Dragon Ball: Ossu! Kaettekita Son Gokuu to Nakama-tachi!!

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This is a manga adaptation of the semi-canon Toei special of the same name. Toriyama claimed he preferred this version slightly (in his classic non-commital fashion) so I was curious to see what the difference was. It's really very minor. As a story the manga is very faithful to the original short, down to the same jokes and situations. On the changes, most of them are what the manga chooses to cut, stuff like Goku and Vegeta being competative when they first meet up, extra scenes of the old characters, stuff like that. Some of the fight is changed for the better, but for the ... most part the weaknesses that I had with the original special remain present here. Stuff like Vegeta feeling a bit off, the premise being inconsequential by nature, etc.

As an artist, Ooishi is servicable for the material, her art is consistent and I never felt like she drug the adaptation down, but she isn't as good as Toriyama. Her backgrounds felt a bit lifeless and her panneling is nowhere near as good as the master. Still it was interesting to see a take on these characters where they're drawn a bit cuter (especially the guys).

Ultimately i'd have to err on the side of the Toei version, I thought the material was covered slightly better there (funnier jokes, better use of old characters) but it's really a wash. I suspect Toriyama's statement might have been for marketing reasons or to be polite to Ooishi, but if i'm to take his word as the truth, i'd say perhaps cutting some material made the characters feel a bit more consistent with the manga and the pacing was a bit more his style. My recommendation to others would be to choose the medium they prefer, and you're gonna get about the same experience either way.

I think the final words of this little special speak for itself. " Left no impression in people memories"

I believe this is a cute little special, and the thought of seeing the characters again after many years was enjoyable, but let's not fool ourselves: is just a cute chapter that left no impression whatsoever. Vegeta apparently has a brother, but he is never referenced again in further material (With the exception of the Battle of Gods movie). I'm disappointed that this material was't explored further.

The humor is a hit and miss. While there are some jokes that work (like Tarble's wife), most of the other ... jokes are rehashes from older jokes in the series (Master Roshi being a pervert, the fusion failing, etc). I see Toriyama remembered Launch, since she was in the party, could have been a good opportunity for her evil counterpart joke to return, but alas, no joke.

Oishi Naho is a pretty decent artist in her own right, and her take on Toriyama style deserves some praise, but sadly, she can't do action scenes, which is a big selling point in the series. The characters look too small and the punches don't have the same kind of feel either Toriyama or Toyotaro do for the series.

In conclusion, it was nice to see the characters again, but they are wasted, both old and new, the gags are not the best, and the artwork is somewhat mediocre by the series standard.