What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by MasenkoHA » Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:37 am

Zephyr wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:11 am What makes them extra weird for me is that by the time I was 12/13 and in middle school, things like DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh (which had been all the rage like a year or two prior) were seen as decidedly lame by most of my peers. Which makes sense, that's just when puberty's in full swing and everyone's incredibly insecure about kid stuff, wanting to seem as mature as can be.
Yeah when I was 12 or 13 if kids were watching anime it was whatever was on Adult Swim. Most kids were watching either whatever was on MTV or the WB. I don't remember DBZ being made fun of but nobody was really talking about it the way they were when I was in 4th or 5th grade. A lot of that may have been timing since when I was in 7th grade GT was wrapping up and DBZ Uncut felt like it was being advertised as glorified reruns (I remember assuming they were the same uncut episodes that had been on VHS for years and not a complete redub of season 1 and 2) The reverance for it being a childhood defining show didn't start being something I heard until about college.
Honestly, even including an R-Rated movie in theaters. It's easy enough to buy a ticket to a movie you're allowed to see, and then just walk into the auditorium for the R-Rated film you want to see. I did that as a kid on at least a few occasions, and when I worked at a theater for 5 years kids were doing that shit all the time.

While I knew very few kids who weren't allowed to watch PG-13 or R films in grade school (and Harry Potter) by middle school I didn't know anyone who didn't watch that stuff.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by DBZAOTA482 » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:12 pm

Zephyr wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:11 am
MasenkoHA wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:39 amWhich makes all these they need to be 10 or 13 comments weird
What makes them extra weird for me is that by the time I was 12/13 and in middle school, things like DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh (which had been all the rage like a year or two prior) were seen as decidedly lame by most of my peers. Which makes sense, that's just when puberty's in full swing and everyone's incredibly insecure about kid stuff, wanting to seem as mature as can be.
I can't imagine a 12/13 year old boy being insecure about liking DBZ.
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DBZGTKOSDH wrote:... Haven't we already gotten these in GT? Goku dies, the DBs go away, and the Namekian DBs most likely won't be used again because of the Evil Dragons.
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I always side eye the people who say "Now my kids/today's kids can experience what I did as a child!" Nigga, who gives a fuck about your childhood? You're an adult now and it was at least 15 years ago. Let the kids have their own experience instead of picking at a corpse.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Koitsukai » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:52 pm

Yeah, I agree that by the age of 13-ish, kids are trying to act a little older and distance themselves from what's more kiddy like, even though they might secretly still watch it, in spite of acting all tough and taking their first peeks at porn and discovering their bodies. I'd say at that age, one becomes a little less open about it.
20 years later I can say most of us were dumb enough to hide what we liked, scared of what others might've thought, or believing we should've been liking something else, while everybody was quietly enjoying it lol.

I still wonder, when Toriyama started with DB, if he actually meant it for children below 10yo. All those sex references would've flown way over my head if I had read/watched pre-Z DB as a child. DB seemed to be more aimed at teenagers rather than primary schoolers, while Z is more for younger kids with colors and explosions and a strong father figure beating people up.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by jjgp1112 » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:56 pm

Zephyr wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:11 am
MasenkoHA wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:39 amWhich makes all these they need to be 10 or 13 comments weird
What makes them extra weird for me is that by the time I was 12/13 and in middle school, things like DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh (which had been all the rage like a year or two prior) were seen as decidedly lame by most of my peers. Which makes sense, that's just when puberty's in full swing and everyone's incredibly insecure about kid stuff, wanting to seem as mature as can be.
jjgp1112 wrote: Thu Jun 16, 2022 10:18 pmThe average 13 year old is well at the age of watching whatever they want, when they want short of an R-Rated movie in theaters and certainly understands fiction
Honestly, even including an R-Rated movie in theaters. It's easy enough to buy a ticket to a movie you're allowed to see, and then just walk into the auditorium for the R-Rated film you want to see. I did that as a kid on at least a few occasions, and when I worked at a theater for 5 years kids were doing that shit all the time.
16-year-old me and my friends tried that just for a chick working at the theater to SPRINT to the entrance and ask us for our ID's :P
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Zephyr » Fri Jun 17, 2022 4:26 pm

jjgp1112 wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:56 pm
Zephyr wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:11 am
jjgp1112 wrote: Thu Jun 16, 2022 10:18 pmThe average 13 year old is well at the age of watching whatever they want, when they want short of an R-Rated movie in theaters and certainly understands fiction
Honestly, even including an R-Rated movie in theaters. It's easy enough to buy a ticket to a movie you're allowed to see, and then just walk into the auditorium for the R-Rated film you want to see. I did that as a kid on at least a few occasions, and when I worked at a theater for 5 years kids were doing that shit all the time.
16-year-old me and my friends tried that just for a chick working at the theater to SPRINT to the entrance and ask us for our ID's :P
Yeah, it's never guaranteed to work. Sometimes the theater employees are paying attention, sometimes they're not. Sometimes they care, sometimes they don't. Always a roll of the dice.

