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Dragon Ball Omnibus #14
Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 14
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...
With the Saiyans forced to retreat and Goku back in the Underworld, the universe’s ultimate champions desperately train to find a way to stop the evil Boo! Gohan undergoes a bizarre training regimen with the former Lord of Lords, while Trunks and Goten rush to perfect their fusion dance—but will it be enough? If only there was a way to bring Goku and Vegeta back to Earth… Don’t miss the thrilling conclusion to this colossal manga classic!
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...
With the Saiyans forced to retreat and Goku back in the Underworld, the universe’s ultimate champions desperately train to find a way to stop the evil Boo! Gohan undergoes a bizarre training regimen with the former Lord of Lords, while Trunks and Goten rush to perfect their fusion dance—but will it be enough? If only there was a way to bring Goku and Vegeta back to Earth… Don’t miss the thrilling conclusion to this colossal manga classic!
674 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2016
6 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Akira Toriyama
1,916 books1,725 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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 22, 2018
A good collect, I enjoyed and liked how much the characters have developed since the beginning, but I did feel adding extra reversals was just prolonging the story rather then adding to it.
Goku makes his Super Sayian inaugural appearance. One thing that was explained better in the book then the cartoon was the reason why Goku did not use thus in his earlier fight. Also I noticed Goku's motives are not always as pure as I was lead to believe. A good collection and a decent ending, but because of what the book was written it was set to lead into GT rather than Super.
Goku makes his Super Sayian inaugural appearance. One thing that was explained better in the book then the cartoon was the reason why Goku did not use thus in his earlier fight. Also I noticed Goku's motives are not always as pure as I was lead to believe. A good collection and a decent ending, but because of what the book was written it was set to lead into GT rather than Super.
December 16, 2019
The end of dragon ball is here!
The Buu saga is by far the weakest arc for the series. It feels rushed, kind of confused where it wants to go, and heavily reliant on Fusion that's not all that interesting. Buu is also the least compelling villain in probably the entire series. This makes this last volume suffer big time in that department.
Saying that, there's some great fights here. Two in particular are Goku and Buu's final fight which is great. Another is Gohan and Buu going head to head, and Gohan wiping the floor with him. The Gotanks fight, while dumb, is pretty fun too.
Overall, a decent ending, but not great. Which is a shame since most of DBZ up until Buu is pretty fantastic upon re-reading. A 3 out of 5.
The Buu saga is by far the weakest arc for the series. It feels rushed, kind of confused where it wants to go, and heavily reliant on Fusion that's not all that interesting. Buu is also the least compelling villain in probably the entire series. This makes this last volume suffer big time in that department.
Saying that, there's some great fights here. Two in particular are Goku and Buu's final fight which is great. Another is Gohan and Buu going head to head, and Gohan wiping the floor with him. The Gotanks fight, while dumb, is pretty fun too.
Overall, a decent ending, but not great. Which is a shame since most of DBZ up until Buu is pretty fantastic upon re-reading. A 3 out of 5.
December 21, 2020
SPOILERS
Despite looking like Mr Blobby with an antenna, Majin Boo has proven himself to be a great threat as he and his master Bobbidi as they seek the two youngsters Goten and Trunks, who are in the middle of perfecting the Fusion Dance. To buy enough time for the two, Goku teleports himself to challenge by Boo with whatever time he has left in the world of the living. This is the perfect opportunity for Goku to unleash his Super Saiyan Level 3, which allows his golden blonde hair to get an extension, whilst maintaining a hard stare that could rival Paddington Bear.
Although the fight is fairly brief, Akira Toriyama makes it kinetic and funny, especially Majin Boo, whose comedic presence reminds you of the author’s earlier work in gag manga. He continues this sense of humour throughout this final volume, from Goten and Trunks’ failed attempts of fusion, to even a fourth wall-break with Toriyama’s avatar shows up in one panel. Meanwhile, Gohan – reunited with his father – who wields the Zeta Sword ends up breaking it, which frees the previous Lord of Lords who is willing to give Gohan a greater level though patience is required.
When Goten and Trunks successfully fuse into Gotenks, he ends up being a cocky little shit who thinks he can take easily take out Boo without even going Super Saiyan. Of course, this is a big mistake as Goten and Trunks need more training. Meanwhile, the unlikeliest of heroes to show up in an attempt to prevent Boo’s mass-murdering is “the world’s champion”, Hercule. Ever since his introduction, I found Hercule to be the most annoying character of DBZ and although he maintains his idiocy till the end, Toriyama somehow redeems the character through the humorous interactions with Boo, who is may be an all-powerful being, behaves like a clueless child.
