| Title | : | Dragon Ball, Vol. 7: General Blue and the Pirate Treasure (Dragon Ball, #7) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 156931926X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781569319260 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published May 8, 1987 |
Dragon Ball, Vol. 7: General Blue and the Pirate Treasure (Dragon Ball, #7) Reviews
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Who doesn't love a good old pirate treasure hunt??
No complaints from me here.
ONWARDS! -
Well, as with all great multi-volume stories, Dragon Ball finally hits a (Dr) slump with its seventh volume.
The Red Ribbon Army are targeting Son Goku and friends with a small group surrounding the Turtle Master’s house and another group, led by General Blue, pursuing Son Goku, Kuririn, and Bulma underwater.
The first half of the book is this weak pirate-themed story as Goku goes through an unremarkable cave system to battle a xenomorph-looking robot and a talking octopus. And if you thought “pirate” meant wooden ships and eye-patches, think again as these pirates had an underwater hideout to rival a Bond villain’s!
General Blue’s not that great a character either - Akira Toriyama seems to be making his power-set up as he goes along. One minute he’s this tough hand-to-hand combat fighter when fighting Kuririn but then he goes up against Goku who of course kicks his butt, so suddenly he has this psychic power which can freeze him to the spot! Then later on he has this even more bizarre “rope power” which ensnares the group long enough for him to steal the dragon balls and escape! It’s like… wha…?
The second half of the book sees Goku chasing Blue into somewhere called Penguin Village, which I gather is the setting of Toriyama’s previous series, Dr Slump. My knowledge of Toriyama’s work begins and ends with Dragon Ball so seeing his older characters may be exciting for fans of Dr Slump but not for me.
And though Dragon Ball’s not exactly an edgy series - it’s child-friendly for the most part - compared to Dr Slump, it’s like a Garth Ennis book! The characters in Dr Slump are just soooo cutesy-wutesy, from the floating genius baby who can telepathically make machines, to the little happy power girl, and the twins wearing animal hats who are also super-super-upbeat about everything; eesh, it’s so sickeningly sweet!
But there are lots of great Goku moments throughout, especially when he’s fighting Blue and a rat inadvertently gives him an opening that allows him to momentarily beat him. When the cave starts to fall in, he saves the rat because the rat saved him - that’s how good-hearted a person he is.
And the “Superman” parody scene was brilliant too - seeing the little “Clark Kent” character dash off into a conveniently placed phone box to change into Suppa-Man was so funny.
Volume 7 is definitely the weakest addition to the series so far, but with the Dr Slump fan service/back-patting (hopefully) over and done with, things can only get better here on out as Goku continues his quest to get his grandpa’s four-star dragon ball before the Red Ribbon Army. -
This was another great volume, here the focus is on Bulma and Goku and Krillin going on to find the 3rd dragon ball and they are in some cave and have to swim in the shores while being chased by General Blue and who presents a challenge to them and shenanigans and fights happen between them which is so fun to read and then they come to Master Roshi house and again attacked by General Blue. There is a great part after escaping from there, Goku chases after him and meets Dr Slump, another oone of Akira Toriyama's creations and I am loving the continuity between them. Its a fun battle and as Goku gets those balls again and goes after the fourth one! Next up: The Assassin "Taopaipai"!
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Goku, Bulma and Krillin go on another adventure to find the dragon balls, full of silliness, wacky humor and action. There's a subplot involving a crossover with Akira's previous series, which I didn't think was executed well and didn't enjoy very much.
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I see the Penguin Village side-trip in a whole different light than I used to, now that I've read Dr. Slump as well. I do wish they'd published that in Finnish at some point.
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5/10 stars
Eh, could've been better. The crossover attempts seemed a bit lazy to me, a Deus ex Machina solution that is designed mainly to introduce old characters from other series. Fortunately, the crossover is short.
I don't find Blue funny or compelling as a villain - again, some weird skills with ropes and mind control seem just lazy, especially considering Toriyama's earlier ideas.
Glad to have snatched an omnibus version, I can already start vol. 8! :D -
True Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goku and Bulma arrive to Master Roshi's Island and he gets to reunite with Kuririn, Lunch, Turtle, and Master Roshi. Kuririn wants to tag along with his friend again and Master Roshi is kind enough to loan his plane/submarine to them in order to pursue for the Dragon Ball. The downside of it all is that Bulma left the dragon balls on the island and the Red Ribbon Army has found their location. They believed that Master Roshi is the inventor of the radar and oblivious to the fact that he is a powerful fighter because of his old man appearance. The general who is in charge of that region is called General Blue and he decides to split his men into two teams (A & B), one would follow Goku and the gang while the other attacks the island.
Since Master Roshi is powerful there is nothing to worry as he defeats the entire team using his martial arts technique. But for Goku and the rest, they are in a danger zone as they discovered that the Dragon Ball is hidden in an underwater cave. General Blue follows them and tries to attack them but realizes that the cave will collapse so instead he gives the misleading impression that they have left Goku alone. While they find the dragon ball and the rumored buried treasure, General Blue plans to attack and steal everything the gang has achieved.
Kuririn and Bulma find the hidden treasure and General Blue decides to attack. Since Kuririn is the only fighter available, he decides to battle Blue and sadly gets his ass kicked. I believe the reason why this happen is because he hasn't continued his training. By staying on the island with Master Roshi and not working out, he has returned to the fighter he was before and unable to defeat Blue.
Luckily for the gang, Goku found them and beats the day lights out of Blue and finds the hidden dragon ball. Unfortunately the cave is collapsing and now time is in the essence. After coming close to death, the gang escape and return to Master Roshi. General Blue survived the cave incident and follows them and is able to paralyze everyone and steal the dragon balls and the radar. Now Goku is mad and when he gets untied, he goes on the dangerous mission of retrieving everything that Blue has stolen.
What I was disappointed for a few pages was that Akira tried to bring Dr. Slump (another series of his) into this manga and did a terrible job of incorporating them into the storyline. This entire manga has this phenomenal pace that left me on the edge of the seat and then out of nowhere it felt abrupt and brought these characters who I have no idea who they are or care for that matter.
While Goku is attack General Blue in the air, Dr. Slump and the rest of gang witness this in the sky and wonder what that is all about. General Blue makes Goku fall to the ground but he fails to pay attention and his plane crashes. He manages to escape the crime scene but needs to find an airplane to escape. Goku meets Dr. Slump and his crew and they help him repair the radar again in order to find General Blue. Since Dr. Slump is the only one with an airplane, General Blue shows up.
They get into a major fight but Dr. Slump robotic girl invention wrestles with General Blue and sends him faraway from Penguin Village. Goku retrieves the dragon balls, but he lost the radar since it was in Blue's pocket. Dr. Slump makes him a new one and now he is off towards finding the next dragon ball. If it weren't for Dr. Slump storyline, it would have been amazing manga as usual.
To check out all my reviews visit
http://dancinginth3dark.blogspot.com -
Ech, Armia Czerwonej Wstęgi zawsze mnie wkurzała.
Ale pojawia się wreszcie kraina Karin! :D -
I decided to read this book because I have read one before and it was a fantastic book.
I liked this book because there is lots of adventure and characters
I learnt that there is an underground base made by pirates and Goku has found it as he runs away from the enemies.
The underground base holds a boat which by the look of it was a pirate ship, and in the base holds 2 dragon balls, but who will get it first Goku or Genral blue -
This volume was a little bit of everything. You can also tell that the plot lines are getting a little more serious and a lot less fun. Not that fun is bad but I think Dragon Ball shines when the plot is more life on the line rather then objective, if that makes sense.
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The Red Ribbon army continue to be fun antagonists and they make this series truly feel like a classic adventure!
