Dragon Ball Z Part 1-5 (Viz Monthly Comics)

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Dragon Ball Z Part 1 No. 5
Released	July 1998
Publisher	Viz
Volume Data
Format	6.625" x 10.25"
Pages	32 pages
Chapters	Dragon Ball Chapter 203 Dragon Ball Chapter 204
Viz Publication
Translation	Mari Morimoto
Adaptation	Gerard Jones
Editor	Trish Ledoux
Graphic Novel	Dragon Ball Z Volume 1

Dragon Ball Z Part 1 No. 5 is the fifth issue of Viz's "Dragon Ball Z" monthly comics, the original English-language printing of the Dragon Ball manga. It was released in July 1998 alongside the fifth issue of the "Dragon Ball"-branded chapters.

List of Chapters

Further information: Viz Monthly Comics and List of Dragon Ball Chapters

#	Viz Chapter Title	Original Publication	Page
203	Dragon Ball Z Chapter 9: "Sayonara, Goku"	Weekly Shōnen Jump 1988 #53 (Japan, 29 November 1988)	1
204	Dragon Ball Z Chapter 10: "The Needs of the Many..."	Weekly Shōnen Jump 1988 #52 (Japan, 22 November 1988)	16

The title page of chapter 203 is omitted. The black-and-white title page of chapter 204 is repurposed as a title page for chapter 9 (203).

Cover Illustration

This issue's Akira Toriyama cover illustration was drawn for a 1989 calendar the 1989 #03/#04 issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan. This issue went on sale on 19 December 1988, just a few weeks after this Viz Comics issue's chapters were printed, and featured the original printing of Dragon Ball Chapter 205. The illustration gets quarter-page reprints in Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 1 ("The Complete Illustrations") and the Dragon Ball Chōgashū ("A Visual History").

Advertisements

Advertisement for the Dragon Ball Z Specialty Store.

Page 32 is an advertisement for "Dragon Ball Z Specialty Store" at www.japanimation.com. The back cover is a full-color advertisement for the Pioneer VHS releases of Dragon Ball Z Movie 2: "The World's Strongest"; this advertisement is reproduced on the third "Dragon Ball" issue's page.

Staff

• English Adaptation: Gerard Jones
• Translation: Mari Morimoto
• Touch-Up Art & Lettering: Wayne Truman
• Editor: Trish Ledoux
• Cover & Interior Design: Viz Graphics

• Managing Editor: Hyoe Narita
• Editor-In-Chief: Sataro Fujii
• Publisher: Seiji Horibuchi

Letters Column

This issue's letters column is printed left to right on pages 31-30. There is a standard solicitation for reader letters on the inside of the front cover. A complete transcription of the column is below; fan art is omitted. The responses are written by editor Trish Ledoux. (Parentheses) and [brackets] are Viz; {braces} are Kanzenshuu notes.

Dragon Ball Z Letters Page c/o Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107 dbz-ltrs@viz.com
{left: artwork of Goku behind a copy of the chapter 5 title page from issue #3 signed "EAMON Dougherty, AGE 13"} Eamon Dougherty, Philadelphia, PA
What's up with THIS!? A few issues into the series, and Goku's DEAD!? Sure, Bulma and Kuririn and the others may be able to gather the seven dragon balls that are needed to bring him back, but now that Piccolo's made the mistake of letting RADITZ in on the secret, the two super-strong Saiyans now on their way to the Earth are gonna be after them too!
Call Me "Gohan" I've been a Dragon Ball fan for almost five years now and I am one of (the series') biggest fans. I have a big cloth poster in my room and I've also got another DBZ poster and a Dragon Ball GT poster. I've got action figures, two of your comics, movies, and a magazine.   I live in Colorado and I've got a problem. I'm not allowed to buy any more Dragon Ball stuff because my Mom wants me to save my money for Disneyworld this October. After that, I'm going to buy all the DBZ stuff I want. I have an N64 (so I'm wondering) will you ever make a Dragon Ball Z game for it? I would like to be called "Gohan" because he is my favorite character of DBZ. I've known about other techniques like the "Super Saiyan." I've also been on the Internet (to look for info related to) DBZ, so I know of other characters such as Trunks or Goten. Vegita's son is Trunks. Vegita marries Bulma.   Like I said, I'm one of DBZ's biggest fans. My real name is Tom Portwood, (but you can call me) Gohan Portwood. Gohan Portwood {address redacted} Aurora, CO 80015
Unfortunately, we've yet to see any Dragon Ball games released for the N64, although of course there are quite a few available on other platforms, such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) or Sony PlayStation. Maybe you can find some of these, instead...?
Raditz a Real Treat I love Japanimation, and when I saw Dragon Ball Z the comic I thought, This ought to be interesting.   I bought it and took it home and opened it up to read it, but I was at the end of the comic book (when I thought), Oh no, this isn't going to work out one bit, starting off at the wrong side, but now I love the idea, I love the art, and I love the storyline. I started watching DBZ on TV when Vegita1 was on his way, so seeing Raditz come in is a real treat. Keep up the good work! {/column} Brandon White {address redacted} Hill AFB, UT 84056
As mentioned in a previous column, our focus here in the DBZ letters column will always be on the Dragon Ball Z manga (as compared to the anime), although of course there'll also be people who want to talk about the TV series. That's fine with us, because, as we see it, one of the best parts of doing the original manga—the series that the anime is based on!—is that we're able to enjoy the similarities and the differences between the two.
Info, Please I love Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z comics and artwork. I like the traits of the characters and how they interact with each other. I like how the personalities of the people develop over the course of the stories and how they are manipulated by the oncoming events that happened in each story. I love the drawings and the wit and wisdom of Akira Toriyama   I am sad to inform you that where I live, it is hard to get up-to-date DBZ information, and about other "manga comics" as well. Also, in the TV shows, they are edited to take out all violence and they sometimes take out important information in the translation. I know only the information that I have found out in this comic and what my friends have told me. All other information that I have found is...well, in another language. I find this sometimes annoying, but am glad that someone is translating some of it into English. I hope to take courses sometimes in the near future to learn some Japanese or Chinese, not only for the purposes of reading these (comics), but because they are among the most spoken languages in the world, and I don't care for French.   I was wondering if I can have some information sent (in English, please!) about events that have and will happen in Dragon Ball Z. I would like to know what exploits await our adventurous entourage of heroes, zeroes, and other people in for the ride. Thank you for your time, and keep up the good work. Christopher Semenuk {address redacted} Edmonton Alberta, T6L-4Y9
Even if you never get to that mythical place known as "being fluent," the study of a foreign language is ALWAYS worthwhile, if only because the understanding of one's native language becomes that much more enhanced. In the meantime, if you can get access to {/page} the Internet, a whole world of truth, fact, and fiction awaits you—sometimes in the same source! This is the great challenge of Internet-based research, you know, trying to sort out what info you can trust and what info is all in someone's head. Best of luck in your quest.
Tell Me the Dates I am a fan of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. I have been watching the TV show for about three years.   I also read the comics on both of them. Since Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are so great and popular, I was wondering and hoping if you could change the comics, so that they will not come out monthly, but biweekly, or one time every three weeks. I would also like you to tell me the dates the comics come out, because I have missed some issues because they have sold out. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Mansour Benkreira {address redacted} Washington, D.C. 20015
Biweekly, are you kidding!? What are you trying to do, kill us!? We like to think we're doing pretty good, getting both DB and DBZ out to you in a timely, MONTHLY fashion. Regarding your missed issues, have you thought about asking your local comics retailer to set them aside for you? (Some places call this a "comics saver.") Alternately, you can always contact Viz Shop-By-Mail for back issues; give 'em a call toll-free at 800-394-3042.
Okay, Yeah, That's True, But... Hi, my name is Liz Donovan. First, I want to say, Thank you for doing this manga! I've been a fan of Dragon Ball since early 1995 when my ex-boyfriend got me introduced to the series. I've always been an Internet chatter, and I quickly took up the alias "Son Pan," after one of the three main characters in Dragon Ball GT. Ever since then, I've been Pan (Gohan and Videl's daughter, for those of you who don't know!). ^_^ Anyway, I'd heard about the North American Dragon Ball Z they put on around then, and I watched it, on and off, but not too much because I was in color guard and it came on about the time I had to leave on Saturday mornings. I get my Dragon Ball stuff from a store at my mall, and they have Dragon Ball Z manga now! I'd heard about it coming out and so I got my issue.   The first thing I loved about it was that it was in "manga" format, "backward" as Americans think. Second, there was no editing! Thank you, Viz! I don't understand why they have to edit DBZ for TV. Just today, as I got the secodn {sic} issue of the DBZ manga, I was looking at the back and they (you?) advertise the DBZ videos. Written on top of Nappa reads: "Dragon Ball Z is the top rated weekly syndicated kids' show (ages 2-11) seen twice per week on the Saban kids' network." Um..okay, yeah, that's true, but come by me again: Ages 2-11?!!? Eleven?! I'm sixteen and I don't think I know any eleven-year-olds who watch the show. All my friends online who like it are at least thir- {/column} teen. Mostly we run from sixteen to twenty-one, but I know 35-year-olds who adore the series! No WONDER they're editing it! Gearing a show for 11-year-olds is insane! Gear the show for the (viewers who are) 16+ and save yourself the trouble of editing! It's a win-win situation.   Just look at South Park and tell me Dragon Ball Z is bad news for our generation. Bah. That's why I'm glad to see this comic book come out with taste in its original format. I really wish it were weekly, or at the best, bimonthly, because at this rate, it's gonna take forever to get the entire series out, but I do love it! I own some of the original Dragon Ball manga in Japanese, so seeing DBZ released in English is very nice. I want to thank you once again, for bringing Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z to our shores unedited and in the format it was originally released in. Now just use the original covers! ^_^ Take care, and for all those fans who want to correspond with me, the email address is: {redacted}@hotmail.com. Yup, good old hotmail. ^_^ I wanna say hi to all my family and friends, my mom, Videl (BS2), my...er, dad, ^_- SSJ Son Gohan (it'll happen someday), my sweety Jim, my best friend Leslie, and Ladis, Gayle, Trale, Jase, Nana, Johnny and all the rest of you wonderful people who make me happy! ^_^ I love you all, and I love Viz ('cause it rhymes with Liz!). Ja ne! Son Pan AKA Liz Donovan http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/1594/ http://www.members.tripod.com/~Haruka_Uranus/dragonball.html P.S. Please include my homepage URLs; I need the hits. ^_^ {left: drawing of Vegeta saying: "Just you wait, Viz. When I'm introduced, your sales will soar!"}
Geez, ANOTHER person trying to drive us into an early grave (^_^). As discussed elsewhere, better to have DB on-air with the editing than not on at all, right? The "Ages 2-11" demographic gives us a little sting, too—we don't feel Toriyama's artwork and storyline are limited to preteens, either, but there you go. Spread the word among your 16+ friends about the DB manga, and maybe we can help raise the "You Must Be THIS High..." limbo bar a bit higher. (There are still people who claim anime and manga isn't for GIRLS, either—and what do THEY know?) —Editor
We're still looking for a title for our Dragon Ball Z letters page. BRANDON WILKS contributed "The Monkey's Tales" for our DB column; think you can come up with something equally as good? Send it in! Until next time, KAMEHAMEHA—!