Features & Info

The Dao of Dragon Ball is a new book about Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Kai that analyzes the manga and anime to reveal all of the unspoken and hidden depth's of the series.

At this time the book is only available as a downloadable e-book. I hope to have a physical copy available for the 2011 holiday season.

No. The Dao of Dragon Ball is not a compendium of trivia nor a collection of information straight from Wikipedia. It is a historical, spiritual, and metaphysical analysis and interpretation of the pop cultural phenomenon that is Dragon Ball. Its likeness cannot be found elsewhere.

Resources for The Dao of Dragon Ball come from hundreds of various places, albeit primarily from the web. Wikipedia is naturally one of these sources. Other sources include text books, non-fiction historical analyses of East Asian culture, personal experience, and experts in the anime and manga industry.

There are only a handful of Dragon Ball books on the market, and each of them focuses on trivia and factoids. The Dao of Dragon Ball delves much further into the series and looks at it from a historical and philosophical mindframe.

The cultural assumptions made by the author Akira Toriyama for the Japanese audience are in many instances left unexplained to Western audiences. This book explains the entirety of Dragon Ball's untold secrets. It serves as the perfect companion to the manga or anime and can work as an introductory text book in highschool or university level classes focused on Japanese pop culture.

The Dao of Dragon Ball is written for young adults to adults. It is written primarily for fans that grew up with the series as teenagers and are now young adults. The book's scholarly nature and discussions of topics such as death, violence, spirituality, world cultures and history may be unsuitable for young children.

Dragon Ball Z / GT is one of the world's most popular Japanese animations (anime) and comic books (manga). It was created in the mid-80's and finished in 1997, and Dragon Ball consists of nearly 500 syndicated episodes and 18 feature films and TV specials. Innovative at it's time and still quite influential, Dragon Ball is almost single handedly responsible for introducing anime to Western audiences on a mainstream level.

I recommend the following for a quick understanding of Dragon Ball's history and presence:

• Daizex's Newbie Guide
• Official Dragon Ball Z Site

The Dao is a term from Chinese culture and religion. It is described as "The Way," or "The Path." This term encompasses one complete system of spiritual cultivation, and is placed in contrast or in tandem with "The Law." The Dao of Dragon Ball uses this term to describe the complete history and culture of Dragon Ball's spiritual perspective.

There is no specific section on Christianity, but Dragon Ball has many relatable themes and connotations to the Christian faith.

The Dao of Dragon Ball's focus is to show the series primarily through the East Asian faiths of Buddhism, Daoism, and Shinto, yet throughout the book it is very easy to relate these spiritual concepts to a Christian outlook. Readers have told me that they can see God in Goku, and find his actions similar to those found in the book of Revelations. There is plenty to read about, enjoy, and relate to any perspective.

By practicing Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Falun Dafa, studying Chinese culture and philosophy, and of course by watching an endless amount of Dragon Ball. All of these influences in my life came together in The Dao of Dragon Ball.

The Dao of Dragon Ball consists of three parts. The 1st is a historical look at the creation of the series and it's author, Akira Toriyama. The 2nd is a cultural and spiritual analysis of each aspect of the show. The 3rd delves into the metaphysical and "serious questions" such as, "Is Goku a Bodhisattva?" and "What is Goku's method for attaining enlightenment?"

In total it runs around 350 pages.

Please note that only Part 1 is currently for sale!

Yes, I do talk about Dragon Ball's many influences, especially in regards to Akira Toriyama and his creation of both Goku and the series as a whole. This is primarily discussed in section 1.

Because of the unique types of influences on Dragon Ball the series contains a rare combination of both traditional and modern or even futuristic and sci-fi elements. It's part of what makes the series so endearing, as everyone can find something they enjoy.

No. At this time the book does not include pictures. This makes it perfectly suitable for library's or other public places.

Though I do have plans in the future to include both licensed and original images.

You can get your very own copy of The Dao of Dragon Ball right here as a downloadable Dragon Ball e-book.

At this time the book is not available for hard copy purchase.

With your help in downloading the e-book I will be able to self-publish a hard copy. Thank you!