What do you think?
Rate this book
ドラゴンボール超 [Dragon Ball Super] #21
Dragon Ball Super, Vol. 21: Vs. Dr. Hedo
Ever since Goku became Earth’s greatest hero and gathered the seven Dragon Balls to defeat the evil Boo, his life on Earth has grown a little dull. But new threats loom overhead, and Goku and his friends will have to defend the planet once again in this continuation of Akira Toriyama’s best-selling series,
Dragon Ball
!
In the wake of the commotion on Mt. Butterfly, Trunks decides to take a look into the data on the disc that he stole from Dr. Hedo’s lab. However, the evil scientist intends to steal it back! And his genius plan is to create an android to infiltrate Trunks’s school as a transfer student named Baytah. Meanwhile, the dastardly Red Ribbon Army is rising from the ashes and making new plans of their own…
In the wake of the commotion on Mt. Butterfly, Trunks decides to take a look into the data on the disc that he stole from Dr. Hedo’s lab. However, the evil scientist intends to steal it back! And his genius plan is to create an android to infiltrate Trunks’s school as a transfer student named Baytah. Meanwhile, the dastardly Red Ribbon Army is rising from the ashes and making new plans of their own…
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2023
89 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
About the author
Akira Toriyama
1,803 books1,736 followersAkira 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 17, 2025
EN It took more than 60 volumes of Dragon Ball for me to finally not give it 5 stars.
This volume is quite atypical for the series. I honestly can’t understand what the authors were trying to achieve here, as roughly two thirds of it didn’t feel like I was reading Dragon Ball at all.
Fortunately, the final third restores some hope for the upcoming volumes.
The highlight of this read ends up being Broly, a character who barely appears — which says a lot in itself.
--
PT Foram precisos mais de 60 volumes de Dragon Ball para, finalmente, não lhe atribuir 5 estrelas.
Este volume é bastante atípico dentro da série. Confesso que não consigo perceber o que os autores pretendiam fazer aqui, já que cerca de dois terços da leitura não parecem pertencer a Dragon Ball.
Felizmente, o último terço devolve alguma esperança para os próximos volumes.
O ponto alto acaba por ser Broly, uma personagem que mal aparece — o que, por si só, diz muito sobre este volume.
This volume is quite atypical for the series. I honestly can’t understand what the authors were trying to achieve here, as roughly two thirds of it didn’t feel like I was reading Dragon Ball at all.
Fortunately, the final third restores some hope for the upcoming volumes.
The highlight of this read ends up being Broly, a character who barely appears — which says a lot in itself.
--
PT Foram precisos mais de 60 volumes de Dragon Ball para, finalmente, não lhe atribuir 5 estrelas.
Este volume é bastante atípico dentro da série. Confesso que não consigo perceber o que os autores pretendiam fazer aqui, já que cerca de dois terços da leitura não parecem pertencer a Dragon Ball.
Felizmente, o último terço devolve alguma esperança para os próximos volumes.
O ponto alto acaba por ser Broly, uma personagem que mal aparece — o que, por si só, diz muito sobre este volume.
June 4, 2025
Soooo are we just planning on focusing on the next generation fully after that insane developmental last arc? I mean post black Frieza reveal, no matter how intriguing and cool this super hero arc is it will always seem lackluster in comparison and like it should’ve just been its own spinoff novel series. But those final two chapters almost made up for it with Broly finally showing his face in the manga, getting to see a robot zombie dragon fight, and through espionage getting a peak at cell max which has me so hopeful and hype following this arc.3.5/5
June 6, 2025
The book fills in the gap to Superhero. Trunks and Goten now in high-school and part-time superheroes are battling Doctor Hedo's androids. This is probably 90% of the book, then where the Superhero movie actually starts, eith a bit more details. The book is more comedy than action, but aleast is it not the characters standing around charging up to fight for ages.
The book gets the job done and is a decent to good prelude. A quick scene with Goku with his other sparing partner. Most of the story bits are now out of the way. I am expecting a lot more action in the next book or as they like to drag things out books.
The book gets the job done and is a decent to good prelude. A quick scene with Goku with his other sparing partner. Most of the story bits are now out of the way. I am expecting a lot more action in the next book or as they like to drag things out books.
November 25, 2023
Chapters 89-92
هر بار دراگون بال میخونم میگم درد و بلاش بخوره تو سر اونا که چکنویس هاشونو به عنوان ورژن نهایی مانگا میدن چاپ انقدر تمیزه طراحی هاش.
هر بار دراگون بال میخونم میگم درد و بلاش بخوره تو سر اونا که چکنویس هاشونو به عنوان ورژن نهایی مانگا میدن چاپ انقدر تمیزه طراحی هاش.
December 9, 2024
A brief departure from Dragon Ball basics to focus on the forgotten superhero spin before returning to world ending threats that promise to pack a punch. It's mundane for the most part, and doesn't bring what fans expect, but it's still fun and fluid.
August 26, 2023
I was gonna give this only four stars, but I kind of feel the reason I wasn't enjoying it too much, despite my love of the Super Hero film, is simply because I rewatched the movie too recently....
