Is the DBZ Manga really worth checking out?

[SegaSaturnGamer]

I have been watching various clips and episodes of DBZ on Youtube and have been enjoying them.Its just so awesome!I especially love Vegeta!

However considering I watch the anime, I got a question. From what I have been hearing online in anime forums and chats with some of my buddies(who are DBZ fans themselves) they all tell me that the DBZ manga is basically the same plot with little differences. Basically they tell me if you watched the anime there is no point in checking the Manga out as the differences are superficial and few(such as Android 17 telling Gohan he used less than 50% of his power in their last fight).

The anime is so damned action packed which is why I love it. So Iam not sure whether to start spending money on copies of DBZ Manga as the fight scenes not be as epic and exciting as the anime due to the limitations of comic strips in portraying action and lack of the awesome yells and screams of Goku and the other Z Senshis and lack of the musical score that made the anime so great.Iam thinking the Manga would be boring in comparison and that purchasing it will just be a waste of money.

Would you all recommend the Manga and why?Are there really little differences in story elements?

[Pokewhiz7]

Oh yeah. The manga is really cool because you can get through things faster (there's no filler), and it really is a different way to see the story. It's the way Toriyama Akira originally intended for it to be. You can go to Barne's and Nobles and get volume 1 for $7.95 US. You can also get a VizBig, which is better bang for your buck in my opinion.

[rereboy]

The plot is basically the same.

However, despite the plot being basically the same, the manga is so much better that its not even funny, like most mangas compared to their anime adaptations.

Also, since the pacing is much better and faster and there are no silly fillers, its ends up being even more action oriented than the anime.

So, I'd say that its alway worth checking out.

[Gaffer Tape]

I would say definitely. Always go for the source material. The manga is the story, plain and simple. The anime is just an adaptation of that story. True, you're really not going to see much of anything you haven't already seen before. However, the art, unlike the animation on the TV series (not that I can really fault the TV series for having to use multiple animation studios and some of it not always looking... very good) is extremely consistent and almost always looks gorgeous. Obviously you're not going to have any of the pacing problems that sometimes plagued the latter parts of the DBZ TV series (as the manga would obviously never need to be padded for time). And it's also just a cheap and convenient way to own the whole story.

A little bit of information, though, although since you're an English-speaker, there's really no practical difference: There really is no such thing as a Dragon Ball Z manga. The story that Toriyama created is called Dragon Ball, and that's the title it bears from meeting Goku as an orphaned child with a tail in the woods all the way until Grandpa Goku abandons his family and takes Uub off to train. Only the TV series added the "Z" to the title a few years in and treated the later part of the series as a sequel to itself. However, in order to capitalize on the more popular story elements and to more easily identify to an audience that had been introduced to the TV series first, the English release of the manga splits Dragon Ball into two series.

[Makaioshin]

As others have mentioned, it has for the most part better and more consistent art. The fight scenes are much more enjoyable as there aren't as much random cutaways that the cartoon does often or the same action happening three times in a row. Toriyama also does a good job freezing a moment of motion with each panel so I wouldn't say the fights in it are weakened by these limitations of a comic strip you spoke of.
You're not going to find a completely different story if you were to read the comic, though.

[Bussani]

I'd normally be with everyone else and tell you that the manga's definitely worth it, but if you're really not interested in manga in general, then I'm not sure I can recommend it. If you have enjoyed reading manga in the past, however, then I'd say it's worth it. The art is more consistent, the story moves at a better pace, and without the filler, it somehow feels like quite a different world they live in. I much prefer the manga to the anime, personally.

[Herms]

I think the fandom would be in infinitely better shape if people realized DB/Z was a manga that happens to have an anime adaptation, rather than an anime that happens to have a manga to go along with it.

[Kendamu]

I think the fandom would be in infinitely better shape if people realized DB/Z was a manga that happens to have an anime adaptation, rather than an anime that happens to have a manga to go along with it.

Still wouldn't fix, "Gotenks can fly in space durr," arguments, but I definitely agree with you there.

And, SegaSaturnGamer, definitely read the manga. The manga is where the anime came from. Like everyone else said, it doesn't have all kinds of filler and such and the art is always excellent because it's always Toriyama and not a few different teams with varying levels of quality.

I actually enjoy the manga loads more than I ever enjoyed the anime, but I started enjoying the manga back in the days where the only DBZ you could legally obtain was censored.

[KKZ]

I wish Dragon Ball Kai would have spanned the entirety of the Z portion of the manga, then I would tell you to just watch that...

