Something fans should consider: From drought period to now

[mecha3000]

I was just thinking about something and here's something I find interesting regarding Dragon Ball: Now, we live in an age where DB is prevalent once again through new media, but it wasn't like this a few years ago. I was born in the later part of the '90s so I wasn't around for the iconic Toonami run (which I'm kind of thankful for because most users shit on the old Funimation dub). I was exposed to DBZ through my cousin and with Budokai 1. Then, I played more of the games and got into the series through the already available Funimation DVD's. By '06 when I was in the prime of my childhood DBZ love, Funimation only had two more pieces of DBZ to dub: Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon.

So, all of DB was for the most part, available on DVD. Even though the Ultimate Uncut version through the Frieza Saga had aired on TV while some of the episodes were On Demand, there wasn't really anything new coming out of DB. Back in the mid 2000's, there wasn't a clear way to get into the series online. Also, what was new to me was simply only because I was being exposed to the series for the first time. My point is: Dragon Ball was surviving merely on the fandom and merchandise (mainly video games) alone and nothing else because no new media was being produced.

This is something I cherish to a degree because I had all of DB to get into through the DVD's (whenever I was able to get them) and the video games that were coming out for the PS2 era (which gave me more insight into the movies and GT characters). Then, the 2008 special came out, eventually the Hatchiyack remake, and the new Bardock special. Even Tarble and Hatchiyack appeared in Raging Blast 2, proving they had to be really creative with the characters they used back then because that's all they had before Super introduced a shitload of new ones. Even SS Bardock appeared in the Kinect game (Ugh). And yeah, having characters like Tarble and Hatchiyack in the games was something I appreciated because they were finally new characters. Even what-if content had to be produced in the games (from Raging Blast to Heroes) to maintain interest from the fans. Still, any OG fan will know about the drought period when all the games did in terms of story was RADTIZ TO BUU, RADTIZ TO BUU, RADTIZ TO BUU (and maybe GT and the movies every now and then).

However, now we have the newer movies and Super so we're actually getting new content. When I think back to the last GT episode, I remember the English title "Until We Meet Again" and how Goku uttered those words at the end of the episode. It was always a bittersweet moment because I wanted more. Now, we have that. So, even though new DB can be disappointing sometimes, I think we can all agree it's nice to have new DB (new movies, Super, newer games adapting new content instead of recycling content) in the first place.

[Professor Freeza]

However, now we have the newer movies and Super so we're actually getting new content. When I think back to the last GT episode, I remember the English title "Until We Meet Again" and how Goku uttered those words at the end of the episode. It was always a bittersweet moment because I wanted more. Now, we have that. So, even though new DB can be disappointing sometimes, I think we can all agree it's nice to have new DB (new movies, Super, newer games adapting new content instead of recycling content) in the first place.

This is what people forget. Not just here, but all around the fandom. We got new stuff of DB. And not at all lousy.

When SUper wasnt there, we all longed for something. Now when Super IS still running, many hate it.

Wait till this renaissance is done in 5 odd years. People will again Miss DB.

That is why i dont hate a thing about the anime. I'm just thankful to experience an Ongoing DB Series because when Z Ended, i wasnt born.

[sintzu]

When I think back to the last GT episode, I remember the English title "Until We Meet Again" and how Goku uttered those words at the end of the episode. It was always a bittersweet moment because I wanted more.

Even though new DB can be disappointing sometimes, I think we can all agree it's nice to have new DB instead of recycling content.

Same here and it was those words that always made me believe there'd be more and when BOG was announced with Toriyama's involvement I knew DB was truly back.

Most are happy to see it back and I hope it goes on for a long time but growing up with just the original 3 anime for so long (DB,Z&GT) I sometimes miss the times when DB was a completed product.

[TheGreatness25]

I am happy that the series is back and it can open up a new door to brand new fans. I'm glad that people truly like the new content (and it sucks when you don't). But for me personally, something's been taken away. I watched the latest dubbed episode of Super mainly for the moment where Briand Drummon and Chris Sabat were in the same place at the same time (on the TV, anyway). And yet... I found it so boring and weird. I couldn't get into it at all. I understand that I didn't watch anything leading up to it, but quite literally the only two things I thought were amusing were Brian Drummond (nostalgia kicked up to level 10) and how dismissive Vegeta is (I think it is pretty funny despite having found Vegeta to be too grumpy toward the end of Z). Other than that, though... meh.

