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Dragon Ball Culture #1
Origin
See Dragon Ball with new eyes. This book is your cultural tour guide of Dragon Ball, the world’s most recognized anime and manga series.
Over 11 years in development, at over 2,000 pages, and featuring over 1,800 unique terms, Dragon Ball Culture is a 7 Volume analysis of your favorite series. You will go on an adventure with Son Goku, from Chapter 1 to 194 of the original Dragon Ball, as we explore every page, every panel, and every sentence, to reveal its hidden symbolism and deeper meaning.
In Volume 1 you will discover the origin of Dragon Ball. How does Akira Toriyama get his big break and become a manga author? Why does he make Dragon Ball? Where does Dragon Ball’s culture come from? And why is it so successful?
Along the way you’ll be informed, entertained, and inspired. You will learn more about your favorite series and about yourself.
Now step with me through the doorway of Dragon Ball Culture.
Over 11 years in development, at over 2,000 pages, and featuring over 1,800 unique terms, Dragon Ball Culture is a 7 Volume analysis of your favorite series. You will go on an adventure with Son Goku, from Chapter 1 to 194 of the original Dragon Ball, as we explore every page, every panel, and every sentence, to reveal its hidden symbolism and deeper meaning.
In Volume 1 you will discover the origin of Dragon Ball. How does Akira Toriyama get his big break and become a manga author? Why does he make Dragon Ball? Where does Dragon Ball’s culture come from? And why is it so successful?
Along the way you’ll be informed, entertained, and inspired. You will learn more about your favorite series and about yourself.
Now step with me through the doorway of Dragon Ball Culture.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 20, 2014
24 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Derek Padula
22 books26 followersDerek Padula is the author of The Dao of Dragon Ball website and book series; the first to reveal the deep history, philosophy, and cultural roots of the world's #1 anime and manga.
Derek's journey begins when he sees the Dragon Ball anime in 1997. His love for the series inspires him to start martial arts training in Shàolín gōngfu, tàijí-quán, qìgōng, karate, and Fǎlún Dàfǎ meditation. He earns his B.A. in East Asian Studies and a minor in Chinese from Western Michigan University. Then he studies abroad in Běijīng, China where he trains with the Buddhist Shàolín monks and a Dàoist tàijí sword master. After returning home he begins his life's work.
He is now an authority on Dragon Ball and loves to share his understanding of this profound series that changes lives.
Derek's journey begins when he sees the Dragon Ball anime in 1997. His love for the series inspires him to start martial arts training in Shàolín gōngfu, tàijí-quán, qìgōng, karate, and Fǎlún Dàfǎ meditation. He earns his B.A. in East Asian Studies and a minor in Chinese from Western Michigan University. Then he studies abroad in Běijīng, China where he trains with the Buddhist Shàolín monks and a Dàoist tàijí sword master. After returning home he begins his life's work.
He is now an authority on Dragon Ball and loves to share his understanding of this profound series that changes lives.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 4, 2022
If you like Dragon Ball, and you want to know its backstory, and the back story of its creator, as well as the cultural significance behind the show, and how/why it does or does not translate from its native Japanese to English, then this is the book for you. Period.
This is the only place you'll find GOOD Akira Toriyama biographical information in English, and it's a GREAT precursor and tone setter for the entire franchise and its cultural background and significance.
Future entries get a LITTLE too microscopic in their analysis for my taste but this one is an AMAZING entry to the cultural history of Dragon Ball as a franchise. Obviously it's easy to recommend someone start at the beginning, but I really would recommend starting here, and if you find it intriguing, using Derek's other books as reference guides and go-betweens as you work your way through the actual Dragon Ball multimedia franchise.
I'd like to give it 4.5, as I think there's a mild bit of pretentiousness with the way Derek Padula insists on using the Japanese names for everything (calling Ultraman Urutoraman? Godzilla, Gojira? It just...smacks a bit of weeabo-ism), and there's some inconsistency to the way he uses Japanese naming convention for people (that being, Surname - First Name)....he calls Akira Toriyama Akira Toriyama, as in the English style. Same with with Kurosawa, he's written as Akira Kurosawa, but then Eiji Tsuburaya, the effects director on the Godzilla movies is listed as Tsuburaya Eiji, and there were some manga/anime creators who were listed as a team and in one case, a creative pair was listed one in American style and one in Japanese style.
Overall, these are minor nitpicks and have nothing to do with the content, they keep it from being LITERALLY perfect, but as Goodreads doesn't allow for half-stars, I'll round UP to 5 to help out the author maybe by improving the overall star rating of the product.
This is the only place you'll find GOOD Akira Toriyama biographical information in English, and it's a GREAT precursor and tone setter for the entire franchise and its cultural background and significance.
