As parents, it is inevitable that we pass certain things on to the next generation. Height. Hair color. Even affinity for certain foods and tastes. Still, so much of what kids do is learned behaviors that they pick up by watching their parents more closely than anyone would like to admit, which is probably why it isn’t surprising that my two-year-old son has already discovered a love of manga as he insists that I read him the Dragon Ball manga from my collection.

Considering my job (talking about manga and anime to anyone who will listen) is also my favorite hobby, this was probably inevitable.

The story begins, as most stories involving parents of young children do, with me trying to sleep. My son, like many toddlers, decided that the best place to spend those last few minutes before we officially started our day was in my bed, which happens to be near my manga collection. And, as I tried in vain to squeeze just a few more minutes of rest in before I had to be in Dad Mode again, his adorable little gaze fell upon the bookshelf and settled upon the full-color Dragon Ball Z manga that I collected a few years back.

As an aside, these color Dragon Ball editions are gorgeous, and I will never not be disappointed that the full run didn’t get released in English.

“What’s that?” he asked, his voice full of that earnest curiosity that only a child who is depriving his father of sleep can muster.

“That’s Dragon Ball,” I replied after looking through one bleary eye at where he was pointing.

A moment later, I was awoken by said Dragon Ball manga (it is not a small volume) slapping me in the face, accompanied by my son making his demands clear.

“Read it.”

Sometimes, kids are subtle about telling you what they want. This was not one of those times.

The thing about kids his age is that he isn’t really aware that things are “important” to his parents. He just has a vague sense that we enjoy things and, because he is adorable and is developing his empathy muscles, wants to take part in those things as well. So, I relented and sat up, letting him snuggle against me as I opened my Dragon Ball manga to the moment that Raditz arrived on Earth.

How much of the story my son actually followed is tough to say. He had certainly had a vague understanding of the characters, saying that Raditz was “scary” and “bad” while cheering when Goku showed up to punch Nappa in his stupid face. I can confirm that he was enamored with the fact that the characters could fly “like Superman,” which is fair; flying is pretty cool and impressive for a toddler.

Earlier this year, we read through All-Star Superman together, so this wasn’t his first exposure to comics. It was, however, his first time being exposed to the right-to-left panels and text, which probably didn't impact him much because he's two. Still, I don't begrudge showing him different formats and mediums, even if it is all a little lost on him.

His favorite character is Piccolo because he is green, but he likes Gohan because they are both of a similar age. He says that I am like Goku, which is not the insult people think it would be. Explaining to him that Goku was hurt at the end of the Raditz fight was a bit touch-and-go, but I assured my son that he gets better from having a giant hole in his torso. Hearing him repeat the sound effects and the attack names is the cutest thing ever but so is everything else he does (not that I’m biased).

It is tough to say if this is the start of my son’s journey into being an insufferable weeb like his father. Kids his age have fleeting interests. A shirt will be his favorite thing ever, and a week later, he’ll hate the sight of it. He’ll demand that I read the same book over and over one day and be completely over it the next. It is unlikely that he’ll continue letting me read him the Dragon Ball manga beyond the Saiyan Saga, which is a shame because the art in the upcoming Frieza Saga is simply incredible. Heck, he’ll probably go back to thinking that Goku is just someone who is on a lot of his father’s shirts in a few weeks because that is how toddlers’ minds work, though I'll still try to reinforce the central message of Dragon Ball for the rest of his life, which is to work hard to overcome your own limits in whatever you do.

But you know what I’ll always remember? The act of sitting down and sharing something I love with the most important person in my world. Those mornings when I got to show him one of my all-time favorite stories are going to be some of my best memories of being a dad. Dragon Ball might not be the most age-appropriate comic my two-year-old son could have taken an interest in, but the important thing is that it facilitated some of the best father-son time I could have asked for.

Lessons in fatherhood from Good Dad Goku of Dragon Ball.