Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

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Kojiro Sasaki
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by Kojiro Sasaki » Wed May 10, 2017 8:52 pm

precita wrote: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.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by Hellspawn28 » Wed May 10, 2017 9:15 pm

DBZ was more popular because of the action. Most kids watch it for the fight scenes and didn't care for the story. The 1995 dub of Dragon Ball never really air on TV again and most kids that watch CN didn't know about the first DB show until 2001.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by ABED » Wed May 10, 2017 9:18 pm

Hellspawn28 wrote:DBZ was more popular because of the action. Most kids watch it for the fight scenes and didn't care for the story. The 1995 dub of Dragon Ball never really air on TV again and most kids that watch CN didn't know about the first DB show until 2001.
The action is essentially the story.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by precita » Wed May 10, 2017 9:22 pm

Also in the west, adult Goku is far more popular than kid Goku. Whereas in Japan kid Goku is very popular and probably moreso than his adult incarnation.

Likewise Dragonball does not have Vegeta, Saiyans, Piccolo (until the very last arc), Androids, Freeza, Buu, etc. They probably feel watching a show about, "Kid Goku and his human friends" to be not worth their time. I mean if these are the same people who complained about Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, Bulma, Roshi, Oolong, etc. in DBZ...they probably don't feel a series where they're the most prominent to be worth it.

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by FoolsGil » Wed May 10, 2017 9:26 pm

Cipher wrote:
FoolsGil wrote:I don't know about the rest of the world, but in the United States in the 90s, we all started with DBZ. We didn't even get Dragonball until after GT completed it's run. So it's disingenuous, at least to me, to harp on anyone who makes a choice to not watch Dragonball first or at all. At least they got a choice, my generation didn't.
Did you actually start with Raditz, right from Z episode 1 though? Or did you jump on at some other point?

Personally, I jumped on in the late Freeza arc because that's what was airing at the time, so I think it's a little disingenuous to tell people they need to watch anything before that.
Is that directed at me in some way? Because I like to think we are in agreement that folks could watch in whatever way and in what order.

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by sintzu » Wed May 10, 2017 9:59 pm

precita wrote:I wonder if it's because as said, western fans view Dragonball as a "prequel" for some reason.
It's because that's how the companies treat it while they treat Z as the main product.

In Japan :

When they released the dragon boxes they started with Z.
When they released the single sets they started with Z.
When they released Kai they completely skipped DB.
When they released the full color volumes they started with Z.
Most of the console game either completely skip DB or treat it as a side thing.
Heroes is mainly focused on Z, GT & Super.

In America :

They skipped DB after just 13 episodes and went to Z.
When Funi started their home releases they started with Z.
When they released their Blu-Rays they completely skipped DB and so far have just released Z.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by Cipher » Wed May 10, 2017 11:53 pm

FoolsGil wrote:Is that directed at me in some way? Because I like to think we are in agreement that folks could watch in whatever way and in what order.
I was actually trying to get at the idea that, while you can hop on at any point and enjoy the series to some extent, I obviously wouldn't say starting at a random episode in the Freeza arc makes for nearly as satisfying an experience. The Z divide is really no less arbitrary. In addition, it's somewhat disingenuous for U.S. fans to put forth that the idea that others may as well start at Z episode 1 because that supposedly matches their childhood experience, as almost no one literally jumped in at episode one of Z. That being the case, since you're already recommending someone go back earlier than the starting point that got you hooked, why stop there?

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by Dragon Sponge » Thu May 11, 2017 2:43 am

sintzu wrote:
precita wrote:I wonder if it's because as said, western fans view Dragonball as a "prequel" for some reason.
It's because that's how the companies treat it while they treat Z as the main product.

In Japan :

When they released the dragon boxes they started with Z.
When they released the single sets they started with Z.
When they released Kai they completely skipped DB.
When they released the full color volumes they started with Z.
Most of the console game either completely skip DB or treat it as a side thing.
Heroes is mainly focused on Z, GT & Super.

