The ABBC will spend about 24 weeks reading 10 Minute Biographies. If we stick to a similar pace of 1 page a day we would end up with a 28 week schedule:
Start date
Chapter
Page numbers
Page count
1 - ブルマと悟空とドラゴンボール
2-9
8
1 - ブルマと悟空とドラゴンボール
10-16
7
1 - ブルマと悟空とドラゴンボール
17-24
8
2 - 変身妖怪ウーロン
25-31
7
2 - 変身妖怪ウーロン
32-37
6
2 - 変身妖怪ウーロン
38-44
7
3 - 荒野の狼ヤムチャ
45-51
7
3 - 荒野の狼ヤムチャ
52-57
6
3 - 荒野の狼ヤムチャ
58-64
7
4 - フライパン山の牛魔王
65-71
7
4 - フライパン山の牛魔王
72-77
6
4 - フライパン山の牛魔王
78-84
7
5 - 神龍あらわる!
85-91
7
5 - 神龍あらわる!
92-97
6
5 - 神龍あらわる!
98-104
7
6 - 悟空の大変身
105-111
7
6 - 悟空の大変身
112-117
6
6 - 悟空の大変身
118-124
7
7 - ぴちぴちギャルを探せ‼
125-131
7
7 - ぴちぴちギャルを探せ‼
132-137
6
7 - ぴちぴちギャルを探せ‼
138-144
7
8 - 修行開始‼
145-151
7
8 - 修行開始‼
152-157
6
8 - 修行開始‼
158-164
7
9 - 天下一武道会開幕‼
165-171
7
9 - 天下一武道会開幕‼
172-177
6
9 - 天下一武道会開幕‼
178-183
6
Bonus
184-188
5
Alternatively, we could go 50% faster so that we can read each chapter in 2 weeks. In that case we would take 19 weeks and the schedule would look more like this:
If there was a “Maybe” option in the membership poll, I’d choose that! I voted for this book as well as the biographies one… I’m just not sure yet whether I’ll be overcommitted on book clubs by the time this one starts
(Kiki is kicking my butt right now but should be finishing by around then I think)
Funnily enough this was the first manga I possesed in japanese after a recommendation. It is pretty easy but I wouldn’t underestimate it. I read yotsubato before I read SD even though SD is longer in my possesion.
In yotsuba you only have to struggle with yotsubas strange language. In SD more characters talk in a “funny” way which makes it harder for beginners.
Also everyone should be advised that SD is the story in shortened form and many parts are cut or only explained in 1-2 panels. Also the 1st one ends on a pretty cliffhangy moment in the first tournament arc XD.
The full color pages are nice though that is correct.
I’ve read through the first two volumes (and have the other four to go through … at some point). It’s … a pretty baffling beast. Most chapters only have one or two alternations from the original material, with the rest being panel-for-panel, line-by-line recreations, albeit with truncation.
It seems like its main point is to run in Saikyo Jump to introduce young readers who may have come in through Super or the games to the content of the original Dragon Ball, though that makes the existence of collected volumes a bit of a headscratcher, considering the continued availability of the original series in Japan. The only potential appeal I can think of is that, if you’re a parent, six volumes for junior is cheaper than the equivalent twenty-four or so of Dragon Ball proper. (Up through the mid-Namek arc, where it currently stands.)
I won’t be joining this one, but good luck to all participating! I wound up just wanting to reread the original Dragon Ball after two volumes of it, which I went on to do instead. Maybe that’s the true point of the series.
Enjoy Naho Ooishi’s art–a former fan artist from the doujinshi sphere with some … rather spicy output before she was put on this project, in addition to a lot of comedy–and silently wish she were on something where she could flex her creativity a bit more.
If you’re truly coming into this as an “absolute beginner” looking for first-time native content, you can get through it, but beware Toriyama’s very colloquial dialogue, which is preserved in full force here. Read what interests you, but know there are certainly easier things to dive into.
So I decided to re-do the poll. Apologies to the people who already voted (though most of them were poll-lovers who will just get to vote again now, so you’re welcome ).
Looking forward to seeing the vocab sheet! (Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan anyone…)
I started reading Dragon Ball last year in English after my son got into the anime. Read the whole lot from 1984 up to 2020 on the Shonen Jump app. An incredible manga! Will try and read along with you all.
It is funny but I realized few days ago that I never read Dragon Ball manga heh. I got my SD copy from BK. Waiting for the start of our club. In the meantime, I started to read original B&W manga in English starting from volume one out of 44. Must say it is incredible.
I imagine the colour pages are a real treat! I got the ebook for now, but I’m planning to buy the phsyical books whenever I am next in Japan (whyyyy corona, whyyyyyyyy ).
Right, time to set a schedule. The faster schedule has almost double the support, but I also want to make sure those who voted for a slower schedule can make it work. That’s why I propose we start on the slow schedule for the first two chapters and then move on to a faster schedule. It will only take us two weeks longer to read the book (21 vs 19) and it will hopefully give people some time to adjust in the beginning. We’d be done in time for the next ABBC pick.
The dragon ball cards are in a card pouch attached to the book by a perforated edge - but I can’t bring myself to tear them out!
Schedule looks fine. It does seem quite text dense, a bit like some of the trickier pages in レンタルおにいちゃん. It might be worth polling active readers a few weeks in to see whether people would prefer to stay at the slower pace.
I was hoping to join this book club for the upcoming book and just received my copies of the books today! Has there been any update to the schedule or should I keep an eye out for new threads being posted for each week? It’s my first time attempting to read with the group so I’m a little unclear what to expect. The book looks very accessible and I’m excited to work through it.
Welcome! We start on Oct 31. I will post a link to the discussion thread at that time. Some book clubs have one big discussion thread for the whole book, others have a thread per chapter/week. We’ll play it by ear and decide what we do by the end of the first week. The discussion thread is for questions about grammar and vocab, but also for chatting about the story itself and our experiences reading it. You could always have a look at the discussion thread of a previous book club, such as this one, to get a better idea what to expect. But don’t worry, it’s all super chill
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