Naruto or Bleach, which resembles Dragon Ball more?

[Shiyonasan]

That won't be happening with it being on at midnight during a filler arc. D:

True. Like I said, give it time and maybe it will that popular, or maybe not.

[Chuquita]

That won't be happening with it being on at midnight during a filler arc. D:

True. Like I said, give it time and maybe it will that popular, or maybe not.

But I thought Bleach is popular right now?

It's on practically every cover of Viz's Shounen Jump that Naruto isn't on. And look how much closer Viz's Bleach has caught up to its counterpart in Japan compared with poor One Piece which is still trapped in "once every four months" land?


I mean, seriously; I'd pay a couple bucks more for One Piece if it meant a release schedule as fast-paced as Naruto's.


Instead I'm stuck reading OP scans because I refuse to wait seven or eight years for Viz's OP to catch up to the releases in Japan.

[ImmortalSandwich]

That won't be happening with it being on at midnight during a filler arc. D:

True. Like I said, give it time and maybe it will that popular, or maybe not.

It's pretty popular, really. I see people running around with Bleach t-shirts and keychains all the time. Though I doubt it will ever get as big as the Dragon Ball franchise, I think it's getting just as big of a fanbase as Naruto does, and around here, Naruto is like the new hot shit, even though it's been around for years.

[Super Sonic]

That won't be happening with it being on at midnight during a filler arc. D:

True. Like I said, give it time and maybe it will that popular, or maybe not.

But I thought Bleach is popular right now?

It's on practically every cover of Viz's Shounen Jump that Naruto isn't on. And look how much closer Viz's Bleach has caught up to its counterpart in Japan compared with poor One Piece which is still trapped in "once every four months" land?

Remember that Bleach was originally done in GN form only in the States, even before the anime started in Japan. That's why some folk say they moved it to the magazine so they wouldn't catch up so fast.

[Chuquita]

True. Like I said, give it time and maybe it will that popular, or maybe not.

But I thought Bleach is popular right now?

It's on practically every cover of Viz's Shounen Jump that Naruto isn't on. And look how much closer Viz's Bleach has caught up to its counterpart in Japan compared with poor One Piece which is still trapped in "once every four months" land?

Remember that Bleach was originally done in GN form only in the States, even before the anime started in Japan. That's why some folk say they moved it to the magazine so they wouldn't catch up so fast.

I knew it didn't originally start out in Viz's Shounen Jump (used to buy the magazine) but I didn't know it started there before the anime.


I wish they'd take One Piece out of the magazine and let it catch up at least a little more. Viz's One Piece is more than 30 volumes behind Japan whereas Naruto's practically caught up (or will be come this spring).


I'm sorry but as an OP fan, that 3-volumes-a-month thing that Naruto's got going on this spring felt like Viz punishing me for preferring adventurous pirates to angsty tween ninjas. TT_TT


Viz, take One Piece out of your Shounen Jump, PLEASE!

[Kaboom]

One Piece is nothing but a retard cabin boy running around with Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer’s little cousin on a boat. The character designs are more un-realistic than Toriyama’s (no insult to Toriyama) and the only appealing character is Zoro/Zolo. It is what a hallucination that a clown trippin on acid would have.

I feel I can't let this slide...

One Piece does a great job of capturing the same fantasy adventure feel that early DragonBall had, before it got all hardcore. The energetic, cartoony visual style is very loose and wild for a reason; it makes it fun and interesting to read, and unlike what Naruto and Bleach's 'art' styles have degraded into, helps make each and every character and setting actually appear unique.

Story-wise, a gigantic, complex, and intriguing geographical and political world has been set up, wherein EVERY character with a name has some sort of story, background, and distinct personality. Even better, those characters don't just fade into obscurity. The series' VERY first, seemingly-minor antagonist, for example, has come back and is currently playing a big role.

Far too many people are too quick to take one glance at the art style or something and blow it off, but doing so is a huge waste. 530+ chapters and STILL going strong has to speak something for it. I'd even say it's already a better manga than DragonBall. It's certainly putting Naruto and Bleach to shame lately.

