Anime like Dragonball

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skatezeppelin
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Anime like Dragonball

Post by skatezeppelin » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:21 am

I know this is a Dragonball forum, but who better to help me then the most extreme Dragonball fans. I have recently finished my viewing of the whole Dragonball series, sans Kai. I watched Yu Yu Hakusho and loved it. I bought some old Gundam Wing dvd's off eBay, for nostalgia reasons, and am not to crazy about it. I just started watching One Piece on Hulu and I do enjoy it. I know many people recommend Bleach or Naruto, but I am not really fond of them. Maybe I haven't given them a chance, but anyway can you recommend a show for me? Thanks in advance.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Chuquita » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:29 am

I would've said Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece, but you've seen them already. ^^;

Have you tried Rurouni Kenshin? I bought the VizBigs of that as it came out and it was really good. I really liked how much closure it provided at the end.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Metalwario64 » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:31 am

Fist of The North Star. It's a great shonen series, though not quite like Dragon Ball in tone and style (especially early Dragon Ball), but if you like fast, hard hitting martial arts action, with a good plot and excellent soundtrack (in Japanese of course. The dub's soundtrack is about as generic as they come), then you need to check it out. There is a bit of filler towards the beginning, but it doesn't take long for it to really take off. The martial arts in this series is just awesome!

The first DVD, of four planned total which will span the entire series, is set for release the 28th of this month. I highly suggest picking it up. Blows modern shonen like Bleach and Naruto out of the water in my opinion (though I like One Piece).
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Bussani » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:53 am

Hunter x Hunter is pretty good. Later on in the series the techniques start becoming quite Dragon Ball-ish, too (though never really to Dragon Ball Z levels). I'd say it's like a more interesting version of Naruto. The only problem I should point out is that the author writes it very slowly due to health and other reasons, so we've been on the same arc in the manga for about 7 years now... The anime wraps itself up pretty nicely with some OVAs, though.

Depending on what you consider "like Dragon Ball" we can probably name more. I mean, if you liked Fist of the North Star you could probably get into something like Guyver, which is more like Kamen Rider or Ultra Man than Dragon Ball, but yeah. There's also 3x3 Eyes, which has dragons that fly out of people's hands like Kamehamehas, some pretty cool fights, demons and immortals--pretty fun stuff, even if it's a bit outside of what's normally considered "shonen".
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by mysticboy » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:56 am

Outlaw Star and Bakki The Grappler.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Eddie » Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:00 am

I've just ordered the Kenshin complete series on dvd, so I can't really speak on the quality of the anime. The manga's great, though. If you decide that Kenshin is the series you want to go for, I'd recommend doing what I did and going to Amazon. The SRP for the complete dvd set is $160, but one of the sellers has it for $100. Again, I'm waiting for the set myself, so I've yet to see an episode. I do, however, know it by reputation. Season 2 is supposed to be excellent. I loved that arc in the manga, so the stories of its awesomeness are probably accurate. Season 3 is pretty legendary for all the wrong reasons though. Years before I read the manga, I heard about season 3. Those wacky Christians...

Also, I'd recommend a trip to your local library. If they have manga you can try a shonen series out for free, then decide for yourself whether or not you'd like to further explore that series.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Goku100xKamehameha » Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:56 am

Yu-Gi-Oh! and it's not really a fighting Anime maybe just a few punches and kicks but it's interesting, it's call Slam Dunk, I don't know if there's a English home releases of it yet.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by DB_Fan » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:49 am

Yaiba. The early episodes have more comedy and adventure, like the original Dragon Ball, while the later ones became more serious.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Piccolo Daimaoh » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:54 am

I also personally recommend Naruto. I really think you should give it a chance because it's a lot like DBZ in that it has a lot of action and suspenseful fights. Most DBZ fans that I know, are also somewhat like Naruto. The animation, music and dub are all really good. The story can progress slowly at times, but I'm sure you're used to that. :wink:
Last edited by Piccolo Daimaoh on Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Bussani » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:04 am

I should add (and will probably get some hate for it) that I think Gundam Wing is one of the worst of the Gundam series'. If you liked it in the past, but don't like it so much now, maybe you'd like a different one instead. The original is still very good for its age, Zeta is one of my favorites, Turn A is pretty interesting (and getting a dub soon!), and G Gundam is like a shonen Gundam that doesn't take itself too seriously. Actually, you might like Gundam 00, too.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by sangofe » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:19 am

skatezeppelin wrote:I know this is a Dragonball forum, but who better to help me then the most extreme Dragonball fans. I have recently finished my viewing of the whole Dragonball series, sans Kai. I watched Yu Yu Hakusho and loved it. I bought some old Gundam Wing dvd's off eBay, for nostalgia reasons, and am not to crazy about it. I just started watching One Piece on Hulu and I do enjoy it. I know many people recommend Bleach or Naruto, but I am not really fond of them. Maybe I haven't given them a chance, but anyway can you recommend a show for me? Thanks in advance.
Your topic asks for anime like Dragonball, but in your message, you only ask to get a show reccomended?
Well, the only anime I can ever think of that is somehow close to Dragonball except for Yu Yu Hakusho, would be Hunter X Hunter.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by sangofe » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:21 am

Metalwario64 wrote:Fist of The North Star. It's a great shonen series, though not quite like Dragon Ball in tone and style (especially early Dragon Ball), but if you like fast, hard hitting martial arts action, with a good plot and excellent soundtrack (in Japanese of course. The dub's soundtrack is about as generic as they come), then you need to check it out. There is a bit of filler towards the beginning, but it doesn't take long for it to really take off. The martial arts in this series is just awesome!

