The first part of wonder island is actually quite funny, and an interesting comedic take on a lone soldier trapped on an island post-war. I found this single chapter to be funnier than anything in Dragonball, and enjoyed the plot, although it's obvious there isn't enough with the character of Furusu himself to take this further. Due to this being Toriyama's first published story, it's interesting to see his character design skills and comedy so on point. From the get go he was a clear talent.
Wonder Island 2 is a far less succinct story, and makes far less sense. The gag's fall through, and are nowhere near as funny as the first part. However, Toriyama's design skills are fantastic, and his ability to distinctly draw characters is second to none. Even characters appearing for a few pages have intense personality to them, and look incredibly lively. Movement in panels is extremely clear as well, showing Toriyama's early mastery. The pacing however is a bit off, and mid way through Toyiyama even writes in the panel "gotta move the plot along", so he recognized that was a shortcoming. Anytime you need to do that, you don't succeed in pacing.
Tomato The Cutesy Gumshoe
Combining the best aspects of both parts of wonder island, this story begins to feel much similar to Dr.Slump, and retains many hallmarks of what becomes toriyama's later style. Not just in character designs that end up feeding into Arale or Bulma, but even in the usage of vegetable names. There is not much here that doesn't exist in the previous parts, but it is definitely an upgrade, and a refining of style.
Pola and Roid
The first thing about this manga is how visually stunning it is compared to the previous. Perhaps due to the Star Wars inspiration, but Toriyama really turns it up a notch here, and the designs pop out. Both Pola and Roid are fantastically designed, as well as the landscapes, machines, and robots which stand out from anything else in manga. You can see his experience on Arale-chan in this manga. Unlike the previous two which were still grounded in something that didn't feel "toriyama", this manga feels like Toriyama built a universe, and realistically this is inside the Arale/Dragonball universe since there are multiple references to Arale like a watch and manga, and a character dresses up as her as a gag. There is still weakness in the pacing, but it's very interesting to watch Toryiama improve his pacing over time. An intersting thought is that the martial arts pacing in Dragonball might be the final puzzle piece Toriyama needed for a masterpiece. Arale is great, but it's not Dragonball. Much of the fault of these earlier works tends to lie in the pacing, but realistically the pacing is the complete inverse of Dragonball. While Dragonball(z) are very 'slow', with long drawn out staring contests, and power up scenes like a bruce lee, or kurosawa film, these earlier mangas are almost ADHD in their pacing, with the story progressing far too quickly. It's possible that Toriyama luckily fell into a concept that forced the pacing rate down, finally perfecting the formula. It's also something not exclusive to these earlier mangas, as I've read things like Jaco and Kajika, and they have similar pacing issues that don't come through in Dragonball. Granted, this manga was written in a short period of time, but it's still an effect you can feel.
Mad Matic
There is not much to say about this story, other than it begins to include more of Toriyama's ability to weave a character's unique personality into the story line. Similar to Goku, the character makes friends with a dragon that would normally kill someone, and then uses said dragon to stop the evil bad guys. This is very characteristic of Toriyama.
Chobit
Sadly, while being the longest of the stories yet, Chobit really boils down to not much, and an excuse to see a cute girl in weird situations. There is not even any redeeming comedy here that makes it enjoyable compared to some of the previous stories. Very little plot or character development.
Today’s Highlight Island
This is a short crude story about a boy very similar to Toriyama himself. Published in 1979, this predates Dr.Slump, and comes from a much younger Toriyama. While the story is really not that great, and the main character is not very likable, the art is of particular excellence for such a young Toriyama. It’s easy to see how starting from such an amazing foundation, Toriyama became an absolute master.
Escape
Hardly a chapter, 5 pages, but Toriyama has outstanding art. Must be said, this feels a lot like Dragonquest.
Pink
Interesting little Sheriff/Mafia story, where the mafia boss is named Silver, much like Dragonball, and other Red Ribbon characters have color names hence the title “Pink”. Something I’ve always liked about Toriyama is his ability to draw female characters that come across incredibly femanine compared to many other mangaka. The thing that strikes me about this is how much this feels like the recent Boba Fett series in some aspects. Perhaps it is that fusion of eastern with sheriff/outlaw story, with elements of a water struggle and star wars inspired vehicles and weapons. I haven’t read Sand Land yet, but I hear that it has a similar vibe. Plot and action wise, this manga is one of the better ones and it’s easy to see how many elements get lifted into full manga.
