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Dragon Ball Culture Volume 5: Demons

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Son Goku battles the demon king!

In Dragon Ball Culture Volume 5 we'll reunite with Goku and his friends as they compete in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Then we'll join them as they fight in a life or death battle against the Demon King Pikkoro!

Akira Toriyama starts us off by introducing three new characters into the story. These are Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and their evil master, Tsuru-sennin. This book reveals each of their cultural backgrounds. That's right, if you’ve ever said to yourself, "Why does Tenshinhan have a third eye?" and, "What the heck is Chaozu?!" then this is the book you've been waiting for.

Toriyama then takes the Dragon Ball story to new depths by adding demons and gods into the mix. He increases the intensity of the series and makes it so Goku has no choice but to train harder in order to enact his revenge. And the way Goku does it is straight out of secret Daoist meditation practices of ancient China. Inside these pages you'll discover the true origin of the demon king, find out how Goku learns to sense the energy of his opponents, and understand the full power of the world famous senzu.

This book contains hundreds of new revelations about your favorite characters and their adventures through the Dragon World.

Volume 5 explores Chapters 113 to 161 of the Dragon Ball manga.

It's time to face your demons!

318 pages, Hardcover

Published December 12, 2017

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About the author

Derek Padula

21 books26 followers
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. Then 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.

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
100 reviews
July 25, 2024
I love the Dragon Ball Culture series, and I owe a lot of my renewed interest in the franchise and new pathways of discussion about it to reading these books. They might not absolutely be for EVERYONE (they can come off a tad pretentious) but it's hard to find too many faults with them.
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188 reviews6 followers
January 10, 2021
An informative and well-researched read all about Dragon Ball. Volume 5 helped me solve the mystery of Chaozu's appearance and even taught me about other characters cultural inspirations as well. Great read! I highly recommend it for fellow Dragon Ball fans!
9 reviews
February 28, 2026
All the books in the series have been fantastic, humorous, and full of soul. They’re packed with extra detail about the cultures surrounding the names and customs within the game, along with clever easter eggs and sharp little observations that make you truly hope and admire that the author will continue the Dragon Ball Z Culture series next.

I am really looking forward to the upcoming volumes. I’ve bought all the books through the author’s own website.

A real treat. Books with this level of detail and genuine dedication are rare. I’d be hard-pressed to name more than two other writers with such dedication about one subject that I’ve had the fortune of discovering.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews