Don't you just hate it when people think DB is for kids...

B · Post by B » Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:07 am

Rugrats was a kids show that I didn't realize until much later had a ton of crap that would go over a kid's head.

Until they dumbed it down after the second movie and it was eventually cancelled.

TheGreatness25 · Post by **TheGreatness25** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:54 am

Look. Dragon Ball Z IS for kids. Why would it be for adults? Because it has violence? Because it has semi-adult humor? I'd actually call that teenage humor, but whatever.

Just because you like the show as an adult, does not mean it's not for kids. Think about it. When did any of you become a fan of DBZ? I am willing to be that even if there is someone out there that got hooked on DBZ AFTER the age of 13, it will be a very, very small bunch.And yet, that doesn't mean that it wasn't meant for kids still. You have to look at when you got hooked on it. I believe that every single anime, unless it has straight up sex, is made for kids. That's what Japan has as Saturday Morning Cartoons. Cowoby Bebop was also for kids and I'd say that it is 10 times more violent (realistic violence is worse), has more cursing, and is 10 times deeper than DBZ. And yet, I'm still running with that it was meant for kids back in Japan, whereas here it's rated "TV-14". A 14 year old is still a kid though guys.

I meah let me tell you why DBZ is qualified as a kid's show.

1) Unrealistic/unbelievable violence. You may say that in Dragon Ball they had the tournaments where there was realistic violence in the beginning. Well that was very minimal and still, most of it was against unrealistic creatures. In the United States, a rule of a children show is that you can have extreme violence as long as it is not to another realistic person. That means if there's a robot or something, they cna go absolutely nuts and rip that thing apart, but not another person. Another rule is no use of realistic fire power. Lasers are perfectly accepted.

2) The main character starts off as child. Well 12 year old, still looks like a child. I can't see an adult cartoon having the lead character as a child. That is some Disney Channel stuff right there.

3) Mystical quests and adventures are not usually justified as adult programming.

4) Words such as "damn, hell, and bastard", which are pretty much the extent of the "cursing" found in the original version, are not only not considered curses (Home Improvement, Boy Meets World, Family Matters, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, etc. used "damn" and "hell" from time to time...hardly adult programming).

6) This doesn't determine whether a show is a kid's show or an adult show, but someone mentioned something about a deeper meaning. There is no deeper meaning. There is nothing more than "what you see is what you get". Especially if the creator himself didn't take it seriously.

7) The toilet humor and sexual humor is not enough to make it an adult show. Because it's acceptable for kids over there. And in order to adapt it to US kids, they just cut out those parts. And STILL, after...hmm...I'd say the episode where Krillin pulls Bulma's shirt down during the Fortuneteller Baba Saga (FUNimation standards here lol), there was no more over-the-top adult humor. Now certainly before then, it wasn't geared to adults, but after then, there were no more "adult" sexual things.

Just because you like the show as an adult means nothing. Just because it had a boob flash, uses minor cursing, and has fighting doesn't mean anything at all in regards to it being an adult show. Worst case scenario, is like here in the US, the Uncut version is rated "13 + Up", which I didn't know was a real rating, but lets call it TV-14. But that's here in the US, the most sheltered country. And all they have to do is not have the Japanese version where they use minor foul language and it'll be rated TV-Y7. On Toonami, they played DBZ practically uncut, with the blood and the whole nine yards, and it was TV-Y7. So clearly it was meant for kids. HOWEVER, even if it was rated "13 + Up" or "TV-14", 14 year olds are still kids.

hotrod28 · Post by **hotrod28** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:41 am

you just said a whole lot... to not really say anything. It's been established that DBZ was published in shonen jump, meant for ages 10-18 in Japan.

And if you're going to bring up culture, at least get the facts straight and stop throwing your opinion everywhere. When you turn 13 in America, you are considered a teenager. We have subcultures who have official establishments used to mark the age of 13 as a man. You may think 14 years old is still a "kid", but that is just an opinion of yours that is off-base. I could find you 5 immature adults for every immature 14 year old you see.

