Review: Dragon Ball Super V.01

Title: Dragon Ball Super
Volume: 1 (of 3+)
Creator: Akira Toriyama & Toyotarou
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 5/2/17
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421592541
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (for Teens)

Description: Goku’s adventure from the best-selling classic manga Dragon Ball continues in this new series written by Akira Toriyama himself!

Ever since Goku became Earth’s greatest hero and gathered the seven Dragon Balls to defeat the evil Boo, his life on Earth has grown a little dull. But new threats loom overhead, and Goku and his friends will have to defend the planet once again in this continuation of Akira Toriyama’s best-selling series, Dragon Ball!

Having defeated Boo, Goku is starting to get bored with his life on Earth. His wife, Chi-chi, wants him to get a job, but all he wants to do is train and fight stronger enemies. Elsewhere in the universe, the God of Destruction, Beerus, and his attendant Whis are traveling from planet to planet in search of food and entertainment. After blowing up some hapless victims, Beerus is reminded of a man from his dreams with the moniker “Super Saiyan God,” or something like that... The God of Destruction sets his sights on Earth to track down this mysterious man! Maybe this will give Goku something to do?

Contains Chapters 01-09:

• Chapter 01: God of Destruction's Premonition
• Chapter 02: Goku Defeated
• Chapter 03: The Rage of Beerus
• Chapter 04: Battle of the Gods
• Chapter 05: Beerus and Champa
• Chapter 06: Tournament Preparation
• Chapter 07: Warriors from Universe 6
• Chapter 08: The Battle Begins!
• Chapter 09: Goku vs. Botamo

Review:

Cover Art: The cover for this volume features Goku in his God of Destruction Gi, riding on Shenron. The series title is across the top. The volume number is in the lower right corner.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangakas, a partial image of Chibi Goku and a Dragon Ball, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover features the series title on the top. The top half of the cover contains the volume's summary and an image of Super Saiyan Blue Goku on the right side. Under that we have a picture of our new God's of Universes 6 and 7, along with their companion helpers.

So this is the first new Dragon Ball series in over a couple decades. This series is also being handled by a different mangaka, with the original master, Akira Toriyama, supervising the series. With that being said, I absolutely LOVE this cover. It is reminiscent to the very first Dragon Ball cover which featured young Goku riding on Shenron. Another aspect I love is that we have the spine art doing what the original series did as well, these covers will be connecting to create a big picture so try not to miss a volume or it will hurt the overall image. Overall, its amazing that they decided to used almost a layout identical to the original series and it works very well!

Artwork: This is classic shonen style artwork, not to mention the new mangaka captures the essence of Toriyama perfectly. I honestly can't tell much of a difference and that is great since if your a new time reader to this series and want to start at the beginning, you really won't be turned away by this art style. Toriyama definitely picked an amazing person to continue his beloved franchise!

Translation: Character names, attacks, and locations are all left intact. Sound effects have been changed to English.

Extras: We have inbetween scenes following pretty much every chapter. There's also an interview with both creators. And a mini comic. Overall it's a nice set of extras. Hopefully this will continue with subsequent volumes of the series.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This is a weird volume to review. Dragon Ball Super started first as an anime, and then received a manga adaption. Not that this is bad, since the series had two movies to adapt the first two story arcs after, but because its hard to really see where the manga was going to stand alone on its own. Anyways let's start.

The volume covers two story arcs of the anime and goes into the third. We begin with Goku being at a time of peace and what we think is a peaceful time really doesn't last long when a new God arrives on Earth, known as Beerus, who is looking for a Super Saiyan God. If none shows themselves, Beerus would destroy the planet. None of the Saiyans really know what that is, so it takes the use of the Dragon Balls to find a way to make a Super Saiyan God. Apparently there needs to be 6 Saiyans to make one, which reveals that Videl is pregnant with a Saiyan Child.

Goku becomes this God Super Saiyan and he manages to have a good fight with Beerus, which he decides to leave Earth around (its mainly because the taste of the Earth food is good).

Here is where we would have the Ressurection 'F' arc, but it is pretty much skipped over, yet still referred to that it happened.

The manga ends with the start of the 3rd story arc. There is another god, Champa, who is also Beerus' brother. They each rule a different Universe. Beerus Universe 7 and Champa Universe 6. We learn that there is a new set of Dragon Balls, called the Super Dragon Balls. These are the size of planets. Champa has already collected 6 and they are only scattered among the two universes. Champa and Beerus decide to have a tournament among the two universes to see who has the strongest warriors. Only one universe will win and gain the power to use the new Super Dragon Balls.

