The Dragon Ball Manga and Books

In short, we can define manga as a Japanese-style comic. It is characterized by being mostly drawn in black and white and following the traditional Japanese reading format, from right to left. A clear example of this includes Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece, among others.

You should know that in addition to Dragon Ball manga, there are also books and novels.

If you want to start collecting Dragon Ball manga, there are several things you should keep in mind.

First of all, it's important to differentiate between the various collections:

• Dragon Ball Original: The work drawn and written by Akira Toriyama, which began in 1986.
• Dragon Ball Super: This series is drawn by Toyotaro and was written by Toriyama until his passing.
• Other Collections: Includes all non-canon series, such as Dragon Ball Heroes or The Story of Yamcha.

Secondly, each collection is available in different formats:

• Tankōbon: A compact-sized volume that compiles several individual chapters.
• Kanzenban: A larger format with more pages that also compiles several individual issues into one volume, approximately A5 in size.
• Magazine: A format that includes a single chapter or a very limited number of them, in a magazine-sized release.

Thirdly, there are multiple editions of the same collection.

For example, Dragon Ball Original currently has three different editions: Color, Ultimate, and Legend. Additionally, older editions—Red, White, Yellow, and Blue—are now out of print.

With all this in mind, choosing what to collect or where to start can be overwhelming. That’s why this website exists: to separate the different collections into sections with additional information. Here, you can find out what you need, how many volumes each collection has, and even use it as a checklist.