Future entries get a LITTLE too microscopic in their analysis for my taste but this one is an AMAZING entry to the cultural history of Dragon Ball as a franchise. Obviously it's easy to recommend someone start at the beginning, but I really would recommend starting here, and if you find it intriguing, using Derek's other books as reference guides and go-betweens as you work your way through the actual Dragon Ball multimedia franchise.
I'd like to give it 4.5, as I think there's a mild bit of pretentiousness with the way Derek Padula insists on using the Japanese names for everything (calling Ultraman Urutoraman? Godzilla, Gojira? It just...smacks a bit of weeabo-ism), and there's some inconsistency to the way he uses Japanese naming convention for people (that being, Surname - First Name)....he calls Akira Toriyama Akira Toriyama, as in the English style. Same with with Kurosawa, he's written as Akira Kurosawa, but then Eiji Tsuburaya, the effects director on the Godzilla movies is listed as Tsuburaya Eiji, and there were some manga/anime creators who were listed as a team and in one case, a creative pair was listed one in American style and one in Japanese style.
Overall, these are minor nitpicks and have nothing to do with the content, they keep it from being LITERALLY perfect, but as Goodreads doesn't allow for half-stars, I'll round UP to 5 to help out the author maybe by improving the overall star rating of the product.
August 8, 2022
As someone who grew up religiously with DBZ, then Dragon Ball, this series has become a deeply important part of me, and something I wanted to delve deeper into.
I will state that at first, I wondered if I would be put off by Derek Padula’s self-congratulatory tone. There is a lot of ‘no one has done what I have done here’, and patting on the back which might put a reader off.
Saying that though, and as you’ll see from my rating, he justifies it. Not only do you get a book here which begins with the dissecting of ‘Journey to the West’ and origins of Dragon ball, but you also get a concise biography of Akira Toriyama himself (something I’ve always wanted and didn’t expect!)
I was not even familiar with the 30 minute interview conducted with the man in 1983 on ‘Tetsuko’s Room’. Nor the childlike introvert, yet hugely successful and begrudgingly popular, man he was/became.
I learned about people like Kazuhiko Torishima, Nachi Mikami, the huge impact of Dr. Slump, Toriyama’s stubbornness and butting heads with Torishima (the section which has Torishima demanding Toriyama sends a picture of himself to print in the paper had me laughing so much).
So All I can say is, Padula has indeed done much work and research here and I will be reading all 7 volumes of this work.
I will state that at first, I wondered if I would be put off by Derek Padula’s self-congratulatory tone. There is a lot of ‘no one has done what I have done here’, and patting on the back which might put a reader off.
Saying that though, and as you’ll see from my rating, he justifies it. Not only do you get a book here which begins with the dissecting of ‘Journey to the West’ and origins of Dragon ball, but you also get a concise biography of Akira Toriyama himself (something I’ve always wanted and didn’t expect!)
I was not even familiar with the 30 minute interview conducted with the man in 1983 on ‘Tetsuko’s Room’. Nor the childlike introvert, yet hugely successful and begrudgingly popular, man he was/became.
I learned about people like Kazuhiko Torishima, Nachi Mikami, the huge impact of Dr. Slump, Toriyama’s stubbornness and butting heads with Torishima (the section which has Torishima demanding Toriyama sends a picture of himself to print in the paper had me laughing so much).
So All I can say is, Padula has indeed done much work and research here and I will be reading all 7 volumes of this work.
May 24, 2024
Really great book, check it out!
January 10, 2021
An informative and well-researched read all about Dragon Ball! It was a delight absorbing all the information contained in this volume and the rest of the DB culture series. In Volume 1 I enjoyed learning about Akira Toriiyama’s backstory and discovering facts about him that I didn’t know before. Great read! I highly recommend it for fellow Dragon Ball fans.
January 29, 2015
As someone who didn't have the opportunity to watch this anime, (I had to provide food, shelter and other assorted items so that my kids could watch it in comfort) having the chance to finally learn and understand why they love this series as they do was truly enjoyable. Volume #1 of Derek Padula's 7 volume series on The Dragon Ball Culture gave me an in-depth analysis of not only the author, but the basic format regarding Toriyama's style and developmental practices, in addition; it provides the initial information as to where and why his characters act as they do and the history that he used to format the overall story line.
Although this version was an e-book, you can be sure that I'll be buying the print versions as soon as they become available. This series contains so much factual and relevant information, that it will be one that I'll be re-reading, a high-lighting and attempting to memorize.
Although this version was an e-book, you can be sure that I'll be buying the print versions as soon as they become available. This series contains so much factual and relevant information, that it will be one that I'll be re-reading, a high-lighting and attempting to memorize.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews