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Reviewed by Glenn Carter Plot: Monkey boy Goku and companion Bulma on their quest to recover all seven Dragon Balls. How exactly did this become a televised children's cartoon? The story is stupid and banal, the situations unlikely, and the characters are annoying. Actually...I've just realised. Those qualities are not considered a problem when it comes to kids' cartoons, in fact, they may be a distinct advantage. So it seems that Dragon Ball is intended for kids, then? Well, the Japanese Style artwork is certainly suggestive of this. Especially as it's more "kiddie" style of Japanese art (so think Pokemon not Akira). In addition, it's mostly simple action with special moves like the "Fist of the Wolf Fang" and expanding staves galore which implies a younger audience. Why then do I have problems with the idea that this book is for children? Well, there's the smut. Now, I have no personal problems with smut in itself, but in this comic the smut is consistent, unsubtle and to be honest, tacky. To illustrate what I mean, they get this character Oolong to stay with them by suggesting that he may get a pair of Bulma's soiled panties at the end of the quest. Another character they meet, Bulma bribes by lifting up her skirt then they later find she wasn't wearing any underwear. To be honest, there are examples of smut and innuendo throughout the book, although the pictures themselves are not actually pornographic as such. So, too smutty for kids, too stupid for teenagers and adults, it seems that comic is not really suitable for anyone! Still, there is one point of interest about it. It's a direct translation from Japanese, without flipping the pages, so you see it as it was originally drawn. The end result is that, because Japanese writing goes from right to left, you have to read it a different way than you're used to. This is difficult at first but you kind of get used to it. That one point of interest, is not enough to save this work from being a steaming pile of camel cack. The problem is, there is so much better available, if you're a fan of manga style stuff. Comment on this review of Dragon Ball v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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