Full colour print editions of DB volumes 1-16 coming

[alakazam^]

Volume 4 includes Muscle Tower with Ha-chan appearing. Going by this, where does 4 more volumes take us?

[TripleRach]

I don't think there was any new Q&A material though (much to my disappointment). That kind of stuff usually pops up on Twitter from the Japanese fans after the volumes are released.

Well, my volumes just arrived and there are definitely Q&As in them. I haven't looked through them too thoroughly yet because I'm in the middle of making food, but the stuff in Volume 1 didn't seem too groundbreaking at least. I guess I'll post some photos or quotes later if there's anything interesting.

Volume 4 includes Muscle Tower with Ha-chan appearing. Going by this, where does 4 more volumes take us?

Yeah, it ends with Chapter 67 and covers the whole Muscle Tower mini-arc. The next four books could then cover Chapters 68-134, with 134 conveniently being the end of the 22nd Budoukai.

The obi says the Boyhood Arc is eight volumes total (which we might have already known?), and I've just now noticed that it also mentions all four "Piccolo Daimaou arc" volumes will come out March 4th. Logically that will cover both Piccolos and finish the series in print form.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Well, my volumes just arrived and there are definitely Q&As in them. I haven't looked through them too thoroughly yet because I'm in the middle of making food, but the stuff in Volume 1 didn't seem too groundbreaking at least. I guess I'll post some photos or quotes later if there's anything interesting.

I did say "new" Q&A material though, which I meant as the Toriyama portions. Those were almost exclusively the only part with new info in the previous releases.

Still, I wasn't sure they'd even include a Q&A at all after the lack of them in the first three volumes of the Freeza Arc.

[eledoremassis02]

Can someone take some random pics? I am debating getting these to have the manga in Japanese but I still can't decide to get these or the original B&W printings

[veggiechan]

Interesting to hear viz cut out almost all the censoring, anyone know if they still censor/tone down the dialogue though? Last time I read their manga, the amount of "darn you to heck" types of obvious changes were an eyesore.

[Shoryuken]

Interesting to hear viz cut out almost all the censoring, anyone know if they still censor/tone down the dialogue though? Last time I read their manga, the amount of "darn you to heck" types of obvious changes were an eyesore.

In terms of severity of swearing, the Japanese version only ever goes inches above this level. Whilst kuso, literally meaning "faeces" or "dung", could seem like a perfect fit for "shit", it has its semantic impact determined by the context of the sentence and can thus just as easily mean "darn it", "damn it" as well as "fuck".

[TheDevilsCorpse]

I don't know if there is any new, in-universe information, but the below shots do show that Toribot's face is plastered on some of the questions:

Spoiler:

[KentalSSJ6]

I don't know if there is any new, in-universe information, but the below shots do show that Toribot's face is plastered on some of the questions:

Spoiler:

Images busted for me.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Eh, I really didn't want to mirror them...but, done.

[TripleRach]

Well, it doesn't look like there's anything spectacular in the Q&As comparable to Lapis Lazuli and all that. But here are some notes I took anyway, mostly about parts that caught my interest.


Volume 1:
A lot of stuff we already knew about Journey to the West, the origins of Kamehameha, etc.

Gokuu has the #4 ball because #1 or #7 would be "self-absorbed" (都合がよすぎる). I'm sure the site staff would find a better way to word that.

Toriyama probably can't ride Kintoun. His favorite Kamehameha is the very first one used by Kamesennin.

Part of the "DB Roots" section talks about Gokuu and Chichi's eventual marriage, with a footnote about the full color Piccolo volumes coming in March. Evidence those will cover the 23rd Budoukai too.

Volume 2:
The hardest part of Kamesennin's training was, in Gokuu's case, having to study and speak properly.

Volume 3:
Toriyama's favorite battle of the 21st Budoukai is Kuririn vs Bacterian.

There's a bit about the name origins for the competitors, which I know we've seen before.

There's a big section describing the setting and rules for the Budoukai. It includes mini profiles for the eight competitors, with heights, weights, birth years, and hobbies or occupations. (Giran is a bodyguard, Kuririn likes karaoke.) I don't think any of this is news either, especially when some of it is listed as "unknown" (particularly Bacterian's age, and Gokuu and Kuririn's heights and weights).

