What's the best way to introduce DragonBall to kids?

[Doctor.]

Is it an American thing? Foreign children are used to watching English movies or TV shows all the time.

It's totally an American thing. In the poorer areas of the South, there are plenty of people who only communicate well enough to get by. However, even in the areas where that's not a problem, there's not a huge emphasis on language skills. It's just cultural priority.

That really shouldn't matter, though. The acquisition of language is genetic. A child will learn how to speak a language fluently if he comes in contact with it in his environment. You can learn a different language as a child without it affecting your competence and performance (in the linguistic sense) of your native language.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Is it an American thing? Foreign children are used to watching English movies or TV shows all the time.

It's totally an American thing. In the poorer areas of the South, there are plenty of people who only communicate well enough to get by. However, even in the areas where that's not a problem, there's not a huge emphasis on language skills. It's just cultural priority.

That really shouldn't matter, though. The acquisition of language is genetic. A child will learn how to speak a language fluently if he comes in contact with it in his environment. You can learn a different language as a child without it affecting your competence (in the linguistic sense) of your native language.

How young are you thinking? I was under the impression that this is about kids 8-ish and up. I know for certain that most kids above that age where I live wouldn't be able to a new language with ease. Even if they could, they certainly wouldn't want to.

[Doctor.]

How young are you thinking? I was under the impression that this is about kids 8-ish and up. I know for certain that most kids above that age where I live wouldn't be able to a new language with ease. Even if they could, they certainly wouldn't want to.

Language acquisition occurs during the first years of a child's life but they are still naturally much more capable of learning a new language faster and easier than adults until they hit puberty, if I recall correctly.

[Hellspawn28]

I think a 7-9 year old could read subtitles. When I was 7 years old, I watch Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light on a fan subbed VHS tape back in 1998 and I thought it was fucking awesome. Making it the first thing I saw fully subbed in Japanese as a kid.

[Kokonoe]

Gonna be honest, I don't actually enjoy reading subtitles. I've watched enough anime to where it isn't too big of a hindrance, but I feel so much more relaxed when I can watch a show and focus on the show 100% of the time without having to lower my gaze to the bottom of the screen constantly.

Introduce the child to the medium in their native language so it'll be just like watching any other show they might watch like Pokemon or a cartoon.

[Avenant]

How young are you thinking? I was under the impression that this is about kids 8-ish and up. I know for certain that most kids above that age where I live wouldn't be able to a new language with ease. Even if they could, they certainly wouldn't want to.

Language acquisition occurs during the first years of a child's life but they are still naturally much more capable of learning a new language faster and easier than adults until they hit puberty, if I recall correctly.

I don't think I've ever had a problem reading subtitles and I hope my children will at least be as well read as I was a kid, but submitting them to subtitle-only versions of DragonBall should only happen if they're fluent enough in English to be able to enjoy the show. I hope that I'm stuck in the dilemma of choosing between English Dub or Subs, as that would be a good problem to have.

[Hellspawn28]

Gonna be honest, I don't actually enjoy reading subtitles. I've watched enough anime to where it isn't too big of a hindrance, but I feel so much more relaxed when I can watch a show and focus on the show 100% of the time without having to lower my gaze to the bottom of the screen constantly.

Introduce the child to the medium in their native language so it'll be just like watching any other show they might watch like Pokemon or a cartoon.

When I was a kid, I thought of the idea of seeing something in Japanese was so cool. I guess I was more into anime and Japanese movies compare to most kids in the 90's and the early parts of the 2000's.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

Is it an American thing? Foreign children are used to watching English movies or TV shows all the time.

It's totally an American thing. In the poorer areas of the South, there are plenty of people who only communicate well enough to get by. However, even in the areas where that's not a problem, there's not a huge emphasis on language skills. It's just cultural priority, or lack thereof. Experiencing foreign languages just isn't something that happens. Most of the Mexican Immigrants keep to themselves, so those fluent in Spanish aren't even very common.

I also think it's mainly about economics & territorialism. That's what causes separate languages *in the first place*. The fact that Hollywood is an entertainment superpower means everyone learns English in some small capacity. English being "international language" means English-speakers arent really prodded to learn anything else. That's not a dig, just a reality.

[simtek34]

Subs are actually a good idea! Well, I was watching subbed DB Kai when I was 6 but...

[Bajosexto]

Episode one of the Dragon Ball anime or chapter one of the Dragon Ball manga.

But like others have said, I think it's better to let a kid discover Dragon Ball or any other show/book/comic on there own rather than "force" them to watch it because you like it. I guess the best thing you could do is tell your son/daughter, little brother/sister, cousin about this really good adventure/action cartoon and see if they're interested in watching it. When/if they say yes, then just show them episode one and pray that they'll love it.

[Hellspawn28]

Forcing kids to like something that you enjoy is wrong. You can show them Dragon Ball to see if they like it or not. If they don't like it, oh well.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Forcing kids to like something that you enjoy is wrong. You can show them Dragon Ball to see if they like it or not. If they don't like it, oh well.

Is anyone even suggesting forcing them?

[omaro34]

Show them the new Dragonball Super intro.

They will fall in love within the first few seconds.

[Lord Beerus]

Show them the new Dragonball Super intro.

They will fall in love within the first few seconds.

The new Super intro is so damn awesome. Isn't it?

[Kojiro Sasaki]

The best way to introduce Dragon Ball to kids is playing them the first episode in Japanese with subtitles. I was introduced to the show similar way when I was a kid. I was hooked since the first minutes so it must work.
I am super grateful to our broadcasters for airing the show from the start to the end as it was originally intended. This is absolutely the best way to watch it. Not knowing ANYTHING about the future of the characters makes watching their adventures and how they develop much more entertaining.

