Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Discussion regarding the entirety of the franchise in a general (meta) sense, including such aspects as: production, trends, merchandise, fan culture, and more.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

Ripper 30
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 788
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 4:16 am
Location: India

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Ripper 30 » Tue Aug 14, 2018 12:07 pm

Yes, it's Still one of My favorite Shonen Manga/Anime.
i think i would place it below One Piece and Fullmetal Alchemist Manga/Anime though. i am aware of all the plotholes or inconsistency which may occur here and there but i don't think it gets in my way or ruins the story or anything. the Characters are the Best part of the Show and the World may not be the most well defined but it works well, the fights are pretty entertaining too as well as the character development and depth in characters is shown in a more simplistic way. the lore is very easy to follow and the characters are well characterized along with villains who are diverse enough and have good personalities. the set-up and ending of the arcs is really well done which makes them memorable because Toriyama was good at setting up tension inthe arcs and all the events leading upto a memorable final fight. Goku is that's why one of my favourite anime protagonist because of his development in manga and throughout Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z but not only that, his charm and innocence is another trait which makes him a great character. though, i have to say i am not much of a fan of Modern Dragon Ball and what they are doing to the franchise but either way i keep up with it due to it being Dragon Ball but Classic Dragon Ball is really good in my Eyes and holds up well.

among the Big 3 anime too, i think only One Piece surpassed it overall and there are shows like Hunter x Hunter and Fullmetal Alchemist or JoJo which feature better writing but I still think Dragon Ball holds up for its charm.


MajinMan wrote:Shonen isn’t targeted at “Teen Boys,” it’s just boys in general. The main target demographic for these type of series is probably around 8-14.

Anyway, I’m a pretty big Naruto fan as well, and although it has a lot of great moments and characters, it will never top DB to me. The final arc of Naruto is a complete disaster and ruins a lot of the story. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, think of it as a very, very long Dragon Ball Minus. One that takes up around 200 episodes and chapters.
.
doesn't Majin Boo arc have similar problems as last war arc of Naruto Shippuden? like them carrying this theme of new generation in the whole arc only to goku coming back to save the say yet again? not wishing revived Gotenks and Gohan on Kaioshin Realm to fight kid boo and aid him but using genkidama. Goku not going ssj3 against Majin Vegeta and when he did go ssj3 against majin boo, him not finishing him and relying on two kids.
Gohan despite learning his lesson of not being cocky vs Cell , again not finishing Boo instantly and allowing him to do his stuff by being cocky. constant changing of the main villain as in, forms like Fat Boo retconned to have an evil side then becoming Super boo and then after the fat side was freed him turning into kid boo instead of the grey coloured evil Boo?
wasn't Madara a good villain who kept the war arc entertaining? or how Obito and kabuto saved Naruto and Sasuke in the end after they (in Sasuke's case his brother with the help of Izanami) helped him realize what they were doing was wrong and all the history and stories we got to know like Madara's past with Hashirama and Tobirama, Gaara's story, Itachi-Sasuke reuniting final time against Kabuto, Sai full story, Obito characterization and story, the themes of war and peace and human nature, Sasuke and Naruto fight and their clash of ideologies and same with every fight in war with different ideologies clashing? and many great moments? and the way they defined their World? i am not telling which should be better but the war arc in Naruto was setup up for very long and Hyped up Madara as a villain and was a part of a very overarching plot from episode one. different villages reuniting was the result of the war who used to be foes, Sasuke ending the curse of hatred of Uchihas and Naruto's relationship with Kurama getting stronger, so where do you think the problem lies? yea Kaguya thing could have been avoided but again, that clan was always there since Original Naruto when kimmimaru appeared and thus the whole Naruto story looks planned and overarching with the world and more Pre-established from the start. Boo Arc started just after a Time-Skip with new lore "being connected" to Kaioshin and Majin Boo retconned to be the strongest in the Universe, compared to Naruto last arc the Boo arc seemed made up, etc..
sintzu wrote: What I love most about Naruto which makes or breaks a story is its characters. Each character is completely different from the other and thanks to those differences each one is able to bring something to the table even if they're not the strongest in the group. Naruto and Sasuke are by far the strongest characters but they still need Shikamaru's mind to help put plans together or Kiba's sense of smell to find clues if need be. Sasuke is an actual 2nd main character, he doesn't just follow in Naruto's footsteps or is always trying to catch up to him. Instead, he goes on his own adventures, fights his own villains, has his own team and when he did eventually cross paths with Naruto during the war he was Naruto's equal. Sasuke is always what I've wanted to see Vegeta eventually become but he's yet to become that. I like how the villains aren't black and white but each one has a complicated backstory that makes us not only understand why they do what they do but also justify it like Pain trying to bring peace to the world. I like how it takes Naruto so long to be the actual hero (all the way up to pain) as the vast majority of the time it's his elders who deal with the main threat while he gets the side dish, something that made his eventual victory against pain very satisfying as it was built up to from the very start. In terms of Naruto's world, it has history behind it as at the very start we find out there were THREE major wars, 4 hokages and all kinds of complicated history between characters and villages that make the world alive in its own right, not something that was just created to revolve around one character.
I Disagree on Naruto characters being better. most of the characters lost their uniqueness or charm towards the end of the show as the show itself stopped caring about side characters and started focusing only on Naruto and Sasuke unlike the Original Naruto series. also, they don't really need Shikamaru anymore, he himself was a big disappointment at the war but more than that, Rock Lee was the biggest disappointment in Shippuden since he was teased to be this ultimate character in the coming arcs in Original Naruto with his fights against Kimmimaru but he was ruined in Part 2. that's like DBZ hinting at Gohan's potential in the start and never doing anything with him. i don't even remember what characters like Kiba, Tenten or Shino did because they started feeling like Filler characters in the show. but, can remember Yamcha's fights in Tenka'ichi Budokai, his Soukidan, Tenshinhan's amazing development and fights in Tenka'ichi Budokai, his Shin-Kikoho, Chaozu's Sacrifice against Nappa, his little fight against Kuririn or even Yajirobe proving himself to be useful when he cuts Oozaru Vegeta's. they unnecessarily ruined Neji by making him die like a cupid but making him survive when he should have died in Sasuke Retrieval Arc which would have impacted his character more since from that point to war he too faded into background.

as for Sasuke-Naruto thing, the biggest problem with Naruto, even bigger than the war arc stuff, is that Kishimoto fucking forgot to have Naruto and Sasuke bond at all after the Zabuza Arc. And there's no time skip between that and Sasuke leaving, we know for a fact that the two only bonded once ever.

If you played any Breath of Fire videogame, the plot is pretty much the same but there is a contex and a backstory for each character that supports this (they where friends, they grew up together, they where trained by the same master, and so on)... However, this doesn't happen in Naruto. They weren't best friends and they didn't have any common ground, so why the heck didn't Naruto just beat Sasuke up and be done with it? Why was he set on "bring him back"? This was a false storyline created for Shojo Yuri Yaoi nich markets, and yes it worked for a while but overall it's forced and cringy as hell. Naruto became too earnest in trying to save Sasuke in a series that was trying to impose a political and realistic taste in a story. also, Sasuke wanting to destroy Konoha after getting to know that Itachi's lifelong wish was to protect it, is a dumb character motivation and makes zero sense no matter how much his mind was fucked from inside. Sasuke unnecessarily wanting to take revenge on konoha including those little children who at one point idolized him is downright stupid and childish and him letting himself get manipulated by Obito is dumb imo. Atleast Vegeta is honest to himself and never allowed any magician like Babidi to motivate him and has his sense of dignity and Pride and even after knowing that his soul recarnition was still wanting to sacrifice himself is more brave and noble than anything Sasuke did in the Franchise. Vegeta dealing with his inferiority complex and facing the truth that Goku will forever be better than him was the point of his development, it meant he humbled down from his cocky self in Saiyan Arc and had the balls to admit the truth. also, i don't think a villain not being complex is better than one who is bad. look at Dio Brando, Aizen, Joker, all these Anime/Comic villains were not about bringing peace and what matters is their execution and personality. in Naruto, the villains in early part are diverse but in Shippuden its same structure where they all lost their loved ones and want to change the world by causing chaos, for me atleast it becomes repetitive and Madara and Obito look like poor Man's Pain with similar peace motive besides the Talk-no-Jutsu is another issue.
i agree with lore being more sophisticated and well defined in Naruto and all the mythos and systems too but i think the execution left us with so much more to desire and Kishimoto didn't do much justice to it. with Dragon Ball, the Setting is similar to Yuu Yuu Hakusho or JoJo where it's a small cast and the show is about that cast overcoming the challenges. it's just Naruto is much more like new shonen which are about more characters and bigger cast and focusing on their backstory, but i think Shippuden it became kinda dragged when they needed the backstories and flashbacks to move the plot forward instead of the main plot, like most of the war arc was filled with lots of backstory and flashbacks than actual plot progression.