As the world is afraid of Boo’s ongoing destruction, this doesn’t stop two rampaging humans murdering their way from town to town. When Boo finds a dog that he decides to take care, instead of killing it, the two men end up shooting the dog, which unleashes something that we haven’t seen from Boo. Literally steaming out all the evil out of the fat Boo, that evil morphs into a skinnier and more sinister version of the Djinn. As the fat Boo gets turned into a chocolate that gets eaten, the evil Boo now seeks out the two young warriors that will supposedly defeat him.
When we get to the battle that is previewed from the front cover, Gotenks versus Boo is less about epic ferocity, but a mixture of slapstick and bizarre powers, such as Gotenks creating ghost versions of himself that go kamikaze. Meanwhile, Gohan is now more powerful than ever, though he will never be as cool as his young Super Saiyan 2 mode that obliterated Cell. Considering that Toriyama seems to be teasing the idea of a new generation of Z fighters that will save the day, in the end, Goku has to step in when both Gotenks and Gohan gets absorbed by Boo, turning into Super Boo.
Whilst the original Lord of Lords gives whatever life he has left to resurrect Goku, Vegeta gets his own twenty-four hours to live among the living, which is the perfect opportunity for the two fighters to go through a different type of fusion through the use of Potara earrings. It does seem weird that Toriyama introduces this other form of fusion, which apparently once the fighters merge, they can never split again, despite that Goku and Vegeta eventually do. Heavy handed in terms of all these fantasy ideas, it does sum up that Toriyama was making it up as he went along, resulting in some inconsistency.
Following their brief time fused together as Vegerot (who seems like an adult repeat of Gotenks), the relationship between Goku and Vegeta is no longer a conflicted one as the latter, who has always seen the former as his archenemy learns to have a greater understanding about him, Goku has never fought to kill, but to better himself and even seeing the good in people. Through this realisation, Vegeta allows Goku to give the final blow against Boo. Speaking of which, once the Evil Boo spits out the good, fat version of himself, Boo returns to his original kid form that is evil incarnate, with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Yes, the Earth blows up, but don’t worry, the Dragon Balls can be used to restore the planet and bring everyone back to life, even if some of the characters have to stop at the new Planet Namek. As everyone is wished back to life, they are encouraged to let their energy be used so that Goku can use the Genki-Dama (the “energy sphere” attack) to obliterate Kid Boo. What is wonderful about this climax is that it’s not just Goku, who saved the universe, but everyone else gets to save it, including supporting characters that have appeared throughout the entire manga. The universe is saved and what seals the deal is Vegeta giving the one compliment to his fellow Saiyan.
As all the heroes are reunited – including Fat Boo who can live a happy life on Earth with his buddy Hercule – Toriyama presents a number of silent pages featuring face-shots of everyone looking happy, which showcases why friends and family are just as important as the many battles of Dragon Ball. Cut to ten years later, the final two chapters serve as an epilogue for the manga as Goku and a number of his fellow fighters participate in the latest Tenka'ichi Budōkai, including Goku’s granddaughter, Pan. However, the real reason Goku is participating in the tournament is so that he can fight Oob, the human reincarnation of Kid Boo. Despite the great power he possesses, Oob doesn’t know how to control his power, so Goku offers to train him.
This is somewhat an abrupt end to the series, considering that Toriyama was given permission to end the manga on his own terms, but the final note of Dragon Ball is a touching message of bettering yourself, which will resonate a readership that have been through Goku’s adventurous life. Although Toriyama would return this world years later as he writes Dragon Ball Super with artist Toyotarou, I doubt that that title will give me the warm reminder that this manga gave me about why I loved Dragon Ball at a young age.
Despite looking like Mr Blobby with an antenna, Majin Boo has proven himself to be a great threat as he and his master Bobbidi as they seek the two youngsters Goten and Trunks, who are in the middle of perfecting the Fusion Dance. To buy enough time for the two, Goku teleports himself to challenge by Boo with whatever time he has left in the world of the living. This is the perfect opportunity for Goku to unleash his Super Saiyan Level 3, which allows his golden blonde hair to get an extension, whilst maintaining a hard stare that could rival Paddington Bear.
