Is the manga the best way to introduce someone to Dragon Ball?

[VDenter]

Hi you all.

I have been recently trying to find a suitable gift form my little cousin. I discovered recently that he has only heard of Dragon Ball but never read or watched it. So i though to myself the best way to introduce him would be through the manga. It would be kind of sad if he never experiences dragon ball so why not it seems like a good idea.

There is just one problem i live in Finland currently and finding any manga here is pretty difficult, even if i did they are all translated in Finnish witch is not ideal it would be nice to get him to read the the manga in English witch would also help him learn it faster as well since he is going through primary school. Personally that is how i learned most of English through playing games,watching movies or Tv shows. So this might help him quite a bit.

So i decided to look into the Viz 3 in 1 releases on Amazon but i hear mixed things like it being censored or the bad paper quality but the price seems decent and shipping costs are not all that bad either I read the review on Kanzenshuu but i wonder if any of these problems are major deal breakers or if any of the problems have been fixed in later reprints or volumes. My second option would be to buy the Blue Bricks and for the Z portion to get Kai. Or is it better to just track down the 42 manga volumes and not bother with the 3 in 1 releases. This would be more expensive but if they are much better i might have to consider it. Also are there any differences between the UK release and the US releases in the manga volumes or are they completely the same?

Thanks guys

[sangofe]

Better than the english dubs if you want it to be in english anyway.

[Gyt Kaliba]

One thing I'd say to consider is how much of a stumbling point he might find the manga reading style, where the book goes from right to left rather than left to right. If you think that might be a big enough hurdle to impact his enjoyment of the series as a whole, then the anime might be the way to go. On the other hand though, if you don't think it would bother him enough to take away from the series, then I'd recommend the manga if for no other reason than to hopefully also install a love of reading into his mind as well - not enough kids read anymore, so if you can give that as an added benefit of introducing him to Dragon Ball, then you're doing two great things at once.

[ekrolo2]

I think you can either give them the manga or show them Kai and they'll be fine. Both ways are pretty good entries into the series though the reading method and black & white might throw them off so I'd give a slight edge to the Kai version of the anime.

[TheGreatness25]

I think the manga is the best way to introduce someone to Dragon Ball. The person wouldn't have to binge watch a ton of episodes, which can get tiresome. You can kind of go through the manga at your own pace -- as quickly as a couple of days, or as slowly as a couple of weeks, but either way, it's still a lot faster than sitting through it. Plus, you can't really go wrong in terms of exposing the person to a version of the series that you deem to be "proper," meaning you don't have to worry about voices or dialog or the person's reaction to the Japanese version, etc.

I'd go with the manga and if he or she is interested, Dragon Ball isn't hard to find these days.

[sintzu]

I'd start with Kai if I were you cause it has more of a chance to get him into the franchise than DB does.

[sangofe]

I think you can either give them the manga or show them Kai and they'll be fine. Both ways are pretty good entries into the series though the reading method and black & white might throw them off so I'd give a slight edge to the Kai version of the anime.

No, no, no, no and more no. Start with DB if you're gonna introduce someone to Dragon Ball!

[ekrolo2]

I think you can either give them the manga or show them Kai and they'll be fine. Both ways are pretty good entries into the series though the reading method and black & white might throw them off so I'd give a slight edge to the Kai version of the anime.

No, no, no, no and more no. Start with DB if you're gonna introduce someone to Dragon Ball!

I don't think it's necessary. Kids aren't going to be weirded out by jumping into the Saiyan arc any more than I and many others were when Z started there. There's also the fact I really find the DB stuff majoritively boring as piss outside the first arc so I wouldn't make that a starting point for anyone.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

Either the manga or the 1st half of the series which starts with Son Gokuu and Blooma not Raditz and the farmer. Kai is something I would suggest to avoid at all costs. It is a horrible mess of a product.

