Haha.. I edited my original comment to include asking in which direction to go with the Manga..
3 in 1, or I found on Amazon they have the 42 volumes separate too?
Starting with this one: Dragon Ball, Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1569319200/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sPHLybTH8HR3V
Hey you were the guy who helped me in my own thread! Ill give you an update, I ordered Vol 1 on amazon and it came mere mins ago. Sure enough its uncensored. The paper quality is exactly what id expect. Its great. Really happy with it.
It was this one by the way http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569319200/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bulma's breasts are uncensored in both the first and second editions of the English tankobons.
They're the individual volumes. You can purchase them here.
Something that most people don't have but everyone wants? That would be Weekly Shonen Jump #51 from November 20, 1984. That is the first printing of the Dragon Ball manga in Japan. That answers your question but isn't feasible for what you're trying to do (they're hard to find, very expensive, and not worth the money to someone who isn't a hardcore DBZ collector).
If you have $200 to spend, I would first get the Bandai SH Figuarts Gohan that is set to release next month. This is a re-issue of a figure that I ended up having to pay $120 for so getting this for less than $30 is a great price.
If you want to spend the rest on SH Figuarts, here is Amazon's page for all of the DBZ ones. You could also pick up the Vegetto one that comes out on May 31 for a good price as well.
If he is interested in owning the manga, you could look around eBay for a used set of the manga or get it on Amazon here and here. You could also buy some of the Blu-ray seasons as well.
Since his favorite character is Gohan, here are some Amazon links to some really cool and high quality Gohan figures. I also added a Gohan plush as well.
Let me know if you have any other questions and I can help you out. Good luck!
I can't speak for everyone but Akira Toriyama's work on Dragon Ball and DBZ really was much better than other action-oriented animated shows available to kids/teens in the 90s. Like if you go back and watch mid 80s or early 90s cartoons from the US, they are just terrible.
The US at that time was primarily using extremely low unique frame counts with tons of flat backgrounds, think like Scooby Do or Peanuts. The comedy stuff was okay at times, but usually focused on gags.
Compared to that, you had people fighting in epic sagas with at least decent if not brilliant animation.
It's not until the early/mid 2000s that the US really started to create noteworthy action series (mostly by outsourcing animation) with stuff like Adventure Time or Avatar The Last Airbender.
Anyways, so with that as a frame of reference, a lot of people actually prefer the Akira Toriyama art in Dragon Quest and see it as nostalgic at worst or expressive at best.
I agree that with the rise of computer assisted animation, there has been a LOT of bad animation coming from Japan, a lot of it cute girls dancing around or what have you. But if you go back and give Dragon Ball Z an honest shot with an open mind, you might enjoy it.
The best start might be Dragon Ball Z abridged by Team Four Star. It's a comedic parody, but it's funny and tells the main brush strokes of Dragon Ball Z and you get to see some of the fun animation. If that interests you, you can watch more of the series itself.
Or if you prefer graphic novels, you can check out the original Dragon Ball comic. The sheer beauty of it can be engaging. There's a free preview on Amazon, just give it a try:
Sure, here you go
Dragon Ball, Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1569319200/ref=cm_sw_r_fm_apa_5KfxxbKXNPVWG
I read these are the way to go
These are problably your best option
Dragon Ball, Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1569319200/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_ggEWwb1RFQKYN
You have 3 options for buying the manga in english. First up is the tankōbon release which would end up being pretty expensive after buying all 42 volumes but is generally a good release. Next up is the VIZBIG release which although is the best quality release, it's also the most censored. Finally, we have the 3-in-1 release which has absolutely terrible paper quality.
Sadly not that I am aware of.
The normal paperback versions don't have much censorship, and the translation is pretty spot on.
This might have more information: http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=22510
I'd say this is the best way to read Dragon Ball in english for purity: http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Vol-Akira-Toriyama/dp/1569319200
Edit: for the record, the vizbig versions are censored, less censored than the anime though, but the paper quality and size are great. They are worth it too!
You can puchase them on Amazon, or you can buy digitally directly from Viz's website. Our FAQ has a list of the various physical releases Viz has put out.
> I've heard reading manga is different than reading a normal comic, but I've never heard why.
You read them right to left.