TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 3

"VICTORY" | "ZONE"
"THE BATTLE STARS" | "OPERATION COMBINATION"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

Now we get to TRANSFORMERS: VICTORY, which represents the largest schism between the American and Japanese Transformers continuities. You'll recall that HEADMASTERS, the first of the Japan-exclusive series, was a direct continuation of the three seasons of the original TRANSFORMERS cartoon. It featured characters from the third season alongside new charaacters, and aside from the Trainbots, there were really no characters unique to Japan in that series.

Then came SUPER-GOD MASTERFORCE, which, while ostensibly still a sequel to the prior series, seemed to move so far past and away from what the Transformers had previosly been, that it felt like a brand-new thing (notwithstanding occasional references to Optimus Prime and manga-exclusve appearances by a few characters from prior series). The MASTERFORCE roster was comprised of many characters who were released in the United States (albeit with different names), along with a number of Japan-exclusive characrers, like Godbomber and Overlord.

Now it's on to VICTORY, a series whose cast seems to be composed entirely of characters/toys who were never released in the United States! In 1989, when VICTORY was broadcast in Japan, the American Transformers line was still producing Pretenders and was introducing Micromasters. But it appears the Japanese line was more focused on new combiner teams (Brainmasters, Breastforce, and Dinoforce), along with a few larger-scale figures: the new Autobot leader, Starsaber, and the new Decepticon emperor, Deszaras. (Note: I'm more familiar with these names parsed/translated as "Star Saber" and "Deathsaurus", but I will abide by Viz's versions for the remainder of this post.)

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 2, PART 2

"SUPER-GOD MASTERFORCE"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

Now we plunge into an era of Japanese Transformers mythology with which I'm mostly unfailiar, aside from reading articles about it on the Transformers Wiki. Though I own the SUPER-GOD MASTERFORCE series (and its follow-up, VICTORY, whose manga tie-ins we will examine next week), I have never watched it. So, with that said, here we go!

The MASTERFORCE manga appears to begin in the future at some point, during an era where the Transformers have become legends on Earth, believed by humanity to have been gods who walked the word years ago. But when the Decepticon Pretenders appear, a clandestine group of Autobot Pretenders stationed on Earth reveal themselves. Following from some of the nomenclature oddness from HEADMASTERS, in this go-round, Viz has elected to present all the characters with their Japanese names -- so the Decepticon Pretenders, known in the U.S.A. as Bombburst, Skullgrin, and Iguanus, are referred to consistently in the manga as Blood, Dowlos, and Gilmer. Likewise for the Autobot Pretenders, the "Junior Headmasters" on both sides, and all the other Transformers presented here.

Personally, I don't really like this choice. I mean, I kind of get why they did it: MASTERFORCE is its own thing. It is not the American continuity. One need look no further to confirm that, than the fact that the character we Americans know as Powermaster Optimus Prime is a completely different character in Japan; an Autobot named Ginrai who was built to resemble Optimus. And while the early manga chapters were set in the American Generation One universe, telling "side stories" of that continuity, everything from HEADMASTERS on is more of a parallel universe. So it makes sense, even if I would rather be reading the American names I remember from my childhood.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 2, PART 1

"THE HEADMASTERS"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

The second volume of TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA delves into the Japanese-exclusive series, beginning with HEADMASTERS. The story opens up with Optimus Prime dead again, and Rodimus Prime back in charge of the Autobots, leading them from their new base on the planet Athenia. The HEADMASTERS cartoon remains the only one of the Japan-exclusive series that I've seen (though I bought all three, HEADMASTERS, MASTERFORCE, and VICTORY, when Shout! Factory realeased them on DVD in the United States a decade or so back). My recollection is that it was somehow simultaneously more juvenile and more mature than the original American cartoons. It had no qualms about killing characters off and serializing its story, two things the first series never did outside of the tie-in movie. But at the same time there was a lot of humor clearly aimed at small children, and some of the story premises felt extremely simplistic.