There is quite a bit of content in this one volume and at times it is very hard to focus. Like I mentioned above too, its very hard as well to say what is the actual source material. Battle of the Gods and Resurrection 'F' have been done over and over, the story to me was just the same in the manga form. The third arc though differs slightly from the anime, which I really enjoyed. Buu doesn't even make it past a qualifier round that was not even in the anime. It was cool to see some new stuff that made the manga a bit fresh, to me so far this series is almost a best of type manga that focuses more on the important parts of the anime to make something that can continue the original series. I really hope that is not the case and we get some new stuff in volume 2.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: Yes
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: Yes

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 8/10
• Extras: 8/10
• Story: 4/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 6/20/17

Review: One-Punch Man V.09

Title: One-Punch Man
Volume: 09 (of 12+)
Creator: ONE and Yusuke Murata
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: Shueisha
US Publisher: Viz
Release Date: 11/1/16
Pages: 216
ISBN: 1421586576
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (Teens)

Summary: What happens when a superhero can beat the snot out of every villain with just one punch? Can he find an opponent to give his life meaning, or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?

Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem—he just can’t seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on!

Time bomb Garo, a monster admirer, finally explodes, attacking the Hero Association! Meanwhile, Miss Blizzard visits Saitama at his apartment. Because of his lower rank, she plans to make him one of her subordinates, but…

Contains Punch 41-47:

• Punch 41: The Man Who Wanted to Be a Villain
• Punch 42: The Blizzard Bunch
• Punch 43: Don't Dis Heroes!
• Punch 44: Accelerate
• Punch 45: Hero Name
• Punch 46: Hero Hunting
• Punch 47: Technique

Review:

Cover: This cover features the Class B hero, Hellish Blizzard. She is stepping out of the car wearing a green dress. The series title is across the top in the same color as her dress. The volume number is in the lower right corner.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangakas, an image of Hellish Blizzards backside, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover features another image of Hellish Blizzard. Chibi versions of Saitama, Genos, and Hellish Blizzard are also fighting in the background with silverware being tossed around too. The volume summary is across the bottom third of the cover.

One thing that I really do love is the amount of artwork on the cover, and none of it is repeated. Every image of Hellish Blizzard is different. The color scheme used was also a great choice; it doesn't really clash with anything and it just looks great! My only real drawback is the actual front cover. I don't like the image used. Yes it does make sense with the cover art and the content of the actual manga in this volume, but to me it doesn't fit the overall series tone. I really wish we had some sort of action pose or something.

Artwork: Tons of action sequences grace this volume again. One thing about this series is you can really see its a shonen series on every single page. Yes the action is crazy and all, but the detail in the artwork is amazing! By far when it comes to this series I honestly can't wait for the next chapter or tankouban to be released just for the art! This volume delivers greatly still and we are already nine volumes in.

Translation: Character names, hero names, cultural references, places, attacks, and the overall story left intact. Sound effects and honorifics have been changed and removed.

Extras: There is a small bonus manga dealing with Hellish Blizzard and her entourage. It really doesn't do anything to add to any part of the story either. It's mainly used for comic relief.

There's also a small translation page.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): The onslaught of Garo begins in this volume when he takes out everyone who comes in his way, proving there are actual Villains that Saitama might have to really finally try to fight soon. But let's skip that since this really isn't what this volume is really about.

The female villain, Hellish Blizzard seeks out Saitama to join her for her little team of B Rank Heroes, since Saitama has begun to make a name for himself among the Hero Association. Hellish Blizzard also has a warning, he must join her because he won't be moving up to Rank A anytime soon. A battle begins that pretty much gets interrupted by Sonic as he enters the fray once again in hopes of beating Saitama. Genos intervenes as well and they all team up and take down Sonic again.
Hellish Blizzard agrees to let Saitama just work along side her as she knows she won't be able to tame Saitama.

Going back to Garo, he continues his quest to kill all heroes in his path, including the entire Tank Top team and the Mugen Rider. Garo begins to show how much of a monster he truly is.

I know things are building with this story, but by far this has probably been the worst volume of the series so far. Garo however is probably the best part since he is a very intriguing new character and I really want to see where this series is going. The majority of the rest of this volume with the Hellish Blizzard story arc was a bit boring. She really doesn't have anything interesting about her and I feel she was more used to build on a certain S Rank Hero's character more then her herself. Hopefully this story will begin to get a bit better with Garo's killing spree continuing and his obvious eventual confrontation with our main hero.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 7/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 7/10
• Extras: 5/10
• Story: 3/10

Overall Rating: 6/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 6/6/17

Review: My Hero Academia V.06

Title: My Hero Academia
Volume: 6 (of 10+)
Creator: Kohei Horikoshi
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 11/1/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421588668
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teen)

Description: Izuku Midoriya is the inheritor of the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but the mantle of greatness won’t come easy, and even superheroes have to go to school!

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

In the aftermath of the sports festival, the Class 1-A students begin their internships. Midoriya goes to study under Gran Torino, who was once All Might’s mentor. Gran Torino appears to be a washed-up nutjob, but the old hero still has more moves than a football team, and Midoriya has a lot to learn! Elsewhere, the League of Villains enacts another sinister plot and unleashes a terrifying new enemy!

Contains Numbers 45-53:

• No. 45: Time to Pick Some Names
• No. 46: Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears
• No. 47: Struggling
• No. 48: Getting the Knack
• No. 49: Midoriya and Shigaraki
• No. 50: Kill 'Em Dead
• No. 51: No, Knock It Off, Ida
• No. 52: Hero Killer Stain vs. U.A. Students
• No. 53: From Todoroki to Ida

Review:

Cover: The cover for this volume features Ida and Midoriya standing back to back in their hero costumes, with a very vicious Stain in the background with his tongue sticking out. The series title is across the top, with the volume number to the left of it, this time featuring Todoroki.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, an image of Todoroki, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover has a maroon colored background across the left. The volume summary is listed on the top half, with Midoriya on the bottom. The right half of the cover features Gran Torino sitting on a microwave.

Love the front covers layout a lot! Probably the best looking cover so far in terms of style. It shows what this volume really is about and the comic book layout still continues to blow me away. It's the back cover that I could do without. The colors used for the text and the balloon bubbles where the summary are is kind of repulsive. I wished they used another pic instead of the rehashed Midoriya one we got. The only thing great here is the right side with Gran Torino.

Artwork: Lots of detailed work in this volume as the action is consistent for practically the entire thing. Whether it be the huge training montages or the epic fight with Stain, it's very detailed and has lots of greatness within the pages. My only problem is towards the end with the Stain fight. There are a lot of darker scenes that are a bit annoying to look at, but it could be just where the fight takes place.

Translation: Character names, places, attacks, and cultural references all remain intact. Sound Effects have been changed as usual, and no honorifics.

Extras: Character pages and mech stuff based on hero suits. There's also an afterword and a mangaka assistant page. I really love these extras and I wished a lot of other shonen mangas included extras like these.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): The sports festival is now behind us, and we head into the next story arc. But before that we have a few chapters that we need to go through before we jump right back into the overall action.

Class is back in session and our soon to be heroes must now decide on hero names. To help them is Midnight. This is only for one chapter though so we don't need to be fully bored as we go back and forth seeing if our characters hero names are appropriate or not.

We then move on to all our heroes going their separate ways to meet the heroes who will be training them to become the heroes they are meant to be. Midoriya meets his new master, Gran Torino, who has a very similar personality as Master Roshi from Dragon Ball. Midoriya first must win him over before he actually begins the real training.

While all this is going on, Stain is on the move for his next targets, but our villain from the USJ Arc, Shigarki, comes back as well and tries to recruit Stain for his own motives. Stain doesn't really believe in his cause, he's a lone villain and begins to prove it by causing havoc after their encounter.

Ida and Midoriya become the first involved with Stain, and Todoroki eventually joins the fray as well. This is one villain that it seems might be very hard for our heroes to possibly defeat as he slowly makes work of them with his ability of paralysis. The battle is fierce and we don't have a resolution unfortunately within this volume.

The series still continues to amaze me. Yeah I know it still seems like another type of series like Naruto and One Piece, but My Hero to me feels like it has much more feeling. We do have underdogs in all of the Shonen Jump series, which is what makes them so great and easy to relate to, but with Midoriya, he really speaks to the readers and in a sense we have a bit more of a connection with him. The volume does begin a bit slow, which is understandable coming right out of an action packed fighting tournament type arc, but it picks up fast and we hit the ground running even harder then ever before. The pacing is getting a bit better to from the beginning of the series as the battles are feeling much more life threatening and drawn out. As I have said previously, this is one series manga fans definitely need to check out, especially moving into this story arc.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 7/10
• Artwork: 7/10
• Translation: 3/10
• Extras: 10/10
• Story: 8/10

Overall Rating: 7/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 6/1/17