those are just my opinions, feel free to disagree.
I prefer Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, DB/Z/GT Movies, Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball GT in Japanese.
For DBZ Kai and two new Movies I like both Dub and Sub. I Prefer Shunsuke Kikuchi Soundtracks over All other Composers.
My MAL profile : https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ripper_30

User avatar
JohnnyCashKami
Temporarily Banned
Posts: 1597
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:16 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Tue Aug 14, 2018 12:17 pm

Dragon Ball has been around much longer but One Punch Man definitely puts Dragon Ball to shame. Everything about One Punch Man - Season 1 was downright beautiful.

The second season will premiere on April 2019 so that's still gonna be a while. Sigh. Gonna stick with Dragon Ball for the time being, still.

User avatar
Hawk9211
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 812
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 11:23 am

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Hawk9211 » Tue Aug 14, 2018 12:56 pm

JohnnyCashKami wrote:Dragon Ball has been around much longer but One Punch Man definitely puts Dragon Ball to shame. Everything about One Punch Man - Season 1 was downright beautiful.

The second season will premiere on April 2019 so that's still gonna be a while. Sigh. Gonna stick with Dragon Ball for the time being, still.
One punch man is a seinen.
Why power levels are important?
The genre and roots of dragon ball

User avatar
sintzu
Banned
Posts: 13583
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by sintzu » Tue Aug 14, 2018 2:04 pm

Ripper 30 wrote:I don't even remember what characters like Kiba, Tenten or Shino did because they started feeling like Filler characters in the show. but, can remember Yamcha's fights in Tenka'ichi Budokai, his Soukidan, Tenshinhan's amazing development and fights in Tenka'ichi Budokai, his Shin-Kikoho, Chaozu's Sacrifice against Nappa, his little fight against Kuririn or even Yajirobe proving himself to be useful when he cuts Oozaru Vegeta's.
Do you remember what characters like Gaara, shikamaru, Jiraya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Asuma, Guy and the 3rd Hokage did ? Those are characters DB can only dream of having and they're not even THE main characters. Vegeta is DB's current 2nd main character yet he can't even get a single, ONE main villain to himself yet Sasuke was getting that left and right. Sasuke is constantly being called Naruto's equal, the shadow hokage, Naruto's only rival yet Vegeta is still trying to "catch up" to Goku. Naruto had to wait till the very end of the story (literally) to be considered the strongest which is realistic cause the people he was around were considered legends yet Goku's been that since nearly day 1 and has now seemingly surpassed the destroyers in a blink of an eye who are millions of years old.
July 9th 2018 will be remembered as the day Broly became canon.

Ripper 30
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 788
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 4:16 am
Location: India

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Ripper 30 » Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:16 pm