The manga, meanwhile, continues to be its own thing, advertising characters via huge chapter-length battles rather than telling stories of any great depth. This time around, we get the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters, the Trainbots (a Japan-exclusve combiner team), Sixshot the Decepticon ninja, and so forth. Strangely, the translated manga has kept the Japanese names for some of these characters, which it had not done previously. I.e., in past stories, Optimus Prime was called by his original American name, rather than his Japanese appelation, Convoy. There was never any point in the early chapters where a Japanese name jumped out at me. But here for example, the Decepticons known in the U.S. as Mindwipe and Skullcruncher are referred to consistently by their Japanese names, Wipe and Skull. It's a little weird.

Here, the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters introduce themselves via an extra-long first chapter on Planet Beast, a world which also featured in the HEADMASTERS cartoon. Beast is an oddity, featuring the Takara-owned "Battle Beasts" characters in a crossover with the Transformers. In the manga, the good and evil Battle Beasts are referred to as being Autobot and Decepticon beasts, which I don't think I recall being the case in the anime. But anyway -- the Decepticon beasts team up with Predaking and a huge fight ensues, with the Autobots coming out victorious. Oh, and the Headmasters meet a human kid named Kane, who was raised among the Autobot beasts and fights alongside them.

In subsequent chapters, the Headmasters battle it out in Alaska, the Trainbots' combined form of Raiden heads into the sea to beat up a bunch of Sharkticons (shown here to serve the Decepticons rather than the Quintessons as in the cartoon) and a giant robot squid which seems to be based on a smiliar beast from planet Quintessa in TRANSFOMERS: THE MOVIE, the Headmasters battle the Decepticon Headmaster Horrorcons and then save Christmas, and finally the Autobot and Decepticon Targetmasters (including Artfire and Ricochet, Japanese-excluse characters who were repaints of Inferno and Jazz, respectively) all appear.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL 1, PART 2

"THE STORY OF THE SUPER ROBOT LIFE-FORMS: THE TRANSFORMERS"
"THE GREAT TRANSFORMERS WAR"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

And just like that, we move twenty-five years into the future, to the far-flung world of 2010. After the second season of the TRANSFORMERS animated series ended, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE released in American cinemas, followed immediately by the cartoon's third season. The movie was set in 2005, and season 3 in 2006. In Japan, however, things went a little differently. For convoluted reasons, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE didn't reach Japanese shores for a number of years, but they did import and localize the third season. However in Japan, the season was presented as, essentially, a new series titled TRANSFORMERS: 2010 -- and that's the continuity these next stories cover.

I'm not sure why the Japanese writers decided to bump the timeline up five years. I don't think it has anything to do with missing TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. Maybe they just thought 2010 sounded cooler than 2006. Though it's notable that, at least according to these manga chapters, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE (which did happen in the Japanese continuity even if they hadn't yet seen it), was still set in 2005. There's an explicit line by Rodimus Prime in one of these stories where he discusses Megaton vanishing during the "Unicron Wars" of five years ago.

It's actually an interesting moment in the manga, as the Autobots speculate on what actually happened to Megatron. Some think he died. Some think Galvaton is Megatron in disguise. I don't believe the cartoon -- or at least the original American version -- goes into this at all. It's pretty much accepted by all characters that Galvatron is Megaton, the end. To the point that when Optimus Prime eventually returns in the season 3 finale, he talks about Galvatron and Megatron as if they're the exact same person, even despite Galvatron's clear personality differences.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 1, PART 1

"FIGHT! SUPER ROBOT LIFE-FORM TRANSFORMERS"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

The Transformers manga was serialized in Japan's TV Magazine around the time the original series debuted. Ostensibly, at least from the start, it exists in the same continuity as the TV show, though it was clearly produced with a Japan-centric mindset, unlike the cartoon, which -- while inspired by Japanese toys -- was conceived, written and produced in the United States, with only the animation outsourced to overseas companies, including Japan's own Toei studio.

