I think its safe to say Naruto is now at DBZ level in the US

[EvilGamerX]

I don't think it is unpopular.

Not because of my undying hate for the series, but because I can walk in stores in the mall and not see anything for Naruto.

OP isnt any more sophisticated than any other Shounen series out there. Infact, its pretty damn repetative, most Shounen shows are.

OP in particular seems to go through the same formula every story arc.

but that's just my two cents...

Lets not start this crap. My view is a complete 180 because the creator can write a story. I can ASSURE you that not every arc is the same plot or repetitive in the slightest. I think the manga truly is great. The anime is good, but not great (suffers like any other anime adaptation of a manga from pacing, filler, and art). We know my opinion and I would be glad to discuss it with you in PM, but here kid. If you wanna hear why I believe Naruto is crap and why I think One Piece is amazing, by all means pm me. (Apparently that is impossible as implied through the post below, so I'll start getting it off the thread and into PM.... sorry for the slight derail folks!)

Anywho, to add to the topic. When I wear an anime t-shirt, I still hear from non-anime fans.. "Is that the Dragon Ball Z thing?" Not once have I gotten "Is that the Naruto thing?"

[Sun_Wukong]

I don't think it is unpopular.

Not because of my undying hate for the series, but because I can walk in stores in the mall and not see anything for Naruto.

OP isnt any more sophisticated than any other Shounen series out there. Infact, its pretty damn repetative, most Shounen shows are.

OP in particular seems to go through the same formula every story arc.

but that's just my two cents...

Lets not start this crap. My view is a complete 180 because the creator can write a story. I think the manga truly is great. The anime is good, but not great (suffers like any other anime adaptation of a manga from pacing, filler, and art). We know my opinion and I would be glad to discuss it with you in PM, but here kid.

Anywho, to add to the topic. When I wear an anime t-shirt, I still hear from non-anime fans.. "Is that the Dragon Ball Z thing?" Not once have I gotten "Is that the Naruto thing?"

The formula of the arc has nothing to do with what media it's presented in.
Every Shounen series has a formula it follows, which is why a lot of anime fans dont like the genre.

[Mr.Piccolo]

Maybe they're just milking the hell out of the series because it's in the same vein as a Soulja Boy record

[Jerseymilk]

In the U.S., no anime will be as popular as DBZ was.

Uh, there was this series called Pokemon.

Regarding the comments about younger kids ruining a series for others, thus making them hate it. Little kids to me aren't the annoying ones that ruin it. It's fellow anime fans that think their "current hot-series-of-the-moment-omg-that-other-one-is-so-yesterday!" are.

Princess Vegeta mentioned Naruto losing fans in Japan, that's not true. While the anime is not in the top ten, it's certainly not in the bottom either. Also the manga is currently at number one according to the latest figures. Not that I don't agree that those endless weeks of filler eps weren't agonizing by the way. One Piece still totally beats it though, but then Sazae-san, Detective Conan, and Doraemon beat out everything period there. XD

[EvilGamerX]

Heh, forgot about Pokemon. That was another big one, this is true.

Anywho, shonen series always get the top when they are released that week. Hell, random Jump series will be #1 if OP, Naruto, or Bleach aren't released. Shueisha just has things in control for the first week or two of the month.

I am surprised the One Piece anime does that well still. Even when in filler. But now we are getting into the debate about Japan. We only look at numbers, Julian should be the one to discuss this.

[Jerseymilk]

Heh, forgot about Pokemon. That was another big one, this is true.

Anywho, shonen series always get the top when they are released that week. Hell, random Jump series will be #1 if OP, Naruto, or Bleach aren't released. Shueisha just has things in control for the first week or two of the month.

I am surprised the One Piece anime does that well still. Even when in filler. But now we are getting into the debate about Japan. We only look at numbers, Julian should be the one to discuss this.

Very true. I mean to even get a good picture, you need to look at the manga, TV, and DVD markets. The rankings are very different for all three a lot of the times. I know that Gundam00 isn't doing quite as a well as hoped on TV. I believe they moved it to a different timeslot already? As far as I know, it's doing well in DVD sales though since anime tends to be bought only by dedicated fans, and the Gundam fandom there is *very* dedicated(like Star Wars level from what I've heard). I mean with how pricey volumes tend to be there, along with very few eps per disc, I don't blame casual fans for not purchasing. XD

[xzero]

That is the stupidest reason I've ever heard not to like a show. Sure those "Zabuza Sword and Sasuke Demon Shuriken!!" commercials and 9 year old kids with headbands who've only seen ten consecutive episodes shouting out "Beleive it!" is kinda annoying, but that has nothing to do with the quality of the show itself.

You're right about the quaity, but for some reason when I watch it now, that's all I can think about. I should note that I work for GameStop, so you have to put yourself in my position: a new Naruto game comes out, a bunch of stupid kids come in, at least one actually wearing that damnable headband, and as they are buying it, they are asking me questions about who my favorite character is and if I think one is stronger than the other. It really did ruin the show for me. I guess it's my constant exposure to it at work more than the existence of 11-y/o fandom, but such juvenile fandom just exacerbates the problem.

[Victator Supreme]

In the U.S., no anime will be as popular as DBZ was.

Uh, there was this series called Pokemon.

With Pokemon it was more the card and gameboy games leading the way. The anime seemed more a tiein to those than the other way around.

