Dragon Ball New Age Arrives!!
Dragon Ball New Age is the definitive Dragon Ball fan-manga, and you can only read it on my site!
Dragon Ball New Age: Definitive Edition is an unofficial continuation of the Dragon Ball manga and anime that takes place after the events of Dragon Ball GT.
Dragon Ball New Age is written and illustrated by Malik Torihane. He is a lifelong fan of Dragon Ball and a talented artist.
Malik has been writing his manga since 2001 when he became inspired by Dragon Ball Z to create his own story.
I reviewed his original version of the series in 2014 when he published Dragon Ball New Age: Volume 1.
At the time, Dragon Ball New Age was the first Dragon Ball fan manga to be published in print and in English outside of Japan. It broke new ground and set the trend for others to follow.
The Definitive Edition is a refreshed, rewritten, and reillustrated version.
How has it improved?
Artwork
Back then I said, “Malik does a great job of emulating Toriyama’s style and capturing the feel of the characters. From their muscular bodies to the facial expressions and movements, it (almost) feels like you’re looking at Dragon Ball Z.”
I’m happy to say that you can remove ‘almost’ from the Definitive Edition of Dragon Ball New Age. Now it feels like you are looking at Dragon Ball Z.
Malik’s art is just as good, or better, than the official artwork by Toei’s animators. And I’ve seen fans argue that it’s better than Toyotaro’s Dragon Ball Super manga, supervised by Toriyama himself.
My original nitpick about the “backgrounds being sparse” has also been resolved. As you can see in this sample of the interior of Mister Satan’s home:
Likewise when viewing Goku’s home in the mountains:
The mountain’s look like the real-life Chinese mountains that inspired Toriyama’s imagination in Dragon Ball chapter 1.
This attention to detail is what sets Dragon Ball New Age apart from other Dragon Ball fan-manga. Malik’s love of Toriyama’s work comes through on every page.
Refreshed Story
In this Definitive Edition, Malik is able to take the series down new paths, with the introduction of mysterious and powerful new characters that pose a real threat to our heroes.
The story takes place 3 years after the end of Dragon Ball GT, but with a twist. Malik keeps the concepts in GT that fans like, such as Super Saiyan 4, and removes the problems. So if you like the ideas presented in GT but don’t like how they were executed in the anime, then you’re in for a treat.
The result is a familiar setting with familiar characters fighting new and exciting battles. And if you’re a fan of Dragon Ball Z, you’ll feel right at home.
Even if you read the original, the Definitive Edition is a whole new experience.
While you’re reading the first chapter you may have questions come up. For example, why is Piccolo alive, when he wasn’t at the end of GT?
In Malik’s original Dragon Ball New Age, he explained most of these changes in an exposition-heavy flashback type of prologue that bogged down the story. It was called Chapter 0. This time he wants to reveal the answers to your questions within the narrative, in the chapters to come.
Overall, Malik takes some liberties with the official GT canonicity in order to provide what he feels is a better story.
Read it Here!
Go read Chapter 1!
One new chapter will be released every third Friday of the month. This will fall between the 15th to 21st of each month.
Dragon Ball New Age is exclusive to my site. If you see it somewhere else, they stole it.
Malik makes Dragon Ball New Age at no charge. It’s free because he loves this series and its fans so much.
Support Malik’s artwork by donating to Malik on PayPal and ordering custom commissioned artwork on DeviantArt.
Follow Malik on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Read through Chapter 1 and leave your comments below the pages!
What do you think of the first chapter of Dragon Ball New Age?
And what do you want to see in the future?!
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