From the perspective of an employee, it's also a roll of the dice. Sometimes the kid(s) get discouraged when you check their ID and turn them away, opting to not see a movie at all. Sometimes they'll then go down and buy a ticket for some kids movie, and then go to the auditorium playing the R rated film. Sometimes they'll go to the right one, but try and sneak from there to the one with the R rated film. Sometimes they'll successfully sneak into the R rated film and will be cool, other times they'll be disruptive during the film and another guest will come to complain. Any time there was a new R rated horror film was awful.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Fri Jun 17, 2022 5:35 pm

The US can be very overprotective of children if they think that if they see one drop of blood or see boobies, they will become a rapist or murder. Everyone handles things different for sure, but I find it unlikely that they will become a bad person or lead to desensitization if they see something that is not kid friendly. Many kids including myself watch and enjoy all forms of violent media, but were still scared and upset over real life stuff.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by WittyUsername » Fri Jun 17, 2022 5:55 pm

America has always been stricter than Japan when it comes to what’s acceptable for children, and judging from the outrage over the new Buzz Lightyear movie, it looks like that hasn’t really changed.

When it comes to Dragon Ball, I got into the series at a pretty young age, but I was introduced to the series through the broadcast dub of DBZ, which wasn’t without its censorship. Generally speaking, I would say that Dragon Ball is nothing the average 8 year old can’t handle, but the sexual content of the early part of the series does complicate the issue somewhat.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Scientist Fu » Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:07 pm

I'd say 8 years old because at the end of the day the child is open to most public animes, cartoons etc.. At some point, he will start using the tv, phone, computer and his friends or cousins or siblings can also talk about DB or any other movies or animes or games etc, which can arouse his curiosity. If you teach your child what is good and what is bad then watching DB won't be that problematic, even though I understand why the parents would not want their child to watch such violent animes in the first place. But, there is also good in it and the child can learn from it and see the consequences when someone does a bad thing. Giving some freedom is always nice but you can put some limits to keep things in check. Maybe watch some animes, cartoons, or movies with your child if he is really interested in those type of entertainment, spend time with him and explain him what's what. Let the child know that there is justice and injustice in this world, do not keep him away from the truth until he is 18. Being way too strict is never good imo.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by MasenkoHA » Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:07 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 5:55 pm and judging from the outrage over the new Buzz Lightyear movie, it looks like that hasn’t really changed.
From what I can tell that's mostly coming from chronologically online alt right people than people with kids

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by WittyUsername » Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:15 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:07 pm
WittyUsername wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 5:55 pm and judging from the outrage over the new Buzz Lightyear movie, it looks like that hasn’t really changed.
From what I can tell that's mostly coming from chronologically online alt right people than people with kids
Well, people like Ben Shapiro, Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz do have kids, and the reasons they gave for being opposed to it basically down to “DISNEY IS GROOMING OUR KIDS BY EXPOSING THEM TO HOMOSEXUALITY!”

It’s very fascinating how despite being a notoriously conservative country, Japan has never had much of a problem with depicting queerness in children’s entertainment.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Sat Jun 18, 2022 12:02 am

WittyUsername wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:15 pm
MasenkoHA wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:07 pm
WittyUsername wrote: Fri Jun 17, 2022 5:55 pm and judging from the outrage over the new Buzz Lightyear movie, it looks like that hasn’t really changed.
From what I can tell that's mostly coming from chronologically online alt right people than people with kids
Well, people like Ben Shapiro, Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz do have kids, and the reasons they gave for being opposed to it basically down to “DISNEY IS GROOMING OUR KIDS BY EXPOSING THEM TO HOMOSEXUALITY!”

It’s very fascinating how despite being a notoriously conservative country, Japan has never had much of a problem with depicting queerness in children’s entertainment.
Society is driven by cis heterosexuality sex which is gross in my opinion. Many people feel like that they need to have sex to be popular and sucessful. They think same gender sex and romance is wrong because they get the crazy idea that humanity would eventually cease to exist without sex :roll: . I used to be one of those people that would get depress and angry because I was not getting laid until I realize how stupid I was. Not to mention, western colonialism plays a big part on why people think "Gay is bad". Homosexuality was quite common among Japanese samurai and Buddhist monks until the Meiji Restoration because they adopted Western homophobic practices.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Dr. Casey » Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:18 am

I think that by the age of 5 or maybe 4, kids would likely love Dragon Ball and feel minimal distress from watching it. Younger than that, I think a much larger proportion of kids would find it upsetting. The mind of a toddler's a very different thing, I remember my nephew getting scared and crying from a cartoon of a penguin sliding down a hill. :P I could see a kid of maybe four and younger viewing the enemies as genuinely scary and upsetting and 'real' rather than just cool cartoon villains, which could either enhance or detract from the experience. I also think moments like Krillin's first death would have made me have a meltdown when I was four and that I would have treated it like a real world death, whereas at five I'd been more likely to view it with some disconnect as a piece of fiction.

