Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2

Dragon Ball Omnibus #2

by Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama's groundbreaking, iconic, best-selling series now in an omnibus edition!

Dragon Ball introduces a young monkey-tailed boy named Goku (a wry update of the classic Chinese "Monkey King" legend), whose quiet life changes when he meets a girl named Bulma who is on a quest to collect 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 Bulma could use the help of a certain super-strong boy...

Son Goku has made it to the Tenka’ichi Budokai, the world’s number-one martial arts tournament, where the competitors vie for the title of “Strongest Under the Heavens.” Goku may have strength on his side, but even the training of martial arts master Kame- Sen’nin hasn’t prepared him for what he’s about to face.

Only seven finalists remain, each with their own special moves. Will the champion be Goku? His fellow student Kuririn? Yamcha, the master of “Fist of the Wolf Fang”? Fighting woman Ran Fuan? Giran, a rubbery monster who’s part dinosaur? Namu, an Indian mystic? Or Jackie Chun, the mysterious old man who may be the toughest fighter of all?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Comics Manga, Fiction, Adventure

576 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Akira Toriyama (鳥山明) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the popular manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball (his most famous work) and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. Toriyama came to be regarded as one of the most important authors in the history of manga with his works highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.
He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo manga with Dr. Slump, and it went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into a successful anime series, with a second anime created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended.
His next series, Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting anime's popularity in the Western world. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts.
In October 2024, Toriyama was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more like it. I love the all out action of this collected edition. It even contained some martial arts techniques. I loved the youth and raw strength of Son Goku Vs the techniques and experience of a master. I actually liked the fact the even though Goku is young his aptitude for learning (in the martial arts anyway) is shown. During the rest of the book Goku is on a quest to collect the Dragon Balls again running across the red Ribbon army, though there is no one who can actually give him a real fight at least there is plenty of action that is what the series should really be about right.

Great art work, lots of action, and the story moving along what is not to like. Also a cover gallery of all 36 issues collected in this collected volume. This is Dragon Ball the way it should be, eve the silly parts I did not mind as there was so much action in the book.

[Andrew Sammut · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read and a page turner. The strongest under the heavens competition, won by the turtle hermit and the introduction of the red ribbon army who too are in search of the dragon balls was an exciting journey. It's a shame I have to wait until Christmas to find out what happens next haha Goku never disappoints and he's extremely impressive especially when taking damage, he's more resistant than vibranium. There's a lot of clear inspiration to other manga series in this volume, Naruto, one punch man, one piece. Even if just an idea, I'm sure it sparked all the respective authors needed to get going :) Thank you Toriyama sensei. This one was less perverted than its predecessor which I'm not sure whether I should complain about or not haha

Goku and Kuririn did take their training seriously and it shows in how well they fare in the tournament. I strive to be as strong as Goku and have as much of a healthy appetite as he does nowadays. The kamehameha never ceases to amaze. Goku mastered way more than his master did in 10 years in just a few months. I still don't much know about the background of Goku. Why he's not human, how he was born, and where. What he really is and such other trivialities. The tail and him becoming Godzilla with every full moon led the turtle hermit to destroy the moon altogether. So now, we have a storyline without a moon that's still taking place on Earth haha

I only read this once, goodreads just seems to be going berserk this morning wtf Can't edit shelves or dates read and today's date isn't even available lol Will return to this and resolve asap Same problem with King Lear. wtf is going on? The problem seems to have been resolved, 15/12/2022, evening :)

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las peleas no deben serlo todo

Pues el mayor problema es ese, si bien, vemos algunos de los combates del Torneo de las Artes Marciales, estos son bastante entretenidos (y corto). Y aunque aquí sí que entra el dicho de "calidad antes que cantidad" y cada página de cada combate se disfruta al máximo, no puedo evitar sentir pena por el costo de lo anterior.

Es un tomo que pierde totalmente el humor del número anterior. Y para mí, es un coste muy alto.

Aquí comenzamos también el arco de la RR, incluyendo al icónico Octavio, no obstante se siente decaer bastante en comparación con el arco argumental anterior.

No es un mal tomo, pero sí es inferior al pasado.

Aclaración: En realidad leí los 3 números por separado en sus respectivas ediciones digitales. No obstante, por una cuestión de practicidad voy a reseñarlos en esta edición 3-en-1.

