MyVisionity wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:57 am
I prefer the longer Japanese titles. They provide more weight and character for the episodes. It feels like someone really put some thought into it. There might be the occasional spoiler, but nothing *too* spoilerish and not that often. Plus it's all about getting out of the Western mindset of going in blind.
You can pretty much guarantee if there's a spoiler to be spoiled in a Dragon Ball episode, it's in the episode title.
As for the idea of "it's all about getting out of the Western mindset of going in blind"... To be honest, I think that's kinda bullshit. If you're not going in blind, there's no surprise, no shock. Yes, a story can still work if you're spoiled on that stuff, but there's a very good reason why people get angry at you when you spoil stuff to them, it is very, VERY commonly believed that the result is an inferior experience. It doesn't completely rob the experience of all value (which is the argument I see thrown around a lot in regards to why it's okay for spoiler to be everywhere; "if it doesn't hold up with spoilers, it wasn't good in the first place." No, that's bullshit, of course it holds up okay even if you know the reveals. Similarly, you'd be able to enjoy an apple pie with half the filling taken out, but it's far from ideal). Doesn't matter if Japan's culture is generally one that believes this doesn't matter, the point is that in western culture, this ends up as a huge, gaping flaw that harms peoples' enjoyment of the show.
And, it's not like this is a universal thing in Dragon Ball, even. For a huge span of OG DB, the titles were pretty unspoilery; the episode where Kuririn dies is called "The Martial Arts Tournament Concludes! And Then…!!", for instance. But once we get into Z, there's a change in this attitude, which goes beyond even the titles; the anime added a scene into episode 1 of Z that pretty much reveals Goku's alien origins right after Raditz fights Piccolo (whereas if you'd read the manga of that part, you'd have been completely surprised when Raditz told Goku he's his brother then), episode 2 (which begins with the gang reuniting) is called "The Strongest Warrior in All of History is Goku’s Brother!", despite that revelation not coming until a little ways past the midpoint of the episode, and with it being the main shock/surprise of the episode, which you would now already know from the end of episode 1, and from episode 2's title, a huge portion of that is episode pretty much just them holding back a reveal you already know, and then reacting in shock to it, leaving only the very beginning before Raditz shows up, and the latter parts of the second half where they're explaining what's going on, as the meat of the episode; the entire middle is just going over something you already know... Episode 5, the third episode of Goku and Piccolo fighting Raditz, which has the conclusion of the fight at about the midpoint of the episode, is called "Goku Dies! There’s Only One Chance Left"...
Yamucha's death is spoiled in episode 23's title, Chaozu's in 24, Ten's in 25, Piccolo's in 28, Goku and Ginyu's bodyswap in episode 71, Ginyu becoming a frog in episode 74, Goku going Super Saiyan in episode 95 (which literally happens in the last seconds of that episode, by the way), Goku still being alive in 107, Freeza being chopped in half by a Super Saiyan in 120, Trunks being Vegeta's son in 122, Piccolo's attack on Cell not working in episode 150, #16 stepping in in 151, #17 getting eaten in 152, Cell achieving perfection in 159 (which, again, happens AT THE END OF THE EPISODE), Goku surrendering in 180 (which also happens in the last seconds of the episode), #16's death and its role in Gohan's transformation into Super Saiyan 2 in episode 184 (which pretty much is the entire second half of the episode), Goku's death in 188, Vegeta's death was already mentioned...
All of these big moments are robbed of any kind of first-time shock or surprise, and similarly, the episodes which contain these are robbed of any suspense in regards to anything relating to these events and the build-up to them. And this is in a series that was slow as fuck because of how close they were running to the manga, so they needed all the tension and suspense they could get! It's utterly stupid, if you ask me.
You're entitled to your opinion, but "more weight and character for the episodes", "putting thought into it", "the occasional spoiler", and "getting out of the western mindset" is just handwaving away serious problems in this series, if you ask me.
MyVisionity wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:57 am
The episodes may be harder to reference by name, but that just goes to show that a series with this kind of format isn't really meant to be remembered for its individual episodes. It's more about the ongoing saga itself. Kind of like comic books. It's much easier to recall the overall history of the Spider-Man or Batman story as it unfolded via overarching plotlines versus the plot of a single issue. I mean sure, there are some standout issues that are better remembered, but even then it's by the issue number and date, not the story title.
Yeah, but when you're trying to reference something that happened in a particular episode, it's a real bugger.
MyVisionity wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:57 am
On a separate note, this 23rd Budōkai is a bit too overdramatic in my view. Something about it really rubs me the wrong way. I suppose it was intended to be a finale of sorts, so that maybe explains the writing.
I mean, it's only a finale insofar as it ends the saga of Piccolo.
But, in terms of it being dramatic, well, to each their own. I quite like the way it gives Piccolo's second defeat a rather epic feel.
The point of Dragon Ball is to enjoy it. Never lose sight of that.