In America :

They skipped DB after just 13 episodes and went to Z.
When Funi started their home releases they started with Z.
When they released their Blu-Rays they completely skipped DB and so far have just released Z.
And THIS IS why i think the Franchise would be better off without the Z split. As you can see they Milk the crap out of the Z era and mostly neglect everything that isn´t part of it, which is very unfair. They couldn´t do it that easily, if DB and DBZ were known as one Story without more peolpe noticing it. So if the Z split never happened weve had maybe:

* More Games that do not start with Raditz.

* More Games that feature the Son Goku Arc, the Red Ribbon Arc and the Piccolo Arc.

* Characters like Tamborine and Nam would be in more Fighting games, mayby weve had even guys like: Ranfan, Bacterian, and Mutaito.

* Home realeses in the right order. (then why should you start realesing a Series at Episode 154?)

So yeah i would prefer a Series that would be handled more balanced and fairly, instead of just milking the more popular parts to Death all the time. Would be cool if there were an alternate Universe, where there was no Z Split and where the ealier parts are just as respected as the latter parts.

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by DanielSSJ » Thu May 11, 2017 3:16 am

As a strong advocate for the manga, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z aren't separate stories. Dragon Ball Z isn't a sequel to Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball certainly isn't a prequel to Dragon Ball Z. It's all one story and should be consumed as such. You might as well say "I wanna get into Star Wars. Should I skip A New Hope?" The answer is a resounding no.

Another part of me wants to ask why anyone would want to skip the best part of the franchise, but that's just me.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by TheGodfather93 » Thu May 11, 2017 3:29 am

I wish I'd watched the series from the beginning of DB. I, like many others, watched Z first as a kid, then DB second. And I have to say, I enjoyed DB far more than I did DBZ. The storytelling was better, the humour was on point and the fights were actually more enjoyable than the ones in Z, to me at least. I get why Z is the far more popular of the two series, but anyone who considers themselves a fan of this series owes it to themselves to watch DB in its entirety. DB is not something that should be skipped.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by AnzuMazaki » Thu May 11, 2017 3:38 am

I think skipping DB and starting right with Z is overrated.
I, like most people, did start with Z, but DB was what got be back into the franchise after four years of mainly being into Yu-Gi-Oh!.
I think people are missing part of the story and why characters like Yamcha, Chaozu, etc are there in the first place when they skip DB.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by sintzu » Thu May 11, 2017 9:54 am

Dragon Sponge wrote:If the Z split never happened weve had maybe More Games that do not start with Raditz.

Would be cool if there were an alternate Universe, where there was no Z Split and where the ealier parts are just as respected as the latter parts.
They'd at least start with Piccolo cause that's the 1st arc that has Goku as an adult.

The original manga volumes and the Kanzenban were released like that.
DanielSSJ wrote:Another part of me wants to ask why anyone would want to skip the best part of the franchise ?
Because they don't know that. They take one look at it and think it's just Goku's unimportant kid adventures and thanks to the way the companies market the franchise they think Z is the main story. It also doesn't help that it takes DB a bit to get going (like Naruto and One Piece) and people nowadays don't like to wait for build up, they want something to be at its best and biggest from day one.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by SansrivaaL » Thu May 11, 2017 11:21 am

I started out with DB as well, its a shame if you dont watch a series from the beginning,I dont see the fun in that.
DB is still the best part of the whole franchise for me, its where everything started, the adventures were amazing and seeing Goku's growth was one of the best parts.

