Episode #0180 (21 June 2009)

[VegettoEX]

Err...how can I put this...?

I didn't care for this episode. At all. Between the Abridged guys patting themselves on the back and the Daizenshuu EX guys acting like drooling fanboys and fangirls, the whole thing had me rolling my eyes. And the thought that the next episode of the podcast will be more of the same? Ugh.

I can't take anything away from your honest opinions! They are yours to keep, hold, and treasure!

To be fair, the interview portion was ~35 minutes of a ~73 minute show. Sure, it's the majority of the content contained there-in, but *I* think there was some great content at the beginning of the show... so... not a total wash...?

If it sounds like we overwhelming like/enjoy something... well... I guess that should/could/mightbe/Idunno/something REFRESHING for SOME portion of the audience who whines that we "don't like ANYTHING" (which is total bunk, but whatever). Hell, it was refreshing TO ME to have a mostly-positive upbeat conversation about a fandom-output-product like that.

(Full disclosure: I'm not really a fan of DBZ Abridged. While I thought it was good at first, I found all the stuff after Vegeta and Nappa landed on Earth to be a chore to sit though).

in my opinion they seem to have kind of lost the balance between comedy and narrative that they had down so perfectly for the first five or six episodes, I find the show enjoyable enough to continue to watch it, but I haven't laughed at a single joke since the Arlia episode (which was a fucking masterpiece).

Also to be fair, we did address in the interview how the parody shifted over time to more of, what I called right in the show, a "legitimate dub" of the series rather than JOKE JOKE JOKE.

But really...is there really nothing else for you guys to fill your podcast time with?

I wouldn't say "better" (which is what you're implying... and, well, perhaps it would be "better" for you, but not necessarily to everyone else). Kinda like I addressed with TFS for their style of parody jokes, there's something FOR EVERYONE in their episodes... just like what we're trying to do. You're probably NOT going to like EVERY SINGLE LAST EPISODE we do, because we're going to talk about different parts of the franchise and its fandom. If you have no interest in cosplay, you probably didn't like our cosplay episode. If you have no interest in music, you probably didn't like our music episodes. If you have no interest in Evolution, you probably didn't like those episodes.

With over 25 years (and growing) of franchise history that continues each and every day, there's a lot to cover! If you're just cherry-picking the ones you DON'T like, then hopefully we're still on track ^_~.

I'm still standing behind my own "drooling" self-approval of:

fans that can speak properly + not TOTAL dickwads + halfway know what they're talking about + decent audio recording + pretty consistent weekly schedule + lots of cool things to talk about = This was a triumph.

(In the end, you know I'm cool with your comments. You sigh and roll your eyes because you love!)

[Kendamu]

But really...is there really nothing else for you guys to fill your podcast time with?

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

[The Tori-bot]

But really...is there really nothing else for you guys to fill your podcast time with?

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

Correction: 178.

[Kendamu]

But really...is there really nothing else for you guys to fill your podcast time with?

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

Correction: 178.

Did we skip one? 180 - 1 = 179. If we did, I'm counting the Secret Wedding Podcast to make up for it.

[JulieYBM]

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

Correction: 178.

Did we skip one? 180 - 1 = 179. If we did, I'm counting the Secret Wedding Podcast to make up for it.

#135, I believe, was the first TFS episode!!

[Kendamu]

Correction: 178.

Did we skip one? 180 - 1 = 179. If we did, I'm counting the Secret Wedding Podcast to make up for it.

#135, I believe, was the first TFS episode!!

Oh, I get it. 178 other non-TFS episodes. I was just talking episodes in general.

[Dogasu]

To be fair, the interview portion was ~35 minutes of a ~73 minute show. Sure, it's the majority of the content contained there-in, but *I* think there was some great content at the beginning of the show... so... not a total wash...?

