Fans of any of the “Dragon Ball” anime series or those who have never read the manga series will definitely want to make sure “Dragonball 3-in-1 Omnibus vol. 3” is in their collection. Action-packed, hilarious and so much fun, “Dragonball 3-in-1 Omnibus vol. 3” is highly recommended!
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MANGA TITLE: Dragonball 3-in-1 Omnibus vol. 3
STORY AND ART BY: Akira Toriyama (鳥山 明)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shueisha, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Teen
Available on December 3, 2013
You do not want to mess with the Red Ribbon Army. To get what they want, they’ll sic you with scary thugs, machine gunfire, and even torpedoes! Only Son Goku would think nothing of challenging this evil crime organization – anything to get back the one Dragon Ball his grandfather gave him. As the Red Ribbon Army closes in on Goku and his friends, Goku must face an array of opponents while preventing all seven Dragon Balls from falling into evil hands.
First, there’s cruel General Blue, who has a mysterious power up his sleeve. Then there’s master assassin Taopaipai, so strong that Goku’s blasts barely faze him. But neither of these opponents compare to the masked challenger Goku faces at Baba Uranai’s – he’ll give Goku the shock of his life!
The search for the Dragon Balls continue as Goku, Bulma and Kuririn try to get the Dragon Balls from General Blue. But what happens when General Blue and the Red Ribbon Army invade Kame-Sen’Nin’s island?
And what happens when Goku who is pursuing General Blue end up in Penguin Village where Arale (from Akira Toriyama’s manga series “Dr. Slump”) and her friends all live.
Meanwhile Goku’s adventures will make him confront many other baddies including Captain Yellow, Commander Red, the mercenary Taopaipai and Commander Black.
But also Goku meets new friends including Arale and her family, he meets Korin on top of the Korin Tower where he must undergo training.
And what happens when the trip to find the seventh Dragon Ball brings Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Puar and Upu to the Fortune Teller Baba and must take on Fangs, the Mummy, Devil Man and a mysterious masked warrior.
Find out in the third omnibus of “Dragonball 3-in-1” which features volumes 7-9 of the best-selling manga series from Akira Toriyama!
What is “Dragon Ball”?
It’s the series that started it all… “Dragon Ballâ€. Originally, a manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama for “Shonen Jumpâ€, the manga series lasted from 1984 through 1995 (a total of 42 volumes) and since the manga series has produced several anime series which include “Dragon Ballâ€, “Dragon Ball Zâ€, “Dragon Ball GT†and currently in Japan, a new HD broadcasting of “Dragon Ball Kai†and in 2009, an American live action film titled “Dragonball Evolution†was released worldwide.
Considered as a classic series, Akira Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball” series has been released in America but for the first time, in June 2013, the series will be released as an omnibus (featuring three volumes each).
For Akira Toriyama fans, while not a necessity, one may want to start out with the manga series “Dr. Slump” (as a few characters do show up in “Dragon Ball”), but for those familiar with “Dragon Ball Z”, it’s recommended to read or watch the original “Dragon Ball” series.
“Dragon Ball†focuses on the following characters:
Son Goku – Not much is known about Goku’s past. He was found by a man he calls Grandpa Gohan and trained to be a boy who loves nature and people. And has incredible strength and fighting ability. He was warned by his grandfather to never look at the moon but one day he did and turned into a giant ape and accidentally killed his grandfather. Although not too familiar with humans, he meets a female named Bulma for the first time who is trying to look for Dragon Balls. Having own the #4 Dragon Ball which his grandfather gave him, he decides to join her on a quest to find the remaining Dragon Balls (seven total).
Bulma – A teenager who’s father is a scientist and owner of the Capsule Corporation. A technology that people can store vehicles, homes and storage into a tiny capsule. When thrown, the capsule turns into the actual object that was stored. She’s rather impulsive and outspoken. Her dream is to find the Dragon Balls and make a wish in order to get a perfect boyfriend.
Oolong – A pig who has a fascination with women’s panties. A perverted pig who once terrorized a village. Has the ability to transform to anything for five minutes. Attended a class with Puar in transforming but failed and never learned to stay in a object for more than five minutes. He joins Bulma and Goku in their mission to find the Dragon Balls.
Yamcha – A banded who is accompanied by his shape-shifting animal Puar. With his Wolf’s Fang Fist fighting ability, it was not strong enough to beat Goku and thus he ends up assisting both Goku and Bulma along the way in order to get the Dragon Balls.
Krillin – A former monk who has been bullied by his other monks. He goes to Kamesama-sen’nin for training and trains alongside Goku and becomes a rival but also good friends with him.