Although the fight is fairly brief, Akira Toriyama makes it kinetic and funny, especially Majin Boo, whose comedic presence reminds you of the author’s earlier work in gag manga. He continues this sense of humour throughout this final volume, from Goten and Trunks’ failed attempts of fusion, to even a fourth wall-break with Toriyama’s avatar shows up in one panel. Meanwhile, Gohan – reunited with his father – who wields the Zeta Sword ends up breaking it, which frees the previous Lord of Lords who is willing to give Gohan a greater level though patience is required.
When Goten and Trunks successfully fuse into Gotenks, he ends up being a cocky little shit who thinks he can take easily take out Boo without even going Super Saiyan. Of course, this is a big mistake as Goten and Trunks need more training. Meanwhile, the unlikeliest of heroes to show up in an attempt to prevent Boo’s mass-murdering is “the world’s champion”, Hercule. Ever since his introduction, I found Hercule to be the most annoying character of DBZ and although he maintains his idiocy till the end, Toriyama somehow redeems the character through the humorous interactions with Boo, who is may be an all-powerful being, behaves like a clueless child.
As the world is afraid of Boo’s ongoing destruction, this doesn’t stop two rampaging humans murdering their way from town to town. When Boo finds a dog that he decides to take care, instead of killing it, the two men end up shooting the dog, which unleashes something that we haven’t seen from Boo. Literally steaming out all the evil out of the fat Boo, that evil morphs into a skinnier and more sinister version of the Djinn. As the fat Boo gets turned into a chocolate that gets eaten, the evil Boo now seeks out the two young warriors that will supposedly defeat him.
When we get to the battle that is previewed from the front cover, Gotenks versus Boo is less about epic ferocity, but a mixture of slapstick and bizarre powers, such as Gotenks creating ghost versions of himself that go kamikaze. Meanwhile, Gohan is now more powerful than ever, though he will never be as cool as his young Super Saiyan 2 mode that obliterated Cell. Considering that Toriyama seems to be teasing the idea of a new generation of Z fighters that will save the day, in the end, Goku has to step in when both Gotenks and Gohan gets absorbed by Boo, turning into Super Boo.
Whilst the original Lord of Lords gives whatever life he has left to resurrect Goku, Vegeta gets his own twenty-four hours to live among the living, which is the perfect opportunity for the two fighters to go through a different type of fusion through the use of Potara earrings. It does seem weird that Toriyama introduces this other form of fusion, which apparently once the fighters merge, they can never split again, despite that Goku and Vegeta eventually do. Heavy handed in terms of all these fantasy ideas, it does sum up that Toriyama was making it up as he went along, resulting in some inconsistency.
Following their brief time fused together as Vegerot (who seems like an adult repeat of Gotenks), the relationship between Goku and Vegeta is no longer a conflicted one as the latter, who has always seen the former as his archenemy learns to have a greater understanding about him, Goku has never fought to kill, but to better himself and even seeing the good in people. Through this realisation, Vegeta allows Goku to give the final blow against Boo. Speaking of which, once the Evil Boo spits out the good, fat version of himself, Boo returns to his original kid form that is evil incarnate, with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Yes, the Earth blows up, but don’t worry, the Dragon Balls can be used to restore the planet and bring everyone back to life, even if some of the characters have to stop at the new Planet Namek. As everyone is wished back to life, they are encouraged to let their energy be used so that Goku can use the Genki-Dama (the “energy sphere” attack) to obliterate Kid Boo. What is wonderful about this climax is that it’s not just Goku, who saved the universe, but everyone else gets to save it, including supporting characters that have appeared throughout the entire manga. The universe is saved and what seals the deal is Vegeta giving the one compliment to his fellow Saiyan.
As all the heroes are reunited – including Fat Boo who can live a happy life on Earth with his buddy Hercule – Toriyama presents a number of silent pages featuring face-shots of everyone looking happy, which showcases why friends and family are just as important as the many battles of Dragon Ball. Cut to ten years later, the final two chapters serve as an epilogue for the manga as Goku and a number of his fellow fighters participate in the latest Tenka'ichi Budōkai, including Goku’s granddaughter, Pan. However, the real reason Goku is participating in the tournament is so that he can fight Oob, the human reincarnation of Kid Boo. Despite the great power he possesses, Oob doesn’t know how to control his power, so Goku offers to train him.
