Uncut version of Japanese comic `Dragon Ball` republished

Dragon Ball, which created a storm in the early 90¡¯s, becoming the best selling comic ever and sold more than 10 million copies, is to be republished. Created by Japanese cartoon artist Toriyama Akira, Dragon Ball was a huge hit on its first appearance in a youth cartoon magazine of the 90s. Until the final volume came out in 1995, the 42 volume cartoon series ruled the Korean comic industry.

The Dragon Ball comic to be republished is the uncut version which was published in Japan. Because the contents were excessively sexual and violent some sections did not pass a censor review when Dragon Ball was first published here. Also, as the comic was a series in a magazine, pirate copies started to inundate the market and hence the domestic agent Seoul Muwhasa started to expedite the publishing. This led to many translation errors and a lot of contents being omitted.

An official from Seoul Muwhasa revealed, "Until now 4 volumes have been released and considering 15,000 copies were sold, the republishing can be deemed to have been a success. He added, "Each week a new volume will be released." Some people in the comic industry view the republishing to be a means to overcome a difficult situation. As the comic industry is in a depressed state, the republishing of comics which had been a hit before may be a way to improve this harsh situation.