What if Family Guy did a Dragon Ball-based skit?

[Dbzfan94]

I know I've said Dragon Ball Z Abridged is not a parody, but do you think TFS mock and hate Dragon Ball?

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

[Kanassa]

I know I've said Dragon Ball Z Abridged is not a parody, but do you think TFS mock and hate Dragon Ball?

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

We all know they're obliviously lying with that "This is a fan-based, non-profit parody'' crap! THEY NEED TO BE SUED!

[Dbzfan94]

I know I've said Dragon Ball Z Abridged is not a parody, but do you think TFS mock and hate Dragon Ball?

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

We all know they're obliviously lying with that "This is a fan-based, non-profit parody'' crap! THEY NEED TO BE SUED!

They should hire Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law

(I'm probably the only one who remembers that show)

[Kanassa]

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

We all know they're obliviously lying with that "This is a fan-based, non-profit parody'' crap! THEY NEED TO BE SUED!

They should hire Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law

(I'm probably the only one who remembers that show)

I would suggest Phoenix Wright, otherwise you better call Sal.

I remember the show, not much of whether it was good or not.

[8000 Saiyan]

I know I've said Dragon Ball Z Abridged is not a parody, but do you think TFS mock and hate Dragon Ball?

Yes, they do mock Dragon Ball but in a good-natured way and don't hate it.

I'd love a tasteful, thoughtful, clever parody of Dragon Ball by fans, be they Western or otherwise.

Oh wait...we've had one for a decade.

Judging by the segments, I don't think that those associated with Family Guy like anime. They're pretty much mocking it. I think if they mocked DBZ, surely someone would be upset by it... Not me because I think it would be pretty funny. Robot Chicken mocked Dragon Ball and it was hilarious.

Robot Chicken mocked anime because they were so frustrated that 100% pure 'Murican-made cartoons weren't dominating the airwaves. Western networks & corporations are so oblivious to their tremendous privilege in both finance & influence that they got flustered that shows they acquired from another country - to the point where they even tried to produce their own anime (see: Avatar TLA & Voltron sequel) to make a (huge) quick buck a lot of the qualities the Japanese had carved out in their entertainment, while totally alienating the people who established the medium through their own isolated struggle.

* Hollywood historically has portrayed the Japanese as racist caricatures, often incompetent or as lacking in physical capacity. Rarely if ever did they get lead parts, & this is all only if they were lucky to even make it into Hollywood - & shouldn't even have had to, their art should've stood on its own but Hollywood has only ever promoted American-based stories. Anime was a way for the Japanese to subvert these traditional prejudices & craft a way for their artists to express themselves - & their work could only be secretly imported for many years due to these prejudices - we had to rename all the characters, & replace much of the music. [

In the 80s & 90s, their work was continued to be misportrayed & misrepresented, as racist, sexist, & violent by often ignorant & xenophobic Western journalists. Anime was either "kids' stuff" or "far too racist, sexist, & violent", while American cartoons are seen as "wholesome" & "enjoyable". To lay it on real thick: whenever Japanese media gets popular, we have imitation American works of it - & the kicker is these works are often praised as works of art. For doing the same things that anime has been doing for years, & getting mocked for.

Robot Chicken's parody shows just what little sense of irony the producers at AS had. Yay for blatant, ignorant racism.

You shouldn't take Robot Chicken that seriously, man. It's just a joke.

[TheGreatness25]

I know I've said Dragon Ball Z Abridged is not a parody, but do you think TFS mock and hate Dragon Ball?

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

A parody takes the property and transforms it into something else to comment on that work. With Abridged, there is no transformativeness, it's basically the same thing -- the same video, the same audio, the same overall tone and message. If DBZ was a very serious romance anime and they turned it into a joke, then it would be a parody. Merely making edits and redubbing it does not make it a parody, really. It has to have an entirely different tone and message than the original... but it doesn't.

For example, Robot Chicken made a parody of Dragon Ball because that wasn't at all what Dragon Ball is about and it basically "commented" on Dragon Ball by mocking it (basically commenting how silly it is).

