Dragon Ball (1984 - 1995)

The start of the worldwide phenomenon.

Created in 1984 by famed mangaka Akira Toriyama (Dr. Slump, Hetappi Manga Kenkyūjo, Pola & Roid, etc.) and inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, Dragon Ball follows the story of a young boy named Goku who travels the world in search of adventure and the legendary Dragon Balls; seven mysterious orbs which, when gathered together summon the dragon god Shenlong who can grant almost any wish. As the manga goes on, we follow Goku's story from childhood to adulthood, and even events after his death as he encounters new friends and powerful enemies as the tale expands on a universe defying scale. Due to the shear length of Dragon Ball (520 chapters) and the massive, MASSIVE amount of media surrounding this franchise, this review will only cover the first 16 volumes, while a review of Dragon Ball Z will follow in the coming weeks.

Social justice warriors be like "How dare you?" lol.

Our story opens with Goku starting his day. He begins his morning by uprooting a tree trunk and destroying it with a single kick which is good for training and firewood, before going for a walk and trying to decide if he wants to eat another bear or have a tiger today. He decides to eat a fish as it would be a nice change in his diet. Apart from Goku's immense strength and his tail he seems to be an ordinary kid having an ordinary day until a teenage girl named Bulma narrowly avoids running him over while he's crossing the road. Having never seen a car, Goku immediately assumes the metal monster is there to steal his breakfast. After nailing the car with a brainbustah and giving Bulma quite the scare, the pair becomes acquainted with each other and Bulma tells Goku the secret of the legendary Dragon Balls. With some convincing (see manipulation) Bulma convinces Goku to help her search for the Dragon Balls and so the adventure begins, and what an adventure it is.

Go West Young Goku

One of the reasons the earliest chapters of Dragon Ball resonates with me is that it's an adventure story at its core. This is before the later volumes that westerners know as Dragon Ball Z. In the early volumes the story centered on Goku travelling to different places, meeting new people, and growing as a person while helping others grow as well. Goku's adventure is one of personal growth and coming together with others, as opposed to fight scene fight scene fight scene repeat as we see much further into the manga. Akira Toriyama has created a fun and imaginative world that can't really be placed in a particular time period or connected to a certain era. The first volume alone really blew me away because Toriyama presents us with a world of hover cars, bears in samurai armor, a bunny crime lord, talking Pterodactyls, and more.

Jan Ken Pon!!

As Goku and Bulma travel the world they come across a colorful supporting cast such as the trickster pig Oolong, a bandit named Yamcha, his side-kick Puar who is a talking, shape-shifting cat and many others including Launch, a beautiful, demure, young woman who switches to a violent alter ego whenever she sneezes, and Master Roshi one of the most powerful martial artists on the planet and an overt pervert. The group also encounters a slew of villains such as the evil (and woefully incompetent) Emperor Pilaf, the tyrannical Red Ribbon Army, and the nightmarish King Piccolo. These encounters are very natural and the quests flow into one another. It doesn't feel like a boss rush brand of story telling we see in the later volumes.

The legend starts here!!!

Goku grows stronger and wiser over-time and his relationships with certain characters change as well. For example, while Bulma sees Goku as a means to an end i.e. a sentinel she can use in pursuit of the Dragon Balls she becomes his closest friend. While Yamcha and Goku initially meet as enemies they also become friends and there is a heartfelt reunion between the two when they meet at the world tournament. What makes this work is that it doesn't feel like the characters are always changing just because Goku's there, but in some ways Goku brings out the best in the people around him. Not only that, but other characters bring out the best in Goku as well. One of the finest examples of this is Goku's growing relationship with Master Roshi.

Goku and Master Roshi

Goku and Master Roshi form a deep student-teacher relationship which has long-running implications. While Roshi initially sees Goku as just another kid who wants to learn martial arts, he quickly changes his views once he learns Goku is the grandson of his most skilled student Gohan. Roshi teaches Goku the basics of martial arts but he also teaches him how to be a better person. When Goku says "Mornin" to a monk Roshi smacks him with his cane and admonishes him for being disrespectful. Goku then says "Good morning" to the monk and bows.

Fly

Later on in the manga, we see Goku respectfully greeting people older than him without needing Roshi's correction. Goku's training with Roshi consists mostly of Goku doing things for the community. For example, Roshi has Goku (and Krillin) delivering milk for everyone in the countryside, plowing fields with their bare hards, and helping construction workers move heavy materials. In some way, Goku is learning that his strength should always be used to help those weaker than himself. During the World Tournament, Roshi is actually willing to put his life on the line to help Goku get stronger, and to also show him to never get complacent in his training or arrogantly assume there aren't people in the world stronger than him. Overtime, Goku really sees Roshi as a grandfather-figure and an irreplaceable person.

It's about the adventure.

Any manga worth reading must have an interesting character and Goku, particularly Kid Goku is definitely one of the best. While Goku isn't any more of tabula rasa than an average child, he does have a natural innocence and curiosity about the world. These are two of his most defining traits and really comes across throughout the story. For example, after the shenanigans of Goku's and Bulma's first meeting he invites her to his home with the reasoning "Since you're a girl I'll give you food." Also, during an exchange with Oolong we learn that Goku is helping to search for the Dragon Balls so he can get stronger, see the world, and meet new people.

Rock The Dragon

His only interest in Shenlong is seeing what he looks like as he's never seen a dragon before. Goku doesn't actually have a wish he wants fulfilled. Goku's innocence is endearing and his naivety is understandable because contrary to other popular shonen characters such as say Naruto, Goku's naivety doesn't stem from a refusal to learn or even an inability to do so, rather because his only encounter with human beings apart from his grandfather didn't occur until he was 12, it takes him time to learn certain social norms and the proper approach in certain situations. For example, in the first volume Goku has a habit of feeling people up to determine if they're a boy or girl but over time he learns to stop doing this and also learns to tell people apart using more than just their gender. I appreciate Goku's character particularly because while he is new to the world he knows the difference between right and wrong and his determination to get stronger doesn't stem from a selfish goal or juvenile need for recognition (I want to be Hokage), but because Goku truly wants to better himself.

Roshi wants a puff puff girl.

Dragon Ball has a lot of comedy and many of the jokes are laugh out loud funny, particularly if you're familiar with Japanese humor, Japanese pop culture, or word play. Of note is that Roshi is the owner of a baby Gamera which looks and flies exactly like Gamera. There is a great deal of risque humor as well especially when Roshi or Oolong are on the scene. There's a part where Oolong disguises himself as Freddie Mercury and asks Bulma about her bust size. Without any hesitation, Bulma replies with 85 centimeters. Oolong approves because he can do "puff puffs." Other Oolong Favorites of mine include Oolong wearing a Red Army uniform and transforming into Mazinger. Goku's innocence also leads to some comical exchanges with other characters such as Chi Chi. There's a scene where Chi Chi asks Goku to marry her to which Goku replies "I'm not interested in marriage but if you have something I'll come take it."

Goku never met a girl he didn't feel up.

Volumes one and two have a fair amount of risque humor but there's not so much of it that it becomes distracting and Toriyama has enough comedy chops where he doesn't rely solely on that brand of comedy as there is some comical slapstick here as well. One of my favorite examples of slapstick comedy is when Goku and Chi Chi are riding Nimbus and after Goku, ahem, inspects Chi Chi she knocks him off. Not only does Goku plummet to the ground but because Goku isn't controlling Nimbus, Chi Chi slams into a nearby mountain. Hard. Another notably hilarious moment is when Goku introduces Chi Chi to Roshi but she refuses to believe such a perverted old man is the legendary Muten Roshi. She decides to test Roshi by throwing her chakram at him. After all, if he is the legendary Muten Roshi he'll have no issue dodging or catching it. Said chakram gets embedded into Roshi's skull much to the horror of all three characters.

