Neko Majin
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Image:Neko Majin.jpgNeko Majin (ネコマジン) is a short series of one-shot manga chapters by Akira Toriyama, spanning eight total installments released from 1999-2005. It is most notable for its later portion, Neko Majin Z, which is a self-parody of Dragon Ball, the author's most famous work.
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Introduction
Originally a one-shot bearing no relation to Akira Toriyama's other series, the first chapter of Neko Majin appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump in April 1999 (WJ #22-23). It later became a self-parody of the Dragon Ball manga, complete with cameos of characters from the author's magnum opus. As of 2005, the series was completed with eight total chapters (five of which are Dragon Ball parodies). These chapters were compiled into a "kanzenban"-style package for release in Japan on 4 April 2005.
Releases
Original Serialization
All chapters of Neko Majin were originally published in Weekly/Monthly Shōnen Jump in Japan.
- Neko Majin ga Iru (ネコマジンがいる "Neko Majin is Here"): April 1999 (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1999 #22-23)
- Neko Majin ga Iru 2: August 1999 (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1999 #37-38)
- Neko Majin Mike (ネコマジンみけ): August 2003 (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 2003 #37-38)
- Neko Majin Z (ネコマジン Z): June 2001 (Monthly Shōnen Jump, 2001 #6)
- Neko Majin Z 2: August 2003 (Monthly Shōnen Jump, 2003 #9)
- Neko Majin Z 3: February 2004 (Monthly Shōnen Jump, 2004 #3)
- Neko Majin Z 4: January 2005 (Monthly Shōnen Jump, 2005 #1)
- Neko Majin Z 5: February 2005 (Monthly Shōnen Jump, 2005 #2)
Collected Release
All eight chapters are collected in one volume, published by Shueisha's Jump Comics imprint.
- Neko Majin Kanzenban ("Complete Edition"): 4 April 2005 (ISBN 4-08-873825-X)
General Information
The series revolves around the adventures of various characters from the "Neko Majin" race, a group of cats that can use a little bit of magic, but seem to enjoy practical jokes and martial arts even more. It eventually spins off into Neko Majin Z, centralizing around "Z", a cat-like version of Son Goku complete with nyoi-bo and typically Dragon Ball Z-style attacks, such as the "Neko-Hameha". Other familiar motifs show up during the course of the series, including Freeza's son Kuriza, a fat Super Saiyan named Onio, and even cameos by actual DragonBall characters Vegeta, Majin Buu, and Son Goku. Despite the references to Dragon Ball, the series itself is not a continuation of the manga series and the various references are not intended to be canonical. Although the connection is tenuous, several references to Neko Majin Z were added as Easter eggs to the Japanese version of the video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 (notably in the form of Kuriza as an alternate outfit for Freeza, complete with a chestnut-shaped Death Ball attack).
English-language Release
At present, there has been no official licensing or translation of the manga into English. However, fan translations have been released by prominent Dragon Ball-related fansites.