Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

[ABED]

So what if it didn't go big? Just because it's big doesn't mean we care. By starting halfway through a story, half the reason to care is gone. The spectacle may be there and it caught my eye, but what's wrong with letting a story build? When the stories do get big, a reason it will matter is because if a writer does their job well, you care about the characters and the stakes. Scope and scale are meaningless if you don't care about the characters being affected.

The reason Piccolo has the impact he does is in contrast to what came before. Same with the 23rd Budokai. You seem to knock those smaller stakes but something as personal as simple victory can be just as effective as world ending stakes. In fact, world or universe ending stakes can ultimately feel rather empty and uninteresting if the villain and the hero aren't interesting.

get good cause they're not interested in the beginning

I don't understand that mentality at all. The only reason I would want to know when someone believes when something gets good is because I don't want to waste so much time to get to that point, but I'm still not going to start in the middle of a story.

I like those characters, I'm referring to the people who only want to watch DBZ because it focuses on the Saiyans or Piccolo.

And so much of Piccolo's journey doesn't mean nearly as much if you haven't experienced what came before.

Because it's not like Z and they're used to everything being big from the start. If DB, Naruto & One Piece started today they're probably fail because of how long it takes them to get going. DB's first major villain didn't show up until 100 episodes later

Bigger isn't better. Naruto and One Piece didn't start that long ago in the US. I think you underestimate people's attention spans. DB's first supervillain is Piccolo but the story gets good WELL before that.

[Zephyr]

I think people are taking for granted just how much weaker the Saiyan arc is without experiencing Dragon Ball first. As has been pointed out several times, Piccolo's team up with Goku, and subsequent sacrifice to save Gohan, are utterly meaningless. So too is the reveal of Goku's heritage; him being revealed to have been intended to destroy the planet carries no weight if you haven't seen him save it multiple times. Likewise, having seen him escape death so many times before makes his actually dying pack that much more of a punch. Everyone dying against Nappa likewise actually carries weight, since you have an actual emotional investment in the characters by then.

Regardless of the excuses and half-rationalized justifications people can give for only watching Z, the fact remains that doing so renders the first quarter of it incredibly weak. What's even the point? If you're not in it for the narrative and the characters, you might as well forget actually watching Dragon Ball Z, and just watch some "Full Fight" videos on YouTube.

[sintzu]

What's wrong with letting a story build ?

You seem to knock those smaller stakes but something as personal as simple victory can be just as effective as world ending stakes.

DB's first supervillain is Piccolo but the story gets good WELL before that.

Companies nowadays want franchises from day one so they don't want to waste time in building one. Viewers have a short attention span so they don't want to sit through anything like that so a writer who has a story to tell is stuck between the 2. Companies want it to be as big as DB in its prime and viewers want it to be as developed. People and companies seem to forget that if it wasn't for the slow build up, the franchises they have today wouldn't exist.

I wasn't knocking them, I was just using them as an example of build up and how it started small and became big over time. nowadays people and companies expect things to start big.

I wasn't talking about quality at all. The RRA arc is one of the least favorite but I think it's very underrated. The amount of enviournments in that arc is something we never got before or after and that alone is a reason to like it.

[ABED]

What's wrong with letting a story build ?

You seem to knock those smaller stakes but something as personal as simple victory can be just as effective as world ending stakes.

DB's first supervillain is Piccolo but the story gets good WELL before that.

Companies nowadays want franchises from day one so they don't want to waste time in building one. Viewers have a short attention span so they don't want to sit through anything like that so a writer who has a story to tell is stuck between the 2. Companies want it to be as big as DB in its prime and viewers want it to be as developed. People and companies seem to forget that if it wasn't for the slow build up, the franchises they have today wouldn't exist.

I wasn't knocking them, I was just using them as an example of build up and how it started small and became big over time. nowadays people and companies expect things to start big.

I wasn't talking about quality at all. The RRA arc is one of the least favorite but I think it's very underrated. The amount of enviournments in that arc is something we never got before or after and that alone is a reason to like it.