B · Post by B » Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:18 pm

Maturity has nothing to do with it. I've been what most people would call "mature" since I was six. Dragon Ball is for immature kids and mature kids. KIDS.

rereboy · Post by **rereboy** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:59 pm

Why does this even matter?

If you like it, you like it. End of story.

No one should have to explain or justify their tastes (as long as those tastes concern only that person, at least).

Krakabeast · Post by **Krakabeast** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:42 pm

rereboy wrote:Why does this even matter?

If you like it, you like it. End of story.

No one should have to explain or justify their tastes (as long as those tastes concern only that person, at least).

I like this guy.

Bussani · Post by **Bussani** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:15 pm

Krakabeast wrote:
rereboy wrote:Why does this even matter?

If you like it, you like it. End of story.

No one should have to explain or justify their tastes (as long as those tastes concern only that person, at least).
I like this guy.

Me too. Because he's saying exactly what everyone else has said since page 1.

I think teenagers who are like, "I'm not a kid anymore, I'm a teenager!" are cute. They're still kids to me.

Satan-Sama · Post by **Satan-Sama** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:38 pm

hotrod28 wrote:you just said a whole lot... to not really say anything. It's been established that DBZ was published in shonen jump, meant for ages 10-18 in Japan.

And if you're going to bring up culture, at least get the facts straight and stop throwing your opinion everywhere. When you turn 13 in America, you are considered a teenager. We have subcultures who have official establishments used to mark the age of 13 as a man. You may think 14 years old is still a "kid", but that is just an opinion of yours that is off-base. I could find you 5 immature adults for every immature 14 year old you see.

Except when you're 14 you are a kid... It's not an opinion, it's a fact. When you are 14 you are in the middle of going through puberty. you are not permitted to operate a motor vehicle, obtain a job, own property, permitted to drink or smoke, not permitted to gamble, etc.

14 year old:

Grown man:

Notice the difference?

When a show is being targeted for adults, it isn't gonna be for 14 year olds. No, it's gonna be for 18 and up and Dragonball is a show for kids, accept it.

ShinRogafuken · Post by **ShinRogafuken** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 8:38 am

Satan-Sama wrote:
hotrod28 wrote:you just said a whole lot... to not really say anything. It's been established that DBZ was published in shonen jump, meant for ages 10-18 in Japan.

And if you're going to bring up culture, at least get the facts straight and stop throwing your opinion everywhere. When you turn 13 in America, you are considered a teenager. We have subcultures who have official establishments used to mark the age of 13 as a man. You may think 14 years old is still a "kid", but that is just an opinion of yours that is off-base. I could find you 5 immature adults for every immature 14 year old you see.
Except when you're 14 you are a kid... It's not an opinion, it's a fact. When you are 14 you are in the middle of going through puberty. you are not permitted to operate a motor vehicle, obtain a job, own property, permitted to drink or smoke, not permitted to gamble, etc.

14 year old:

Grown man:

Notice the difference?

When a show is being targeted for adults, it isn't gonna be for 14 year olds. No, it's gonna be for 18 and up and Dragonball is a show for kids, accept it.

I agree with Satan Sama.

I think we already get that Dragonball is for kids. Does it even matter?

Kendamu · Post by **Kendamu** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:27 am

Bussani wrote:
Krakabeast wrote:
rereboy wrote:Why does this even matter?

If you like it, you like it. End of story.

No one should have to explain or justify their tastes (as long as those tastes concern only that person, at least).
I like this guy.
Me too. Because he's saying exactly what everyone else has said since page 1.

I think teenagers who are like, "I'm not a kid anymore, I'm a teenager!" are cute. They're still kids to me.

I wonder how this has gone on for so many pages.

Piccolo Daimao · Post by **Piccolo Daimao** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:29 am

I'd say that Dragon Ball Z is a show for kids in Japan, but a show for teenagers in the UK and US, for the simple reason is that Japanese culture is different from ours. I don't think Japanese mothers of kids really mind their kids watching a show that has blood and gore and stuff like that, whereas in the US, it's more suited for teenagers.