[KinoFourpaws]

Kakarrot = Yusuke Urameshi

Piccolo Daimaô/Piccolo = Yoko Kurama/Kurama

I don't recall Goku and Piccolo being punk kids who ditch school and get into fights often, with Piccolo falling for "Vegeta's" "sister." Nor do I recall Goku having no respect for anyone.

I think you have Kurama mixed up with Kuwabara. Kurama's the red-haired fox dude who specializes in plants. Kuwabara's got the goofy pompadour.

Anyways. The number of Naruto manga books I can probably count on three hands, and Bleach less so. If I were to take a pick, though, I would say Naruto resembles Dragonball more (and most of my reasons have been put to type by quite a few other people, so I'd probably just be wasting space by repeating them)... though, I can't really say that really benefits the series. I stopped paying attention shortly before the fight between Sasuke and Gaara in the Chuunin exams; the previous fight between Naruto and Neji just got way too preachy and was stuffed with more bitter backstory than I think should have been. (You could have paced the revelation of Neji's story at least a LITTLE better than that, Kishimoto.) Most of the rest of the stuff I've seen has come from snatches of anime episodes on Cartoon Network and YouTube and other fans sharing (and sometimes squealing about) spoilers.

... That's not to say that I hate the series, just that I don't really have an active interest in following it anymore. >_> There are some things about it that I still like (i.e. Kakashi and Rock Lee :3 ). And while I think I've got a ways to go with Bleach before I get tired of it (mostly 'cos I can't really read more of the manga without going online for it, which I'm not that keen on doing), there are things I like about that manga so far, too (*coughChadcough*). But I digress.

Also, to Saiyan-Professor: What Kaboom said about One Piece. Seriously, the description you gave of the series on the first page makes it sound like you took one look at the 4Kids dub and that was it. If you'd follow the manga with anything more than a passing interest, you'd see that there's a WHOLE lot more to it than you currently assume there is. Work your way up to and past Nami's backstory (that should give you a decent real look at the series, even if the first few arcs ARE a little slower than the later ones in comparison) and then tell me that it's still about just a "retard cabin-boy running around" or that it's an acid-induced hallucination. Sure, it's goofy, but it's not always so, and while I have to admit that even I was turned off by the art style for a while at first, after reading it for a bit I found it was much more fun than I thought it would be in spite of the artwork (though, hey, that's grown on me too). So, seriously, give it more of a fair shot before you dismiss it as something catering to below your level of intelligence. This really is a case where you can't judge the book by its cover(s).

Sorry about going so off-topic here. I think I'm done now.

[Jerseymilk]

That won't be happening with it being on at midnight during a filler arc. D:

True. Like I said, give it time and maybe it will that popular, or maybe not.

It's pretty popular, really. I see people running around with Bleach t-shirts and keychains all the time. Though I doubt it will ever get as big as the Dragon Ball franchise, I think it's getting just as big of a fanbase as Naruto does, and around here, Naruto is like the new hot shit, even though it's been around for years.

I would say Bleach is pretty equal to Naruto in terms of how much I see it cosplayed at cons. Really, if you want to know what's going to be tremendously popular, watch what the cosplay community is doing. When it comes to cons and cosplay, Death Note often outstrips both of them. Not to mention Kingdom Hearts, even though that's not anime. And you ain't seen nothing until you've seen annoying KH or DN fans. They make Narutards and Bleachtards look almost normal. XD

D. Grayman is another series that is up and coming and I've been predicting will be overtaking the other 2. Soon people will be complaining about all the black and white leather outfits they keep seeing over and over again. XP Soul Eater is another possible candidate. Anyway, I'm also getting off-topic hear.....

I think all of them have elements similar to DB, because DB helped shape the genre, but also because that is standard shonen fare. There will always be parallels amongst these series because they're aiming for the same audiences and contain certain key elements. So in the end, I think it's ridiculous to compare and criticize all these shows and act like rabid sports fans gunning for their favourite team. Don't get me wrong, I think the "comparing" part is interesting, it's the critique and competitive angle that I don't like and that I'm seeing throughout this thread. It's just tiring and sad that it always degenerates into that.

[Saiyan-Professor]

...Also, to Saiyan-Professor: What Kaboom said about One Piece. Seriously, the description you gave of the series on the first page makes it sound like you took one look at the 4Kids dub and that was it. If you'd follow the manga with anything more than a passing interest, you'd see that there's a WHOLE lot more to it than you currently assume there is. Work your way up to and past Nami's backstory (that should give you a decent real look at the series, even if the first few arcs ARE a little slower than the later ones in comparison) and then tell me that it's still about just a "retard cabin-boy running around" or that it's an acid-induced hallucination. Sure, it's goofy, but it's not always so, and while I have to admit that even I was turned off by the art style for a while at first, after reading it for a bit I found it was much more fun than I thought it would be in spite of the artwork (though, hey, that's grown on me too). So, seriously, give it more of a fair shot before you dismiss it as something catering to below your level of intelligence. This really is a case where you can't judge the book by its cover(s)...

Initially I became acquainted with One Piece through 4Kids Entertainment where I watched it up until the Baroque Works Saga. Then I found the fan-subs online and I watched it all over until the CP9 Saga. I also read the manga all the way until the Little Garden arc. The more I watched and read the more I felt like I was loosing IQ points. I really wanted to see what all the hype was about, yet the final straw was when Franky appeared running around in women’s panties or speedos. It was bad enough when Toriyama had the Saiyans running around in what the immortal Red Foxx/Fred Sanford would say, “drawls”. That was when I switched to Naruto because my best friends’ little nieces and nephews continued to recommend the show and manga. I found that the artwork was far superior (I studied art years ago) and the storyline was more mature and dealt with the strong emotions that many teenagers and some adults deal with daily (I studied counseling and psychology for a while in college). The only thing I enjoyed about One Piece was Afro Luffy and that was because the creator somewhat complemented some aspects of my culture without making a ridiculous caricature (e.g. Mr. Popo), which in turn my respect for Kishimoto increased when he created Kirābī the Eight-Tailed Jinchūriki in Naruto.

[Anonymous Friend]

Here's my familiarity with each of the five main series in this topic:

Dragon Ball - All three series minus two Dragon Ball episodes during the 2nd Tourney and all but the first Dragon Ball movie. Everything but the first seven DBZ seasons and first GT season have been dub only.

Yu-yu Hakusho - The entire series and two of the movies. The first season with subs.

One Piece - Most of the 4kids version up to when FUNi switched in, then till the beginning of Skypea.

Naruto - The dub up till Sasuke leaving and Rock Lee's recovery. Then the Manga of the second series up to Pain's attack on the village.

Bleach - The dub of the first 52 episodes, then a subtitled version up to episode 70.

That was just to let everyone know where I'm coming from.

Dragonball, Yu-yu Hakusho, Bleach and Naruto all have battles that are filled with distructive energy thrown around and explosions and whatnot.

Story and plot-wise, Bleach and Yu-yu Hakusho seem very similar and I get a huge Yu-yu Hakusho vibe when first veiwing Bleach. Both deal with the spirit world and the behinds the scenes of it all. You have Spirit Detectives who take care of demon activities and other wierd things. You also have Soul Reapers, Death Gods, who hunt down Hollows and investigate any strange non-human activity. They both have a long story arc that gets followed by three of four episodes where the heroes are attacked by beings who are strong and mysterious. But in the end, the turn out to be following orders from a mentor of the main character to prepare them for the upcming threat.

Dragon Ball and One Piece share in the globetrotting adventureous spirit. They both have a main character with a big heart, even bigger stomach, and a "I can do anything" attitude. And a nice colorful cast of characters.

Naruto and Dragon Ball, as pointed out by someone else in the other topic, share a lot of situations and relationships. (I'm gonna try to find that post an stick it here)

The main difference that I find between Dragonball Z and the rest of the list is that while you can have a very powerful person dominate, Z turns the tables by making someone even more stronger and not by any type of strategy or "finding a way". There are time when the other just have someone suddenly gain a power boost just as all hope is lost, but it just doesn't seem as often.