Nah. The non-Team Four Star stuff was up to you guys' usual standards. No complaints there

If it sounds like we overwhelming like/enjoy something... well... I guess that should/could/mightbe/Idunno/something REFRESHING for SOME portion of the audience who whines that we "don't like ANYTHING" (which is total bunk, but whatever). Hell, it was refreshing TO ME to have a mostly-positive upbeat conversation about a fandom-output-product like that.

Fair enough. At the same time, though, I don't think that any of the people who ignorantly claim that you guys "don't like anything" are going to have their minds changed by this episode. Having someone go "those elitist snobs over at Daizenshuu EX like DBZ Abridged! I guess we were wrong about them after all!" doesn't seem too likely.

And usually, you guys are really good about having someone - usually Meri - play devil's advocate for whatever topic you guys are talking about. But not this time. Nobody brought up anything about the series they didn't like or thought could use improvement, which tells me that you guys either a) think the series is absolutely perfect the way it is, or b) kept your mouths shut because you thought it would have been rude to invite people onto your show and then tell them how to do their "job."

Yes, you brought up the whole "sometimes it feels like I'm watching a straight-up dub" (which is something I, myself have had a major issue with), but it seemed more like a "I dig the show either way" thing than a "could you please add more of the funny?" thing.

(In the end, you know I'm cool with your comments. You sigh and roll your eyes because you love!)

Yeah, I'm not trying to hate on you guys for the sake of hating on you. I just saw something that I thought could use improvement and decided to comment on it.

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

See, I don't really agree with that. Just because someone has been doing good work in the past doesn't mean that they automatically get a free pass for any perceived "duds" that may pop up in the future. And as long as I'm being respectful and constructive in my criticisms, I don't see why I shouldn't express my opinion.

[Innagadadavida]

The problem is that you're not being very constructive with your criticism, Dogasu. So you don't like Dragon Ball Z Abridged anymore, so what? I think it's safe to say that most people still like DBZ Abridged, even though some episodes are better than others. TeamFourStar is a talented bunch, and they're doing this for free. They're making these videos for no other reason than to have fun and contribute to the Dragon Ball fan community. You're in the minority here. You can't deny that most people want to hear about Dragon Ball Z Abridged. It's a necessary topic for discussion and interview.

And as far as the Daizex crew not hounding TeamFourStar over the last few episodes... I just. I can't understand why you think that's a good idea. Interviews are about asking questions and finding out more information. Reviews are more suited for criticism.

[Herms]

And as far as the Daizex crew not hounding TeamFourStar over the last few episodes... I just. I can't understand why you think that's a good idea. Interviews are about asking questions and finding out more information. Reviews are more suited for criticism.

Well, maybe "hounding" them wouldn't be a good idea, but surely it's possible to offer some criticisms of the videos without ruining the mood of the interview? Like Dogasu said, usually during reviews of things Meri or someone will take a "devil's advocate" sort of stance, and I think that's worked pretty well.

[tlsmith1963]

I still love DBZ Abridged. I think it's one of the funniest things out there. I really can't come up with any criticism. It's just a bunch of people doing something for fun. Hey, it's a lot more entertaining than some of those reality shows out there. That's good enough for me.

[Meri]

I'm happy to see that my playing devil's advocate is showing through on the podcast. I always try to look at things with a critical or "what if?" eye (especially considering that we're trying to reach out to a relatively broad audience), and since I don't listen to the final product of our recordings, I have no clue of how it comes off.

[Kendamu]

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

See, I don't really agree with that. Just because someone has been doing good work in the past doesn't mean that they automatically get a free pass for any perceived "duds" that may pop up in the future. And as long as I'm being respectful and constructive in my criticisms, I don't see why I shouldn't express my opinion.

Context! If you stayed within the context of the conversation, you wouldn't have even needed to say that. You said...

But really...is there really nothing else for you guys to fill your podcast time with?

I took it as I saw it. You asked if they have anything better to fill their podcast time with. So, I said...

There's about 179 other episodes you can get good examples of how they fill their time if you wanna take a look.

Meaning, "Yes, actually. They do. If you'd like to see other examples of how they fill the podcast with content, check out some of the other episodes." Being that I'm not some sort of DaizEX Customer Service Representative, I didn't act like one and said it in a more casual light.

You: "Got anything better than this?"
Me: "They have a bunch of episodes. Check 'em out and see for yourself."
You: "Well, just because they did good before doesn't mean that they should get a free pass when they do something I don't like! I can criticize them if I want and you shouldn't be calling me out on it like that."
Me: "Wait, what?"

See where things kinda got off track?

[KaiserNeko]

While I don't agree in terms of the podcast, I found it to be a great listen, I do kind of share your sentiments about the quality of DBZ Abridged, in my opinion they seem to have kind of lost the balance between comedy and narrative that they had down so perfectly for the first five or six episodes, I find the show enjoyable enough to continue to watch it, but I haven't laughed at a single joke since the Arlia episode (which was a fucking masterpiece).

Anyway, as negative as my comments are I am still looking forward to seeing what they do with the Namek and Freeza stuff.

Sorry, but I have to talk about this.

Not a single joke? Really? Because, all things considered, 7-9 were ripe with a lot of similar humor to Episode 5. Sure, they were battle heavy episodes, so the humor was different in it's context, but I just refuse to believe you couldn't find those episodes funny if you enjoyed the first five.

Yes, you brought up the whole "sometimes it feels like I'm watching a straight-up dub" (which is something I, myself have had a major issue with), but it seemed more like a "I dig the show either way" thing than a "could you please add more of the funny?" thing.

All I can say is this: If you don't like our show, that's fine by us. If you wish our show was something else, that's fine by us. But, I personally find it very annoying when you complain about other people enjoying and celebrating our work.

The way we handle our show is the way we want to handle it. It's our show, it's our style, and we like what we have going. If we didn't feel like we were entertaining the people we *want* to entertain, we would consider doing things differently.

[The Time Traveller]

I'll admit, I've got a picky sense of humour, and I kinda agree with Captain Awesome.

With all due respect, it's very funny content for YouTube, in comparison to anything else that isn't a Doug Stanhope clip filmed on a mobile phone. It's very well made, and very well written, it's just that some jokes don't work, episodes would need more revision before you actually make them, you need someone who isn't that involved but you trust to go over the script.

And good microphones, y'alls need better microphones. Especially who ever plays Bulma with that whiney voice that mismatches Bulma's.

[KaiserNeko]

I'll admit, I've got a picky sense of humour, and I kinda agree with Captain Awesome.

With all due respect, it's very funny content for YouTube, in comparison to anything else that isn't a Doug Stanhope clip filmed on a mobile phone. It's very well made, and very well written, it's just that some jokes don't work, episodes would need more revision before you actually make them, you need someone who isn't that involved but you trust to go over the script.

And good microphones, y'alls need better microphones.

Well, I've always thought our mic quality was consistently decent with the exception a few minor characters.

Edit: I'm acting really flimsy here, so I'm going to man up and say, I respect your opinion on the show. But we have a process of making our scripts that we have refined and trust, there's nothing more to really say about that. Honestly, it's disappointing that there are some people out there who don't enjoy our work and have decently constructed opinions, but it all comes down to whether or not we're delivering the way *we* want...

[Kuhan]

Well, a few mics aren't very good...

These include Megami33 and Whiteash

[KaiserNeko]

Well, a few mics aren't very good...

These include Megami33 and Whiteash

Well, it's kind of hard when we don't exactly make a whole lot of money. @.@

[Kuhan]

My $30 mic from Wal-Mart results in better quality recordings than what I've heard from their mics...

[KaiserNeko]

My $30 mic from Wal-Mart results in better quality recordings than what I've heard from their mics...

True, but it's hard for us to tell them to buy mics for our production.

[Kuhan]

Point taken. The fans'll just do it for you!