[ekrolo2]

Give em DB then Kai, let them watch it to Freeza and then stop there because fuck post-Freeza Dragon Ball.

[Kunzait_83]

The very first time I ever came in contact with a subtitled film, I was 4 years old (pretty sure it was a kung fu film, no surprise there). By the time I was 5, I was able to read well enough to follow along with Aguirre: The Wrath of God more or less fairly ok. By the time I was 6 or 7, I was consuming subtitled media by the truckload at a daily rate. Not even just Hong Kong action or Japanese anime/Toku stuff or Italian horror (though there were plenty of those to be sure), but also a ton of European and Asian art films and just stuff from all over the world in general.

I wasn't exactly some gifted prodigy either, nor was I raised in *ahem* the most privileged environment.

People in this thread are VASTLY underestimating the intellectual capacity of children and are WAY over generalizing or are perhaps to some degree projecting their own childhood experiences onto them. Here's how I've always summarized it: kids can only be as intelligent as you treat them and give them room to be. If you're raising a kid and you go into things immediately from the outset under the mindset that your kid is by definition an idiot because he/she is a kid, then guess what? You're going to raise a stupid kid. It kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you want them to have the room to grow more, you have to give them AT LEAST some degree of credit first in terms of what they're potentially capable of understanding and accepting at an early age. Because I assure you, its likely a lot more than you probably think.

In nearly every single instance I can remember in my life where I've seen people shake their heads and say "No no no, your child is probably too young for that.", 9 times out of 10, the kid is really not at all too young to at least have a rudimentary understanding of it and certainly won't somehow be scarred forever by it.

In other words, before you make up your mind that you're kid is a knuckle dragging, simpering dolt who will only grasp the most simplest of concepts, why not try actually giving them the benefit of the doubt first and sitting down with them and actually giving them a chance at showing you how smart they're capable of being? And better still, pushing them (not violently shoving, but steadily pushing them) to grow and improve even further from there.

Also this:

In the poorer areas of the South, there are plenty of people who only communicate well enough to get by. However, even in the areas where that's not a problem, there's not a huge emphasis on language skills. It's just cultural priority, or lack thereof. Experiencing foreign languages just isn't something that happens. Most of the Mexican Immigrants keep to themselves, so those fluent in Spanish aren't even very common.

Is certainly not at all surprising, but its also incredibly, incredibly sad and is indicative of an overall disdain for & mistrust of knowledge, education, and new experiences and ideas in those regions (not to mention moreover, completely fucked over economics and education standards compliments of the local politicians) that has long, long absolutely needed to change. I grew up in poverty myself, but thankfully not in the South: I can't even imagine how much even worse off I'd be had I also been actively discouraged throughout my adolescence from learning and growing and educating myself on top of also living in a dangerous, dirt poor area.

[floofychan333]

The very first time I ever came in contact with a subtitled film, I was 4 years old (pretty sure it was a kung fu film, no surprise there). By the time I was 5, I was able to read well enough to follow along with Aguirre: The Wrath of God more or less fairly ok. By the time I was 6 or 7, I was consuming subtitled media by the truckload at a daily rate. Not even just Hong Kong action or Japanese anime/Toku stuff or Italian horror (though there were plenty of those to be sure), but also a ton of European and Asian art films and just stuff from all over the world in general.

I wasn't exactly some gifted prodigy either, nor was I raised in *ahem* the most privileged environment.

People in this thread are VASTLY underestimating the intellectual capacity of children and are WAY over generalizing or are perhaps to some degree projecting their own childhood experiences onto them. Here's how I've always summarized it: kids can only be as intelligent as you treat them and give them room to be. If you're raising a kid and you go into things immediately from the outset under the mindset that your kid is by definition an idiot because he/she is a kid, then guess what? You're going to raise a stupid kid. It kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you want them to have the room to grow more, you have to give them AT LEAST some degree of credit first in terms of what they're potentially capable of understanding and accepting at an early age. Because I assure you, its likely a lot more than you probably think.

In nearly every single instance I can remember in my life where I've seen people shake their heads and say "No no no, your child is probably too young for that.", 9 times out of 10, the kid is really not at all too young to at least have a rudimentary understanding of it and certainly won't somehow be scarred forever by it.

In other words, before you make up your mind that you're kid is a knuckle dragging, simpering dolt who will only grasp the most simplest of concepts, why not try actually giving them the benefit of the doubt first and sitting down with them and actually giving them a chance at showing you how smart they're capable of being? And better still, pushing them (not violently shoving, but steadily pushing them) to grow and improve even further from there.

Also this:

In the poorer areas of the South, there are plenty of people who only communicate well enough to get by. However, even in the areas where that's not a problem, there's not a huge emphasis on language skills. It's just cultural priority, or lack thereof. Experiencing foreign languages just isn't something that happens. Most of the Mexican Immigrants keep to themselves, so those fluent in Spanish aren't even very common.

Is certainly not at all surprising, but its also incredibly, incredibly sad and is indicative of an overall disdain for & mistrust of knowledge, education, and new experiences and ideas in those regions (not to mention moreover, completely fucked over economics and education standards compliments of the local politicians) that has long, long absolutely needed to change. I grew up in poverty myself, but thankfully not in the South: I can't even imagine how much even worse off I'd be had I also been actively discouraged throughout my adolescence from learning and growing and educating myself on top of also living in a dangerous, dirt poor area.

I think kids can certainly follow DB but in some ways it could be considered inappropriate.