Pink (manga)

Pink (ピンク) is a one shot manga by Akira Toriyama that originally appeared in V-Jump in December 1982. It would later be featured in Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater Vol. 2 in 1988. The story would go on to spawn an anime feature film in 1990.

The Rain Jack Story
The original manga titled Pink: The Rain Jack Story tells the story of a young girl named Pink who makes a living as a mysterious bandit stealing water from the shady Silver Company, which she keeps for herself. Despite the drought, the Silver Company has somehow managed to make a profit by selling a steady supply of water at outrageous prices, thus making them perfect targets for the thief.

Due to her early-pubescent physique and her face being concealed behind black goggles, her opponents all assume Pink is a guy. After numerous thefts, the head of the company, Silver, calls the local sheriff Cobalt Blue to apprehend the bandit and bring them to justice. With little information to go by, Blue goes in search of the bandit. He come across Pink's home, which he finds suspicious, as there is a lush palm tree thriving amidst the drought. So he asks her a few questions, but comes with nothing despite all the evidence around him. Pink is all too willing to answer his questions as she has become smitten by him.

Later that night, after having a dream about her and Blue walking together with her parents' umbrella in the rain, Pink comes up with the solution to the drought and heads out to the Silver Company for one last heist. Meanwhile, Cobalt Blue has finally put together that the bandit and Pink are the same person and goes after her. Pink performs a frontal assault on the company, but is quickly overpowered by Silver's forces.

Just as they are about to kill her, Cobalt Blue steps in and saves Pink. She quickly tells Blue she is on a mission to rescue Kaminari, and takes Blue to the basement where Kaminari was. It turns out the drought was the result of the Silver Company holding Kaminari prisoner and forcing him to make water for them to sell. With Kaminari free, he proceeds to make up for lost time and produces rain. Unfortunately, he goes overboard and the manga ends with the land being completely flooded. But Pink finally has Blue all to herself in her parents' umbrella, which they're now using as a boat.

Water Bandit Rain Bandit
Nearly eight years after the manga was first published, Toei Animation produced a Pink anime film titled Pink: Water Bandit Rain Bandit (ピンク みずドロボウあめドロボウ) which was feature exclusively as part of their 1990 animation festival called Akira Toriyama: The World. The film was shown along two other Toriyama properties, Kennosuke-sama and the third Dragon Ball Z film Chikyū Marugoto Chōkessen which is known outside Japan as The Tree of Might on July 7, 1990. The film would also get distributed on video along with Kennosuke-sama as a double feature in May 1994.

Allusions to other works
Many have found similarities to other Toriyama stories such as 1981 story Pola & Roid and the 2000 series Sand Land. Pink can also be compared to the early depiction of the Dragon Ball character Yamcha, as both characters are thieves who live in the desert and have companionship with unusual talking creatures.