I'm the completionist type, so yeah, I'd rather the series was complete with a nice little bow on it. I also would prefer if a chunk of the story wasn't redone (GT). But, I'm glad that there's new content and obviously, bsaed on the way people talk about it and how many watch it, the fans are generally happy. So in that regard, I'm glad that Dragon Ball is back.

[mecha3000]

In regards to the old complete feel of Dragon Ball, I do agree with this. However, there was always so much untapped content and character potential within the overall Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT canon that I always wanted more. Back in the day, I always wanted Future Trunks to return in a Marvel Comics sort of fashion because I felt he needed to meet current 18 and present Trunks to get some closure, as well as him teaming up with the main characters again (closest thing we had before was Shin Budokai: Another Road and Raging Blast what-if). I also wanted #17 to become a main character type and fight alongside Goku and the others. These are the main two things I REALLY wanted and they HAPPENED. They even gave 17 the badass uses of his barrier, which I always found cool and unique in Z!!!

However, there's two more characters who I feel deserve some spotlight before Dragon Ball ends forever: Uub and Pan. Seriously, most fans hate Uub because of GT and his random appearance that caused Goku to leave with him. Still, the setup hypes it up so perfectly: After fighting for so long and having no one else really worth challenging, Goku decides to train his new apprentice to save the Earth - all the while having the ulterior motive of training someone so unimaginably strong as himself that they would finally provide the challenge he's been waiting for, for so long. Then, you have Pan - Gohan's daughter (who in my opinion should've been the first female Super Saiyan along with Bra/Bulla), who has the potential to co-lead a new series alongside Uub. With Kale and Caulifla representing U6 female Saiyans, we still need some for U7 anyway and Pan/Bulla can provide these roles.

So yeah, to me - until we get a new series that focuses on Uub and Pan leading the next generation of main characters with Goku and Vegeta leading in the background, I don't want DB to end. After it does this, then it could end forever with maybe a reanimated Dragon Ball/Z series one day.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

It's kind of crazy to think of all the things that had to happen to lead up to DB's revival. With Bandai longing for a new series and Kai's failure (if Kai did well they may not've decided to produce new material) lead to Toriko and then Toriko's failure lead to Kai returning and then DBE utter failure forcing Toriyama to step out the shadows when this anniversary movie BoG was in the works, BoG did well and so a sequel film was next and Toriyama was even more involved in that and with RF's immense success and with Buu Kai wrapping up Fuji needed a show to fill slot and thus DBS was born and everyone knows what an monumental success it is!

[PacificOceanDub]

The drought period was honestly a really fun time for me. Although the games were repetitive and the Orange Bricks sucked, Dragon Ball was off the radar, and it was kind of “ours to own” for a little while. Now I see everyone walking around in DB shirts they got from Hot Topic and I risk the chance of looking like a band-wagoner, even though I’ve been holding down the fort this whole time

[sintzu]

There was always so much untapped content and character potential within the overall Dragon Ball canon that I always wanted more.

I've always wanted Vegeta to get a rematch with Freeza so I was completely shocked and happy when RF was announced as I thought that was something I'd never see but I got it in the movie AND Super.

I'm the completionist type, so yeah, I'd rather the series was complete with a nice little bow on it.

The old content looks so different from the new and was the only thing around for the longest time so you can look at DB,Z,GT&their movies as a complete thing while modern DB as its own thing.

[TheGreatness25]

[spoiler]

I'm the completionist type, so yeah, I'd rather the series was complete with a nice little bow on it.

[/spoiler]

The old content looks so different from the new and was the only thing around for the longest time so you can look at DB,Z,GT&their movies as a complete thing while modern DB as its own thing.

Eh, we know it's not true lol That would be lying to myself. The other part of being the completionist that I am is wanting to own everything, and to me, the new content is part of "everything."

Plus, in order to stay relevant in this fan community, I have to pretty much expose myself to Super. I've already been told several times that I need to "watch it" to be a part of the conversation. Well, if I don't, then I guess I have no place in those discussions. I just don't have the time or burning interest. I feel like I need the Blu-rays just to have them. It's terrible lol

