Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

[Robo4900]

Dragon Ball is where the story begins. Skipping it is like skipping Fellowship Of The Ring in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy; sure, you can do it, but it's a pretty silly decision, and although you could argue your experience will still be entertaining enough, you're missing a lot of stuff, and the ending will be no-where near as meaningful(Particularly if the ending you choose is GT. One of GT's main failings is the fact it just doesn't work if you haven't seen both DB and Z).

Plus, the dub is a lot better than Z's ever was, and the Kai dub was deliberately geared to continue using terminology established in the original series dub, while only changing naming conventions for things introduced in Z/Kai.
And, of course, if you're watching in Japanese, the continuous experience of DB into Z into GT is, in my opinion, the definitive Dragon Ball experience. (Again though, this only applies to the Japanese version...)

Final point: If you have time to watch Super, you have time to watch the original series, and really, you should prioritise original over Super; it does a lot of what Super's doing(More humour-orientated than Z, tournament arcs, the secondary characters being relevant and actually doing cool stuff), but it does it better, and with much better animation.

[sintzu]

Replace 150 with 200 and it's the same thing, you are starting the story from the middle rather than the beginning.

It doesn't matter if it's the middle, if the story can be enjoyed without needing to see what came before then it's OK to watch it from there. You can't do that with Z 200 because Goku's dead which is a major plot continuation from the previous arc.

The Buu arc doesn't continue any major plotline. I still wouldn't suggest starting there.

Goku is dead. That's as big a plot point as it gets.

Dragon Ball is where the story begins. Skipping it is like skipping Fellowship Of The Ring in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

TLOTR started with the Hobbit yet no one has an issue with skipping that.

[Robo4900]

TLOTR started with the Hobbit yet no one has an issue with skipping that.

As far as the movies are concerned, that isn't a problem, as the movies were designed to be taken in as a standalone trilogy, so in that sense your point is invalid.
For the books, you do have a point, especially since Hobbit is much shorter than the LotR books, meaning -- much like OG Dragon Ball -- it's no-where near as much of a time investment, and from what I've heard(I haven't got around to reading any of the Hobbit or LotR books yet) the more lighthearted tone means it's a better fit. Although, from what I've observed(Again, haven't read the books myself, and I haven't seen all the Hobbit films), I think Dragon Ball is a lot more important to the overall Dragon Ball story than the Hobbit is to LotR. Plus, Dragon Ball and Z were originally created as one manga running 519 chapters(The split between DB and Z was only created for the anime), while the Hobbit and LotR were written as separate works, despite their strong connection to one-another.

So, in other words, you're right and wrong, but either way, despite your point being an interesting point of discussion, it doesn't really diminish my point at all.

[Cipher]

It doesn't matter if it's the middle, if the story can be enjoyed without needing to see what came before then it's OK to watch it from there. You can't do that with Z 200 because Goku's dead which is a major plot continuation from the previous arc.

Goku being dead is majorly dependent on previous material, but Goku and Piccolo's enmity, the latter' character arc throughout Z's first storyline, and the impact of watching all these weirdos we just met be killed off isn't?

You can jump on at the beginning of any arc in the series, and by and large none are significantly more or less dependent on previous material than any other.

Again, I jumped in halfway through the Namek arc and enjoyed myself just fine. That's a poor argument for selecting a starting point given the availability of the entire series.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

Z's 151st episodes is in the middle of an already ongoing arc. Although the Saiyan arc is the 7th arc of the overall story, it's not continuing any major plotline from the previous arcs but instead is somehwat of a fresh start for new readers/viewers.

I'm not saying you shouldn't watch the original 1st or even 2nd cause it'll make Z better but lets not pretend that you have to in order to understand or enjoy Z.

Using random episode number wasn't the best of my ideas, but it doesn't change my mind. Dragon Ball Z is a countinuation of Dragon Ball plotline. I find backstories of all the characters introduced in the beginning of Z very important.
Piccolo offering Goku help cannot be properly interpreted without watching the previous arc. What am I talking about - the entire show gives completely different impression, when you are familiar with the first 153 episodes.

It doesn't matter if it's the middle, if the story can be enjoyed without needing to see what came before then it's OK to watch it from there. You can't do that with Z 200 because Goku's dead which is a major plot continuation from the previous arc.

