People who have managed to have extremely low contact with the manga.

[Cure Dragon 255]

In One Piece these people are almost extinct. NOBODY focuses just on the anime like Dragon Ball does. So please post here if you are one or if you know someone like this.

I for one have EXTREMELY minimal contact with the manga. I have never even read a full chapter. Wait. I did when I was 14.

[Matches Malone]

I'm also someone who's never read the original manga outside of a few pages here and there. I've constantly put it to the side as I've been waiting for Viz to release either the complete full color edition or the Kanzenban. At this point I'm probably just going to get the 3 in 1s, as they're the cheapest and most convenient collection.

[Vijay]

In One Piece these people are almost extinct. NOBODY focuses just on the anime like Dragon Ball does. So please post here if you are one or if you know someone like this.

I for one have EXTREMELY minimal contact with the manga. I have never even read a full chapter. Wait. I did when I was 14.

Surprised. I'd expect someone in the caliber as "I live here" like you to have explored every aspect of anime, manga, game, podcast, reviews etc

I have to honest that I have minimal contact with DBS manga. That's as much as I can say. So that counts I guess

[JulieYBM]

Reading? That shit is for women!

I'm pretty sure I've read every chapter at least once. It'd be nice if Viz would release a new prestige edition with a new edit and translation by Julian.

Or someone who isn't Gerard Jones.

[nato25]

I read the Super manga online as it comes up but yeah I've never read the original manga either depsite watching pretty much every piece of animation there is.

I do own all of Dragon Ball, Full Colors of whats been released and then up to Super 7, I definitely plan to read them eventually but I feel like the anime outside of the filler obviously stuck pretty close to the Manga anyway.

[Yuli Ban]

That used to be me. The only reason I managed to read the manga at all was through piracy since I was broke and there was a big download of it all. But I did read through all of it eventually, like by 2016.
Then I started collecting the physical manga. Haven't even come close to finishing, but someday I'll have em all..

That said, reading comics is nowhere near as prevalent as it once was to begin with, and a lot of people might be turned off by the different names and characterization. I've heard plenty of people even argue that the manga moves TOO FAST because they're so used to all the filler and long shots and overlong fights. So plenty refuse to read the manga on principle.

[Zephyr]

I've been a fan of the anime since 1999, and since 2003 became more focused on the video games. During that time I caught a few chapters of the manga here and there, but it never particularly interested me. But since joining the forums and getting back into the anime (and switching to the Japanese audio) around 2010, I've spent the last decade slowly giving the manga more of a chance. I've got all of the VizBigs now, and I've gone through Arcs 1, 9, and 10 in their entirety a few times, but never the whole thing in one go. Reading Dr. Slump right now, and when I'm finished I'll go through all of DB. (Probably throw the first three volumes of Fist of the North Star in there between Arcs 1 and 2 )

Highly recommend reading full chapters of the manga, if one can. Even just here and there. No commitment or anything. More consistent art quality and pacing, plus gags having their actual timing preserved, have kept me from going back to the anime, for the most part, to be honest. Though Kikuchi, Yanami, Nozawa, and Kageyama manage to largely offset the adaptational downgrades that a concurrently-running serialized anime brings with it, I think. So if one can't, that's fine.

That said, the manga is where Toriyama's actual writing happens, so it's a more fruitful piece to prioritize spending one's time with, insofar as one is interested in directing a critical eye toward Toriyama's actual writing. Though, if one isn't interested in that, that's fine.

[linkdude20002001]

Hah! I've never even SEEN all of Dragon Ball. Well, the Z portion, I mean. At least, not in Japanese. I got up to the Majin-Boo arc of the animation. As for the comics, tho, I think I only got to...maybe the Demon King Piccolo arc. And I own it all, too. Haha. But my reason is that I'm trying to finish reading thru Dr Slump first. I'm on Volume 10 out of 18. I'll get there eventually. Haha.

I do partly blame the translation for my not having read thru it yet. When even the official subtitles are not up to my standards, I should say that Viz's translation is most definitely not. Tho, they do have some good ideas here and there. However, it's still not great, often annoyingly censord, and inconsistent cuz they split it up stupidly and started at both Vol. 1 and Vol. 17. So that jump from Vol. 16 to Vol. 17 isn't the smoothest.

