Dragon Soul: 30 Years of Dragon Ball Fandom

Derek Padula

Jun 2015 · Derek Padula

About this ebook

With a foreword from Christopher Sabat and Sean Schemmel, Dragon Soul: 30 Years of Dragon Ball Fandom is a grand celebration of the world's greatest anime and manga and it's momentous 30th Anniversary.

Join me on a global adventure in search of the 7 dragon balls, as we head west toward Japan, the birthplace of Dragon Ball. Along the way we'll meet 81 fans from 25 countries who will share their Dragon Ball story. From artists to authors, collectors to philosophers, we'll hear their Dragon Soul and discover how Dragon Ball changed their lives. Includes over 100 images.

We'll meet such famous fans as Lawrence Simpson (MasakoX) from Team Four Star, Malik from Dragon Ball New Age, Salagir from Dragon Ball Multiverse, MMA fighter Marcus Brimage, YouTube celebrities SSJGoshin4, Nelson Junior (Casa do Kame), and film critic Chris Stuckmann, famous cosplayers "Living Ichigo," Atara Collis, and Jah'lon Escudero, the creators of Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope, Twitter star @Goku, authors Patrick Galbraith, Nestor Rubio, and Vicente Ramirez, and dozens more.

Joining us will be 27 professionals from 7 countries, including American voice actors Chris Sabat (Vegeta), Sean Schemmel (Goku), Chris Ayres (Freeza), Chris Rager (Mister Satan), Mike McFarland (Master Roshi), Chuck Huber (Android 17), Kyle Hebert (Son Gohan), Jason Douglas (Beerus), Chris Cason (Tenshinhan), FUNimation employees Justin Rojas, Adam Sheehan, and Rick Villa, Dragon Ball Z composer Bruce Faulconer, Dragon Ball manga editor Jason Thompson, Canadian voice actors Peter Kelamis (Goku) and Brian Drummond (Vegeta), Latin American voice actors Mario Castaneda (Goku), Rene Garcia (Vegeta), Eduardo Garza (Krillin), French voice actor Eric Legrand (Vegeta), French journalist Olivier Richard, Spanish voice actors Jose Antonio Gavira (Goku), Julia Oliva (Chichi), and manga editor David Hernando, Danish voice actors Caspar Philllipson (Goku) and Peter Secher Schmidt (Freeza), and Brazilian voice actor Wendel Bezerra (Goku).

Gather your belongings, jump on your magic cloud, and embark on a grand adventure, in Dragon Soul: 30 Years of Dragon Ball Fandom!

Ratings and reviews

An inspiring read, with many fascinating tales from several sectors of the fandom and the production team. It cheered me up whenever I've felt down these last two weeks, so I want to thank you for that.

As some of you may know, it's been 30 years since we were blessed with the now immensely popular Dragon Ball. While to some it may just be a weird Japanese show, to us fans it is a gateway into our wildest imaginations and greatest inspirations. Dragon Ball inspires people like us to be better, to work harder, to go through life knowing things will work out for the best. Unfortunately, apart from a variety of internet articles, blogs, and posts, there hasn't been much documentation on just how important Dragon Ball is in the world's society and culture. Until The Dao of Dragon Ball came along. In the book Dragon Soul, Dao of Dragon Ball founder Derek Padula showcases just how significant Dragon Ball's impact on the world is. Bringing in words from fans around the world, lessons that everyone can relate to, and more, the book does a fantastic job at answering the question many have asked to us fans: "Why do we like Dragon Ball?" Whether you're fond of the franchise, curious and willing to be introduced to it, or just looking for a good read, I highly recommend that you check out Dragon Soul. You're not just helping out the author by doing so; you're really helping the huge (and powerful) fan base around the world by entering the Dragon world and learning what it teaches. And the book has a few words from yours truly. So that's always nice. ;)

I can relate to some of these stories from one's who didn't had a good school life no matter what part of their school life it was. I would like to say that the Dragon Soul was most part of my life but it wasn't it was my great grandfather that I look up to when growing up before I got to be 12 but sadly he die when I was 13 with anger inside of me through my teen years so he wasn't there to help me through that but I can understand now he wanted me to be strong on my own to face my issues.

About the author

Derek Padula is the author of The Dao of Dragon Ball website and book series; the first to reveal the deep history, philosophy, and cultural roots of the world’s #1 anime and manga.

Derek’s journey begins when he sees the Dragon Ball anime in 1997. His love for the series inspires him to start martial arts training in Shàolín gōngfu, tàijí-quán, qìgōng, karate, and Fǎlún Dàfǎ meditation. He earns his B.A. in East Asian Studies and a minor in Chinese from Western Michigan University. He studies abroad in Běijīng, China where he trains with the Buddhist Shàolín monks and a Dàoist tàijí sword master. After returning home he begins his life’s work.

He is now an authority on Dragon Ball and loves to share his understanding of this profound series that changes lives.