DB and Nostalgia

[ABED]

I do get nostalgic for DB in the late 90s. The period of discovery and everything being new to me.

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

Never had nostalgia for DB if only because there was never a moment in my life where DB was absent for long periods of time, the anime have been re-running for years on various channels (and still are to this date).

[ABED]

DB doesn't have to be absent from your life to have nostalgia for a moment you can recall watching it or something associated with it. I have a lot of fondness for the Ginyu episodes because I watched the hell out of those tapes and was SO excited for the new season. I miss that sense of anticipation.

[Sadala Elite]

It's not a binary thing. Nostalgia can exist along side genuine positive appraisal for the story.

Exactly. I'm so sick of pretentious folks who dismiss the preferences/taste of others as being only there because of "nostalgia".

Most of the things people enjoyed as children won't necessarily appeal to them as adults. If something you liked as a kid manages to still give you joy or at least entertainment when you're past the age of 21, then it must have at least some objective merit or value (unless its a so bad its good type of thing lol).

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

DB doesn't have to be absent from your life to have nostalgia for a moment you can recall watching it or something associated with it. I have a lot of fondness for the Ginyu episodes because I watched the hell out of those tapes and was SO excited for the new season. I miss that sense of anticipation.

Then under that criteria the most nostalgic DB-thing is pretty recent, the reveal of Battle of Gods. This was the first time that I had genuine hysterical emotions and feelings of HYPE for something DB related, for the first time in over 15 years the franchise was getting brand new content.

Years before I made peace with the fact DB would never get new content and to never expect anything else, the announcement of a new movie was a world-shattering moment.

[ArmenianPepsi]

You see on this board literally hundreds of posts with sayings such as ''I get nostalgic because of the Faulconer score'', and similar examples...; I myself don't feel any ''nostalgia'' for DB in whatever form. I just enjoy it. I don't remember much of my childhood in that level of detail, to be honest; sure, there are some good memories of DB here and there, but they aren't the reason I watch the show. I watch because I think it's genuinely good. And entertaining.

So, the thread's question is: does nostalgia play any part in why DB is still a part of your life, or you are like myself, and enjoy it as an ''independent'' work of art, regardless of what you felt for it in the past?

I myself would say Nostalgia played a role in my interest in DB. I did watch Kai quite a bit when it was new, so over the years those fuzzy yet fond memories of watching it as a kid kind of inspired me to go back and take the deep dive. It took until March of this year for me to finally commit the time, since quarantines were in full swing, I had nothing much better to do, so it was a better excuse than ever to go for it. Something that I could sink my teeth into and kill the painfully long feeling days.

To be honest I don't regret the time I spent. Unlike the first time me and DB crossed paths, I was able to take in the big picture, and go in with a more open mindset. Being able to appreciate the artistry, story, writing, characters, voice talent, etc. When beforehand I liked DB because "Oh dude this is cool. These totally jacked dudes are flying around beating the crap out of eachother with laser blasts and stuff, this is so freaking awesome!!1!1!!" and it made my 10 year old lizard brain go crazy.

[Sadala Elite]

I no longer have any nostalgic attachments to DB and as a result my opinions on the franchise have changed drastically for example I absolutely hate the Z anime, I cannot stand the Cell arc in general, I cannot also stand the old dub anymore. I guess realised that I can be critical of the franchise and I shouldn't not be just because I grew up watching it.

But on the flip for example I enjoy Evolution because I no longer have any weight pulling my opinions down and so when I watched Evolution the other month since it was on I genuinely enjoyed myself.

I think the fact I have been less and less active on here kinda shows that I am sorting losing that DB spirit now and I kinda just don't care about discussing things anymore.

But perhaps what's extremely weird though is I still have a burning passion for DB merch, so I guess that is the only anchor that is keeping me in the franchise, otherwise I genuinely think I would have moved on, for example I was super into comic books and the fandom years ago reading like 15 titles a month, watching every TV shows etc but one day I just hit similar wall/ came to a realisation except I didn't have an anchor and so eventually I left the fandom and I haven't been back since I stopped watching all the tv shows no longer super excited midnight showings of films and no longer reading monthly titles or even trades.

So if my passion for merch ever goes I think that will be me done with the DB...

Whats so bad about the Z anime (besides pacing)? When compared to the OG manga, the Z/Kai anime actually improved on 80% of the scenes and most of the fights in general.

[DBZAOTA482]

Nostalgia is a powerful thing but it doesn't make or break a product. You can recognize the merits or flaws with or without nostalgia.

[Witty User Name]

I no longer have any nostalgic attachments to DB and as a result my opinions on the franchise have changed drastically for example I absolutely hate the Z anime, I cannot stand the Cell arc in general, I cannot also stand the old dub anymore. I guess realised that I can be critical of the franchise and I shouldn't not be just because I grew up watching it.

But on the flip for example I enjoy Evolution because I no longer have any weight pulling my opinions down and so when I watched Evolution the other month since it was on I genuinely enjoyed myself.