So, the first half of this volume continues the exploits of Saiyaman X-1 and X-2, while the second half starts a mostly straightforward adaptation of the movie. Dr. Hedo has expanded from the Alpha series of enhanced zombies to the Beta series, which starts with Beta 1, who looks kinda like he could be Blue's son, and Beta 2, which is basically not a Battle Jacket not unlike the one used by Black. We also get a Beta 7 later on, who is like an Elvis impersonator, and who has very much of a Dr. Slump aesthetic in his design. There's also Dinodroid #1, whom I feel looks too unlike Toriyama's style, calling to mind the version of Shen Long seen on the first volume of the DBS manga. None of the fights in this half of the volume are terribly interesting, though I guess it's cool that Super Saiyajin Goten kind of resembles his older brother as a nine-year-old (the so-called "Teen Gohan"). Mostly, it's fun to see the slice-of-life elements continuing, especially because Toyotaro drew Future Mai so cute, and Teen Mai is basically the same. The Gwen Stacy looking girl is pretty cute as well, as is the black girl, but I can't decide who I'd want Goten to get with, if indeed he gets to get with either (maybe we can drift into his GT womanizing?).
The second half of the volume is, as I said above, very close to the start of the movie. There are some notable expansions: Kuririn plays kind of a bigger role, and the first fight between Piccolo and Gamma 2 is a bit longer (or at least choreographed differently near the end). Kuririn was actually the police officer who arrested Hedo, despite there being no mention in the actual movie. Indeed, I recall pre-release promo materials suggesting a bigger role for Officer Kuririn, so I'm guessing he was just cut down as Toriyama continued drafting the script? Anyway, it hardly matters right now because Kuririn gets all kinds of disrespected here; dude is put in a fight against Hachimaru, Hedo's jinzō-wasp, and he fuckin' loses. It's actually kind of funny, as I'd watched The World's Strongest last night, where Kuririn's barely above Oolong-tier. Poor guy...! But at least he gets arguably the hottest wife....
Ah, somewhat related: Kuririn's boss is pretty damn hot as well. I'd give her deez Nutz, if you get my meaning...! ;)
And I guess it's a bit strange Toyotarō is drawing a number of cute women while he also undersells the scene of Bulma's ass when digging for the communication device to reach Whis. By which I mean it's not even a "scene of Bulma's ass" anymore. Oh well.
This volume ends with a bit of Son Goku's sparring with Broly, but their battle seems to stop well before even the remotest chance of Broly accidentally lapsing into his Ikari form, which... kind of just makes me feel like Toyo hates Broly for some reason? And before that, Piccolo makes to set out for Dende, but doesn't get to the Upper World yet, so his Potential Unleashed form will be saved for next volume. I understand from spoilers that Orange will happen so soon as well, so I'm guessing this arc won't be too long. Kind of a good thing, since I feel it's not gonna do anything crazy anyway, like a Perfect Cell Max, but... I'm also afraid to get back into Toyo's original content. Like, I don't want a fucking Black Freeza arc, unless it's some bullshit reason to introduce an entirely new villain, and Black Freeza would have to team up with True Ultra Instinct Goku, Ultra Ego Vegeta, (Mastered?) Full Power Super Saiyajin Broly, Orange Piccolo, and Gohan BEAST. Which will, I can predict, be hype as fuck.
EDIT: I was thinking about this the other day, and the idea was maybe teased in this volume: Pan in Super could potentially have Ultimate/Beast power within her. Like, it's possible Goten and Trunks reached Super Saiyajin at early ages because they were sired by Super Saiyajin fathers (unlike Son Gohan). So Pan could have inherited something like the DNA of her father's rage-power, if not necessarily the potential unlocked by the Old Kaioshin. But I guess we'll see. I think word on the street was Pan never went Super Saiyajin in GT because Toriyama didn't know how he'd want to do female Super Saiyajin, but now we have Kale and Caulifla, so there's no reason not to let Pan do some cool shit.
EDIT 2: Forgot to say I like how Commander Red's surname is confirmed to be Ribon. So it was Red Ribon's Red Ribbon Army.
So, the first half of this volume continues the exploits of Saiyaman X-1 and X-2, while the second half starts a mostly straightforward adaptation of the movie. Dr. Hedo has expanded from the Alpha series of enhanced zombies to the Beta series, which starts with Beta 1, who looks kinda like he could be Blue's son, and Beta 2, which is basically not a Battle Jacket not unlike the one used by Black. We also get a Beta 7 later on, who is like an Elvis impersonator, and who has very much of a Dr. Slump aesthetic in his design. There's also Dinodroid #1, whom I feel looks too unlike Toriyama's style, calling to mind the version of Shen Long seen on the first volume of the DBS manga. None of the fights in this half of the volume are terribly interesting, though I guess it's cool that Super Saiyajin Goten kind of resembles his older brother as a nine-year-old (the so-called "Teen Gohan"). Mostly, it's fun to see the slice-of-life elements continuing, especially because Toyotaro drew Future Mai so cute, and Teen Mai is basically the same. The Gwen Stacy looking girl is pretty cute as well, as is the black girl, but I can't decide who I'd want Goten to get with, if indeed he gets to get with either (maybe we can drift into his GT womanizing?).
The second half of the volume is, as I said above, very close to the start of the movie. There are some notable expansions: Kuririn plays kind of a bigger role, and the first fight between Piccolo and Gamma 2 is a bit longer (or at least choreographed differently near the end). Kuririn was actually the police officer who arrested Hedo, despite there being no mention in the actual movie. Indeed, I recall pre-release promo materials suggesting a bigger role for Officer Kuririn, so I'm guessing he was just cut down as Toriyama continued drafting the script? Anyway, it hardly matters right now because Kuririn gets all kinds of disrespected here; dude is put in a fight against Hachimaru, Hedo's jinzō-wasp, and he fuckin' loses. It's actually kind of funny, as I'd watched The World's Strongest last night, where Kuririn's barely above Oolong-tier. Poor guy...! But at least he gets arguably the hottest wife....