As for the main character connections, Ichigo and Yusuke both come across with a bit of an attitude. But Yusuke is more of a punk, while Ichigo's has a lot more redeeming qualities. Goku and Luffy have a Happy Go Lucky demenor and are very friendly, and cold easily switch worlds and the same events would most likely unfold. Goku and Naruto make a habit of making friends out of former enemies.

And Hiei and Vegeta do share A Lot of plot and character similarities. But the main things that separates them is the Hiei is smarter and can see past his nose. He will put his own personal agenda on hold to look at the larger picture and see and do what he needs to make sure that he's still around to make his goal come true.

That's it for right now. I get a chance, and the topic is still going, I'll add more.

[Saiyan-Professor]

My feelings on the matter are summed up in this image.

[Shiyonasan]

My feelings on the matter are summed up in this image.

<snip>

I just found that picture on deviantART yesterday. I thought it was pretty funny.

It does show that Kakashi as well as Kame-Sen'nin had some tough training for their students. I presume that means you think Naruto is more similar.

[Saiyan-Professor]

My feelings on the matter are summed up in this image.

<snip>

I just found that picture on deviantART yesterday. I thought it was pretty funny.

It does show that Kakashi as well as Kame-Sen'nin had some tough training for their students. I presume that means you think Naruto is more similar.

I will have to qualify that by saying that I think Naruto is more similar to Z then Dragonball. A couple of the previous posts said that One Piece resembled the original Dragonball and I would agree for Dragonball is my least favorite part of the series thus I dislike One Piece. I know the above image is of the original Dragonball but that was just my way of saying that I feel that Naruto has the most similarities and is the rightful heir to the Dragonball throne.

[Shiyonasan]

I will have to qualify that by saying that I think Naruto is more similar to Z then Dragonball. A couple of the previous posts said that One Piece resembled the original Dragonball and I would agree for Dragonball is my least favorite part of the series thus I dislike One Piece.

I do agree Naruto is a lot like Dragon Ball Z, but I think Bleach has a little more action than Naruto does. Naruto's fights go by pretty slow. Well, actually, to tell the truth, I haven't seen Shippuden yet, because I'm following the dub on Cartoon Network (I don't like Naruto enough to rewatch the whole 220 episodes in sub-form). So, I don't know how Shippuden is with it's action yet.

You do bring up a good point though that comparing something to Dragon Ball and comparing something to Dragon Ball Z are two different disputes.

I find it sad that you don't like One Piece. I've only seen 11 episodes of the sub and I have to say, it is pretty good. But you're entitled to like whatever you want. Like I said in another topic, not everybody is going to like everything.

[Saiyan-Professor]

I will have to qualify that by saying that I think Naruto is more similar to Z then Dragonball. A couple of the previous posts said that One Piece resembled the original Dragonball and I would agree for Dragonball is my least favorite part of the series thus I dislike One Piece.

I do agree Naruto is a lot like Dragon Ball Z, but I think Bleach has a little more action than Naruto does. Naruto's fights go by pretty slow. Well, actually, to tell the truth, I haven't seen Shippuden yet, because I'm following the dub on Cartoon Network (I don't like Naruto enough to rewatch the whole 220 episodes in sub-form). So, I don't know how Shippuden is with it's action yet.

You do bring up a good point though that comparing something to Dragon Ball and comparing something to Dragon Ball Z are two different disputes.

I find it sad that you don't like One Piece. I've only seen 11 episodes of the sub and I have to say, it is pretty good. But you're entitled to like whatever you want. Like I said in another topic, not everybody is going to like everything.

I have kept up with Shippuden ever since the fan-subs began and I went back and saw all the Naruto episodes and just like the manga, it is slow in areas but builds up to some exciting stuff. Last, I heard was that they were getting ready to release Shippuden in the English dub.

I really attempted to watch One Piece but it reminded me of everything I dislike about Dragonball i.e. a clown as the star of the show. I can deal Kakarrot in Dragonball because I am used to it but to go through another extremely long series with a pitiful rip-off is too much to handle.

