Preferring Team Four Star's parody over the original series baffles me

[UltraInstinctRorikon]

Like I don't understand why this is such a common opinion around the net that the parody of this that is full of jokes that are memey or based on references on a product that is not even theirs to begin with.

Sure it is funny but better? How is that even an argument?

[eledoremassis02]

I really don't get it either. I guess a lot of people were tired of rewatching the series and this was a new way to veiw the material?

I used to enjoy it, but when I couldnt talk about the original story without it becoming ''but the abridged did this and it's so much better'' or people acting like it's an official dub (I know Funi hasnt been the strongest for most of the franchise) it really killed my interest in it. Even today it's hard to watch the series without friends and family blurting out lines from TFS then talking about it until we turn off the anime.

It's only one reason why I'm glad they didn't do buu.

But I will say, props to them tho because they do have talent and the abridged has opened doors for them.

[derpytacos]

I think a lot of it is kids who first saw it before anything else db, funimatoin/toonami dbz had a similar effect for many of us in our late 20s to mid 30s.

And well dbz drags on a loooot cutting it down and putting low bar humor that most people will get a chuckle out of not exactly a bad formula.

[Adamant]

*shrug* I mean there's people that think the official English dub is watchable too.

[ABED]

I think a lot of it is kids who first saw it before anything else db, funimatoin/toonami dbz had a similar effect for many of us in our late 20s to mid 30s.

And well dbz drags on a loooot cutting it down and putting low bar humor that most people will get a chuckle out of not exactly a bad formula.

But it's not a straight up retelling of DBZ. Despite it's name, it's not just and abridged version of the show. It's a parody. It's like viewing Spaceballs as a version of Star Wars.

Also, why is someone watching a parody series without watching the original?

[Planetnamek]

*shrug* I mean there's people that think the official English dub is watchable too.

You can count me in that category, i don't think it's just watchable, I think it's legitimately good. Not perfect obviously but far from one of the worst dubs ever like some people make it out to be.

I like DBZA but i too don't get people that prefer it over the actual series, even TFS themselves said they were baffled by fans telling them that.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

*shrug* I mean there's people that think the official English dub is watchable too.

You can count me in that category, i don't think it's just watchable, I think it's legitimately good. Not perfect obviously but far from one of the worst dubs ever like some people make it out to be.

I like DBZA but i too don't get people that prefer it over the actual series, even TFS themselves said they were baffled by fans telling them that.

It's not really the worst there's ever been dub wise, for as much as i personally don't like it i'd have to say either 4Kids One Piece or early on in Sailor Moon S's old dub with Linda Ballantyne's Serena/Usagi (when she was doing a laughably awful impression of Terri Hawkes) would be more fitting for that title.

[Soppa Saia People]

the dic and cloverway sailor moon dubs are better then the funimation db dubs. at least those are interesting in how American-ized they are, the funi dubs just suck lol. also linda ballantyne was way better then terri hawkes.

But it's not a straight up retelling of DBZ. Despite it's name, it's not just and abridged version of the show. It's a parody. It's like viewing Spaceballs as a version of Star Wars.

Also, why is someone watching a parody series without watching the original?

not that is exactly a good thing but space balls doesn't use star wars footage, characters, or music, where as DBZ:A did, i don't think it qualifies as a parody.

as for the thread topic i only hear of people who were never really super into the show but knew about either when it was airing or just word a mouth, like people who generally know db's characters and story but either never watched it or gave it a chance and couldn't get into it. so DBZ:A being just a more meta, faster, version, makes it much more appealing.

[ABED]

I'm confused, which don't you consider a parody?

DBZA is not a faster version of DB, it's a straight up parody, and given many of the jokes are poking fun at specific parts beyond the bullet points everyone knows, someone who didn't watch the original won't get a good number of the jokes.

[Soppa Saia People]

dbz:a i don't think is a parody, because for a long time, it's not really adding anything new or much creative. not a lot of those abridged series' are.

also lol i did try and edit that post to make it a bit more clear but my phone broke anytime i tried so, sorry abt that lol.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

the dic and cloverway sailor moon dubs are better then the funimation db dubs. at least those are interesting in how American-ized they are, the funi dubs just suck lol. also linda ballantyne was way better then terri hawkes.

But it's not a straight up retelling of DBZ. Despite it's name, it's not just and abridged version of the show. It's a parody. It's like viewing Spaceballs as a version of Star Wars.

Also, why is someone watching a parody series without watching the original?

not that is exactly a good thing but space balls doesn't use star wars footage, characters, or music, where as DBZ:A did, i don't think it qualifies as a parody.

as for the thread topic i only hear of people who were never really super into the show but knew about either when it was airing or just word a mouth, like people who generally know db's characters and story but either never watched it or gave it a chance and couldn't get into it. so DBZ:A being just a more meta, faster, version, makes it much more appealing.

Linda was definitely better in the role once she had stopped trying to imitate Terri's version and when you get to the later part of S and into SuperS hers is much less forced and nasal sounding.

[ABED]

dbz:a i don't think is a parody, because for a long time, it's not really adding anything new or much creative. not a lot of those abridged series' are.

also lol i did try and edit that post to make it a bit more clear but my phone broke anytime i tried so, sorry abt that lol.