It's a little jarring at first, I'll admit. From the manga's start, the Autobots hang out almost exclusively in Japan. It's established that the Decepticons have a strong interest in conquering Japan for its energy resources, so the Autobots regularly patrol the country. It makes sense though, when you stop to think about it. After all, this manga was produced for kids as a tie-in to a cartoon series they were watching on TV. The cartoon was set basically entirely in the United States, so the manga creators likely wanted to give their young readers something a little more familiar.

I will say, though, that the series is "Japanese-centric" in more ways than simply the setting. There are a number of anime/manga tropes on display here that never showed up in the cartoon. In the first chapter, the Autobots befriend a young boy named Kenji. Somehow, this lad is a tactical genius, making suggestions to the Autobots on how to defeat their enemies, to the point that Optimus Prime names Kenji an "honorary Autobot" and provides him with a special helmet he can use to contact the Autobots the next time the Decepticons make trouble in Japan.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA

Years ago, I had sort of an annual tradition where every Fall, I would do a series of Transformers posts. It started in the blog's first two years, with the full run of TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE in September/October/November of 2013 and 2014. In the Autumns of 2015 and 2016, it was Dreamwave's TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE and WAR WITHIN comics. Then in 2017, it was all the G.I. JOE/TRANSFORMERS crossovers by Devil's Due Publishing.

After that, the tradition sort of faded away as I ran out of "limited run" Transformers series that piqued my interest. But that's changed! Here we are, five years after my last Fall Transformers project, and I've got something new. This will probably be the shortest of all the Transformers review series I've run here, but it's something I've had some interest in for a long time: TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA.

Now that's not what this stuff was originally called when it was published in Japan in the eighties; rather this is the umbrella title given to all the various Transformers manga that was published back then, as collected in three lovely hardcover volumes by the good people at Viz. I've known about this material for a long time, but never had a way to read it until recently. This stuff spans all of the "Generation One" era, starting with a tie-in to the original animated series (known in Japan as SUPER ROBOT LIFEFORM: TRANSFORMERS) all the way up through various Japanese-exclusive continuities. I honestly have little idea of what to expect here. Beyond TRANSFORMERS: HEADMASTERS, I know little about the Japanese stuff that came after the 1984-87 cartoon.

So hopefully you'll join me, starting next Monday, for the next little while as I take a look at this stuff. Overall, this will take the next five weeks -- two posts apiece for the first two books, and one single post for the final volume. And then after this brief diversion, it's back to the Marvel Universe for one of my favorite runs that I've never read!

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Available on Amazon:
TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA vol. 1: Hardcover | Digital
TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA vol. 2: Hardcover | Digital
TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA vol. 3: Hardcover | Digital

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 11

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

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The next installment of DRAGON BALL SUPER opens with something I don't believe had ever been seen in the DB/Z saga up to this point -- a battle in outer space. But since Saiyans can't survive in the vacuum (a fact firmly established during the Freeza Saga, if it didn't already go without saying), it is the Kaioshin in Boo's body who challenges Moro in orbit over Namek. And while the Kaioshin-Boo puts up a decent showing, he isn't enough. He's weaker than Moro, and, as he discovers during their skirmish, hig "god power" is gone -- taken by the evil Kid Boo when Majin Boo split into his good and evil halves during the climax of the original DBZ era.

But Merus comes to the rescue in his spacesuit, saving Kaioshin-Boo and distracting Moro long enough for Boo to transport Moro back to Namek with the instant transmission technique. Goku and Vegeta arrive a split second later thanks to Goku's own use of that power, and the two brag that they're about to finish Moro -- which is when he reveals the third wish he made to the dragon Porunga: that all the inmates at the Galactic Prison would go free.