Ah, somewhat related: Kuririn's boss is pretty damn hot as well. I'd give her deez Nutz, if you get my meaning...! ;)
And I guess it's a bit strange Toyotarō is drawing a number of cute women while he also undersells the scene of Bulma's ass when digging for the communication device to reach Whis. By which I mean it's not even a "scene of Bulma's ass" anymore. Oh well.
This volume ends with a bit of Son Goku's sparring with Broly, but their battle seems to stop well before even the remotest chance of Broly accidentally lapsing into his Ikari form, which... kind of just makes me feel like Toyo hates Broly for some reason? And before that, Piccolo makes to set out for Dende, but doesn't get to the Upper World yet, so his Potential Unleashed form will be saved for next volume. I understand from spoilers that Orange will happen so soon as well, so I'm guessing this arc won't be too long. Kind of a good thing, since I feel it's not gonna do anything crazy anyway, like a Perfect Cell Max, but... I'm also afraid to get back into Toyo's original content. Like, I don't want a fucking Black Freeza arc, unless it's some bullshit reason to introduce an entirely new villain, and Black Freeza would have to team up with True Ultra Instinct Goku, Ultra Ego Vegeta, (Mastered?) Full Power Super Saiyajin Broly, Orange Piccolo, and Gohan BEAST. Which will, I can predict, be hype as fuck.
EDIT: I was thinking about this the other day, and the idea was maybe teased in this volume: Pan in Super could potentially have Ultimate/Beast power within her. Like, it's possible Goten and Trunks reached Super Saiyajin at early ages because they were sired by Super Saiyajin fathers (unlike Son Gohan). So Pan could have inherited something like the DNA of her father's rage-power, if not necessarily the potential unlocked by the Old Kaioshin. But I guess we'll see. I think word on the street was Pan never went Super Saiyajin in GT because Toriyama didn't know how he'd want to do female Super Saiyajin, but now we have Kale and Caulifla, so there's no reason not to let Pan do some cool shit.
EDIT 2: Forgot to say I like how Commander Red's surname is confirmed to be Ribon. So it was Red Ribon's Red Ribbon Army.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 7, 2024The Goten and Trunks featuring Krillen stuff was okay. But grandpa Piccolo criticizing bad parents and helicopter moms while watching Pan was the real highlight. Always ready for more of that. Basically a volume dedicated to being the set up to Super Hero. A pretty fun one at that.
August 7, 2023
Unbearably awful series. Terrible art, terrible writing. Just a massive step down in every way.
August 18, 2023
Unfortunately my favorite manga series is lately just an ok read. I guess Toriyama fell into that Superhero trap, It's not that it's bad, and I liked the break we take from everything to follow Goten and Trunks be Superheroes and whatnot, but the main villain is dumb and boring, the plot is also a chore to read, and it's just not something fun to read, it's a read that you wait for something to happen.
All in all, I'm waiting for something good to happen, and since I'm reading the chapters having read the latest one, with that cliffhanger with Piccolo, that looks promising so I hope things are gonna change with the next volume.
All in all, I'm waiting for something good to happen, and since I'm reading the chapters having read the latest one, with that cliffhanger with Piccolo, that looks promising so I hope things are gonna change with the next volume.
September 12, 2023
It is truly unfortunate that the series took a turn for the worse (at least worse than usual) by focusing on this whole duo Saiyaman story arc. It's like someone thought it would be a good idea to re-focus this series by trying to go down the Dragon Ball GT path and making Pan more canonical.
Thankfully, the series ends with a sneak peek at Goku (about time!) sparring with a familiar face, one that could promise some fun action-centric story arcs in the future. Hopefully.
Thankfully, the series ends with a sneak peek at Goku (about time!) sparring with a familiar face, one that could promise some fun action-centric story arcs in the future. Hopefully.
April 13, 2024
1. Tout l’histoire des Saiyaman est impertinante.
2. Re-passer l’histoire du film « super-héros » aussi perd mon intérêt. Le film est incroyable, j’ai même acheté l’adaptation en manga, mais de le remettre dans le manga principal, ils auraient pu skip comme ils ont fait avec les autres films… bref.
2. Re-passer l’histoire du film « super-héros » aussi perd mon intérêt. Le film est incroyable, j’ai même acheté l’adaptation en manga, mais de le remettre dans le manga principal, ils auraient pu skip comme ils ont fait avec les autres films… bref.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2024
*shakes head* This story really never will end... LOL
Highlights:
- Dr Hedo (grandson of Dr Gero) sends his best android Beta-1 to school with Trunks, Goten and Mai. Stylizing himself as Baytah, he is trying to flush out who has stolen Gero's most secret info, which was stored on a disc.
- Beta-1 obviously fights Saiyaman X-1 (Trunks) and Saiyaman X-2 (Goten)
- With Baytah defeated, Hedo keeps sending androids to school, and they keep getting defeated.
- Mai, wanting to take down Dr Hedo because he is continuing to monitor her, sets up a situation at a school dance to get him captured
- Piccolo begins to train Pan how to fight. One day after a session, an android who goes by Retro comes to try and defeat Piccolo. He thinks he does, but really it is so Piccolo can follow him and discover the Red Ribbon Army's base. He gets in a disguise and finds out their plans...
- The Red Ribbon Army has a meeting with Hedo after he gets out of jail. He has recovered the disc, and work has begun on Cell Max, the ultimate Android. (Here we go again....)
- For a last scene, we see Goku actively training Broly. Guess he will be helping out soon!
