Unpopular DB opinions

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Vegeta th3 4th
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Vegeta th3 4th » Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:33 pm

Scsigs wrote: Sun Apr 06, 2025 9:18 pmI haven't read much of the manga yet (planning to soon), but the earliest episodes of Kai felt a bit jarring trying to do that. As for what you say with Freeza & Cell slowing down, the arcs legitimately got longer as Toriyama went along in the manga, so it makes sense that the anime arcs also got longer. It may also be that they left in certain things not in the manga, but the Z anime had added that extended the runtime of a particular episode.
I think trying to stick so close to the manga actually hurt the arc, rather than help it. Toriyama's manga can't be properly adapted into an anime 1:1, it's just too fast paced for that to work. This is likely why things changed with the Freeza and Cell arcs where it felt like the purpose of Kai changed from wanting to stick as close to the manga as possible to wanting to improve the pacing instead. Those two arcs feel far more natural than the Saiyan arc in Kai. If we were to ever get a remake, I think a 1:1 adaption of the manga would be a mistake; there are simply too many pacing issues for that to work.
Scsigs wrote: Sun Apr 06, 2025 9:18 pmAs for Buu, no idea what exactly happened with it. They removed over 20 episodes' worth of material that wasn't in the manga. However, they definitely could've removed even more material to make it shorter. The green tint, the not saving 4:3 versions of the episodes like Q-Tec did, & Sumitomo's...really weird choices for music placements at times, etc. It was clearly a half-hearted edit on Toei's part.
Even though I have issues with Kai 1.0, I can at least give them credit for trying; I can't say that about Kai 2.0. You can make an argument that the issues Kai 1.0 had were due to a lack of resources and time, but you can't say that about 2.0; they just didn't care at that point.
Scsigs wrote: Sun Apr 06, 2025 9:18 pmWhere'd she say that? Can you provide a source?
Unfortunately not. It was all the way back in 2014 when it got announced.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by MasenkoHA » Mon Apr 07, 2025 12:01 am

Vegeta th3 4th wrote: Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:33 pm

Even though I have issues with Kai 1.0, I can at least give them credit for trying; I can't say that about Kai 2.0. You can make an argument that the issues Kai 1.0 had were due to a lack of resources and time, but you can't say that about 2.0; they just didn't care at that point.
That’s how I feel. If it was a bit less censored (we can’t have characters flipping the bird anymore really? Vegeta cant cough up blood when Freeza kills him?) and we had either kept the Yamamoto score or the Kikuchi score was used better and less half assed I’d probably fuck with Kai 1.0 more.

But Buu Kai is just shit. A better English dub (and the dub of Z wasn’t that bad at that point other than a few annoying Funi isms) doesn’t justify how badly Toei botched that one.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:30 am

Scsigs wrote: Sun Apr 06, 2025 9:18 pm Unless it leaks out on a torrent site, or a TV station in Canada airs it, we're never seeing the Canadian dub of Kai at this point, I'm sorry, man. Don't know what else to tell ya.
I know someone who is waiting to talk to Adult Swim Europe to pitch a revived Toonami UK block, and he's on board with looking into getting the Ocean dub of Kai, so fingers crossed. I'm always exploring new avenues for that dub to see the light of day.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Tian » Mon Apr 07, 2025 3:04 am

Dragon Ball Ireland wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:30 am I know someone who is waiting to talk to Adult Swim Europe to pitch a revived Toonami UK block, and he's on board with looking into getting the Ocean dub of Kai, so fingers crossed. I'm always exploring new avenues for that dub to see the light of day.
Huh, why haven't we thought about Adult Swim? That sounds like a viable idea.

Not sure about pitching it as a Toonami block but maybe asking for some anime to be added to Adult Swim UK programming may work.

More if they consider Housing Complex C, Ninja Kamui and Uzumaki (the three of them are anime series co-produced by Adult Swim) as part of the pitch.

Since those original co-productions have yet to premiere on UK's TV, it could increase the odds of Adult Swim UK considering the possibility of airing anime.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Mon Apr 07, 2025 8:40 am

Tian wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 3:04 am Huh, why haven't we thought about Adult Swim? That sounds like a viable idea.

Not sure about pitching it as a Toonami block but maybe asking for some anime to be added to Adult Swim UK programming may work.

More if they consider Housing Complex C, Ninja Kamui and Uzumaki (the three of them are anime series co-produced by Adult Swim) as part of the pitch.

Since those original co-productions have yet to premiere on UK's TV, it could increase the odds of Adult Swim UK considering the possibility of airing anime.
A couple of years ago there was an opportunity for Toonami to come to Canada during a livestream show which included one of the brand's original founders (Jason DeMarco):
During last Saturday’s Toonami Pre-Flight show, Adult Swim’s Jason Demarco and Gill Austin confirmed that Corus Entertainment’s rights to Adult Swim programming include the block’s original anime co-productions. Upcoming projects such as Sola Digital Arts’ Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Production I.G.’s adaptation of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki manga series would be easily obtainable for the Canadian channel.