I don't believe people's attention spans are so short. Some are, but not everyone. Sure you have to grab people, but action isn't the only way to do that. In fact, there are a lot of cool looking action cartoons out there that I'm sure are fast and intense, but I don't give a damn about them. Action is meaningless to me if I don't care about the characters involved. DB caught my attention because the characters were funny and quirky and piqued my interest. You want to know why DB was as developed as it was in its prime? Because it spent years building that story! I don't even think DB's build up is that slow. Plenty of interesting stuff happens in the beginning. I think far too many falsely assume or imply that DB is just like the Pilaf arc.

Lastly, not every company is the same. Some will give the story time to find its audience if they believe in the story.

[sintzu]

You want to know why DB was as developed as it was in its prime? Because it spent years building that story!

Lastly, not every company is the same. Some will give the story time to find its audience if they believe in the story.

I know and the same goes for One Piece and although there's no split, you'll still see people ask where does it get good or epic.

I know that but a good amount of authors will go to the big companies that are just looking for big hits and when they fail to make one fast enough they're kicked out. Look at Bleach, it was one of the biggest manga in the world but when it slowed down a bit they cancelled it. If something established like that can't last when it's having a bit of a hard time then what chances do new stories have ?

[ABED]

Again, not every company is the same. Also, attributing cancellation to the story slowing down seems more than a tad reductive.

[Gog]

If you don't want to read Dragon Ball pre Raditz you don't have to. It's just, why wouldn't you want to read Dragon Ball pre-Raditz? The whole entirety of Early Dragon Ball is an absolutely fantastic story, filled to the brim with great gags, great characters, great art, and great fight scenes. You would truly be missing out on something great if you skipped it.

[Quebaz]

Actually, why watch anything at all? Just watch the last few end of Z episodes, read the story summaries on DB Wiki and you're good to go.

Also, I can not for the life of me understand what people mean when they say that DB is slow when Goku's fight against Freeza is 20 episodes. That's like,DB's first arc and an half.

[Big Green The Yoshi]

Personally? It's even worse than not reading the Manga.

[GreatSaiyaJeff]

I think people are taking for granted just how much weaker the Saiyan arc is without experiencing Dragon Ball first. As has been pointed out several times, Piccolo's team up with Goku, and subsequent sacrifice to save Gohan, are utterly meaningless. So too is the reveal of Goku's heritage; him being revealed to have been intended to destroy the planet carries no weight if you haven't seen him save it multiple times. Likewise, having seen him escape death so many times before makes his actually dying pack that much more of a punch. Everyone dying against Nappa likewise actually carries weight, since you have an actual emotional investment in the characters by then.

Regardless of the excuses and half-rationalized justifications people can give for only watching Z, the fact remains that doing so renders the first quarter of it incredibly weak. What's even the point? If you're not in it for the narrative and the characters, you might as well forget actually watching Dragon Ball Z, and just watch some "Full Fight" videos on YouTube.

I agree, when I was younger I always prefered the Freeza arc over the saiyan arc. However as I grown older and read/watch the original series, the saiyan arc got bumped up to being my 2nd favorite arc. It's because you got to know the characetrs and their death's and revelations have way more meaning.

[Elton Stryker]

The kind of people who says the Dragon Ball Z has no plot.
Newbie and retarded people.

[ABED]

The kind of people who says the Dragon Ball Z has no plot.
Newbie and retarded people.

Or they are being hyperbolic. It has a plot, just not a complicated one. Plots are simply what the characters do and say.

[precita]

I agree, when I was younger I always prefered the Freeza arc over the saiyan arc. However as I grown older and read/watch the original series, the saiyan arc got bumped up to being my 2nd favorite arc. It's because you got to know the characetrs and their death's and revelations have way more meaning.

Agreed. The Saiyan saga actually felt like the next arc in Dragonball more than the rest of DBZ. To see the humans so completely outclassed and killed off was devastating, and even seeing Piccolo die must have been a huge shock to Japanese fans.

[Dreddgxdkira]

Even though I, like most other people in the west started with Z watching Dragon Ball first is the way to go. Yes, you do get a sense of who these characters are by watching Z but your missing a lot of their prior development.