The topic title starts with “You opinion (...)”. People express their opinions.
Feel free to enjoy what you enjoy

[Lord Beerus]

I feel as though what makes the "Z" portion of the story work so well is by having the knowledge of what kind of story you see before it. Everything about what happens in the Saiyan arc, the Freeza arc and the Android arc carry a hell of a lot more weight and meaning with proper context of what the story of Dragon Ball was before Raditz debuted. DBZ works well enough on it's own, but work so much when you know what happened before it.

[Zephyr]

It's not as important as, say, watching Naruto before Shippuden. Those two don't feel like different shows, they just feel like the same show but with a time skip. DB to DBZ on the other hand is a more dramatic shift, in tone and story. There's no ongoing plot point at the end of Dragon Ball that's immediately continued in Z, outside of Piccolo wanting to muahahaha take over the world. But that just kinda goes away pretty quickly

That's not really true. There's no "dramatic shift" at the "Z Border". The tonal shift is a gradual one that begins as early as the Red Ribbon Army arc, and continues increasing up until the Artificial Humans arc. And I think you're horribly understating the importance of Piccolo there. Without the backdrop of him as the world's baddest villain to date (which you'd need the 3 preceding arcs to really get a feel for), his team-up with Goku isn't as badass as it should be (it really isn't in any way if you don't know the two as enemies), and his sacrifice to save Gohan is utterly flaccid without knowing exactly who he is and why it's such an important moment. Some exposition here and there is absolutely not a substitute.

[ThatFanaticJackatoo]

The only reason I didn't watch Db is because I didn't know it existed until I was about 50 episodes in Z. I started watching Z because my friend told me about Super and how it's a sequel to DBZ, so I assumed that there was only Z and Super.

[ABED]

Goku is dead. That's as big a plot point as it gets.

Not really. In DBZ, Goku and Piccolo are considered mortal enemies, but somehow that's not a big plot point to you? Goku being dead isn't a huge plot line that needed resolution. It was the resolution.

TLOTR started with the Hobbit yet no one has an issue with skipping that.

It's not all one story. Bilbo is a minor character in LOTR and the ring is little more than a McGuffin in The Hobbit.

Watching DBZ without DB is like watching One Tree Hill from season 5 onward without watching seasons 1-4. All the plot threads are tied up in season 4 and season 5 is a bit of a reset on the show since the season starts 4 years after the characters graduated high school, and you could get the characters and their relationships from exposition and context, but they don't mean nearly as much without having experienced the show from the start.

[Dragon Sponge]

TLOTR started with the Hobbit yet no one has an issue with skipping that.

I would say there is still an Mayor difference, The Hobbit is one Book, Tolkien made in 1937 while the Lord of the Rings is the sequel created in form of 3 Volumes made from 1954 to 1955, while Dragon Ball is a weekly Manga Series Toriyama created in 519 single Chapters made from 1984 to 1995. Between the Hobbit and TLOTR was a gap of almost 7 Years, while at Dragon Ball there was no Big break between the final defeat of Piccolo and the arrival of Radditz. Toriyama did not end his current Manga Series and made a Sequel to it afterward, no he just continued his current Manga in the same routine like before. The Manga didn´t even changed the Name to DBZ nor was the Chapter counter reduced to 1 again (except for the USA), so it should be clear that DB is not supposed to be two series. The Anime Adaptation did change the Name at the beginning of the Saiyan arc and Toei marketed it as a Sequel from that point on. But even there was no big break between DB Ep 153 and DBZ EP 1, so also the Anime Adaptation continues in the same routine like nothing happened (with the exception of an New Opening and Ending). Yes i know the same happened at Dragon Ball GT, so from that point of view it could be viewed as part of Toeis Adaptation. But since it didn´t adapts any Manga materiell anymore and uses a complete different Soundtrack, the Term Sequel fits here way more. So yeah the first episode of Z and the first Manga chapter of the Saiyan arc, are just as much a sequel than any Episode/Chapter that came before it. So its very different what Tolkien had done and what Toriyama had done. Also i would say that Hobbit and LOTR are a better comparison to Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball than to Earlier DB and Z Era DB, since Dr. Slump was Toriyamas previous work from which Dragon Ball was a sequel in some ways:

* It explored the world beyond Penguin Village.

* It has the Dr. Slump type Comedy in some parts.

* It makes references (mostly fourth Wall jokes) to Dr. Slump stuff and even has an crossover with it in the main Story, where Penguin Village the main Location of DS gets visited.

[sintzu]

DBZ, Goku and Piccolo are considered mortal enemies, but somehow that's not a big plot point to you ?

