Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

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

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Paulo Gabriel
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Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Paulo Gabriel » Fri May 31, 2019 9:09 am

I was stumbling through old threads, and came across one (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=35352) where this was said:
Xeztin wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:47 pm I think if it affected me it would have been in the early 2000's, my grades dropped here and there and I annoyed the living hell out of my parents wanting the new games and such. As an adult, I don't really think it affects me negatively other than not having anyone to talk about it to outside of the internet. Nothing outside of the usual hobby I suppose! Interesting topic, having a sister topic about it positively affecting someone would be a great companion! :)
So I am here to make that sister topic and fulfill that promise. In what way(s), if any, did the Dragon Ball franchise affect you personally (positively, that is)?
Last edited by Paulo Gabriel on Sat Aug 17, 2019 1:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by VegettoEX » Fri May 31, 2019 10:11 am

We've had a few of these kinds of threads in the past, but digging them up is escaping me at the moment.

Anyway, for me, it's probably fairly obvious: folks I consider some of my best friends (wife included, of course) all wrapped up in working on this very website. There is no life without Kanzenshuu, and therefore no life without Dragon Ball!
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Fri May 31, 2019 10:15 am

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by sintzu » Fri May 31, 2019 10:27 am

I guess the theme of being the best you can that's in DB and anime in general helped me try to do the best I can in things such as School, work, etc. The theme of hard work = good results regardless of your background has also encouraged me to put more effort into things and to strive for better things in life.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by TrunksTrevelyan0064 » Fri May 31, 2019 11:29 am

Absolutely it has!

- I met one of my best friends on a forum about the Game Boy Color game Legendary Super Warriors;
- Toriyama's artwork has been a major inspiration for me, and his masterful panel layouts have taught me a lot about comic-making;
- My affinity for language has spurred me to embark on the journey of learning Japanese, gradually giving me an even better, "fuller" understanding of the franchise.

Oh, and it has led me to this website you might have heard of called Daizenshuu EX Kanzenshuu, which has been a wonderful source of inspiration in and of itself. Their enthusiasm for verifiable facts rather than hollow rumors, and the way they encourage you to always keep learning, is very infectious and heart-warming.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Cipher » Fri May 31, 2019 1:26 pm

If you trace impetuses back far enough, I obliquely became proficient in a second language because of it.

Met some cool people through it too.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by DBZfan29 » Fri May 31, 2019 1:52 pm

Watching the series motivated me to study Japanese in high school and I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not become interested in the language. I guess I have Daizenshuu EX to thank for that as well because had I not stumbled upon the site and podcast in 2008, I probably would have kept watching the show dubbed.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by 90sDBZ » Fri May 31, 2019 2:01 pm

Yes because it's a very uplifting and inspiring series. From a young age it helped teach me the importance of courage in the face of adversity, the value of hard work and self discipline, and always served as escapism during tough times.

Some will no doubt disagree with this point of view, but Goku has always been one of my greatest role models, if not my number 1 role model. Some of my others include Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even other fictional characters like Batman, or Ryu from Street Fighter. But Goku was the one who resonated with me the most from a young age. Yes the heroic dub version is the one I admire primarily, although Japanese Goku is still inspirational because of his hard work and honesty.

The franchise also encourages me not to take life too seriously, as it tends to be very lighthearted at times.

I've read stories from people all over the world saying how positively its affected their lives, which is why I find it bizarre that some fans on here call it cynical.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Fri May 31, 2019 5:20 pm

Simply never giving up, its a part of who I am, it's something people who know me personally always notice.

I've had many trials and tribulations in my life, and whenever I felt like giving up watching Dragon Ball entertained me and inspired me to appreciate the good I had in my life. It got me through being bullied at school, periods of unemployment, and being single. I guess what Chuck D said about escapism being good in the right amounts really rings true.

I have Asperger Syndrome and as such I've had to fight a lot of my own battles, but watching Goku and the rest of the characters from this series overcome great adversity always resonated with me and reminded me I can do great things too if I put my mind to it.

Toriyama gave us all something truly special with this franchise, and although I'll almost certainly never meet the man I will always be grateful to him for letting his imagination run wild and writing the manga way back in 1984.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Fri May 31, 2019 5:21 pm

sintzu wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 10:27 am I guess the theme of being the best you can that's in DB and anime in general helped me try to do the best I can in things such as School, work, etc. The theme of hard work = good results regardless of your background has also encouraged me to put more effort into things and to strive for better things in life.

Is that really the case though? It seems more like the series is saying that no matter how hard you work, you won't achieve anything special unless you were born with natural talent (i.e. being a Saiyan). All of the non-Saiyans get left completely in the dust.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by 90sDBZ » Fri May 31, 2019 5:46 pm

Polyphase Avatron wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 5:21 pm
sintzu wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 10:27 am I guess the theme of being the best you can that's in DB and anime in general helped me try to do the best I can in things such as School, work, etc. The theme of hard work = good results regardless of your background has also encouraged me to put more effort into things and to strive for better things in life.

Is that really the case though? It seems more like the series is saying that no matter how hard you work, you won't achieve anything special unless you were born with natural talent (i.e. being a Saiyan). All of the non-Saiyans get left completely in the dust.
But the series also gives the message that hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. Gohan is the guy with the most potential, but keeps falling behind Goku and Vegeta because of their hard work and commitment to become stronger.

Maybe the humans can't be as strong as the Saiyans, but they can be and have been useful on enough occasions to justify their hard work. Tien was able to hold Cell back for a good while despite being much weaker, and that's because he worked hard to develop such a powerful technique. I think the main reason Yamcha is seen as a joke is because he stopped trying and ultimately gave up, not because he's weaker than the Saiyans.

You don't see Tien getting laughed at as much, because he was a dedicated martial artist his whole life, and had the balls to attack guys like Cell and Buutenks when he knew he was an ant compared to them.

And you really don't need everyone to be insanely strong for the story to be inspirational. In real life there will always be people with more talent and advantages than you, but you don't stop trying just because of that. You keep going and aim to be the best you can be, and to achieve what you can achieve. I think that's an important point in Vegeta's "You are Number 1!" speech. He realises for the first time that what makes Goku so strong is that he competes with himself, rather than aiming to push others down. That's a message anyone can profit from.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Mr.Saturn99 » Fri May 31, 2019 5:55 pm

I've been self-studying Japanese for the past couple years and recently began reading through the Kanzenban, so there's that! I'm on Chapter 6, and while some of the humor hasn't aged well (mainly Roshi's antics), it's fun exercising my translating knowledge.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Super Saiyan Swagger » Fri May 31, 2019 9:12 pm

Just being a fan of the series has become a good conversation starter with other people I've met that I knew were also fans. Lots of those people are good friends of mine now.

Its themes about having extreme optimism and never giving up also helped out when I was a kid, though that kind of stuff isn't out of the ordinary with most shounen series. But there's something about the way Dragon Ball does it that makes it feel more effective, I can't quite explain why.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by MajinMan » Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:24 am

Watching/reading DB has given me lots of happiness and joy over the many years, so I guess that would be my answer to this question.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by MasenkoHA » Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:43 am

Polyphase Avatron wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 5:21 pm
sintzu wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 10:27 am I guess the theme of being the best you can that's in DB and anime in general helped me try to do the best I can in things such as School, work, etc. The theme of hard work = good results regardless of your background has also encouraged me to put more effort into things and to strive for better things in life.

Is that really the case though? It seems more like the series is saying that no matter how hard you work, you won't achieve anything special unless you were born with natural talent (i.e. being a Saiyan). All of the non-Saiyans get left completely in the dust.

Goku was born and viewed as a write off by his home planet and birth father (umm before retcons anyways)

Vegeta was born into the elite.

Goku surpassed Vegeta and part of Vegeta’s character growth in the original series is acknowledging Goku is better than him.


Your read that it’s saying what you’re born into matters more than the work you put into it is kind off.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:46 am

MasenkoHA wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:43 am
Polyphase Avatron wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 5:21 pm
sintzu wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 10:27 am I guess the theme of being the best you can that's in DB and anime in general helped me try to do the best I can in things such as School, work, etc. The theme of hard work = good results regardless of your background has also encouraged me to put more effort into things and to strive for better things in life.

Is that really the case though? It seems more like the series is saying that no matter how hard you work, you won't achieve anything special unless you were born with natural talent (i.e. being a Saiyan). All of the non-Saiyans get left completely in the dust.

Goku was born and viewed as a write off by his home planet and birth father (umm before retcons anyways)

Vegeta was born into the elite.

Goku surpassed Vegeta and part of Vegeta’s character growth in the original series is acknowledging Goku is better than him.


Your read that it’s saying what you’re born into matters more than the work you put into it is kind off.
But it has always been implied that Goku is special and has an incredible amount of potential. Others trained just as hard as he did and didn't achieve the same level of power.
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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Dbzfan94 » Sat Jun 01, 2019 10:15 am

It helped me through bad times back in middle school so yeah definitely.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by Paulo Gabriel » Sat Jun 01, 2019 10:33 am

Thanks, folks, for the honest responses!

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by MasenkoHA » Sat Jun 01, 2019 5:05 pm

Polyphase Avatron wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:46 am
MasenkoHA wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:43 am
Polyphase Avatron wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 5:21 pm


Is that really the case though? It seems more like the series is saying that no matter how hard you work, you won't achieve anything special unless you were born with natural talent (i.e. being a Saiyan). All of the non-Saiyans get left completely in the dust.

Goku was born and viewed as a write off by his home planet and birth father (umm before retcons anyways)

Vegeta was born into the elite.

Goku surpassed Vegeta and part of Vegeta’s character growth in the original series is acknowledging Goku is better than him.


Your read that it’s saying what you’re born into matters more than the work you put into it is kind off.
But it has always been implied that Goku is special and has an incredible amount of potential. Others trained just as hard as he did and didn't achieve the same level of power.

But not really? A lot of Goku’s initial strength and skill we saw at the very beginning was because Son Gohan trained him. Plenty of human earth born fighters were as strong or stronger than him. The idea he was just naturally gifted goes against what we actually saw. If Goku never trained a day in his life he probably wouldn’t be much stronger than a regular human who stays moderately active.

Gohan was naturally gifted with his rage boost and even then he had to train and once training took a backseat to studying and having a family he got a lot weaker.

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Re: Did the franchise ever POSITIVELY affect you?

Post by JulieYBM » Sat Jun 01, 2019 5:14 pm

It helped me meet the people who helped me realize that I was a girl, pansexual and queer as fuck.
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