Would you still be as engaged in Dragonball fandom if Super did not exist?

[precita]

I used to be heavily active in Dragonball fandom back in 1998-2005, basically when Dragonball Z was huge in the U.S. and the dub was at the height of it's popularity airing wise. I was on all the major forums at the time, anime or videogame sites, etc. However after around 2005 I generally finished watching the entire series and took a 10 year break from Dragonball fandom. I occasionally checked out the new videogames and the few specials we got, but I didn't even watch Kai. I of course watched the Beerus movie in 2013 and just assumed it was a one off thing.

Around 2015 when both Return of F and Super was confirmed I thought it was the obvious time to return to the fandom and have been here since. Had Super never existed and we just gotten movies or specials or whatever, I probably would not have gotten back into the series full-time.

Would you still be as engaged in Dragonball fandom if there wasn't a new series airing currently? I feel like all the older material has been discussed to death, which is why you could look through the archives of this site and see the same posts or debates about stuff that happened in Dragonball/Z/GT/movies or the manga that are exactly the same as the stuff people say today. After 20 years nothing has changed, besides the new stuff like Super that didn't exist back then.

Thoughts?

[Chuquita]

Oh I'd have been gone. I was being ready to leave the spring before they announced BOG (2012). That movie was the only thing that kept me from quitting.

Now in the parallel universe that would be "No dbs, but a movie every couple years" I'd probably be only semi-active. I'd fully milk as much fun as I could out of the build-up to each movie and the watching of, but vanish off the face of the forum during the break year in between films.

To say I'm only as active as I still am in this fandom is only because we have a weekly series now is accurate.

I've gotten everything I could get out of db, z, and gt. Super is why I'm still here.

[VegettoEX]

I'm in it for the long haul. Super does nothing but add material (and complications) to everything we already still have yet to accomplish! To me, it (Super) is the least interesting thing we have/do/cover/document.

[sintzu]

We're going into our 7th year of new DB content so it's hard to remember exactly how active I was before 2012 (that's when BOG was announced) but if there were good topics to be talked about then yes, I'd be more than happy to take part in them.

DB had been my favorite anime franchise for 8 years before BOG was a thing so I highly doubt new content not existing would've changed that and my enthusiasm to talk about it.

[Kataphrut]

Not at all. I got back into the series as a whole thanks to a combination of DBZA and Battle of Gods, but I was only a casual fan even then. Super has given me something to follow on a week to week basis.

So yeah, Super got me more engaged with the fandom. And as much it's detractors would hate to admit, it's drawing the most amount of interest out of anything Dragon Ball related right now, so it's safe to say it's having an effect.

[TheGreatness25]

Honestly, I feel less engaged in the fandom. I know it sounds really weird, but I haven't watched Super.

When Super was originally coming out, I knew that Funimation would get its hands on the series (as they did with the last two movies) and knew that I'd be getting the Blu-rays (because I'm that kind of fan), so I'd rather experience it on a product that I paid for (the Blu-rays) for the first time, rather than some streaming website. That was my original stance and thought it would be great, since I've seen all of DB before I got any of the DVDs and Blu-rays, so I never had that feeling before. In fact, I didn't watch the majority of my collection because I had already seen it on TV.

Then, it was taking Funimation a really long time to get the series. Well, maybe not that long, but it sure felt like it. Now, Super was out on Funimation Now and my thought process was that it wouldn't be long until the Blu-rays were going to be released. Well, waited, waited, waited, and finally they're released, but I have a new problem.

I don't have enough time for it. I still want to get the Blu-rays at some point, but it's not a pressing matter. I simply don't care and am over it. I'm not really excited by anything I know about the series. I even toyed with the idea of saying "screw it" and just watching it on Funimation Now, but have zero time. Zero time, zero interest.

Now, because I haven't seen Super, I cannot contribute to anything Super-related. I try every now and then just to keep myself in it, but it must come off as annoying when I contribute something to a topic I know nothing about. And since Super is the shiny new penny, many discussions revolve around Super. Thus, I am pretty removed from the fandom.

