DragonBall VizBig Manga Dissection/Review

[SHINOBI-03]

I picked up DB omnibus 5 today and after reading it I realized something: How is Viz going to handle volumes 41 and 42? Have the DBZ omnibus 8 be a 'five-in-one' volume? Or one last ninth omnibus with just the two remaining volumes?

The last two volumes are the thickest of all. It could work with only two.

[Teclo]

The censorship has actually put me off. It just means there'll be another release that's uncut at some point in the future and I'll end up buying that. It's really annoying, in Italy I saw an advert around in the streets that featured a topless cartoon woman, nudity (particularly cartoon nudity) being seen as not remotely offensive, but in America even a bit of sideboob in one panel is deemed more offensive than a little boy beating the shit out of people.

[rereboy]

The censorship has actually put me off. It just means there'll be another release that's uncut at some point in the future and I'll end up buying that. It's really annoying, in Italy I saw an advert around in the streets that featured a topless cartoon woman, nudity (particularly cartoon nudity) being seen as not remotely offensive, but in America even a bit of sideboob in one panel is deemed more offensive than a little boy beating the shit out of people.

Yes, but then again do you really need to see Bulma naked? All the sexual intent is preserved so the scenes work without having her naked.

I`m against censorship as a principle and I would rather have the panels as they were drawn in those instants, but, at the end of the day, I do not need to see her naked at all. This release has many advantages to make up for it, including an awesome price for such a long manga (if we consider Z also).

Like I say, the only thing that bothered me was the finger scene because it sacrificed the original meaning. But that was just one time. I can life with that.

I picked up DB omnibus 5 today and after reading it I realized something: How is Viz going to handle volumes 41 and 42? Have the DBZ omnibus 8 be a 'five-in-one' volume? Or one last ninth omnibus with just the two remaining volumes?

The last two volumes are the thickest of all. It could work with only two.

That, or the two last Vizbigs will have 4 volumes each, making a total of 8 Vizbigs for Dragon Ball Z. If not, a total of 9 Vizbigs.

We will know once the front cover for the DBZ Vizbig 7 comes out. I knew long before DB Vizbig 5 was out that it would have 4 volumes because in its front cover it said 4 in one.

[SHINOBI-03]

That, or the two last Vizbigs will have 4 volumes each, making a total of 8 Vizbigs for Dragon Ball Z. If not, a total of 9 Vizbigs.

We will know once the front cover for the DBZ Vizbig 7 comes out. I knew long before DB Vizbig 5 was out that it would have 4 volumes because in its front cover it said 4 in one.

The last two volumes together are almost 484 pages. How many pages are in one 3-in 1 volume?

--

After reading the review again, I noticed that you added Akira Toriyama`s "ask me anything" corner. Viz included the Q&A corner that were missing from the GN editions?!

[Teclo]

It's not about "needing" to see anything - if it was, I'd just look at scanlations - it's about some guy somewhere in America thinking "Well all this cool stuff with the preteen boy beating the shit out of people is 100% All American entertainment, but OH MY GOD ARE THOSE BREASTS... THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" which then gets passed on to me, a 26-year-old adult, as a patronising "Breasts are Satan's pillows!" message.

And, as I said, it just means there'll be a later uncut/less-cut version.

[G1Ravage]

All this talk of different censored volumes made me check to see which ones I had, because I hadn't read through them in a while.

Dragon Ball 1 is the older, taller release with the grayish covers, and is uncensored.

Dragon Ball 2 is a newer, smaller release with a red color, and also seems to be uncensored.

I recall that when the manga was first being released, it was censored somewhat, which caused an initial firestorm from the fans of the original. So Viz relented and began reprinting them uncensored, with a big "13 and up" label on the front. I believe that's the point at which I started buying a few.

Then some retailers started a firestorm because of the nudity, and I believe Toys-R-Us pulled it from their shelves.

[rereboy]

That, or the two last Vizbigs will have 4 volumes each, making a total of 8 Vizbigs for Dragon Ball Z. If not, a total of 9 Vizbigs.

We will know once the front cover for the DBZ Vizbig 7 comes out. I knew long before DB Vizbig 5 was out that it would have 4 volumes because in its front cover it said 4 in one.

