Dragon Boy Article Index for
Dragon
Articles about
Dragon Boy
Website Links For
Dragon Boy
 

Information About

Dragon Boy





Animanga/Manga Information

  Author Akira Toriyama
  Publisher Fresh Jump
  First Run 1983
  Last Run 1983
  Num Volumes 1


Dragon Boy is a two-part " Yomikiri " Japanese Manga by Akira Toriyama published initially by ''Fresh Jump'' anthology magazine in 1983 . As Of 2006 , the manga has not been officially licensed for distribution in the United States .

Dragon Boy is best known for being a prototype for the much more popular Dragon Ball manga, begun the following year. It, like Dragon Ball, is a modern update of the Chinese folk novel Journey To The West . It also features many plot elements which will later be reused (largely in the first 13 chapters) of the Dragon Ball manga.

The manga is the story of Tanton, a Son Goku -like character (similar to Son Goku From Dragon Ball ). Unlike Goku, his unique feature is Bat wings on his back which allows him to fly. He goes on a quest to deliver a princess home to the Flower Country.

Plot elements reused in Dragon Ball: †

  • Tanton is a martial artist that is disconnected from the world at large, living with his master. (Except in Dragon Ball, Grandpa Gohan is already dead at the start of the story.)

  • Tanton's master rides a flying cloud. ( Kintoun , in Dragon Ball)

  • Tanton has never seen a girl before and does some embarrassing things. (He doesn't know the difference between girls and boys.)

  • Tanton's master possess a " Dragon Ball ", but unlike the Dragon Balls of the later series, these actually contain small Dragon s.

  • Tanton's female companion is a princess. In Dragon Ball, Bulma is the heiress to a corporate empire and is very wealthy.

  • Tanton meets up with an evil shapeshifting and flying cat. (Very similar to Puar , in Dragon Ball) He/she becomes a companion. Similar to Oolong , he/she can only transform for three minutes.

  • The princess pees in her pants.


† Some of these elements are themselves borrowed from Journey To The West .

''Note: Names used in this article are based on a fan-translation done by Toriyama's World . If the manga is officially picked up for release in the US, names may be translated differently and this article will need to be updated accordingly.