What if you weren't introduced to Dragon Ball until now?

[TheBlackPaladin]

So, I got to thinking...there's been a lot of criticism about some of the new Dragon Ball shows to come out in recent years (Kai, the new movies, Super, etc.). Granted, some of the new stuff has fared better than others, but to me, it seems that any of the things that the new shows could be criticized for, the older shows (DB, DBZ, and GT) are guilty of the same things, even if it's not to the same extent. I mean, even the older shows had occasionally bad animation, occasionally less-than-stellar music placement, occasionally obvious plotholes...the same things, really.

All that to say...is it really that the new shows aren't as good, or is it that we're judging kids shows...as adults? Could it possibly be that, now that we're older, we just notice a show's shortcomings that much more easily? Could it be that perhaps our nostalgia for when we first watched the older shows has limited our ability to remember their flaws?

In any event, with that in mind, here's the big question: if you had never been introduced to Dragon Ball before, do you think you'd still like it if you just started watching it now, as an adult, rather than as a kid/teenager?

[Doctor.]

I hold no nostalgic attachment towards the series. I'm sure I'd feel the same way now, I'd probably like it a bit less but that's about it.

[fadeddreams5]

- If I was introduced to Dragon Ball Z right now through Kai in, say, Toonami, I'd enjoy it a lot considering I'm enjoying it every Saturday. The music is crap though, which makes certain scenes a drag, but that's always been the case with Kikuchi. If there was no Kai, but I was recommended the Funi dub by someone, I would also enjoy it (I can skip any fillers, unlike during my childhood)... but somewhat less due to being able to easily detect super cringey dialogue.

- The new shows/movies/specials just suck.

[Xeztin]

It was a part of my child-hood, it was one of those things that you weren't considered a "Cool kid" if you didn't watch DBZ or have Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. I never could get into american shows such as Batman and Spider-Man. Dragon Ball Z Just stood out from everything, and I believe you are right as back then, I hardly ever noticed or criticized the art and animation. Hell I didn't even know it came from Japan or a comic book at all. Now that I have gotten older it's a entirely different ball game. In the early 2000's you didn't have many sites scoring, criticizing, or reviewing anime and video games. Now it is everywhere from Youtube to IGN and I believe because of these things doing this, it's almost as if we are shown to do the same thing and expect the best and hold no punches when it comes to reviews. If it's bad we let them know about it, and back then if people didn't like something they just stopped watching the show. As far as if I was just getting into the DB world, without watching DBZ and jumping into Super, I'd have to say I most likely wouldn't be apart of the fandom. DBZ was the sole reason that I got into manga and anime. On top of that, watching DBZ now a day's might be looked upon as an "Old out dated cartoon" by the new generation, and if they don't watch Z they won't get a lot of things in Super so they probably won't watch it either. For those of us that grown up with it, it's always going to be considered a Gem and a classic that can't be replaced.

[MajinMan]

I guess I wouldn't have the same attachment to it that I have now. I'm pretty sure I would've still liked it a lot because I love the characters, settings, plot, comedy, etc. I would probably never watch the original dub though.

[precita]

I actually don't watch many shows anymore, so if I had never seen Dragonball before I don't think I would have bothered.

For example I've never watched Naruto, One Piece, etc. because I didn't see them when I was a kid, so I have no reason to see them as an adult.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I actually don't watch many shows anymore, so if I had never seen Dragonball before I don't think I would have bothered.

For example I've never watched Naruto, One Piece, etc. because I didn't see them when I was a kid, so I have no reason to see them as an adult.

That's partly how I feel. I watch a few shows right now (Game of Thrones, New Girl, Jessica Jones, etc), I've been recommended Naruto and One Piece but I don't think I'll see them any time soon because I'm not big into anime in general, and even if I got into them I'm not sure those two shows would be the same for me as they do to people who grew up with them.

As for Dragon Ball itself, I might have never seen it all but for what the franchise is to me and many others born in the 90s I'm relieved I did discover it back in the day.

[omaro34]

Honestly, if if i had to watch DBZ now for the first time I wouldn't be into it at all. I invested into DBZ because it played a role in my childhood. I never liked Kai and so far Super hasn't excited me that much.

I guess you can say I'm nostalgic. I'm old school man. Running back home after school to catch Dragonball Z on TV, that old Funimation Dub with all that filler and the Bruce Falcouner music, then watching Shaq and the Lakers dominate basketball was literally my childhood in the early 00's. Ill never forget the suspense during the Freeza Arc when Namek was exploding and it seemed that Goku had no way out.

Now, if I had to watch the original DBZ now for the first time I probably wouldn't watch it because it is very hard for me to get invested into a show. Plus I really wouldnt have the time. I watch Super because I'm already invested into the story and its characters.

