It’s already November 20th in Japan, which means Dragon Ball has officially reached its 40th anniversary. In case you weren’t paying attention and/or born at the time, here are some highlights from the first 40 years of DB history… #DragonBall40th 1984: gag manga superstar Akira Toriyama concludes megahit Dr. Slump, and in November debuts its follow-up in Weekly Jump. This Journey to the West-inspired kung-fu adventure kicks off as inventor girl Bulma recruits monkey boy Goku to track down the titular dragon balls.

According to Bunshun Online, Dragon Room head honcho Akio Iyoku has stepped down from Shueisha and established his own company, Capsule Corporation Tokyo. Supposedly he wants Shueisha to keep DB’s manga publishing rights but for CC Tokyo to handle DB games/anime/etc.

https://twitter.com/bunshun_online/status/1697067378381873523

As you might imagine, Shueisha is reluctant to part with DB to any extent, and negotiations are still ongoing. According to this article, anyway. Shueisha has apparently confirmed that Iyoku is stepping down, but not confirmed any of the particulars so far.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai ep.41: Pissed Myst’s great and the logistics of Dai’s sword are interesting, while the castle’s just there to be knocked down. But it knocks down well. 4/5 #DragonQuest #ep41 What was the name of this episode again?

Rewatching the DBS panel, there’s a few things I want to note about the subtitles. They’re fine overall but there’s a few things I think are oversimplified or left out. Going through roughly in order of importance… When discussing the artwork for New Character 1 and 2, in Japanese Hayashida says how it’s Toriyama’s original artwork, unlike the Piccolo/Pan/etc images that have been developed into full-fledged anime designs. The subtitles instead say it was made before movie production began

May 15th, Age 767: after three days of rest, Goku recovers from his heart disease (a week earlier than Trunks expected). The situation may be dire, but Goku knows the perfect place where Vegeta and Trunks can finally spend some quality father/son time together... #HistoryofEver Speaking of quality time, Goku and Chi Chi get a nice moment together in the anime, sharing a kiss far too hot to actually show on screen. Or include in the canon, for that matter.

May 12th, Age 767 (Bad Future Edition): at 10 AM on an island 9km southwest of South City, 17 and 18 begin their assault. Vegeta and co are mowed down, leaving Gohan sole survivor. Even the dragon balls are no use, since Pilaf and co wasted them on a dumb wish. #HistoryofEver May 12th, Age 767 (Better Future Edition): 19 and 20 appear on schedule, but Our Heroes are ready. Well, Goku gets a bit sick, but Vegeta covers for him. While 19 and 20 don’t last long, 17 and 18 make short work of the gang. And that’s just the beginning of their problems…

May 7th, Age 767: after 11 years, the Tenkaichi Budokai is finally reopened, though Goku and co are apparently too busy android-training to notice. Instead, Mister Satan is champion, beating some jerk called “Spopovitch” in Round 1, then facing Jewel in the finals #HistoryofEver The 24th TB also introduces a new “youth division” for entrants under 15, which is won by Satan’s daughter Videl. Satan becomes famous as world champ and moves to Orange Star City, which is renamed “Satan City” in his honor. Though they don’t bother renaming the high school.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai ep.40: tons of great action cuts, but it’s another episode that would’ve been better if it rushed through less stuff. 3.75/5 #DragonQuest #ep40 In the manga, Popp specifies that he’s only ever heard about Flazzard’s Finger Flare Bombs and never got the chance to see them in action before trying the technique out himself (I get the feeling this was in response to reader complaints)

Kinnikuman ch.354: “Akuma Shogun’s Maxim!!” Sunshine is mad at Ashura/Ninja/Buffaloman for leaving him behind in the Demon World while having all the fun. He wants to go to the Tower of Babel! wpb.cdn.cloudpublisher.jp/view2.php?p=b4… #Kinnikuman #ch354 After all, Akuma Shogun made him and Ashura Man the two leaders of the Devil Chojin. Buffaloman wants to go too: during the battle against the Perfect Origins, Akuma Shogun told him to gain power greater than the gods, which is precisely what this current trial is about.

Age 764 to 767: far out on the galaxy’s movie rim, Cooler belatedly learns of his brother’s loss to Goku…but not how he became a cyborg and went to Earth with their dad, where they both got killed by a completely different Saiyan. News travels slowly in space. #HistoryofEver For the timing of DBZ Movie 5, Daizenshuu 6 notes Roshi’s line about “since Goku returned from Namek”, and so places it in the 3 years between Trunks and the androids’ arrival. The Daizenshuu 7 timeline follows suit and dates it to between 764 and 767.