Overall, this was a fun Volume and lots of setup.... but I hope all this stuff with Cell Max doesn't drag out like it did in Z....
Recommend.
Highlights:
- Dr Hedo (grandson of Dr Gero) sends his best android Beta-1 to school with Trunks, Goten and Mai. Stylizing himself as Baytah, he is trying to flush out who has stolen Gero's most secret info, which was stored on a disc.
- Beta-1 obviously fights Saiyaman X-1 (Trunks) and Saiyaman X-2 (Goten)
- With Baytah defeated, Hedo keeps sending androids to school, and they keep getting defeated.
- Mai, wanting to take down Dr Hedo because he is continuing to monitor her, sets up a situation at a school dance to get him captured
- Piccolo begins to train Pan how to fight. One day after a session, an android who goes by Retro comes to try and defeat Piccolo. He thinks he does, but really it is so Piccolo can follow him and discover the Red Ribbon Army's base. He gets in a disguise and finds out their plans...
- The Red Ribbon Army has a meeting with Hedo after he gets out of jail. He has recovered the disc, and work has begun on Cell Max, the ultimate Android. (Here we go again....)
- For a last scene, we see Goku actively training Broly. Guess he will be helping out soon!
Overall, this was a fun Volume and lots of setup.... but I hope all this stuff with Cell Max doesn't drag out like it did in Z....
Recommend.
August 2, 2025
This manga taking place before the events of the modern movie, Dragonball Super: Superhero. Dragonball Super's manga never stops getting better than the DBS anime. But seriously, the anime was a never ending mixed bag, until the Tournament Of Power!
But anyway, this manga is great! Though many critisize Trunks and Goten's Saiyaman X1 and X2 outfits, but their incredibly cool in my opinion, but now this is my review.
First let's start with the main stars of the manga, Trunks and Goten...their AWESOME! Goten and Trunks were adorable in their kid form, the Buu Saga especially. But now, taking place years after the Buu Saga, the two saiyans are high schoolers, with friends, and secret identities.
First off, Trunks, being the cool kid in school is pretty hilarious. As a big fan of Trunks, I honestly feel he deserves it, and had such cool development. But I do feel a bit critical about how he's a fan of a superhero, like it's still funny, but I prefer the way he idolizes Vegeta in DBZ than being inspired by masked man with a broom.
Still, Trunks is great! His Saiyaman suit is cool no matter how many times people call him skinny, and Mai being added in the mix, makes him a sweet person.
But Goten, wow! He got done dirty! Like oh my Godfather Part II! Goten is basically the misfit and freak in school!
People around him, except Trunks, get creeped out by his abnormal strength, and Goten just gets overshadowed by Trunks, ouch! Even the artist for the manga, Toyotarou noticed, since he now wants to add more Goten, which is fine and all, but that really shows it.
Goten is a cheerful and carefree character, which is a good factor, but I kinda wish Goten was treated better by his friends in the Manga. Mai is probably the second reason this manga is so critisized. A lot of people like to question Mai and Trunks' relationship, and call it gross, but honestly, Mai has basically accepted the new life, so it's not actually gross.
But let's take a closer look. Mai, in my opinion, is a great character, Mai is smart, tough, but at the same time, has flaws, and is actually, pretty sweet when it comes to Trunks. Mai goes to school because Trunks' mom Bulma thinks it's weird that Mai doesn't go, and what follows is one of the funniest, yet most sweetest stories I have ever read.
Mai is serious and tough, though it's pretty obvious that she's flawed, for example, she can't fight, and mostly uses weapons and robots, which is a problem, like when Beta 1 tries to capture Mai, when she's fully, and completely vulnerable. But at the same time, Trunks saves Mai, and the aftermath is just so sweet, when Mai remembers Future Trunks, and funny, when she seemingly fails to realize Trunks saved her, since he was Saiyaman. Mai is just cool like that.
But now we go to the villain of the story, Dr. Hedo, and his legion of stitched-up cyborgs. He isn't Frieza, or Cell, but he feels good enough to be the villain, That's because Dr. Hedo is hilarious. He is a fan of a superheroes, and his work is actually dangerous. Though I honestly think his conclusion is funny in itself. And his minions are great as well, the Betas are brutal, and overarching, and the stitched up ones, that look like straight up undead halloween monsters, are the only ones with a happy ending, where they go back home, to their families.
The Story, I ain't going to spoil this one, but as my review on the story, it's great, it's hilarious, sweet, and cool. So that must be it than, right? Nope, the next story after this has Piccolo, Pan, and Gohan, except, that story is the adapted first part of the movie, Dragonball Super: Superhero, so even though I spoiled so much, I am not going to spoil this one. So in conclusion, Dragonball Super 21 is great! It doesn't deserve the critisizing. the characters are great, and it shows how much better the manga is than the DBS anime, and I hope people agree with this, and won't send me death threats online 😄
But anyway, this manga is great! Though many critisize Trunks and Goten's Saiyaman X1 and X2 outfits, but their incredibly cool in my opinion, but now this is my review.
First let's start with the main stars of the manga, Trunks and Goten...their AWESOME! Goten and Trunks were adorable in their kid form, the Buu Saga especially. But now, taking place years after the Buu Saga, the two saiyans are high schoolers, with friends, and secret identities.
First off, Trunks, being the cool kid in school is pretty hilarious. As a big fan of Trunks, I honestly feel he deserves it, and had such cool development. But I do feel a bit critical about how he's a fan of a superhero, like it's still funny, but I prefer the way he idolizes Vegeta in DBZ than being inspired by masked man with a broom.