The last two volumes together are almost 484 pages. How many pages are in one 3-in 1 volume?

--

After reading the review again, I noticed that you added Akira Toriyama`s "ask me anything" corner. Viz included the Q&A corner that were missing from the GN editions?!

Here`s an update regarding nº of pages:

DB Vizbig 1

- Cast of characters.............. 6
- Volume 1.............. 11
- Volume 2.............. 184
- Volume 3.............. 368
- Title page gallery.............. 538
- Akira Toriyama`s "ask me anything" corner.............. 573
- Author notes.............. 575

DB Vizbig 2

- Cast of characters.............. 6
- Volume 4.............. 10
- Volume 5.............. 188
- Volume 6.............. 360
- Title page gallery.............. 533
- Akira Toriyama`s "ask me anything" corner.............. 570
- Author notes.............. 575

DB Vizbig 3

- Cast of characters.............. 6
- Volume 7.............. 10
- Volume 8.............. 184
- Volume 9.............. 356
- Title page gallery.............. 527
- Akira Toriyama`s "ask me anything" corner.............. 564
- Author notes.............. 567

DB Vizbig 4

- Cast of characters.............. 6
- Volume 10.............. 10
- Volume 11.............. 189
- Volume 12.............. 364
- Title page gallery.............. 536
- Akira Toriyama`s "ask me anything" corner.............. 564
- Author notes.............. 567

DB Vizbig 5

- Cast of characters.............. 6
- Volume 13.............. 10
- Volume 14.............. 184
- Volume 15.............. 356
- Volume 16.............. 528
- Title page gallery.............. 726
- Author notes.............. 768

As for the corner, yes it is included. Here`s a scan from Vizbig 1:

[rereboy]

All this talk of different censored volumes made me check to see which ones I had, because I hadn't read through them in a while.

Dragon Ball 1 is the older, taller release with the grayish covers, and is uncensored.

Dragon Ball 2 is a newer, smaller release with a red color, and also seems to be uncensored.

I recall that when the manga was first being released, it was censored somewhat, which caused an initial firestorm from the fans of the original. So Viz relented and began reprinting them uncensored, with a big "13 and up" label on the front. I believe that's the point at which I started buying a few.

Then some retailers started a firestorm because of the nudity, and I believe Toys-R-Us pulled it from their shelves.

It was never released 100% uncensored. Mr. Popo`s lips and the nipples of Oolong`s imagining thought bubble never saw the light of day as far as I know.

It's not about "needing" to see anything - if it was, I'd just look at scanlations - it's about some guy somewhere in America thinking "Well all this cool stuff with the preteen boy beating the shit out of people is 100% All American entertainment, but OH MY GOD ARE THOSE BREASTS... THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" which then gets passed on to me, a 26-year-old adult, as a patronising "Breasts are Satan's pillows!" message.

And, as I said, it just means there'll be a later uncut/less-cut version.

I understand what you mean of course. I was just trying to say that besides being against the whole principle of censorship, which can be a big deal to people, there isn't much of a real, practical problem within the manga, besides the finger situation.

As for an uncut release, maybe it will pop up. But I for one won`t be getting it. I already have this release and it is a pretty good one all things considered. Even if an uncut one appears it won`t be as cheap as this one was with these contents, which is a huge selling point.

Actually I would be more tempted if there was a release with all the color pages, even if it was still censored.

[SHINOBI-03]

As for the corner, yes it is included. Here`s a scan from Vizbig 1:

NOW............... I have a reason to buy the whole manga for the third time

[rereboy]

NOW............... I have a reason to buy the whole manga for the third time

I didn`t realize this was previously unreleased. I`m going to add this to the list of advantages.

[Amigo Ten]

NOW............... I have a reason to buy the whole manga for the third time

I'm just gonna hope all those pages end up scanned at some point, because I really don't want to buy the whole manga again. Once is enough for me.

[Rory]

I bought volume 1, and was not impressed.
1)They're too bulky, it's an uncomfortable read.
2)Still some greyscale images? Fuck off.
3)MORE censoring? You've got to be kidding
4)Doesn't look impressive when lined up, unlike the Tankobon.

