Now that we know that the next Dragon Ball movie will be about Broly and the history of the Saiyans, it may be interesting to take a look at the past and recover the manga from Dragon ball minus.
It is the last comic -to date- completely drawn by Akira Toriyama in which the Dragon Ball characters once again pass under the artist's pencil. Nor is it an incredibly revealing story, but it serves to introduce a couple of elements in retrocontinuity and fill the odd gap in the history of planet Vegeta.
Dragon Ball Minus, a last look at the saiyans before the apocalypse
“Dragon Ball Minus: Special Omake Story - Rocket child of destiny", also know as "Extra special story: Dragon Ball - (minus): fate's abandoned baby”, “Dragon Ball -"Or"Dragon ball minus"To dry, was published in April 2014 in Japan as an additional chapter for the tankobon and kanzenban editions of the manga. Jaco, the galactic patrol written and drawn by Toriyama himself.
Here in Spain it was released in 2015 by Planeta Cómic within Jaco's unitary volume, announcing itself on the cover of the manga as “Dragon Ball The Prequel!”. Then it turned out that of the 247 pages that the volume had, only 17 corresponded to Dragon Ball Minus, but that's another story ...
Is Dragon Ball Minus canon?
In this special 17-page manga, Akira Toriyama takes the opportunity to go back in time, and develop a little the days and the environment prior to the destruction of the planet Vegeta by Freeza.
We see Bardock in all his glory, conquering planets, and at the same time worried about the future of his young 3-year-old son Kakarot. But what is really interesting is that finally we can see for the first time Gine, Goku's mother.
In addition, Toriyama uses Freeza to bring to the fore a possible "super Saiyan god", introducing this new concept developed from Dragon Ball Super in retrocontinuity.
With all these concepts on the table, can we say that Dragon Ball Minus is canon? If we consider that any story written and drawn by Akira Toriyama is canon, this manga is as canon as the most.
The fact that it was published as a complement to another manga, in this case Jaco, does not detract from its validity. What's more, the galactic patrol itself has also been integrated into Dragon Ball Super a posteriori, so we can assume that both stories take place in the same shared universe.
This is Gine, Son Goku's mother, cutting a ham.The drawing: this is not the Toriyama you knew as a child
Akira Toriyama's drawing, like that of any good draftsman, has evolved over the years. His stroke has become much more direct, with fewer lines and thinner bodies. It would be interesting to see how the author would face some of the most iconic battles of the saga today. Unfortunately, in Dragon Ball Minus there are not many action scenes, so it is difficult to do a decent comparison.
On a stylistic level, we find ourselves before a work closer to Kintoki or Toccio himself, The Angel. Toriyama was never overly enthusiastic about fights, and this type of drawing favors the more mundane scenes in manga. We see young Raditz and Vegeta, a baby Goku much less chubby than when he was little and a Bardock less muscular than many will remember.
Vegeta and Raditz, before making communion.The first step to rewrite the origin of Goku and the end of the planet Vegeta
At the beginning of Dragon Ball Minus we can read a short message (supposedly from the editor): “As the past of Dragon Ball has unexpectedly changed a bit, we have asked the author to go back a little further in time and tell us how Goku left for earth, something that even he did not know”.
As many of you will remember, in 1990 Toei released the OVA “The last fight”, A TV special where Bardock's death and the destruction of the planet Vegeta were told. This special, although appreciated by the public, never became canon as such, since this story did not come from the original manga.
Therefore, when at the beginning of Dragon Ball Minus it is said that “the past of Dragon Ball has unexpectedly changed a bit,” they give us to understand that they are going to make a more detailed approach to the past of the Saiyan race.
Something that we have already seen reflected in recent statements by Toriyama, speaking of the legendary Yamoshi. A Saiyan past about which we will undoubtedly also get more information when it is released Dragon Ball Super: Broly at the end of 2018.
In short, an interesting manga, more as a possible starting point for future stories, than as a manga itself. Well drawn, and with a house brand narrative. Recommended for all fans of the Dragon Ball saga.
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