I personally think DBZ ending is what killed Toonami. I know its still around on Saturday nights. But its far removed from the glory days.

[caejones]

I am almost certain that the end of DBZ was the end of Toonami. I mean... I stopped paying attention to Toonami once I made a dramatic dash to my room on the airing of the final episode. Then just ignored it and looked at my VHS collection. And maybe randomly caught stuff on from time to time... Tonami stopped being interesting over all, though.

[Kendamu]

I am almost certain that the end of DBZ was the end of Toonami. I mean... I stopped paying attention to Toonami once I made a dramatic dash to my room on the airing of the final episode. Then just ignored it and looked at my VHS collection. And maybe randomly caught stuff on from time to time... Tonami stopped being interesting over all, though.

I have to agree because, by that point, Batman:TAS and Thundercats were also no longer airing on Toonami.

[bardock013]

As of right now I don't think Naruto is at a DBZ level. Reason is that we don't see as much advertising and merchandise as DBZ did. Back in the day there were T-shirts, coloring books, and other non-significant things (as various people have said). I have yet to see Wal-Mart or some other random store carry something Naruto related.

On a side note, I wish Funi dubbed Fist of the North Star or someone release the manga here again. I would be more interested in Toonami if they had that (or maybe Adult-Swim).
I miss YuYu Hakusho and Kenshin too.

[Vekurotto]

On a side note, I wish Funi dubbed Fist of the North Star or someone release the manga here again. I would be more interested in Toonami if they had that (or maybe Adult-Swim).

I seriously doubt Hokuto No Ken could be shown on TV at all, especially now. I love that series but it's way too dated and violent for Toonami's tastes as far as I'm concerned. Look what they did to original MSG and YYH.

For the topic I say no. Naruto will never be as popular as Dragonball in America and in Japan.

[Raki]

Naruto is a strong money maker in the US and Japan,no doubt. But the Dragonball Franchise has been around for 24 years,and just about everyone knows about it. Naruto won't ever been on Dragonball's level of fame.

[PrincessVegeta]

For the umptienth time...

[Kid Trunks]

I don't think any anime will reach the heights of the older anime from the 80's and early 90's. I don't much like the new style of animation nowadays, computer generation has made all anime characters from all animes look almost identical. The older animes were far more unique. Newer shows don't have the same charm.

[Xyex]

I don't think any anime will reach the heights of the older anime from the 80's and early 90's. I don't much like the new style of animation nowadays, computer generation has made all anime characters from all animes look almost identical. The older animes were far more unique. Newer shows don't have the same charm.

The art isn't computer made. The shows are colored on the computer but all the art is still done by hand.

[Super Sonic]

On a side note, I wish Funi dubbed Fist of the North Star or someone release the manga here again. I would be more interested in Toonami if they had that (or maybe Adult-Swim).

I seriously doubt Hokuto No Ken could be shown on TV at all, especially now. I love that series but it's way too dated and violent for Toonami's tastes as far as I'm concerned. Look what they did to original MSG and YYH.

For the topic I say no. Naruto will never be as popular as Dragonball in America and in Japan.

YYH was mainly untouched on AS except for 2 language edits and Kazemaru's tattoo.

On topic, did in the music section put a thread about how according to my friends Rise is the new Rock the Dragon.

[Vekurotto]

YYH was mainly untouched on AS except for 2 language edits and Kazemaru's tattoo.

I'm not talking about the edits. I was trying to get at that CN doesn't put their hope and faith in "old shows" anymore, except Dragonball, which in all honestly they should have let go too. Wait, let me rephrase that, CN doesn't put faith in any anime and cartoons made before 2000. If you remember they "moved"(canceled) YYH to early Saturday mornings because "it wasn't doing well on toonami" which I disagree with entirely. YYH was one of their #1 series next to DBZ at the time.

That's why the only anime on the Toonami and AS lineup are newer post 2000's series or mainstreamed series like Cowboy Bebop, Inuyasha, FMA Naruto, and DBZ. And even then Bebop, FMA, and Inyasha come on at 1-2AM and Naruto and DBZ come on weekly.

HnK/FotNS would just do terribly in this day and age. No matter how much I love that series, it just wouldn't work especially with CN's stupidity.

[Kaboom]

... Astro Boy?

[Artificial Human #887]

Well, I personally don't agree that Naruto is on the same level as DBZ. But that doesn't take away from its popularity.

I remember when DBZ was at the height of its popularity. My mom worked at Toys R Us, and there was always tons of merchandise there. I would see kids wearing shirts and the toys would still fly off the shelves. And while the popularity in the US has died down a bit, I still find new toys constantly in the store (I bought some in K-Mart the other day ), I still see people wearing clothing, too. I'm in the process of trying to steal a Goku hoodie from one of my co-workers.

Naruto, on the other hand, is different. I work in a comic store, and we get tons of Naruto stuff. We have the headbands and some assorted toys. But the only thing that ever flies off the shelves are the latest volumes of the manga. I get five to six people a day asking if we have volumes 26 and 27. Its popularity seems to be on a different level. We don't get T-Shirts or anything else because of it.

DB/DBZ manga doesn't sell well these days. I usually recommend it to people who liked the show, but that's about it. However, on the odd occasion we gets toys in (which I usually end up buying... but if we get more than one set), they sell almost as quick as the latest issues of Spider-Man and FFVII figures.