Are you done with Dragon Ball?

[eledoremassis02]

I've been seeing a lot of threats that pick apart, expose, of have general issues with the franchise, the author, characters etc. Sometimes, these threads have rather heated arguments in them.

I honestly get the feeling some people are either growing out of Dragon Ball or have already and might not know it (which is ok). This is coming from someone who's interest erroded to the point where I had no desire to watch it until Kanzenshuu sucked me back in

My question is, do you still enjoy Dragon Ball? What about it brings you back? With all the issues that these topics have covered, do you feel comfortable rewatching the series or re-reading the Manga?

I think what got me back in was a bit of Nostalgia and some interest in seeing the Original Japanese version all the way. Once I did that I got obssesed with AV and PQ quality of the realases and now that I'm content, I honestly have very little desire to rewarch the series, ironically.

For me, my interest really has died down a lot. I havent watched the series in a while or read the manga (sans Super, and even that can feel like a chore).

But if I have to say anything that draws me back, is that Dragon Ball has become the MCU. The movies tie in to the anime, and now the manga is falls into the movies. The "dont miss this detail" that the MCU has sucessfuly started. It's a general interest (havent felt the need to see them in theatres) but thats really the only thing keeping me here to be honest.

The "what are they going to do next?" Especially with this change in tone and animation in Super Hero. But I wont lie, if they stopped everything tomorrow, I'd probly feel releived

[JulieYBM]

I tried doing a re-read of the original 1984 comic series a few months ago and had a hard time getting past Chapter #3. Dragon Ball has a lot of problems as a multi-media franchise and a lot of the time with any media women, queer people and racial minorities are expected to just...roll with the punches. That's my life as a fan of Dragon Ball: hope for the best, brace for the worst. For the case of this re-read I really just didn't want to sit through more of "Blooma gets sexually assaulted and written like a bitch in a kids comic". I went off and did more entertaining things with my time.

Obviously, I've been into Dragon Ball for a little while. I joined this forum in January 2006 and had already been into Dragon Ball since October/November 1998. I've now been a Dragon Ball fan for twenty-five (25) years. Obviously, if you've lived long enough you know that people change and grow as people and it's natural to just fall out of a hobby. I'm into things now I wasn't into even six years ago, let alone sixteen or twenty-six years ago.

Will the day come when I'm just not going to give what little time of my day I have to Dragon Ball? Yeah, that's just how life is. Dragon Ball is not my life and it should never be the only thing in someone's life.

[Yuji]

Not really, no. Dragon Ball is still the most enjoyable piece of fiction I've ever experienced - and I'm nowhere near illiterate or uncultured. I don't know if it molded my life philosophy or if I was just primed to enjoy it from the getgo, but there's something unequivocally charming about a work of fiction that's self-aware about the fact that it's just mindless entertainment and isn't afraid to push boundaries or to challenge itself. Toriyama, as much as he may written and drawn Dragon Ball for monetary reasons, has always been a true artist. And if you're looking for something deeper, like the best art, there's plenty to explore, dissect and enjoy about the original series - it's the reader who should come to his own analysis.

The newer stuff is always best consumed as an after-dinner snack. It's enjoyable, inconsequential and there's no need to blow a fuse if the story takes a particular direction you find troubling - the original series is always there for you.

That being said, as with any interest or hobby, there's periods of borderline obsession and periods where I even forget the series exists to focus on other things I'm more interested in at the moment. It's par for the course.

[capsulecorp]

No way! I might be done with Dragon Ball anime - in retrospect, the DBS anime feels like a huge insult and waste of my time - but the DBS movies have been some of the highlights of the entire series.

[ABED]

My interest waxes and wanes over the years, but I'm sure I'll rewatch the anime once every few years as it's like visiting old friends.

[Wrigglything]

I think for me it has waned over time, but I doubt I will truly forget about it in some shape. For all its faults Dragon Ball's tales of struggle, fistbumping action and its sense of humour will make it pretty hard for me to forget.
Such is life for me, things that I hold obsessions over eventually fade and I move on to other things, then suddenly it pops back into my head and I become obsessed once more. Its like a lightbulb, they just have to strike once that bulb becomes bright again.