During the response, both DeMarco and Gill encouraged fans to tell Corus that they want Toonami on the channel – adding that the company has access to all of the branding produced for the U.S. block.
Unfortunately despite its geographical size less people live in Canada (40,126,723) than the UK (69,454,181 + 5,295,488 from Ireland), and Corus' monopoly has not helped anime other than Pokémon and Beyblade type shows to air for a long time. Its very telling that Canada is the one major English-speaking territory where Dragon Ball Super didn't air. So the UK might be a better contender.

You might have a point about anime being added to Adult Swim in the UK being a better start since its been an established block on various channels (mainly E4) for years and we haven't had Toonami since the channel shut down. The Toonami brand name might help because of its association with Dragon Ball, although Channel 5 bought it from Turner back in 2007, so Adult Swim may need to buy it back, which could cost more. I'll ask my source has he looked into this yet.

He suggested possibly pitching package deals because Ocean dubbed Inuyasha and Gundam. I also recommended Dragon Quest: Adventure of Dai, because to my knowledge the only release it has had in the UK was a censored cut on BBC iPlayer, is a TOEI property, and again has an Ocean dub.

I'll take note of Housing Complex C, Ninja Kamui and Uzumaki too.

Fingers crossed this Adult Swim representative will email him back this week. It would be nice to see some sort of throwback block in the UK for the people who used to watch CNX/Toonami even as just a novelty thing. Even if it's short-lived like AnimeCentral back in 2007-2008 the Ocean dub of Kai seeing the light of day and being recorded would make it worthwhile.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by MasenkoHA » Mon Apr 07, 2025 10:35 am

I know Adult Swim rarely ever aired actual adult content to begin with but something about airing an edited for North American kids television version of Dragon Ball Kai is funny to me

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by JulieYBM » Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:09 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 10:35 am I know Adult Swim rarely ever aired actual adult content to begin with but something about airing an edited for North American kids television version of Dragon Ball Kai is funny to me
DeMarco keeps producing all of these really boring 'adult' anime, you'd think he'd try to produce an 'adult' Dragon Ball at this point, too lol
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Jord » Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pm

For the next big DB project, they should recast Goku. It's sometimes painful to hear Nozawa perform, especially when she's recreating scenes from the original anime in video games and such. She can still do the deeper Goku (like SSJ4) reasonably, but especially young Goku and Goten sound pretty bad nowadays.
Daima would have been the ideal moment to recast the main characters, including Goku. (And to be honest, a lot of the cast that voice the younger versions sound spot on).

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Vegeta th3 4th » Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:22 pm

Jord wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pmFor the next big DB project, they should recast Goku.
The entire cast should've either been replaced with Kai back in 2009, or Super in 2015.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Jord » Tue Apr 08, 2025 3:40 am

Vegeta th3 4th wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:22 pm
Jord wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pmFor the next big DB project, they should recast Goku.
The entire cast should've either been replaced with Kai back in 2009, or Super in 2015.
I think I can agree with that as well. Kai sounded noticeably worse and since then more cracks started showing. I get the respect voice actors have in Japan but knowing when to step down is also a virtue.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Yuji » Tue Apr 08, 2025 3:51 am

Jord wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pm For the next big DB project, they should recast Goku. It's sometimes painful to hear Nozawa perform, especially when she's recreating scenes from the original anime in video games and such. She can still do the deeper Goku (like SSJ4) reasonably, but especially young Goku and Goten sound pretty bad nowadays.
Daima would have been the ideal moment to recast the main characters, including Goku. (And to be honest, a lot of the cast that voice the younger versions sound spot on).
I'm guessing that's what Daima was, a trial run for new VAs. Goku probably didn’t get a new one since they know the significance of Nozawa and likely haven't found a suitable replacement.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Tue Apr 08, 2025 4:18 am

Jord wrote: Tue Apr 08, 2025 3:40 amI get the respect voice actors have in Japan but knowing when to step down is also a virtue.
Not only that, but as I recall Masako Nozawa has said on a few occasions she never wants to stop playing Goku. Luckily she seems to be very healthy for an 88-year old, but I hope that she won't keep doing it when it's a detriment to her health even if she's just continuing to play the role for the fans.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Xeogran » Tue Apr 08, 2025 6:03 am

Vegeta th3 4th wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:22 pm
Jord wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pmFor the next big DB project, they should recast Goku.
The entire cast should've either been replaced with Kai back in 2009, or Super in 2015.
Some VAs like Frieza, Trunks and Piccolo still sound as good as ever, so I wouldn't want that.
There's also so many DB characters they would have to pull a magical hat trick to even have that many replacements all at once :P

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Jord » Tue Apr 08, 2025 11:24 am