Watching DBZ without DB is like watching One Tree Hill from season 5 onward without watching seasons 1-4. All the plot threads are tied up in season 4 and season 5 is a bit of a reset on the show since the season starts 4 years after the characters graduated high school, and you could get the characters and their relationships from exposition and context, but they don't mean nearly as much without having experienced the show from the start.

Of course it's important but you don't have to know everything about to get what's going on between them.

I know starting with DB is better cause you'll get the full picture, I'm just saying that if someone isn't interested in it but is in Z then they can enjoy it as a standalone story.

Toriyama did not end his current Manga Series and made a Sequel to it afterward, no he just continued his current Manga in the same routine like before.

True but there was still a major change in the way things were, both in terms of the manga and especially the anime. For the manga the writing style was different from before. Unlike before, the secondary characters played a very major role which could be compared to Goku's unlike before. Before the Saiyan arc every arc led into the other while the Saiyan arc acted as a new beginning cause it wasn't continuing anything from before. Then there was space, timetravel and huge epic fights. In the anime everything looked more sharp due to the major staff changes.

[KorgDTR2000]

To me skipping it makes no sense.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

Of course it's important but you don't have to know everything about to get what's going on between them.

If we would go very far with that logic, we would end up saying that you don't need to watch Dragon Ball Z at all.

The chances of the millions of DBZ fans having seen it from episode 1 back in the 90s is slim.

By the way... were you referring to my first post in this topic, where I used the word "millions"?

[ABED]

Of course it's important but you don't have to know everything about to get what's going on between them.

That's not at issue. It's not the same experience as actually seeing it.

I know starting with DB is better cause you'll get the full picture, I'm just saying that if someone isn't interested in it but is in Z then they can enjoy it as a standalone story.

It's not a standalone story. Going back to the Tolkein example, Lord of the Rings is more of a spinoff of The Hobbit than it is a sequel. It's like Frasier is a spinoff to Cheers.

By the way... were you referring to my first post in this topic, where I used the word "millions"?

No. It was in reference to DBZ being very popular back in the 90s, but it was a time prior to easy access to the series. I don't think TIVO had even been invented yet. If you wanted to watch the show from the first episode, you had to wait for it to reair.

Unlike before, the secondary characters played a very major role which could be compared to Goku's unlike before.

Untrue. Roshi and Kuririn and Bulma and Yajirobe and Tenshinhan play big parts in DB.

Before the Saiyan arc every arc led into the other while the Saiyan arc acted as a new beginning cause it wasn't continuing anything from before. Then there was space, timetravel and huge epic fights. In the anime everything looked more sharp due to the major staff changes.

The Red Ribbon Army arc didn't lead into the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Space and timetravel were simply another twist in the story that had twisted several times before. The story always had scifi elements. And again, I point to the Buu arc not continuing any story that came before. Buu has zero connection to Cell or Vegeta or Freeza.

[sintzu]

Untrue. Roshi and Kuririn and Bulma and Yajirobe and Tenshinhan play big parts in DB.

It was nothing compared to what Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo & Future Trunks got in Z.

[ABED]

Untrue. Roshi and Kuririn and Bulma and Yajirobe and Tenshinhan play big parts in DB.

It was nothing compared to what Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo & Future Trunks got in Z.

Gohan was a main character as was Vegeta. and It's exactly like in Z. Bulma and Roshi and Kuririn and Tenshinhan played major parts in the story. It's just like what we got in Z.

[Zephyr]

Untrue. Roshi and Kuririn and Bulma and Yajirobe and Tenshinhan play big parts in DB.

It was nothing compared to what Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo & Future Trunks got in Z.

Is "playing a role" boiling down simply to "doing good in fights"?

[Hellspawn28]

Skipping is a bad idea. That's like skipping Jojo Part 1-2 and going into Part 3 first.

[floofychan333]

Watch Dragon Ball, goddammit. Seriously. That's what drew me into the franchise (I'm probably the only person here who watched it before Dragon Ball Z) and I doubt I would have had such a profound interest in the franchise if I had started with Z.

[precita]

I wonder if it's because as said, western fans view Dragonball as a "prequel" for some reason, and not the start of the series. Keep in mind the Star Wars prequels started in 1999, and that's when DBZ's ratings were in its prime (Season 3 started in 1999 with the FUNi dub, and then by 2000-2002 it was at it's highest for some time), so people make the connection with the Star Wars prequels for some sad reason.