I was big into DB since before it went on Toonami, but have been very heavily entrenched in the series starting in 1998. I was crazy about the series roughly until 2003, when Z was finished and GT was airing. I found GT to be pretty boring (the dub itself turned me off from it). Then, in 2006 (I believe), I really liked the Ultimate Uncut episodes that they put out on Cartoon Network and got back into it. I started collecting more and more DVDs, but that cooled off. Finally in 2007, with the release of the orange brick, I got it and was really excited. I didn't even know that those were out, but was very happy. But that wasn't a perfect release and it led me to this forum (after listening to the orange brick podcast) and I've been up and down into the series since.

So basically, the orange bricks and Kai had me more engaged in the series than Super because I haven't really seen any of it.

[Kataphrut]

Honestly, I feel less engaged in the fandom. I know it sounds really weird, but I haven't watched Super.

When Super was originally coming out, I knew that Funimation would get its hands on the series (as they did with the last two movies) and knew that I'd be getting the Blu-rays (because I'm that kind of fan), so I'd rather experience it on a product that I paid for (the Blu-rays) for the first time, rather than some streaming website. That was my original stance and thought it would be great, since I've seen all of DB before I got any of the DVDs and Blu-rays, so I never had that feeling before. In fact, I didn't watch the majority of my collection because I had already seen it on TV.

Then, it was taking Funimation a really long time to get the series. Well, maybe not that long, but it sure felt like it. Now, Super was out on Funimation Now and my thought process was that it wouldn't be long until the Blu-rays were going to be released. Well, waited, waited, waited, and finally they're released, but I have a new problem.

I don't have enough time for it. I still want to get the Blu-rays at some point, but it's not a pressing matter. I simply don't care and am over it. I'm not really excited by anything I know about the series. I even toyed with the idea of saying "screw it" and just watching it on Funimation Now, but have zero time. Zero time, zero interest.

Now, because I haven't seen Super, I cannot contribute to anything Super-related. I try every now and then just to keep myself in it, but it must come off as annoying when I contribute something to a topic I know nothing about. And since Super is the shiny new penny, many discussions revolve around Super. Thus, I am pretty removed from the fandom.

I was big into DB since before it went on Toonami, but have been very heavily entrenched in the series starting in 1998. I was crazy about the series roughly until 2003, when Z was finished and GT was airing. I found GT to be pretty boring (the dub itself turned me off from it). Then, in 2006 (I believe), I really liked the Ultimate Uncut episodes that they put out on Cartoon Network and got back into it. I started collecting more and more DVDs, but that cooled off. Finally in 2007, with the release of the orange brick, I got it and was really excited. I didn't even know that those were out, but was very happy. But that wasn't a perfect release and it led me to this forum (after listening to the orange brick podcast) and I've been up and down into the series since.

So basically, the orange bricks and Kai had me more engaged in the series than Super because I haven't really seen any of it.

Oh, I understand your pain on that front. They year-long delay of the Funimation release is bad enough, but in Australia we don't get Toonami, the show is blocked on FunimationNow (can't even watch it in Japanese which is ridiculous) and the Blu Rays are behind the US release. We got part one out at roughly the same time and even a fancy exclusive slip-cover to go with it but part two isn't coming out until December and we haven't seen hide nor hair of part three.

I'm fine with just streaming the show on AnimeLab and holding out for the dub to get to "the good part" of Super, but I can understand how that wait would be hell for people holding out for a specific version while also trying to avoid the constant flow of conversation that comes out of every new episode released in Japan.

The one upside to the debacle with Funimation is I think the delay has turned a lot of dub-only fans around on Japanese Dragon Ball. I'm sure when it was first announced a lot of the "lol Grandma Goku" crowd thought they could hold out for the English release, since all they were missing were the terrible movie-retelling arcs. But the show eventually got out of that phase, there was still no sign of a dub on the horizon and all this tantalising info was coming out about universal tournaments and black Gokus. Eventually they would have had no choice but to pinch their nose, dive in and go "hey, this version is actually really good and Masako Nozawa's a fuckin' legend brah". So some good's come out of it at least.