[Chuquita]

I counter your fanart with figures:


My opinion is that Naruto rips off stuff that I liked in Dragon Ball and somehow turns it into something that absolutely bores me to tears.
I honestly couldn't give two shakes about who's the son of who and what family that guy belongs to and fancy eyeball powers and villages who think its alright to stick monster demons into infants.

No matter how deep you make your story, if I find the characters unlikeable or irritating, I'm not gonna watch it.
I'll be honest and say it; I don't like a good majority of the characters in Naruto. I tried it four times, I still don't like them.

Kuririn was never that angsty and cold. Goku was never that loud, obnoxious, and perverted.

My opinion on One Piece is that it takes the "let's go on an adventure" stuff from DB and expounds on it to crazy levels. Also, where Mr. Toriyama forgets (like Launch), Mr. Oda not only remembers, he'll bring characters back hundreds of chapters later! (Check out Caimie who appears on chapter covers during the Alabasta arc and doesn't appear in the story itself til around 350 chapters or so later. Also Buggy and the B.W. members in the latest chapters).

I think it shows just how all-encompassing Dragon Ball is compared to some of today's shounens. There's a lot of variety in it.


When it comes to other shounens, everyone on this board has their own favorites and all have drastically different opinions; but we all like DB. :3

[Saiyan-Professor]

I counter your fanart with figures:
...When it comes to other shounens, everyone on this board has their own favorites and all have drastically different opinions; but we all like DB. :3

Kakarrot looks like the missing member of the Village People and Luffy looks like a chick in that dogi.

But I agree at the end of the day we all like Dragonball.

[Big Momma]

My feelings on the matter are summed up in this image.

I'm sorry, but this is what I'm seeing

Goku = Naruto
Krillin = Sasuke
Kame'sennin = Kakashi.


Goku and Naruto are different in my eyes. Of course, they have they're similarities, but not enough for this to make sense. I'm not really going to go into detail in this one, because it's not that big of a deal to me.

Krillin and Sasuke, now that is what irks me. They are COMPLETELY different. Sure, Krillin started out being a douchebag, but he never had the "Gah, I hate my life, so I'm give you a hard time" attitude that Sasuke had. If anything, Sasuke is more of a Vegeta, but not much.

And about Kame'sennin, he's more of a Jiraiya than a Kakashi, IMO.


------------------------

All in all, I don't know enough about Bleach to really partake, but from what I've seen, Naruto is more similiar...however, I don't see many similarities in Naruto, either.(And I'm up to date with the weekly chapters.)

[B]

You guys are reading too much into the picture. It's a simple "these two shows have similar characters and premises" piece of fanart. Kuririn is only Sasuke because, like Sasuke, Kuririn was the classmate of the protagonist. The Kakashi/Roshi thing is the same way, both being mentors.

The energetic, cartoony visual style is very loose and wild for a reason; it makes it fun and interesting to read, and unlike what Naruto and Bleach's 'art' styles have degraded into, helps make each and every character and setting actually appear unique.

How do you not find Bleach to be unique in it's art style? :/

[Big Momma]

You guys are reading too much into the picture. It's a simple "these two shows have similar characters and premises" piece of fanart. Kuririn is only Sasuke because, like Sasuke, Kuririn was the classmate of the protagonist. The Kakashi/Roshi thing is the same way, both being mentors.

The energetic, cartoony visual style is very loose and wild for a reason; it makes it fun and interesting to read, and unlike what Naruto and Bleach's 'art' styles have degraded into, helps make each and every character and setting actually appear unique.

How do you not find Bleach to be unique in it's art style? :/

I was just saying that because it looked like, when the pic was first shown here, it was being used to help their point.

I think Bleach is a very good art style, personally. Naruto, however, has gone down the crapper-trapper since Time-Skip. True, somethings are better, but overall, it sucks to me. It feels like it's done what Toriyama did when he moved past the first part of Dragonball and drew straighter lines.

Kishimoto's art nowadays doesn't feel as "free" as it used to. The way he draws his characters makes them look really "stiff" to me. When back in, say, the Sannin-fight when Naruto learned the rasengan, the art was a little curvier and the shapes were more free.