Databook Information
| Released: | 19 December 2003 |
| Retail: | ¥980 (tax included) |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Size / Pages: | A5 (14.5 × 21 cm) / 191 pages |
| Catalog No.: | ISBN 4-08-873478-5 |
Databook Contents
This is the first of two companion guides produced exclusively for the kanzenban manga release which covers Kanzenban volumes 01 to 22. It should be noted that unlike traditional Japanese texts, and the kanzenban themselves, this guide is read from left to right. The guide itself covers a multitude of aspects from the manga series, recycling some information already available in the daizenshuu, along with some new information. Included before the table of contents is a small poster of the guides respective cover illustration drawn by Akira Toriyama. The softcover backing is also quite interesting, as it is not left blank like previous guides, but instead contains a panoramic illustration of the Dragon Ball logo used in the manga. This backing is used on both guide books and the kanzenban, although each with varying colors.
- Opening Gallery: History of Goku
- 002
- This opening gallery showcases some beautiful illustrations that show Goku’s progression throughout the series, from his childhood all the way to his Super Saiyan transformation. However, they are nothing we haven’t seen before, as they were all previously printed in Daizenshuu 1: Complete Illustrations.
- Chapter 1: Basic Knowledge of the Dragon Ball World
- 017
- What’s the Dragon Ball?
- 018
- In this section we get an in-depth look at the Dragon Balls and their properties. Such as size difference, wish limitations, time between successive summonings, and wishes per summoning. It also provides information about both dragons (Shenlong and Porunga), their creators, and their individual limitations.
- The Globe of the Dragon Ball World
- 022
- This eight page spread shows the different locations throughout the universe and heavens. These locations include Heaven, the cosmos, Planet Namek, Planet Vegeta, and Freeza Planet No. 79. Each location has a short description and lists any specific characters and events from that area.
- The Earth of the Dragon Ball World
- 030
- Akira Toriyama left nothing to the imagination and completely re-mapped the Earth in the Dragon Ball World. This section takes a look at this map, which has been broken up into four areas (North, East, West, and South). Each area is given two pages that displays locations of major events, cities, villages, landmarks, and certain characters that are associated with them. There’s also some information concerning the Earth in general, such as it’s government, language, money, police, technology, and racial groups.
- Capsule Column 1
- 042
- At the end of the section we find the first “Capsule Column”, which takes a look at how much time certain things in the series take. For example, it took our heroes 1 day to travel from Oolong’s Village to Yamcha’s Hideout, and 2 days from there to Mount Frypan. It also lists some exact times of certain events, such as the Saiyans arriving on Earth at 11:43 AM. Following the column is a “Dragon Ball Test” that covers the preceding section, asking questions about the Dragon Ball World.
- Chapter 2: Landmarks of the Dragon Ball World
- 045
- Landmark 1: Dragon Balls
- 046
- The first landmark section covers the adventures of our heroes and the villains they faced while searching for the Dragon Balls. However, it does not cover anything past the Freeza arc, as no villains were pursuing the Dragon Balls past this point. For each dragon appearance, it provides information pertaining to all of the parties involved in the search, how many Dragon Balls they acquired, and their motives. It also lists the events leading to the acquisition of each Dragon Ball and any wish or wishes that were made.
- Landmark 2: Training
- 054
- The beginning of this landmark section provides a nice before-and-after chart of Goku’s training throughout the series. Following this, there is a detailed look at the characters training under various martial artist masters, such as Kame-Sen’nin, Karin, God, Kaiō, and Piccolo. The type of training, training location, techniques taught, and training results are listed for each teacher.
- Landmark 3: Tenka’ichi Budōkai
- 062
- The third landmark focuses on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Tenka’ichi Budōkai. The basic tournament rules are listed, along with the number of participants for each. An in-depth look is taken at each tournament, including result charts, the results of each match, and the final outcome.
- Landmark 4: Villains
- 070
- The fourth landmark section takes a look at the villains that appeared during this period, including the Red Ribbon Army, Piccolo Daimaō, the Saiyan, and Freeza. Each villain is accompanied by an organizational chart, activities, goals, and possible weak points. At the end of this section, there is also a list of some of the minor villains that appeared, although sometimes only briefly. These include Oolong, Yamcha & Pu’er, Lunch, the Rabbit Gang, and Pilaf’s group.
- Landmark 5: Love
- 082
- This next landmark section is one of the more interesting ones, which examines the love showcased throughout the series. More than anything, it is just humorous. It “examines” the love between Bulma and Yamcha, her eventual hook-up with Vegeta, and the love between Goku and Chi-Chi. It also showcases Oolong’s love for younger girls, Kame-Sen’nin’s perverted love for women, and finally poor Kuririn’s up-and-down love life.