sintzu wrote:
Ripper 30 wrote:I don't even remember what characters like Kiba, Tenten or Shino did because they started feeling like Filler characters in the show. but, can remember Yamcha's fights in Tenka'ichi Budokai, his Soukidan, Tenshinhan's amazing development and fights in Tenka'ichi Budokai, his Shin-Kikoho, Chaozu's Sacrifice against Nappa, his little fight against Kuririn or even Yajirobe proving himself to be useful when he cuts Oozaru Vegeta's.
Do you remember what characters like Gaara, shikamaru, Jiraya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Asuma, Guy and the 3rd Hokage did ? Those are characters DB can only dream of having and they're not even THE main characters. Vegeta is DB's current 2nd main character yet he can't even get a single, ONE main villain to himself yet Sasuke was getting that left and right. Sasuke is constantly being called Naruto's equal, the shadow hokage, Naruto's only rival yet Vegeta is still trying to "catch up" to Goku. Naruto had to wait till the very end of the story (literally) to be considered the strongest which is realistic cause the people he was around were considered legends yet Goku's been that since nearly day 1 and has now seemingly surpassed the destroyers in a blink of an eye who are millions of years old.
again, that's because it followed the trope of "Big cast" like most modern anime these days, because of too many people the characterization can become very weak compared to comparatively smaller cast. Again, Gaara had his charm in the first part but in the second part its just that he already became a good guy. Shikamaru after Hidan arc is disappointment, atleast Toriyama never buildup Tenshinhan or Yamcha to be important in final arcs unlike Shikamaru who hardly did anything great in last arc and his strategies were so useless that Naruto had to jump in. Tsunade is boring Bisky-type (Hunter x Hunter) cliché big boobed character who becomes boring after a while, Kakashi is great character but then we already have characters with as much or more development in Dragon Ball like Piccolo, etc., Lol Asuma? minus the Hidan fight what big thing he does? Kishimoto doesn't even care for him but all of a sudden just before Hidan and Kakuzu arrived, he puts a lot of Asuma related flashbacks to make audience feel emotional even though he hardly got any screentime prior to that arc. Guy was good but he served no purpose in his fight against Madara, i mean seriously if you remove that fight nothing really changes. We got Guy damaging Madara resulting in both getting healed in the next moment only difference was Madara healed himself and Naruto heals madara, now if Guy died an Honourable death then it would have added so much to the scene but no lets keep him unnecessarily for gags, 3rd Hokage sure had a good fight with Orochimaru but what's great about him? Kami is much more complex and interesting character than him.
the characters like Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks, Tenshinhan, Kuririn or Kami are not based on generic tropes but all are unique and have their own development and Kami is really an interesting character if you dig deeper into his backstory and his origins and the mistakes he makes then its not hard to see how complex his character is. it's just that Dragon Ball is very very low-key about Characterization. it's not about making it EXTREMELY obvious the way NARUTO is.
You really have to go looking for that stuff to find it in Dragon Ball because it's embedded into the story. It implies things and Naruto makes it very obvious. also, Sasuke gets this Power Ups from others , Curse Mark from Orochimaru, Amaterasu from itachi, eternal mangekyo from Itachi, Senju DNA from kabuto, six paths sage seal, was taught Chidori by kakashi, etc. now compare that to vegeta, he never asked for power from someone else and himself figured out SSJ and SSJ2 and had to suffer from inferiority complex of never overcoming Goku even after The rigorous train he went through and i am only talking about Main series which is Z. also did i forgot to mention that Sasuke was extremely lucky and used to defeat bad guys with Plot Armour or luck? like somehow surviving deidara's explosion with an asspull summoning jutsu even though he was out of Chakra, winning against Orochimaru and itachi when they were at their weakest but more than that he turns into this unlikable emo Edgelord who now wants to kill everyone because when he is sad no one should be happy and all should suffer. also, as i said earlier, Goku Vegeta aren't rivals and Goku was supposed to be one step ahead of Goku and that's the main development of vegeta to understand that and accept reality and in the end he does exactly that. Goku's rivals are constantly changing from the start from Kuririn to Tenshinhan to Piccolo to Vegeta. Dragon Ball is a journey about Goku after all and how he influenced people around him and hey, he changes them by his actions over the period of time not in 10 Minutes Talk-no-Jutsu. the Theme of "there will always be someone stronger than you" was very well explored and it's mainly from where Goku's motivation of fighting strong guys comes from and no, Goku only became the strongest after Kid Boo battle since he lost to Jackie Chun in 21st Tenka'ichi Budokai, almost got killed by Tao Pai Pai, couldn't beat Grandpa Gohan, almost lost to Piccolo Daimao, almost lost to Vegeta so i will say no, he took time to train and get stronger. Modern Dragon Ball sucks anyway, i will not be surprised if Goku surpasses Zeno-Sama too but in DBZ there was a nice balance and characters weren't getting new Hair colours and God Forms or God of Destruction level form outta nowhere. Naruto Power ups came outta nowhere and felt cheap in the end seeing how Kishimoto used to write better in earlier arcs and for him to master six paths sage mode perfectly makes no sense when he took so much time in mastering Sage Mode.
I prefer Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, DB/Z/GT Movies, Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball GT in Japanese.
For DBZ Kai and two new Movies I like both Dub and Sub. I Prefer Shunsuke Kikuchi Soundtracks over All other Composers.
My MAL profile : https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ripper_30

User avatar
FortuneSSJ
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5812
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:07 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by FortuneSSJ » Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:44 pm

Favourite shonen?!
Definitely. Not only shonen, there's no other anime/manga I will ever love as much as I love Dragon Ball.

The best shonen?!
Subjectively speaking, it's the one I love the most so that makes it the "best" for me.
Objectively speaking, One Piece and HunterxHunter are above everything else.
A world without Dragon Ball is just meh.