Roshi Prepares

Another of Dragon Ball's many strengths is that Toriyama plays with your expectations. It's important to note that Dragon Ball was not Toriyama's first manga. He's had a long history of experience in the industry and so he was well-aware of convention and cliches. So throughout Dragon Ball we see Toriyama play with the reader. When Goku and Bulma are trying to rescue village girls kidnapped by Oolong, Bulma asks one of the villagers if she could borrow her clothes with the implications being she'll disguise herself as one of the villagers. What actually ends up happening is Bulma forcing Goku to cross-dress. Another example is when Roshi takes it upon himself to put out the fires on Frypan Mountain and not only does this frail old man reveal himself to be a beast when he powers up, but when he uses a Kamehameha he destroys the entire mountain and the ones behind it.

GxB vs Red Ribbon Army. Awww yeah!!

There's also a scene where Emperor Pilaf threatens to do something lewd to Bulma if she doesn't hand over the Dragon Balls. That is until Bulma starts naming off the things she thought Pilaf was going to do and he's shocked and appalled at the very idea. One would think Roshi would take it easy on his students during the World Tournament, but he beat Krillin so bad the kid had to be stretchered out. Toriyama has an idea of the readers' expectations and he tries to subvert those where he can.

Just One Wish

While the environments don't sport a One Piece level of detail, they are unique and very well-done. Toriyama's style is very distinctive and despite the myriad of fancomics out there, Toriyama's work is unmistakable and it has a feel and a life of its own. I was so taken in by the world of Dragon Ball I'm actually a little letdown by the environments in the later volumes, but I am interested in reading Dr. Slump. Toriyama has a type of art style that isn't really defined by rigid rules or convention.

Open mind, open heart.

Dragon Ball was a very fun read for me. Personally it puts me in the mind of
Ah! My Goddess which while being in a completely different genre, is a connection I draw because it actually made me feel good reading it. It's rare when I come across a manga which not only makes me want to read the next chapter, and the next, and the next, but also makes me feel good and brightens my mood from having read it. I laughed a lot while reading Dragon Ball and more importantly it made me smile. It's a manga that really connected with me and I think it speaks to something human in all of us.

Claymore (2001 - Ongoing)

Claymore

Created in 2001, Claymore is a dark fantasy manga written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. Taking place in an unnamed world, creatures called yoma prey on humans and people live in fear. In response to this fear and the threat the yoma possess, a mysterious group known as The Organization has created half-human half-yoma hybrids to combat yoma. Often called silver eyed witches on account of their appearance, or Claymores because of the large swords they carry on their backs, these women warriors are the only thing that stand between yoma and the extinction of the human race. However, because Claymores are half yoma themselves, not only are they seen as objects of fear by normal humans, but Claymores run the risk of awakening and turning into a creature consumed by their own demonic power. Once they become Awakened Beings, they are relentlessly pursued by their own organization until they are destroyed.

Clare turning monsters into cold cuts.

Claymore opens with a young recruit slaying a yoma effortlessly, and then the scene switches to a village where its inhabits discover the body of a person who had been killed by a yoma. The increasing body count has the villagers worried and they put in a request to the Organization who sends in the recruit we saw earlier. Raki, a young boy from the village is curious about this warrior and after much insistence on learning more about her we learn that her name is Clare. It is soon discovered that the yoma Clare is hunting was masquerading as Raki's brother and while Clare makes short work of the creature, Raki is now alone and is cast out by the village. Eventually the two reunite and Clare agrees to take Raki on her journey, a journey wrought with peril.

Claymore is a difficult title for me to review not because the material is challenging but because Claymore has some very stand-out qualities early on that gradually and noticeably disappeared as time went on to the point where - at least to this reviewer - it barely resembles its original premise or even its own setting and narrative structure.