- Landmark 6: Rivalries
- 086
- Landmark 6 examines the rivalries Goku developed throughout the series. These rivalries include Yamcha, Yajirobe, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Piccolo, and of course Vegeta. For the most part, it summarizes their rivalry, resulting with an inevitable friendship. Can no one truly hate Goku?
- Landmark 7: Goku
- 094
- The final landmark of the guide is of course dedicated to none other than, Son Goku. This section showcases Goku’s character and personality throughout the series, and some of his relationships. It is organized by his age, but overall doesn’t really provide any new information that almost every fan already knows.
- Mini Landmark 01~05
- Also included throughout chapter 2 are some mini landmarks. These landmarks include Goku’s simplistic ways as a child, forgotten characters, some of Kame-sennin’s perverted moments, a collection of Kaiō-sama‘s puns, and some fights that take place outside of the Budōkai tournament.
- Capsule Column 2
- 112
- At the end of this section we find another “Capsule Column”, which shows the results of a Dragon Ball fan survey. There are also results to a survey where fans voted on what they would wish for if they had the Dragon Balls. Following the column is a “Dragon Ball Test” that covers the preceding section, asking questions about various things covered in the landmarks.
- Chapter 3: Dragon Ball Story Index 01-22
- 119
- This section looks at the story of the first 22 volumes of the kanzenban release, which cover chapters 001 to 329. It is very similar to that of the “Adventure History” section found in Daizenshuu 2: Story Guide.
- Capsule Column 3
- 142
- At the end of the story index we find the third “Capsule Column” installment, which displays a chronological table of characters up through Kanzenban Volume 22. Following the column is another “Dragon Ball Test” that covers the preceding section, asking questions about various aspects of the series story.
- Chapter 4: Dragon Ball and Akira Toriyama (read translations)
- 145
- This section covers Toriyama’s experiences drawing Dragon Ball, and also as a manga artist in general. It features a reprint of a 1988 short comic he did detailing his path to becoming a manga artist, and features him writing on various subjects such as his greatest influences as a manga artist (Disney and Astro Boy), his greatest regret (not using a pen name), and his personal sleep deprivation record during serialization (he once went 6 days with only 20 minutes of sleep!). There is also a look at the early conceptual stages of Dragon Ball (Goku was originally going to be an actual monkey), and a timeline of Toriyama’s various manga works.
- Capsule Column 4
- 158
- At the end of the Toriyama section we find the fourth “Capsule Column” installment, which provides a timeline of Toriyama’s main works. Following the column is the fourth and final “Dragon Ball Test” that covers the preceding section, asking questions about Toriyama.
- Chapter 5: Dragon Ball Children
- 161
- The “Dragon Ball Children” section reprints 10 of the original 17 full color pamphlets included in odd-numbered volumes of the first edition kanzenban releases, in which current famous manga artists drew Dragon Ball tribute images and wrote short articles discussing Toriyama’s influence on their own work.
- Vol. 01: Eiichirō Oda (read translation)
- 162
- Vol. 02: Masashi Kishimoto (read translation)
- 164
- Vol. 03: Shin’ya Suzuki (read translation)
- 166
- Vol. 04: Yoshio Sawai (read translation)
- 168
- Vol. 05: Yūsuke Murata (read translation)
- 170
- Vol. 06: Tite Kubo (read translation)
- 172
- Vol. 07: Kentarō Yabuki (read translation)
- 174
- Vol. 08: Yasuhiro Kanō (read translation)
- 176
- Vol. 09: Mikio Itō (read translation)
- 178
- Vol. 10: Nakaba Suzuki (read translation)
- 180
- Capsule Column 5
- 182
- At the end of the “Dragon Ball Children” section we find the fifth and final “Capsule Column” installment, which takes a look at the manga’s influence around the world.
- Ending Special Gallery: Fighters’ Holiday
- 186
- This ending gallery showcases some beautiful illustrations that show the series’ warriors and what they do while on holiday, obviously between their time spent protecting the Earth and Universe from evil. Again, these weren’t anything fans hadn’t seen before, as they were all previously printed in Daizenshuu 1: Complete Illustrations.
Databook Staff Credits
It should be noted that although Akira Toriyama is listed as the author of this databook, he actually had very little involvement with the production of its content, if any at all. The contents of this databook were almost entirely compiled and organized by Caramel Mama and Shueisha.
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企画・構成
Planning & Organization
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キャラメル・ママ
Caramel Mama
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デザイン
Design
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ローカル・サポート・デパートメント
Local Support Department
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著者
Author
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鳥山 明
Akira Toriyama
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編集人
Editor
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鈴木晴彦
Haruhiko Suzuki
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発行人
Publisher
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山路則隆
Noritaka Yamaji
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発行所
Publishing House
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株式会社 集英社
Shueisha Co., Ltd.
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印刷所
Printing House
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大日本印刷株式会社
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.