- Travis

[sangofe]

I think you can either give them the manga or show them Kai and they'll be fine. Both ways are pretty good entries into the series though the reading method and black & white might throw them off so I'd give a slight edge to the Kai version of the anime.

No, no, no, no and more no. Start with DB if you're gonna introduce someone to Dragon Ball!

I don't think it's necessary. Kids aren't going to be weirded out by jumping into the Saiyan arc any more than I and many others were when Z started there. There's also the fact I really find the DB stuff majoritively boring as piss outside the first arc so I wouldn't make that a starting point for anyone.

Why wouldn't everybody start with the start? And wow, you find DB "boring as piss" 0.o? I don't think this mister has read/seen the Demon Piccolo saga's and the last tournament... (Or anything at all)?

[TheGreatness25]

Why wouldn't everybody start with the start? And wow, you find DB "boring as piss" 0.o? I don't think this mister has read/seen the Demon Piccolo saga's and the last tournament... (Or anything at all)?

While I think Dragon Ball is great, I can't stand this argument. "What? You think Dragon Ball is boring? What about the second to last arc!?" Well you still have to get through three arcs to get there. Again, it's personal preference; Z is much different than more than half of Dragon Ball, so if that's what someone's a fan of, then there's really no getting around the fact that the person might actually indeed find Dragon Ball (or most of it) to be boring.

I know that the fans like to make it seem like DBZ was promoted as this big action cartoon when really it was so much more than that, but Z actually was a pretty hardcore action series. Dragon Ball wasn't. So if someone is a fan of the hardcore action, that person might not be interested in seeing a long tournament or the excruciatingly dragging Red Ribbon Army arc, etc.

Once again, I say give him or her the entire manga. He or she can choose how fast to blaze through the Dragon Ball portion.

[ekrolo2]

Why wouldn't everybody start with the start? And wow, you find DB "boring as piss" 0.o? I don't think this mister has read/seen the Demon Piccolo saga's and the last tournament... (Or anything at all)?

It's a proven fact that plenty of people can get into the show without watching the DB section, I'd say a far amount of us here did just that and kids aren't going to go "WTF! What is this?!" when they see the Bardock ending happen at the start, they'll just roll with it. I've read through most of the DB section in the manga and honestly, I think it's okay at best minus the very first arc. That one was really really good, but I don't find anything after that better than okay at absolute best or boring as piss at worst. The Red Ribbon Army arc in particular was a total slog.

I think my primary problem is that for a lot of it, Goku is the only one actually getting anything done and since I find Goku about as interesting as a brick wall on the best of days when I don't hate his guts when he goes full Saiyan moron, I'm stuck watching a boring guy fight boring enemies (for the most part).

[sangofe]

Why wouldn't everybody start with the start? And wow, you find DB "boring as piss" 0.o? I don't think this mister has read/seen the Demon Piccolo saga's and the last tournament... (Or anything at all)?

While I think Dragon Ball is great, I can't stand this argument. "What? You think Dragon Ball is boring? What about the second to last arc!?" Well you still have to get through three arcs to get there. Again, it's personal preference; Z is much different than more than half of Dragon Ball, so if that's what someone's a fan of, then there's really no getting around the fact that the person might actually indeed find Dragon Ball (or most of it) to be boring.

I know that the fans like to make it seem like DBZ was promoted as this big action cartoon when really it was so much more than that, but Z actually was a pretty hardcore action series. Dragon Ball wasn't. So if someone is a fan of the hardcore action, that person might not be interested in seeing a long tournament or the excruciatingly dragging Red Ribbon Army arc, etc.

Once again, I say give him or her the entire manga. He or she can choose how fast to blaze through the Dragon Ball portion.

I didn't find the RRA arc long in the manga, honestly... But you're right about thinking about what the person prefers before choosing. Generally you should always start at the start of a show, though.

Why wouldn't everybody start with the start? And wow, you find DB "boring as piss" 0.o? I don't think this mister has read/seen the Demon Piccolo saga's and the last tournament... (Or anything at all)?

