Concern #1 I won't really address. I do both -- I read the fanslations as they come out, and I buy the manga as it is released in the US.
Concern #2: It is in no wise like Takahashi. It is, in my extremely limited experience, also not much like DBZ. It is strongly character-driven, yet not without a rather substantial myth arc driving the entire series so yes, it has considerable plot.
Concern #3 is something I can't really address as I started at the beginning when it was beginning.
Concern #4: Don't panic. The characters are sufficiently differentiated that within a volume or two you'll be wondering why you were so worried about keeping track of them all. Even if the core cast approaches thirty to forty members, depending on how you rank individual importance.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Concern #2: It is in no wise like Takahashi. It is, in my extremely limited experience, also not much like DBZ. It is strongly character-driven, yet not without a rather substantial myth arc driving the entire series so yes, it has considerable plot.
Concern #3 is something I can't really address as I started at the beginning when it was beginning.
Concern #4: Don't panic. The characters are sufficiently differentiated that within a volume or two you'll be wondering why you were so worried about keeping track of them all. Even if the core cast approaches thirty to forty members, depending on how you rank individual importance.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.