Would you say Dragon Ball is currently at the peak of its popularity in the U.S?

[WittyUsername]

We all know that Dragon Ball was pretty popular in the U.S. back when it aired on the original run of Toonami, which lasted until 2003. Somewhere around this time, the franchise (or at least the Z portion of it) was a phenomenon in English speaking countries. My question is, would you say that Dragon Ball is currently more or less popular than it was back in those days? It’s arguably the most iconic manga/anime series of all time (not counting Pokemon), but is it still worthy of being considered a phenomenon outside of Japan and Latin America?

[MasenkoHA]

It was at the peak of its popularity in the early 2000s.

Also do you mean Dragon Ball as in the franchise as a whole or just specifically Dragon Ball? Because if you mean specifically Dragon Ball hahahahaha NO.

[WittyUsername]

It was at the peak of its popularity in the early 2000s.

Also do you mean Dragon Ball as in the franchise as a whole or just specifically Dragon Ball? Because if you mean specifically Dragon Ball hahahahaha NO.

The franchise as a whole.

[Hellspawn28]

I remember for a while after 2003 or 2004, the franchise died down in the US and people view it as a dead franchise until BOG. I feel like we started to see a come back to the series in popularity in 2014 and now it's bigger than it was 5-10 years ago. Sure it is not the same as it was in the late 90's and early 2000's with merchandise everywhere. At least it is more alive than it was like in 2008 or 2009 when you had people be like "Who cares about DBZ anymore? That's so 90's.".

[DBZAOTA482]

I remember for a while after 2003 or 2004, the franchise died down in the US and people view it as a dead franchise until BOG. I feel like we started to see a come back to the series in popularity in 2014 and now it's bigger than it was 5-10 years ago. Sure it is not the same as it was in the late 90's and early 2000's with merchandise everywhere. At least it is more alive than it was like in 2008 or 2009 when you had people be like "Who cares about DBZ anymore? That's so 90's.".

I pity whoever thought it was a dead franchise. It's a foolish belief.

Anyways, DBZ's popularity in the states peaked '99-02.

[KBABZ]

Honestly I'd say it is. 1993/94 was the peak in Japan, while 99-03 was for the US. Right now we have it being big both in Japan and the US, which hasn't really happened before.

[Logania]

I don't think it'll ever be as popular as it was during it's main run on Toonami in the late 90's - early 00's. It was enormous at that time here, kids collected it like it was crack. Just like PokéMon and Yu-Gi-Oh! during that time as well

[sintzu]

It's not even close. If it was that popular it'd be on a better timeslot where more people could see it.

[Michsi]

I know someone posts the ratings from Toonami here, but I can't really tell if those are good/better than what Z and Kai got. It wouldn't be 100% accurate since some watched the streamed episodes too, but it's a start I guess. Anyway, I remember DBZ being in the top 10 most searched terms on the net in the early 00's.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Not just U.S but most other overseas it's seems pretty damn high...

>DB getting it's first DB orientated con in the U.S
>Potentiality of a global movie release.
>DBS constantly breaking streaming sites when it was airing in Japanese.
>DBS not only holding ratings but selling well physically in most places.
>For the first time ever Banpresto have started releasing exclusive Japanese figures overseas.
>Toei and FUNi doing a bunch of licensed merch.
>ToeiEurope reported DBS exceeded all expectations in European territories.
>Level of Fighters hype.
>Dokkan battle.
>New mobile game holding a lot of interest.

Etc.


Who would have imagined DB would be like this back in 2013, when there was no sign of BoG coming overseas...?

[Lord Beerus]

In terms of success on TV, no. Dragon Ball's success on American TV peaked around 2000-2002. But in terms of success in merchandise, video games sales, and profit from home releases (DVD and Blu-Ray), hell fucking yes, and it's not even up for debate.

[Thanos]

But in terms of success in merchandise, video games sales, and profit from home releases (DVD and Blu-Ray), hell fucking yes, and it's not even up for debate.

Absolutely. Back during its "peak", its popularity was mainly among kids/teenagers and anime fans. Nowadays, and this is something I've argued the past couple of years--many of the fans from back then were kids and still have a soft-spot, if not outright persistent fandom, which has immortalized it for many. Even beyond that, it's reached mainstream acceptance outside of anime circles. Every gym that I've frequented always has at least a few guys wearing a DBZ shirt. I would say, while not on the same level, it wouldn't be an unfair comparison to Star Wars; another franchise whose acceptance reaches beyond its genre and went through a long dry spell of content, yet never lost fan enthusiasm.

[TheBigBoy]

It's been around long enough in the U.S. that people can have real nostalgia for it and you're likely to see people reference it in the same way they reference other old cartoons. That being said, I don't think that translates to "peak popularity" at any means. It was HUGE during it's original Toonami run. The show as it airs in the west today seems to be appealing more to people who grew up with the show rather than trying to attract a new young audience.