[Sebastian Chavarro]

I’ll say it again - I fucking love the Budokai Tenkaichi arc. And the Red Ribbon arc is much more enjoyable when it doesn’t take 10 episodes for Goku to climb muscle tower and beat up one dude. With the faster pacing I realize it’s actually kinda nice seeing the crew have to deal with human problems. Goku can’t navigate a city, a Dragon Ball ended up under water, Goku can’t fly - the limitations imposed by early Dragon Ball give it all a sense of nostalgia and innocence that I absolutely love. Nothing wrong with fighting a God of Destruction, I will most certainly be seated for Black Frieza; but that being said, I fucking love OG dragon ball. I want all these volumes they’re the perfect bedside companion.

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vol. 2 includes a lot more fighting. Some battles last for 6-7 tales, which is a lot. I sometimes found those parts a bit boring. But overall, it's a continuation of the great story of dragon balls with new and cool enemies. It still had its laugh-out-loud moments and great art, so still 5 stars from me.

[Elias Acosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is one of the best in the Dragon ball series. Exiting turns through chapters 4-5-6, it leaves the reader on the edge of their seats. Son Goku is the funniest, care-free main character I've ever seen. His journey from fighting to find his grandpa's dragon ball(the 4 star ball) to seeing old training partners. Thas book focuses on friendship, goals and fighting power. Goku's power compared to his enemies is funny because of how strong he is. Even though Goku has plot armor at some points, the story is enjoyable. I think the best point in the book is when Goku and Jackie Chun faced off in the final round of the tournament of power. Goku's friends help him out throughout the story showing how he has bonded with these characters. The artstyle is amazing and Akira really made the background pop. the style reminds me of how the world was back then

Summary of the book:
The book starts off with krillin winning the first match. Yamcha and Jackie chun face off resulting in Jackie winning. Son Goku fights a giant dinosaur-dragon thing and beats him. Jackie and krillin fight with Jackie almost losing but he wins. Goku fights an indian who needs the prize money for water for his village. Goku beats him and moves on to fight Jackie. Goku and Jackie face off in one of the most intense battles in the book, with both fighters performing the kamehameha. Goku turns into a giant monkey after the full moon rises and Jackie is forced to destroy the moon to save Goku. they fight some more and then Jackie wins the battle. After the battle it's revealed that Jackie is the Turtle master in disguise. He joined the competition to show his students that there will always be a stronger opponent. Goku and Master roshi go to get some food after the fight. Goku then searches for the dragonball his grandpa left him, angering the Red Ribbon Army. he fights the Army and collects 3 dragon balls but they are not the 4 star ball. Goku seeks help from his friends Krillin and Bulma to find the 4 star ball in an underwater cave. While finding the entrance they encounter the Red ribbon army……

I think the theme Akira developed throughout the story was amazing. The way Goku believes in himself and how he has the support to face these challenges are brilliant. The way the side characters still stay relevant throughout the story and the world building is beyond amazing. The way his characters talk and how there designed show the creativity in his mind. The different environments of the planet and the different modes of transportation really make the world pop. the heart and soul put into the artstyle and the details of the background make Akiras world shine. The many aspects of Goku's journey are enjoyable throughout the book and the way characters act and feel make them feel real. The work that went into this book is top notch and the expressiveness of each page makes you feel like its worth reading. This book is in my opinion a 10/10.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be repeating thoughts I had on volume 1, which I read back in 2021. Still a lot of fun! I'm guessing Akira Toriyama was a fan of Superman and played with the idea of Clark Kent being a kid, but he differentiates it enough to be his own. This is a very funny and joyous adventure with cool action and great paneling. Some of the sexual humor is very dated and can even be disturbing. I'm still not fond of how they overly sexualize a character who is 16 but I do love how she fights back whenever it happens. Maybe that's the point? To show how women should always fight back? Idk. Fun story! Also I can confidently say Akira Toriyama had the biggest impact on my drawings as a youth. I should get back into drawing.

