If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

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Cure Dragon 255
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If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Fri Oct 08, 2021 10:02 pm

Now Canadian Broadcast fans have a thread of our own, better than that depressing Ocean Kai thread.

I was inspired to make the thread by this video I found on youtube, where the very first episode of Dragon Ball was presented to an entire generation of Canadian kids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHsME2Wcwy4

I wonder if it was more or less popular than it was on the USA.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:18 am

I lived in Canada for 8 months, and I never got the impression Dragon Ball was any less popular there than other English-speaking countries, including the US, quite the contrary. I've been back to the Great White North two times in the last 5 years and Dragon Ball DVDs and merchandise are quite easy to find there, much more so than they are in the UK and Ireland, which I think speaks volumes about the popularity of a show that's been off the air for over a decade.

In general I think a lot of western TV channels don't like anime because of the high licensing costs, and over time have preferred to go for domestic licenses or have original content produced that can make them royalties instead, making up ridiculous excuses like "it's all too violent for kids" so as to not admit to their cheapness. Of course there is still some anime on some TV channels like Toonami US, Pop or Toon-A-Vision in Canada's case, but far less than in the past.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Sat Oct 09, 2021 5:05 am

God, you are so awesome man. But you misundestood the question. I meant that if OG BLT Dragon Ball was more popular than it was in the USA. But I LOVED your enthusiasm and information. I made this thread so it could be nurtured and contained in one place.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat Oct 09, 2021 6:15 am

Ah, I get ya. Sorry for misunderstanding.

From what I've seen there seems to be less known about the YTV airings of the BLT Dragon Ball dub than the US airings, so I'm guessing it was less popular in Canada than the US.

The US did get the Harmony Gold dub though, so I guess it helped that Dragon Ball was already somewhat known by 1995, so kids then would have heard about it from older kids and teens and had an idea what to expect. Canadian kids may have been going in blind in 1996, or a lot of them may have missed it, which seems to be the case as a lot of Canadians I've spoken to were first exposed to the series with Z.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by MasenkoHA » Sat Oct 09, 2021 7:48 am

Dragon Ball Ireland wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 6:15 am
The US did get the Harmony Gold dub though, so I guess it helped that Dragon Ball was already somewhat known by 1995, so kids then would have heard about it from older kids and teens and had an idea what to expect.
Like 5 episodes ran for one week in Philadelphia and Detroit. I doubt next to anyone* knew of it pre-1995 in the US.



*Fansub bootleg fans aside

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:14 am

MasenkoHA wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 7:48 am
Dragon Ball Ireland wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 6:15 am
The US did get the Harmony Gold dub though, so I guess it helped that Dragon Ball was already somewhat known by 1995, so kids then would have heard about it from older kids and teens and had an idea what to expect.
Like 5 episodes ran for one week in Philadelphia and Detroit. I doubt next to anyone* knew of it pre-1995 in the US.



*Fansub bootleg fans aside
Someone said this in one of the Harmony Gold threads.
PacificOceanDub wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 8:58 pm Once upon a time, when I was really little, I was sitting in my family room, watching Dragon Ball on Cartoon Network while my parents had a bunch of people over. It must’ve been a birthday or something..

Anyway, one of our guests (a dude who was probably in his early 20s) saw what I was watching and said something like “Oh wow, Dragon Ball, I used to watch that when I was a kid.” And I thought “he must be mistaken, Dragon Ball(Z) has only been around in the States for the last 4 years or so.” Years later, when I found out about the Harmony Gold Dub, I remembered that guy and I thought, “Hmm. That guy would have probably been a little kid in 1989, I wonder if he saw the little bit of the Harmony Gold Dub that actually aired on TV back in those days.”

Now I wish I could go back in time and ask him stuff about it.
It's interesting that even though only 5 episodes aired someone could remember Dragon Ball fondly enough to say "I used to watch that when I was a kid". The ratings must have been good relative to how few episodes were aired and how few homes carried them. I'd say if Harmony Gold continued dubbing the series would have still been a huge success.

Though, maybe it's best Harmony Gold stopped dubbing, as I'd hate Dragon Ball become another one of those series that has no bilingual home release. Funimation at the very least provided that since the early 2000s.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by MasenkoHA » Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:27 am

I’m not saying literally nobody saw the Harmony Gold dub but there was no nation wide awareness of it. Again the dub aired for a very limited time and in a very small market. Episodes also apparently ran on weekdays during school hours https://lostmediawiki.com/Dragon_Ball_( ... ies;_1989)

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by KingVegetto » Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:15 pm

Sometimes i'm jealous of Canadians because of all the great shows aired on YTV, sometimes they would even get stuff that the US wouldn't get, like the last 8 episodes of Knights of the Zodiac(and they were the only western channel to air Looney Tunes completely uncensored).

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:38 pm

KingVegetto wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:15 pm Sometimes i'm jealous of Canadians because of all the great shows aired on YTV, sometimes they would even get stuff that the US wouldn't get, like the last 8 episodes of Knights of the Zodiac(and they were the only western channel to air Looney Tunes completely uncensored).
It's criminal that 11 years on and their Kai dub remains locked away and the US version has been available everywhere though.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Robo4900 » Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:08 pm

Cure Dragon 255 wrote: Fri Oct 08, 2021 10:02 pm I wonder if it was more or less popular than it was on the USA.
Always remember: Dragon Ball wasn't particularly unpopular in the USA in its original syndication run. It did pretty well for its poor timeslot, but Funimation (not Seagull, their distributor) pulled the plug halfway through the original 26-episode order, likely because they never wanted DB to succeed anyway; they wanted to go straight to Z from the get-go.
The point of Dragon Ball is to enjoy it. Never lose sight of that.

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Re: If USA had Toonami, Canada had YTV (Dragon Ball On YTV memorial)

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:07 am

Robo4900 wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:08 pm
Cure Dragon 255 wrote: Fri Oct 08, 2021 10:02 pm I wonder if it was more or less popular than it was on the USA.
Always remember: Dragon Ball wasn't particularly unpopular in the USA in its original syndication run. It did pretty well for its poor timeslot, but Funimation (not Seagull, their distributor) pulled the plug halfway through the original 26-episode order, likely because they never wanted DB to succeed anyway; they wanted to go straight to Z from the get-go.
That's true but keep in mind that I never said OG Dragon Ball was a flop in the USA. I meant to ask if it was more popular in Canada than in USA regardless of whether it flopped or not.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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