Should there be Dragon Ball light novels?

[Peach]

The Naruto series has a ton of light novels set between Naruto and Boruto. They're quite good and considered "canon" by many people.

It got me thinking. Should there be Dragon Ball light novels as well?

Obviously there could be a market for it with the sheer size of the Dragon Ball fandom. There's a ton of side characters (like Pikkon, Cabba, Jiren, Dr. Gero, and various Dragon Team members) they could develop or give backstories to. And tons of stories that can be set between Dragon Ball Super Broly and the End of Z, and beyond.

How would you feel about light novels?

[Locust]

I wouldn't mind some light novels

I actually really like some of the anime filler that is more slice-of-lifey: I'd absolutely read a light novel like that

Or as you said - ones that are focused on side characters
Could be fun!

[JulieYBM]

Hell yeah! Let's go wild with the plots and dialogue!

[Aim]

Only if Toriyama helps out with it, perhaps they can take from some of his scripts. I'm always really weary of Viz these days, especially since I found out how much they change stuff in the Dragon Ball manga, so if it's translated well I wouldn't mind at all. It'd be cool to have it like the TOkyo Ghoul ones as well and have some new Toriyama art in there relating to the story.

[Peach]

Only if Toriyama helps out with it, perhaps they can take from some of his scripts. I'm always really weary of Viz these days, especially since I found out how much they change stuff in the Dragon Ball manga, so if it's translated well I wouldn't mind at all. It'd be cool to have it like the TOkyo Ghoul ones as well and have some new Toriyama art in there relating to the story.

Would you want Toriyama involved in the story? Light tend to have polish that filler does not. Kishimoto wasn't involved in the Naruto light novels (aside from designing some covers) and they're every bit as good as the original manga. Hell, I prefer Timothy Zahn's Star Wars novels to George Lucas' Star Wars movies. I always see novels as a chance to see aspects of the world that the original creators wouldn't think to do.

[Aim]

Would you want Toriyama involved in the story? Light tend to have polish that filler does not. Kishimoto wasn't involved in the Naruto light novels (aside from designing some covers) and they're every bit as good as the original manga. Hell, I prefer Timothy Zahn's Star Wars novels to George Lucas' Star Wars movies. I always see novels as a chance to see aspects of the world that the original creators wouldn't think to do.

Yeah, I would. I’m still to see someone actually pull of a Dragon Ball that you know for a fact Toriyama was involved in. The Toriyama feel I guess

[jjgp1112]

The question I always ask for these type of threads: do we still need Dragon Ball anything?

I only have a tenuous familiarity with light novels but the general style seems like some nonsense that's decidedly un-Dragon Ball.

[BWri]

The question I always ask for these type of threads: do we still need Dragon Ball anything?

I only have a tenuous familiarity with light novels but the general style seems like some nonsense that's decidedly un-Dragon Ball.

I've actually been thinking about this for a Recruitment arc fanfic I'm planning. Dragon Ball isn't something that necessarily works well in a traditional novel format. It either has explosive fast paced fights, exposition dumping, or a combination of both. A prose type style of writing seems antithetical to what Dragon Ball is in its current state. It would perhaps fit in the earlier arcs when things were more laid back. I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to it, but it would clash very hard with modern day DB.

For myself, I'm experimenting with a hybrid style to try to make the text feel as close as I can to pace and tone of the manga. But I still want to keep some of the advantages of the format. so I think the struggle for anyone in this situation would be the same as mine, in finding a style that balances the advantages of the format while still feeling like a Dragon Ball story.

I've read some really good DB fanfics in the past, enjoyed them immensely, but at the end of it all it just didn't have that DB feel to it and I couldn't see the events of the story taking place in the show because it was too, "novel-y" for lack of a better term. Maybe "excessively dramatic" is a better term with "excessively descriptive language" at least to Dragon Ball's standards.

I wouldn't mind some light novels
I actually really like some of the anime filler that is more slice-of-lifey: I'd absolutely read a light novel like that
Or as you said - ones that are focused on side characters
Could be fun!