[rhysciar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the previous volume, due to missing those perverted scenes - I was really glad that they got rid of them, the story got much more interesting. There was only one instance where the mangaka addressed the readers, but that's a huge step from the first volume, where there were a whole lot of them.
I still think this could be way more fun, the martial art moves were slightly funny and sadly childish, but I hope it will get better - I think I remember it will get better with time. Great for chilling out.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Dragon Ball. Some aspects of this have aged well, others are very rough and have aged horribly. I enjoyed it overall though.

[Justin Decloux]

It's weird that as obsessed with the series as I was in my teens, I never really explored much past the original 3-volume arc of the first DRAGONBALL. I knew DRAGONBALL Z backwards and forwards, but the lack of English dubs at the time of anything past the first dragon appearance kept me at bay.

[S.V. Veen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. Great second volume. Reading this together with my son, who cant wait to see what happens next!

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still has the same perks and great feats as the first one, while also going at a slower pace, and introducing more environments, as well as characters and lore.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved the fight scenes at the end of the tournament. Some very funny ane cool moments. The red ribbon arc was ok, but I did find these evil guys a bit stupid and really not all that threatening. Hopefully it improves

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール), one of the most popular manga series of all time, was created by Akira Toriyama in 1984, Toriyama doing all of the writing and drawing himself. It ran to 1995, serialized in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump. There are 519 chapters, collected into 42 tankōbon (volumes) by the publisher, Shueisha. That’s just a phenomenal volume of material - we’re talking something like 30,000 pages! The whole lot was translated into English from 2003 to 2006, also by Shueisha.

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 (or actually?) 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.

This is the second omnibus edition, comprising volumes 4-6. Volume 4 to halfway through volume 5 continues and concludes the Strongest Under the Heavens tournament, which kicked off in volume 3. The tournament is entertaining, and it’s an achievement that, unlike all those boxing and martial arts films featuring a tournament, you genuinely don’t know who the winner will be right until the very end. However, it does drag a little.

After the tournament, Son Goku is again searching for the dragon balls, more in the style of volumes 1 and 2. Volumes 1 and 2 have been the highlights so far. They were exciting, fast paced, funny and inventive, with genuinely great characters and beautiful artwork. Once the search gets underway again, from halfway through volume 5, things are interesting, inventive and readable enough. Son Goku, though, seems to be completely invincible. Added to that, his antagonist, the Red Ribbon Army, is rather silly and not very threatening, so there’s no sense of danger. Another factor that brings this section down slightly is the lack of new allies. We meet some of Goku’s old friends again but their interactions don’t sizzle in quite the way they did in volumes 1 and 2. There are still some highlights, though, like when the Turtle Guy shrinks himself so he can watch Bulmer go the toilet and ends up getting flushed down the pan instead.

Six volumes in and, despite not maintaining the incredible highs of the first two volumes, Dragon Ball is still entertaining and impressing me. 36 volumes still to go!

[Jordan Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fun filled storytelling in these early Dragonball volumes. I find myself just smiling as I read Toriyama's dialogue and general silliness as I'm rediscovering this amazing world that he built.

These volumes were a little less impactful than the first three, but generally keep up the same quality. It's just more of that same fun that makes this series so special, and that's alright in my book.

I think I'm going to try to read through the entire saga. It'll go slow and it'll take a while, but one thing I've found in these first two books is that this really is a story worth finishing, even if I have seen the animated series. Onward

[Rory Wilding · Rating 5 out of 5]

After gathering all the seven Dragon Balls, one wish was granted, whilst Son Goku temporarily transforms into a giant apelike monster after staring at a full moon. After the whole ordeal, the heroes split up, with Bulma hooking up with the desert bandit Yamcha, who doesn’t seem to be afraid of girls anymore, whilst Goku goes to be trained by Master Roshi. Along with former rival-turned-friend Kuririn, Goku participates in the fighting tournament known as the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai.

The previous volume concluded with the first match of the tournament, in which Kuririn defeats the odored fighter Bacterian, who uses his stench as a weapon, and makes it to the semi-finals. During the first half of this volume, it is all about the tournament with a diverse range of fighters competing to win the prize money of 500,000 Zeni.