[uncutpokemon]

Here's an idea, I'd like to see Family Guy do several episodes that cover the story in a similar way to how they did Star Wars. If they can get some writers that enjoy DBZ in a way similar to their enjoyment of Star Wars, it could actually work. As for who plays what roles

Peter ---> Goku
Chris ---> Gohan
Stewie ---> Vegeta
Brian ---> Krillin
Cleveland ---> Piccolo
Joe ---> Tien
Quagmire or Herbert ---> Master Roshi
Carter ---> Frieza
Lois ---> Chi Chi
Meg ---> genderbent Yamcha


Or something like that, feel free to add to those, or change some.

[Dbzfan94]

I know I've said Dragon Ball Z Abridged is not a parody, but do you think TFS mock and hate Dragon Ball?

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

A parody takes the property and transforms it into something else to comment on that work. With Abridged, there is no transformativeness, it's basically the same thing -- the same video, the same audio, the same overall tone and message. If DBZ was a very serious romance anime and they turned it into a joke, then it would be a parody. Merely making edits and redubbing it does not make it a parody, really. It has to have an entirely different tone and message than the original... but it doesn't.

For example, Robot Chicken made a parody of Dragon Ball because that wasn't at all what Dragon Ball is about and it basically "commented" on Dragon Ball by mocking it (basically commenting how silly it is).

It's definitely transformative. They change / warp the characters personalities sometimes drastically. The tone is considerably different and many events happen for a different reason.

[TheGreatness25]

They definitely mock parts of it, yes. Playfully of course.
And what makes you think it isn't a parody?

A parody takes the property and transforms it into something else to comment on that work. With Abridged, there is no transformativeness, it's basically the same thing -- the same video, the same audio, the same overall tone and message. If DBZ was a very serious romance anime and they turned it into a joke, then it would be a parody. Merely making edits and redubbing it does not make it a parody, really. It has to have an entirely different tone and message than the original... but it doesn't.

For example, Robot Chicken made a parody of Dragon Ball because that wasn't at all what Dragon Ball is about and it basically "commented" on Dragon Ball by mocking it (basically commenting how silly it is).

It's definitely transformative. They change / warp the characters personalities sometimes drastically. The tone is considerably different and many events happen for a different reason.

Eh, not really though. They changed Nappa, "Guru," Dende, and Popo, but the rest of the characters are just slight exaggerations of what they are in the actual series. I don't think that it's transformative enough to be called a parody because I think that the tone and feel of it is the same -- especially at this point. In the beginning when it started, yes, it was a lot different and I could see it passing for a parody. But now, it's just basically retelling what happened in Dragon Ball Z. The message feels the same and the story does as well. Thus, I wouldn't call it a parody now.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

You shouldn't take Robot Chicken that seriously, man. It's just a joke.

Humor often reflects how we feel about certain things in real life. If we joke about certain things, it generally assumes we understand & are trying to make light of it. When we don't actually get it, it seems pretty crass & distasteful, especially when we've been unkind or hurtful to the group being discussed. RC's humor (in this case, at least) was pretty stereotypical & reinforced some weird ideas people tend to have about anime.

For context, I think someone pointed this out AS's attitudes towards anime at the time, on a thread awhile back (one of the celebrity ones, I think?), & discussed why the Robot Chicken skit was the way it was.

Also I get that it's "just" cartoons...okay...but I think highlighting the root of the problems in entertainment gives way to understanding the issues in a broader & more serious context.

[Hellspawn28]

Judging by the segments, I don't think that those associated with Family Guy like anime. They're pretty much mocking it. I think if they mocked DBZ, surely someone would be upset by it... Not me because I think it would be pretty funny. Robot Chicken mocked Dragon Ball and it was hilarious.

I feel like Robot Chicken is different from Family Guy. Robot Chicken is more niche seeing that it airs around midnight and is aim to the more nerdy group of people. Family Guy is more aim to the general public and most of them probably never seen anything of Dragon Ball. They know of it by name and that's it.