This is somewhat an abrupt end to the series, considering that Toriyama was given permission to end the manga on his own terms, but the final note of Dragon Ball is a touching message of bettering yourself, which will resonate a readership that have been through Goku’s adventurous life. Although Toriyama would return this world years later as he writes Dragon Ball Super with artist Toyotarou, I doubt that that title will give me the warm reminder that this manga gave me about why I loved Dragon Ball at a young age.
July 17, 2024
Ahhh what an end to an awesome series. I normally read fast, but I was taking my time with this one because it's the last volumes of the Dragon Ball series.
And I love how it ended. I wouldn't say it's the best last volumes, but it was amazing how Toriyama-san spun up the "last fights", the ending and the characters. Ang galing! I'm really glad I read this - the Godfather of all mangas.
I haven't read a lot of other mangas or watched a lot of animes, but I'm pretty sure this series was indeed an inspiration to a lot of other works.
He only turned bad because a human killed this dog!!
>> Isn't this the inspiration for the movie John Wick?! Haha! I haven't actually watched the film, but I just see some posts about it.
I will miss the DB gang, but I'm glad I've gotten to know them (:
And I love how it ended. I wouldn't say it's the best last volumes, but it was amazing how Toriyama-san spun up the "last fights", the ending and the characters. Ang galing! I'm really glad I read this - the Godfather of all mangas.
I haven't read a lot of other mangas or watched a lot of animes, but I'm pretty sure this series was indeed an inspiration to a lot of other works.
He only turned bad because a human killed this dog!!
>> Isn't this the inspiration for the movie John Wick?! Haha! I haven't actually watched the film, but I just see some posts about it.
I will miss the DB gang, but I'm glad I've gotten to know them (:
January 4, 2025
I don't know how you can like this... the fight between Boo and Gotenks was the most unhinged fight I've ever seen in DB. It ruined the whole atmosphere for me, I didn't like it at all. I hated the "humour" in here, and I absolutely loathed the part where Toriyama drew himself into the manga. It was pathetic, and the ending deserved more.
Fortunately the end fight was great, though I didn't like the fact that Goku came back from the dead and saved everybody again. It was Gohan's time, and the way he was defeated was a very cheap trick just for Goku to come back...
Anyway, I'm glad I finished this, and I still love Dragon Ball, but I do think it should have had a better ending than this.
Fortunately the end fight was great, though I didn't like the fact that Goku came back from the dead and saved everybody again. It was Gohan's time, and the way he was defeated was a very cheap trick just for Goku to come back...
Anyway, I'm glad I finished this, and I still love Dragon Ball, but I do think it should have had a better ending than this.
March 3, 2020
Felt a little rushed
August 9, 2025
Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up)
Saiyans are so aggravating!!
Almost certainly the weakest arc since the series started, but the overall scope of how far it’s all come was phenomenal.
Saiyans are so aggravating!!
Almost certainly the weakest arc since the series started, but the overall scope of how far it’s all come was phenomenal.
October 3, 2023
While many do not particularly enjoy the Boo saga I found it to be amazing. This 3 in 1 was the end to the Dragon Ball saga as a whole, until super came out. I found Boo to be a great villain and had some of the best fights in the series. I went into this collection pessimistic about Gotenks but was presently surprised, granted he made many mistakes but he is also made up of 2 children. The power creep is apparent but not awful towards the end of the saga. I believe that many characters receive to much hate in this saga but I found the entire thing to be a great read and a great endcap to the original series.
August 27, 2017
The series goes out on a high note in this final set of volumes, with the characters engaging an a battle with the incredibly powerful Boo that last well over 500 pages. Interestingly, Toriyama returns to some of the comedy of the series' early volumes here, with Boo engaging in silly antics and goofball nonsense, and a variety of other jokes and wackiness. But at the same time, the stakes get increased so high that they become nearly meaningless, with Boo killing literally everyone on Earth and threatening to destroy the entire planet, with the rest of the universe on notice. So that means you've got battle after battle, including young Goten and Trunks fusing together and coming up with a bunch of silly attacks, Gohan getting his powers increased to unthinkable levels, Goku and Vegeta both returning from the dead yet again, and Goku finally drawing upon the energy of all of humanity in order to make one last ditch attack and save the day. It's all pretty awesome, and it makes for a very satisfying ending to the series. I'm glad I finally got around to reading this whole thing. It's neat to see various shonen manga tropes being established; Toriyama did such a good job creating a formula for this type of story, laying down a foundation that so many others have continued to build on in the subsequent decades.