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A Red Ribbon aumentou o grau de dificuldade com o general Blue e a perseguição pelas esferas do dragão foi bem frenética. Mas o que eu mais gostei nesse volume foi revisitar a vila Pinguim e a Arale!
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This felt a little lackluster compared to the one before it. To sum up the volume would be to say it's a chase scene. The whole manga felt like the heroes are being chase, then they chase the villain. It felt very repetitive. But the artwork and location make up for some of it.
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For some reason, Toriyama's art and even his storytelling is starting to remind me of Carl Barks. Am I just going crazy from prolonged Dragon Ball exposure, or does anyone else see it too? Highlight of this volume for me was the brief appearance of the Dr. Slump cast! It was fun to see Toriyama playing with the respective universes and poking fun at himself.
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I grew up with this story and I'll keep reading/watching it whenever I can because why not? :)
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Goku is an eccentric monkey-tailed boy with superhuman strength and boundless energy. His life of peaceful solitude is interrupted one day when he meets Bulma, a feisty young lady on the hunt for mysterious wish-granting orbs known as Dragon Balls. Accompanied by a group of zany companions, the two team up on a grand adventure full of all kinds of intense battles, dangerous villains and whacky hijinks.
Now this was a blast of nostalgia! Dragon Ball was the first anime I ever watched as a dorky little toddler. I remember watching it every week with my big brother. I watched the reruns multiple times and owned all the Budokai and Tenkaichi fighting games. I developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with Dragon Ball Z throughout my middle school years. While I don't like the series nearly as much as I once did, I'm very thankful toward this series for introducing me to the wonderful world of anime and manga. After Dragon Ball, I watched Ghibli, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket and dozens of others. I then went on to discover some of my all time favorite series like Berserk, Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Gantz, Battle Royale, Attack on Titan, Vagabond, Blade of the Immortal, Parasyte, Goodnight Punpun and more. Dragon Ball made me a fan of this medium and it felt great to re-experience the series from beginning to end for the first time in twenty years.
The story and characters are simple, but the series is easy to read, hilarious and wholesome in spite of the constant action. The series starts off as a raunchy, self-aware slapstick comedy full of fourth-wall breaking, sexual innuendos and surprisingly dirty jokes. This series was definitely edgy for its time considering it was geared towards a young audience. A lot of the perverted humor and gag comedy wouldn't fly too well with modern sensibilities, but it can be pretty funny for people who don't get offended easily and can handle some outdated mannerisms and attitudes from the past.
While the series does start off as a comedy gag reel, it slowly develops into a more serious streamlined plot with better written characters and villains. The story never really blooms into anything worth writing home about, but it remains consistently entertaining and fun to read. The interactions between Goku and his pals is always funny, even the way he plays around with his enemies is comical. If I remember as well as I think I do, I believe the maturity of the story and characters improve much more in the sequel series which I'll eventually get around to reviewing at some point. The original Dragon Ball ends on a great battle sequence that sets up the more serious tone of Dragon Ball Z.
My only major complaint about the overall story is the Dragon Balls make things way too convenient and removes the stakes and consequences of literally everything. If a major character dies they can just be wished back. This removes any sense of drama or tension from the battles and the consequences of the villains actions becomes moot. The series doesn't take itself too seriously and often pokes fun at itself, but the way the Dragon Balls are utilized are just a little too much in my opinion. Even comedies need a certain amount of suspension and stakes to make me care about what's going on.
