Derivative Dragon Ball Manga Series - Dragon Ball
As the canonical legitimacy of many works within the Dragon Ball franchise is questioned, it’s no wonder that there is a lot of controversy facing the various manga releases. Akira Toriyama and Toyotaro are responsible for creating what fans consider to be the true Dragon Ball canon, whereas third party manga and animation are not. An example would be Bardock: Father of Goku, as the end of the story is the same as what Toriyama wrote, but the lead-up and rest of the story are completely original. On the other hand, some works such as Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha, are not authored by Toriyama or Toyotaro at all and are not considered canon.
Dragon Ball
The original Dragon Ball manga is the source of the Dragon Ball story. Everything that comes after must follow this manga’s previously established narrative for it to be canonically correct. Dragon Ball Z is the name for the animated second half of the Dragon Ball manga, as in the manga series, no distinction is made between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball Super, however, has its own manga and is thus named so. The English version publication has very little difference from the original and remains extremely faithful.
Dr. Slump
Earlier in his manga writing career, Akira Toriyama wrote a gag manga called Dr. Slump that was published in Weekly Shonen Jump. In just one year after its first publication, Dr. Slump went on to receive the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen and shōjo manga, making it an award-winning manga. The serialization lasted from February 4th, 1980 until September 10th,1984 and created a total of 18 volumes (236 chapters). The story is set in a place called Penguin Village and revolves around the adventures of a little cyborg girl (Arale Norimaki) created by the inventor Senbei Norimaki. Many jokes in the manga revolve around Arle as she engages in hilarious misunderstandings about the world. Some events include her bringing home a giant bear because she thinks of it as a pet and splitting the Earth in half accidentally. Some Dr. Slump characters have appeared in Dragon Ball from time to time, but the question of their legitimacy with regards to the Dragon Ball canon is questionable. During the Red Ribbon saga, for example, Goku finds himself in Penguin Village and is helped by characters from Dr. Slump while facing off against the antagonist General Blue, suggesting that they exist in the same universe, even if only as a cameo.
Nekomajin
Nekomajin is a manga that wasn’t originally based on Dragon Ball, though the name suggests a reference to Majin Buu (Neko meaning cat in Japanese). After Chapter 4, which is titled “Neko Majin Z”, the manga quickly became self-parody. Nekomajin consists of a series of eight short standalone chapters that appeared in the Shonen Jump magazine between 1999 and 2005. Five of the chapters heavily feature cameos from famous Dragon Ball characters as well as Frieza’s son Kuriza and a fat Super Saiyan called Onio. The story itself is about a group of magic-using cats that live in the same age and Earth as the Dragon Ball characters. Some of the characters have been released as special extras in various Dragon Ball video games and card games.
Cross Epoch
Cross Epoch is a one-off Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover manga that was co-authored by Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda. It was published on December 25th, 2006 in the Shonen Jump magazine. It features the characters from both series in pairs fulfilling various roles. For example, Vegeta and Robin are members of a pirate crew, Master Roshi and Sanji as police officers, Piccolo and Zoro as rival swordsmen, and Bulma and Nami as thieves. The villainous pair are Buggy the Clown and Emperor Pilaf. The story follows Mr. Satan, who just had his wish to become a king granted, after which he invites everyone to his island to partake in a party. On the way there, the various pairs face a number of obstacles and have to work together to make it to the party safely.
Dragon Ball Heroes
What started as a collectible card game and later an arcade-only video game (after shortly appearing on some handheld platforms) has also come to feature a number of manga adaptations. The first Dragon Ball Heroes manga, “Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission”, began its serialization in V-Jump in 2012. It is a spin-off created by Akira Toriyama’s current assistant, Toyotaro. The story is set in a time where Capsule Corporation has created special time machines that allow the player to go back in time to fight with heroes from the past. The protagonist is a boy called Beat, who is confident in his Dragon Ball Heroes skills, claims to be able to beat any villain, be it Cell or Frieza. He initially enters the game to find himself working with Gogeta, Goten, and Trunks to fight against Baby-Janemba, to which he is surprised, having seen a new foe for the first time. He also has a friend and rival called Note, a Saiyan girl who is also striving to be the strongest player in the country.
Dragon Ball Heroes: Charisma Mission
Dragon Ball Heroes: Charisma Mission is another spin-off manga based on the popular arcade card game Dragon Ball Heroes. Authored by Yoshitaka Nagayama, it was first published in Saikyo Jump as a way to promote new missions in the arcade game in 2013. This series was put on hiatus while Nagayama’s next series, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission!, was released. This manga tells the story of Future Trunks becoming Xeno Trunks and ran from 2016 to 2020. During this time, Nagayama created a sequel series (Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Universe Mission!!) and a reboot of the original series that came to be titled Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Charisma Mission.
Links
Dragon Ball Series
Dragon Ball Z Series
Dragon Ball Kai Series
Dragon Ball Super Series
Dragon Ball GT Series
Super Dragon Ball Heros
Akira Toriyama