Watching the series in your 30's, is that too old?

[z_cherub]

it's not like the franchise is aimed at only younger audiences. It contains a lot of perverted scenes, perverted jokes, and violence.

This is more of a cultural dichotomy between US & JP audiences than it is a target-age of the audience thing.

People like to point at boobs (manga) or blood & say, "see it's fer grown ups!". It's not. It's a kid's show/comic - just not really an American kid's show/comic.

[Esfír Dedragón]

Perhaps its the stereotype that if you have not gone over your "cartoon/comic book phase", you'd be considered a manchild, a la Peter Griffin/Homer Simpson, that gets into people's perception of adults still linking animated entertainment. Nobody likes a manchild.

I must admit that, years ago, I have been surprised to find out that people around my age, men and women, can have decent maturity and a favorite hobby (i.e. Dragon Ball) that doesn't interfere with how they function in life. They're just normal people who like to have fun in their own unique way. They're not all incompetent, no matter what the media says about it.

[MCDaveG]

There is no problem with that. Only problem is being hardcore fanatic about things and making them into something, they are not.
Fanaticism makes an unbearable assholes out of people, but simply enjoying something you grew up on, like me, isn't problem at all.
It's just a series, form of entertainment. I am watching all kinds of stuff and reading books and comic books.
I have a broader view, as I like to self-educate myself in history, geography and demography, so I participate in lot of discussions
and besides that, I do enjoy music, art and movies, so it's not like only about Dragon Ball.

For example in work, someone notices that I like Batman a lot, so the discussion is usualy: ''Hey do you like Batman?'' ''Yeah, I've read a ton of comics and like it.'' ''Cool, I've saw like the last 3 movies and they were great'' ''Yeah, I like them too''
And that's it. Because I am not obssesed, so if the other person is not a huge fan, I don't pursue any further discussion, because it will end in being rendered to something simmilar to Yehova's witness.

So if you are normal person, being surrounded by normal adult people, it's okay to like whatever you like. You are never too old for anything (maybe for playing a child's character in TV series).
Just don't be a weird dick about it

[MCDaveG]

it's not like the franchise is aimed at only younger audiences. It contains a lot of perverted scenes, perverted jokes, and violence.

This is more of a cultural dichotomy between US & JP audiences than it is a target-age of the audience thing.

People like to point at boobs (manga) or blood & say, "see it's fer grown ups!". It's not. It's a kid's show/comic - just not really an American kid's show/comic.

It's this funny thing again from some fans. For example, German and Czech fairy tales are pretty dark and violent, and parents are reading (or showing if they are made as movies) to kids since around age 5.
I don't know how in Germany but in Czech Republic, there is this funny stereotype of rendering American children as retarded, as they can't see a boob and everything is sexualized.
Japanese Anime is perceived as a stuff for kids here, so Otakus have hard times in Czech Republic, since the anime fandom started to grow here, as everyone is perceiving them as uncompetent weirdos.
But it started to get better with Comic Book movies getting more popular and shows like Big Bang Theory being televised here.

Doesn't matter for me, I am a graphic designer, people expect from me to do whatever shit and weird stuff I want and not having kids, living unmarried with my GF for many years in huge flat downtown
I will be that mysterious guy on company parties, who is lot of fun and occasionally some girls and other guys are work with come on a word, when they are bored, but a different type of human race, who always stands ''mysteriously'' in a cool corner with a glass of good rum when the members of different species play Limbo...

[rereboy]

“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

― C.S. Lewis

This amazing quote by C.S. Lewis tells you all you need to know about being too old to enjoy entertainment.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

I don't know how in Germany but in Czech Republic, there is this funny stereotype of rendering American children as retarded, as they can't see a boob and everything is sexualized.

So I read that as "American culture is super sexualized but we censor breasts on television to protect the children, so the kids are, well, retarded."

Sounds about right.

[dualist]

I got into DBZ on my mid 20s and am still a huge DBZ fan at 35 years old and don't give a damn. I work hard, handle my business, and take care of my family. So if in want to indulge in DBZ cartoons and video games, so be it.

[MCDaveG]

I don't know how in Germany but in Czech Republic, there is this funny stereotype of rendering American children as retarded, as they can't see a boob and everything is sexualized.

So I read that as "American culture is super sexualized but we censor breasts on television to protect the children, so the kids are, well, retarded."

Sounds about right.

It's the general perception, but don't worry, supercensorship is slowly taking off even here in Europe.

[z_cherub]

I got into DBZ on my mid 20s and am still a huge DBZ fan at 35 years old and don't give a damn. I work hard, handle my business, and take care of my family. So if in want to indulge in DBZ cartoons and video games, so be it.

^this guy gets it.

[BlackCatScott]

No. I don't think you can be too old. It's entertainment and it's there to be enjoyed by everybody. Also to be honest I can't ever see myself not being a fan of Dragon Ball. I'm 23 now but I think it'll be with me throughout my life. What I'd love is one day having children and introducing them to it. Sitting and watching the series with my kids would be a special moment.

I know people can look down on you for liking an anime series because it's not seen as a very cool thing to do. I've experienced this myself many times even when I was younger. People frowning upon it or laughing at you for liking something they don't. The "aren't you a little old..." line will often come out. But at the end of the day who cares what they think? If anybody does that they're probably pretty shallow people who are not worth your time anyway.