Dragon Ball's an action-oriented series obviously, but there's not much in the way of disturbing content. Kids tend to love fisticuffs and action. It's a far cry from something like a horror movie, which could very easily be too upsetting for a little kid to get much enjoyment from. At five years old I'd have probably spent too much time screaming and freaking out to enjoy The Exorcist much, but I'd have loved Tenshinhan vs. Yamcha or the various fights on Namek or whatever other battles you can think of.

There would have been a few scenes that would bother me a bit. The Saiyan arc in general felt a bit stressful even as a teen (but in a good way, it's a very well-done story). The Freeza/Krillin impalement scene might have been mildly uncomfortable. Things like Cell killing people might have made me genuinely sad. But 99.9 percent of the time I'd have been having a great time, especially once I was old enough to have any comprehension of what was going on. (So 5 or so? At 3 I'd have probably just enjoyed watching the pretty cartoon characters without having any idea at all who or what anything was. I'd probably have very fuzzy comprehension at 4 and a crystal clear understanding at 5.)
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:10 pm

4-5 sounds about right provided they are shown an edited version. I think it would be wise to shield kids from things like Master Roshi harassing women, and as mentioned, Krillin being impaled, and moments where characters cough up blood.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Saiya6Cit » Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:01 pm

I have been talking with a good friend of mine deeply about it. All of the mentioned above by others is true about nudity and other sexual issues. Let's not forget that society in Japan in the 80s and early 90s was completely different to what it is now. When dragon ball came out it was meant to be sold in Japan, made for japanese audiences. We were lucky enough to live in a time that enabled globalization.

Let's focus on dragon ball the anime since that would be something a child would face upon more easily rather than the whole manga collection suddenly found at their home...

TV was never meant to be a baby sitter but a source of entertainment. A show like dragon ball in my humble opinion should be PG Y7 which means Parental Guided for 7 years olds and above. Perhaps a smart 6 year old could get it too. This is considering the fact that topics such as death are involved in here. It is helpful to have an adult to explain such things.

Roshi moments would be difficult to explain. But many countries offer only a censored version of the anime so no worries there. In mexico they kept all of the roshi moments... from DB to majin buu saga when Bulma is about to get that ball...

In mexico DB was was aired in prime time for Tv shows 8:30 PM so everyone could watch even after getting out of the office and 2 hrs of driving/bus. (But reruns got to be as early as 3PM which is a AA show. AAA are like dora the explorer etc)

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by PurestEvil » Sun Jun 19, 2022 1:05 pm

I would not be comfortable letting my hypothetical single-digit-year-old kid watch a show that depicts casual sexual harassment. I would seriously only allow my 6 or 7 year old to watch a censored version for the sole virtue of that. For 12 and up, though, I'd probably make sure my kid is knowledgeable of basic sex topics before allowing them to watch it.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by UltraInstinctRorikon » Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:38 pm

16. Unless you show them the censored version.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Soppa Saia People » Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:11 pm

depends on the kid of course, but probably around 8-11 or so, that's around when i got into it.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by MasenkoHA » Thu Jun 23, 2022 2:38 pm

UltraInstinctRorikon wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:38 pm 16. Unless you show them the censored version.
The uncensored version was made for grade school children.


I dunno I think little Timmy in Ohio is just as equipped to watching Krillin getting repeatedly impaled by Freeza as little Takuya in Kyoto.

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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by jjgp1112 » Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:41 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 2:38 pm
UltraInstinctRorikon wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:38 pm 16. Unless you show them the censored version.
The uncensored version was made for grade school children.


I dunno I think little Timmy in Ohio is just as equipped to watching Krillin getting repeatedly impaled by Freeza as little Takuya in Kyoto.
At most, I'd say 12 for early DB, but anything past like the Red Ribbon Arc you can chop off a good 5 years.
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Re: What is the minimum age you would recommend Dragon Ball for?

Post by Kid Buu » Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:32 pm

I started watching the franchise around 4-5 so I won't stop others. However if I had children and they were watching DB I would definitely talk to them about the Master Roshi and Oolong scenes.
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