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

[precita]

So like most people I got into DBZ when I was young, watch it throughout my teen years and into my early 20's. Now that Super is out I'm back to watching the series again. Only problem is now I'm 30.

For those of you in your 30's do you still feel OK watching the Dragonball series? You ever get the, "I'm too old for this now" kind of feeling? Fully grown adults watching shows aimed at kids/teens for their own personal enjoyment, do you think this is acceptable among today's modern society? Why or why not?

[FoolsGil]

Why do you care what other people think? You're grown. Anybody who thinks ill of you can kiss your ass. (almost 30, btw)

[Daisetsu]

My dad is currently 56 and within the past few years he rewatched both the Dragon Ball franchise (minus Super, of course) and Bleach in their entirety. So no, you're not too old if you're only in your 30s.

[Boo Machine]

I'm only 24 so I hope you dont mind if I give my 2 cents, but I don't see the problem with enjoying a show aimed at kids/teens when you are older.

As far as I'm concerned as long as you take care of your responsibilities, do what you got to do, and you're not hurting anyone, then why shouldn't you get to watch what you like? What would be the alternative? Watch a reality show or something on HBO because that's the grown up thing to do? I mean you can if you enjoy it, but you shouldn't HAVE to just because of how long you have been on this earth. Hell My father is a HUGE DBZ fan and the guy is 58 and he worked hard all his life and took care of 2 kids ( who grew up on the show watching it with him) and currently raising 3. He isnt ashamed to wear his Vegeta shirt to the gym.

Since when did we start gauging maturity based on the media we decide to consume. I get that some might feel that they may have grown out of a certain part of their life and that's ok because people change, but growing out of certain hobbies should not be a requirement to be an adult.

So I say, If you enjoy watching Dragon Ball, then that's all you need to know. Enjoy it.

[samuraix123]

Only problem is now I'm 30.

Not a problem at all. I'm 26 and still love watching all kinds of cartoons. I guess there's people out there that would look at me and ask why is this bearded guy watching cartoons at 26? but I don't let society tell me what I can and can't watch. I have a friend who asks me why I watch that Kiddie Dragonball stuff or Pokeman(as he calls it) meanwhile he'll put on cartoons like the simpsons, bobs burgers, king of the hill and not bat an eye at stuff like that. The best advice I can give you bro...You do you. you let everyone else worry about themselves. you can't please everyone in this world. by the way my grandma is 71 and still watching cartoons. she doesn't watch Anime but she will watch like the flintstones, bugs bunny, stuff like that. Hope everything goes great for you buddy.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

Feeling old because you can tell when a kid's show is doing kid's show things is not a problem, it is just you being an adult.

To the end of "But is it proper?, I've taken to boiling this concern down into two questions, which I apply as readily to myself as anyone else, so I'm not trying to be wordy for the sake of it.

1) Can you see *insert children's media here* for what it is? Can you healthily understand that what your consuming is meant for a younger, simpler audience, and will likely be written and produced in ways you might not always agree with (i.e "X" will not "grow up with you"), even as you continue to find things in it that appeal to you long past that age range?

2) Do you suspect that something slowing your personal growth or perception of your direction in life? Maybe? Could it be your interest in *insert media here*?

The first question is primarily about how you address your "unconventional" likes with other people. If you don't take issue with the fact (and it is usually is fact) that the media in question is for children or meant to appeal to certain mindset of person, any questions as to why you like the thing will not shake you, because you can readily meet the person halfway. You replace "I don't care what anyone thinks ever" and "but X, Y, and Z are mainstream are horrible and the odds might be good (I don't really know) that my questioner likes one of them, so they have no taste!" to "Yeah, Dragon Ball is a goofy kids show. But man that earnestly whimsical atmosphere and great fight scenes are still good! " You're not ashamed or defensive, you're simply honest.

The second question is what I think is really at the heart of the matter. A friend of mine recently asked "I'm in my early twenties, but I'm underemployed and playing Pokemon. I don't feel like an adult.", to which I respond "Is your playing Pokemon, or the way in which you play Pokemon, keeping you from doing the things that would make you an adult? Yes? No?"

Now, this may not be the case! Last I checked, this website is run by four gainfully employed men, three of whom are married, two being parents. More famously, Vin Diesel is an open Dungeons & Dragons fan, recently made a fantasy movie vaguely inspired in it, and has voiced interest in a potential new D & D live action movie- and you don't bat an eye because that clearly hasn't stopped the man from being successful. That is a question someone answers themselves.

If you have crossed those two hurdles, I think you're good to go. "What am I doing with my time?" is a very different question.

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

Of course not, OP. This is a grown ups' show. It's got fighting, swearing, blood (sometimes), and themes that kids can't understand (e.x. the flaws of pride and why it's a sin). My dad was 65 when we watched up to Freeza's death at the hands of Future Trunks in Kai 1.0. I remember seeing a 99 year old woman playing Halo 3 when it first came out. Forget what other people think if you disagree with me on this being an adults' show.

EDIT: Just thought of this. There are teenagers and adults who watch My Little Pony. Just remember that there are worse out there if you really are bothered watching this show in your 30s.

[precita]

EDIT: Just thought of this. There are teenagers and adults who watch My Little Pony. Just remember that there are worse out there if you really are bothered watching this show in your 30s.

Yeah, but, those people, well...you know. We know how they're stereotypes online and offline. Even if isn't fair I suppose.

[SSJ Human]

No matter how old you get, you can watch whatever you want.

[Black Hawk]

If I remember correctly, dougo13 is approximately 60 years old; if he or she is still young enough to enjoy Dragon Ball, you certainly are as well, precita. Like BlazingFiddlesticks said, though, there's always the question of what we do with our time, especially with regard to responsibilities, but I really don't believe that there's a cut-off point in age at which it's either impossible or unacceptable for someone to enjoy a particular form of fictional work.

[shinmaru]

33 and I'm still watching.

[sintzu]

2 decades ago it was unacceptable for someone your age to play video games but now your the main audience so no, you're not too old and you never will be.

Another thing to keep in mind is that adults all over the world go to Pixar and other animated movies every year.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Of course not, as long as you don't neglect your adult responsibilities and are always striving to build a career and look after yourself (be it staying healthy, keeping a roof over your head) I don't see a problem with whatever you enjoy watching.

I'm 25 and I love Dragon Ball, and honestly I don't see that ever changing. I think a show that's appealing to children can transcend that intended demographic if it's really good.

I've been reading Derek Padula's books recently, and I would highly recommend them, they really show you there's more to Dragon Ball than just the flashy action and colourful characters. He often talks about how Toriyama by making his manga appeal to children is "lowering the barrier to entry", and I think that's a great way of looking at it.

Sure there are people who will look very black and white at it and say kids should watch Ben 10, Adventure Time and adults should watch Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, The Wire, and whatever else is for their "intended demographic". There's no reason why adults and kids can't share some of the same properties.

Of course not, OP. This is a grown ups' show. It's got fighting, swearing, blood (sometimes), and themes that kids can't understand (e.x. the flaws of pride and why it's a sin). My dad was 65 when we watched up to Freeza's death at the hands of Future Trunks in Kai 1.0. I remember seeing a 99 year old woman playing Halo 3 when it first came out. Forget what other people think if you disagree with me on this being an adults' show.

EDIT: Just thought of this. There are teenagers and adults who watch My Little Pony. Just remember that there are worse out there if you really are bothered watching this show in your 30s.

That's exactly it. I know a few bronies too, and I have no problem with it because I understand where they're coming from and what they like about it, and that's coming from a non-Brony (Although I do love The Last Unicorn). I love the fact there are shows like Dragon Ball, which can be enjoyed by children, but have more mature themes you can pick up on when you watch it again as an adult.

Same goes for Star Wars, Shrek, Pixar movies, the list goes on. A timeless franchise will stay with yo whatever age you are, that is exactly what Dragon Ball is. It's been a well liked property for over 30 years now, and it will be for another 30. Happy watching!

[VegettoEX]

I sure hope it's not too old!

Everyone, Kanzenshuu has to be shut down. Adult law. Sorry!

But seriously. Are you a decent human being? Contributing something to society? OK, then what's it matter if you watch an old cartoon sometimes?

[Vegard Aune]

Of course not, OP. This is a grown ups' show. It's got fighting, swearing, blood (sometimes), and themes that kids can't understand (e.x. the flaws of pride and why it's a sin). My dad was 65 when we watched up to Freeza's death at the hands of Future Trunks in Kai 1.0. I remember seeing a 99 year old woman playing Halo 3 when it first came out. Forget what other people think if you disagree with me on this being an adults' show.

EDIT: Just thought of this. There are teenagers and adults who watch My Little Pony. Just remember that there are worse out there if you really are bothered watching this show in your 30s.

Dragon Ball ran in Shonen Jump. It being aimed at kids is literally right there in the name of the magazine. Japan in the 80s had considerably different standards for what was acceptable than what most Western countries do today.

Also, have you actually tried watching My Little Pony? It's a perfectly fine show. Sure, it is clearly aimed at kids and so it doesn't touch on any too heavy or dark themes, but there's also a lot of genuine effort put into pretty much every aspect of it. Lauren Faust, the original creator, has made it perfectly clear that she wanted to make a show that kids and their parents could watch and enjoy together, and while she's no longer involved with the production, this still seems to be the pervailing attitude among the staff.

My own stance here, probably rather obviously, is that there's no such thing as being "too old" to enjoy a certain kind of media, and I think the only reason people even think so is because a lot of children's entertainment seems to have been made with the mindset "We don't have to work hard on this. It's for kids, they'll watch whatever we throw at them!" The problem isn't that it's for kids... It's that it talks down to its audience. As long as the writing is good, it's quite frankly irrelevant who it's aimed at. Case in point: Zootopia is probably my second favorite movie of 2016 so far (#1 is Captain America)... and Pixar's Inside Out is my favorite movie, period.

[DragonBallLove]

If you are happy watching Peppa Pig in your 60s, go for it.

You're NEVER too old for anything (besides teenager rantings)

[ABED]

If you are happy watching Peppa Pig in your 60s, go for it.

You're NEVER too old for anything (besides teenager rantings)

If you are 60 years old and watching Peppa Pig by yourself, that's pretty weird. Dragon Ball is different. Yes it's a cartoon, but it's a story about martial artists and that appeals to all ages.

[JulieYBM]

There's no issue with partaking in a comic and cartoon franchise and if you think there is you've probably put absolutely no thought into anything regarding the subject.

Now, if you collect stamps and bottle caps, you're probably a terrible human being who deserves to be thrown off of the nearest cliff. That's truly sinful!

[Kunzait_83]

As a 32 year old myself, a few points.

First, I hate to break this to precita but you are indeed already legally an adult once you've hit your early 20s (by most countries' laws anyway). By 21 you're allowed to drink, gamble, drive, vote, and work a full time job - preferably spaced apart rather than all at once.

And Dragon Ball meanwhile is (in many cases rather obviously) a show that's aimed predominantly at middle school children in Japan. So if you're only just now having some kind of "Oh my god, am I'm too old for this shit?!" personal crisis at 30, you're probably more than a decade late on that. Adolescence has been over for you since roughly the mid-2000s or so, never mind childhood well before that.

I'm not trying to be nasty or asshole-ish there: I just bristle a bit when people look at their 20s, even in small/subtle ways, like its some kind of an extension of their childhood or teenage years when it should be anything but. It should be a time for serious growth as a human being (regarding aspects of your life that you have actual control over at least: that's not at all a knock on people who are genuinely stuck financially/economically in ways beyond their control, especially in these current times), and I've frustratingly known far, far, FAR too many people the past decade who don't at all see it that way.

Secondly, and of course most importantly, you ARE also taking care of your important adult responsibilities right? Money, food, roof over your head, etc? If so, then yeah, no problems there either.

Thirdly however, and more to the point: watching & liking A kids' show (or movie or book or whatever) as an adult is perfectly fine. I'll go the extra mile and even say that watching/reading & liking a FEW kids' shows/movies/books here and there as an adult is perfectly fine.

The way I see it though (and this is where I part ways pretty damned heavily and significantly with a tragically gigantic amount of present day geek culture and places like this community here) is that problems only start to arise if you're watching & liking almost damn near EXCLUSIVELY kids' media and little to nothing else besides. But I'd even go so far as to argue that that's a problem no matter what age you are, kid or adult.

No one, not even actual little kids, should be restricted to a media intake of almost exclusively children's programming & material. That way lies madness. Intellectually & creatively speaking that's roughly equivalent to trying to live on a diet of absolutely nothing but M&Ms, McDonald's, Doritos, and Yoo-Hoo. And make no mistake, with FLEETINGLY rare exceptions, children's media as a whole is in 99% of most cases the media/art equivalent of junk food (your Douglas Adams-types being particularly rare unicorn exceptions).

Not that adult media doesn't have more than its fair share of crappy junk food as well mind you, but its nowhere near as endemic as it is to the foundational nature of children's media, which by its very definition HAS to avoid exploring numerous topics, ideas, and concepts too closely and practice a certain degree of creative conservatism and rigid filtering (and I'm not at all just talking about surface-level stuff like swearing and violence either): something which becomes completely and especially needless by the time you're even a young teenager, much less a full blown adult.

This has for some years now become incredibly unpopular and unfashionable to point out, but its more than long overdue now I'd say: while its certainly true that you should never consider yourself too old for occasionally indulging in (some) child-like pursuits even as an adult, an unhealthily large number of people in the current cultural climate often tend to go WAY too far in the wrongheaded extreme of showing how “truly mature and un-selfconscious about their adulthood” they are by way of proudly and excessively wallowing in almost nothing but exclusively children's fluff as an adult.