The Tankobon is just better in my opinion, and I have all of them. So I may as well stick with those.

[Super Saiyan Turlast x4]

Holy crap! The fifth volume for DB looks vicious. That's a ton of pages. It also makes sense to include the 23rd Budokai, since it would've likely been a 2 in 1 book if they decided to place the Daimao saga in one book and the 23rd Budokai in another. Interesting. I never knew about that.

As for the releases in general: I think they're pretty cool. It's good for those who don't feel like collecting the smaller releases, since this would be quicker for those who don't have the original Tankobon collection. These are pretty big, though. My feminine hands aren't good with books of this size, which is why I'm pretty comfortable with the 42 Tankobon releases I already have.

The quality outstrips the Tankobon by a wide margin, too. I just prefer the smaller format, since it allows me to read much easier.

[Kendamu]

The censorship has actually put me off. It just means there'll be another release that's uncut at some point in the future and I'll end up buying that. It's really annoying, in Italy I saw an advert around in the streets that featured a topless cartoon woman, nudity (particularly cartoon nudity) being seen as not remotely offensive, but in America even a bit of sideboob in one panel is deemed more offensive than a little boy beating the shit out of people.

It's because America was built on violence and religious sexual oppression. At least, that's my theory.

[Big Momma]

The censorship has actually put me off. It just means there'll be another release that's uncut at some point in the future and I'll end up buying that. It's really annoying, in Italy I saw an advert around in the streets that featured a topless cartoon woman, nudity (particularly cartoon nudity) being seen as not remotely offensive, but in America even a bit of sideboob in one panel is deemed more offensive than a little boy beating the shit out of people.

It's because America was built on violence and religious sexual oppression. At least, that's my theory.

That, and our country has been founded on strict teachings. The kind of teachings where even if a woman showed her ankles it was offensive.

[Kendamu]

The censorship has actually put me off. It just means there'll be another release that's uncut at some point in the future and I'll end up buying that. It's really annoying, in Italy I saw an advert around in the streets that featured a topless cartoon woman, nudity (particularly cartoon nudity) being seen as not remotely offensive, but in America even a bit of sideboob in one panel is deemed more offensive than a little boy beating the shit out of people.

It's because America was built on violence and religious sexual oppression. At least, that's my theory.

That, and our country has been founded on strict teachings. The kind of teachings where even if a woman showed her ankles it was offensive.

Think, though. All the really super uptight religious types left your area to come to mine so they could all be uptight in peace. Then they burned witches and stuff.

[Big Momma]

It's because America was built on violence and religious sexual oppression. At least, that's my theory.

That, and our country has been founded on strict teachings. The kind of teachings where even if a woman showed her ankles it was offensive.

Think, though. All the really super uptight religious types left your area to come to mine so they could all be uptight in peace. Then they burned witches and stuff.

Just so you know, I'm from America just like you. (In fact, I also live in the Hoosier state!)

[Kendamu]

That, and our country has been founded on strict teachings. The kind of teachings where even if a woman showed her ankles it was offensive.

Think, though. All the really super uptight religious types left your area to come to mine so they could all be uptight in peace. Then they burned witches and stuff.

Just so you know, I'm from America just like you. (In fact, I also live in the Hoosier state!)

Whoops! I read someone else's location just before posting that. Silly me!

You know what I mean, though. Censorship in Dragonball may have it's roots in our nation's ancestors' values... that is unless you wanna trace it all the way back to how Roman Catholicism changed the Western world's view of sexuality in such a drastic way that we're still "suffering" from it today.

[dragonfist]

Let's not deviate the topic to anything religious since we don't know who might be offended by comments. As for me I'll just say: The Jew did it!

[Kendamu]

Let's not deviate the topic to anything religious since we don't know who might be offended by comments. As for me I'll just say: The Jew did it!

I'm not saying that "religion is bad" but I'm not going to lie and say that religious values commonly held by a large majority of the inhabitants of a nation throughout a couple centuries haven't had a major influence on what modern people of said nation consider appropriate for children and minors. The great part is that I was relating it to Dragonball.