How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

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How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by pjay » Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:28 pm

This is more of a question for the old school fans like me in the time before the widespread availability of the series around 1997-1999. How did you use to view your Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z after funimation stopped releasing the dub temporarily with Dragon Ball 1-13 and Dragon Ball Z 1-67? Fansub tapes, Computer media files (avi, mpeg, rm, etc.) or other. I remember all the crappy video rips of fan subs from vhs or even raw rips from vhs. Mike (VegettoEX), I would like to hear your experiences too please if possible.

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by TheGreatness25 » Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:25 pm

I would watch fansubs online (in the most primitive format) and usually they would be clips. I'd even watch Telemundo's Dragon Ball Z Spanish dub, even though I did not speak Spanish, because of all the extra footage that FUNimation cut out. Other than that, I guess I didn't really watch DBZ. I just read a lot of summaries and whatnot.

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Payne222 » Thu Sep 23, 2010 3:30 pm

My cousin had all 256(?) episodes on VCD and gave them to me. So I'd watch them all in Japanese with English subs and I'd watch on Toonami!
「あの地球人のように?・・・クリリンのことか・・・クリリンのことか————っ!!!!!!」

「オレは地球からきさまをたおすためにやってきたサイヤ人・・・おだやかな心をもちながらはげしい怒りによって目覚めた伝説の戦士・・・超サイヤ人孫悟空だ!!!!!」

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by nathantheguitarist » Thu Sep 23, 2010 3:59 pm

I just watched the same loop of episodes over and over... I conveniently just got cable with Cartoon Network when they put it up onto Toonami as well.

I was too young to realize that there were fansub bootleg tapes and whatnot. I just got info from my Mexican friends who had already seen the whole series.

As for Telemundo, I could never figure out what time it was on, so what I got were bits and pieces, and the only thing I saw that I had never seen before was Mecha Freeza heading to Earth.

It was weird back then. :|
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by SonGokuGT » Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:41 pm

-Early in the morning on Fox
-Toonami... Religiously!
-Recorded VHS off Toonami
-Official VHS, quickly made the jump to DVD when bilingual discs came out.
-Fansubs for GT and movies.

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by penguintruth » Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:55 pm

Well, first I watched the English Ocean cast dub of the first two "seasons" in syndication, before they were on Cartoon Network. Then I watched them on CN, on the Toonami block.

Around this time, I began to get my hands on some fansub VHS tapes of later episodes, mostly due to my cousins having tons of them and because some were sold on the internet. I watched a bunch of Cell and Buu arc episodes and most of the movies. But meanwhile, I watched the third and fourth "seasons" of the dub on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network.

I would tape the week's episodes of DBZ on Toonami. Every day I would tape the new episodes. I would tape as I watched, stopping the tape during commercials so I wouldn't even have to fast forward, and so I could fit more episodes on the tape. Then during the weekend, I would rewatch every episode of the week. Even beeing exposed to the Japanese version (and preferring it) didn't stop me from watching the dub on TV, because, well, it was free, and it was still better than a lot of stuff on TV.

I would watch the raw Japanese episodes on the International Channel, with no problem, as I had read the manga online and knew what was going on most of the time. Also, I had watched some episodes fansubbed.

When uncut DVDs came into the picture, I didn't have a DVD player yet. And then when I did, DBZ was no longer a high priority to me, so I ignored the DVDs.

I didn't get back into DBZ until Kai came along, and now watch Kai on Nicktoons (and.... other ways) while buying the DBZ Dragon Boxes.
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by linkdude20002001 » Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:59 pm

Since I'd only started with the fight against the illusionary Saiyans (when it first aired on Toonami), I re-watched the first two seasons so I could see it all and in order. Then I just stopped watching it till new episodes came on. I was only in fourth of fifth grade, so I never got fansubs, and I didn't have the International Channel, so I couldn't watch it raw. :(
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Budogenkai » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:08 pm

Was still in elementary school. Didn't know it existed.
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Raithos » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:34 pm

YTV!!!, Channel 25. Every night at 5, 8 and midnight! Right after Mighty Samurai Pizza Cats!!!
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Payne222 » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:35 pm

Budogenkai wrote:Was still in elementary school. Didn't know it existed.
Really? I was born in '92 and I knew about it in like '95-'96 and watched the episodes in Japanese with English subs in like '97-'98.
「あの地球人のように?・・・クリリンのことか・・・クリリンのことか————っ!!!!!!」

「オレは地球からきさまをたおすためにやってきたサイヤ人・・・おだやかな心をもちながらはげしい怒りによって目覚めた伝説の戦士・・・超サイヤ人孫悟空だ!!!!!」

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Suupaa Gohan 2 » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:50 pm

Watched the dub episodes on Cartoon Network. Wised up to the Japanese version eventually thanks to DBZ Uncensored, and began watching fansubs during my after school computer...eh, wasn't really a club, but we'll go with that for simplicity's sake. 'Course back then all internet was dial-up and downloading them took forever, so I got to watch one episode per after school thing, two if I planned ahead (download while watching, watch that episode next day). Those were the days of the really crappily and not-the-most-accurately translated fansubs, terrible video quality, etc...

I don't think I purchased any of the series until like, 2005 or something, when I found used DVD singles at Newbury Comics for like $2 a piece. I used to just record the dub on VHS, because the computers I watched the fansubs on were at school...I wasn't really able to watch those episodes any time I wanted, so I had to settle for the dub for several years with the Japanese in the back of my mind, but inaccessible.
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by GizmoKSX » Thu Sep 23, 2010 6:01 pm

I watched Dragon Ball during its initial US run, but didn't discover Dragon Ball Z until I saw the Ocean-dubbed episodes with Goku flying to Namek. After that, I picked up the first three movies and the "Arrival" compilation on VHS, and read manga summaries of DB and DBZ. Yeah, plain text manga summaries. But this was before DBZ really exploded in popularity and availability in the US on Cartoon Network.
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Piccolo Daimaoh » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:10 pm

I never watched DBZ fansubs; I feel uncool. :cry:



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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Codarik » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:12 pm

Sadly I never knew about the Dragon Ball series until 2001. I wish I would of known about it sooner.

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:14 pm

I tuned in to an episode of DBZ by chance while channel-surfing around Cartoon Network in 1999. It was the (edited, Ocean cast) episode where Vegeta kills Cui.

I've been hooked ever since.
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Perfect » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:28 pm

Payne222 wrote:My cousin had all 256(?) episodes on VCD and gave them to me. So I'd watch them all in Japanese with English subs and I'd watch on Toonami!
276-...291...*Punches self in the face*

Anyhow, I just watched it on TV whenever it was on, even it was a repeat. I believe I'd even watch the Spanish dub from time to time when it wasn't on.
Last edited by Perfect on Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by The Time Traveller » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:35 pm

Well first on Cartoon Network every day at 5 o' clock, then that started Toonami, so we'd get Dragon Ball Z and then Batman Beyond, and slowly more shows appeared on Toonami, then they got so many shows they started a new Channel CNX, which continued airing DBZ with the Androids Saga, which I didn't get until a few months later when the Cell Games were going on and I didn't get what the hell was going on.

Also, it's 291 episode. C'mon, man!

I also watched fansubs which took FOREVER to download back then, I'd literally wait an entire week to watch one episode or movie.

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Minigt » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:40 pm

Cheese TV, channel 10 Australia!
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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Kingdom Heartless » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:43 pm

Minigt wrote:Cheese TV, channel 10 Australia!
Yep, same for me.

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Re: How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

Post by Chuquita » Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:49 pm

I didn't even know it existed. I wasn't into anime in 1997, and 98-99 was my brief stint in the Pokémon fandom; the games, manga, and anime. I probably started watching Sailor Moon on Toonami around that time because I know I was into that before Dragon Ball too.

My only DB from this time period was probably seeing copies of Final Bout in Blockbuster and thinking that guy on the cover (turned out to be Goku) looked really cool.

I didn't know of or start watching DB until the summer of 2000. I only found it by flipping channels on the TV looking for something interesting to watch. ^^;

(Meaning if I'd been more pro-active in signing up for after-school activities back then, I probably never would've found out about Dragon Ball. Kind of interesting.)
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