Following a brief flashback to the moment Moro made his wish, which shows the prisoners exiting their cells and stealing a ship, we jump back to the present as they arrive on Namek and attack. At the same time, Moro begins draining Goku's and Vegeta's energies, reducing them both to their base forms. Merus and Jaco step in to help, but the heroes are outnumbered. Kaioshin transports himself and the sole surviving Namekian child to Galactic Patrol HQ, while Goku does the same for himself, Jaco, and Merus. But Vegeta spurns Goku's assistance to leave, and instead flies aboard Merus's and Jaco's ship, ordering the pilot to set course for planet Yardrat.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 10

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

The action continues on New Planet Namek, as Vegeta challenges Moro one-on-one. During the duel, Vegeta extracts from Moro the fact that he plans to collect the Dragon Balls and wish himself back to his prime in terms of power (a goal quite similar to Piccolo's when he first appeared as an elderly demon in the original DRAGON BALL). Vegeta then reveals he's been holding back and attempts to kill Moro, but learns too late that the villain's life-draining powers operate passively, and he has sucked enough vitality out of Vegeta that he's unable to go Super Saiyan and finish the fight.

Moro easily defeats Goku and Vegeta, sapping thier life forces until both are at death's door, and growing younger and stronger in the process. He heads out in search of his Freeza Force minion, Cranberry, to find Namek's Dragon Balls. Time passes (a week total since Goku and Vegeta left Earth, and three days following their incapacitation). On Earth, Bulma contacts Jaco and orders him to send a ship to take her to New Namek. On Namek, Goku and Vegeta are revived by the Namekians, but are still considerably low on power. Moro has acquired six Dragon Balls, and defeated the Namekians' graeatest warrior (a fusion of dozens of powerful Namekians) with a single blow.

Goku and Vegeta catch up with Moro again, but before they can act, Merus appears in a Galactic Patrol ship. He engages Moro and quickly subdues him. Jaco then releases Majin Boo from the ship, but Boo now has the memories of the Kaioshin inside him unlocked. He attacks and easily gains the upper hand on Moro. But in all the chaos, Cranberry has escaped -- and just as Boo is about to finish Moro, the sky over Namek goes dark and Porunga the dragon appears. Cranberry has found the final Dragon Ball. Porunga offers him the customary three wishes, and the uncreative Cranberry first wishes to be restored to full health. Then he makes Moro's wish -- to have the ancient wizard's magic fully restored. Cranberry is next about to wish himself away from Namek forever, when Moro appears and kills him.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 9

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

Last week we looked at the first chunk of this volume, which featured the conclusion of the Tournament of Power. The book features a little note from Toyotarou at the beginning, where he notes that he added some additional pages for the collected editions which were not printed in the SHONEN JUMP issues. I have no idea what pages are new, though, so I'm just calling it as I see it when reading this stuff.

The tournament ends in the volume's second chapter, but that chapter then continues, reminding readers that the BROLY movie comes next, and then we skip ahead an undetermined amount of time to find Goku and Vegeta training inside the Capsule Corporation gravity chamber. But they're soon called by Bulma, who has been alerted by Mr. Satan that someone is kidnapping Majin Boo. Goku and Vegeta head for Satan's estate, where they're quickly subdued by a member of the Galactic Patrol named Merus. Later, at Patrol headquarters, the Saiyans bump into Jaco and his supervisor, who inform them that a criminal has busted out of galactic prison and the Patrol needs to remove the Kaisoshin who lives inside Boo to obtain his help in apprehending the escapee.

By the way, I should mention that I absolutely love that Merus simply zaps Goku and Vegeta with a stun ray and they're immediately knocked out. It makes little sense, given what we've seen them survive, but it's fun to see the normally all-powerful fighters taken out by a simple blaster. If they ever find themselves up against a guy with a gun as the main villain of a saga, apparently they're in big trouble! And speaking of guns, there's a moment that I can't help laughing at for some reason -- as Merus is loading the slumbering Boo into his spaceship, Mister Satan draws an automatic pistol from his gi to take a pot shot at the patrolman. No idea why the idea of Satan packing heat while hanging around his mansion tickles me so much, but it does. (Though I also find it a bit against his character. Wasn't he shown to be staunchly anti-gun when he knocked out those two guys on a shooting spree during the Boo Saga?)