Priscilla, The Dreaded

Claymore does a good job of setting up Clare's motivation early on which - predictably enough is a revenge tale which involves her trying to take down a renegade warrior named Priscilla who after having awakened is now the most powerful being on the planet. Clare's retainer Rubel tries to dissuade Clare from going after Priscilla who is far beyond her level, and much stronger than any other awakened being but because Clare is persistent, Rubel sends her on an awakened being hunt so she can learn firsthand the difference in power. While on this quest Clare meets up with other Claymore who have been given the same assignment and this works rather well because at this time Yagi isn't just dropping in characters with no explanation, but carefully introducing them in a logical fashion.

Phantom Miria

In addition, he establishes the different personalities of our starter team in a very short-time with Helen being the hothead, Deneve being the calm one, and Miria being no-nonsense team leader. While these character traits are more akin to tropes rather than anything else, they start to flesh out a bit more evenly after a few chapters. Another aspect of the narrative takes shape and that's the hidden nature of the Organization which Miria aims to investigate. There is an added element of suspense, even horror when the characters start to question the nature of yoma, Claymore, and the nature of the Organization itself. When you think about it the Organization is making biological weapons and while it is for the protection of the human race, is that really the ultimate goal? It is the need to answer these and other questions that broaden the narratives focus and Clare's story expands from there. Over-time, Clare and her friends come across Awakened Beings who - while not being as powerful as Priscilla - are highly dangerous in their own right.

Isley, King of the Northern Lands

As these and other questions slowly but surely creep their way closer and closer to the forefront of the narrative and puts Clare in a very complicated position on three fronts: 1) Clare has to work for the organization because given what she is she can't live a normal life 2) Working for the Organization is the only way to get Clare what she wants i.e. Priscilla's death and 3) Desertion isn't something the Organization takes lightly. It also has the added advantage of justifying why the Organization keeps dangerous and unstable Claymore in their ranks and also makes the story bigger than Clare's revenge tale. Another positive that Claymore has in the early goings are Yagi's character designs.

God Eye Galatea

The character designs in Claymore are Berserk-esque, well-drawn, and no two characters look alike. Even though all the Claymore wear the same uniform you can easily tell them apart due to the shape of their eyes, cheeks, chins, ears, and of course their hair styles. The Claymore themselves are hauntingly beautiful and there is an almost otherworldly air about them which in addition to being a minor element of the narrative comes across in the way the characters are drawn. There is an almost uncomfortable level of perfection in their appearance that is masterfully juxtaposed with their dangerous and at times monstrous nature.

Clare in the shadows.

The beauty of the Claymore not only works as a way to contrast the horror of their nature but also contributes to the aesthetics of the manga as a whole because while the world in which Claymore is set seems harmless enough, the yoma terrorizing the people and the death toll of the Claymore themselves make it apparent that this is not a romantic tale of swords and chivalry.

Alicia and Beth, The Black Ones

These warriors lead lonely, dangerous lives, and despite their untarnished beauty they are destined to die in the darkness. It's a mature read to be sure not only because of the nudity (which is used more sparingly than you think), and the gore (ditto), but because of the tone. Unfortunately, whether it was due to the demands of his editor or if Yagi wanted to shift his focus, there were extensive changes made to the narrative, character designs, aesthetics, and the overall tone of the manga and to this reviewer, these changes were not for the better.

If these characters all look alike your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.

As was popular at the time, Claymore went on hiatus when a major game-changing event took place in the manga. Predictably enough, as is also popular with manga, when Claymore returned it did so after a seven year time-skip which while moving the narrative forward and changing the players in this game, also brought with it a decidedly jarring shift in tone. After volume 11 or 12 Claymore no longer reads or looks like a dark fantasy manga but resembles a typical shonen title with all the cliches and tropes to boot. Yes it is true Claymore was shonen from the outset, but the dark tone, themes, settings, imagery, and narrative structure were much more mature and really made it stand out against other titles. After the time-skip however, it has lost most if not all of the qualities that made it unique. This is clearly apparent in the art style first and foremost, with the characters losing a lot of their definition and unique physical characteristics. It's no exaggeration to say many of the characters now look so much alike that I couldn't tell them apart on more than one occasion. And I've been with Claymore since the beginning.