A significant degree of people now seem to have taken a certain C.S. Lewis quote about “putting away childish things, including the desire to appear very grown up” WAY too excessively far and are using an otherwise perfectly valid and lovely sentiment (which largely amounts to “don't lose some of that youthful exuberance as you get older and don't use adulthood as a reason for getting too big of a self-important stick up your ass”) as a justification for running with it over a cliff of self-insulating infantilism, dashing headlong well over the line between “young at heart” and “manchild”.

Not letting adulthood stamp out any sense of good humored silliness in you seems to be increasingly mistaken right now for being one and the same thing as throwing away any and all semblance of intellectual curiosity for exploring more mature and deeper ideas and concepts in art/fiction. And I would argue that remaining a fan of children's material as an adult in and of itself is totally fine, but can indeed get to become a problem should you find yourself taking it to THAT far of an extreme where children's media is almost literally ALL that you're a fan of for vast stretches of your life. As a depressingly large number of people nowadays often tend to.

Even much of the absolute, mountain-peak smartest kids' material absolutely cannot act as a substitute of any sort for the degree of genuine depth and enrichment you'll find in older-skewed works. A healthy, growing mind (child or adult) absolutely NEEDS exposure to and reflection upon ideas and concepts that are well far apart from and beyond the children's realm. Cutting yourself off from that entirely (or close to entirely), at any age, will do nothing but harm for yourself in the long run.

A kids' show/book/movie every once in a while as an adult is one thing. But too much of that sort of thing at the expense of other, vastly more denser and enriching material will almost assuredly stunt your mental growth.

So long as you're keeping the time you spend with stuff like Dragon Ball in relative moderation and are balancing your viewing & reading habits out with a wide variety of other, vastly less junky stuff, then throwing the odd, occasional children's thing into an otherwise varied mix of media consumption is completely harmless and nothing to be at all embarrassed about.

Certainly not in this day and age especially, where a significant chunk of the online culture has for quite some years now sadly seemed to be hitting 25/30-ish years old without barely ever having moved a great deal too far outside the safety of the same comfort zone of movies and TV shows from when they were 7 years old (or stuff on a very closely similar spectrum). That's not a good thing. At all.

So long as you're not taking it anywhere near that far though, there's obviously no harm or shame to be had in indulging the odd child's work as an adult. Just be sure that your book/DVD shelf isn't overwhelmingly flooded predominantly with stuff from and relating to various cartoon/kids' TV blocks and suchlike. If (if) something like that is indeed the case for you, then I'd certainly more than recommend taking it easy for awhile on the cartoons and getting as far outside of that comfort zone as possible via exploring much, much more of what else is out there that's not so strictly cordoned off for small children. You'll be beyond amazed at a lot of what you'll find. And none of it is anything to be the least bit scared of or intimidated by.

Stay as young at heart as you like and keep an open mind to look for cool things in unconventional places like sometimes maybe the kids' section: just be self-aware and conscious enough to not take it so ridiculously far that you end up hermetically sealing yourself inside of an insulating kid-friendly bubble and ignoring/missing out on all kinds of other amazing works that are both awesome in themselves as well as beyond indispensable nourishment to an ever-expanding adult mind.

[ABED]

No one, not even actual little kids, should be restricted to a media intake of almost exclusively children's programming & material. That way lies madness. Intellectually & creatively speaking that's roughly equivalent to trying to live on a diet of absolutely nothing but M&Ms, McDonald's, Doritos, and Yoo-Hoo. And make no mistake, with FLEETINGLY rare exceptions, children's media as a whole is in 99% of most cases the media/art equivalent of junk food (your Douglas Adams-types being particularly rare unicorn exceptions).

Not that adult media doesn't have more than its fair share of crappy junk food as well mind you, but its nowhere near as endemic as it is to the foundational nature of children's media, which by its very definition HAS to avoid exploring numerous topics, ideas, and concepts too closely and practice a certain degree of creative conservatism and rigid filtering (and I'm not at all just talking about surface-level stuff like swearing and violence either): something which becomes completely and especially needless by the time you're even a young teenager, much less a full blown adult.

I don't agree. Kids' shows by their nature have to be written with a level of simplicity because of the intellectual development of children. They won't be able to understand highly complex subjects or highly abstract topics such as ethics. That doesn't make it junk food though. Kids and adult programs are like 4th grade US history vs. 12th grade US history. It's the same subject and much of the same material, but a different level of sophistication and abstraction.