the explosive action. A great example of this is in DBZ when Goku dies the first time during the Saiyan Saga. In the anime I believe it takes almost 15 to 20 episodes before Goku finally reaches King Kai and trains for his upcoming battle with Vegeta and Nappa. In the comic, it's only about 20 pages. So if you're the type of person that likes a story told to the point, the manga is definitely for you. I still prefer the DBZ show to the comics overall, but I'm of the opinion that the story of little Goku and his friends is best told through the humorous panels that Akira Toriyama worked on so diligently nearly 25 years ago. Second, the humor in Dragon Ball is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Master Roshi is a bit of a pervert (as always), the bickering between Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar is still tongue-in-cheek goodness, and Goku's naive nature and willingless to become the strongest fighter ever blends together into a neat little tale of innocence lost (but any fan of DB knows that Goku never really loses that quality). I don't consider myself as a fan of comedy in general (I prefer bloody Samurai films and Tarantino/Chanwook noire), but Dragon Ball had me laughing so hard at some points that I had to stop reading momentarily. All in all, I highly recommend this purchase for anyone who loves comics and/or Dragon Ball. If you're new to the series, this may be a great starting point, but don't expect any of the hardcore fight scenes that later appear in the stories of DBZ. Instead, expect some interesting characters, like a thief who lives in the desert with his best pal (a cat), a martial arts master who tends to come off too strong on the ladies, and a little boy with a monkey's tail who could probably eat the whole selection of a Las Vegas buffet and still demand seconds. Enjoy!

I have had this comic book for so many years and for so many years i never got around to reading it as it seemed to find a life just lying on my book shelf as an ornament. With the recent re-releases of the DBZ DVD uncut re-mastered box sets I found myself finally being able to watch DBZ as I couldn't before. The reason being that when I wanted to watch DBZ on the cartoon network it was already way to deep in the storyline for me to follow and catch up so I decided to never jump on the DBZ nation. Now with the DVD sets being so affordable and just jammed with so many episodes I couldn't pass the opportunity. So I ended up really loving the cartoon and it did take about 1 episode for me to get comfortable with the English voice cast. Now DB isn't available on DVD box set uncut re-mastered so I thought I would turn to the comics to see where it all began. I finally read the book on my shelf that's been there for years and I really enjoyed it. I am glad I never threw it out on one of my weekly apartment cleaning splurges. The artwork of course is stellar and I love Japanese comics because they have so many pages unlike US comics that only have about 21 pages. It's nice to see how Bulma met Goku and how Oolong & Yamcha all fell into the scheme of things. I always wondered where Chi Chi came from & now I know. I found the book so enjoyable that I ordered the other 15 issues that rounded up the original DB saga. I found myself just waiting for the next page to turn. The creator/artist does a wonderful job of balancing action, humor, friendship, & dirty jokes all in one. This truly is a piece of art that is a masterpiece to own. It also makes a great quick read on any vacation or bus ride. The version I have is the 1st one published by Viz Comics and is the exact same one displayed here except it has a white cover & not red. It is also a little bigger which I like. I am a bit shocked by some reviews that say it's too racy for teenagers. The comic is in cartoon animated children like format; i doubt it's harmful unless your child needs psychiatric help if a comic book influences them that heavily to want to beat people with a stick that magically extends or imagines that people can sit on clouds that fly you places. I am also certain young children won't find the humor the way a grown teenager or someone in their 20's would. I didn't find any racy or uncomfortable content in the comic whatsoever. Everything is in for humor effect. This comic is for any art lover and any DBZ lover. It's simply the best and one of the best artistic contributions to the world.

First off, the story and art of the Dragon Ball series is amazing. The story, art, and presentation is no doubt rated 5 stars. however, this review is focusing more on the quality of the adapted version of Dragon Ball, not the story. When i first decided i wanted to start purchasing the Dragon Ball books, i was torn between the VIZBIG editions, which contain 3 books each. this would have allowed me to compile the entire Dragon Ball series in only 5 books. However, i decided on purchasing all of the books seperately because i think it is more traditional, and in some way more complete. not only that, but contrary to the VIZBIG editions, the individual volumes are UNCENSORED. now maybe most people dont care about that but i personally feel having a censored copy would interfere with the artwork. so, i went with the individual volumes and i did not make a mistake! The book is great. It's the same size as any other standard Shonen Jump/Tokyopop/etc. mangas, with a normal glossy front and back cover. The whole book is in black and white, but there are some pages that were originally in color. People are saying that it looks like poor printing on these pages, because it was printed in black and white when it was supposed to be in color, but it honestly looks fine,and is pretty unnoticable. The book is made up of 10 "tales", Essentially chapters, which were each individually published weekly in the japanese Shonen Jump magazine. The original cover art for all of the tales is compiled in the back of the book, some of which are claimed by the book as "never before seen in america!". I thought this was a nice touch. Probably the only problem i have with this book is some of the language adaption. quite frequently in the book words are shortened; you mean to y'mean, of to o', etc. other times i just doubt the translation... the first words spoken by goku in the manga are "Hey, Bro! Wuzzup?!". This irritated me slightly when i first started reading the book, but by the time i was reading the second tale it didn't bother me at all. i feel the shortening also died down a little as the book progressed. Overall, i am extremely happy with this purchase and i am definitely going to be buying the rest of the Dragonball books in this format and most likely the Dragonball Z books as well. buying all 16 of the Dragonball volumes may not be as cost efficient as just buying the 5 VIZBIG volumes, but if you want an uncensored book with a more traditional feel, then i suggest buying these books!