It's a proven fact that plenty of people can get into the show without watching the DB section, I'd say a far amount of us here did just that and kids aren't going to go "WTF! What is this?!" when they see the Bardock ending happen at the start, they'll just roll with it. I've read through most of the DB section in the manga and honestly, I think it's okay at best minus the very first arc. That one was really really good, but I don't find anything after that better than okay at absolute best or boring as piss at worst. The Red Ribbon Army arc in particular was a total slog.

I think my primary problem is that for a lot of it, Goku is the only one actually getting anything done and since I find Goku about as interesting as a brick wall on the best of days when I don't hate his guts when he goes full Saiyan moron, I'm stuck watching a boring guy fight boring enemies (for the most part).

How to say... What I like about DB is how much of an adventure feeling it has, plus it always surprises you (if you don't know the story already). Goku's always a blast following and there's really entertaining fights all along, with really interesting characters. My personal favorite saga is the Demon King Piccolo saga and out. The last tournament is really, really good if you're into action.

Anyway, to thread starter; I highly reccomend either that you show this person the manga, or the Dragon Ball RF fancut (which cuts away all fillers).

[VDenter]

Oh i dont think reading will hinder his enjoyment he enjoys reading. The manga being read from right to left should not be a issue i imagine it would actually be pretty interesting for him.

More importantly one of the reasons i wanted him to read the manga is that i did not want to skip to the Z portion immediately.

I think in most European country's they always showed DB first and then started showing Z. That is how i experienced it first i cant imagine what it would be like watching Z first without knowing any of the characters. Especially since i loved every arc in early Dragon Ball so i am not sure if skipping it and going straight to Z or Kai is the best option, especially since the early parts of Dragon Ball are more adventure like than the Z portions. So it might appeal to him more to read through all of it.

Getting the blue bricks could be a decent alternative but my biggest fear is will the footage look good on a HDTV.

Then there is the whole other issue when it comes to Z The orange Bricks as far as i know are terrible and the Dragon Boxes are out of print, getting them would cost a fortune. That is why my gut instinct was to go with Kai over Z.

[Soppa Saia People]

Yes, it's faster and (IMO) an overall better product, but get him volume one and 17 and then he can pick if he wants to read Ball or Z.

[Captain Strawberry]

Read little of the OP so I'm gonna go straight to the finishing line.

Yes if you want to save time.

[Sailor Haumea]

Speaking of releases...

Which version do I have...?

Season Three of Z. Frieza's on the cover.

Audio options are Uncut, Broadcast, and Japanese.

The spine has part of Shenron. Clearly, if you put them side-by-side, it has Shenron on one side.

What release is this?

[Robo4900]

I recommend starting with the manga, although I would suggest going for the VizBigs instead of the conventional 3-in-1s or volumes, as they're generally better quality, and in my experience, they're the cheapest English release of the manga. However, the normal 3-in-1s should be perfectly fine if the VizBigs aren't an option. Either way though, don't go for the individual volumes(They're ridiculously overpriced).

If you go for the series though, the blue bricks should look fine on a HDTV. Additionally, Kai is definitely a better option for the Z portion of the story, not just in terms of the DVDs/Blu-Rays being actually good, but also because the translation and overall dubbing process was a tremendous amount better. Also of course, there's the better pacing.

Whichever way you go, I hope your cousin enjoys it!

[sintzu]

It's a proven fact that plenty of people can get into the show without watching the DB section.

Of course, the dragon boxes, singles, Kai & full color manga in Japan started with Z.

All of Funi's home releases started with Z and when they brought DB to America it failed to get an audience which led to it getting cancelled and being replaced by Z.

[sintzu]

Why wouldn't everybody start with the start?

And wow, you find DB "boring as piss" 0.o?

Because the start doesn't represent what the franchise turns into.

I love DB but putting that aside, it doesn't hold up that well compared to Z and other anime so if you're going to introduce someone to the franchise you shouldn't do it with a part that could completely turn them away from it.