Dragon Ball Z, Vol. 1 (VIZBIG Edition) Information + Vol 2.

theoriginalbilis · Post by **theoriginalbilis** » Fri May 30, 2008 1:08 pm

So... basically, this VIZ BIG release has more edited coontent than the SJ books? Damn.... good thing I collected the entire first run (Vols. 1-42) of the SJ graphic novels.

The only worthwhile things about this release are more chapters for cheaper, and the fact that there's an occasional chapter in color, but to me there's no point if it's edited... Maybe I'l pick one of these up if (and that's a big IF) Mr. Satan's original name is restored, not this H-er-cule nonsense.

bkev · Post by **bkev** » Fri May 30, 2008 7:30 pm

theoriginalbilis wrote:So... basically, this VIZ BIG release has more edited coontent than the SJ books? Damn.... good thing I collected the entire first run (Vols. 1-42) of the SJ graphic novels.

The only worthwhile things about this release are more chapters for cheaper, and the fact that there's an occasional chapter in color, but to me there's no point if it's edited... Maybe I'l pick one of these up if (and that's a big IF) Mr. Satan's original name is restored, not this H-er-cule nonsense.

Hah! DBZ is still A, good luck.

Brad Redfield · Post by **Brad Redfield** » Sat May 31, 2008 2:24 am

Actually, DBZ is supposed to be rated Teen 13+ now.

MagicBox · Post by **MagicBox** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 12:20 pm

Hey guys, I just picked up DBZ volume 1. It's wierd; everybody's saying that all of their stores only had DB but not DBZ. With me, it was the exact opposite. I can't find DB volume 1 anywhere.

Anyway, I'll get right to what everybody's worried about: the edits. Let's quickly review the edits that were originally in DBZ volumes 1-3:

Tankobon #17 / Dragon Ball Z, Volume 1: Piccolo's attack, Makankosappo, was renamed "Light of Death." (This could be labeled as a translation, but the other attacks are left in Japanese.).

Tankobon #18 / Dragon Ball Z, Volume 2: Piccolo's "I'll bash in your skull!" threat to Gohan was changed to "I'll slit your throat!". I never knew why so many people hated this edit, since the spirit of the line is still there. It's a change nonetheless. In probably the biggest edit of the first three volumes, Gohan had his genitals painted away after he turned back from a Giant Ape. Viz also translated the Saibaimen's name to "Cultivars," which, while not quite as bad as the Gohan edit, is still kinda annoying, and will surely confuse fans of the anime adaption.

I am sorry to report that all of these edits sadly remain in the VizBig volume. The book is rated "A" for all ages just in case anyone was still curious.

Anyway, let's move onto the color pages. Of the three chapters in this volume that should be in color, only two are printed as such. The chapter where Raditz shows up on Roshi's island and the chapter where Goku meets Lord Enma are in color, but the chapter where Goku fights Vegeta is left in grayscale.

What's funny is that with the title pages, it's reversed. The title pages for the two color chapters are printed in grayscale, and the title page for the grayscale-printed Goku vs Vegeta chapter is printed in color. Huh. Goofy.

If you guys have anymore questions, just ask and I'll answer as soon as I can.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 12:39 pm

MagicBox wrote:but the chapter where Goku fights Vegeta is left in grayscale.

See this?

I don't care about edits or name changes, but THIS bit of info has single-handedly made me decide NOT to buy the VizBig volumes.

They promised color pages, but not only do they not include ALL the color where it should be (I was even willing to put up with that), but when they exclude it for an incredible chapter like that, then I'll pass. They don't know what they're doing with the VizBig. Either give me ALL the color, or none at all. Don't tease me with it and then yank away the parts that matter.

I'll see what the hardcover "collector's edition" releases later this year end up bringing to the table. I've been waiting a year or two to start collecting the manga; what's another couple months?

Tyro · Post by **Tyro** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:27 pm

MagicBox wrote:If you guys have anymore questions, just ask and I'll answer as soon as I can.

I have a question. Have you found any "updated text" yet?

Levlik · Post by **Levlik** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 2:09 pm

Tyro wrote:
MagicBox wrote:If you guys have anymore questions, just ask and I'll answer as soon as I can.
I have a question. Have you found any "updated text" yet?

I skimmed through Z volume 1 at Borders and noticed that really not much has changed from the old volumes, but there is one thing I did notice right away. They've changed every line with the word "damn" or "Hell" to be more tame. The only exception seems to be whenever "Hell" is used in a locational sense. For instance, "Damn you!" is now "Curse you!", "What the hell?" is now "What in the world?".