It's the textbook definition of a parody. It's a comedically exaggerated version of DBZ. It's not a straight up retelling by a long shot.

[Adamant]

*shrug* I mean there's people that think the official English dub is watchable too.

You can count me in that category, i don't think it's just watchable, I think it's legitimately good. Not perfect obviously but far from one of the worst dubs ever like some people make it out to be.

I like DBZA but i too don't get people that prefer it over the actual series, even TFS themselves said they were baffled by fans telling them that.

"I like THIS inaccurate, amateurish dub. I don't get people that prefer THIS OTHER inaccurate, amateurish dub."

[UltraInstinctRorikon]

*shrug* I mean there's people that think the official English dub is watchable too.

You can count me in that category, i don't think it's just watchable, I think it's legitimately good. Not perfect obviously but far from one of the worst dubs ever like some people make it out to be.

I like DBZA but i too don't get people that prefer it over the actual series, even TFS themselves said they were baffled by fans telling them that.

"I like THIS inaccurate, amateurish dub. I don't get people that prefer THIS OTHER inaccurate, amateurish dub."

The parody that is DBZAbridged is less accurate than the dubs are, by a considerable margin. Like that episode where they talk about Space Australia is far worse than mere inaccurate character portrayals. That's like a complete jump of the shark almost every episode.

"THE MAJESTIC SPACE DUCK!!!" etc.

The focus behind both are also completely different. Abridged is insanely inaccurate than any other of the main dubs but some of the VAs are pretty solid. Though, some of the voices are also just overtly hammy too for humor.

It's strange to compare a parody dub to the official one cause they are vastly different in many ways.

[MyVisionity]

It doesn't really baffle me. For many people, funny and more jokes equals better and more entertaining. Especially if they have never seen the original version of something previously.

And people watching parodies without having seen originals is not surprising. It's like people who watch sequels without having seen the previous films. They enjoy it and couldn't care less about things like order or intent or sincerity or whatever else.

It can certainly be troubling and disturbing and gross, but it's really all just a symptom of a much larger problem.

[PurestEvil]

As someone who watched the abridged series first, it is kind of weird, too. It just boils down to some people preferring comedy over drama. Although, I think there is a misconception that better comedy=more overall quality.
Then again, I do prefer some of Weird Al's songs over their original counterparts, so perhaps I speak from two sides of my mouth...

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I mean, it's art, so no one can say they are wrong at the end of the day, but it's important to keep in mind that Team Four Star never set out to make a better dub than the original or the Japanese. They simply made a parody, and it should be critiqued as such, rather than an improvement.

More power to anyone who genuinely prefers Abridged either, but I say they should give the original a proper chance before coming to that conclusion.

[Robo4900]

The way I see it, people can and will like what they like. No need to yuck anyone's yum.

I do think anyone who enjoys TFS's version should absolutely try out the original work if they haven't -- specifically, they should pick up the Dragon Ball manga from the beginning and see how they get on with that, since it's filler-free, well-translated, easy to consume, and covers the whole story in a consistent manner -- but if they don't want to, that's fine. If you enjoy one particular weird version of a thing but you can't get into other versions, that doesn't make you wrong for enjoying one thing over another, it just means you're an unusual case.
It would be bad to say to someone that they're wrong for preferring, say, the original Funi dub over the Japanese version, and yet many of us here would agree that choosing to watch the pre-Kai dubs is giving you a gimped experience of Dragon Ball. But, most of us also acknowledge that everyone has their favourite version, and everyone is entitled to that. The way I see it, TFS's version is just another way to enjoy the Saiyan, Freeza, and Cell arcs. Sure, some here would say it's a "wrong" way to enjoy it, but many would also tell me that the Vancouver cast dubs are a "wrong" choice of favourite version too -- and frankly, those people can go fuck off.

Anyway, to be completely honest, I think TFS's version of Z is far more watchable and enjoyable than the actual Z anime for the most part; the pacing is actually good (yes, Kai's pacing isn't as bad as the original, but it's still not good), the English voice acting is better (no hate for the cast, but the Funi Z dub is a career low for all involved, which they shouldn't be judged by, much like Attack of the Clones), and it's also just funny as hell.

But hey, I'm weird. I often tend to fall off Dragon Ball rewatches once they get to the Saiyan arc (as I have done with my own rewatch, in fact ), because all my favourite parts that I tend to really look forward to in rewatches happen in the pre-Raditz anime.

[Majin Buu]

I think part of this is the fandom, on some level, embracing Abridged as "our thing" as a fan work. That it's a well made fan work only makes it easier to justify the idea that it's better than the actual work.

For me, Abridged was and always will be nothing more than a fan thing. A well made fan thing, but nothing that deserves to supersede the actual work (or bleed into the actual work as Funimation has allowed *cough* incorporating Abridged style humor into the Super dub at certain points *cough*).

_{Plus I'm still kinda sore about them not doing the Buu arc.}

[derpytacos]

Also, why is someone watching a parody series without watching the original?

Because they can? I saw spaceballs and loved it before I saw starwars(and also loved it). Not to mention dbza is and has been freely available on youtube while dbz you ether gotta pay or go to certain websites that are not as well known. Especially with kids. I saw spaceballs before starwars because the next door kid got it for his birthday and wanted to show me. Not much of a stretch to think something similar would happen with dbza.