DB or DBZ: Which is better?

[Piccolo Daimao]

So, which do you think is the best? DragonBall or DragonBall Z? The best doesn't necessarily have to be your favourite.

Personally, I think that DragonBall was the best out of the two. I believe that the storyline and the characters generally flowed better, and the series wasn't riddled with inconsistencies like DBZ. Every character had a role to play, and it handled the balance of comedy and seriousness well. DragonBall was inspired from kung-fu flicks, and I feel that inspiration was lost in DBZ, due to the story turning to new themes. It wasn't a bad thing that DBZ decided to turn to new themes, just that the original martial arts element of the series had been lost and I feel that it should've existed all the way through to the end of DBZ.

In my opinion, DragonBall Z isn't better than DragonBall because it suffered from poor plot devices and weak improvisation, especially in the Majin Boo Arc. The sci-fi element of the series was a nice idea, but I think it wasn't executed as well as it could've been. DBZ made more use of villains, however, and its story was more enticing. But the inconsistencies, which, frankly, were too hard to ignore, weakened the series.

I prefer to DragonBall Z to DragonBall, but overall, I think DragonBall was the better series.

[sangofe]

I'd say DB is for those who like adventures, and DBZ for fighting/fantasy fans. Personally I enjoy both very much for what they are, however, I would have enjoyed DBZ even more without all the dragged out episodes and fillers.

[VegettoEX]

The "correct" answer, of course... is that there is no answer... because they're the same series ^_~.

Even if you go by the TV version (rather than the manga, which was always DB beginning to end), there's a consistent cast and musical composer. Even if you break it down to the music changing over time, well yeah. It did that in DB, and it did that in DBZ... and yet there's still pieces from far earlier that get used far later, so it's all completely self-referential and consistent.

I've very much grown over the years to love the viewpoint that trying to make the distinction that much greater by asking about preference between the two really does each "half" a huge dis-service. You can't have DBZ without DB.

[obiwan23s]

Have to agree with Mike here. Even if you take them in as separate shows, there are still many events in Z that are powerful and moving because foundations were laid in earlier stories that took place in Dragon Ball. I guess from a pure entertainment perspective, Z is probably more fun to watch, but the story is meant to be read or watched from the beginning and not the middle.

[B]

From a story telling perspective, the series stays fairly consistent in style and presentation. As a product, AKA the anime, it got to the point where Dragon Ball's brisk pace exploded on itself and just kind of stopped being enjoyable.

[SSVegetto]

DBZ is better. There is more action to it, and the plot is more exciting. It is more serious. Even the villains are cool. DB started out as sort of a comedy and it only got exciting when they got to the episodes with Piccolo. And then the tournament at the end was cool. But Pilaf I always thought was a joke villain. And I didn't think much of the Red Ribbon Army villains either.

And Penguin Village or whatever? That wasn't meant to be taken seriously either. Don't get me wrong... Dragonball was a fun anime to watch. But the plot just wasn't as cool and exciting as DBZ.

[JulieYBM]

I don't think you can quantify (qualify?) which is the better series. Dragon Ball the television series and Dragon Ball Z are both adapted from the same comic, Dragon Ball. And as Mike said, you can't have Dragon Ball Z without Dragon Ball (the television series or the comic)...so I really cannot say. They are three seperate things that share the same story, four if you want to include Dragon Ball Kai.

[Innagadadavida]

I have new people at my apartment all the time; friends of friends, and friends of friends' friends'. Most of us are in our late teens to early twenties, remnants of the "Toonami generation." I have my orange, blue, and green bricks all lined up on my DVD shelf in the living room and people always comment on them. I try my hardest to hide the super DBZ nerd in me but I can't help it if I know a lot, right? Anyway, out of all the people who have talked about how much they used to love the show, only one or two has even watched the original series. Quite a few of them actually thought it was a "baby show." As in, they had no idea there was any continuity at all. I try to steer them straight of course, but I'm always surprised how people just don't know about Dragon Ball. I have always accepted and considered them to be one series split down the middle, but so many people focus too heavily on Dragon Ball Z. Naturally it makes me want to gravitate toward the more unappreciated of the two.

If I had to pick one half, and only one half, to watch for the rest of my life, it would be the first half.

Interestingly enough, everybody seems really interested in GT. It breaks my heart each time to have to tell them the truth about it.

[SSVegetto]

I don't think you can quantify (qualify?) which is the better series. Dragon Ball the television series and Dragon Ball Z are both adapted from the same comic, Dragon Ball. And as Mike said, you can't have Dragon Ball Z without Dragon Ball (the television series or the comic)...so I really cannot say. They are three seperate things that share the same story, four if you want to include Dragon Ball Kai.

What if I were to phrase the question differently? What part of the Dragon Ball series do you like better, volumes 1-16, or volumes 17-42? Lets see you get out of not answering this one.

[JulieYBM]

I don't think you can quantify (qualify?) which is the better series. Dragon Ball the television series and Dragon Ball Z are both adapted from the same comic, Dragon Ball. And as Mike said, you can't have Dragon Ball Z without Dragon Ball (the television series or the comic)...so I really cannot say. They are three seperate things that share the same story, four if you want to include Dragon Ball Kai.