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If you're looking for some dark ambient music for reading horror, dark fantasy and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs... -
Nachdem Son Goku nun schon einige Dragonballs gefunden hat, macht er sich nun mit seinen Freunden Kuririn und Bilma auf den Weg, um endlich den Dragonball mit den vier Sternen zu finden, der einst seinem Großvater gehört hat. Dabei müssen sie sich durch ein ehemaliges Piratenversteck bewegen, welches ein Labyrinth aus tödlichen Fallen ist. Doch dort unten lauern nicht nur grauenhafte Fallen, sondern auch General Blue der Red Ribbon Armee, der es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht hat ebenfalls die Dragonballs für seinen Boss zu finden. Als es zu einem Kampf zwischen ihm und den Freunden kommt, muss Son Goku bald feststellen, dass General Blue ein ernst zu nehmender Gegner ist, der sich mit allen Wassern gewaschen hat - denn sein Freund Kuririn hatte nicht einmal den Hauch einer Chance gegen den fiesen General und auch Son Goku hat gegen die fiesen Tricks des Generals ordentlich zu schwitzen.
Wieder einmal begeistert Akira Toriyama mit seiner wunderbaren Geshcichte rund um den kleinen Son Goku und die magischen Dragonballs. Neben ernsteren Szenen, die vor allem durch Kämpfe ausgeschmückt werden, schiebt der Autor immer wieder lustige Szenen nach. So muss die Red Ribbon Armee schnell lernen, dass weder mit Muten Roshi, noch mit seiner Haushaltshilfe Lunch gut Kirschen essen ist. Auch die Dialoge zwischen Blue und Son Goku sind sehr witzig gehalten und auch Kuririn und Bulma scheuen nicht davor zurück gepfefferte Kommentare von sich zu geben. Die Idee mit dem Piratenversteck finde ich persönlich klasse. Hier kann der Autor wieder einmal zeigen, was er drauf hat. Die Fallen sind sehr einfallsreich und auch die Gestaltung des Piratenverstecks ist fernab jeglicher romantischer Vorstellungen, sondern schon der Neuzeit angepasst. Ich finde es immer wieder interessant, wie der Autor es schafft, Altes und Neuzeitliches miteinander zu verbinden.
Son Goku als Protagonist kommt in diesem Band wieder sehr unbeschwert, aber auch sehr vorlaut gegenüber seinen Gegnern daher. Er ist sich seiner Sache wirklich sehr sicher.Trotzdem muss er für sich selbst erkennen, dass er Blue als Gegner nicht ernst genug genommen hat. Für Son Goku steht fest, dass er stärker werden muss.
Empfehlen möchte ich den Manga weiterhin allen, die Dragonball bis jetzt auch wirklich klasse fanden. Es ist wirklich ein guter Einstieg in die Problematik des Mangalesens und vor allem für Jungen und auch Mädchen sehr gut geeignet. Dragonball ist einfach ein Muss in jedem Bücherregal!
Taschenbuch: 192 Seiten
Verlag: Carlsen (15. Februar 2001)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 355173299X
ISBN-13: 978-3551732996
Vom Hersteller empfohlenes Alter: 10 - 12 Jahre
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 11,6 x 2 x 17,5 cm -
Bless manga, it is saving my sanity in these troubling times, and especially bless Dragon Ball for being nonstop, over-the-top fun.
It feels a little strange to read this volume and get the ultra-closeted General Blue and the remarks made about him possibly being gay, but it's framed as a clearly-part-of-Bulma's-high-opinions-of-herself-and-her-sex-apppeal kind of thing, so I feel like that almost negates a lot of it. =
The one thing I feel like is really out-of-place this time around are the three chapters with characters from Toriyama's Dr. Slump series. I imagine it's more of a treat for readers familiar with that series, but a lot of it felt like really ham-fisted character plugs and self-promotion that almost derailed the rest of the story. It's interesting to consider though, that the two universes are one and the same, so maybe I should keep my eyes open for further cameos in the future. -
Ok before you start yelling at me , let me tell you that I want to give even a smaller rate for this book and is because for us in Canada we do not have the right one (is paper and such a bad quality paper, so hard to read through it). So yes that is the reason why I am giving only 3 stars to a dragon ball book, the only thing that kept me reading is the amazing plot and funny moments with all the characters.
This book continues with goku and bulma looking for goku's dragon ball , and the adventure that they go through are way to hilarious. Love Goku so much , he does what he things whiout thinking of the consequences ( love when he says he learned how to know when people are girls or not).