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by ABED » Thu May 11, 2017 12:19 pm

Why are Goku's somehow more important just because he's an adult?
Because they don't know that. They take one look at it and think it's just Goku's unimportant kid adventures and thanks to the way the companies market the franchise they think Z is the main story. It also doesn't help that it takes DB a bit to get going (like Naruto and One Piece) and people nowadays don't like to wait for build up, they want something to be at its best and biggest from day one.
It's easy to be up and running when you are in the middle of a story! You point to Naruto and One Piece a bit to get going, but aren't those franchises also incredibly successful?
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by MajinMan » Thu May 11, 2017 1:56 pm

The real problem is WHY new potential fans even consider skipping DB in the first place. The fans only speak about Z on the internet, so this makes people think that the original anime is not good or unimportant. It seems like such a logical and normal decision to start with the first episode of a serialized series, but the way some newcomers look at DB is sad. All they know is "DBZEE super saiyans pew pew bang monkeys." It's such a terrible and inaccurate description of this series. We only have ourselves and Funimation to blame for this.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by precita » Thu May 11, 2017 2:12 pm

Let's put it this way, aside from the fact that they think kid Goku is childish compared to adult Goku, look at the major cast for 90% of Dragonball:

- Yamcha
- Bulma
- Oolong/Puar
- Roshi
- Launch
- Krillin
- Tenshinhan

Nearly all these characters are sidelined in DBZ except for Krillin and Bulma. You're expecting the people who sat there not giving a damn about "animal characters" like Oolong/Puar, Roshi as a fighter, or Yamcha and Tenshinhan in major roles to like this series.

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by ABED » Thu May 11, 2017 2:44 pm

You assume to know how people view those characters. Even though Tenshinhan and Yamcha don't get much beyond the Saiyan arc, I still liked those characters and wanted to see more of them. I don't know why anyone who liked DBZ wouldn't want to go back and see more of the story.
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by sintzu » Thu May 11, 2017 2:47 pm

MajinMan wrote:We only have ourselves and Funimation to blame for this.
The Japan companies are doing that to.
ABED wrote:You point to Naruto and One Piece a bit to get going, but aren't those franchises also incredibly successful ?
Yes and like DB, they didn't start big from the start. Naruto's pain, 5 kage summit & 4th ninja war arcs make everything before look small.

One Piece's Enies lobby and Thriller bark arcs (I just finished those now) are a lot bigger in every sense than what came before.

And DB of course changes like that. Even when you don't take Z into account Piccolo is a waaaaaay bigger villan than Pilaf was and the last Tenkaichi tournament had 10× more of everythan than the 1st one.

Some people I know would ask when does One Piece get good cause they're not interested in the beginning and I've also read that on some sites so it's not just a DB thing. I'm guessing that's why Toonami started it so late in the story instead of th beginning. Unlike One Piece, Z is new comer friendly so the chances of someone sticking with DB from that point is a lot higher than One Piece.

People not having as much patients as before is why not many manga are getting as big as they could and end up getting cancelled instead. If something isn't as big as DB, Naruto or One Piece in their prime then it's not worth their time.
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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by precita » Thu May 11, 2017 2:49 pm

ABED wrote:You assume to know how people view those characters. Even though Tenshinhan and Yamcha don't get much beyond the Saiyan arc, I still liked those characters and wanted to see more of them. I don't know why anyone who liked DBZ wouldn't want to go back and see more of the 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.

As someone who watched DBZ first myself, I was a bit confused to see characters like Oolong actually treated as a main character rather than a silly side character. Or Roshi with a major role as he did nothing in DBZ. But as I watched through Dragonball back in the early 2000's I got used to it and saw where everything started from.

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Re: Your opinion on skipping/not watching Dragon Ball

Post by sintzu » Thu May 11, 2017 2:54 pm

ABED wrote:I don't know why anyone who liked DBZ wouldn't want to go back and see more of the story.
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'd probably fail because of how long it took them to get going. DB's first major villain didn't show up until 100 episodes later, the Akatsuke who were Naruto's main villains also took that long to show up & One Piece's first war lord didn't show up until then as well. It took all 3 100+ episodes to show their real villains which is something you don't really get today cause a story is cancelled before it can get to that point.
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