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 8

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

The eighth DRAGON BALL SUPER installments opens with a focus on Freeza battling Caulifla and Kale, two of the Saiyans from Universe 6. Caulifla, having learned from Cabba how to go Super Saiyan, puts up a strong showing against Freeza, until the villain changes to his ultimate form -- Golden Freeza. Interestingly, however the RESURRECTION "F" storyline went in the manga (remember, we have no idea since it was inexplicably skipped with the weak reason that readers should just go watch the movie instead), it's clear that it was at least partially different from the anime -- because while Freeza revealed his Golden form in both the movie and TV versions of that story, here everyone (including Goku) is surprised by it.

When Golden Freeza gains the upper hand on Caulifla, her friend Kale steps in, revealing a "new" Super Saiyan form no one has ever seen. This is, famously, the first canon version of the "Legendary Super Saiyan" power-up achieved by Broly in the 1990s DBZ movies -- all of which existed outside of the official continuity. Kale begins beating on Freeza to the point that Goku has to step in and save him, and the pair briefly battles her together until she zips away from the fight on a rampage.

Kale singel-handedly completes the elimnation of four universes, but her mindlessness takes a toll and Universe 11's Pride Troopers work together to subdue her. Caulifla, meanwhile, reveals that she stole the Potara earrings from her universe's Kaioshin. When Champa sees this from the stands, he orders Caulfila to put on one earring and get the other on Kale. With the help (and sacrifice) of Cabba, an earring is placed on Kale, and Caulifla dons the other. The pair fuses into a being called Kefla, who promptly wipes out the majority of the Pride Troopers -- then Gohan steps in to challenge her, resulting in a double knockout which eliminates Gohan and sees Universe 6 wiped out.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 7

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

The Tournament of Power begins in DRAGON BALL SUPER volume 7, as the ten best fighters from six of the twelve universes gather for a battle royale from which only one universe will emerge intact. After a few pages of the various fighters scoping each other out, the rules are explained: no flying, no killing. If you're knocked off the ring, you're eliminated from the tournament and teleported to the stands to observe the rest of the fight alongside your universe's gods. The last universe standing -- or whichever universe has the most fighters left after 48 minutes -- wins it all.

With all that out of the way, the tournament begins. Universe 9 is quickly eliminated by the other fighters' combined efforts. Meanwhile Freeza makes a deal with his Universe 6 counterpart, Frost. If Frost will go all-out first and eliminate as many fighters as he can, Freeza will "tap in" for him when he's exhausted to continue the fight. Frost abides, taking out several fighters, including Krillin and Tenshinhan of Universe 6. But he eventually tires, and Freeza reveals his true colors, taking Frost out of the fight.

We then move to follow Goku and Hit as they battle Universe 11's greatest warriors, the Pride Troopers -- led by Top, who Goku met and dueled in the previous volume. Eventually, Goku and Hit move their attention to the strongest Pride Trooper, Jiren, and despite new techniques developed by Hit since his last fight against Goku, Jiren makes fast work of Universe 6's greatest warrior. With Hit eliminated, focus switches to the rest of Universe 7's fighters, jumping around between Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Seventeen, and Eighteen as they battle the various universes' other warriors. By the end of the volume, Eighteen and Piccolo have been eliminated, leaving Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Roshi, Seventeen, and Freeza as reprsentatives against the remaining fighters.

DRAGON BALL: THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS YAMCHA

Based on Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Story and Art by dragongarow LEE

This goofball manga was published in Japan in 2017 and received an English-language release from Viz in 2018. I read it via "scanlations" when it was first released, and liked it so much that I bought Viz's digital edition. It's the story of a Japanese teenager, who happens to be a huge DRAGON BALL fan, and who is accidentally killed when he falls down a flight of stairs -- only to wake up in the DRAGON BALL world, reincarnated in the body of Yamcha, circa the end of the initial DB story arc, the "Pilaf Saga".