Have to go to the library get the big edition and re read it, I know I will love it so much more. -
As the title suggests, this volume focuses mainly on General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army. He's chasing Kuririn, Bulma, and Goku as they hunt down a dragon ball deep in a cavern. Bulma hopes to find the rumored treasure buried in the cave and Goku is hoping it'll finally be his Grampa's four-star ball! Kuririn learns that he's no match for the suave Blue and his apparent psychic ability. Even Goku struggles to overcome this new twist.
It was still a fun entry to the series, but again with the goofy humor. It just felt out of place what with the multiple deaths and high stakes. I liked to see the progression Goku made as a character, especially his rash decision to jump into battle when his friends were threatened and Blue obtained the bag of dragon balls. But other than Goku's character growth, this volume felt like a filler. -
This was a weird one, because it introduced a crossover from another one of Toriyama's series, Dr. Slump. It was kind of like having a deus ex machina come and solve all the problems. He's previously broken the fourth wall, and the world doesn't have strict rules about the universe but this volume sent me on a wikipedia binge as I tried to make sense of all the crazy stuff happening. Dr. Slump seems absurd, it kind of reminded me of something out of a Hernandez Bros. comic. Anyways, I was annoyed that General Blue was so easily dispatched after having been built up as a competent villain. Goku got lucky!
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Jenderal Biru dari tentara Red Ribbon terbukti menjadi salah satu lawan yang tangguh dan bahkan berhasil merampas bola-bola naga yang telah berhasil Son Goku kumpulkan. Pengejaran Son Goku terhadap Jenderal Biru membawanya ke Desa Penguin tempat Arale tinggal. Di sini kita dikenalkan kepada tokoh-tokoh fiktif ciptaan Akira Toriyama dari komiknya yang lain yaitu Dr. Slump. Petualangan selanjutnya membawa Son Goku ke daerah di mana terdapat menara yang sangat tinggi dan ia akan berhadapan dengan salah satu musuhnya yang paling kuat.
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Goku and General Blue chase each other around the world, getting mixed up in underwater pirate hideouts and... a Dr. Slump crossover! It's a fun little adventure watching them go to new (literal) depths, unlike the prior Dragon Ball search this one is an all out brawl that goes back and forth over and over. Not as many stand-out gags in this one, or memorable action scenes, but the sense of fun watching them navigate the world, the pirate traps, and the assorted characters they run into is a blast.
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La lucha contra Red Ribbon se hace un poco larga, pero al menos el General Blue es un poco menos inutil que los otros oficiales y soldados hasta ahora. Me gustó particularmente la parte en Villa Pingüino y la inclusión de los personajes de Dr. Slump, y como Toriyama encuentra formas totalmente forzadas y divertidas de que muchos de ellos aparezcan en la historia.
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This volume wasn't my favorite. There's one transphobic gag, and I think one of the villains is supposed to be a Japanese gay stereotype, although I could be wrong about that. There's also a crossover part with Dr. Slump that doesn't really add anything if you aren't familiar with older Toriyama. The pacing and humor are still pretty good aside from those things though.
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This may be the very first dip in quality in the Dragon Ball series. This volume is focused on General Blue, a kinda repetitive, weak villain. The character didn't age well too, feeling a bit homophobic on today's standards.
The Dr. Slump crossover was fun, but still, not enough to make this reach the same level as previous volumes.
At least, there are promise of good things coming next! -
I haven't read Toriyama's other series so the mini crossover didn't do much for me other than confuse. Volume 7 is one of the least memorable in the series. General Blue poses some semblance of a chance against the heroes and there are some funny bits between him and Bulma but nothing that stands out.
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A cute and simple adventure that doesn't really do much in terms of story-telling, especially through the less-than-interesting General Blue. I'm definitely not a huge fan of the Dr. Slump crossover elements.