Then again, the only parts of the manga I have are the first 4 comic book volumes from 1999, and the first printing of the volume 2 Viz Graphic Novel from 2000. However, I checked the newer, small reprints of the graphic novels and the "hells" and "damn"s are all still in there, so I would assume that this is the "updated text" they were talking about. Kind of a shame, really. I really wanted to get these, but I guess I'll hold out to see if the hardcover prints are uncensored.

MagicBox · Post by **MagicBox** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:57 pm

Tyro wrote:I have a question. Have you found any "updated text" yet?

I'm afraid I don't own the previous releases of the manga, so I don't have any means of comparison. As Levlik said, the swearing has been toned down, but other than that, nothing really seems new from what I've read so far. From what I've heard, the translation was pretty accurate in the first place, so I guess Viz felt there was no need for revised text.

But yeah, only swearing so far. Piccolo still talks in his wierd "what say you?" manner, which I thought would have been the first thing they would have gone back and changed. If I recall correctly, I remember reading that he didn't really talk like that and that it was a Viz-added speech quirk. Since he doesn't talk like that in the earlier Dragon Ball volumes, I thought they would go back and re-translate his dialogue for consistancy, but alas, nothing.

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 6:28 pm

The "updated text" is just them removing the curse words? Pft. That's stupid.

Granted I don't think they should do the complete opposite and pull an AnimeLabs (because that can look equally as ridiculous) but nobody ever yells "curse you" or "darn it" in a battle setting when you've got your life on the line.

And on the issue of not leaving the color on the Goku VS Vegeta battle, I agree with Kaboom; there's no point in buying these if they don't color in the parts that really matter.

Tanooki Kuribo · Post by **Tanooki Kuribo** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 6:48 pm

I just got the DragonBall one today. I gotta say, I love the layout of the book, its a damn shame its censored. I won't buy any more volumes.

They don't censor Goku's penis, just any Bulma boob shots. And one panel that had Bulma sticking out her middle finger.

If it wasn't for these edits I would be a fan of this format.

MagicBox · Post by **MagicBox** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 6:57 pm

Oh, I forgot to mention the spine image. It's neither from the tankobon nor the kanzenban releases. It's just a picture of Goku; more precisely, it's the picture of him right after he jumps off the Kinto-un and lands with Piccolo to fight Raditz.

You've all seen the front cover, so I won't go into that. The back cover features an image of Raditz with two paragraghs giving an overview of the series and a note about how acclaimed it is, along with the usual barcode and crap like that.

Here's how the book is broken up:
- Table of Contents
- Character Profiles
- The three manga volumes
- Title Page Gallery
- The three author notes from the original tankobon release
- Preview of next volume

The three volumes are separated by the title pages from the original tankobon releases. My only complaint about the bonus content is that Viz did not include any of the original tankobon covers in the gallery. Oh well. At least they'll be in the new artbook coming out (I hope).

NeptuneKai · Post by **NeptuneKai** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:07 pm

Okay Daizex I seriously need an opinion here.
I have all of the Dragonball manga that VIZ first released, however I was rather young when I first bought them and I carried at least one tankobon EVERYWHERE with me at that age so a lot of them are in fairly awful condition. I have most of Z in its original semi-uncensored format but I'm missing a few of the Cell issues. I'm not sure if I should buy the Dragonball/Dragonball Z manga again just to own tankobon that doesn't have crinkled pages; mud stains a missing cover etc. I'm somewhat half and half on the whole censorship ordeal, it pissed me off when I first heard about it but after I had a few days to think about the situation I cooled down and ended up having a fairly "meh" attitude towards most of it. I know it's ultimately up to me and my opinion but in this situation what would you guys do? As for the color I really don’t care, it’s a plus but I never longed for it to begin with.

Artificial Human #887 · Post by **Artificial Human #887** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:15 pm

I'd go with just buying the tankôban, to be honest. While the color is nice, I prefer the (slightly less) editing and format of the book. All of the tankôban are still in print, so getting them is much, much easier.

"curse you," really? I didn't get my DBZ vol 1 yet, but that's just dumb.

Curse you, Viz! How do you like that? I'm so tired of there being no possible way to win with any English version of Dragon Ball. It hurts my heart.

Raki · Post by **Raki** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:15 pm

Import the Japanese releases. They show up all the time on Yahoo Japan Auctions, and are usually complete sets for a low price.

