Dragon Ball Book Review – Akira Toriyama – The Master of Manga
Akira Toriyama – The Master of Manga provides an easy to read summary of Toriyama’s life, career and success in Japan. It’s succinctly edited and well designed. While it doesn’t bring much new content to the table, it is the first book to be written about Akira Toriyama and does a good job at what it set out to do; chronologically revealing the life and career of Akira Toriyama.
Even after more than 30 years in the industry, and after creating the #1 selling shonen manga series of all time (at 300 million copies), there was until now no book about Akira Toriyama, one of the most influential manga authors in the world.
Written in French by author Olivier Richard, it’s clear that Richard gives respect to Toriyama and other shonen works, and that he understands the genre.
From the foreword, “In fact, as a best seller of the highest caliber, Dragon Ball falls into the same category as Star Wars, the cultural phenomenon. Like George Lucas’ space opera, Akira Toriyama’s manga has captivated millions of children, adolescents, and young adults who followed with almost religious fervor the adventures of Son Goku, the fascinating and charismatic hero of a true modern myth.”
The Kaio Ken Explained
The following article will reveal the origin, history and inner mechanics of the Kaio Ken martial arts technique.
What is the Kaio Ken?
The Kaio Ken is a heavenly martial arts technique taught to Goku by North Kaio.
It is one of Goku’s signature techniques used during the first few sagas of Dragon Ball Z.
The Kaio Ken amplifies Goku’s speed, power, mental acuity and physical prowess for short bursts of high intensity.
In the early episodes of Dragon Ball Z, Goku was killed by his brother Raditz, passed into the afterlife, ran 1,000,000 kilometers (10,000 miles in the English dub) across Snake Way, and then trained with North Kaio on his planet.
Not even North Kaio could fully perfect the Kaio Ken, as it is a very advanced mind-body technique.
Goku eventually surpassed his master.
Side by Side – Krillin
Krillin Holds up the World
By reader request, here is an excerpt from The Dao of Dragon Ball that focuses on the character Krillin. This excerpt is from the Side by Side chapter in the Journey to the West section, where the characters from Dragon Ball are compared to those of Journey to the West.
Please note that the final version in the book may change.
Images seen in this blog post are not included in the book.
San Zuang / Krillin: A Warrior Monk
Young Krillin (created by "Rexobias")
Speaking of warriors, another character who represents San Zuang in a few noticeable ways is Krillin, a monk from Orin Temple (Japanese: ???, Orinji).
Krillin is comparable to San Zuang most evidently because they are both monks. San Zuang is a Buddhist monk of a Tang Dynasty China sect with Idealist origins, and Krillin is in the order of Orinji. His shaved head and outward appearance are testament to the discipline and strength of his character. These are traits cultivated in the temple environment and would aid him both in life as well as death (the afterlife). He is 13 when first introduced.
Krillin’s Japanese name (????, Kuririn) alludes to his martial monk heritage: “Kuri” means chestnut (as a pun expressed in the funny shape of his bald head), and “rin” means tree. His name references the Shaolin Temple of China, as Shorin is the name given to the Shaolin School’s branch in Japan. The Shorin Temple is a Zen Buddhist school that uses martial arts as an aid to its spiritual cultivation method of Buddha Law cultivation.
His name has other humorous aspects as well. “Shorin” in Japanese is written as ??, which in English means “Few Trees” or “Young Forest.” “Orin” in Japanese is written as ??, which in English means “Many Trees” or (essentially) “Expansive Forest.” So his name is an inverse spoof on the Shorin. Orinji also sounds like the borrowed English word “orange,” which is another of the countless and clever food references created by Toriyama.
1 Chapter Down, 1 More to Go!
Jackie Chun, Immortal Master. Original Artwork from Atari.
The rough draft of Immortal and Invincible has been completed. This means that there is only 1 chapter of the book left to be written, (currently) titled Divine Combat.
The Immortal and Invincible chapter discusses the practices of martial arts masters on their quest for immortality.It focuses on Daoist masters and sennin hermits, like Master Roshi (aka Jackie Chun).
The chapter measured in at 28 pages (at 11 pt font), so it may be many more in the actual book. Though of course it will be edited down and made more concise. Even so, that chapter was extremely difficult to write and I am glad the rough draft is complete.
Thank you to those who have written in with their support. I know you guys are looking forward to the book’s release. For those that are eager to read more about this chapter, here are the first 3 paragraphs of the rough draft:
“Dragon Ball is filled with martial artists that employ the use of supernormal abilities to do battle or heal the wounded. The characters fight against themselves, against those with ulterior motives, and in some cases against outright demons.
With the Ksatreya warriors and the path of the Vajramukti well established in Indian culture the concept of an invincible and noble warrior became intertwined into the martial arts on its voyage across nations. Spreading to both Western Europe and the Orient the draw of the martial arts and the spiritual path were adopted by various cultures. In this chapter we learn how the belief systems and cultural traditions of ancient China affected the creation of Dragon Ball in Japan. By the end of the chapter it will be very evident how Toriyama borrowed, was inspired by, or makes light of these beliefs in his comic.
The culture of ancient East Asia was a world of men and monsters, heaven and hell, and the cultivated spiritual warriors that overcame the demons on their path to immortality or enlightenment. The worlds of men, gods, and demons were interwoven. The life of a man was intricately linked to the heavens, and for those who walked the spiritual path of cultivation they would often experience demonic interference. The more one overcame these demons (whether internal or external) the more one would awaken their own potential. From this ideology sprang forth a culture of cultivation, and one such form of cultivation was the martial arts.”
Onward, to the next chapter!
Dragon Ball Zee or Zed?
Dragon Ball Z. How is it pronounced? Perhaps you never asked yourself the question, but it turns out there are a few different ways to say it. All because of the Z.
For example, is it pronounced Dragon Ball Zee, Dragon Ball Zed or something else entirely? The title of the show represents a linguistic problem with various answers that depend on where you live and what language you speak.
Why does it matter? Because the show is an international phenomenon with no agreed upon standard for how to pronounce its name. And the differences stand as another example of diversity seen within the localized versions of the Dragon Ball series.
To really understand why this is the case we have to learn a little about languages and world history from within the Dragon Ball perspective.
FREE Dragon Ball Wii Game Contest Winner Announced!
Goku Wins!
Our contest for the Nintendo Wii game, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo has just concluded. Thank you to all the contestants that added a comment to the blog before the end of December 15th.
I chose to let the hand of fate pick the winner. So I wrote down all of your names on slips of paper, placed them inside a tupperware dish and had one of my friends pick a slip of paper at random. Yes, it was a very scientific method.
So, without further ado…
The winner IS…
CONTEST – Win Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii
Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, courtesty of NAMCO-BANDAI
Now is your chance to win a FREE copy of Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for the Nintendo Wii!
The game comes courtesy of NAMCO-BANDAI as part of their promotional campaign for the new Dragon Ball games.
How do you win?
All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post! And on December 15th I will pick a random entry from the comments list and contact you by the e-mail provided.
*Only one entry per person please. And use a valid e-mail because that’s how I’ll request your address.
Good luck!
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