Dragon Ball Z, Vol. 7 (Volume 7): The Ginyu Force

Man, Akira Toriyama knows how to milk the suspense, doesn’t he? Son Goku STILL hasn’t arrived on Namek yet but his training has taken him to a new height - somewhere beyond anyone’s powers. Can’t wait to see him land and take on Freeza and co.So, meanwhile: everyone’s playing silly buggers with the Dragon Balls. Freeza’s got 5 then he doesn’t. Vegeta thinks he’s got 7 but he’s got 6. Then Kuririn and Gohan swap Dragon Balls. Then Freeza has all 7! And so on. The swapping and changing was fun for a while but I’m kinda wishing we could get past it now - we have had 3 books of this!Vegeta awakens in Freeza’s infirmary, freshly healed from his wounds against Zarbon, only to take him on again in Round 2. And here’s the thing: the Saiyans get stronger after a fight they lose - they are literally the embodiment of the phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”! - so Zarbon’s really in for it in this rematch!The reinforcements Freeza called for have arrived in the form of the Ginyu Force: five theatrically campy warriors who’re all supposedly the equal - even the better - of Vegeta! They’re essentially still more hurdles for Goku and co. to overcome before facing Freeza. The good news is Goku is on the brink of appearing on Namek and both Kuririn and Gohan levelled up thanks to the Grand Elder of Namek, so I think they’re gonna do alright against this bunch!I was surprised to see that in a supposedly “All Ages” book there was a very visual decapitation scene, but there we go. I guess kids these days are desensitized to that sorta thing?Even without Goku though, volume 7 has a lot of great stuff happening and you’ll find yourself unexpectedly rooting for Vegeta in some of the fights, despite his evilness! The enemy of my enemy and so on.The volume ends with Goku about to take the stage - hopefully now Toriyama won’t spend another book keeping him back to tease the readers still further!

I think its time to give this one a proper review.First of all, I was disappointed to see that the book was full of marks on the front and back cover. Not a big problem at all anyway.Secondly, when I opened the book, I was upset because there were no Akira notes/comments :(...After flicking, the coloured pages came and they are great. However its so limited and are mostly red and grey. I hoped they coloured the best part and not random parts.After that, there are no more coloured pages, unfortunately. But the drawings are great and are printed in a bigger paper which is awesome.As the title say, "Vizbig". That means big. 3 volumes in one book. Now, that's a great idea, however its actually very hard to read because the big is heavy and thick. It would be better if you read it on a table. I will not recommend holding it.When I finished reading the book, I was so happy because Akira's comments/notes where there :D and the pictures are in colour :)))Also, the paper's wuality is pretty nice. Its smooth, thick and whiter than other DBZ mangas.My suggestions:Colour the best partRevise the front cover = its pretty boringMaybe use more colours and dont limit to 3-4 colours? I know there's a new one coming out in full colour but it costs £10 per volume which is £260 for all if you do the math.

This book was as good as the previous ones I have read, and It was fantastic! The Freeza Saga is always full of action and grabs your attention straight away.I love how the pictures are exactly how they are in the manga DVD/TV series, and it follows closely to the TV storyline and Its great being able to have the action and fun at your finger tips.I would recommend this book to all Dragon Ball/Z/GT fans and new comers to Dragon Ball Z!

Bought this as i already had volumes 1-5 and just needed this and volume 6 7 and 8 to complete my viz big collection.

One of my all time favourite manga

Dragon Ball Z - Volume 7 covers the episodes numbered 71 through to 82 in the original series in Shônen Jump magazine in Japan; or rather, the period between Kuririn's meeting with the Great Elder of the Namekians, and the arrival of the Ginyu Force onto the planet, and into the Saga. As with all the other Viz reproductions of the series, the story reads from left to right in order to stay in keeping with the original, and to avoid the odd flaws, or skewed perspectives that can occur when pages are "flopped" - printed in the exact reverse order to you and me - which is standard practice in most Japan/US translations. Even though this can remain a little confusing at first, after being exposed to it for a while, it becomes second nature. :)During the course of Volume 7, Kuririn and Gohan manage to locate 2 of the 7 Namekian Dragon Balls, even though they are fated to lose them on more than one occasion as time goes on. Vegeta begins his (very) slow transition from out and out bad guy to becoming a person with a little more compassion; he never manages to achieve full "goodie" status throughout the whole of DragonBall Z, as is in keeping with his mysterious Saiyan nature, but his decision to stand up and fight alongside Kuririn and Gohan against the Ginyu force shows a definite shift to the better - at least for our heroes. When you juxtapose the "evil" ofVegeta with the evil of Freeza, the uber-baddie who spends most of Volume 7 losing, then trying to regain the Dragon Balls, you see the difference that has been made in Vegeta's character. If you thought that Vegeta was cold and calculating, in comparison to Freeza, he's a kitten! The volume closes with the Ginyu Force having the upper hand in battle, and Goku being two minutes from the planet Namek - as usual, another cliffhanger where the outcome would appear to be obvious, but with enough doubt, due to Toriyama's unique writing style, to make you wonder if everything really _is_ going to turn out fine in the end. Guess we'll have to wait for Volume 8 to see! ;)The Dragon Ball Z series, and Volume 7 is no exception, has somewhat less of the Toriyama sense of humour than the original Dragon Ball series did. The is perhaps more of a mark of the author moving on from his "Doctor Slump" days, and moving into a more battle-oriented style, than of him completely losing his knack for humour. Certainly, comic relief is provided by the presence of Bulma, who although more mature, still retains some of her reckless youthful nuances, and by Goku, whose innocence and naivety helps to break up the tense nature of the mood of the Saga. Last but not least, we have the arrival of the Ginyu Force, a group of fighting ultra-poseurs who travel the galaxy looking for fights to win, and fighting poses to perfect... Their vanity is matched only by their fighting prowess, as they not only "Roshambo" to decide who will get to fight who, but upon losing a comrade, remark that: "It's a tragedy... Without all five of us, the Special Force's fighting pose just won't look cool!"... Enough said. :pHowever, Toriyama, as always, manages to inject a sense of speed and grace into his works that is very rarely seen, especially in what some deride as "kiddie manga". Actually, Dragon Ball Z, much like Harry Potter, is fiction that can be involving and accessible to both adults and children; some of the themes resident in the series can be interpreted on a more mature level, and the humour is both obvious and subtle at the same time. I've been reading, and buying Toriyama's work over the past two years, and I haven't been disappointed once - I can only urge you to do the same if you'd like a small break from reality once in a while. :)

this book is brrillent :D