Once again, it's time for another Old School Month, where I review some of the greatest 20th century classics and forgotten curiosities. Today's review is a bit of both: the foundation for a massive anime and manga franchise, but one that's been overshadowed by its far more successful continuation.
DRAGON BALL (Doragon Boru), by Akira Toriyama. First published in 1984 and first published in North America in 1998.
PLOT:
Goku is a naive little monkey-tailed boy living by himself deep in the wilderness. One day he is nearly run over by a teen girl named Bulma. She is travelling the world searching for the Dragon Balls, seven mystical orbs that when gathered together will grant one person a wish. Bulma soon discovers that the 'grandpa' that Goku keeps referring to is in fact a Dragon Ball, so she manipulates Goku into joining her quest. Along the way they encounter a motley crew of characters: the pervy turtle-shelled hermit Kame Sen'nin, Oolong the magical shapeshifting pig, and the hapless bandit Yamcha and his companion kitty Puar.