I think the fact I have been less and less active on here kinda shows that I am sorting losing that DB spirit now and I kinda just don't care about discussing things anymore.

But perhaps what's extremely weird though is I still have a burning passion for DB merch, so I guess that is the only anchor that is keeping me in the franchise, otherwise I genuinely think I would have moved on, for example I was super into comic books and the fandom years ago reading like 15 titles a month, watching every TV shows etc but one day I just hit similar wall/ came to a realisation except I didn't have an anchor and so eventually I left the fandom and I haven't been back since I stopped watching all the tv shows no longer super excited midnight showings of films and no longer reading monthly titles or even trades.

So if my passion for merch ever goes I think that will be me done with the DB...

Whats so bad about the Z anime (besides pacing)? When compared to the OG manga, the Z/Kai anime actually improved on 80% of the scenes and most of the fights in general.

Pacing, plot holes, padding out scenes, long stares, extremelely long scenes/episodes, etc. Some of this was improved on Kai, but maybe Z should be made from wholly from scratch again. This is just in my humble opinion, at least, as a manga-fan first and foremost.

[TheGreatness25]

I'd be lying if I said that I want nostalgic for Dragon Ball. It dominated my childhood in the late 90s. You go back and look at how much went into advertising on Toonami. And then, there was the entire mysticism of what comes after Goku starts fighting Jeice and Burter (using their Funimation spellings since I'm talking about the dub). So that curiosity led many kids to the internet (the super primitive kind) to seek out pictures, episode summaries, videos, music, etc. of Dragon Ball Z, which led many to Dragon Ball and GT.

If you were a kid during the blazing hot period of DBZ (in the US it was 1998-2002 or so), it's easy to have nostalgia for it. At least in my community, kids ate it up like meatloaf. But it doesn't mean that it's not legitimately good.

Here's my take on my own fandom:
Nostalgia probably keeps me interested in the series. I'm extremely picky with anime, especially long anime. In today's world, if I were presented with DB/Z for the first time, I'd likely pass on watching it just like I have numerous anime that's probably just as good, if not better than Dragon Ball. If we're talking about the dub, I "enjoy" it (meaning, I could watch it and it triggered good memories for me) only because of nostalgia. That dub was so terrible, it really, really was. I never even understood just how terrible it was until I haven't seen it in a while and heard it again not that long ago.

Also, more proof of my nostalgia is that DB is the only manga that I own... and I own three versions of it, two of which I'll likely never be able to read (Japanese).

So, yeah. If I'm being totally honest with myself, I am probably a fan due to nostalgia because I know for a fact that I would never ever be willing to sit through the entire series, let alone through so many iterations (the dub, the Japanese version, the Blue Water/Ocean/Westwood alternative English dub, Kai, the Latin American dub when I have weak Spanish-speaking skills but damn it I saw this dub as a kid and wanted to hear it again) unless there was a strong nostalgia factor. Just being honest with myself.

[Sadala Elite]

I no longer have any nostalgic attachments to DB and as a result my opinions on the franchise have changed drastically for example I absolutely hate the Z anime, I cannot stand the Cell arc in general, I cannot also stand the old dub anymore. I guess realised that I can be critical of the franchise and I shouldn't not be just because I grew up watching it.

But on the flip for example I enjoy Evolution because I no longer have any weight pulling my opinions down and so when I watched Evolution the other month since it was on I genuinely enjoyed myself.

I think the fact I have been less and less active on here kinda shows that I am sorting losing that DB spirit now and I kinda just don't care about discussing things anymore.

But perhaps what's extremely weird though is I still have a burning passion for DB merch, so I guess that is the only anchor that is keeping me in the franchise, otherwise I genuinely think I would have moved on, for example I was super into comic books and the fandom years ago reading like 15 titles a month, watching every TV shows etc but one day I just hit similar wall/ came to a realisation except I didn't have an anchor and so eventually I left the fandom and I haven't been back since I stopped watching all the tv shows no longer super excited midnight showings of films and no longer reading monthly titles or even trades.

So if my passion for merch ever goes I think that will be me done with the DB...

Whats so bad about the Z anime (besides pacing)? When compared to the OG manga, the Z/Kai anime actually improved on 80% of the scenes and most of the fights in general.

Pacing, plot holes, padding out scenes, long stares, extremelely long scenes/episodes, etc. Some of this was improved on Kai, but maybe Z should be made from wholly from scratch again. This is just in my humble opinion, at least, as a manga-fan first and foremost.

Virtually 99% of all plot holes in the Z anime were also in the original manga, and some of the changes in the anime actually fixed some of the plot holes in the OG manga.

[Matches Malone]

Whats so bad about the Z anime (besides pacing)?

For me personally, bad pacing can kill a show for me. As much as I like Z's story, its pacing has made it unwatchable for me, but thankfully Kai exists.

[Planetnamek]

There's definitely some nostalgia for me, watching the series now does take me back to watching the dub on Toonami as a kid at my grandmothers house while eating dinner, but i've found myself legitimately liking it even if it is definitely rough around the edges in a number of areas.