DB's Peak in Japan

DaemonCorps · Post by **DaemonCorps** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:40 am

Well, we all know that the Cell Saga was around the time that most fans were absorbed into the series here in the US. But what was its peak in Japan? With the complete series running straight through without any repeats (as far as I know) and the manga actually coming out at the same time, I'm guessing its peak is gonna be pretty different from ours.

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:04 am

Cell saga in US? I thought the peak was during the Trunk saga.

Arcwave · Post by **Arcwave** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:50 am

Eh, I'm guessing it had its peak throughout all the seasons in Japan. You must remember that Dragon Ball was a massive hit, so as a result; everyone watched Dragon Ball Z -to my knowledge. I have a friend from Japan that stays with another friend of mine and he said that DBZ has always been popular. It still is today (in Japan).

But as for the U.S.? I don't really remember a peak... maybe when Burger King was doing all its advertisements and toys? I'm guessing that was during the Trunks/Android saga(s).

My personal peak was right when it started on the Toonami block back in 1996. I was only but a child of 8, but I remember it very clearly. My parents used to hate it because they watched the first few episodes with me during the Radditz Saga when he was beating on his brother Goku.

"I won't hesitate to kill even my own brother!" - Radditz

Oh man did my dad hate that... though it still didn't stop me! lol

zoiozazu · Post by **zoiozazu** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:01 pm

From Saiyajins to Boo, was a massive hit. Shonen Jump peak was exactly the 'two-last years' of DragonBall. After DB ends, SJ sales incredibly felt.

Ex-Dubbie369 · Post by **Ex-Dubbie369** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:36 am

I remember hearing on one of the podcasts that the Great Saiyaman episodes had the highest viewership in Japan. This probably means that the fans loved the Cell Games stuff and it just carried over into the next episodes.

Sebastian (SB) · Post by **Sebastian (SB)** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:07 am

zoiozazu wrote:From Saiyajins to Boo, was a massive hit. Shonen Jump peak was exactly the 'two-last years' of DragonBall. After DB ends, SJ sales incredibly felt.

That's interestingly true. Jump was at its "golden age" around the time Dragon Ball (& other early to mid 90s titles) was around.

Duo · Post by **Duo** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:34 am

Sebastian (SB) wrote:
zoiozazu wrote:From Saiyajins to Boo, was a massive hit. Shonen Jump peak was exactly the 'two-last years' of DragonBall. After DB ends, SJ sales incredibly felt.
That's interestingly true. Jump was at its "golden age" around the time Dragon Ball (& other early to mid 90s titles) was around.

That's something I'd love to know more about. How does SJ now, with Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, compare to the SJ of that day?

Sun_Wukong · Post by **Sun_Wukong** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:16 am

DBZ's peak here was 2000-2001

nwoo_2002 · Post by **nwoo_2002** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 5:30 pm

Personally speaking, I think the peak for Dragonball in the UK was the Android, stuff seeing as we had to wait a year to see it.
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Sebastian (SB) · Post by **Sebastian (SB)** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 6:30 pm

Duo wrote: That's something I'd love to know more about. How does SJ now, with Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, compare to the SJ of that day?

Sure. So basically, Weekly Jump isn't really faring so well with their sales when compared to the days when Dragon Ball was being serialized. Infact, most Japanese readers of Naruto, One Piece, & Bleach simply wait & buy for the volumes of the titles come out. In short, the Jump GNs sell better than the Weekly Magazine.

zoiozazu · Post by **zoiozazu** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:08 pm

Ex-Dubbie369 wrote:I remember hearing on one of the podcasts that the Great Saiyaman episodes had the highest viewership in Japan. This probably means that the fans loved the Cell Games stuff and it just carried over into the next episodes.

Yeah, thats it. I have here a DB encyclopedia, and it confirms what you say.

One thing i would like to know is the independent sale of wich DB Tanko...That would not only reveal DB peak in Japan, but DB progress.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:15 pm

Fun with charts!

First, some basic info...

Highest Rated Episode Ever: DB 047 (29.5%)

Highest Rated Z Episode: 218 (27.5%)

Highest Rated GT Episode: 02 (19.7%)
---------------------------------------------------------
TV Specials included in the charts, chronologically.

