DRAGONBALL 3IN1 TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-1): Includes vols. 1, 2 & 3: Volume 1 (Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition))

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This is the most action-oriented the series has been so far, as Toriyama’s art is in top form with action sequences that are kinetic with an element of humour. You do get another left-field, but hilarious training montage as after climbing up the never-ending Karin Tower, Goku trains with the anthropomorphic cat master Karin after his defeat by Taopaipai. Afterwards, comes Goku’s rematch against the assassin and it’s the best fighting sequence in Dragon Ball so far. No matter what fiendish moves the assassin uses to pummel our young hero, Goku will always get up and be the strongest, proving how bad-ass, as well as heroic he is. Dialogue: Mr. Satan is still called "H u r c u le" and all Sating (such as Satan City remain censored)

What I didn't like: Volume 7 and 9 had similar issues. A little too silly at times. A little TOO over the top with the jokes. Also weak main storyline. No risk, no worry, just know Goku will beat everyone and all will be good. Atleast volume 8 made you feel like he might lose for a bit. Speaking of Goku, once he’s finally healed, he does not hesitate as he swiftly flies into the battlefield. Before his fight with Freeza, Goku shows some sympathy towards the defeated Vegeta and for the first time, seems to embrace his part as a Saiyan. He will always be Goku as he still has his quips when facing off against Freeza, who is now his final elegant form. What became the longest fight in the TV adaptation of DBZ, the Goku versus Freeza fight in the source material has been just as iconic, with every chapter giving us something new as these two super-powered figures are equal in strength, so the outcome can go either way. Based on the front cover, you notice that Goku goes his own transformation as we finally get the Super Saiyan and is glorious as he looks bad-ass and ditches the quips. A seminal series from a legendary creator. Dragon Ball, a wry update on the Chinese "Monkey King" myth, introduces us to Son Goku, a young monkey-tailed boy whose quiet life is turned upside-down when he meets Bulma, a girl determined to collect the seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are scattered all over the world, and to get them she needs the help of a certain super-strong boy... Nappa may be ruthless, but he is still the lunkheaded henchman of Vegeta, who may be smaller, but his menacing stance is enough to establish that he is even more powerful. We start to witness Vegeta’s power once Goku finally makes to the battle, despite being too late to save most of his allies. However, being trained by the Lord of Worlds, Kaiō-Sama, Goku avenges his friends’ deaths by easily whooping Nappa’s ass. Although Goku doesn’t specifically kill him, Vegeta does the honour and kills Nappa, based on his own sense of what weakness is.

Vol. 7: General Blue and the Pirate Treasure: Son Goku, how many ways do I love thee? Heehee. I have so much fun reading Dragon ball, I feel like a kid!! All the usual stuff here: humour, action, battle, escapades. The Red Ribbon Army is still after our friends trying to get their dragon balls and the dragon radar. General Blue goes after them personally here and ends up physically fed up with Goku. The best parts of this volume were the interactions between Blue and our heroes. Not only do our friends retrieve another dragon ball (making 5/7) they stumble upon Pirate Treasure. By the end Goku is separated from the others and off to find the next Dragon Ball on his own. (5/5) Vol. 1: The Monkey King (1985) - I know absolutely nothing about Dragonball going into this. Since I read so much manga now I thought it would be good to introduce myself to some old school popular series and decided to give this a shot. I found this first volume absolutely hilarious and such a fun, compelling story with so much happening. Goku is so cute and naive that I loved him right away and the shots of him without his pants on are a riot because he looks like a toddler, even though he is 14 but soo unworldly. The interaction between him and Bulma is also a riot as he learns the difference between boys and girls. Lots of sexual innuendo but of the pre-adolescent variety that is was all just silly fun. The plot was also fun with all 5 main characters being introduced in this volume and them finding 5 (I think) of the 7 dragonballs. I had no idea what the plot was going to be going into this and was quite amused to get almost a whole quest just from this first volume. I have to say I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did and am eager to read Vol. 2! (5/5)

