Dragon Ball Manga Buying Guide: Singles, 3-in-1, VIZBIG or Boxes
Compare Dragon Ball’s English singles, 3-in-1 books, VIZBIG books and two boxes, and see how one story splits into Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z numbering.
VIZ publishes Akira Toriyama’s original manga in English under two titles, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, in four formats: single paperbacks, 3-in-1 books, larger VIZBIG books and two complete box sets. The title split is the thing to check first. The singles, the VIZBIG books and the boxes restart their numbering at Z 1. The 3-in-1 Edition does not, so its book numbers do not match the Z numbers.
One story, two English titles
The English singles run Dragon Ball 1–16, then Dragon Ball Z 1–26. VIZ’s listing for Dragon Ball 16 calls it “the gripping conclusion of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball,” and Z 1 opens “Five years after defeating the demon king Piccolo.” Sixteen plus twenty-six is forty-two books for one continuous story.
The 3-in-1 Edition counts those forty-two as a single sequence under the Dragon Ball title. Simon & Schuster’s distributor pages, as the Internet Archive captured them on December 12, 2024 and June 15, 2025, list 3-in-1 book 6 as “Includes vols. 16, 17 & 18” and book 14 as “Includes vols. 40, 41 & 42.” Our catalog records that book 6 therefore holds Dragon Ball 16 plus Z 1 and 2, and that book 14 holds Z 24–26. VIZ calls 3-in-1 book 14 “the thrilling conclusion to this colossal manga classic,” the same words it uses for Z VIZBIG 9, “A Collection of Volumes 25 - 26.”
Dragon Ball Super is a separate title with its own numbering; its books are in the Super catalog and are not covered here.
Every route, with list prices
| Route | Books | Contents | Each | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Ball singles | 16 | Dragon Ball 1–16 | $11.99 | $191.84 |
| Dragon Ball Z singles | 26 | Z 1–26 | $11.99 | $311.74 |
| 3-in-1 Edition | 14 | Dragon Ball 1–16 and Z 1–26 | $16.99 | $237.86 |
| Dragon Ball VIZBIG | 5 | Books 1–4: Dragon Ball 1–12. Book 5: not stated | $24.99 | $124.95 |
| Dragon Ball Z VIZBIG | 9 | Z 1–26; book 9 holds Z 25–26 | $24.99 | $224.91 |
| Dragon Ball box | 1 | Dragon Ball 1–16, booklet, poster | $169.99 | $169.99 |
| Dragon Ball Z box | 1 | Z 1–26, booklet, poster | $279.99 | $279.99 |
For the whole story at list: all forty-two singles cost $503.58; the two boxes $449.98; the fourteen 3-in-1 books $237.86, which is $265.72 less than the singles. The Dragon Ball box costs $21.85 less than its sixteen singles and the Z box $31.75 less than its twenty-six. VIZ’s own shop lists both boxes (Dragon Ball, Z) at those prices, each with a booklet and poster, checked October 7, 2026.
No VIZBIG full-story total is given. VIZBIG 5 is labeled “Final Volume!”, but VIZ’s listing does not say which singles it contains, so a complete-run price would rest on a guess.
Formats and sizes
VIZ lists Dragon Ball singles 1 and 16 and the 3-in-1 books at 5 × 7½ inches and the VIZBIG books at 5¾ × 8⅝ inches. The 3-in-1 and VIZBIG first books both open at the start: 3-in-1 book 1 runs 576 pages and VIZBIG 1, “A Collection of Volumes 1 - 3,” runs 560. VIZ lists VIZBIG 1–4 as collecting Dragon Ball 1–12, and our catalog records the same twelve singles in 3-in-1 books 1–4. The box contents are the singles themselves. A larger page or a box is not evidence of better paper, binding or translation, and this guide makes no claim about those.
Which route fits
- Trying the series: Dragon Ball single Volume 1 at $11.99, the smallest first purchase.
- The whole story for the least at list: the 3-in-1 Edition, fourteen books, $237.86. Keep in mind that its spine numbers count the combined run.
- Arriving from Dragon Ball Z: Z single 1 or Z VIZBIG 1 (Z 1–3) starts there. In the 3-in-1 Edition, Z starts inside book 6, after Dragon Ball 16.
- Boxes: they follow each other with no overlap, at $449.98 together at list.
For moving between singles and collected books, the watch-order guide carries a book-by-book switching table, and the box-set guide sets these boxes beside other series. Both use the same catalog records.
Own Dragon Ball
Explore Dragon Ball in book form. Check the listing for the edition, language and volumes included. This purchase link is separate from the sources cited in the guide.
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