Ever felt bad..?

DNA · Post by **DNA** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:52 pm

This is probably the weirdest topic I've ever written.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever felt bad for liking Dragon Ball?

Right now my obsession for Dragon Ball is so strong that it takes most of my free hours away, even my working hours are spent either thinking of my girlfriend or about something Dragon Ball related. I watch abridged videos regularly, repeatedly; read fan mangas, even translate one; lost count on how many times I've watched the movies; buy merchandising; buy games and play them regularly; consult websites every day; consult this forum every hour; study Dragon Ball related subjects, heck I even started writing my own website collecting the studies I made and some other articles from here...

I feel it's taking my whole time away, I spend the time on Dragon Ball, I have fun, I like it, but at the same time feel guilty, I should be doing something else, maybe playing a game, maybe writing on my recipe website, taking a walk, studying something productive, spending my money on something better than 6cm, £3 a pop figures...

I find myself thinking, what is wrong with me? It's a freaking kid's show, a cartoon, why does it dominate my life? And yet I cannot keep without it. Watch Kai every time, got Origins on my DS, Infinite World on my PS2 and can't wait to put Revenge of King Piccolo on my Wii.

Maybe it's because I'm not on my home, I'm on another country, I've been here for more than a year, I'm alone. My family is in Portugal, so are my friends and my girlfriend, I'm trying to get back but I can't at the moment. Could this be my way to cope with the loneliness? I don't know... all I know is that, after all this time, I'm starting to feel bad, this is an obsession, it's like a drug, I've got to try and tone it down somehow.

Tell me, you guys spend a lot of time here, do most of the things I do, some of you even do more, heck, "some" of you have got websites and forums and podcasts... do you ever feel bad..?

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

I'm really sorry about this, I'm feeling very strange at the moment and this felt like the right thing to do...

TheNamek · Post by **TheNamek** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:03 pm

You shouldn't feel weird or guilty.

I doubt there has been a single day in the past decade that I haven't thought about DBZ.

Big Momma · Post by **Big Momma** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:23 pm

DNA wrote:This is probably the weirdest topic I've ever written.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever felt bad for liking Dragon Ball?

Right now my obsession for Dragon Ball is so strong that it takes most of my free hours away, even my working hours are spent either thinking of my girlfriend or about something Dragon Ball related. I watch abridged videos regularly, repeatedly; read fan mangas, even translate one; lost count on how many times I've watched the movies; buy merchandising; buy games and play them regularly; consult websites every day; consult this forum every hour; study Dragon Ball related subjects, heck I even started writing my own website collecting the studies I made and some other articles from here...

I feel it's taking my whole time away, I spend the time on Dragon Ball, I have fun, I like it, but at the same time feel guilty, I should be doing something else, maybe playing a game, maybe writing on my recipe website, taking a walk, studying something productive, spending my money on something better than 6cm, £3 a pop figures...

I find myself thinking, what is wrong with me? It's a freaking kid's show, a cartoon, why does it dominate my life? And yet I cannot keep without it. Watch Kai every time, got Origins on my DS, Infinite World on my PS2 and can't wait to put Revenge of King Piccolo on my Wii.

Maybe it's because I'm not on my home, I'm on another country, I've been here for more than a year, I'm alone. My family is in Portugal, so are my friends and my girlfriend, I'm trying to get back but I can't at the moment. Could this be my way to cope with the loneliness? I don't know... all I know is that, after all this time, I'm starting to feel bad, this is an obsession, it's like a drug, I've got to try and tone it down somehow.

Tell me, you guys spend a lot of time here, do most of the things I do, some of you even do more, heck, "some" of you have got websites and forums and podcasts... do you ever feel bad..?

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

I'm really sorry about this, I'm feeling very strange at the moment and this felt like the right thing to do...

I think this sudden burst in interest is probably due to the loneliness.

In all honesty, you should definitely spend more time trying to get home, if that's what you want to do.

Try to create a schedule, say, only an hour a two a day doing Dragon Ball related things.

ShinRogafuken · Post by **ShinRogafuken** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:26 pm

I felt really bad about how much time all the Dragon Ball stuff takes away from me just last week.