Going back to Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, the tournament has been a recurring setting for many martial arts films as well as a number of fighting games. What sets Dragon Ball apart in terms of its depiction of this familiar setting is how Akira Toriyama approaches the fight sequences, starting with the diverse range of fighters. Along with pint-sized characters like Goku and Kuririn, there is the desert warrior Namu, the flirtatious Ran Fuan, the dinosaur-like Giran and the mysterious Jackie Chun. None of these characters fit into the archetypes of martial arts fighters and although you can argue Toriyama is doing a parody of martial arts, that doesn’t negate from the author illustrating well-crafted action.

When it comes to battle manga, it’s not just the action has to be well-drawn, but also what does it say about the characters and that’s exactly what Toriyama achieves here as in the heat of each battle, you get what each character is going through, whether it is inner monologues or a few flashbacks. There is certainly a lot of humour, but there is enough serious drama for a number of characters in terms of what fighting means to them in their life, Namu being a highlight and his fight with Goku is stellar.

Going into SPOILERS here, the final battle of the tournament is between Goku and Jackie Chun, who is actually Roshi in disguise, unbeknownst to everyone else. Although I do find Roshi to be a problematic character due to his outright perviness – leading to yet another moment involving Bulma that occurs later in the volume – Jackie Chun is the more interesting persona, because he’s all about the fighting with an element of showmanship and his fight of Goku goes from silly to action-packed to completely over-the-top. Due to the constant tonal shifts within this one fight, Toriyama’s art consistently shines.

Halfway through the volume, the tournament concludes with a winner you might not expect, but again, this does not mark the end of Goku, a young boy with such power will always train to be stronger. As a year has now passed since the beginning of the story, the Dragon Balls have re-emerged and so Goku travels to locate the four-star Dragon Ball that is his thing to remember his late grandpa Gohan, who was accidently killed by Goku during a full-moon night. However, the Red Ribbon Army – a paramilitary organisation led by Commander Red – is also searching for the Dragon Balls and thus Red’s forces raid towns in search for them on a quest for world domination.

With Goku on his own and exploring other aspects of the Earth, Toriyama’s world-building isn’t as spontaneous as before, but he is putting more emotion into the interactions that Goku with the raided townspeople. As the rider of the flying cloud Kinto’Un (also known as Nimbus), Goku is pure of heart as it shows his dedication in helping people in need, which leads to one of the best set-pieces of the manga. In order to save the mayor, Goku infiltrates Muscle Tower as he goes up each floor to fight a different opponent from the Red Ribbon Army. Taking cue from Bruce Lee’s Game of Death, Goku fights a variety of different villains from a Terminator-like baddie to a ninja who is cowardly playing hide-and-seek in order to achieve a sneak attack against Goku, which is just hilarious.

As the Red Ribbon Army Saga continues in the next volume, Goku is reunited with Bulma and Kuririn to go off on another journey for the Dragon Balls and I’m excited about seeing more villains named after colours.

[kthedestroyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guys, I really want to like this manga but I just keep finding it underwhelming. Yeah, I know… apparently Dragon Ball Z is where it gets good but still… these 3 volumes are basically on the same level as the first three and I’m not a fan.

The 4th volume continues with the tournament arc and that’s actually pretty okay because the fights are kinda interesting and I guess it’s cool to see Yamcha again because he is probably the only character I don’t hate. The identity of Jackie Chun was predictable and honestly a bit stupid - I’m not sure why it was necessary and I know it was so they wouldn’t get too cocky but then again, you could have gone about it in a different way. Unfortunately, random things that are convenient for the plot keep happening which is just a bugger and I wish this was a bit more serious (like, you can be funny and childish but also sometimes serious when it’s needed you know). Goku is now conveniently 12 and conveniently his tail grows back which is stupid and I hate it. Also I think that the fight between Jackie Chun and Goku is a bit too long as it really stretches out as much as it possibly can. Long fights can be good but only if they’re done well! (also Jackie Chun wins in a stupid way in the end so what was the point).

And then, who would have guessed, we’re going back to looking for the dragon balls. This is where I lost my interest again because I don’t like this Red Ribbon army storyline. At least not this first arc of it. Sure, general Silver is kinda hot but he literally appears in like 2 chapters so that’s not really enough to save the arc from being bad. Also the trend of convenient things happening is still here because Kintoun disappears but not really which is just really annoying and I wish Toriyama would just do what he sets out to do and not bring back things that aren’t supposed to be brought back just because he changed his mind. I swear the only saving grace of this arc is the little girl that helped Goku because she’s cute and she seems nice I guess. What really bothers me though is that Goku fights all of the villains on his own. He doesn’t really have a distinct fighting style and I think it just makes his fights really boring, especially when the villain doesn’t have a distinct fighting style either. In this arc, the only interesting fight was with the ninja because that dude actually had a distinguishable personality. The android helping him later is fine but I wish his good side was built up before instead of him just immediately being like “oh yeah, Goku, I’m with you”.