Still, Trunks is great! His Saiyaman suit is cool no matter how many times people call him skinny, and Mai being added in the mix, makes him a sweet person.
But Goten, wow! He got done dirty! Like oh my Godfather Part II! Goten is basically the misfit and freak in school!
People around him, except Trunks, get creeped out by his abnormal strength, and Goten just gets overshadowed by Trunks, ouch! Even the artist for the manga, Toyotarou noticed, since he now wants to add more Goten, which is fine and all, but that really shows it.
Goten is a cheerful and carefree character, which is a good factor, but I kinda wish Goten was treated better by his friends in the Manga. Mai is probably the second reason this manga is so critisized. A lot of people like to question Mai and Trunks' relationship, and call it gross, but honestly, Mai has basically accepted the new life, so it's not actually gross.
But let's take a closer look. Mai, in my opinion, is a great character, Mai is smart, tough, but at the same time, has flaws, and is actually, pretty sweet when it comes to Trunks. Mai goes to school because Trunks' mom Bulma thinks it's weird that Mai doesn't go, and what follows is one of the funniest, yet most sweetest stories I have ever read.
Mai is serious and tough, though it's pretty obvious that she's flawed, for example, she can't fight, and mostly uses weapons and robots, which is a problem, like when Beta 1 tries to capture Mai, when she's fully, and completely vulnerable. But at the same time, Trunks saves Mai, and the aftermath is just so sweet, when Mai remembers Future Trunks, and funny, when she seemingly fails to realize Trunks saved her, since he was Saiyaman. Mai is just cool like that.
But now we go to the villain of the story, Dr. Hedo, and his legion of stitched-up cyborgs. He isn't Frieza, or Cell, but he feels good enough to be the villain, That's because Dr. Hedo is hilarious. He is a fan of a superheroes, and his work is actually dangerous. Though I honestly think his conclusion is funny in itself. And his minions are great as well, the Betas are brutal, and overarching, and the stitched up ones, that look like straight up undead halloween monsters, are the only ones with a happy ending, where they go back home, to their families.
The Story, I ain't going to spoil this one, but as my review on the story, it's great, it's hilarious, sweet, and cool. So that must be it than, right? Nope, the next story after this has Piccolo, Pan, and Gohan, except, that story is the adapted first part of the movie, Dragonball Super: Superhero, so even though I spoiled so much, I am not going to spoil this one. So in conclusion, Dragonball Super 21 is great! It doesn't deserve the critisizing. the characters are great, and it shows how much better the manga is than the DBS anime, and I hope people agree with this, and won't send me death threats online 😄
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2024
8/10 Seems like a possible manga adaptation of the Super Hero Movie. I’m not sure if the manga came first or not being that I don’t read chapter by chapter. Mai and trunks start to go to school together and Mai is attracting attention and making trunks upset. There is also another transfer student Baytah.
Dr hedo seems to be spying on trunks and the school. Baytah is actually undercover working for Hedo. While stalking trunks he sees Goten carrying a car and decides he’s the one they are looking for and transforms into a superhero/villain and attacks Goten. Then trunks changes into his saiyaman x-1 costume and “saves” Goten before he showed his real strength. He goes on to fight baytah (now Beta 1). Beta 1 wants a disc back for the boss Dr Hedo. Goten gets into costume and helps trunks defeat Beta 1. Goten gets attacked by beta 7 on the way to school.
Mai asked Trunks to the dance, trunks was hype. Mai reveals she planned the hero clean-god to make an appearance at the dance to lure Dr Hedo because he loves superheroes. She wants Goten and Trunks to trap him because they are being watching 24:7 by Android bugs. Hedo is there for the reveal and gets nabbed by the cops (aka Krillin) but gets away . Krillin lets him go to get a lead on their base.
Krillin trunks and goten jump Dr hedo and his crew in his lab. Dr Hedo reveals his first Dino Android. Krillin informs the boys that the red ribbon army is also after dr hedo. They arrest dr hedo but he only gets 3 months for stealing bodies from the morgue. He vows to continue his research and the jail won’t hold him.
Piccolo picks up pan from school and hears she wants to be a hero so he tells her he will train her. The police force explain what the red ribbon army wants from hedo. It’s a plan to a secret weapon but hedo supposedly memorized it. He is the grandson of Dr Gero and got a PhD at 14. President of red pharmaceuticals (Magenta) picks up hedo from jail. He also funds and recreates the red ribbon army.
Hedo gets a ride with Magenta. Krillin follows and gets attacked by Hedo’s android bee. Hedo reveals he made his skin impenetrable to bullets. He agrees to working for red ribbon for 1 billion per android. Krillin gets attacked by the android bee again and loses sight of hedo. Mangents convinces Hedo that the Z fighters are villians who want to take over the earth. Hedo wants to create the best super hero androids ever made before.
Half a year later, piccolo has trained pan a bit and says she could have more potential than Gohan. After having to pick up pan from school again because Gohan is busy with research, he goes to knock some sense into Gohan. After revealing is research on transforming and glowing Sai-ants. Piccolo throws a punch at him but Gohan dodges and says he’s not that rusty. And if anyone needs to save the planet Goku and vegeta can do it. Piccolo than gut punches him and tells him he needs more training and to do his research in his old training gear from the saiyan arc.