Kataphrut
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1704
Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:12 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Kataphrut » Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:03 am

There are shonen I think are better than Dragon Ball: Yu Yu Hakusho, Fullmetal Alchemist and My Hero Academia spring to mind. But Dragon Ball is the only big long-runner I committed to. I'm not going to watch or get into One Piece, Naruto or Bleach, I only have time for one and Dragon Ball got there first.

Weirdly enough, when I wasn't that into it when I was younger. My big shonen from that era were Pokemon and Digimon. But I only care about Pokemon as a game series now and Digimon hasn't been interesting to me since the under-appreciated season five (Tri had potential, but got lost up its own arse after part 3). I got back into Dragon Ball via DBZ Abridged right around the time Battle of Gods came out, then Resurrection F and Super followed and now I'm just on the train having fun with it.

User avatar
TheGreatness25
I Live Here
Posts: 4924
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:36 am

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by TheGreatness25 » Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:44 pm

I think it always will be. I'm a very nostalgic and sentimental person and it has an irreplaceable spot in my heart. I know that it might not be the best, especially in hindsight, but I don't think any other series will ever make me feel or give me the incredible memories that DB did. That's one hell of a tough act to follow. While I appreciate and completely enjoy a Yu Yu Hakusho or Attack On Titan (those are considered shonen, right?), they will never topple the King.

For all of these years, nothing has given me feelings like Dragon Ball Z (anime), Batman The Animated Series (superhero cartoon), and Looney Tunes/Tom & Jerry/Flintstones (classic cartoons). I really don't think that I'll ever find anything in those particular genres that would overtake those cartoons. I know I'm biased, I know better things exist, but I just don't care. To me, it's all about feelings and memories.

User avatar
Logania
Regular
Posts: 593
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:47 am

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Logania » Mon Aug 20, 2018 5:38 am

Nope, and it never has been, although it is one of my favorites.

I'd say Naruto throughout Part 1 until around Pain was my favorite Shonen series and preferred it to Dragon Ball, but around March of 2011 I started reading JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and from then until now it has become my favorite Shonen Series.
"I can't increase my ability through some kind of noisy transformation the way Frost and you Saiyans do. If I wanna become more lethal, I don't have the luxury of cutting corners, I just have to do it the old-fashioned way.

Combat is craft. What matters most is not raw power, but the skill by which you hone it."

User avatar
Almighty Majin
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 245
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:18 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Almighty Majin » Mon Aug 20, 2018 3:33 pm

It's one of my favorites for sure, but I think Yu Yu Hakusho, HxH, and MHA are much better in my opinion.

User avatar
Apslup
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:32 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Apslup » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:49 pm

No. It's one of my all time favorite shonens (and anime for that matter) but My Hero Academia and Hunter x Hunter has taken over my top spot for the past few years (Dragon Ball currently shares the number 2 spot with Naruto).

User avatar
Cetra
I Live Here
Posts: 3855
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:01 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Cetra » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:56 pm

It never was and never will be.
"Citation needed."
"too lazy

feel free to take it with grain of salt or discredit me altogether, I'm not losing any sleep"

User avatar
MetaMoss
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 614
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:14 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon area

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by MetaMoss » Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:11 am

Oooh, this one might be a bit tricky for me to answer. Long story short, I'd say that I hold Hunter x Hunter in a higher regard than DB, but I will probably never love a shonen as much as I love Dragon Ball, if that makes sense.
"Perfect" is the enemy of the good. True for Cell and true for real life.
Don't forget to slow down and enjoy yourself.

User avatar
sintzu
Banned
Posts: 13583
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by sintzu » Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:57 am

MetaMoss wrote:Oooh, this one might be a bit tricky for me to answer. Long story short, I'd say that I hold Hunter x Hunter in a higher regard than DB, but I will probably never love a shonen as much as I love Dragon Ball, if that makes sense.
So you think there are better Shonen out there (hunter) but DB is still your favorite ? that makes sense and I feel the same way. DB may not be the best thing out there but it's still my favorite.
July 9th 2018 will be remembered as the day Broly became canon.

User avatar
DBZAOTA482
Banned
Posts: 6995
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:04 pm
Contact:

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by DBZAOTA482 » Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:45 am

Yes and not only my favorite shonen but favorite anime/manga in general. Many have come and surpassed it since it's heyday... hell, even titles from its time are better like Akira, any Studio Ghibli film, and arguably even other shonen like YuYu Hakusho.