And then at the end of 6th volume Goku goes on a random side quest to Bulma’s house because his dragon ball radar conveniently broke for no good reason. Do you see what my problem is here? Anyway, the point of this side quest is just to get Bulma back in the story and have her search for the dragon balls with Goku. And conveniently they also have to see Muten Roshi because Bulma conveniently grabbed the wrong capsules. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Anyway, this is still getting 2 stars. In the beginning I though that maybe I’d give it 3 stars but no. This is not good guys and I think I’m taking a break from Dragon Ball to pick up something else because reading this is just making me frustrated. I might continue with the manga at a different point in time but this is it from me for now because I’m not sure it’s worth losing my nerves over.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strongest Under the Heavens

The humor is keeping pace, the action is keeping pace, the story is keeping pace and the characters are keeping pace while we are introduced to so many more.

I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z. I knew about Dragon Ball a little while after, but never really watched it like I did Z. I saw some episodes when I was older and was familiar enough with the show to know what happens, so on so forth. Reading Dragon Ball now... it's astounding. It's not the right order, yet it feels right. How to explain this? When you meet someone you learn and meet everything about them currently (Z). Then subsequently you can learn about their past even if you weren't part of it.

I'm learning the past of these characters who I grew up loving and rooting for. Dragon Ball is a little crazier than Z. Not in the fighting sense. Nothing gets crazier than the action in Dragon Ball Z haha! I'm talking about story elements, props, techniques. Dragon Ball Z started out with some interesting techniques, but it kind of fell off in those terms. It couldn't be helped. It's refreshing in Dragon Ball.

Anyways, The Tenka'ichi Budokai is near the heart of Dragon Ball. It's incredibly entertaining to read. The outcome is not predictable either. Who has what it takes to be the Strongest Under the Heavens!?!?

Read and find out.

The only thing holding these back is the amount of perversion. The innocence mixed with good morals makes it less severe, but it could deal without the amount that's included. It's still humorous at times and pretty embedded into Roshi's character, I just wish it weren't in every chapter.

This is a really bad review for a really good manga. It's no wonder Dragon Ball is given so much love. On to the next!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm that one weirdo who doesn't like the Red Ribbon Army storyline from Dragon Ball. I know most people say "it's when the series gets good" but not for me. Luckily for me this is one of my least liked volumes but still not bad! Let's discuss what works and what doesn't.

What I like: The first of the three volumes is the end of the tournament. Super fun as always and watching who wins is both satisfying and fun. I also loved the outcome of Krillian's matches and made the side character interesting. I also did love some of the Red Ribbon Army. Mostly due with Frankestein copy. It was cute and fun.

What I didn't like: Red Ribbon army never comes across as scary or all that "evil". Maybe because I know what comes later and true "Evil" and "Scary bad guys" are actually coming and this one fails to live up to that. However, I just found some of the fights with the army dull and could have been a lot better for me.

Still really had fun reading it but this is probably going to be my lowest rated volume due to not loving the Red Ribbon. Luckily love the tournament arc tho and that was great!

[Jeremy Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second volume of the Dragon Ball omnibus/3-in-1 series. It starts part way through the Strongest Under the Heavens tournament and ends with Goku and friends on a collision course with General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army. It's quite a good chunk of story and very enjoyable to go through.

I have been enjoying my time going through the story of Dragon Ball. It's definitely a lot quicker to read the manga than to watch 48 episodes of the anime to get to this point in the story. The manga is definitely a tighter story and moves along pretty quickly.

As with the first volume, Dragon Ball is a mix of comedy and action, but also has a some humor that is a little more sexual than you'd maybe expect. It's nothing horrible to be reading as an adult, but if you think that these kind of works are for kids, that's not really true.

I've continued to enjoy my journey through the Dragon Ball manga and look forward to continuing it in the next collection.