It also includes statistics and comparisons for future tournaments, and a section about Chapa and Akkuman as past winners. There's a note about both of them appearing in Boyhood Volume 7.

Toriyama himself wasn't sure who the winner would be. I don't know if that's news, but it's certainly not a big surprise.

Volume 4:
Muscle Tower was inspired by kung fu movies and the Famicom game Spartan X (also known as "Kung Fu" for NES, which I think I own myself). I don't remember if this is new, but I was expecting/hoping Bruce Lee's Game of Death to be named instead.

The "DB Roots" section is all about Doctor Gero, noting that he doesn't actually appear in this arc. It also mentions that Gero is responsible for other Red Ribbon tech, like their vehicles and weapons. The plane with Gokuu and his robot friend is pictured here, but it doesn't specifically acknowledge the robot as one of Gero's creations. The plane seemed like the real reference point.

Can someone take some random pics? I am debating getting these to have the manga in Japanese but I still can't decide to get these or the original B&W printings

This thread already has tons of reference images, which are much clearer than any photo than I could take.

[ShadowDude112]

Gokuu has the #4 ball because #1 or #7 would be "self-absorbed" (都合がよすぎる). I'm sure the site staff would find a better way to word that.

I'm not quite sure I get that. Having the 1 star or 7 star would be self-absorbed? That doesn't make sense to me. Is there a better way to explain what that means?

[TripleRach]

Gokuu has the #4 ball because #1 or #7 would be "self-absorbed" (都合がよすぎる). I'm sure the site staff would find a better way to word that.

I'm not quite sure I get that. Having the 1 star or 7 star would be self-absorbed? That doesn't make sense to me. Is there a better way to explain what that means?

I'm not super familiar with the term myself, but I guess that was a really odd way to phrase it here. I believe the idea is that he didn't want Gokuu (or at least the ball) to be too special or privileged.

[B]

It sounds like the only truly new information would be tournament competitors' occupations. Toriyama seems to like giving people "bodyguard", probably on the spot. "Eh, he's strong, I guess he protects people for money." Maybe I'm projecting, but it seems the go-to move when he is asked mundane questions like these is to apply a lot of practicality to it. People have to eat, so they need jobs, and inbetween the series, the characters just go to work, heh.

I am completely guessing here, but perhaps an alternative to "self-absorbed" would be "too on the nose"? Perhaps Toriyama didn't want Goku to be too literally associated with the DBs; The 1-Star Ball is #1, and that's kind of pompous, and the 7-Star Ball is the same but in reverse. (This has nothing to do with anything, but considering all the filler in the anime, I largely associate the 1-Star Ball with Pilaf)

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Their profiles aren't new either. Pretty sure they come from the Boken/Adventure Special guide.

[Mozgus]

Really great stuff, the entire series will in color, hopefully the upcoming viz volumes get enough support so they can continue releasing them, french publisher Glénat said they have plans to publish dragon ball in color this year, now that beginning is released i wonder if the french release will start with those first.

if viz made the volumes smaller in size making them cheaper, i think more people would've bought them and we would've gotten the other sagas much quicker.

[alakazam^]

Gokuu has the #4 ball because #1 or #7 would be "self-absorbed" (都合がよすぎる). I'm sure the site staff would find a better way to word that.

"Too convenient", I guess.

[WhisPL]

About 4 ball instead of 1 or 7 already Akira Toriyama once said. On the main page of the interview translated.

[TripleRach]

About 4 ball instead of 1 or 7 already Akira Toriyama once said. On the main page of the interview translated.

Welp. It figures that one of the only interesting bits was already old news.


Anyway, I got my copies of Volumes 5-8 today. As expected, the last book ends with Chapter 134 (Kuririn's death).

I took some notes again about the supplemental info in these volumes, but it doesn't seem like any of this is really new or groundbreaking either.


Volume 5 has no Q&A section at all. That was pretty disappointing to discover.


Volume 6:
The Q&A here is labeled "Part 5."

Toriyama liked the contrast of giving Taopaipai a "cute Chinese style name."

(Apparently this is old news, but I was blown away and typed it all up before thinking to check.) "One day, Satan had traveled to a bar in South City with his master. Taopaipai was there and they carelessly mocked his hairstyle. The master was killed, and Satan was greatly injured too...!?" But then Satan became champion and his confidence level did a U-turn.