Our protagonist pretty quickly adjusts to his life, and what follows is a three-chapter storyline in which he uses his meta-knowledge of future events to his own advantage. The story skips straight past all of DRAGON BALL (after establishing that Yamcha is going to train with Master Roshi alongside Goku rather than travel to the Western Capitol with Bulma), and jumps to the Saiyan Saga. We learn that Yamcha has climbed Korin's tower and trained there, and has even borrowed Piccolo's spaceship to fly to planet Namek, where the Great Elder of Namek unlocked his hidden power and he trained with the warrior, Nail. Because of all this, Yamcha is able to fight alongside Goku and defeat Vegeta.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 6

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

The battle royale between all the Gods of Destruction of the twelve universes comes to a premature conclusion as volume 6 opens, when the two Zenos declare that the destroyers are moving too fast and are hard to watch. It is decided that gods will not be allowed to participate in the upcoming all-universe tournament -- but to prove that the tournament is still viable, the only two mortals present at the gathering, Goku and Universe 11's Top (called Toppo in Viz's translation, but I like Top better) are instructed to stage a quick exhibition match. And quick it is, as Top defeats Goku fairly easily even when the latter transforms into his Super Saiyan Blue form.

Let's pause for a moment here to discuss Top. He's presented quite differently in the manga than in the TV series. In the show, Top doesn't like Goku from the get-go, believing he's an evil scumbag for championing the tournament -- but in the manga, he seems more indifferent toward Goku, acknowledging that he's a decent fighter and telling him that he's a strange guy. Top also has a startling secret in the anime, revealed late in the tournament, as we learn that he's in training to become Universe 11's next God of Destruction! But that surprise, which was a genuinely exciting and shocking moment in the TV version, is neutered here as we're told up front about Top's destiny.

(I suspected that perhaps the manga revealed this early on because the anime had already spoiled it, but some quick release date research reveals that the episode with the revelation aired in January of 2018 in Japan, while the manga chapter that mentioned it was released in September of 2017... so I really have no idea why Toriyama and/or Toyotarou chose to do it this way.)

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 5

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

Continuing the precedent set in the previous volume, DRAGON BALL SUPER book 5 wraps up the Future Trunks/Goku Black storyline, but does so in a vastly different fashion that the TV show. In the anime, after Goku and Vegeta have both battled the merged Zamas, Trunks steps in to deal a crippling blow, slicing Zamas in half. The villain then begins to merge with the entire universe, and Goku summons the Lord of Everything, Zeno (more on that below), to finally wipe out Zamas. Zeno does so, destroying the entire universe in the process.

The manga follows the same basic outline, but instead of the halved Zamas somehow merging with the universe, he is reborn as two full version of himself. From that point forward, any time he's injured, the pieces re-spawn into a full-fledged Zamas. It's really creepy and, for me at least, sells the hopelessness of the situation better than the anime setup.

The manga and anime re-unify after Zamas is beaten -- Goku and Trunks bring Zeno home with them, then Whis suggests that Trunks and Mai use the time machine to return to the future to a point before Zamas attacked, where they enlist the aid of Beerus to kill him. The couple agrees, even though it means they will now co-exist alongside other version of themselves in the revised timeline. With that, Trunks and Mai depart and the saga ends.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 4

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

Volume 3 of DRAGON BALL SUPER ended with a defeated Goku and Vegeta returning to the present day, with Trunks left behind in his future to hold off Goku Black. As volume 4 opens, Goku and Vegeta arrive and Bulma quickly explains the facts of interdimensional time travel in the DRAGON BALL world: since Trunks' time machine is "tied" to a parallel future, it is unable to return to the exact moment it left. However long passes in the present while the machine is refueled will also pass for Trunks in his time -- and it'll take a full day for Bulma to charge the machine up again.

Vegeta spends the day training in the Room of Spirit and Time (a.k.a. the "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" in FUNimatin's TV dubs -- a name I've never liked since it makes the place sound more scientific than magical), while Goku goes to Master Roshi to learn the Mafuba technique, an ability Roshi used many years ago against the Demon King Piccolo. Basically Mafuba will seal any evil being away, so long as the proper kanji is somehow applied to whatever vessel the villain is forced into. Since future Zamas is immortal, Goku realizes Mafuba may be the only chance to beat him.

(By the way, I love the callback to the Mafuba technique (known as the "Evil Containment Wave" via FUNimation) -- as I've mentioned before, original DRAGON BALL is my favorite part of the entire DB/Z story, so anything that references it this directly is A-okay by me.)

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 3

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

As noted last week, we begin our look at DRAGON BALL SUPER volume 3 with a quick summary of the final few chapters from volume 2, which set up this book's main storyline.

A major story arc in the original DRAGON BALL manga (and it's DRAGON BALL Z television adaptation) was the "Cell saga", in which Trunks, son of Vegeta and Bulma from the future, returned to the present day to battle some androids alongside Goku and friends. As DB SUPER volume 2 closes out, we return to Trunks' future to find that a new threat has appeared, and he wears a familiar face: Goku, dressed all in black, is now a bad guy bent on ruling the world. He battles Trunks, kills Bulma (off-page), and apparently kills Trunks' love, Mai (the future/adult version of Emperor Pilaf's henchgirl, who you may recall has been inexplicably reverted to childhood along with Pilaf and their other pal, Shuu, in these pages). So Trunks climbs back into the old time machine and returns once more to the present, seeking help.

Which brings us to volume 3: Trunks tells the present-day heroes about "Goku Black", then following a bit of investigation to determine where the villain came from, Vegeta and Goku return to the future with Trunks to aid him.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 2

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

Volume 2 of DRAGON BALL SUPER picks up where the first book ended, with Goku fighting Frost in the Universe 7 and 8 tournament. Goku appears to have the upper hand for the duration of their fight, until Frost abruptly turns the tables and knocks him out of the ring. Piccolo steps in to battle Frost next, and while he puts up a semi-decent showing, it's a foregone conclusion that he will lose as well -- and he does, in fairly short order. But the defeats of Goku and Piccolo allow Jaco's sharp eyes to spot the fact that Frost is using a poison-tipped needle against his opponents in violation of the tournament's rules. Frost is about to be disqualified, but Vegeta, Universe 7's next fighter, tells him to remain in the ring. Vegeta steps in, and swiftly eliminates Frost.

Much as I love DRAGON BALL, there is something about it which continually drives me nuts, and that's the "power creep" that runs throughout the saga. I understand that its genre requires the villains to become more and more powerful and the heroes to do likewise in order to beat them. And here we are, in the latest incarnation of a story that started with a kid who, while extraordinarily powerful, was still basically human -- and who is now able to harness the power of a god to fight his battles. I should note that, while I find the level of power on display in later DRAGON BALL (Z) and all of SUPER to be absurd, that doesn't bug me all that much. What gets me is the way certain characters are left way, way behind in the dust as these stories proceed

In early DRAGON BALL, Goku was the protagonist and maintained his position as the series' strongest fighter most of the time. But Yamcha, Krillin, and Tien were never that drastically far behind him (Tien was in fact Goku's equal when he first appeared). Then Piccolo came along and joined the good guys and became the second most powerful warrior. By the time of the Android/Cell storyline, Vegeta was a member of the team as well and had become number 2. Gohan spent a moment as the strongest fighter, but when the Boo saga hit, it was generally Goku at the top again, most of the time. And ever since, DRAGON BALL has been the "all Saiyans, all the time" series -- and that's what bugs me.

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOLUME 1

Story by: Akira Toriyama | Art by: Toyotarou

The original DRAGON BALL manga (and the DRAGON BALL Z TV series which adapted it) ended with the series' main character, Goku, defeating the evil Majin Boo* and bringing peace to the universe. There was also a brief coda following this battle, set ten years later, to wrap everything up. DRAGON BALL SUPER is set between Boo's defeat and the "ten years later" sequence, following the adventures of Goku and his friends in that timeframe.