While piccolo is meditating and training, a person approaches and goes to attack him. It seems to be a creation of Dr Hedo’s. He seems to be some type of hero. Piccolo pretends to flee but follows this enemies after he retreats to base. Turns out this is Gamma 2 from the dragon ball super hero movie. He goes back and returns with all his info and database updates of z fighters. As they are all discussing their plans, piccolo took out a guard and took his outfit. he listened to it all, their targets and their secret project cell max. Bulma lost the communication device to whis so she can’t contact Goku or Vegeta. He has to handle this situation himself but one gamma is equal to Goku or Vegeta so 2 of them could be far worse.
Volume ends with Goku teaching broly to control his rage.
Dr hedo seems to be spying on trunks and the school. Baytah is actually undercover working for Hedo. While stalking trunks he sees Goten carrying a car and decides he’s the one they are looking for and transforms into a superhero/villain and attacks Goten. Then trunks changes into his saiyaman x-1 costume and “saves” Goten before he showed his real strength. He goes on to fight baytah (now Beta 1). Beta 1 wants a disc back for the boss Dr Hedo. Goten gets into costume and helps trunks defeat Beta 1. Goten gets attacked by beta 7 on the way to school.
Mai asked Trunks to the dance, trunks was hype. Mai reveals she planned the hero clean-god to make an appearance at the dance to lure Dr Hedo because he loves superheroes. She wants Goten and Trunks to trap him because they are being watching 24:7 by Android bugs. Hedo is there for the reveal and gets nabbed by the cops (aka Krillin) but gets away . Krillin lets him go to get a lead on their base.
Krillin trunks and goten jump Dr hedo and his crew in his lab. Dr Hedo reveals his first Dino Android. Krillin informs the boys that the red ribbon army is also after dr hedo. They arrest dr hedo but he only gets 3 months for stealing bodies from the morgue. He vows to continue his research and the jail won’t hold him.
Piccolo picks up pan from school and hears she wants to be a hero so he tells her he will train her. The police force explain what the red ribbon army wants from hedo. It’s a plan to a secret weapon but hedo supposedly memorized it. He is the grandson of Dr Gero and got a PhD at 14. President of red pharmaceuticals (Magenta) picks up hedo from jail. He also funds and recreates the red ribbon army.
Hedo gets a ride with Magenta. Krillin follows and gets attacked by Hedo’s android bee. Hedo reveals he made his skin impenetrable to bullets. He agrees to working for red ribbon for 1 billion per android. Krillin gets attacked by the android bee again and loses sight of hedo. Mangents convinces Hedo that the Z fighters are villians who want to take over the earth. Hedo wants to create the best super hero androids ever made before.
Half a year later, piccolo has trained pan a bit and says she could have more potential than Gohan. After having to pick up pan from school again because Gohan is busy with research, he goes to knock some sense into Gohan. After revealing is research on transforming and glowing Sai-ants. Piccolo throws a punch at him but Gohan dodges and says he’s not that rusty. And if anyone needs to save the planet Goku and vegeta can do it. Piccolo than gut punches him and tells him he needs more training and to do his research in his old training gear from the saiyan arc.
While piccolo is meditating and training, a person approaches and goes to attack him. It seems to be a creation of Dr Hedo’s. He seems to be some type of hero. Piccolo pretends to flee but follows this enemies after he retreats to base. Turns out this is Gamma 2 from the dragon ball super hero movie. He goes back and returns with all his info and database updates of z fighters. As they are all discussing their plans, piccolo took out a guard and took his outfit. he listened to it all, their targets and their secret project cell max. Bulma lost the communication device to whis so she can’t contact Goku or Vegeta. He has to handle this situation himself but one gamma is equal to Goku or Vegeta so 2 of them could be far worse.
Volume ends with Goku teaching broly to control his rage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2025
VOLUME 21: CHAPTER 89-92
Arc 7: High School Saga
Arc 8: Super Hero Saga
Trunks trying to open the data inside the disc and there is a blueprint of some artificial creature. Suddenly, the disc was corrupted by a virus. Bulma enrolled Mai into the high school and there is also new student, Baytah. Baytah or his real name Beta No. 1, is an android send by Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero. His mission is to retrieve the data disc. Trunks and Goten fight Beta No. 1 in their super hero costumes and managed to defeat him. The next day, Goten confronted Beta No. 7 and he managed to defeat it. The school held a dance party. As a fan of the superhero Cleangod, Dr. Hedo come to the party and also to retrieve his disc. Krillin and the police force busted the party but Dr. Gero managed to escape along with the disc. Krillin, Trunks and Goten followed Dr. Gero to their base. They fight the android Dinodroid 1 and managed to destroy it. Dr. Gero was prisoned and the disc holder contain no disc, just only Dr. Gero's photo with Cleangod's autograph.
Red Ribbon Army is going to be revived by Magenta, the son of the late Commander Red. He is also the president of Red Pharmaceuticals. For the revival, Red Ribbon Army needs Dr. Hedo's intelligence. After 3 months, Dr. Hedo was released from the prison. Magenta approached him and they have a deal after Magenta convinced Dr. Hedo that Goku and the others are the bad guys. They also targeting Capsule Corp. Half a year passed, Piccolo trains Pan, daughter of Gohan and Videl. Suddenly, he was attacked by mysterious android named Gamma #2 who bear Red Ribbon Army's arsenal. Piccolo escape and hide after the explosion. Gamma #2 return to Red Ribbon Army base and followed by Piccolo. There is another android that looks alike, Gamma #1. Piccolo trying to reach Goku and Vegeta through Whis. But right now, Goku and Broly are training there along with Vegeta.
Arc 7: High School Saga
Arc 8: Super Hero Saga
Trunks trying to open the data inside the disc and there is a blueprint of some artificial creature. Suddenly, the disc was corrupted by a virus. Bulma enrolled Mai into the high school and there is also new student, Baytah. Baytah or his real name Beta No. 1, is an android send by Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero. His mission is to retrieve the data disc. Trunks and Goten fight Beta No. 1 in their super hero costumes and managed to defeat him. The next day, Goten confronted Beta No. 7 and he managed to defeat it. The school held a dance party. As a fan of the superhero Cleangod, Dr. Hedo come to the party and also to retrieve his disc. Krillin and the police force busted the party but Dr. Gero managed to escape along with the disc. Krillin, Trunks and Goten followed Dr. Gero to their base. They fight the android Dinodroid 1 and managed to destroy it. Dr. Gero was prisoned and the disc holder contain no disc, just only Dr. Gero's photo with Cleangod's autograph.
Red Ribbon Army is going to be revived by Magenta, the son of the late Commander Red. He is also the president of Red Pharmaceuticals. For the revival, Red Ribbon Army needs Dr. Hedo's intelligence. After 3 months, Dr. Hedo was released from the prison. Magenta approached him and they have a deal after Magenta convinced Dr. Hedo that Goku and the others are the bad guys. They also targeting Capsule Corp. Half a year passed, Piccolo trains Pan, daughter of Gohan and Videl. Suddenly, he was attacked by mysterious android named Gamma #2 who bear Red Ribbon Army's arsenal. Piccolo escape and hide after the explosion. Gamma #2 return to Red Ribbon Army base and followed by Piccolo. There is another android that looks alike, Gamma #1. Piccolo trying to reach Goku and Vegeta through Whis. But right now, Goku and Broly are training there along with Vegeta.
June 17, 2024
Volume 21 leads us further into the prologue of the Super Hero arc before it starts to tread familiar ground for those that saw the film in 2022. It does a nice job in filling in some back story to Dr. Hedo and how he became an integral part of the Super Hero arc, showing what he was up to behind the scenes and how it ended up in prison. As a result, we get to spend a lot of time with Goten and Trunks in their school years and it's a nice refreshing breath to be a bit more grounded in the story not involving god like powers of strength but rather high school shenanigans. Some of it is silly though and does ask the reader a lot to not point out some of the glaring awkward moments in the artwork and direction. Krillin for example is beaten by a wasp and loses track of a car he is tailing, in the middle of a desert, on a straight road, despite the fact that this man can fly incredibly fast. Another is Dr. Hedo wanting to be hidden yet goes to a school in plain sight. That sort of thing
From the mid point, we tread the same content you have seen in the movie and it's almost entirely one to one. Pan is an absolute delight with a great design and a welcome new face and the focus on Piccolo is exciting and already adds a lot of character to him as we see things from his point of view. There isn't any surprises any more for those of us that have seen the movie but as the content was fun to begin with, it's an enjoyable read.
Two final things; my volume had three printing errors; one text bubble not aligned within the bubble and two grammar errors but also what is going on with the names of characters? The human school friends are called like Ruler, Pencil, Sketch and the like, why are they so on the nose? Granola did this all based on Cereal.
From the mid point, we tread the same content you have seen in the movie and it's almost entirely one to one. Pan is an absolute delight with a great design and a welcome new face and the focus on Piccolo is exciting and already adds a lot of character to him as we see things from his point of view. There isn't any surprises any more for those of us that have seen the movie but as the content was fun to begin with, it's an enjoyable read.
Two final things; my volume had three printing errors; one text bubble not aligned within the bubble and two grammar errors but also what is going on with the names of characters? The human school friends are called like Ruler, Pencil, Sketch and the like, why are they so on the nose? Granola did this all based on Cereal.
April 24, 2024
Chapter 21 introduces us to Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero. As it turns out, the guy is really into superheroes, which is something he has in common with Trunks and Goten - - our new Saiyamen! The chapter deals with Dr. Hedo’s attempt to continue his rather unethical research and the Saiyamen’s plan to foil Dr. Hedo’s plan.
It was nice to see the the boys all grown up - finally! The chapter feels ‘small’, which is a welcome surprise after having dealt with the Tournament of Power, the Moro arc, and the Granolah arc. It was… getting out of hand.
Something else that I liked about the chapter is that it serves as a pseudo-prelude to the Superhero movie. It gives us some of the Dr. Hedo backstory and allows the boys to breathe a bit before dealing with the big Cell monster. Plus, we get a nice connection between Dr. Hedo and the Saiyamen, which is a connection that was missing from the film.
We also get some of the bits from the film in here - the new androids are introduced and Piccolo starts his undercover work. A lovely chapter - certainly a nice change of pace.
The art is different in this chapters, which is probably done to connect to the Superhero movie. I think they do a good job at merging the previous style used in the manga with that of the movie.
It was nice to see the the boys all grown up - finally! The chapter feels ‘small’, which is a welcome surprise after having dealt with the Tournament of Power, the Moro arc, and the Granolah arc. It was… getting out of hand.
Something else that I liked about the chapter is that it serves as a pseudo-prelude to the Superhero movie. It gives us some of the Dr. Hedo backstory and allows the boys to breathe a bit before dealing with the big Cell monster. Plus, we get a nice connection between Dr. Hedo and the Saiyamen, which is a connection that was missing from the film.
We also get some of the bits from the film in here - the new androids are introduced and Piccolo starts his undercover work. A lovely chapter - certainly a nice change of pace.