September 30, 2022
And so at long last I bring my read through of the Dragonball manga to a close. Part of me felt like this was powerup after powerup after powerup, the arms race reaching ridiculous proportions. I left behind the parts of the anime I'd actually watched a few books ago. The Z fighters are more or less gods at this stage, capable of blowing up planets as long as they've eaten their porridge that morning, and yet there's always a more powerful enemy!
Let's combine! No wait that's not enough! Let's go to a new level!! No wait, that's not enough either...
However, through all the silliness we see the close of Vegeta's redemption arc, he's still an arsehole, but he's a good arsehole now. And in the final chapters we revisit the early stages of Goku's adventures, and find that the power of Friendship and co-operation is greater than the forces of evil. Hats off Toriyama, this was a great series to read through, and I'll definitely do it again some day.
Let's combine! No wait that's not enough! Let's go to a new level!! No wait, that's not enough either...
However, through all the silliness we see the close of Vegeta's redemption arc, he's still an arsehole, but he's a good arsehole now. And in the final chapters we revisit the early stages of Goku's adventures, and find that the power of Friendship and co-operation is greater than the forces of evil. Hats off Toriyama, this was a great series to read through, and I'll definitely do it again some day.
May 7, 2023
Done! The last omnibus, book 14 containing volumes 40 to 42, with chapters 473 to 519.
The series started in 1984 and ended in 1995. 42 books. 519 chapters. 7800+ pages.
All I will say is: It is such a funny, brilliant action packed manga series! I highly recommend it!
The series started in 1984 and ended in 1995. 42 books. 519 chapters. 7800+ pages.
All I will say is: It is such a funny, brilliant action packed manga series! I highly recommend it!
August 7, 2023
It's good, but this series shits its pants half way through the run time. I'd still recommend it entirely off of Toriyama's energy which somehow keeps it all charming, even when it sort of became a train wreck.
May 26, 2025
i don't know why it took me so long to finish this, but now that I'm done, it's time to read SUPER.
RIP Akira Toriyama.
it's been a fun ride, and I'm sad to leave the original DB behind but excited to start these new adventures with Toyotarou.
RIP Akira Toriyama.
it's been a fun ride, and I'm sad to leave the original DB behind but excited to start these new adventures with Toyotarou.
April 18, 2018
Ah, the epic conclusion. 42 volumes, and it was worth it all. Akira Toriyama ends his fantasy epic on a very strong note, well worth the reading all 42 volumes of.
September 28, 2022
Perfect ending! That overlay of Uub and Kid Goku on Kinto’Un got me a lil teary!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2024
omg this was an amazing one! But it’s over 😭😭😭 I’m really glad on how it ended, there some like wellllllll did that really need to happen lol but overall super great!
April 3, 2024
This is just a placeholder to mark that I have read the whole series and that I loved it
April 14, 2024
Slutningen er noget rod, men jeg kan ikke lade være med at holde af den alligevel 🙈 Om end bare fordi Vegeta er mit all time crush 🤷🏼♀️
September 27, 2025
On the one hand, this ending is kinda stupid. Gohan has been set up and training to be the savior, and he's kicking Buu's butt. But then Toriyama just kills him and resurrects Goku and Vegeta. Their deaths/sacrifices don't matter (but this is nothing new for Toriyama lol). The established story beats are ignored and the ending kinda comes out of nowhere.
All that being said, I still enjoyed the whole thing. The Vegito thing is fun, and the final battle with kid Buu is engaging and takes a minute to remind the reader everything we've been through. It's touching, and it does fit the haphazard nature of the series. This arc is messy and obviously unplanned, but I still had a good time. The characters are so fun. I'll readily acknowledge all of its faults, but I'm still glad it exists. I had a great time with Dragon Ball.
All that being said, I still enjoyed the whole thing. The Vegito thing is fun, and the final battle with kid Buu is engaging and takes a minute to remind the reader everything we've been through. It's touching, and it does fit the haphazard nature of the series. This arc is messy and obviously unplanned, but I still had a good time. The characters are so fun. I'll readily acknowledge all of its faults, but I'm still glad it exists. I had a great time with Dragon Ball.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews