DB and Nostalgia

Discussion regarding the entirety of the franchise in a general (meta) sense, including such aspects as: production, trends, merchandise, fan culture, and more.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

Witty User Name
Banned
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 6:04 pm

DB and Nostalgia

Post by Witty User Name » Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:19 am

You see on this board literally hundreds of posts with sayings such as ''I get nostalgic because of the Faulconer score'', and similar examples...; I myself don't feel any ''nostalgia'' for DB in whatever form. I just enjoy it. I don't remember much of my childhood in that level of detail, to be honest; sure, there are some good memories of DB here and there, but they aren't the reason I watch the show. I watch because I think it's genuinely good. And entertaining.

So, the thread's question is: does nostalgia play any part in why DB is still a part of your life, or you are like myself, and enjoy it as an ''independent'' work of art, regardless of what you felt for it in the past?

Vijay
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1423
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:48 am

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Vijay » Thu Jun 25, 2020 4:18 am

Nostalgia for DB or Z does not have any sort of relevance on my love & addiction towards the series. It's a legit great series.

I've watched a number of shows (DN, FMAB, AoT, OP, HXH, Inuyasha, BTOOM, Fairy Tale, Sket Dance) in the midst of work, projects whatnot. Some provided cerebral joy, some gave visceral entertainment.

Z in particular has unbelievable "addiction" element. Be it durin my childhood or teenage or even adulthood. I don't get the science behind it

The other day I binged AoT S1-3 straight within 2 days. Strangely, it isn't as addictive as Z for me. Same for FMAB or DN or OP. Hey, look I'm not comparing the shows btw. Just discussing Z's incomprehensible addiction factor

But yeah, I enjoy the show. It's a fantastic piece of work from an author who really loved his creation. Toriyama had over 100+ options of ending the series at whatever point he wanted it. And dare say, no any author wud come close to Toriyama's level of dedication, passion, eye for detail, strategic paneling, action choreography, sense of humor, tons of likable characters, epic sense of one-upmanship all without being stereotypical, cliche or bland. A gem in the world of anime. Period

Matches Malone
Banned
Posts: 3308
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:12 am

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Matches Malone » Thu Jun 25, 2020 4:56 am

Witty User Name wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:19 amDoes nostalgia play any part in why DB is still a part of your life, or you are like myself, and enjoy it as an ''independent'' work of art, regardless of what you felt for it in the past?
I definitely enjoy it as its own work of art, as I've seen other anime over the years and the original story holds up just as much as it did when I first watched it. I think the main difference between fans who enjoy it as a work of art and those who enjoy it due to nostalgia is the ability to be critical of it. The majority of fans blinded by nostalgia will, for example, defend Funimation's early dub of Z's "season" 3. Fans who like it for what it is don't have issues pointing out its shortcomings, just as they would with anything.

User avatar
ABED
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 20276
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:23 am
Location: Skippack, PA
Contact:

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by ABED » Thu Jun 25, 2020 5:15 am

It's not a binary thing. Nostalgia can exist along side genuine positive appraisal for the story.
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott
Happiness is climate, not weather.

User avatar
Zestanor
Regular
Posts: 556
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:28 pm
Contact:

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Zestanor » Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:23 am

I have nostalgia for the OG dub actually, even though I can’t really enjoy watching it because the performances are usually mediocre.

I’m defining nostalgia, I suppose, as the experience of having vivid memories triggered by something, and remembering associated things from the same time.

User avatar
TrunksTrevelyan0064
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 702
Joined: Sat May 20, 2006 9:55 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by TrunksTrevelyan0064 » Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:51 am

Hard to say; the line gets blurry. My experience with Dragon Ball has been a journey of change, learning, adapting. I no longer consume the series the way I did when I first got into it twenty years ago. My journey started with Dutch subtitles on an amalgamation of multiple unfaithful English dubs, as well as any bits and pieces of information I could gather from magazines, websites, games and whatnot, which weren't always as reliable as they should have been.

Any nostalgia I feel for Dragon Ball has more to do with that initial journey of discovery, the cloak of mystery that hung over all the parts of the series I hadn't seen yet. For the longest time I thought the Boo arc took place at night, due to a collection of magazine screenshots that all had dark backgrounds. And I was so curious about all the adventures and experiences the characters had been through before Gohan was born, the same way I was/am curious about my parents' lives before I was born.

Somewhere along the way I found Daizenshuu EX, and that kickstarted the next part of my journey: familiarizing myself with the source material. Going through the original manga was an absolute delight. Going through the anime in Japanese gave me a better understanding of the characters than ever before. And Daizenshuu EX - Kanzenshuu by this point - continues to feed me wonderful Dragon Ball tidbits on a regular basis.

My journey of discovery is still ongoing, and that's why I'm still into Dragon Ball.
Usually goes by "Kevtrev" elsewhere online.
Draws comics that may or may not have been inspired by Akira Toriyama's amazing manga-making skills.

User avatar
VegettoEX
Kanzenshuu Co-Owner & Administrator
Posts: 17543
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2004 3:10 pm
Location: New Jersey
Contact:

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by VegettoEX » Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:08 am

It's been an interesting journey and analysis for me in this regard. I find there's very little in the series itself that tingles those "nostalgia"... uhh, tingles, I guess. I attribute this to the fact that I've watched and read it all so many times over ~24 years at this point; it's been a constant in my life, so there's been very little time of separation to allow for that kind of feeling. I still have very distinct MEMORIES of things like watching Gohan's first SSJ2 transformation fansubbed for the first time, or getting that raw GT episode 64 tape... but they don't evoke anything in me other than what's in response to the content, itself (and even THAT is SIGNIFICANTLY dulled, now).

I did recently, however, experience something that I would probably call "nostalgia": last month (to the day!), after spending an extreme amount of time cleaning around here and boxing things up and reorganizing, I spent most of a single day plugging away at the website, working on the 1994 "Curse of the Blood Rubies" article and tidying up a bunch of other pages and articles. While I was doing so, I popped in a bunch of old DB music I haven't listened to in a long time, namely the Age of Wonder covers and then Hit Song Collection 18 1/2.

Listening to that specific music and doing that specific type of website work immediately transported me back to 1998 and doing the same thing while working on my website. It was a very distinct feeling, and something I can't say I often have. I'd say even the olfactory memory kicked in, but that could have also been the literal dust in the air from cleaning out old boxes! :lol:
:: [| Mike "VegettoEX" LaBrie |] ::
:: [| Kanzenshuu - Co-Founder/Administrator, Podcast Host, News Manager (note: our "job" titles are arbitrary and meaningless) |] ::
:: [| Website: January 1998 |] :: [| Podcast: November 2005 |] :: [| Fusion: April 2012 |] :: [| Wiki: 20XX |] ::

User avatar
JulieYBM
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 16503
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:25 pm

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by JulieYBM » Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:31 am

Yes and no. I remember very little of my life due to illness and so it's only spare moments like watching Dragon Ball Z om Toonami for the first time or fleeting moments from the International Channel.
She/Her💕 💜 💙
progesterone princess, estradiol empress
Lucifer's bimbo daughter

User avatar
Mister_Popo
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1196
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2017 2:12 pm

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Mister_Popo » Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:40 pm

I first the saw the series, though not all the episodes, during the 80s and 90s.
I watched the French dub long before DB even came to the US, it was already a thing in Europe.
Five years ago i bought the complete FUNI Orange brick-set (only DBZ) and basically binch watched it.
Later i read the complete manga starting with the beginning.
There were two things: a deep appreciation of the story and animation and secondly, yes, it sucked me back into the 80s and 90s for a couple of weeks. This nostalgia wasn't as present when watching the scenes i hadn't seen as a kid or i didn't remember. This was mostly the case with the scenes i did remember vividly. It was a nice bonus but at the end not a necessity to valid the anime as such.
Nostalgia made me buy the whole series and invest the time in it, yes. But i would have appreciated it anyway at the end, even if i hadn't known it from a long time ago.