Honestly, every time I read the manga I end up wishing I was watching Kai or even the original Z anime instead. Granted, I've just never been that into comics or manga to begin with. I guess animation accompanied with voice acting, sound effects, and music just resonates with me a lot more than static imagery that lingers on a page. Even with all of the filler and inconsistent art, I feel like the Dragon Ball Z anime is a superior experience simply on the basis that it's animated rather than being a comic. I hope no one ousts me for "having no imagination" like some people on other boards have... I'm not implying that comics are a worse medium. I've read Watchmen multiple times and it amazes me to no end how much Alan Moore pretty much made that medium of expression his own. He did things that I could have never even fathomed in the context of a comic book had I not given it a chance. However, I'm still not impressed enough to check out a bunch of other comics because of it and would still take Heavy Metal, Fritz the Cat, or Watership Down over Watchmen in a heart beat. I just prefer animation more.

TL;DR, I would just watch Kai even though it's arguably only a slightly less fragmented vision compared to the original Z anime. You could try reading the manga too, but if you're anything like me you might not get very much out of it.

[Gaffer Tape]

No, I get what you're saying. I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly won't oust you. I feel the anime is certainly worth looking at. Granted, the anime is what I was introduced to (although there are still large chunks I have read but never seen animated), but when I read the manga, I do often hear the Kikuchi score or hear the actors saying their lines from the show. But I guess I see the anime as a fun supplement to the manga.

[violadude]

I would definitely buy the manga, if for nothing else than security. That sounds odd, but when you think about it, you could buy the anime on DVD or Blu ray or whatever, but eventually all those systems will become obsolete and theres always the possibility that the anime won't come out on whatever the new system is. The Manga is a way of having the story of Dragon ball always with you no matter what new technology DVD players and blu ray players get replaced with.

[CODii]

I love the manga, but I'll be honest. Based on your personal tastes, and what you seem to want to get out of the series, I would actually suggest you pass on the manga for the time being. Instead I would suggest you put that money toward purchasing the DragonBoxes. Youtube isn't really the place to watch the series.

[TheGreatness25]

I wasn't sure if I would get the manga because I thought of things the same way. I have the entire thing, why get the manga? I am such a collector, though, that I made an impulsive decision and bought it. I'm satisfied and it's a lot better than I thought. No yells, no musical score, no flashes of light jumping back and forth (fighting), but it is pretty good regardless. First of all, the drawings are amazing. You know how in the series there are times that the character models are WAY off? Well in the manga, that never seems to happen. Every picture is crisp and drawn to perfection. I don't know, it's your call, all I am saying is I was pleasantly surprised by the manga.

[Hellspawn28]

Dragon Ball is a great manga IMO, it might be the best manga ever or a great manga in a critic stand point of view but it's worth checking out. Toriyama's artwork and characters makes the series worth wide.

[Ahiru77]

The art is really fantastic and totally worth buying.

[backinblack055]

I've gotta agree with most of the people posting. I got into DB/Z for the first time when I was about 10, and picked up my first issue of the manga a couple years later, when the show was entering the Cell/Jinzoningen arc. Even though the story is the same, I've always preferred the manga because its being told the way Toriyama meant it to be told, and even though he obviously had a lot of oversight on the anime, the filler is sometimes unbearable to me.

Also, if you're watching the dub online, you'll get a much better idea of the actual personalities of the characters from reading the manga, and have an easier time following the action, IMO. When Kai was being dubbed, Funi admitted that their first English voice actors were haphazardly cast and don't really match the Japanese seiyuu in tone or personality. Though I personally prefer the Japanese cast, reading the manga eliminates this problem altogether while giving the unedited humor and violence that is sometimes censored in the English dub (even though the Viz version gets a little squirrelly toward the end with some uncalled for edits).

TL;DR -- The Manga is a more fluid, understandable story and a more pure experience altogether, giving a better impression of who the characters are, their personalities, and the conflicts they have with each other.

[Snail]

My suggestion:

1. Read the Dragonball Manga, volumes 1 - 16. (Tale/Chapter 1 - 194.): The anime version of the Dragonball portion of the anime may bore you to no end. You may skim through Goku's escapades as a young'n through the manga.

2. Watch the Dragonball Kai anime: A condensed version of Dragonball Z, offering a quick and concise viewing experience of Z. It's like sex, but without the baggage.

By the end of this two-step process, I'm confident that you'll find your own way of completing the rest of the story via-manga or Z-release.


And yes, manga is recommended. You'll have a good time reading it.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

The pacing is better, the art is consistent and it's ultimately better for you because you are reading instead of sitting in front of the idiot box. Plus you get to avoid these silly Dub vs Sub arguments that seem to pop up ever so often just by sticking to the ones in your head. On top of everything else, the Manga is just plain fun. Though start with Dragonball and then work your way to Z.

[CatouttaHell]

I'd recommend watching the Dragonball Anime then reading through the "Z" portion in the Manga, but that's because I find DBZ very boring in comparison to Dragonball (those are the same series Manga-wise but you know what I mean.)

[Great Saiyaman I]

It's great, and I prefer it highly over the anime, though I watch the anime too. The jokes are funnier here too, in my opinion.