Ginga Patrol Jaco

Usually, I leave my opinion for the end. However, since I would like to make it clear: 'Ginga Patrol Jaco' is a great manga and it is worth a read!
I feel obligated to start with it, As many fans of Dragon Ball turned up their noses to the development of the story, and I’ve heard many say things like ‘they expected more’, ‘the story is weak’.
I think these expectations something epic like 'save the world’, have been created for the manga takes which place in the same universe as of Dragon Ball, however, the same said, it is a comedy manga with few chapters. Anyone who has read other manga of Toriyama knows that the guy likes slapstick comedy, with nothing too pretentious and 'Ginga Patrol Jaco' it fills the slot! And it was what I expected, really. The manga is fun, with jokes 'silly' but plucking smiles from fans, charismatic characters and an adventure also over and there cliché (hehe).

Story: 9/10
The story takes place on an island where only a man lives, named Oomori. On any given night, while he was trying to sleep, a small spacecraft landed in the water near their island. It was an alien named Jaco. The ship in which he was gets broken so he had to stay there until it is repaired. He says, he came to Earth to defeat an evil Alien. Oomori does not like anybody, but still decided to help him.


Characters: 9/10
Talking about the characters … We have Oomori, the grumpy old man with the look of all the old people Toriyama have drawn (hahaha). Oomori is angry at everything and does not like anybody, it makes him a funny guy (imo), Really, I can not help but laugh at his speculations and responses Jaco gives. The old man is a scientist who lives alone on an island and trying to build a time machine.

In addition to the old-man, we have the alien who takes the manga title: The space ranger Jaco! He is responsible for the bulk of the comedy in this 'slapstick' manga. Jaco loves to make an appearance, at every opportunity he makes his presentation as the 'big’ patrolman and so on. Jaco came to Earth to save her from an alien of a cruel race that would destroy the human race in a few days. Jaco is 'badass' and kind, but it's pretty stubborn too.

And finally we have the beautiful Tights. Smart, funny and always willing to help Oomori and Jaco. But I can not speak too much of it, I do not want to spoil the manga surprises.

While reading you will get the impression ‘I've seen these characters somewhere' and, in fact, this statement is not wrong! The characters are well within the clichés of Toriyama universe, but with that charisma and way that only the he can do. The work of Toriyama can be 'the same style forever,' but his dash and way of storytelling is unique. So positive point for the characters.


Art: 8/10
About art falls into the same issue of the characters ... It is the style of Toriyama (lol)! The same! Who’s fan will enjoy it. The only thing I did not like was the abuse of halftones (shades of gray) in the manga, liked it better when he solved most things in black and white only.


Final thoughts: 10/10
'Ginga Patrol Jaco' is a great comedy manga, simple and fun, but not for this time. Explaining, only fans of Akira Toriyama; who enjoy the 'root' of his work will like. Although young/new readers will be able to enjoy it if they look past the clichés.
The first few chapters were to kill the charade of, however, the last chapter is the one where everything is revealed (on connecting with Dragon Ball), and it will make fans (of Dragon Ball) shed tears!

Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is a good manga, and it's a good prequel for Dragon Ball. It avoids most of the prequel pitfalls, and the original characters are lots of fun. However, Dragon Ball Minus, which was needlessly tacked onto this manga is complete rubbish and should've never been included.

It's hard to believe that Jaco the Galactic Patrolman and Dragon Ball Minus are both written by Akira Toriyama because they feel so vastly different from each other. Jaco feels deliberate, and carefully thought out as to not trample over the established story of Dragon Ball, and it's impressively consistent for a guy as forgetful as Toriyama (even if he did somehow forget that the currency in Dragon Ball's Earth is Zeni and not Yen).

Dragon Ball Minus is also a pitiful excuse for a manga because it tramples all over a really GOOD pre-existing story for no reason at all. Bardock: The Father of Goku is easily my favorite piece of Dragon Ball media outside of the main story. Even Toriyama himself said it's one of his favorites, so I ask, why the hell would he bother re-telling Bardock's story? Toriyama's tribute to Bardock in the main series, simply appearing for a moment in Frieza's thoughts, was very tasteful and properly shows his admiration for the story, however, if you didn't know that, you would probably think Toriyama hates Bardock the way he tries to paint over him as a character in this story.
Toriyama takes a tragic story about a violent warrior who faces the annihilation of his race and tries to stop the destruction, only to die a nobody in his efforts. Toriyama acknowledges that this is very much a story he could never see himself writing, and this is what makes the Bardock Special such a stand-out moment in Dragon Ball. The Bardock Special takes a man who is 'gifted' the power of foresight and turns this into a tragedy. Dragon Ball Minus writes a story about a man with a random premonition and takes a risk sending his son off to another planet just because he's got an iffy feeling. Not a very compelling story.
The Bardock Special showcases a complex character, not a "good guy" who loves his wife, loves his sons and loves his friends. This guy KILLS FOR PROFIT! I'm disappointed that Toriyama took someone else's idea and tried to turn it into something of his own as if he had ANY unique or clever additions to the story.

Frankly, the abysmal Dragon Ball Minus is something that stands on its own. I think it's incredibly unfair to attach this to Jaco's name, but here we are. Saying this, my score reflects my thoughts on Jaco and Jaco alone.
I recommend Jaco to any Dragon Ball fan, and I HIGHLY recommend Bardock: The Father of Goku, however, I think everybody should stay as far away from Dragon Ball Minus as they can, it's really not worth your time, even if it is a short read.

I found Jaco: the Galactic Patrolman a great manga, not for his wonderful story or wonderful characters but for the feel of being thrown once again in the awesome (and for someones meaningful) world of Dragon Ball. The story is simple and enjoyable as the characters are. You should read this with the right attitude to enjoy it, i mean don't expect endless battles or any epic power up, nope. You should read it as the last creation of one of the best manga ever existed, Akira Toriyama. What i felt is the nostalgia of one of his stories, full of funny characters and bizarre situations. I suggest it to the fans of Dragon ball and to those who like short stories, plenty of funny gags.

I love this manga. It's fun and simple. It embodies what makes Dragon Ball fun and exciting. The story and characters are nothing spectacular, but it makes me smile so much reading it. Toriyama has still got it. I would recommend this to any old school fan of the series...

Now... enough with the positives.

Dragon Ball Minus is a broken piece of garbage and it needs to be deleted from history. Toriyama tries his hand at rewriting the backstory to a beloved character from a spectacular story that sits at the top of Dragon Ball's anime content. This was a massive mistake.

Toriyama sucks everything good out of Bardock and replaces him with an empty shell of his former self. He sits and makes pointless connections to later points of the franchise and uses little to develop his own story. He messes up Goku's age and completely ruins the irony of Goku's good heart. He attempts to make Goku's parents special essentially detracting from what makes Goku special. Gine is only there for people to have a name for their Goku fanfics and serves little to no purpose.

Its sad to see how far Dragon Ball has fallen, and this truly goes to show Toriyama has no idea what he's doing. The two things that Toryiama has contributed to modern Dragon Ball when it comes to full stories is this... and Resurrection "F". Not exactly an amazing batting average there.

I hope this never comes up again...