The SUPER manga begins with an adaptation of the 2013 BATTLE OF GODS movie. Goku's existence comes to the attention of a deity named Beerus, the God of Destruction. Beerus comes to Earth to challenge Goku to a fight, in hopes that the hero will transform into the legendary "Super Saiyan God".

(By the way, I'm sort of assuming that you know what a Saiyan is. I'm writing this with the idea that the reader is familiar with at least the basics of the DRAGON BALL saga. It's hard to go in cold reviewing the new installments of a thirty-plus year-old property without having written about any of the material that came before!)

So Beerus and Goku fight and, sure enough, Goku achieves the Super Saiyan God form. Beerus thanks Goku for a good fight, then departs -- but not before informing Goku that the universe in which he lives is actually part of a multiverse comprised of a dozen near-identical universes, each with its own great warriors (Goku's universe, for the record, is Universe 7).

JACO THE GALACTIC PATROLMAN

Story ant Art: Akira Toriyama

It's been around seven years since JACO was published (the timeframe of its release included the build-up to, and release of, BATTLE OF GODS in Japanese theaters), so I don't recall if it was touted up front as a DRAGON BALL prequel -- but it becomes evident almost immediately in chapter one that that's exactly what it is. But at the same time, it's its own thing and pretty funny too, in its own right.

The story begins with our hero, a goofy space cop named Jaco, crash-landing on a small nearly-deserted island on Earth. The island's only inhabitant is an old man named Omori, who lives as a hermit following the death of his wife years earlier. Jaco reveals that he came to Earth to intercept a being currently en route from a planet of savage warriors. This, combined with glimpses of domelike architecture common in DRAGON BALL, are our first clues that the manga is set in the DB universe, and likely a prequel.

If only to get rid of Jaco, Omari -- a one-time research scientist who was originally on the island to work on a time machine -- begins repairing the patrolman's spaceship. Government operatives soon appear, ordering Omori to leave the island, and soon after, Omori realizes that he needs a rare and valuable element called "sky gold" in order to get it running. Realizing he may be stuck with Jaco for a while, Omori takes his guest to the mainland for some grocery shopping. There, Jaco stops some crimes and becomes wanted by the police. The unlikely duo meets a girl named Tights, who helps them escape the cops and returns to the island with them.

DRAGON BALL SUPER

(And a couple related items.)

The beginning of the year is manga time around here, and in 2020 I've decided to look at the latest iteration of a series that's near and dear to me: DRAGON BALL. I think I got into DRAGON BALL Z somewhere around early college, when it aired weekday afternoons on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block. Not too long after that, I started reading the manga upon which the series was based -- first "scanlations" found online, and later official releases from Viz. It was in the manga format that I fell in love with the original DRAGON BALL, which followed the main characters as kids and teenagers, and I still prefer that iteration to this day over "Z".

But right now, we aren't talking about the original series or its anime adaptation. Because in recent years, after a couple decades of very little new material, there's been a DRAGON BALL resurgence in Japan, with tons of new content which has naturally found its way to America as well. It started in 2013 with a theatrical film called BATTLE OF GODS, which was followed in 2015 by a sequel, RESURRECTION "F". also in 2015, a new TV series debuted: DRAGON BALL SUPER -- and its earliest storylines adapted the two films into a serialized format before moving along into new material.

Alongside SUPER, a new DRAGON BALL manga series with the same title premiered... and that, dear reader, is what we'll be looking at here over the next few weeks. The SUPER manga follows the same general plot as the show, but with some tweaks here and there. It's written by the series' creator, Akira Toriyama, with artwork from Toyotarou. (The TV show also follows a general outline from Toriyama, though I understand the two series have diverged here and there in certain ways, and the manga has now passed the anime to move into original territory.)

But! Before we jump into DB SUPER, we're going to make one quick detour to check out a manga Toriyama wrote and drew in 2013, JACO THE GALACTIC PATROLMAN. I'm not sure anyone expected it at the time, but the series' title character would become a recurring presence in SUPER, so that seems like a good place to kick things off.

So -- one week from today. DRAGON BALL. Be there.