Xeogran wrote: Tue Apr 08, 2025 6:03 am
Vegeta th3 4th wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:22 pm
Jord wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pmFor the next big DB project, they should recast Goku.
The entire cast should've either been replaced with Kai back in 2009, or Super in 2015.
Some VAs like Frieza, Trunks and Piccolo still sound as good as ever, so I wouldn't want that.
There's also so many DB characters they would have to pull a magical hat trick to even have that many replacements all at once :P
I agree with those.
I would say that Goku and Vegeta's voice actors have both lost quite a few steps and due to them being so heavily featured, it's more noticable.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by PhantomSaiyan » Tue Apr 08, 2025 2:40 pm

Xeogran wrote: Tue Apr 08, 2025 6:03 am
Vegeta th3 4th wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:22 pm
Jord wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 1:53 pmFor the next big DB project, they should recast Goku.
The entire cast should've either been replaced with Kai back in 2009, or Super in 2015.
Some VAs like Frieza, Trunks and Piccolo still sound as good as ever, so I wouldn't want that.
There's also so many DB characters they would have to pull a magical hat trick to even have that many replacements all at once :P
But it would be incredibly weird to just replace a few voice actors and leave others.

Especially if they plan on continuing the franchise for a long time like they said they will. In that case, we will end up with some new voice actors, and some left over that will be progressively replaced as time goes on anyway because they're all mostly really old, so what's even the point?

If they start replacing they should replace all of them and start fresh, especially if they end up doing a remake. Doing a frankenstein mix of both old and new doesn't sound like a good idea at all

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Hellspawn28 » Fri Jun 06, 2025 2:26 pm

I'm feeling pretty burnt out on Dragon Ball. I still have a love for the series, but honestly, I'm okay if we don't see anything new for a while. The return of Dragon Ball after 1997 was inevitable; a massive franchise like DB isn't just going to fade away, especially since other Shonen series have continued to release new content long after their original runs. At this point, I'm fine without any fresh DB material, especially with Toriyama no longer around. I will be fine if Super never returns and there is no new movies.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by Vegeta th3 4th » Thu Jun 12, 2025 12:57 am

Hellspawn28 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 2:26 pmI'm feeling pretty burnt out on Dragon Ball.
I've been re-watching the series in Japanese for the first time using Seed of Might's release, and it's been an amazing experience so far. I've never seen it in Japanese, so between that and SOM's amazing video quality, it feels like watching a completely new show.
Hellspawn28 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 2:26 pmAt this point, I'm fine without any fresh DB material, especially with Toriyama no longer around.
Battle of Gods and Daima have given me everything I wanted from a Dragon Ball continuation, so further content will likely not do anything for me as a fan. I wouldn't mind the occasional anniversary projects, but as far as I'm concerned, Dragon Ball is now complete.
Hellspawn28 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 2:26 pmI will be fine if Super never returns and there is no new movies.
I personally don't like Super, but I think they should try to wrap it up properly. I don't think a 10-12 chapter arc is too much to ask for.

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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by coola » Tue Jul 29, 2025 8:27 am

I think what I'm about to write is less about DB opinion, but unpopular opinion in general. AI used properly can be used in good way, for example, James Rolfe has been out of passion and energy for AVGN for few years now, but fans are making their own custom made AVGN/James videos using AI, and they are often way funnier than actual show. In Dragon Ball case, if thanks to higher ups you get show that clearly look rushed and sloppy or poorly written, sometimes AI could make better job.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by JulieYBM » Tue Jul 29, 2025 9:35 am

coola wrote: Tue Jul 29, 2025 8:27 am I think what I'm about to write is less about DB opinion, but unpopular opinion in general. AI used properly can be used in good way, for example, James Rolfe has been out of passion and energy for AVGN for few years now, but fans are making their own custom made AVGN/James videos using AI, and they are often way funnier than actual show. In Dragon Ball case, if thanks to higher ups you get show that clearly look rushed and sloppy or poorly written, sometimes AI could make better job.
AVGN fans can do without watching the new episodes if they don't like them.

The Dragon Ball production committee members can just be patient and create a better show.

There is zero reason to use AI.
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Re: Unpopular DB opinions

Post by MasenkoHA » Tue Jul 29, 2025 10:53 am

coola wrote: Tue Jul 29, 2025 8:27 am I think what I'm about to write is less about DB opinion, but unpopular opinion in general. AI used properly can be used in good way, for example, James Rolfe has been out of passion and energy for AVGN for few years now, but fans are making their own custom made AVGN/James videos using AI, and they are often way funnier than actual show. In Dragon Ball case, if thanks to higher ups you get show that clearly look rushed and sloppy or poorly written, sometimes AI could make better job.
They also look and sound like shit. Like honestly it’s kind of creepy as fuck to be making AI videos of an actual person to live out their weird reviewer fanfiction.

Yes AI has its uses. But it sure as hell isn’t “I made an AI of this guy reviewing Super Mario Bros Galaxy because I have a creepy co-dependent relationship with an Internet reviewer” “Using AI to animate and voice the nee Dragon Ball show”

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