Witty User Name
Banned
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 6:04 pm

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Witty User Name » Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:04 pm

ABED wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2020 5:15 am It's not a binary thing. Nostalgia can exist along side genuine positive appraisal for the story.
I never said it was. Some people however claim they only watch DB for ''nostalgia'', as if there's no reason an adult could like the series. Well, I suppose it's all in the ''eye of the beholder''.

User avatar
Polyphase Avatron
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6643
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:48 am

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Thu Jun 25, 2020 11:10 pm

I like it for the nostalgia, but I also enjoy a lot of the new stuff (BoG and onward).
Cool stuff that I upload here because Youtube will copyright claim it: https://vimeo.com/user60967147

User avatar
ikaos
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 3:25 am

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by ikaos » Fri Jun 26, 2020 2:14 am

It's a little of column A and a little of column B. The Dragon Ball manga in its original form is a legitimately good story, at least until the Boo Arc, and the anime that's based on it is of course also well done for the time. I have gone in and out of the fandom over the years since I first saw the show on Toonami back in 1998, but it's the deceptively simple heart that Toriyama instilled into the story that I think keeps bringing me back. It's that heart that I think is missing from modern Dragon Ball, and is why I can't really tolerate Super. It's just not interesting to me at all.

As far as the English version goes, I used to think that only nostalgia could lead people to liking the original dub of Z, since nostalgia is the only reason that I personally care at all about that version of the show, however I've come across people who have no nostalgic attachment to the Faulconer or the OG dub, and yet prefer it to the Japanese version, despite it being 2020 (and despite the OG dub not being on any home release in over 15 years). So I guess there is something more than nostalgia that can bring people in.

User avatar
TheBigBoy
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 305
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:29 pm

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by TheBigBoy » Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:07 am

I watched the DBZ "Ocean dub" in syndication during it's initial run over here when I was in 6th grade. I only knew anything about Dragon Ball from reading about it in gaming magazines. I didn't have the internet, and no one I knew watched it and I didn't talk about it with anyone. It aired at 6 in the morning on Saturdays. I felt like I was the only one in the world who knew about it. It was *my* show and there was something alluring about that. I have other fond memories of the show, like a few years later, waiting for the kid across the across the street to come back from Suncoast with the first round of uncut Ginyu Assault tapes or rediscovering the show in the mid 2000's with a girlfriend when they were airing the UUE on Cartoon Network. But Saturday mornings on WXIN 59 in 1996 are definitely the core of my nostalgia for the show.

I'm not entirely sure I'd be into it if I didn't watch it if I was younger. The nostalgia I have for it gives me some of the referential baseline needed to enjoy the property. The popular shonen stuff that came out when I was older, like Naruto or One Piece doesn't really have any appeal to me. I'd probably feel differently if I watched those when I was a kid.

Is Baki considered shonen though? I love Baki.

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by WittyUsername » Fri Jun 26, 2020 1:38 pm

I don’t know if I’d say that I feel that much nostalgia for Dragon Ball in general, but if I do, I don’t think it plays much of a part in why I still follow it.

User avatar
jjgp1112
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 7478
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:15 pm
Location: Crooklyn

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by jjgp1112 » Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:40 am

Nostalgia is like 150% the reason I still keep up with Dragon Ball - really, at any point in Japan after 1997, and America after 2006 or so, the franchise exists as a nostalgia-driven property.