I agree with the statement above that during the "drought period," it was pretty fun. Dragon Ball was more of an exclusive thing for die-hards as opposed to the current hot topic (no pun intended). But again, I have nothing against the new content. I guess there's a lot more to explore with Dragon Ball. The biggest thing that bothers me is this label of "canon" that gets thrown around. It's used as a guide to what's "real and not," but really ends up being a gauge for what's relevant or not. Thus, it's making a lot of things that I grew up with seem irrelevant in favor of the newer material that I can't seem to get into. I know that I can make of the story what I want it to be, but quite truthfully, knowing that a piece of story that I once knew and held dear is now "irrelevant material," is kind of upsetting. I'm talking Bardock and GT more than anything, to be honest. But it is what it is. All I'm saying is that the "drought period" wasn't so bad for me. It gave me closure with the series. Now I'm an adult and have to fit the new Dragon Ball stuff into my adult life, which is fine, but who has the time in the day for that? A big part of me wishes that it was just left in my past that I can look back onto fondly and come on here and talk to others who look back on it fondly. But now I'm not even up-to-date on the series that I've spent my entire youth loving -- not to mention the fortune I've spent on supporting it. Now I can't even be in the conversation. That's life I guess.

[precita]

Dragonball had a 10 year gap between the end of the dubs in 2005 till 2013-2015 with the new movies and then Super.

For Japanese fans it was a 20 year gap, it's insane.

[Bajosexto]

The "drought preriod" for the Latin American dub started around 2002. A year after I got in Dbz. Honestly I never really wanted more/new anime content during 2001-2013/2015. (Don't really consider Kai as new content.
While it was, it is basically Z) I spent those years watching Dbz over and over. And it was really cool.

Unlike a lot of people here, the only exposure I had with Dragon ball as a kid and teen, was with the anime. I didn't played my first Dragon Ball game till 2008. I didn't own a Dbz toy untill 2008. And it was for my little bother but I pretty convinced him to buy it. I didn't own the DVD/Blu rays untill 2015. (Not to mention that the Latin American dub didn't get realised on home video untill 2011-12. And then got cancelled) Basically all I had growing up when it came to Dragon Ball in the drought period was the anime itself. And that didn't bother me. I was happy just consuming this awesome cartoon that I loved.

I agree with PacificOceanDub. While I don't think it's a bad thing that DB is revelent again, I really liked it when it was just an old 90s/2000s cartoon. And most people who were still into Dragon Ball post Toonami/2002 in Latin America, were fans who truly loved this franchise.

[mecha3000]

Another thing I forgot to mention is that even when Dragon Ball (Z) Kai came out, it was nice to have something new during the pre-Super era. At first, I thought Kai would be the last of DB and always interpreted Kai as paying off Goku's "Until We Meet Again!" phrase. However, I was wrong and we got Super, which truly paid off the phrase. Still, Kai was similar to the video games as it was mainly a retelling of the series but a lot of us didn't mind because we were happy to see Dragon Ball still being relevant again in some way. When Kai aired on Nicktoons and started getting home releases, it was my first exposure to Dragon Ball in a few years so I really cherish that era of time before DB blew up again.

Basically, I think a lot of us agree that although it's nice to have DB back - We do hold some nostalgia for the pre-Super era when DB was surviving mainly on the fandom/merch alone. Still, we'll always have the memories and the knowledge that we experienced during that era even when some fans are only just now getting into the series. It's not like we have to let go of that era. We can keep it in mind while we enjoy the new stuff!

[TheGreatness25]

[spoiler]Another thing I forgot to mention is that even when Dragon Ball (Z) Kai came out, it was nice to have something new during the pre-Super era. At first, I thought Kai would be the last of DB and always interpreted Kai as paying off Goku's "Until We Meet Again!" phrase. However, I was wrong and we got Super, which truly paid off the phrase. Still, Kai was similar to the video games as it was mainly a retelling of the series but a lot of us didn't mind because we were happy to see Dragon Ball still being relevant again in some way. When Kai aired on Nicktoons and started getting home releases, it was my first exposure to Dragon Ball in a few years so I really cherish that era of time before DB blew up again.

Basically, I think a lot of us agree that although it's nice to have DB back - We do hold some nostalgia for the pre-Super era when DB was surviving mainly on the fandom/merch alone. Still, we'll always have the memories and the knowledge that we experienced during that era even when some fans are only just now getting into the series. It's not like we have to let go of that era. We can keep it in mind while we enjoy the new stuff![/spoiler]

Kai was new in a pretty big sense, as it was the whole Funimation redemption story. I think that while Kai in theory was a pretty weak concept (mostly in the fact that it wasn't reanimated or anything), it made a huge difference for Funimation. And while the same trick of getting new fans could have been accomplished by just re-running DBZ, Funimation got to prove itself to a lot of fans. I think that had Kai not existed and the two movies and Super were on the horizon, that many would feel uneasy about how Funimation would handle it, but with their work on Kai, I think it gave a lot of fans confidence that Funimation could do them justice.

[Cipher]

I mean, that's certainly one way to view it. However, I'd long made piece with it being a complete story. It was finished before I got into it, while I was into it, and—satisfied with either of the two endings it had—I never would have expected, nor particularly felt the need for, more content.

Of course one-off extras are fun, especially when penned by Toriyama, but even now I don't feel it was a story that particularly called for more long-form continuation.

[ekrolo2]

I get why people are enthusiastic about new content but really, there was 500+ episodes, hundreds of manga chapters, a constant stream of video games, dozens of films,.... in short, there was plenty of stuff in the DB back log to more then satisfy anyone. It didn't need to come back and the quality hasn't justified it at all.

Endings are good, we should respect them more often instead of constantly bringing things back that don't need it, certainly not stuff like DB which has thousands of things to satiate you freely available.

[ABED]

I think people underestimate the value of an ending - especially a good or great one. I'd understand the desire to see more if we didn't get one even after 500+ episodes but we got several.

[ekrolo2]

I think people underestimate the value of an ending - especially a good or great one.

That and for some reason I notice that they tend to act like a franchise is completely dead upon that conclusion when that's not the case, Dragon Ball still got plenty of video games across multiple genres being made for example. Star Wars is a particularly ridiculous one I've seen this comment get used for since that thing never stopped cranking out dozens of new content pieces every single year.

[mecha3000]

In regards to the old complete feel of Dragon Ball, I do agree with this. However, there was always so much untapped content and character potential within the overall Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT canon that I always wanted more. Back in the day, I always wanted Future Trunks to return in a Marvel Comics sort of fashion because I felt he needed to meet current 18 and present Trunks to get some closure, as well as him teaming up with the main characters again (closest thing we had before was Shin Budokai: Another Road and Raging Blast what-if). I also wanted #17 to become a main character type and fight alongside Goku and the others. These are the main two things I REALLY wanted and they HAPPENED. They even gave 17 the badass uses of his barrier, which I always found cool and unique in Z!!!

However, there's two more characters who I feel deserve some spotlight before Dragon Ball ends forever: Uub and Pan. Seriously, most fans hate Uub because of GT and his random appearance that caused Goku to leave with him. Still, the setup hypes it up so perfectly: After fighting for so long and having no one else really worth challenging, Goku decides to train his new apprentice to save the Earth - all the while having the ulterior motive of training someone so unimaginably strong as himself that they would finally provide the challenge he's been waiting for, for so long. Then, you have Pan - Gohan's daughter (who in my opinion should've been the first female Super Saiyan along with Bra/Bulla), who has the potential to co-lead a new series alongside Uub. With Kale and Caulifla representing U6 female Saiyans, we still need some for U7 anyway and Pan/Bulla can provide these roles.

So yeah, to me - until we get a new series that focuses on Uub and Pan leading the next generation of main characters with Goku and Vegeta leading in the background, I don't want DB to end. After it does this, then it could end forever with maybe a reanimated Dragon Ball/Z series one day.

I also forgot to bring up the previous absence of canon female Super Saiyans in addition to Future Trunks and #17's return, so this is why I truly appreciate Super in spite of its flaws. We now have Kale and Caulifla and even Kefla to introduce female Super Saiyans, which makes DB more inclusive of the female fandom (not that it wasn't already, but now even more so). I love the fact that fangirls of DBZ can now attend conventions dressed up as Kale and Caulifla instead of just characters like SS4 Gogeta or Goku, like I usually see.

[GamerSkull]

While I enjoy Super for the most part, there's a part of me that feels like it isn't the same as what came before...

The inclusion of more saiyans, especially female ones, is cool but the entire thing has a lot of other issues that I immediately can pick up on and sometimes that takes me out of it.

Also, I wish more of the side characters were utilized. (At this point, I'd be happy to see Yamcha take out weak fodder because at least that would be something).

Regardless, it's cool to have another Dragon Ball series and for what it's worth... at least it's very entertaining.

[Basaku]

Coming off a long break doesn't give anything a shield from criticism since that's what this really boils down to. Particularly when it comes to production quality, it's not like Toei and the entire Japan art industry took a 20 years break from animating... There's no excuse why Super looked the way it looked in the first 2 arcs. I'm glad the DB universe is back in a major way, but it doesn't mean I won't judge it accordingly