[Michsi]

Early Super actually had me withdraw from the fandom a little bit. I was disappointed in a lot of ways, from how it looked to the way they handled some characters, and I decided it would be best if I just detached myself from it instead of being bitter about this and that. The franchise will always remain near and dear to my heart, but I'm not the sort to sit through shows that do more to aggravate than entertain.

But things are definitely looking up (for now) and despite it's many flaws, the TOP has done wonders for the fandom and I can actually say I'm a little invested in it's outcome.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

BoG is why I signed up in the first place! So the answer for me would be no. I'd probably still be a casual-ish fan who watches old dub clips on YT time to time.

Though I'm now barely visiting Kanzenshuu, I still watch and enjoy Super but the sub forum is a joke, more like a social media hub than a discussion forum, so figured no point wasting my time there, (and I'm not interested in verse so the rest of the forum feels kinda dead).

[PsionicWarrior]

I did sign up here because of Super initially though I don't consider myself to be particularly engaged or anything, I do like the subforum as unlike some others imply there is some interesting comments there too cheers lol

[Avenant]

Dragon Ball is love. Dragon Ball is life.



Seriously, I can't ever see myself not being engaged, even more so with the plethora of new and exciting content on the horizon!

[Lord Beerus]

To be brutally honest, no. Dragon Ball Super's material (whether it be good or bad) always bring something of substance to keep me intrigued enough to analyse and dissect it. As long as Super keeps pumping out episodes, I'll keep coming back.

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

Likely not. The resurge from BoG (and SUPER specially) is what triggered my interest in being more active in the fandom.

[Colonel Silver]

After the series was completed and there was no hope of continuation in sight, I stuck to the videogames, just buying higher quality re-releases of the show and other merchandise like statues. So, yes, I'd still be involved with the fandom. I find myself able to talk about the most inane shit when it comes to this series. I just love it. It brings out the kid in me.

[AnimeMaakuo]

Yes and no. The mere existence of DBZ Super has since compelled me to distance myself from the fanbase and focus on my Studio. In fact, I carry an immense amount of hatred toward BOG, ROF, DB Super. It's stupid, embarrassing, sloppy, and unoriginal.

[floofychan333]

Hell yes, I've barely watched Super but there's so much material in the other media that we can talk until the end of time. I was drawn in to DB (shortly) before Super was announced and I like to consider myself engaged (though not as much as earlier this year).

[majinwarman]

Oh I'd have been gone. I was being ready to leave the spring before they announced BOG (2012). That movie was the only thing that kept me from quitting.

Now in the parallel universe that would be "No dbs, but a movie every couple years" I'd probably be only semi-active. I'd fully milk as much fun as I could out of the build-up to each movie and the watching of, but vanish off the face of the forum during the break year in between films.

To say I'm only as active as I still am in this fandom is only because we have a weekly series now is accurate.

I've gotten everything I could get out of db, z, and gt. Super is why I'm still here.

To be honest, me too. I'm so focused on movies, comics, Star Wars, and other anime. I would only be rewatching all the shows once per two years to keep it fresh. It was Super that brought me Kanzenshuu in the first place. It is a place in which I can talk to other fans. So yeah, Super brought me back to Dragon Ball.

[majinwarman]

To be brutally honest, no. Dragon Ball Super's material (whether it be good or bad) always bring something of substance to keep me intrigued enough to analyse and dissect it. As long as Super keeps pumping out episodes, I'll keep coming back.

Me too!!

[MajinMan]

I'd be lying if I said that Super doesn't affect my engagement in any way. It produces many new topics and discussions for us to participate in. But that being said, Super isn't what reignited my love for the series. That was Battle of Gods. When Battle of Gods was announced, I jumped right back in. I ended up watching the Japanese version and reading the manga because of BoG. I learned more things than I could have ever dreamed of about Toriyama, the behind the scenes, and all that cool stuff. This was all because of BoG. And while Super is a part of my weekly life now, it did not have nearly the same impact that BoG had for me and my personal fandom.

[TobyS]

Xenoverse has an ongoing original storyline so I'd stick around for that.

And DBM, both have sub forums here.