B · Post by B » Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:19 am

Piccolo Daimao wrote:I'd say that Dragon Ball Z is a show for kids in Japan, but a show for teenagers in the UK and US, for the simple reason is that Japanese culture is different from ours.

*HEADBANG*

It's a kids' show EVERYWHERE ON THIS PLANET. America's uptightness means NOTHING.

The old 90's cartoon, Batman: The Animated Series, was dark as hell, had violence, and references to death. It's still a kids' show.

*HEADBANG*

Tsukento · Post by **Tsukento** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:50 pm

The show is targeted towards kids. Japanese kids watch it fine. Just because it's rated for older viewers elsewhere doesn't mean it wasn't made for kids. The ratings are ONLY set up by what guidelines the censors follow.

Hell, there are things that can be done here that can't be done elsewhere.

In Resident Evil 4, Leon could be decapitated and his head can be seen falling off his body in the US. However, the Japanese version has edited this out. In the same game, Ashley has a jiggle effect only in the Japanese version, whereas there is no such thing in the Western versions.

Gears of War is an M-rated game and is filled with blood and gore, including enemies getting hacked in half with chainsaws. The game was never released in Germany due to their strict policies on violent images in media, despite the game being only targeted towards an adult crowd.

That just goes to show that censorship policies don't change the targeted audience, but that certain things are just deemed "unacceptable" by the regions' censors.

As I've mentioned before; Smash Bros. Brawl has an All Ages rating in Japan, meanwhile it has a T rating in the US just because of realistic characters wielding realistic weapons and violence.

caejones · Post by **caejones** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:06 pm

Satan-Sama wrote:
ImmortalSandwich wrote:One time in elementary school, I was standing in line at the water fountain, and the kid in front was drinking for a long time. He lifted his head and said "THIS WATER TASTES HORRIBLE", then put his head back down and kept drinking. I said "If it tastes so bad, why are you sucking it all up then?", and the teacher ran over to me, grabbed me by the arm, and dragged me to the principles office where I got written up for saying "sucking", because that word CAN be used in a sexual way, despite me not using it that way.

Man I hate how retarded this country is with its censorship. It's just plain stupid. They think children are going to turn into criminals if they say a cuss word or see some violence on TV, even though the things they see in their own house are usually 100 times worse.
Pretty much if you deprive your kid of a lot of that stuff all their life, chances are they could grow up to be more fucked up than say a kid watching an occasional Rated R movie or such.

Thing is, I wasn't intentionally "deprived" of messed up junk. But damn, what the hell happened to me?
Nah, actually. I was exposed to plenty of swearing and death and violence all the time. Swearing wasn't something I had to try not to do. Um, until...... when? I'm not sure. 13, probably (I used bad words some before then, but it wasn't a "failure not to" so much as deliberate-ness; somewhere between now and then it became a normal part of vocabulary).
My ... ur... *remembers what day it is* ten year old cousin was never taught about swearing until he was like three and was going around saying asshole and bitch all the time... and now he is annoyed by swearing in general, and is annoyed that uncut DBZ outnumbers cut for that reason alone (Violence? Bah. XD ).

I only last year learned what a vulva is, courtesy wikipedia. I turn 21 today. Though to be fair, I didn't put a lot of effort into paying attention to the one braille diagram of the female reproductive system I had access to for a whole hour (it was taken out of my anatomy book in third grade, and put back in for Sex Ed).
Which has nothing to do with DBZ, but considering that genetils are comically thrown into things in the first two volumes... ^^

Super Ghost Kamikaze · Post by **Super Ghost Kamikaze** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:22 pm

TheGreatness25 wrote:I believe that every single anime, unless it has straight up sex, is made for kids.

I agree with most of your post, but this is actually fairly wrong if I'm correct. The VAST MAJORITY of everything that gets liscensed here is for kids(Shonen or Shojo).

But if I'm not mistaken, there's a "Seinen" category for adults.

Dr. Casey · Post by **Dr. Casey** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:33 pm

Isn't Maison Ikkoku seinen for adults?

caejones · Post by **caejones** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:33 pm

B wrote:
Piccolo Daimao wrote:I'd say that Dragon Ball Z is a show for kids in Japan, but a show for teenagers in the UK and US, for the simple reason is that Japanese culture is different from ours.
*HEADBANG*

It's a kids' show EVERYWHERE ON THIS PLANET. America's uptightness means NOTHING.