Kamesama-sen’nin – An old lecherous man who trained Grandpa Gohan and the Ox King to fight. Despite looking like an old man, he has a tremendous fighting ability and is known for his devastating attack known as the Kamehameha. He then takes Goku and Krillin as his students.
Other Characters:
Puar – A shape shifting animal who can shape-shift for a long period of time and hangs around Yamcha.
The Ox-King – Many fear the Ox-King who rules Fire Mountain and is the father of Chi Chi. Aside from his brute strength, this huge man is a goodhearted guy who just hated people for trying to steal from him. He also cares deeply about his daughter and does everything to make her happy.
Chi Chi – A girl who is smitten with Goku and wants to marry him. The daughter of the Ox-King.
The Villains:
Emperor Pilaf – The main antagonist of Bulma and Goku who is trying to collect all the Dragon Balls. He calls himself the emperor and expects Shu and Mai to find the Dragon Balls.
Shu – A ninja fox who works for Emperor Pilaf. Tends to be a bit misunderstood and clumsy.
Mai – The gun-toting henchman for Emperor Pilaf.
Colonel Silver – The ruthless high-ranking official of the Red Ribbon Army who will squash anyone in his way in order to find the Dragon Balls.
Red Ribbon Army – Not much is known about the Red Ribbon Army but they are ruthless and will do anything to obtain the Dragon Balls. The Red Ribbon Army is led by Commander Red who sends out this generals to go after the Dragon Balls.
Sgt. Major Purple – A ninja serving the Red Ribbon Army in Muscle Tower.
Officer Black – Commander Red’s right hand man.
General White – The leader of the Red Ribbon Army’s northern forces and threatens the peaceful Jingle Village.
General Blue – The strongest general of the Red Ribbon Army and very arrogant.
Mercenary Taopaipai – The powerful mercenary who charges an exuberant fee to his clients but because he’s known for his strength and ability that surpasses anyone the Red Army has seen, he is a major force to be reckon with.
So, far this latest omnibus volume of “Dragon Ball†is my favorite yet.
For “Dragon Ball” fans, volumes 7-9 are probably one of the most action-packed volumes so far as volume 7 features Goku taking on the Red Ribbon Army’s General and Captain, also the volume features Akira Toriyama bringing back Arale and friends from the “Dr. Slump” manga series for volume 7 as General Blue tries to kidnap Arale and threaten everyone.
Volume 8 features Goku’s first encounter with Korin (for “Dragon Ball Z” fans, he’s the cat that lives on top of Korin Tower) and also taking on the Taopaipai (known as Mercenary Tao in the English dubbed version of the anime series).
While volume 9 is a lot of fun as Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Puar and Upu must join forces to take part in a competition in order to get Fortune Teller Baba to tell them where the seventh Dragon Ball is and must win the tournament.
But this tournament is not so easy as each fighter must defeat Fangs, Mummy, Devil Man and a mysterious Fifth Warrior. Can they do it?
At the end of the third omnibus, included are the chapter artwork from the manga series created by Akira Toriyama, plus the fun “Ask Me Anything” in which Akira Toriyama answers letters from his fans of “Dragon Ball” plus author notes.
And for fans of any of the “Dragon Ball” series, especially for fans of “Dragon Ball Z”, the original manga series is recommended reading for those who want to know the origins of Goku or even Bulma, Yamcha, Krillin or Kame-Sen’Nin.
Also, to read this series once again, not only was it a nostalgic for me, it was just great to read and remember how much fun, humorous and action-packed these volumes were.
Although “Dragon Ball” is not as intense or as tragic like “Dragon Ball Z”, the series still manages to capture a lot of action and although this is Goku when he was much, much younger, even then, he was no slouch and had very good fighting ability. And there was more emphasis on the storyline over action and for the most part, the adventures of Goku and friends is just a lot of fun to read.
“Dragonball 3-in-1 Omnibus vol. 3” is one of those must-read manga series for fans of Akira Toriyama and his work that is set around Goku and friends. Also, without having to spend the money for three graphic novels, you get three of them in one omnibus release, thus saving consumers quite a bit of money!
For those familiar with Akira Toriyama’s artwork, his style is enjoyable but it’s his story that many will find entertaining and so much fun!
Overall, fans of any of the “Dragon Ball” anime series or those who have never read the manga series will definitely want to make sure “Dragonball 3-in-1 Omnibus vol. 3” is in their collection.
Action-packed, hilarious and so much fun, “Dragonball 3-in-1 Omnibus vol. 3” is highly recommended!