Welcome back to "Dragon Ball-ism: Toriyama Showcase"!
This is a series where we discuss some of Akira Toriyama's various short stories and one-shot works.
In this second article, the charm of Toriyama's work is on full display in "COWA!".
Part picture book and part manga, with its innovative approach to storytelling, COWA! delivers a whimsical, feel-good story.

This long-awaited serialized manga was released just over two years after the end of "Dragon Ball".
The level of anticipation for this series is clearly evident by the fact that the first chapter was in full color, which is unusual in the world of manga.
Toriyama had been looking to challenge himself and create something in the style of a picture book for a long time, and he ended up loving this series so much that he once described it as his "favorite manga [he'd] ever made, regardless of what anyone else might say."

★ Join Paifu the Monster on His Adventure to Save Batwing Ridge!

The setting for this tale is Batwing Ridge, a place where humans and various spooky creatures such as ghosts and vampires live alongside each other.
It's a dark world with a pop aesthetic and a Halloween-inspired atmosphere.

The main characters, Paifu and José, spend their days having as much fun as possible, living it up while playing make-believe and stealing watermelons.

You can't help but enjoy their endearing boyish antics!
Then one day, the typically peaceful Batwing Ridge finds itself infected with a serious case of the Monster Flu!

In order to get their hands on medicine to treat everyone in town, Paifu and his friends set out alongside the anti-social Mako Maruyama (a human referred to by everyone as Makoleen) on an adventure to visit the witch who lives atop the far-away Horned-Owl Mountain.
And of course, they get up to all sorts of shenanigans on their way to the witch's place!

★ Their Exciting Road-Trip-Style Adventure
Is Reminiscent of the Early Days of the Original Dragon Ball Series!

(Dragon Ball Tale 16)

Though Android 17 might think of it as a "waste of time," the fun and exciting nature of their adventure is part of COWA!'s charm.
You might also come across occasional touches of Dragon Ball that appear throughout the series!
For example, when the usually blank-faced Paifu looks at a cross, he transforms into a crazy powerful were-koala, just like how the Saiyans transform into giant apes when they look at a full moon!
And don't forget about Man-Wolf, who can transform from a wolf into a man.

There are also incredibly powerful yet comical characters in COWA!, similar to Dragon Ball's Kamesennin and the Ginyu Force.

Will Paifu and his friends be able to complete their epic quest to obtain the medicine for the Monster Flu?!
If there's one thing we can say for certain, it's that the end of this heartwarming story might just bring a tear to your eye!
See for yourself how this tale ends in the comics!

*All comic images are from the Japanese version.