[Dbzfan94]

Super, yes. DB/Z, no.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Nope, nor will I ever be.

This franchise has been a huge part of my life for over 23 years at this point, and has inspired me and given me good times like no other series or movie has.

There is of course an ocean of other media to consume out there, and because a lot of it can also be quite long and offer more to digest I will have phases of talking about, watching or reading Dragon Ball less, but I'll nevertheless always come back to it.

Dragon Ball is definitely one of those series, which, if you've had a long history with it does feel like meeting up with old friends. You know and love them for their personalities, and even if it's been a while you can feel like you've never been apart because you know what to expect from a reunion.

[MasenkoHA]

Super, yes. DB/Z, no.

Pretty much this. I have no interest in keeping up with the Super manga, I couldn't tell you exactly what a Super Dragon Ball Heroes is if my life depended on it, I may or may not Redbox Super Super Heroes when it comes out on home video, and if Dragon Ball Super season 2 ever miraculously, against all odds ever does come out I doubt I'l watch it.

But Dragon Ball 86 and Z? Oh yeah I'm currently re-reading the manga (currently at Baba) and enjoying it. I own all of the 1986 series via the Blue Bricks and 4 movie pack and I have the first 5 Z movies and will eventually get the rest and while I doubt I'll ever own the Z series given the options are either overpriced, incomplete, or garbage I'm sure I'll at least bother to get a temporary CrunchyRoll account at some point and revisit it again too.

[Grimlock]

My question is, do you still enjoy Dragon Ball?

Yes, though not as much as some years ago.

What about it brings you back?

The recent games, I think. I have been paying a lot of attention to them and they're probably what keep me around. But in regards to the series, I don't know. It still presents some stuff that I like, but like you said, my interest also has died down quite a lot lately.

With all the issues that these topics have covered, do you feel comfortable rewatching the series or re-reading the Manga?

"Comfortable" is not the word, it's just too long for me. I would very much like a "Dragon Ball Kai version" of Dragon Ball too so I can finally remember what happens there. It doesn't help that games kept retelling Dragon Ball Z during the "dark times", which helped me remember its events, but they forgot all about Dragon Ball.

But if I have to say anything that draws me back, is that Dragon Ball has become the MCU. The movies tie in to the anime, and now the manga is falls into the movies. The "dont miss this detail" that the MCU has sucessfuly started.

More power to you because I can't say that at all. There are two things Dragon Ball could do that would make me feel like it's the MCU, and those are: 1 - having everything planned out (which they clearly don't, right Dragon Ball Room!?), and 2 - having solo stories being released periodically (not necessarily culminating in an ensemble/Avengers-type story down the road).

They're doing neither, unfortunately. If anything, I can say that Dragon Ball is DC (prior to James Gunn). A mess. Three different and separated continuities going on; "Stories" being written before the release of the latest movie or the beginning of the next saga. Lack of proper direction and planning... An utter mess.

(Bonus: 3 - post-credit scenes. A hint of what's to come. Movie 15 and Dragon Ball Super Super Hero both had them, but they were completely pointless. Even more so than Spider-Man Homecoming's post-credit scene, which at least was very funny).

But I wont lie, if they stopped everything tomorrow, I'd probly feel releived

Seconded.

[ABED]

I agree with the sentiment that if they stopped everything tomorrow, I'd be okay with it, not because of issues of quality. it's fine. If it's put on streaming, I'll watch it. But after Battle of Gods or even GT, I'm satiated. The story was long and concluded in a satisfying way. I'm a huge fan of the MCU, and even if what came after Endgame was the most amazing thing ever, I'd be more than okay calling it a day because Endgame gave the story such a satisfying conclusion, I'm happy to see it end. Give me a satisfying ending, and I'm happy.

[dva_raza]

No, I just started with it. I'm kind of a new fan since I watched just 2 sagas as a kid and then didn't follow it at all for years until last year. So Super is all fresh for me.

