Getting Friend into Dragon Ball help

[FutureGohanSSJ2]

So for the past few months, I've been trying to get my friend into Dragon Ball. A few weeks ago, we finally finished the first season. I just tried to start him on the second season, and he admitted to me that he did not like his experience with the first season at all. He said the jokes were too childish, and the story and characters weren't engaging enough. He said he always found himself falling asleep.

I just lended him the first two volumes of the manga, and told him it was of much faster pace. He said that if it still does not grab him, he's dropping it.

Any thoughts on what I should do?

[sintzu]

Skip DB and have him go to Kai.

[Limienerd]

Were you and him watching the series in Japanese?

[ShadowDude112]

Just give him the manga. That will make him like it.

[Lord Beerus]

Just give him the manga. That will make him like it.

Precisely. The manga is a much better experience than the anime is.

[NitroEX]

Just accept that Dragon Ball isn't for everyone.

Forcing it on them will only make them hate it more.

[ShadowDude112]

Shouldn't have said "make him like it". It would help or be better if he read the manga. But I might just not be for him. Who knows?

[Bullza]

You should have gone with DBZ. I tried getting into it starting with Dragon Ball and it really was childish and boring at first.

I skipped it, watched DBZ and Liked it that much that I went back to the original.

[ShadowDude112]

You should have gone with DBZ. I tried getting into it starting with Dragon Ball and it really was childish and boring at first.

I skipped it, watched DBZ and Liked it that much that I went back to the original.

"I skipped the first part of the story and right into the second."
Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Just like how Goku totally knows Tenshinhan and all the other characters introduced in the pre-Z era of Dragon Ball.

[MrWalnut4]

You should have gone with DBZ. I tried getting into it starting with Dragon Ball and it really was childish and boring at first.

I skipped it, watched DBZ and Liked it that much that I went back to the original.

"I skipped the first part of the story and right into the second."
Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Just like how Goku totally knows Tenshinhan and all the other characters introduced in the pre-Z era of Dragon Ball.

I don't think that's completely unreasonable. Jumping straight into Z, you are introduced to all of the characters at the same time. And for all intents and purposes, the side characters like Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Krillin are mostly just plot devices in Z rather than characters that evolve. Their arcs happen in Dragon Ball and not a lot of character development happens going forward: they just sort of join the motley crue.

While I agree that you should try and watch Dragon Ball before Z, it is the one that got the series popular in the US. Dragon Ball has it's own charm, but Z is what most people think of when they hear Dragon Ball. They want to see the action-packed fights between aliens and Earth's hero, the fight above a dying planet between the Universe's tyrant and the last surviving member of a dead race who has fulfilled an ancient prophecy. That's what got the attention of the more casual fans. It might be what interests newcomers to the series rather than a whimsical journey to collect seven balls with a crude, but well meaning, monkey boy.

[FutureGohanSSJ2]

Were you and him watching the series in Japanese?

No, the dub.

[Theophrastus]

If the concern is that the story and characters aren't engaging enough, maybe try jumping to the 22nd Budokai or King Piccolo and see if that's more up their alley? Or Z, I guess, but the only significant difference between the latter portion of DB and the beginning of Z is the alien sci-fi stuff.

[Hellspawn28]

I think starting with DB is a good idea since you will likely respect the characters better. Going straight to DBZ is not always the best idea if you ask me. It would be like going straight to JJBA Stardust Crusaders without reading the first two arcs first.

[Valerius Dover]

Honestly, patience is key in a series like Dragon Ball. I wouldn't recommend it. The manga option would be the best bet. Definitely don't skip parts, it would ruin the experience.

[Avery]

I had my friend watch the Trunks saga (Jap) three weeks ago. She's already watched the Freeza saga dubbed years ago and didn't like it.
She finished Cell saga recently and now DBZ is one of her favorite anime. (To be honest, I think Future Trunks is what really got her into it). The dub does kill the experience for a lot of people so maybe the Japanese version gets him into the show. Although it does sound a bit outdated. Well, try Kai then.
Anyways, tell your friend about how "cooler" Z is. Actually, starting with Z would have been a better choice. As mentioned earlier you don't really need to watch DB...I finished DBZ and only read the manga for DB after that.
If that doesn't work, just give up.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

In fairness to your friend, even I struggle to sit through a lot of the Dragon Ball Anime. Seriously, I have the first Madman set and I still haven't watched through all of it. I like some of the later stuff a bit more, but even then, I've probably only been through it once. The Manga on the other-hand, I really enjoy it, regardless of which part of the series I'm reading. Getting him started on that is definitely a good idea. You could also try the DB movies or the 10th Anniversary film if he can't be bothered reading. Watching one of them is not a huge commitment, it's done in less than two hours and it gives you a decent overview of the series. If all that fails? It's Kai time. I really love DBKai and I think it's a great way to get people into the series. Unlike Z, it's easy to binge watch as it moves along at a reasonable pace and each episode has a decent amount of substance. You also don't have to worry about watching it in English because of how good the dub is.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about skipping to the 'Z'-portion of the series. So many of us did it, and we turned out just fine. Hell, he might even be more interested in the earlier parts of the series once he sees where the characters and story ends up.

But then again, maybe it's just not his sort of thing.

[Akira]

In all honesty, with the entire story available, I would never just start someone at the Raditz stuff at the beginning of Z. That always felt like dropping someone right into the middle of a bunch of ongoing stuff that is hard to understand or appreciate fully. It leads to misconceptions about a lot of characters that becomes harder to wrap your head around later. If you were going to start someone out around that era of the series, I would recommend starting with the episode in DB where Goku shows up at the 23rd Budokai and everyone is surprised to see him again and we see him as an adult for the first time. That way, at least, you'd see the other characters shining at different parts of the tournament, and with the flashbacks and such, get a grasp of their backstory with Goku. That fight between Goku and Piccolo at the finale is when the "Z" era of high speed action and over the top fights really started anyway. That, in my opinion, would have been a better starting point for "Z", rather than a bookend to the "Dragonball" portion of the story.

Your friend would get a good introduction to all the characters with that arc, see them pretty much as they are going to appear in the Z arcs, get a good feel for the character relationships, and better appreciate the Goku/Piccolo rivalry, which in turn, will make the Raditz reveals of Goku being an alien, and Piccolo not hesitating to kill them both hold a lot more meaning. Then, when they train for the saiyan fight, the fact that everyone gets invited to Kami's Temple won't seem so odd or anything, as that character and his ties to Piccolo would be better appreciated and understood.

I've been a fan since the very beginning, and my first exposure to Dragonball in general was with the first 13 episodes, but, I will even admit, those first 13 episodes are a chore to watch now. I sometimes watch Goku meeting Bulma, watch until they meet Roshi, skip to the episode where he comes and blows up fire mountain, then skip to the last episode where Goku becomes an Oozaru and destroys Pilaf's castle, then start watching in order with Krillin's arrival and the training with Roshi for the 21st Budokai. Those are really the only key scenes in that first arc that really matter for the long term enjoyment of the series as a whole.

Trying to get someone "hooked" with those would be a tall order indeed. 23rd Budokai has everything you need to make the "Z" portion more impactful and understand what happens better, so I would seriously consider just starting there for a new fan. Then, once you run from 23rd Budokai-Kid Buu Fight, if there is still interest, run back through from 21st Budokai-Piccolo Daimao arcs for further backstory.

I believe that would be the best course of action for your friend, if he doesn't get into the 23rd Budokai arc (Arguably one of the best choreographed fights in the entire series), then he isn't going to like anything else about it, period.

[90sDBZ]

If he says he doesn't like the humor then I don't see how going with the Manga will make that great a difference. I'd recommend showing him Z or Kai. That part of the story focuses less on humor and more on epic action and drama. Skipping to any point in the middle of the original DB would just be random, as every part of it pretty much leads into the next arc. With the Saiyan Saga at least its been 5 years of peace with nothing significant happening to lead into the arrival of Raditz.

Skipping to the 23rd Tournament would raise some serious questions about the whole history between Goku and King Piccolo, and the reasons for Goku's training with Kami and his prior knowledge of Piccolo Jr before even meeting him. And watching the brutal Goku vs Piccolo Jr fight without having seen the King Piccolo saga would take away from the impact of it. In the Saiyan saga all you need to know is that Piccolo is a bad guy who intends to conquer the world and was once beaten by Goku, who is earth's hero.

[Cold Skin]

Two things have worked for me in the past to get anyone into Dragon Ball during my many years being a roomate.

If they are not used to shonen manga and anime, starting with the manga is the best way. The anime for early Dragon Ball won't do, it will seem childish, while the early manga already feels like adult comedy that apparently needs to be censored in some countries, without any real childish moment (on the contrary of the anime that will feature childish "ha ha ha" moments even in Z).

If they are used to shonen manga and anime already (and only in that case), like watching Naruto, my personnal experience has proven that starting with Kai can be enough to get them into it. They catch up for the early part by reading the manga after they've seen the whole show from the beginning to the end.
But the manga itself still remains the most surefire way to catch their interest just with volume 1. It's your safest bet!

[Valerius Dover]

If DB really has to be skipped, I'd recommend Kai, since that version actually does skip DB on its own. Add the shorter length and better English dub and you'd have a more pleasant watching experience overall.