Also, just like how there are people who are strictly "Japanese with English subtitles" for every Japanese animé except Dragon Ball, there are those who read the comics for every Japanese cartoon except Dragon Ball. Like, "Funimation's Dragon Ball is the only real Dragon Ball. Toriyama said so himself.".

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Hah! I've never even SEEN all of Dragon Ball. Well, the Z portion, I mean. At least, not in Japanese. I got up to the Majin-Boo arc of the animation. As for the comics, tho, I think I only got to...maybe the Demon King Piccolo arc. And I own it all, too. Haha. But my reason is that I'm trying to finish reading thru Dr Slump first. I'm on Volume 10 out of 18. I'll get there eventually. Haha.

I do partly blame the translation for my not having read thru it yet. When even the official subtitles are not up to my standards, I should say that Viz's translation is most definitely not. Tho, they do have some good ideas here and there. However, it's still not great, often annoyingly censord, and inconsistent cuz they split it up stupidly and started at both Vol. 1 and Vol. 17. So that jump from Vol. 16 to Vol. 17 isn't the smoothest.

Also, just like how there are people who are strictly "Japanese with English subtitles" for every Japanese animé except Dragon Ball, there are those who read the comics for every Japanese cartoon except Dragon Ball. Like, "Funimation's Dragon Ball is the only real Dragon Ball. Toriyama said so himself.".

Yeah, and of course FUNi's dubs pre Kai range from mediocre/meh at best to unwatchably awful especially the Freeza arc when the in house cast first took over as the characters. These particular people it seems are so attached to the heavily bastardized version they watched on TV back in the day that they can't accept anything else or give the original version a chance.

[CuppaKofe]

It took me until the start of the 2010's to start reading the manga. I was actually rewatching the anime at the time, and took a break by reading a bit of the Manga.

The pacing in the Manga was just so much more brisk, that I pretty much abandoned the anime rewatch to read through all 42 volumes. I can see why some people are hesitant, given how outdated the official translation is, and Viz's insistence on not putting much effort into removing censorship. I'd still say it's worth the read.

(Though man, I appreciate the 3 in 1's for using the original chapter numbers and removing the split with the 'Z' manga, but every thing else about the release was so half assed. At least they are half the price of the vizbigs now :/ )

[kemuri07]

A couple years ago, I made it a point to re-read all of the original Dragon Ball. While I had some of the volumes, I never read the entire thing.

Took me about two days to get through it. It cannot be stressed enough how fast paced the story is. Especially after the Pilaf arc, the story just fucking goes.

I've also have a new appreciation for the DBZ manga. While I definitely grew up watching the show, reading the manga is like all of the net positives of the anime with nearly none of the negatives. It looks gorgeous throughout, particularly the Saiyan Saga arc, and contains none of that filler.

[LostTimeLord]

The funny thing is I've read more of Super than the original (I read the first volume years ago and I own the Viz Full Colors, but I still haven't gotten around to reading the Freeza arc) because the Super's anime and manga supposedly deviate from each other more. I'm in the same boat of waiting for a more Kanzenban-style release from Viz and then heading to Dr Slump once their Shonen Jump streaming service started.

[MCDaveG]

It was actually around the time I have discovered the Daizex, around 2003? And with other anime, that I have found out that they are actually adaptation of black and white comics. But it wasn't until I started to work and earn more money in 2009 that I have bought the original 42 Japanese tankobons, even tough I couldn't read them, just for having the real thing at home being a huge fan.
I have read some illegal translations around the net, as the english language release was either censored or otherwise butchered,
so it wasn't until the 3in1came out, with the colored portions (but some of the colored sections are black and white, as they didn't match the sheet per format in the print probably and would be expensive), that I have bought the series and read it for the first time in language I understand in physical form.

So after watching the series as kid, I caught up pretty quick with the source material afterwards and experienced the genius of Akira Toriyama.
I really consider the manga as being superior to the anime.

Tough the VIZ has really bad translation at times, I really hate the censorships and the one I really despise are the hunters in Buu arc with parody on NERF guns. Also, having the Dragon Ball manga divided between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is hilarious.

[Matches Malone]

Having the Dragon Ball manga divided between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is hilarious.

Although I'm against the anime being split, I can't blame them for following in its footsteps, as that's what fans were used to.