[PurestEvil]

I definitely don’t have as much enthusiasm for the franchise as much as I did three years ago, but that might be because of a lack of a weekly anime/manga to get consistently hyped over. I still wanna follow the series, and I wouldn’t feel all that satisfied with the story ending at this point due to all the loose ends that need tying up. Maybe I am not jaded like the rest of you yet.

[ABED]

I definitely don’t have as much enthusiasm for the franchise as much as I did three years ago, but that might be because of a lack of a weekly anime/manga to get consistently hyped over. I still wanna follow the series, and I wouldn’t feel all that satisfied with the story ending at this point due to all the loose ends that need tying up. Maybe I am not jaded like the rest of you yet.

What are the loose ends that need tying up?

[PurestEvil]

I definitely don’t have as much enthusiasm for the franchise as much as I did three years ago, but that might be because of a lack of a weekly anime/manga to get consistently hyped over. I still wanna follow the series, and I wouldn’t feel all that satisfied with the story ending at this point due to all the loose ends that need tying up. Maybe I am not jaded like the rest of you yet.

What are the loose ends that need tying up?

I was thinking mostly about Uub, the U6 Saiyans, and a potential future conflict between Beerus and Goku. IDK, I feel like a lot more stuff could be done with those concepts.

[SupremeKai25]

No. The Dragon Ball Super Anime was so entertaining and enjoyable to watch that I pretty much want to see the storyline of Super continue until the end.

[ABED]

I definitely don’t have as much enthusiasm for the franchise as much as I did three years ago, but that might be because of a lack of a weekly anime/manga to get consistently hyped over. I still wanna follow the series, and I wouldn’t feel all that satisfied with the story ending at this point due to all the loose ends that need tying up. Maybe I am not jaded like the rest of you yet.

What are the loose ends that need tying up?

I was thinking mostly about Uub, the U6 Saiyans, and a potential future conflict between Beerus and Goku. IDK, I feel like a lot more stuff could be done with those concepts.

Sure, more could be done, but they aren't loose ends. We know where Uub ends up, and the Beerus/Goku conflict has been dealt with. I'd also like to see Vegeta interract with the U6 Saiyans but it's not a storyline that's left unresolved. It's implied that he will go there and maybe even become a mentor, but it's more than enough to simply indicate a possible direction without actually exploring that story. I see it the same way as the end of BoG. Even if we never saw the other universes, the indication was enough, especially given the theme of the series.

[90sDBZ]

I've never completely lost interest, and will usually rewatch the old stuff every couple of years. And I still revisit many of the old games.

I will say I'm struggling to get through Super on my latest rewatch. It might be because of the retellings, which are inferior to the movie versions. Still I managed to get through them, but I've sort of lost the will to continue this rewatch of Super. This wasn't the case with Kai, which I recently rewatched and thoroughly enjoyed. Something about Super just loses me at times, although the Tournament of Power and Broly are great.

I still haven't touched the Super Manga and might never, as it looks very fanfictiony whenever I catch a glimpse of it online. It also seems that its continued the trend of adding new forms that are palette swaps.

I haven't seen DBSSH yet, but the new forms look straight out of fanfiction. I'll reserve judgement until I see the movie, but I always liked Mystic Gohan, and didn't think he needed a new form.

[PurestEvil]

I'd also like to see Vegeta interract with the U6 Saiyans but it's not a storyline that's left unresolved. It's implied that he will go there and maybe even become a mentor, but it's more than enough to simply indicate a possible direction without actually exploring that story.

Considering how Cabba invited Vegeta to visit Salada, it would be pretty negligent if it wasn't at least addressed ever again. I'd feel pretty blue-balled if it goes like that.

[MasenkoHA]

I'd also like to see Vegeta interract with the U6 Saiyans but it's not a storyline that's left unresolved. It's implied that he will go there and maybe even become a mentor, but it's more than enough to simply indicate a possible direction without actually exploring that story.

Considering how Cabba invited Vegeta to visit Salada, it would be pretty negligent if it wasn't at least addressed ever again. I'd feel pretty blue-balled if it goes like that.

Why am I just now realizing that the u6 Saiyans home planet is a Salad pun?