Las láminas y el libro en general, excelente, el niño recibió con su llegada una gran alegría

when i was younger i used to watch DBZ every single day. then as i grew up i sort of lost interest in it. then i saw a dragon ball super episode on a tv channel named Toonami. and well i suddenly remembered all the forms of goku and the hilarious characters and i coudnt let go. i got so interested in seconds tht i started babbling about it for hours! i looked everywhere for episodes but al i found wee previews and reactions. i got angry and went in my room. then i remembered that i used to have a DBZ volume wrtten by Toriyama. i exploded and grabbed my kindle and started searching everywhere and it didnt take me long to find it. so i luv dragon ball series an i luv toriyama and i luv super saiyan!!!! btw that reminds me why are you still reading this review??! if u luv everything dragon ball then u should buy this book without a second thought!!!! Awesomeness. pure Awesomeness is contained within!!!! byeeeeeee ( plus check my spelling and grammar. i stink at writing. and also sory for the long review. i couldnt resist expressing my feelings for a Legendary Book like this) :):):):) <::::::::::::::::::|===o a sword for u toriyama

Well this was just one long trip down memory lane. I had no clue that the animated TV series Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were based on a manga series until about a week ago. But I'm glad I found out because reading this was great. It's corny, and ridiculous but that's part of what makes it so great. I used to watch the TV shows on Toonami when I was a kid so seeing where they adapted the material from is awesome. I think I'm gonna have to keep picking this up from Comixology digitally, because even though I remember watching the show, I can't remember at all how Goku's story goes through Dragon Ball up to Z. It was a fun read.

I really enjoyed the Dragon Ball Vol 1 manga. The story and artwork are great. There is plenty of humor in this. The action is good and am enjoying the overall Dragon Ball storyline so far. You should def check this series out.

This is a really great Magna. It's got comedy, action, and adventure. The right-to-left format takes a minute or two to get used to, but after that it just seems natural. One of the things that I like about this Magna is that the pace is faster than the series, and each volume contains the equivalent of quite a few episodes. Plus, you get to see things in the Magna that were left out of the cartoon. Which brings me to another point, even though the cover art looks "kiddish", and the show is more geared towards children, this Magna really isn't a kids book. It's more for teens. You won't see anything worse than a PG-13 movie, but I wouldn't reccomend it for a child. This Magna has some really great moments in it, plus you get to see how all the stars of Dragonball Z meet each other. Hillarity ensues quite often. That's not to say that the action isn't great either. Akira Toriyama does a wonderful job depicting every move that the characters make when they fight. So if you like Magna(japanese comics), Anime, Dragonball, or are just curious, then this is the Graphic Novel for you.

Came late but good quality👍

Dragon Ball is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama. Released for American audiences by Viz Media, it is a story that does not lose its credit when read by an English audience, or indeed any culture. Its main story, while simple and easily followable, has a hidden message of good morals, strong heart, and determination to achieve beyond the best of your abilities. Whether that was intentional or not, it definitely comes across in the character of Son Goku, main protagonist of the series. The artwork of Akira Toriyama is simple yet beautiful, and very appealing. Dragon Ball volume 1 is just the beginning of what will become an epic journey for Goku and his friends, but it is a fine start to the series. It introduces some of the main characters well, particularly the character of Yamcha, who is at his best at this stage of the manga, and later becomes a bit of a useless character. We are introduced to Goku and Bulma, who are both the main protagonists at this stage of the manga, and the relationship developed between the two is well done. Other main character introductions in volume 1 include Kame-Sen'nin (Master Roshi), Oolong, Pu'ar, the Ox-King and Chi-Chi. Filled with genuinely funny humour and good action, Dragon Ball deserves its place as the most popular manga in the world, and volume 1 is a fine introduction to the series. Chapters included in volume 1 are: 001. Bloomers and the Monkey King 002. No Balls! 003. Sea Monkeys 004. They Call Him... the Turtle Hermit 005. Oo! Oo! Oolong! 006. So Long, Oolong! 007. Yamcha and Pu'ar 008. One, Two, Yamcha-cha! 009. Dragon Balls in Danger!! 010. Onward to Fry-Pan... 011. ... And Into the Fire! Although translated from Japanese to English, Viz Media keep the manga in its original format, meaning it is read from right to left as it would be in the Japanese version, rather than left to right as most English literature would be. Keeping it in a right-to-left format prevents the publisher from having to flip the images, which can ruin carefully chosen artistic angles, and ruin Japanese symbols that may still be present in the artwork, such as on characters' clothing. If you're a fan of the anime, I would definitely recommend this to you. No filler, just the original story that can be viewed at your own leisurely pace. A fantastic story, where the success of the anime originated from.

Great format for children, so hard to find a range of these products elsewhere but Amazon makes it easy!

Good perfect package condition As a good childhood memories. Thanks, Amazon.

My boyfriend loves it.