Obviously I still think highly of the story itself, but what it meant to 9 year old me and how it shaped my sensibilities form then on out is always going to prevail and overshadow any flaws I might pick up on now that I'm 27 and not a kid anymore. Like I can't see myself devoting time investing in a series in Dragon Ball/One Piece/Yu Yu Hakusho's general deomgraphic again at this point in my life - and those other shows may very well be superior. But nostalgia (and completionism in OPs case :lol: ) grandfathers DB and co. in for me.
Yamcha: Do you remember the spell to release him - do you know all the words?
Bulma: Of course! I'm not gonna pull a Frieza and screw it up!
Master Roshi: Bulma, I think Frieza failed because he wore too many clothes!
Cold World (Fanfic)
"It ain't never too late to stop bein' a bitch." - Chad Lamont Butler

Matches Malone
Banned
Posts: 3308
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:12 am

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Matches Malone » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:56 am

jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:40 amAt any point in Japan after 1997, and America after 2006 or so, the franchise exists as a nostalgia-driven property.
I don't think this is the case, as it still draws in countless new fans each year. What I'd call a nostalgia property is one that doesn't draw in new fans, and instead is more or less just popular among the people who saw it back in its day. Yu Yu Hakusho is an example of a popular anime among its fans, but you don't see mobs of new people getting into it like DB.

Witty User Name
Banned
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 6:04 pm

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Witty User Name » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:58 am

jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:40 am(and completionism in OPs case :lol: )
You're saying I'm a ''completionist''? If not, what you meant? If yes, why you say so?

User avatar
jjgp1112
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 7478
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:15 pm
Location: Crooklyn

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by jjgp1112 » Sat Jun 27, 2020 12:27 pm

Witty User Name wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:58 am
jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:40 am(and completionism in OPs case :lol: )
You're saying I'm a ''completionist''? If not, what you meant? If yes, why you say so?
I was talking about myself.
Matches Malone wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:56 am
jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:40 amAt any point in Japan after 1997, and America after 2006 or so, the franchise exists as a nostalgia-driven property.
I don't think this is the case, as it still draws in countless new fans each year. What I'd call a nostalgia property is one that doesn't draw in new fans, and instead is more or less just popular among the people who saw it back in its day. Yu Yu Hakusho is an example of a popular anime among its fans, but you don't see mobs of new people getting into it like DB.
While yes, Dragon Ball does draw in new fans, I think the ploys at drawing those fans in - video games, sequels, etc, are still anchored by playing off of nostalgia. Nostalgia of the existing fanbase makes them viable options, and then they can build from there.
Yamcha: Do you remember the spell to release him - do you know all the words?
Bulma: Of course! I'm not gonna pull a Frieza and screw it up!
Master Roshi: Bulma, I think Frieza failed because he wore too many clothes!
Cold World (Fanfic)
"It ain't never too late to stop bein' a bitch." - Chad Lamont Butler

User avatar
Baggie_Saiyan
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 10283
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:22 pm
Location: Atlantis.

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Baggie_Saiyan » Sat Jun 27, 2020 1:53 pm

I no longer have any nostalgic attachments to DB and as a result my opinions on the franchise have changed drastically for example I absolutely hate the Z anime, I cannot stand the Cell arc in general, I cannot also stand the old dub anymore. I guess realised that I can be critical of the franchise and I shouldn't not be just because I grew up watching it.

But on the flip for example I enjoy Evolution because I no longer have any weight pulling my opinions down and so when I watched Evolution the other month since it was on I genuinely enjoyed myself.

I think the fact I have been less and less active on here kinda shows that I am sorting losing that DB spirit now and I kinda just don't care about discussing things anymore.

But perhaps what's extremely weird though is I still have a burning passion for DB merch, so I guess that is the only anchor that is keeping me in the franchise, otherwise I genuinely think I would have moved on, for example I was super into comic books and the fandom years ago reading like 15 titles a month, watching every TV shows etc but one day I just hit similar wall/ came to a realisation except I didn't have an anchor and so eventually I left the fandom and I haven't been back since I stopped watching all the tv shows no longer super excited midnight showings of films and no longer reading monthly titles or even trades.

So if my passion for merch ever goes I think that will be me done with the DB...

Witty User Name
Banned
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 6:04 pm

Re: DB and Nostalgia

Post by Witty User Name » Sat Jun 27, 2020 5:06 pm

jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 12:27 pmI was talking about myself.
Oh. I thought "OP" meant "Opening Post/Poster", but you were referring to "One Piece", weren't you?

Post Reply