Freeza.exe · Post by **Freeza.exe** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:43 pm

My girlfriend would always make me feel like shit for liking Dragonball. She'd roll her eyes and make an angry scoffing noise any time I was just watching it on T.V. When we broke up she used me liking "kiddy shit like Yu-gi-oh!" (she meant Dragonball but wasn't a big anime fan so they all looked the same to her) as a reason too.

RogueA007 · Post by **RogueA007** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:54 pm

Eh, I have moments when I'm supposed to be doing school work that I have spent doing Dragon Ball things, and then I feel a bit guilty.

Sometimes I have also spent time reading/watching DB, that I probably could have been working on a webcomic I've been trying to get off the ground....sometimes watching inspirational things is a bit counter-productive, actually, lol.

Other than that, nope, I don't regret my love of Dragon Ball. I have always been a kind of a loner, so I don't care that my free time is spent on a thing that some people consider childish. Sometimes I could care less what "real" people think anyways. Better doing something safe like reading and translating Japanese, than something foolish like drinking and going to wild college parties like others my age do, IMO.

SuperSaiyan3Goku · Post by **SuperSaiyan3Goku** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:03 pm

I don't really feel "guilty" for it. Why would I feel guilty for something I love? And why I don't feel like you is because I have other interests that aren't Dragonball-related. If every single thing in my life was Dragonball, then that'd be a little obsessive.

verto · Post by **verto** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:06 pm

RogueA007 wrote:Eh, I have moments when I'm supposed to be doing school work that I have spent doing Dragon Ball things, and then I feel a bit guilty.

Sometimes I have also spent time reading/watching DB, that I probably could have been working on a webcomic I've been trying to get off the ground....sometimes watching inspirational things is a bit counter-productive, actually, lol.

Other than that, nope, I don't regret my love of Dragon Ball. I have always been a kind of a loner, so I don't care that my free time is spent on a thing that some people consider childish. Sometimes I could care less what "real" people think anyways. Better doing something safe like reading and translating Japanese, than something foolish like drinking and going to wild college parties like others my age do, IMO.

Pretty much the same for me, but I can't read Japanese and I'm not in college (yet).

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:24 pm

Not really, no. If anything, this series has helped me further my drawing and writing skills exponentially. I'm even more connected by the fact that the Genesis Sonic games that I adored as a kid drew so heavily upon DB (even though I didn't know DB even existed back then). Blue and orange used to mean Sonic and Tails to me, now it means Goku's gi.

If I feel guilty about anything its how I never bothered to spell-check my writing back then. Looking at my old spelling errors makes me groan. >_<

I actually think the lack of "new" DB animation/manga is what accounts for me not being as active as I used to back in the day. The "Ossu!" special proved to me by how excited I got over it that if Toei were to make a brand new series starring the main cast, that I'd be reacting to it like that fresh, newbie, 15 year old fangirl I was all over again.

Kendamu · Post by **Kendamu** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:33 pm

I've felt bad before, but only because it took up a lot of my time and I just sat on my ass being entertained and inspired by characters who were always on the move and doing something. To pay tribute to one of the most entertaining things in my life (as well as a few others of similar themes), I decided to get off my ass and "live the dream." Now I spend a lot of my free time seeking out adventure, fun, and ways to improve my martial arts skills.

Sure, I still have the manga on my bookshelf and I'll read a random volume every couple of days or so, but it doesn't take up as much of my time because I'm too busy trying to be like the characters that bring me so much entertainment.

Tyro · Post by **Tyro** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:36 pm

I personally think it makes me look pretty immature being an 18-year-old college freshman and still liking a decade old Japanese series. Especially considering I started watching DBZ back when Toonami aired it when I was 6.

Holy cow- 12 year fan!!

RoarkVegeta · Post by **RoarkVegeta** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:51 pm

Freeza.exe wrote:My girlfriend would always make me feel like shit for liking Dragonball. She'd roll her eyes and make an angry scoffing noise any time I was just watching it on T.V. When we broke up she used me liking "kiddy shit like Yu-gi-oh!" (she meant Dragonball but wasn't a big anime fan so they all looked the same to her) as a reason too.

THIS THIS THIS.

All my friends that are girls laugh at the fact that I like DBZ.