[Psajdak]

Funny, as much as I love DB, and also as someone who read A LOT of different, and long manga, I haven't really read all that much of original DB manga...

I am actively following DBS, but only because it shows post ToP story.

Guess for me anime is simply definite version, no matter how good source material can be.

[ArmenianPepsi]

I'm in the same boat with you. To be honest the only time i've actually seen any of the manga in person was because a friend of mine had a large 3in1 volume of Dragon Ball in high school.

[IAmTheMilkMan]

I'm the opposite of what you're looking for.

Like linkdude, I've actually never seen all of the anime. It may not come as much of a surprise for anyone who follows my Recut projects, but even as a child, I became fed up with the anime's glacial pacing, and I switched to the manga as soon as it became available to me. Matter of fact, I still have all of the old floppy comics that Viz began their publication with. I would ride my bike to the local comic shop every month and go straight to the single long-box they had for manga to find the latest DB and DBZ comics. Ahhh, memories... For the DB portion specifically, I experienced the vast majority of that for the first time through the manga (outside of the first six anime episodes since I only had the first 3 original VHS tapes from Kidmark).

In the case of One Piece, I've never fucked with the anime; I'm a manga die-hard through and through. I guess I am for most series, actually.

[theoriginalbilis]

Around 2006 or so, I made an effort to collect every volume of Viz's DB/DBZ release and read the entire manga run from beginning to end. The same with Viz's releases of Jaco and the Yamcha spin-off. Needless to say, I'm extremely proud that I read the whole thing cover-to-cover. It gives me a greater understanding of Toriyama as an artist and storyteller, and what a lot of the differences in how Toei, Shueisha, and FUNimation chose to adapt or market the anime.

Now I just wish they'd release the rest of the Full Color volumes (or at the very least, Cell to Boo).

I know the translation's not 100% perfect (and should probably be updated anyway for modern standards' sake, and also based on account of what Gerard Jones did), but I really do recommend any Dragon Ball fan to check it out. The manga really is a quick and breezy read, compared to the anime. As for Super's manga, I'm collecting it, but I've only read select chapters up until Moro. That arc I'm reading each month, since that's a manga-exclusive right now, and I'm having fun with it.

As for the anime, I've never watched DB/DBZ in order; mainly because of FUNimation's scattered release style back-in-the-day. But thanks to releases like the the Dragon Boxes and Season Sets, I eventually watched every episode in Japanese at least once.

Newer fans have no idea how lucky they are. Everything's been released, or is at least much easier to find, with an adequate translation to boot.

[MyVisionity]

Having the Dragon Ball manga divided between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is hilarious.

Although I'm against the anime being split, I can't blame them for following in its footsteps, as that's what fans were used to.

I'm the opposite. I'm all for the anime being split, but the manga split I'm against. It only reinforces the notion that there is some huge divide between the two portions of the series, as well as being deceitful about the original Japanese manga release. If the fans are used to one thing, then maybe take advantage of the opportunity and show them something different out of respect for the original work.

[MCDaveG]

Having the Dragon Ball manga divided between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is hilarious.

Although I'm against the anime being split, I can't blame them for following in its footsteps, as that's what fans were used to.

I'm the opposite. I'm all for the anime being split, but the manga split I'm against. It only reinforces the notion that there is some huge divide between the two portions of the series, as well as being deceitful about the original Japanese manga release. If the fans are used to one thing, then maybe take advantage of the opportunity and show them something different out of respect for the original work.

This! It actually naturally flows in the manga and there is no sense of some gap. It doesn't even make sense storywise, to start at Z without reading the chapters before... There is the foreshadowing of Piccolo being alien on Tenkaichi Budokai, when they are speaking with Kami with Namekian language and the rivalry with Son Goku going aside when Raditz arrives... which is heavily built up on in the first Dragon Ball Z Movie, that is something like connecting link between the two series. I do get the series being split, like Naruto is split to Naruto and Naruto Shippuden... in case of Dragon Ball, it would make more sense that the Dragon Ball anime ended with Goku training at Kami's lookout and Z starting with grown-up Goku appearing at the Budokai.
But Naruto is also not split up in the manga and it doesn't hurt anything... I can see why VIZ did that, as they skipped the chapters adapted into Dragon Ball anime, started with Raditz and branded it as Z for the sake of popularity.