A quick
primer: Dragon Ball is the wildly popular manga from Japan.
It and its sequel, Dragon Ball Z, have been adapted into the
insanely beloved anime series that runs on Cartoon Network
here in the States. The Dragon Ball series deals with the
adventures of young Son Goku and his friends as they perpetually
quest after the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls.
 The
Story So Far: Goku's neck-deep in trouble as he continues
his one-boy battle against the Muscle Tower of the Red Ribbon
Army! He's got to contend with ninjas, cyborgs and more. Later
still, he'll have to team up with old friends Bulma and Kuririn
for some high seas adventure as they chase the Dragon Balls
beneath the ocean.
There's
really no one good way to describe Dragon Ball and sound remotely
sane. The majority of its appeal lies in its extremely off-kilter
sense of humor. While the full-tilt action that encompasses
the majority of Dragon Ball Z sometimes rears its head here,
Toriyama has built a strong foundation of adventure, humor
and heart at the core of Dragon Ball.
The first half of volume six essentially plays out like a
video game. Even as it was being done in the mid '80s, Toriyama
was able to keenly zoom in on the tropes of the genre (fight
through one level, big boss at the end, start another level)
and blow them to pieces. The fact that Goku defeats as many
villains by being alternately naïve and goofy as he does
by sheer power shows that Toriyama's main goal here is just
for everyone to have a good time.
For the second half, the approach is a little more subtle.
Son Goku, who's never been in a big city before, keeps innocently
asking passers-by where his friend Bulma might be. We laugh
at Goku's silliness, but there's a simple reflection of how
small each of us might have felt as a child in a similar situation.
 Toriyama
cranks the action up again in volume 7 as the companions play
pirate in a race against the Red Ribbon Army for another Dragon
Ball. The narrow escapes, last-ditch rescues, and familiar
underwater dangers echo classic Saturday morning serials.
However, one thoroughly modern twist is that resident hottie
Bulma finds herself frustrated by her inability to use her
charms on the Red Ribbon's gay General; the whole sequence
is so thoroughly over the top as to be both surprising and
hilarious.
Even amid the caffeinated pacing, Toriyama finds time to slip
in a cameo by the characters from his sweet-natured and humorous
Dr. Slump strip. While their appearance is only cursory and
merely incidental to the story, it's nice to see a creator
have some fun by mixing up his own characters.
As always, Viz has reproduced the Dragon Ball volumes in traditional
Japanese "right-to-left" reading style (a touch
that I always find to be quite fun). And again, the wit and
style of Toriyama cut across all cultures with his immensely
enjoyable material. If you're not one of the millions already
enjoying Dragon Ball, go ahead and give in. You'll thank Toriyama,
and Viz, for it.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. Remember:
hiding diamonds can hurt! Email him at psikotyk@aol.com
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