"Dragon Ball" (manga series) by Akira Toriyama

book review by Riley Burnham 12/4/2025

really good(!)

i watched DBZ on Cartoon Network back when i was in high school in the early 2000s, & had seen the manga books on shelves in stores & sorta yearned for them, so was glad many years later to spot the box sets on Amazon for affordable prices, so snagged the entire group [DB, DBZ, DBS] 👍

the books read back-to-front, right-to-left & are a TREAT to move through, sometimes dancing through pages in just moments as the action unfolds cinematically & w/ applaudable timing & HUMOR

there’s also a surprising perviness to it, which wears off as the story unfolds — HOLY COW tho lol it’s jarring to American eyes in 2025, tho it keeps its beat of comedy throughout so it’s part of the tapestry

the fights, characters, ZOOMs & WHOOSHes are a joy, & the 4th wall breakage & intimacy(?) w/ the author throughout the run is really cool 🙏

I will now begin Dragon Ball Z & see how that goes [box 2 of 3] 💪