The art is different in this chapters, which is probably done to connect to the Superhero movie. I think they do a good job at merging the previous style used in the manga with that of the movie.
March 13, 2024
This was such a fun volume and actually has a great 2 parter which acts as a prequel to the movie adaptation of "Super hero" and we see Trunks trying to impress mai when he gets a rival in school whose also an android hero and being created by Dr Hedo and him targeting Trunks and all and great school drama and teenage crush and all that and saiyaman action, and I love it. Mai and Trunks are so cute together and Dr Hedo is a fun villain!
Then we have the movie adaptation and then the first 2 chs with Gamma vs Piccolo and him going to investigate what it is, and well RRA and The Resurrection of which is gonna be a big massive fight and I like how its like taking things from the movie and adding to it and showing events from a better perspective and also it was CGI animation in the movie and felt very weird and so this one is just gonna be great to read and I love how caring Piccolo is towards Pan and then the last page with Goku and all!
Great volume, great action, so many characters focused here, teenage crush and all that and moving into a massive arc vs Cell!!!!!
Then we have the movie adaptation and then the first 2 chs with Gamma vs Piccolo and him going to investigate what it is, and well RRA and The Resurrection of which is gonna be a big massive fight and I like how its like taking things from the movie and adding to it and showing events from a better perspective and also it was CGI animation in the movie and felt very weird and so this one is just gonna be great to read and I love how caring Piccolo is towards Pan and then the last page with Goku and all!
Great volume, great action, so many characters focused here, teenage crush and all that and moving into a massive arc vs Cell!!!!!
March 16, 2025
Is this just a fusion of the Red Ribbon army and Cell arcs? Yes but it’s done very well so I don’t really mind it. It’s not like nothing new is added. The superhero aspect both visually and thematically adds enough new material to make this story worthwhile. It retains the military criticism of the Red Ribbon army arc and the exploration of fighting to better oneself or to protect others from the Cell arcs and examines them through the ideology of what makes a hero. As for this adaptation it does a good job of tightening the movie’s script with things like emphasising how brave Pan is and how she wants to be a superhero so Piccolo putting her in danger doesn’t feel as cruel and making Goten and Trunks superheroes as well. That being said the writing improvements are minuscule when compared to the significant loss visually compared to the film. There was nothing they really could’ve done. There just wasn’t the budget here to have drawings that could rival the movie but it results in a less impactful adaptation all the same
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2025
Found some of the prequel bit way to goofy, even for Dragon ball, and the addition they've added with the police (and Krillin) knowing that the Red Ribbon Army want to recruit Dr Hedo just seemed out of place and unnecessary, especially since it didn't end up really going anywhere anyway. Also it made the Hedo and Magenta car ride part worse, Krillin gets KO'd by a cyborg wasp, that 2 of the 3 characters don't even know is happening, and the driver still loses control of the car because of the wasp but at least in the movie it made more sense because the wasp was on the inside! Why'd he even panic if it was on the outside?
March 25, 2024
Disclaimer: I am one of those weird fans that like Dragonball better when it's a comedy manga than a pure shonen fight one.
And that... pretty much explains my score for this being so different from most. This is what, to me, combines some of the fun parts of the Boo, Red Ribbon and the Cell sagas on the original manga. It's not too serious, kinda funny and and even cheesy at times. Just a fun time, really.
It'll inevitably turn into another scream fight with power levels in the future, but for now, it's quite refreshing, seeing Sayaman X1 and 2, and Picollo training Pan.
And that... pretty much explains my score for this being so different from most. This is what, to me, combines some of the fun parts of the Boo, Red Ribbon and the Cell sagas on the original manga. It's not too serious, kinda funny and and even cheesy at times. Just a fun time, really.
It'll inevitably turn into another scream fight with power levels in the future, but for now, it's quite refreshing, seeing Sayaman X1 and 2, and Picollo training Pan.
April 9, 2024
Haters all around.
Guys, hop off and enjoy the work.
“Oh it’s not like DBZ”
“Oh the art isn’t the same!”
“It’s not suppose to be this way”
Fuck off.
You all aren’t manga artist. You never will be. You didn’t have the talent to succeed Toriyama, who personally picked his successor. So all this negativity means nothing, other than to waste away your lives complaining over nothing.
Don’t like it? Drop the series.
We’re finally getting progress. Enjoy it.
Guys, hop off and enjoy the work.
“Oh it’s not like DBZ”
“Oh the art isn’t the same!”
“It’s not suppose to be this way”
Fuck off.
You all aren’t manga artist. You never will be. You didn’t have the talent to succeed Toriyama, who personally picked his successor. So all this negativity means nothing, other than to waste away your lives complaining over nothing.
Don’t like it? Drop the series.
We’re finally getting progress. Enjoy it.
July 8, 2024
I enjoyed this book but about halfway through, it became a rehash of the most recent Dragon Ball movie. Not a bad thing, but it's not as new as the previous arcs/stories. The story following Trunks and Goten have been fun and worth a look at. As of now, I'm on the fence about rather you should read this volume or just watch the movie. Grade: B
November 19, 2023
Wonderful 😘
February 3, 2024
(Aviso: lectura hecha en ejemplar en español, publicado en México. La presente nota se modificará cuando se dé de alta en GR la edición correspondiente).
February 9, 2024
Purtroppo imbarazzante. Preludio e poi trascrizione grafica del film Dragonball Super: Super Heroes
April 4, 2024
Y así inicia la saga del renacimiento de la patrulla roja.
April 6, 2024
I LOVED seeing these teen hijinks with Goten and Trunks.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews