Anime World

My first comment is that I find inconceivable that, after DRAGONBALL and DRAGON BALL Z were shown on North American TV, no company has released the manga yet. Even more incredible since I know now that Mixx Publications will serialize both SAILOR MOON and MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH (along with two other titles) in its new anthology magazine, MixxZine. What about DRAGONBALL? The manga was a huge success in Japan and in Europe. Why not here? Ok, it’s a VERY long series, it is rather violent (but not gory like FIST OF THE NORTH STAR: no fountain of blood, no exploding heads, just very powerful fights that often spread over several volumes!), and (God Forbid) it shows an humorous view of Heaven & Hell… Meantime, French publisher Glenat has already released 24 volumes of DRAGON BALL, and I enjoyed each one of them. Maybe it’s not great classical literature, but it is funny, entertaining and very relaxing. Since it’s not available in English yet, I highly recommend the Glenat version – French is much easier to read than Japanese! The DRAGON BALL Z storyline starts in volume 17. It has the same format as the original version (4 5/8 x 71/8, about 192 pages each, 40 FF or $12.95 Can). A must. (three out of four stars)