[Eggs Benedictis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun continues in volume two! The second volume was not as exciting as the first, but enjoyable to read nevertheless.

Reading this volume really reminded me of some classic martial arts movies I watched growing up. The first Red Ribbon arc especially had a Bruce Lee “Game of Death” feel to it with Goku having to challenge a different fighter on each floor of the Red Ribbon Tower. That was the highlight of this volume for me. Of course, “Game of Death” did not make me laugh as hard as this volume. I’m still pleasantly surprised by how hilarious this manga series is.

The fabulous art by Akira Toriyama continues in this volume. The story arc overall was rather fun, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the first volume (hence my four star rating). I would definitely recommend this installment to any manga/comic book fan however. Can’t wait to read volume 3!

[Matthew Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first omnibus volume of Dragon Ball a while back, and I've finally decided to get around to reading the rest of the series, and yep, it's a lot of fun. This volume contains the end of the martial arts tournament that the characters entered, and it's full of hilarious moments and scenes of characters doing unbelievable stuff. Then, we go on to another hunt for the dragon balls, with Goku facing off against some bad guys called the Red Ribbon Army, with plenty more hijinx and goofy action. I'm definitely digging the series, and I'm sure I'll blow through it in no time. On to the next three volumes!

[Richard L. Haas III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapters 37-72

The first Tournament Saga is a great change of pace from what came before. There is still some awkwardness in the writing, but it's finally seeing the potential the series would have as it developed into Dragon Ball Z territory: martial arts and ki blasts. Mind you, that innocent, whimsical nature of the first handful of chapters is still there. It just only slightly matured with the new centered focus on fighting. That said, the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai might be the best this volume offers. (8/10)

Into the Red Ribbon Army, the series (both the manga and the anime) becomes a mixed bag. Often it is overly silly and tries to get back to the origins of the manga tonally, which then clashes with the semi-serious stakes Goku finds himself facing. So when Goku is essentially put in a situation similar to The Raid or Dredd, it just becomes "villain of the level" where he faces people modeled after The Terminator, Frankenstein's Monster, as well as an incompetent ninja and an unexplained alien creature. It's all just hard to take seriously. (7/10)

P.S. No matter how many times I watch or read it, the name Jackie Chun (a play off Jackie Chan) is way too silly for its own good.

[Honeypie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this was still so good, although it may not be as funny as the previous omnibus.

I love the subtle views on how fighting is bad, but not fighting against the bad is also not good, politicians who are all talk, pasacrifice keme, and the hustle and bustle of city life.

Reading three volumes in one sure is long, but at least I've completed 6/42 (parang lotto haha) already! Fighting!

---

Finally! It's Goku time!!
- Oolong

love this "Goku time" comment!

[Mmiller400m · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't get a copy of the Viz Big edition for these 3 volumes but this wasn't bad at all. It didn't have the colored sections and was a bit smaller but it had the same great Dragon Ball goodness. 4 stars for this collection though because I just didn't love the Red Ribbon Army stuff. The end of the fighting tournament was great though.

[Ricardo Noronha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the nostalgia...

My opinion about "Rurouni Kenshin" clearly also applies to "Dragonball".

Not only is the art still so, so fantastic, the story itself (even though I already saw the anime) still surprises me and takes me back to my childhood way too many times that I would care to admit.

Let's keep on finding these Dragon balls, shall we?

[Jonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly a lot of fun. The tenkaichi budokai segment was really great, the most enjoyable string of chapters so far. I loved how Toriyama managed to meld his sense of humor with action.

There's still perverted stuff, but to a lesser degree than the previous volume. There's one particularly egregious part where the old man uses a shrinking device to try and watch bulma pee... gross.

[Laurian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m having problems understanding why this series was so popular. A capsule that explodes into porn?!? Winning a contest by throwing down panties?!? Making yourself tiny so you can spy on women peeing?!? How is this mainstream?

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The long stretch with the tower fight thing really sags, but the rest is fun. The art is just so charming. I love how clean and precise the action is. All the goofy animal people are great, too. I love the big ol’ Rodan guy in the tournament.

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great volumes. The first of the three finishes up the martial arts competition, and book 5 and 6 go into a new conflict with a thinly disguised American army. Much less fanservice than in the first 3 in 1 set (thank God).