The old 90's cartoon, Batman: The Animated Series, was dark as hell, had violence, and references to death. It's still a kids' show.

*HEADBANG*

I was use enough to death in fiction that I bought the "Another Dimention" crap. (Also, the fact that I didn't even know T'en's arm came off until finding Daizex should say a lot. Though I did take a good look at the screen when Yamcha and Jheese died on the TV version, and assumed that since the explosions were similar, Jheese was AnotherDimention'd... my Dad insisted otherwise. XD . I was playing Mortal Kombat at the time I got into DBZ, and making my own blood-filled cartoons (granted, the most violent were based on someone else's ideas, but still...!)).

And just because I feel like venting on "American sensorship" some more...
- 'k, So I'm visually impaired, so would often come in from Recess holding my friend's hand. Until the teachers said to use proper SightedGuide technique, entirely because (and they explained this directly to us) boys holding hands looks gay. Wow, check the reactions to people in Highschool just putting their whole arm over my shoulder...

- In sixth grade, just a few months before Sex Ed (which was titled "Sex Can Wait", but had absolutely nothing at all to do with abstenance), two teachers got their classes into the cafeteria to inform us that "We don't say C-R-A-P, or S-U-C-K-S... we won't spell some of the others...". Need I say how the students reacted upon dismissal? XD

Yeesh, now I'm wanting to go on a huge sex-and-swearing-related rampage citing several not-DB-related instances in my life... but noone wants to read that.

Oooh, but some DB-related ones!
So I walk into this Summerthingy meeting with a DBZ shirt on...
"Dragonball Z sucks!" - Older kid (By Older I mean like 16-18). I ignore him at first, the "meeting" starts, he shows up afterward, I say "Well, that's you're opinion..."
And he goes on about how "the American version sucks", and all the differences in the Japanese (and mentions AF at some point... XD).
He also mentioned Misty/Ash getting it on in Pokemon (this time while talking to my roommate and I. Um, we were fourteen, I think?).
Eventually some other people in the same dorm closer to our age (well, no, one guy, who warned me ahead of time...) started pulling the "lol fags" crap on us (for the record, was not the case; just the usual teenaged bullcrap), and eventually I overhear it getting to the "Japanese DBZ is the hardcore~!" guy (I... did a lot of lurking and eves-dropping that month XD), who was dismissive of the whole notion. (Though he did call us "The Dragonball Z twins" at least once XD).

Oooh, which reminds me of that one time I brought my Otherworld Saga VHS the previous year...

caejones · Post by **caejones** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:37 pm

Super Ghost Kamikaze wrote:
TheGreatness25 wrote:I believe that every single anime, unless it has straight up sex, is made for kids.
I agree with most of your post, but this is actually fairly wrong if I'm correct. The VAST MAJORITY of everything that gets liscensed here is for kids(Shonen or Shojo).

But if I'm not mistaken, there's a "Seinen" category for adults.

I was under the impression that Sainen was for teens (like 14+?), but I'd'no much.

The Tori-bot · Post by **The Tori-bot** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:42 pm

caejones wrote:
Super Ghost Kamikaze wrote:
TheGreatness25 wrote:I believe that every single anime, unless it has straight up sex, is made for kids.
I agree with most of your post, but this is actually fairly wrong if I'm correct. The VAST MAJORITY of everything that gets liscensed here is for kids(Shonen or Shojo).

But if I'm not mistaken, there's a "Seinen" category for adults.
I was under the impression that Sainen was for teens (like 14+?), but I'd'no much.

No, seinen is generally aimed at males aged 18-30.

Super Sayian Prime · Post by **Super Sayian Prime** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:09 pm

Something like Monster, or Black Lagoon would be considered Seinen. Or for easy sakes, a lot of titles in Viz's Signature line.

Kanzenshuu

Don't you just hate it when people think DB is for kids...

Who is online