What if I were to phrase the question differently? What part of the Dragon Ball series do you like better volumes 1-16, or volumes 17-42? Lets see you get out of not answering this one.

It's a question I see no reason to answer because I don't particularly like one part more than the other. :p

[MCDaveG]

I'm a fan of manga nowadays. Trough the time I realised that the manga form is original and accept anime only as adaptation. Harry Potter isn't quite a gem, but actually, book was far better then movie, same goes with Lord Of The Rings etc., so I accept the story as one. Same goes with anime, the Z actually don't matter for me and I don't accept GT in original storyline.

So my answer is, Dragon Ball is a great martial arts story and that's the reason of the big fandom all around the world.

[rereboy]

I'm a fan of manga nowadays. Trough the time I realised that the manga form is original and accept anime only as adaptation. Harry Potter isn't quite a gem, but actually, book was far better then movie, same goes with Lord Of The Rings etc., so I accept the story as one. Same goes with anime, the Z actually don't matter for me and I don't accept GT in original storyline.

So my answer is, Dragon Ball is a great martial arts story and that's the reason of the big fandom all around the world.

My thoughts exactly.

[verto]

I'm a fan of manga nowadays. Trough the time I realised that the manga form is original and accept anime only as adaptation. Harry Potter isn't quite a gem, but actually, book was far better then movie, same goes with Lord Of The Rings etc., so I accept the story as one. Same goes with anime, the Z actually don't matter for me and I don't accept GT in original storyline.

So my answer is, Dragon Ball is a great martial arts story and that's the reason of the big fandom all around the world.

Do you mean the Z doesn't matter in terms of its all one big story and throwing a Z on there means nothing, or you just don't like the Z chunk of the story?

[B]

What if I were to phrase the question differently? What part of the Dragon Ball series do you like better, volumes 1-16, or volumes 17-42? Lets see you get out of not answering this one.

Well, see right here, this is a completely different question then asking if Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z is better than the other.

[penguintruth]

I see it all as one series, really, but most of my favorite story arcs happened before Raditz's arrival. However, my favorite arc of all is the Cell arc, and that happened in the "Z" portion. It's hard to really prefer one to the other.

[Sebastian (SB)]

My thoughts exactly. I love most of the pre-Z era stuff, but the Cell arc is my favorite. Freeza getting cut in half in an episode by some random stranger, the twist and turns in that arc, and most importantly, Gohan's character development. It's also when the series pretty much reached the height of popularity in the States.

[Gaffer Tape]

Like most other people, I have to clarify that I also see it as one series, Dragon Ball, because it is. But if I were forced to split them up and choose, I'd probably go with the former, for the same reason as innagaddadavida, because it's the underappreciated part. Well, no, it's not just because of that. A lot of it just seems more fun, the characters are better used, the world still seems big with much to explore. It was inevitable, really, but the "Z" portion seems to have lost all of that. People can fly around the world at mach speed, nothing has been left unexplored, the Tenkaichi Budokai no longer holds any challenge, and collecting the Dragon Balls can be done in under a day. There is the unfortunate side effect that the later portions seem to have a stretch to find interesting and new things once everyone has reached godly levels of power.

But all that said, the later stuff is great too. As repetitive as some of it can get, there really is still an awesome sense of storytelling. It never feels old or worn out. And while certain characters get annoyingly tossed aside, the characters they get tossed aside for are certainly interesting in their own right. Going to outer space, dealing with time travel, the afterlife--it's impossible to deny that there are still lots of amazing story elements in the Z era.

So I like both, but for different reasons.

[Kaboom]

Oh geez, this is a tough question... But I think I actually prefer the earlier, "pre-Z" portion. Those early adventures and tournaments and such were just so much fun, and then we got a gradual transition into more serious and high-stakes stories with the Red Ribbon Army and then Piccolo.

I still LOVE the "Z" portion to death, but it strayed a little much from its roots.

[Kiyza]

Though I generally consider it a single series, I prefer the earlier parts of Dragon Ball to the latter. I'm just a sucker for good humor combined with an adventure, and not all that much into action, though I do enjoy it. I liked the lighthearted aspect of the series before everything was a battle to decide the fate of the universe.

[caejones]

Though I generally consider it a single series, I prefer the earlier parts of Dragon Ball to the latter. I'm just a sucker for good humor combined with an adventure, and not all that much into action, though I do enjoy it. I liked the lighthearted aspect of the series before everything was a battle to decide the fate of the universe.

Apiphony~!
The big-scale stuff feels far more impactful when contrasted with the small-scale stuff. (I think I'm saying that the Buu saga pulled this off well.)
And I find that I tend to like the small-scale stuff. (I like fake Namek. Blah. .)
Ah! No! Now you've got me thinking about the nature of the storytelling and the characters and such at different points in the series in such a way as to make me ponder some grand never-to-be-completed DB/Z-related project again!
Darn it, Dragonball, why must you devour me with your awesomeness?

... I don't think I answered the question.