I think Ridley Scott is going to sue someone over this.

Another problem caused by this shonen heavy tonal shift is that it removes a lot of the suspense of the conflicts because the characters aren't in any real danger. In the first part of Claymore, our cast didn't rush headfirst into any battle with reckless abandon because the tone was more serious and the stakes were high. There was an awareness that death wasn't just a possibility but a likelihood so the warriors always kept a certain level of maturity about them. After the time-skip however they're trash talking during fights, toying with their enemies, and basically act like frat boys. The fan argument would be "Well after the time-skip they were much stronger so they knew they could handle just about enemy", but the logical counter to that would be even on those occasions where the Claymore fought yoma who were far weaker than them, they still maintained an air of seriousness because bravado was not only showy but unnecessary. While character growth and even changes in personality are always welcome, our heroes seem somewhat immature after seven years.

Ah the good ole days.

The battles no longer have any tension or believability to them because the Claymore are never in any real danger of losing much less dying. Even when they're up against enemies that are many times more powerful than them and they manage to escape, the enemy in question never gives chase. And even when one enemy (Priscilla) does pursue them, said foe never kills anyone despite having entire volumes to do so. And when the characters do overcome their enemies it's never because they are more skilled, as was the case in earlier volumes, but because they believe in themselves and their friendship. Playing the friendship card to explain how and why characters have inexplicably gotten stronger in addition to defeating enemies which the Claymore themselves explain how and why said enemies are dozens of times more powerful than them, is a weak move on Yagi's part which is not only cliche but almost regressive.

The Resurrected Number Ones

Another issue I have is the nigh indestructible nature of the Claymore. Yagi was very good at establishing the rules for the Claymore's durability, healing factor, and explain what kinds of wounds they could and could not regenerate from. After the time-skip however, the Claymore regularly survive getting disemboweled, massive hemorrhaging, even multiple stab wounds in the exact same spot which we're told a Claymore would instantly die from. If they're not shredded like cheese rest assured you didn't put them down. This would be fine if 1) Yagi established this from the beginning 2) Yagi did not already establish specific rules and limitations to their survivability or 3) this nigh-unkillable nature was unique to our main character instead of shared among pretty much every Claymore we meet. Yagi tries to increase the tension when the Organization brings out the big guns but by that time it was far too late for me to believe these Super Claymore or any enemy for that matter posed any serious threat to our main characters. Especially when characters start returning from the dead and no, no I am not kidding.

The most epic battle you will never witness.

Another complaint I have is that when the Organization's darkest secret is revealed and Yagi never does anything with it.  We are given the smoking gun, the Roswell event of this manga, we see what everything has been leading to and just like that it's dropped the very next chapter and it's suddenly so not a big deal the characters don't even talk about. We're given the stinger and then the plot does a complete 180 and centers entirely on the conflict between Clare and Priscilla. Also, like most other shonen titles Claymore seems to jump from one big battle to the next because readers love action and heaven forbid you provide an above decent narrative or close up those plotholes.

These are the girls you don't take home to mama.

This review was painful for me to write because before the time-skip Claymore was in my top three favorite manga of all time. After the time-skip however it doesn't even break my top ten. To me this manga started as something fresh, something unique among the shonen titles out there and I waited on pins and needles for the latest release. Today is a different story entirely. Claymore will probably appeal to people who read shonen regularly but the second part will likely lose readers looking for a sophisticated story. The mainstream affect on this manga is apparent and for this reader that's not a positive, it's a detriment.