Dragonboy
Pretty fantastic manga here, and it’s obvious why; it’s basically dragonball. Only some minor changes. This is the first manga that is a clear Shonen.
Adventures of Tongpoo
Many elements in Dragonball are found here, such as being frozen in status, capsules, Plano looking a lot like bulma, cyborgs, and the Dragonball-esque storyline. I really enjoyed this one, almost as much as Dragonball, and I could read more about Tongpoo, and I’m sort of disappointed I can’t. I guess that’s just Dragonball.
Mr.Ho
Many elements of this story are definitely reused throughout Dragonball’s Red Ribbon arc, and that isn’t a bad thing at all. Many of the best manga are remixes/remasters of previous one-shots, refined into a cohesive universe. That’s one thing to really take away from these Pre-Dragonball storylines. It must be said the main character is extremely similar to Yamcha, but with more shooty than punchy.
Young Master Ken’nosuke
Extremely different from anything that came previously, with a very un-toriyama writing style, but toriyama storytelling. The entire plot is essentially for the sake of the gag, and while it’s quite a strong gag it doesn’t establish the main characters very well. No one has a strong personality, and there is little in the world that leaves you wanting more like some of the previous chapters. However, it is a good shift of style, and I can’t complain about variety in a volume like this, as too many shonen adventures would get old.
The Elder
Master Roshi stars in the Fast and Furious. Enjoyable story told in Toriyama’s unique comedy/action blend.
Little Mamejiro
A 6 year old tries to become a juvenile delinquent, because his father ate his ice cream. Bruh. 10/10 premise not gonna lie, but sadly a story like that really doesn’t have legs beyond a one-shot.
Karamaru and the Perfect Day
If Goku was a wholesome Ninjaboy trying to save his grandpa in 18th century Japan.
Soldier of Savings Cashman
Straight out of the gate, the art style here is noticeably closer to DragonballZ, with the “muscle-y” Tetsuo Hara style men, sharper, less rounded edges, and including a “superhero”(alien), ala Ultraman, that look extremely similar to Freiza/DBZ aliens in general. However, at its core this is another cop story, and Toriyama can’t seem to get away from this plot. That isn’t a criticism, cause it seems they always end up in completely different places.The action in Cashman is also much better than some of the previous choreography, despite the goofy premise of “Cashman” rescuing people for payment.
Something of note across all of Toriyama’s stories are a few consistent themes. Whether it’s justice, cars, cop stories, aliens/spaceships/robots, or even “dating”, which is found in a large amount of stories. These are hallmarks of what make Toriyama himself, and sets him apart from other artists beyond his visual style, or writing. It’s funny because most of these stories are written well after Toriyama is not just married, but has children that are at least 5-6? So it’s pretty funny seeing his obsession with “messing up dates”.
I actually enjoy Cashman a lot, maybe as much as Tongpoo and Dragonboy, which end up being made into Dragonball. The battle between Cashman and Kazuo Kariyama was pretty awesome frankly, without taking itself too seriously. The “universe power ranking” that it sort of establishes would be interesting to see where Cashman fits into the wider Toriyama universe.
Dub and Peter
Not a big fan of Dub or Peter, to be honest. Containing the same car and get the girl tropes of Toriyama’s previous chapters, this one doesn’t really have anything that stands out. The main character is sort of a loser, and the motivations are thin. Not much to see here, which is sad because the most stand out quality is actually that this all takes place in Pepper Town, which is canonically inside the Dragonball Universe. Someone on this planet, Goku is around doing some stuff, and when the most interesting thing about your story is that Goku might, just MAYBE be around the corner....eh....
Go! Go! Ackman
We’ve arrived at the final story, and perhaps the longest of all yet. The style is noticeably more Dragonquest, which is a very good thing, and personally something I enjoy seeing. Right out of the gate the premise of Ackman is fantastic, and the tongue and cheek writing style of Toriyama matches that story in a similar way it matches Dragonball. Ackman is a failed demon, really unable to live up to his father’s legacy of soul harvesting, with a weakness for nude women. To offset this, Toriyama introduces an interesting rival Angel, who is far more “evil” than ackman, and ends up helping Ackman fulfill his goals. I really enjoyed this story and I’m disappointed there isn’t more.