Age 764: after some debate, Our Heroes decide not to use their foreknowledge to stop Gero from making his killer androids, because where’s the fun in that? Instead, they begin a three year crash training course. #HistoryofEver Since getting teleported to Earth from Namek, Vegeta has been freeloading at Capsule Corp, relying on them for room and board, plus advanced training equipment. But his presence there threatens to break up a long-standing relationship…

August, Age 764: thanks to his new Yardrat skills, Goku makes it back in time to save Earth from Freeza and his dad Cold. He finishes off the unrepentant villains for good, but dies of natural causes sometime later. Yes, we’re at the start of a pretty big downer… #HistoryofEver Wait wait, let’s try this again…August, Age 764: Freeza and Cold arrive on Earth, and Goku’s spaceship is still three hours away. Just as he’s about to use his new Yardrat skills to teleport the rest of the way, somebody steps in and solves his problem for him…

#dbspoilers

The roughs are up for DBS ch.74: “Vegeta vs Granolah”. While the Sugar folk flee to safety, Vegeta says doppelgängers and fusions won’t work on him, but Granolah says he was just saving his stamina. His goal is to beat Vegeta’s boss, Freeza! Vegeta says he no longer works for Freeza, but Granolah assumes he’s double-crossing his boss to save his own skin. Oatmeel notes that Goku said he wasn’t a bad guy either, but Granolah still isn’t buying it. Vegeta points out he was still a kid when Planet Cereal was attacked

October, Age 763: the planet Makyo swings by Earth for the first time in 5,000 years. Naturally this makes those on Earth of Makyo descent a gazillion times stronger, thus allowing Garlic Jr to break out of the movies and invade the main series. #HistoryofEver There’s worldwide chaos as Junior and co turn Earth’s population into demons, but it’s all cleaned up in time to celebrate Sea Turtle’s 1,000th birthday. This might also be Hit’s 1,000th birthday for all we know. Nobody can prove otherwise.

May 3rd, Age 763: after 130 days spent idling around Capsule Corp, the Namekians’ dragon balls revive. Kuririn’s spirit is returned to Earth and resurrected, but Goku opts out of a free ride home, so that he can continue training with Pybara. #HistoryofEver With one wish still free, Bulma resurrects Yamcha. Now they can live happily ever after! Another full (Namekian) year later on September 10th, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu are revived, and the Namekians depart for a new vaguely Namek-y planet. Now they can live happily ever after!

Late Age 762 to early 763: rumors of Freeza’s death are greatly exaggerated. King Cold comes out of retirement to fetch his son from the remains of Namek and give him a cyborg upgrade. Hopefully they got charged a better rate than Tao. #HistoryofEver Goku’s likewise not nearly so dead as supposed. While Kaio’s not looking, he escapes Namek in a Ginyu Force ship, which takes him to the group’s last target: Yardrat, a world outside Galactic Patrol jurisdiction but overseen by Elder Pybara, the master of Spirit Control.

December 24th, Age 762: the Ginyu Force arrive on Namek. Goku arrives on Namek. Goku beats the Ginyu Force. Freeza beats everybody else. Goku gets mad. #HistoryofEver Yes, Goku’s S-Cells finally kick into high gear. It’s far too much for filler land’s computers to handle! Plus we learn an awful lot about Kewi’s race. Apparently Freeza wiped them out, but promised the survivors he’d make them prosper again. Talk about an abusive relationship.

December 18th, Age 762: Bulma and co finally arrive on Namek but discover the story arc has started without them. While Freeza already has three dragon balls, the Namekians rapidly deplete his supply of mooks. Even Cranberry is lost to Zarbon’s friendly fire. #HistoryofEver Vegeta arrives soon after Team Bulma and makes short work of Kewi and Dodoria. Zarbon takes him a little longer, but by the 20th Freeza is completely out of staff on Namek. Fortunately he’s already summoned the Ginyu Force (on holiday from their Yardrat invasion). ETA: 5 days.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai ep.38: almost as if they’re making up for lost time, this episode moves the plot forward a ton. It’s the first time in awhile I’ve felt the pacing’s a bit too fast, but I do like Popp reuniting with his family. 3.25/5 #DragonQuest #ep38 The kanji say 世界会議/sekai kaigi/“world summit” (or world conference/convention/etc), while the furigana indicates it should be read as the English word “summit”, which is what characters say throughout, and the CR subs use “world summit”. Anyway, it’s a big meeting.

November 21st, Age 762: after much finagling, Bulma and co head off to Namek in Kami’s old spaceship. Seven days later, Vegeta reaches Planet Vegeta No.79 and has a chat with his old rival Kewi, while in filler land Bulma and co run into some of Kewi’s victims. #HistoryofEver Kewi’s not the only one in Freeza’s forces who’s been busy. Right around now, the Ginyu Force are attacking Planet Yardrat, home to a race who utilize Spirit Control for a variety of seemingly disparate techniques. Vegeta likes the Ginyu Force about as much as he does Kewi.

The color version of DBS vol.15 is out I’ll understand this one day