Naruto or Bleach, which resembles Dragon Ball more?

shinaobi · Post by **shinaobi** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:52 am

Honestly I'd say that Bleach is coming out most similar(at least what I can get at of the anime; I'm horrid poor right now) fightwise to DBZ, primarily because of the fact that Ichigo and his opponents apparently figured out how to fly while we weren't looking(take a look at.....all of the fights involving Ichigo after the initial Grimmjow using Ichigo as a punching bag fiasco, and even some of that; Grimmjow does some stuff that you can't do without being able to fly.) and that they've gained the annoying habit of getting smashed through buildings and towers at high speed for little reasons other than that people apparently build those things in the middle of barren wastelands. Story-wise, I'd say Bleach is rather standalone, with some similarities in premise(afterlife and such) and development(powers can be attributed to third-party interference, but end up growing way faster than expected) to YYH, though Bleach is IMO, easier to follow, since the big douchebag responsible for everything makes his presence known during its first(second?) arc and is mentioned and appears often enough to make it clear that he still is the big douchebag.

One Piece I'm really just kind of scared of; I managed to get in a couple snippets of the Funi dub after the 4Kids dub got cancelled(stopped during the "So THAT'S why Nami's been so obsessed with bling; I thought she was just a klepto" arc) and, after immediately noticing the new-and-somehow-less-awesome Sanji voice(I'm sorry, but I liked that stupid accent), spent about 5 episodes trying to contemplate exactly what they were doing and why they were in Skypea, and, while the stuff was still enjoyable, my inability to follow it scared me away from it(it didn't help that Cartoon Network cancelled everything else to re-air the same three movies).

Naruto, while similar in BASIC premise to DB(not DBZ) in beginning(I'ma be da best) I'd say it cares about its side characters a fair bit more, and allows them to at least reach milestones at roughly the same rates as the main character. It's mains are also fairly different in most aspects; while both are generally mostly upbeat for no discernible reason, Naruto does a good job of developing along the lines of someone who is confronted by a friend but never really comes to believe the relationship fell apart. He also does experience some of the hardships that come from losing a major friend and mentor. Goku in comparison, remains relatively static, and, outside of some changes that naturally come with becoming an adult, doesn't develop much as a character. As a series, I'd also say Naruto is a bit more continuous in plot in that each arc(outside of Zabuza) bleeds into the next, whereas DBZ is more stop-and-go, with DB generally having at least an end goal in mind during each arc.

KKZ · Post by **KKZ** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:01 am

B wrote:I concede the art improves later on, in both the manga and anime, but one of the best part of the series?

I don't even notice much of a change in the manga art from what I've seen, although Viz has kept us baka gaijins from reading 30+ volumes. The art progression in the anime series is obvious however.

B wrote:CLAMP

CLAMP is the purveyor of some of the most overrated lameass anime series ever witnessed (No offense to any CLAMP fans here, but plenty of people have mercilessly dogged shit I like). I still want to see X though, it actually looks pretty sweet from some AMVs I've seen.

Mewzard · Post by **Mewzard** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:16 am

I think we're all missing the bigger manga like DB...

>_> Parodies aside, of the two, Naruto does seem the most similar, though, some of the villains are coming out to be more sympathetic than DB villains. Still, you can see DBZ's influences in both, though, other anime shine through as well. I see a bit of Hokuto no Ken in DB when I look back to Tao Pai Pai's killing via tongue, comparable to killing with finger in ridiculousness.

NeptuneKai · Post by **NeptuneKai** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:45 am

B wrote:It's just an image macro. I'm sure he didn't make it.

It obviously means he's racist and posted this right before his KKK meeting. *headesks*

B · Post by B » Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:44 am

Was that an actual chapter page in Bo^7, or part of the straight-up DBZ parody.

I haven't seen any of either.

Deep Thought · Post by **Deep Thought** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:43 am

There was one manga that ripped scene from Dragon Ball like no tomorrow, and it wasn't a parody. It eventually got pulled be cause it was such a rip-off, I will try and find images of it.

Shiyonasan · Post by **Shiyonasan** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:57 pm

Mewzard wrote:I think we're all missing the bigger manga like DB...

<snip>

>_> Parodies aside, of the two, Naruto does seem the most similar, though, some of the villains are coming out to be more sympathetic than DB villains. Still, you can see DBZ's influences in both, though, other anime shine through as well. I see a bit of Hokuto no Ken in DB when I look back to Tao Pai Pai's killing via tongue, comparable to killing with finger in ridiculousness.

Man, I forgot about that series. I think that can be excused though, since it was just a parody. Hokuto no Ken is kind of like Dragon Ball, but it's more in line with the animated Street Fighter movies, except way more bloody.