Rory · Post by **Rory** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:19 pm

Raki wrote:Import the Japanese releases. They show up all the time on Yahoo Japan Auctions, and are usually complete sets for a low price.

I buy manga to read, aswel as look at the pretty pictures.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:22 pm

NeptuneKai wrote:okay Daizex I seriously need an opinion here...

Personally, in light of the inconsistencies and half-assed efforts with the color pages, I've decided to skip the VizBig versions. It might not be entirely Viz's fault for some reason, but still; Goku vs Vegeta wasn't in color, but Kami and Goku meeting Enma somehow was instead? That's... not really acceptable. So I've decided to wait and see what these "Collector's Edition" hardcovers have in store for us (How much exactly do we know about them so far, again?).

SSj_Rambo · Post by **SSj_Rambo** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:47 pm

NeptuneKai wrote:okay Daizex I seriously need an opinion here...
...I'm not sure if I should buy the Dragonball/Dragonball Z manga again just to own tankobon that doesn't have crinkled pages...

I agree with SSj Kaboom, the Collector's Edition hardcover books are our best bet at a high quality English Dragonball manga release and I would suggest that you wait for them. If you feel the need to buy your missing volumes in the mean time then don't waste your time with the Viz Big Volumes, the censorship makes them pointless and the choices on what parts to color are very poorly made, buy the tankôban if you really need something until then.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:03 pm

SSj_Rambo wrote:I agree with SSj Kaboom, the Collector's Edition hardcover books are our best bet at a high quality English Dragonball manga release and I would suggest that you wait for them.

Well, how much do we know about them? Are they going to be another series release, or are they a one-shot thing, like that special edition of the first issue of US Jump? What about the page numbers? 208, right? Does that correlate to anything else?

Post by **Herms** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:13 pm

MagicBox wrote:What's funny is that with the title pages, it's reversed. The title pages for the two color chapters are printed in grayscale, and the title page for the grayscale-printed Goku vs Vegeta chapter is printed in color. Huh. Goofy.

It's like that with the DB VIZBIG too. The only color title page left in color in the title page gallery is the one to chapter 33, while chapter 33 itself is still in gray scale.

MagicBox wrote:If you guys have anymore questions, just ask and I'll answer as soon as I can.

What about Kame-sennin asking Bulma if he can feel her breasts (it's in the same chapter where Raditz shows up at Kame House)? It was another one of the few dialog edits in the original Viz release.

MagicBox wrote:But yeah, only swearing so far. Piccolo still talks in his wierd "what say you?" manner, which I thought would have been the first thing they would have gone back and changed. If I recall correctly, I remember reading that he didn't really talk like that and that it was a Viz-added speech quirk. Since he doesn't talk like that in the earlier Dragon Ball volumes, I thought they would go back and re-translate his dialogue for consistancy, but alas, nothing.

Yeah, Piccolo doesn't talk weird like that in Japanese. Something interesting I noticed with Viz's DB volume 16 release is that on the back cover it has a panel with giant Piccolo taunting Goku. In it he speaks normally and his dialog is a literal translation of what he says in Japanese. However, inside the actual volume when that panel comes up, it has him speaking in the elaborate Viz way.

SSj Kaboom wrote:It might not be entirely Viz's fault for some reason, but still; Goku vs Vegeta wasn't in color, but Kami and Goku meeting Enma somehow was instead?

The chapter with King Enma is one of only two chapters that are entirely in full color (as opposed to starting out in full color and switching to partial color), so it makes sense to have that one in color. But I do agree that the start of Goku vs. Vegeta should have been in color as well; I think Raditz arriving at Kame House should have been the chapter to keep in gray scale.

SSj_Rambo · Post by **SSj_Rambo** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:19 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:Well, how much do we know about them? Are they going to be another series release, or are they a one-shot thing, like that special edition of the first issue of US Jump? What about the page numbers? 208, right? Does that correlate to anything else?

Well I just found out that both the Dragonball and Dragonball Z books are supposed to be rated "A" which means that they are censored, but I read that on Anime News Network and none of their sources can confirm that so we can't be positive about that until it is listed by one of the retailers. If they are censored than I would put them as equal to the Viz Big editions and say that the argument is between them and the tankôban editions.

Also, the fact that the first DBZ hardcover book is 176 pages and the first original DBZ tankôban is 146 pages hints that this is not a reprinting of all the original tankôban in hardcover format unless they are putting them in Viz Big type formats where they are releasing all of the manga but in bigger chapters, which they have not hinted at.