Karin is modeled after a cat Toriyama once had.

There's a diagram of the layout of Karin Tower. The second floor is a wide open space for training and storing the Super Holy Water. The first floor is Karin's living space, with four holes in the floor that serve as "entrances" to the ground below. The actual tower is pretty tall and difficult to climb.

There's a big dissection of the Red Ribbon Army. The first page charts all the named members (including General Copper, but the picture is just the manga panel that mentions his name). One section talks about the different groups of soldiers, and acknowledges that a "Brown Squad" was mentioned at one point. The second page talks about the different vehicles and mecha with various design notes. The "Miniature Fighter" (the one that looks like a helicopter without blades) is based on a 100 yen lighter, which is more obvious when viewed from behind. It's also Toriyama's favorite among the aircraft.


Volume 7:
And the Q&A here is labeled "Part 6" of course.

Pilaf built his mecha himself. He's very smart, even though he doesn't seem like it.

The story about the Shuu/Soba name problem is repeated here, presumably because this is where he's first called "Shuu" (and IIRC the first time Mai is named at all) in the manga.

Stuff about Tenshinhan and Chaozu's name origins coming from Chinese food. It also notes that Yamcha, Oolong, and Puer similarly have Chinese food names.

Brief profiles of Tenshinhan and Chaozu too, with their birth years and heights and weights and stuff. I assume this is old data, but I like that Ten's favorite vehicle is "ostrich type animals."

There's a big dissection of Baba's palace, but by "big" they mean a lot of blank space with barely any data compared to the RRA one. The first page has an external layout of the palace, noting that the fighting stage is surrounded by a lake. The second page has a layout of Devil's Toilet, noting the poison swamp below the statue tongues, but nothing about the name or the toilet paper because they hate me. The five fighters are pictured, but the only data for them is their locations. There's a mini guide for Baba's fortune telling business though (fee is waived if you beat the fighters, etc).


Volume 8:
The only thing here is a single page of "DB Roots" about Tenshinhan's attacks. Bukuujutsu and Taiyouken were used a lot later on by other people. Haikyuuken is mentioned too to note that Gotenks had a similar volleyball attack.

If you were hoping for info on Panput or Man Wolf, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I guess there's still hope for something on Chapa and Tsurusennin in the Piccolo volumes, but I wouldn't set my expectations too high at this rate.

[Wezenheim]

Really great stuff, the entire series will in color, hopefully the upcoming viz volumes get enough support so they can continue releasing them, french publisher Glénat said they have plans to publish dragon ball in color this year, now that beginning is released i wonder if the french release will start with those first.

if viz made the volumes smaller in size making them cheaper, i think more people would've bought them and we would've gotten the other sagas much quicker.

I like the bigger size personally. I think it helps the images pop out better and it feels like a more unique product.

You might be right about the fact that they might sell better if they were cheaper, but the selfish person in me wants them to stay the same haha. I'm willing to pay for quality.

[jrdemr]

Really great stuff, the entire series will in color, hopefully the upcoming viz volumes get enough support so they can continue releasing them, french publisher Glénat said they have plans to publish dragon ball in color this year, now that beginning is released i wonder if the french release will start with those first.

if viz made the volumes smaller in size making them cheaper, i think more people would've bought them and we would've gotten the other sagas much quicker.

I like the bigger size personally. I think it helps the images pop out better and it feels like a more unique product.

You might be right about the fact that they might sell better if they were cheaper, but the selfish person in me wants them to stay the same haha. I'm willing to pay for quality.

Pretty sure everyone likes the bigger size better. It's one of the translated edition's greatest selling points, if not the greatest. For once, we in the West have something even the Japanese themselves don't. For people that know Japanese (like myself - I'm actually stilll studying, really, but Dragon Ball is extremely easy to read - though that might just be because I know the story by heart at this point ), the size might be the one thing that makes them wait for the Viz edition rather than just buy the Japanese edition from the get-go, especially considering it takes ages to come out and it's got censored Popo.

I don't know if they saw that the original "masters" were bigger than the Japanese print edition, thought it was a shame to shrink the image size in their own print edition and decided to release it in a more premium format or if the difference in cost is negligible, but either way, I'm extremely happy they went this route.