However, no other title has the same charm or atmosphere as Dragon Ball.
fadeddreams5 wrote:
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.
Goku didn't die in GT. The show sucked him off so much, it was impossible to keep him in the world of the living, so he ascended beyond mortality.
jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:31 am I'm just about done with the concept of reboots and making shows that were products of their time and impactful "new and sexy" and in line with modern tastes and sensibilities. Let stuff stay in their era and give today's kids their own shit to watch.

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.

User avatar
Mister_Popo
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1196
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2017 2:12 pm

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Mister_Popo » Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:56 pm

Yes. There are better animes storywise, but DB's nostalgia beats them. Even today with modern equipment Super's animators experience it's challenging to beat the standard DBZ set 30 years ago. Back in the days it was mindblowing in comparison to the other action cartoons. It set a benchmark and will always keep it's unique place in amime history.

What i have never understood ... there are some that don't validate 'nostalgia' as a valable argument in the DB(S)-quality debate. I would rather state, if nostalgia remains a factor and a part of Super's popularity is based on the original anime and manga, so what? If people don't like Super they can think the real story ended long ago, and the people that still enjoy it, can watch and enjoy the new stories.

User avatar
MetaMoss
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 614
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:14 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon area

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by MetaMoss » Wed Aug 29, 2018 6:34 pm

sintzu wrote:
MetaMoss wrote:Oooh, this one might be a bit tricky for me to answer. Long story short, I'd say that I hold Hunter x Hunter in a higher regard than DB, but I will probably never love a shonen as much as I love Dragon Ball, if that makes sense.
So you think there are better Shonen out there (hunter) but DB is still your favorite ? that makes sense and I feel the same way. DB may not be the best thing out there but it's still my favorite.
Yeah, you got it. I think Hunter [and probably One Piece, from what I've seen] is more well-made than Dragon Ball, but Hunter will never be so tied to my very being like DB is. That's probably because of DB being a prominent part of my childhood, while Hunter was something I got into while I was in college. Hunter is the case where something has been the closest to toppling DB as my favorite shonen, however.
"Perfect" is the enemy of the good. True for Cell and true for real life.
Don't forget to slow down and enjoy yourself.

User avatar
Bullza
Banned
Posts: 8621
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:48 am
Location: UK

Re: Is Dragon Ball still your favorite shonen?

Post by Bullza » Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:49 am

It is.

Most of the others aren't really that good if we're being honest. At the peak, I really did like Naruto, One Piece and Bleach but they all lost their way.

Naruto was good until the War Arc and then it dragged for about a year too long. It just became tedious and boring and now there's Boruto but it ain't nearly as popular.

One Piece was very good until the Time Skip where now they've shoved in so many characters that Oda is unable to keep the Straw Hats all together. They haven't properly been together since Fishman Island. It's also just very gimmicky and a bit childish.

Bleach was the first one to go downhill and it went downhill the worst of them all. Ever since the Soul Society Arc it just got worse and worse until it ended. Ichigo hardly even appeared by the end.

Aside from those three, I've watched others.

Yu Yu Hakusho was only really any good during the middle portion. The author ruined that series because he just ended it abruptly, they built up a big story that never happened because of certain issues.

Fairy Tail was pretty decent until after the Fighting Festival Arc then that one went to shit as well. It became overly reliant on fan service to appeal to prepubescents. Every Arc was just the same thing but somewhere kept getting worse.

Toriko was pretty solid because it was pretty different from the others. It had a main character that wasn't small annoying brat for once. It tried to do a One Piece by expanding the story by having him journey into the Gourmet World and then it became crap as well. Sales dropped and it was rushed to an end.

All these have ended now. As of what's left....

My Hero Academia is alright. It's nothing special but it's ok. It's practically just the same thing again but with a Superhero motif. It'll likely end up the same way.

The Seven Deadly Sins is really the only one at the moment that is actually any good. The anime is probably a bit too fast paced for its own good but it is at least a bit different from the typical Shonen series.

But in the end Dragon Ball is still the best one, easily. It doesn't have the best story which is forever played tonite advantage because these other series all go downhill because the author runs out of ideas. Dragon Ball is pretty simple, it's not that hard to come up with decent ideas.

It also has the best characters, it has a lack of female characters which is good because generally female characters are extremely annoying as is the fandom that comes with it who have an obsession for "shipping" everyone, it's the most enjoyable, the easiest to follow, doesn't rely on fan service, doesn't really any gimmicks, doesn't keep harping on about friendship and bonds, it usually has the best fights and the main character isn't an obnoxious Pre-Teen.

Post Reply