[Gyt Kaliba]

Hmm...I really don't know how to answer this. A part of me wants to say that I'd still find the appeal in it, since the characters and stories are still the same as they were when I was a kid, there's just more of them now. I love the series just as much today, if not more than, as I did then. And heck, there are plenty of shows that I have at least a passing interest in that are for kids, but I never got into them back then (for some of these they didn't even exist back then) So it's kind of hard to imagine that I wouldn't like it if I were to just find it today.

...But that said, if I hadn't found Dragon Ball, I don't even know where I would be as a person today. Corny as it might be to say, it's been such a big part of my life and led to other equally huge parts of my life, that I'd probably be a completely different person if I hadn't found it when I did. If that different person had found Dragon Ball now, would he still be into it? Would he even be in a position to be into anything? It's a tough call to make.

[baneofdemon22]

I have no nostalgia for the series since I didn't start watching it until 2013. I hated every anime series that I've seen, so I went in thinking I would hate Dragon Ball, but I loved it. I even went back after watching Dragon Ball with a positive attitude—thinking I might love the anime shows—but, nope, Dragon Ball is the exception. Although, I really want to buy Dr. Slump. I'm sure I would love it since it's by Toriyama.

I think Dragon Ball's animation, art, and acting is beautiful. I work out a lot, I really like imaginative worlds like Star Wars, and I love classic 1940s/1950s Looney Tunes humor, so it appeals to me. Goku beat out Michael Corelone (The Godfather) as my favorite fictional character!

[FortuneSSJ]

Since others opinions don't influence my own, I would still watch it and made my judgement.
I always found stupid how others get influenced and don't watch x show/play y game, because others say its bad.

I'm the best reviewer for myself. More than anyone, I know what I like and don't like.
Its interesting to see other opinions and discuss with other people, but I will never avoid what I want to do.

[Sandubadear]

To be honest, I only watched Dragon Ball start-to-finish near 2010. I did watch a few episodes of it as a kid back in 00~03 but I wasn't that much of a fan. Maybe that's why I don't have a preferred one between GT and Super, both are bad in their own ways.

[MozillaVulpix]

I only got into the series in late-2013. I have no nostalgic attachment to anything in the series. Sometimes I think, if we use the same standards we judge Super by to judge the original series, it would look absolutely terrible.

[FoolsGil]

I'd call it a weaker One Piece. I don't think I would be as invested in it at first, But later I would get bored in between waiting for chapters of One Punch Man, and slowly start reading the manga and anime, and realize that it has plenty of quirk and heart and realize I should have read it a long time ago.

Unless my first experience is watching Evolution. Then I would write the whole series off as a waste of time.

[irreality]

I have friend who is a big comics fan and I lent her some early volumes of DB and she loves it -- I hope she progresses further into the series so we can discuss more. But she finds the DBZ anime too slow to watch -- and I can't blame her. I wouldn't hesitate to show her BoG or FnF once she read the manga, or even Super once it has advanced more.

[Hellspawn28]

Not sure to be honest. DBZ got me into more action anime since I was more of a casual anime fan as a kid before DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh in middle school. I think I could it view as annoying and stupid or a silly fun action show.

[Lord Beerus]

I would still love the manga, the original JPN version of the show, Dragon Ball Kai, and a good chunk of the DB and Z movies and specials. But the FUNi dub of Z... yeah, I'd some problem getting into that.

[LightBing]

I would still like it. But I wouldn't love it as I do now. I pretty much grew up with it.
If I could make a comparison with series I did started watching later in my life, I would probably place DB ahead of One Piece and behind Hunter x Hunter; anime wise. The manga... it's really good. I don't know, it honestly depends the way I would be exposed to it. While in the anime there's some moments I think, "Come on, move it along!", like some fillers. In the manga that only happens in that small part were Dr.Slump crosses over. The rest is just great with unlimited rewatch value.

[precita]

I have a rule where if I didn't watch an older series as a kid, I don't watch it as an adult. Never watched Sailor Moon, Digimon, Yu-gi-oh, Naruto, One Piece or any of the other anime that was popular with kids and teens years ago.

If I had watched those shows as a kid, I'd probably still follow them now.

[Cipher]

I'd probably still enjoy it? It's charming as hell.

This is from someone who recently dived into Dr. Slump and loved it though. The fact that Dragon Ball runs on total whimsy (while still being willing to get get serious) is hugely appealing.

That whimsy is something that separates it from other series I've moved on from, and it's part of why I can't imagine myself getting hooked on similar shonen properties now (even One Piece has a penchant for melodrama that's a little cringe-worthy, if completely fine for its target demographic). Dragon Ball's this unique case where I've come to enjoy it more the older I get, rather than the other way around.