To me the true Dragon Ball experience is watching it as a kid. Then rewatching Z with episodes you missed (kids aren't gonna binge watch all the episodes like us) as an adult, then you see all the characters grow up with you. That's what makes it so special to me. That and Dragon Ball is essentially my family on my dads side in anime form. Different people get different experiences tho but for me DB and Z were very special parts of my childhood

[PsionicWarrior]

In the short time I've been on reddit, I've seen more than a few threads where newbies ask whether they should watch DB, if it's okay to skip DB, etc. Personally, I don't understand why someone would skip half of the story. It would be like starting with Naruto Shippuden. But we're all able to watch a show however we want. So if they want to skip/not watch Dragon Ball then I don't "force" them to. Though I feel that a true fan of the franchise would enjoy Dragon Ball. And a newcomer who isn't a fan would also enjoy it. So why skip it? I think there's this idea that Dbz is so much better than DB. And because of that newcomers want to skip the boring, kid Goku adventures, and go straight into the hardcore action pack Dbz.

What are your thoughts? Is it okay to skip DB? Should you watch DB?

Well personally I discovered the series with Z and I watched DB afterwards. I don't think DB is mandatory to enjoy Z and further, although is certainly a plus. It's also Z who made me want to watch DB because of the flashbacks.
If someone is new to the series and is asking himself the question, I would say for sure watch all in order, first DB, then Z, then Super.

[Bajosexto]

In the short time I've been on reddit, I've seen more than a few threads where newbies ask whether they should watch DB, if it's okay to skip DB, etc. Personally, I don't understand why someone would skip half of the story. It would be like starting with Naruto Shippuden. But we're all able to watch a show however we want. So if they want to skip/not watch Dragon Ball then I don't "force" them to. Though I feel that a true fan of the franchise would enjoy Dragon Ball. And a newcomer who isn't a fan would also enjoy it. So why skip it? I think there's this idea that Dbz is so much better than DB. And because of that newcomers want to skip the boring, kid Goku adventures, and go straight into the hardcore action pack Dbz.

What are your thoughts? Is it okay to skip DB? Should you watch DB?

Well personally I discovered the series with Z and I watched DB afterwards. I don't think DB is mandatory to enjoy Z and further, although is certainly a plus. It's also Z who made me want to watch DB because of the flashbacks.
If someone is new to the series and is asking himself the question, I would say for sure watch all in order, first DB, then Z, then Super.

I agree. You don't need to watch Dragon Ball to enjoy dbz. I also started with Z. I didn't watch DB until just recently. 16 years after I was introduced to dbz. But I do think it is a very important part of the story. And I think any fan of Dragon Ball should watch it at least once.

[PsionicWarrior]

And I think any fan of Dragon Ball should watch it at least once.

Yeah there's no reason he won't like it, I'd even say, should *read* it once, too.

[Soppa Saia People]

The kind of people who says the Dragon Ball Z has no plot.
Newbie and retarded people.

1, I'm fairly sure you posted this in the wrong topic, 2, "retarded" ? Come on man.

[ABED]

There are many series you don't have to watch from the first episode to understand it, but I still think it's best to watch shows and read stories from the beginning, especially if it's easily accessible.

[Footlong Shoe]

I already voiced my objection to the idea of skipping Dragon Ball, but I think I should give a better example than "Volume 17".

I've seen people say that it's like starting Star Wars with Empire Strikes Back, but I don't know that that's the most accurate comparison. In Empire Strikes Back, you're dealing with the same pre-established villains, and the same overarching story. Dragon Ball Z starts with a new set of villains, a trend that carries throughout the franchise.

To give a more fair comparison, I would say it's like watching The Avengers without watching any of the standalone Marvel movies beforehand. You get a story that you understand and can enjoy on its own, but you don't know all of the characters. You don't know who they are, what they've done, or how they got to where they are. I've always believed that characters are the most important part of a story, which is why this missing information is so important to me.

Yes, you can start with Dragon Ball Z, but I insist that you shouldn't, because just like The Avengers, it wasn't intended to be seen that way.