The joy of reading early Dragon Ball was that Toriyama was making it up as he was writing it with the storytelling having an episodic nature with a chapter or two focusing on a situation like, the confrontation against Oolong, a shapeshifting pig that can change into anything, but only for five minutes at a time. The first two-thirds of this volume may be about the search for the Dragon Balls, but it’s really about Toriyama is spontaneous with the world-building where he can introduce characters, big or small, can come and go, with really more of an emphasis on comedy than action. La gama de protagonistas es increíble, no tanto por su número (que es algo grande de por sí) sino por sus personalidades tan distintas y marcadas que otorgan un aire fresco a la historia con cada uno de ellos. It's also amazing how modern this story feels, considering that it is nearly FOURTY years old. If I were new to the series and you told me that this had just came out, it wouldn't be a stretch to believe it. I think that just proves how influential it is. The next Tenka’ichi Budokai martial art tournament is just around the corner, and an eager Son Goku can’t wait to face even tougher fighters for the “Strongest Under the Heavens” title! Among the contestants include pipsqueak Chaozu and three-eyed Tenshinhan, deadly disciples of Tsuru-Sen’nin, the Crane Hermit! Vol. 2: Wish Upon a Dragon (1986) - Just what I had hoped for, more of the same. Lots of action, plenty of plot and characters. A few new ones are added who seem to be the type we'll see again in the future. The final dragonballs are found ending our first quest. However that doesn't mean all goes quite as planned leaving only one person pleased when all is said and done. Now they must wait a year for the dragonballs to be ready again so they can search them out and everyone has their own ideas and plans for what they will do. As for Goku, he is off to find The Invincible Old Master to finally start his promised training but he has to bring a treat for the old "pervert". Just as laugh out loud funny and I really enjoy all the main characters but especially Goku and Bulma. The monsters battled to date have all turned out to be quite interesting themselves as well. One more volume to go in this fun collection. (5/5)I can't help but be very disappointed with this book. My kids are fans of Dragon Ball Super, I grew up on Dragon Ball Z but never got round to watching the original. After reading the beginning I was glad I missed it. It was not till issue 14 that anything I liked from the series was even shown. I read this last year but I guess I never reviewed it. Thing is I read all of Dragon Ball in Korean when I was 10. More like looked at all the pictures and guessed what they were saying. Dragon Ball has a ton of humor though and I missed that. it wasn't until I was older I got to read Dragon Ball in english. Now that it's here what do I think? Well shit man, this is fun stuff.

Most of this volume is about the final battle with Freeza being the big baddie that the few heroes that are left on the planet to go up against. This is a fight that is always changing, not just with Freeza’s multiple transformations, but how each character is giving everything they’ve got, from Gohan’s hidden power, Vegeta’s arrogance as thinks he’s the Super Saiyan, to Piccolo merging with Nail so that the former’s power can be greater. With Freeza is becoming stronger with each new transformation and continues to be merciless, it’s also a turning point for Vegeta, who becomes scared and realises his own weakness. Whatever salvation he hopes to achieve is the defeat of Freeza, if not by his own hands, then perhaps Goku. Apart from there being a few different names than the ones that I'm used too, the comic read really well, and it is absolutely hilarious! It's easy to forget that this whole franchise began as a big goof before growing into the massive franchise that it is today. With Goku returned to his body, which is all bruised up, he is left in a healing tank, hopefully with enough time to be healed before the arrival of Freeza, who easily takes down Namek’s top warrior Nail. As Vegeta sleeps before the big battle, Gohan and Kuririn sneak away with all seven Dragon Balls and with the help of the young Namekian, Dende, the Dragon Lord Porunga shall grant three wishes. Through Kaiō-Sama’s communication technique, Piccolo asks to be resurrected as the first wish, so that Kami will also be alive and thus Earth’s Dragon Balls can return. With the second wish that is Piccolo being transported to his home planet to be granted, the third wish ultimately doesn’t due to the death of the Namek Dragon Balls’ creator, the Great Elder. Vegeta may be pissed for not getting his wish for immortality, but when Freeza arrives, there are worse things to worry about.Avanza a un ritmo muy bueno, dejando disfrutar de aquellos momentos más relevantes y dando solo un vistazo corto a los que no lo son. Por lo que no tenemos el problema de paginas excedentes, como en muchos otros libros. Whilst the Z fighters are trying to save the universe again, the Tenka'ichi Budōkai is still ongoing as Hercule suggests a battle royal with the remaining fighters to fight each other all at once, including #18 and Mighty Mask, who is actually both Goten and Trunks in disguise. This plays like a fun contrast before we get to one of the most dramatic moments in all of Dragon Ball, in which Vegeta is so frustrated with the situation, from not getting the chance to fight Goku, to Gohan not being able to defeat Dabra, Bobbidi senses the evil within Vegeta and uses it to control him. Carrying with the Majin insignia, Vegeta has returned to the dark side with the desire to kill his archenemy, whilst disregarding the life he has made on Earth. Granted that both the manga and anime of DBZ was actually a continuation of Son Goku’s journey who started off as a monkey-tailed boy living in the wilderness, as a late bloomer to reading manga, I felt now is the time to Toriyama’s story that was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. When he meets the teenager Bulma – the first girl he has ever seen – Goku is recruited as her bodyguard to travel and find the wish-granting Dragon Balls. From its first chapter, Toriyama sets up the Journey to the West-inspired premise, the two unlikely protagonists and their dynamic that is, let’s say, dysfunctional. What I didn't like: The unsure tone of what it wanted to be. It's at the end of this volume you seem to have a clear set mind of what this series will evolve to. Till then it seems a bit fuzzy and sometimes makes it a slog to read. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel, Journey to the West (or ‘Monkey’), attributed to Wu Cheng'en. In Journey to the West, the almost-invincible Monkey and his motley crew of friends travel (west) to India to seek sacred Buddhist sūtras and return after many adventures, trials and much suffering. Dragon Ball tells of the adventures of the almost-invincible monkey-tailed Son Goku and his own motley crew of friends, as he grows from childhood through to adulthood, trains in martial arts and searches for seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls which, when gathered, summon a dragon who will grant one wish.