ZSP1 - 23.6% (Episode #64)
ZSP2 - 23.6% (Episode #177) ~ Z Total = 293

GTSP - 14.9% (Episode #42) ~ GT Total = 65
--------------------------------------------------------
Other Notable Ratings:

DB First Episode - 27.4%
DB Last Episode - 17.4%

DBZ First Episode - 18.2%
DBZ Last Episode - 21.3%

GT First Episode - 19.6%
GT Last Episode - 18.9%
---------------------------------------------------------
Trends:

Highest Ratings Trend: Red Ribbon Arc
Lowest Ratings Trend: GT

Lowest DB Ratings Trend: Piccolo Daimao Arc

Highest Z Ratings Trend: Saiyaman/Early Buu Arcs
Lowest Z Ratings Trend: Late Buu Arc

If you look closely, I put breaks in the graph where the series changes.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:28 pm

Sometimes peak popularity means different things to people other than ratings. For example, season 7 of Power Rangers had the franchise's highest ratings, but lots of guys consider the peak popularity to be the first three seasons. Probably a weird analogy, but just saying.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:26 pm

I know, this is just one perspective, but it gives a good idea of the series' following during it's original run. While I agree that there are many ways to view DragonBall's "peak", something like a popularity vote is too subjective, especially after being able to review the series for up to 20+ years now. For example, at the time it was made people were more absorbed into the Red Ribbon arc than the Daimao arc, which is something not many people would agree with today. Therefore I'd say that Red Ribbon was DB's "peak" in Japan, regardless of how we'd view it today.

I think the original poster was asking more-so for peak interest, rather than peak popularity, and if not than I apologize.

Anyways, you still make a good point, and just to further give an example of how peak popularity differs from peak interest, take a look at these arc averages...I'm sure most people would disagree with these numbers:

Saiya-jin ~ 001-035 ~ 18.5%
Ginyu ~ 036-074 ~ 21.7%
Freeza ~ 075-107 ~ 21.7%
Garlic Jr. ~ 108-117 ~ 20.7%
Android ~ 118-147 ~ 21.9
Cell ~ 148-194 ~ 20.5%
Anoyo'ichi Budokai ~ 195-199 ~ 21.1%
Highschool ~ 200-209 ~ 24%
Buu ~ 210-291 ~ 19.3%

- Dragon Book Z Vol. 1 & 2

DaemonCorps · Post by **DaemonCorps** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:06 am

DBW wrote:I think the original poster was asking more-so for peak interest, rather than peak popularity, and if not than I apologize.

Yeah, I was

. I think Super Sonic said it best with the weird Power Rangers analogy

.

(Really, I was more interested in trying to make an interesting topic. The summer's really taking its toll on me!)

bkev · Post by **bkev** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:36 am

In my town, it was the buu saga - everyone knew it was on and watched it.

zoiozazu · Post by **zoiozazu** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 9:12 pm

DBW wrote:I know, this is just one perspective, but it gives a good idea of the series' following during it's original run. While I agree that there are many ways to view DragonBall's "peak", something like a popularity vote is too subjective, especially after being able to review the series for up to 20+ years now. For example, at the time it was made people were more absorbed into the Red Ribbon arc than the Daimao arc, which is something not many people would agree with today. Therefore I'd say that Red Ribbon was DB's "peak" in Japan, regardless of how we'd view it today.

Well, I would preffer absolute numbers. That would correclty say wich DB Saga was the most famous.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:13 am

zoiozazu wrote:Well, I would preffer absolute numbers. That would correclty say wich DB Saga was the most famous.

What do you mean? You want all the numbers?

DaemonCorps wrote:I think Super Sonic said it best with the weird Power Rangers analogy.

The problem with that is that popularity changes based on many factors. The age of the series, the age of the viewer, when you started watching, etc. I think The Simpsons peaked from seasons 6 through 8, while others think it peaked at season 3, and others think it's better today than ever before (may God have mercy on their souls...).

Unfortunately, there's no way of telling which part of the series people liked the best short of holding a nation-wide vote across Japan. The only thing I can conclusively tell you is that DragonBall is still popular in Japan to this day, based off a poll from last year held by TV Asahi. But that's about it...

zoiozazu · Post by **zoiozazu** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:53 pm

DBW wrote:
zoiozazu wrote:Well, I would preffer absolute numbers. That would correclty say wich DB Saga was the most famous.
What do you mean? You want all the numbers?

These are proportional numbers. I would like something like 'Frieza Saga was watched by x viewers'.