Dragonball 11-12 - Gollancz (Akira Toriyama)

The epic life story of Son Goku continues in volumes ten and 11 of the series, and finally sees the conclusion of the Dragon Ball arc. But don’t fret, we’re not even halfway through the saga yet – the original Japanese version spans thirty-four volumes!

Goku and his gang finally collect all seven Dragon Balls, and summon the dragon god Shenlong, allowing young Upa to wish his dead father back to life. All the dragon balls, aside from the fourth, which Goku was given by his grandfather, are scattered to the four corners of the earth, inert for a year before someone else will begin their search. The gang then scatter, promising to meet up at the Tencha-ichi Budokai tournament in three years time. Volume 11 then begins the next arc properly following the exploits of Goku as he participates in the tournament.

Read from right-to-left, volumes ten and 11 are actually reissues redesigned in the original manga format rather than earlier flipped versions. The pages themselves are not as busy as most recent series; each page is divided into sections and the panels do not overlap making it not only look visually appealing but also easier to follow the action. The bright red covers are certainly eye-catching, but some of the cover art seems washed out – for example the illustration used for volume ten.

There is some bonus content, with several pages devoted to black and white copies of the original artwork used when Dragon Ball ran in the Japanese version of Shonen Jump. The volumes also contain short cartoon strips in which the author Akira Toriyama relates anecdotes about his youth. There are also profile pages and plenty of adverts for the other staples of Shonen Jump: One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin and Yu-Gi-Oh.

A staple of both the Japanese and American incarnations of the manga magazine Shonen Jump, Dragon Ball has to be one of the best known and longest running manga series. These particular volumes were originally published in Japan in the early 80s, and are surprisingly clear, showing the series itself has aged well. Indeed, Dragon Ball is one of those classic sagas that will have manga fans hooked years from now.