The first DVD, of four planned total which will span the entire series, is set for release the 28th of this month. I highly suggest picking it up. Blows modern shonen like Bleach and Naruto out of the water in my opinion (though I like One Piece).
Are you saying they'll cram the entire Hokuto no Ken anime on one dvd?!

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by SHINOBI-03 » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:36 am

First of all, Neerudoo is NOT a "second Dragon Ball" just because the main character wears the same colors as Goku. Plus, some says it's a rip-off of another ninja JUMP manga called "Ninku".

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And BLEACH is also not a "second Dragon Ball". Because it's a rip-off of YuYu Hakusho. Heck!! It was rejected initially because it was so similar to YuYu Hakusho.

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Maybe InuYasha is close enough. It's DBZ for girls. ((Says VG Cats))
I should add (and will probably get some hate for it) that I think Gundam Wing is one of the worst of the Gundam series'.
G Gundam is the worst because it's a Gundam-In-Name-Only. Yes people! We got a third GINO.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Piccolo Daimaoh » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:45 am

Nobody said that Bleach and Naruto were the "second Dragon Ball".

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Bussani » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:53 am

SHINOBI-03 wrote:G Gundam is the worst because it's a Gundam-In-Name-Only.
And yet it was several times more entertaining than Wing. Being the black sheep of the franchise doesn't automatically make it bad. And if you're looking for shonen anyway...
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Perfect » Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:34 am

I personally hate Naruto and Bleach with a passion.
I'd say you should try Utlimate Muscle, Japanese subbed.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Bura » Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:03 am

Fairy Tail, also has a lot of humour and action.
The author was of course also a fan of DragonBall.

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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by skatezeppelin » Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:28 am

Bussani wrote:I should add (and will probably get some hate for it) that I think Gundam Wing is one of the worst of the Gundam series'. If you liked it in the past, but don't like it so much now, maybe you'd like a different one instead. The original is still very good for its age, Zeta is one of my favorites, Turn A is pretty interesting (and getting a dub soon!), and G Gundam is like a shonen Gundam that doesn't take itself too seriously. Actually, you might like Gundam 00, too.
I never watched the show consistently but I did see a fair share of episodes when it aired before Dragonball Z on Toonami. I thought it was better than most other shows on Toonami, besides DBZ of course. I bought the first release of the series on single dvd's for $50 including the movie; I had read that the more recent boxed set's had problems. While I was happy because the dvd's were mint and there was even bubble wrap on the inside, there wasn't to much going on and its only 50 episodes on so there's not much to look forward to. From what I can remember I think I taped the movie, so it may have been more enjoyable to me.
sangofe wrote:
skatezeppelin wrote:I know this is a Dragonball forum, but who better to help me then the most extreme Dragonball fans. I have recently finished my viewing of the whole Dragonball series, sans Kai. I watched Yu Yu Hakusho and loved it. I bought some old Gundam Wing dvd's off eBay, for nostalgia reasons, and am not to crazy about it. I just started watching One Piece on Hulu and I do enjoy it. I know many people recommend Bleach or Naruto, but I am not really fond of them. Maybe I haven't given them a chance, but anyway can you recommend a show for me? Thanks in advance.
Your topic asks for anime like Dragonball, but in your message, you only ask to get a show reccomended?
Well, the only anime I can ever think of that is somehow close to Dragonball except for Yu Yu Hakusho, would be Hunter X Hunter.
Yes, I don't see your point though.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by the_abberration » Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:51 am

I would recommend Kenichi: The Mightiest Dicsiple. It shares some elements of Dragonball.

1) It has a hero who trains to fight to protect those he cares about or are weaker than him.
2) He learns new skills at a very fast pace.
3) In some cases he has to make it to a fight before his friend(s) get hurt.
4) He fights increasingly stronger opponents.
5) Some of his enemies become his ally after defeat.
6) Hermit is a Vegeta like character.
7) Kensei Ma is Roshi.

As someone else pointed out, Baki The Grappler is great as a DBZ tournament-esqe show. I would would also suggest the shorter 3- episode Shootfighter Tekken, which is like Baki as well.

Honorable mention goes out to Street Fighter II: V, which delves into the use of Chi (Ki).

Also if it is okay with the mods, I would like to direct your attention to this forum. It has a section where you can ask for others to recommend anime without restriction to one particular series.
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Re: Anime like Dragonball

Post by Booney » Fri Jul 23, 2010 8:02 am

That Ninku character looks like a comic character.
Kid Paddle or something?

*google*
Yep Kid Paddle.
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