That would honestly be the best use of the format. There's so many characters we've only so far seen the surface of. Even Tien and Yamcha. Roshi too. Many of the Universe 6 fighters. Many of the fighters in the ToP (which is basically what I'm planning).

[Locust]

I only have a tenuous familiarity with light novels but the general style seems like some nonsense that's decidedly un-Dragon Ball.

Light novels are just short (hence "light") novels with some illustrations

Don't see why this would be "un-Dragon Ball"? Can you explain what you mean, I'm curious

[DevilKing99]

Yes,

There is already a light novel of the DBS Broly movie too.

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

Yes, as long as they are well writen they make as many as they like.

[Dragon Wukong]

I'd be down for light novels that cover stories outside Goku's crew. I highly doubt Toriyama would be very involved though in those cases.

It's a great way to tell self-contained stories about other universes though.

[Peach]

I'd be down for light novels that cover stories outside Goku's crew. I highly doubt Toriyama would be very involved though in those cases.

It's a great way to tell self-contained stories about other universes though.

I didn't even think about the other universes. Novel could be a great way to build Goku lite worlds and characters.

I could imagine a light novel that chronicles 17's life after the Cell saga and his wife. Maybe one of the threats he fought while Earth's warriors were either away or not paying attention.

[Matches Malone]

The question I always ask for these type of threads: do we still need Dragon Ball anything?

I think a better question is do we need the kind of DB we're currently getting ? as in the endless adventures of Goku and Vegeta, and to that I say no, the DB we have today should've ended with the BOG movie.

In terms of the question, I think novels can give us countless stories the main part of the franchise wouldn't dare think about, so I'd love to see that happen.

[SupremeKai25]

Yes. Light novels could help expand some events that in the main storyline were left somewhat ambiguous or were not given enough attention, such as the whole blank year in which Trunks fought against Goku Black. They don't have to tell new stories, they can just revisit past events and go more in-depth. An example of this are the light novels about Itachi Uchiha.

[UpFromTheSkies]

The Naruto series has a ton of light novels set between Naruto and Boruto. They're quite good and considered "canon" by many people.

It got me thinking. Should there be Dragon Ball light novels as well?

Obviously there could be a market for it with the sheer size of the Dragon Ball fandom. There's a ton of side characters (like Pikkon, Cabba, Jiren, Dr. Gero, and various Dragon Team members) they could develop or give backstories to. And tons of stories that can be set between Dragon Ball Super Broly and the End of Z, and beyond.

How would you feel about light novels?

Ehh.. I don't know how well that would work... Naruto is very story oriented, while Dragon Ball is light on story and is more about flashy fight scenes and humor.

[Magnificent Ponta]

If I've understood the descriptions of the 'light novel' format correctly, I don't think I'd favour it.

For me, Dragon Ball belongs overwhelmingly in visual media, and I don't think I'd enjoy seeing it in 'prose-with-pictures'. I'd be all over some spin-off manga one-shots or miniseries to focus on what some of the (now minor) heroes are up to and other adventures that can be had in the big wide yonder of Dragon World, but I think that once you take it out of a visual medium, you rob it of its strengths.

[ChronoTwigger]

Well, Dragon Ball Gaiden: Tensei-shitara Yamcha Datta Ken was not written by Toriyama and was an isekai that could have been great in novel format too (as many LN ARE isekai after all).
Light novels can break the continuity and explore the universe horizontally, something that the strict manga continuity can't, so I'm positive about.

[ZombieVito]

Sure why not?

Just don't have them be made by Toyo. He's a terrible writer.

[The Undying]

No. This works for a series like Naruto, which, despite the source material being a manga, is almost entirely predicated on its novel-esque plot. It's not actually about martial artists, ninjutsu or even shinobi, it's about the world they're forced to deal with.

Dragon Ball is a bit different. DB is about martial arts, and predominantly relies on visual appeal even when conveying the broader messages and themes of its own story arcs. Aesthetics are so ingrained in Toriyama's style that it's hard to picture his universe without them.

A spinoff manga is probably more appropriate. I'm hardly a fan of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha", but something along those lines would suit the franchise more than a light novel.