JulieYBM · Post by **JulieYBM** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:33 pm

RoarkVegeta wrote:
Freeza.exe wrote:My girlfriend would always make me feel like shit for liking Dragonball. She'd roll her eyes and make an angry scoffing noise any time I was just watching it on T.V. When we broke up she used me liking "kiddy shit like Yu-gi-oh!" (she meant Dragonball but wasn't a big anime fan so they all looked the same to her) as a reason too.
THIS THIS THIS.

All my friends that are girls laugh at the fact that I like DBZ.

They don't quite sound like good friends to me.

Chrono Trigger · Post by **Chrono Trigger** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:43 pm

They don't quite sound like good friends to me.

Exactly. That really says something about a person if the people they surround themselves with make fun of em for liking something. I hate it when people say "You're too old to watch cartoons" and then those same people will turn around and laugh at some weak shit like Family Guy.

Kendamu · Post by **Kendamu** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:47 pm

I'm 26. I surround myself in similar-aged company. We don't really give each other serious Hell over what we're into in our spare time away from each other. We're friends. They can watch stupid reality shows and I can read stupid comics. No worries.

Scarz · Post by **Scarz** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:05 pm

DNA wrote:Have you ever felt bad for liking Dragon Ball?

Everyday.

But then again I feel bad for a lot things I like. Jack Black, Coconut Milk Soda, NY Knicks, Marvel Zombies (all of them), and Tenchi Muyo just to name a few.

bkev · Post by **bkev** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:07 pm

How can you feel guilty for watching Tenchi?

Anyway, not really no. My friends just don't care - none of em like anime perse, but they're not about to go and judge me over it.

Scarz · Post by **Scarz** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:25 pm

bkev wrote:How can you feel guilty for watching Tenchi?

Every time I watch Tenchi I feel this overwhelming amount of happiness and shame. Considering my taste in anime (or just any show) the Tenchi series should be something I should honestly loathe. It has the one theme that I can not stand in any anime, a harem. A skinny nansy pansy boy sharing a house with a group of gorgeous women who all happens to falls from him. Tenchi mixed things up by throwing in goddess, space pirates, and mad scientists.

Big Momma · Post by **Big Momma** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:11 am

Scarz wrote:
bkev wrote:How can you feel guilty for watching Tenchi?
Every time I watch Tenchi I feel this overwhelming amount of happiness and shame. Considering my taste in anime (or just any show) the Tenchi series should be something I should honestly loathe. It has the one theme that I can not stand in any anime, a harem. A skinny nansy pansy boy sharing a house with a group of gorgeous women who all happens to falls from him. Tenchi mixed things up by throwing in goddess, space pirates, and mad scientists.

It's because every male would give his left nut to be Tenchi.

SSJ Helldog · Post by **SSJ Helldog** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:14 am

I feel like a lot of your obsession has to do with being away from your homeland. When I was in Germany as an exchange student in 2001, I suddenly became enamored of NES RPG's again. I did a solo (one character quest) on Final Fantasy 1, then played Dragon Warrior/Quest 1, 2, and 3. Dragon Quest games are BORING AS HELL due to crazy amounts of necessary level building, but I think there was something therapeutic about knowing that I could win it eventually. It also reminded me of childhood, a less stressful time. Germany was the most stressful time of my life, up until now. And now, I also watch anime all the time and regularly check these very boards. It's relaxing, somehow.

As for feeling bad... yes. I'm 26, and while I understand why I like entertainment made for children, there are few people I can talk about it with. I have all of the DBZ season sets and VizBigs. They're in a box. In my closet. No one knows they're there. One day, when I've made a career writing books and screenplays as I intend to do, I'll display them proudly. But for now they just make me look immature.

What you have to ask yourself is, "is DragonBall keeping me from doing something important?" In my case, the answer was "yes." As a writer, I have to dedicate at least two hours every day to writing. So I have to limit myself to watching an hour of shows per day. If your current job/school is all you really have to do, though, then dig in! But if you have to give up DB to achieve something greater, just think of it as training. (Warning: This is about to get hella-gay) Goku didn't become the best by sitting at his computer every day. He was sweating and perfecting his skills. That's the real point of DB, and most Shonen manga: work hard! See results! Raise the bar! Don't just observe; participate! You'll be glad you did.

Kanzenshuu

Ever felt bad..?

Ever felt bad..?

Re: Ever felt bad..?