Do people enjoy DB only for nostalgia?

[Hellspawn28]

Do you think people only like the Dragon Ball series because they grew up with it seeing that I seen people that say people only like the series because they grew up with it? I personally enjoy Dragon Ball for it's fun characters, enjoyable action scenes and Toriyama's art work. I have watch the series without nostalgia goggles before and I think the series is good for what it is. What do you guys think because I thought this would make a interesting topic (Sorry if someone already made this thread since I search for it and found nothing)?

[VegettoEX]

I think it's of course going to be more difficult than it used to be to get a younger generation into it simply because it's starting to "look old", but it's possible, and Kai has been an international success in that very thing: indoctrinating a younger generation to the series.

It may have not spawned the merchandise-guzzling fandom they hoped it would, but Kai absolutely laid the groundwork for a new generation of fans to come back in a decade or so with that same nostalgia and hopefully pump money back into the system.

That inherently means, though, that they're genuinely enjoying it for what it is, without any preconceptions or rose-tinted glasses. They like it because they like it, and they like it because there's something to like about it.

Long story short, DB ain't high art, but it's cool, dawg.

[SylentEcho]

I don't watch it simply because I grew up watching it. If that were the case, I'd be watching Centurions, Swat Kats, Batman: TAS, X-Men etc as much as I watch DB/Z.

That isn't the case. I'm still into DB/Z because I love it so much. I don't think I'll ever get bored of it because I never overdo it.

[DBfan4life]

I'm not going to lie, nostalgia does play in sometimes when I watch any episode of the show, but I watch it because I like it. I could seriously watch Dragonball anytime without ever getting bored of it. However, I agree that if you overdo it, it does become overwhelming. Trust me I've done it.

[Hellspawn28]

Well I have seen people saying people enjoy the series because they saw it at a young age, if they first watch the show at 25 then they are likely going to think it's stupid. I got into the series around 10, I think as a adult that apperciate it more once I started to watch the show in subs and seeing it more then just as a action show.

[Saiga]

Definitely not, in my case. I grew out of the series for a long time and when I came back to it I did so with a very different point of view and enjoyed things about it that I hadn't enjoyed before as a kid.

[dprez]

Definitely not, in my case. I grew out of the series for a long time and when I came back to it I did so with a very different point of view and enjoyed things about it that I hadn't enjoyed before as a kid.

That's basically how it is for me. I enjoy DragonBall differently now from when I first watched it as a kid. Certain aspects of it hit me harder when I grew up and saw the original, so that surely has something to do with why I don't just enjoy DB for nostalgia.

[Cipher]

Haven't a lot of people here introduced at least one new fan? I'd stay it still holds luster.

An actual comment from my girlfriend recently, as we reached the beginning of the Cell arc in the anime: "You know, this is, like, a really good kid's show. I don't want to sound like one of those people, but this really is so much better than American kid's cartoons. It's just a really good show. Like, I'm really enjoying this. And it's not nostalgia; I didn't grow up with it or anything."

So, there you go. I defy anyone who's comfortable with a little child-oriented genre fiction to give Dragon Ball a serious go and not have fun with it. Especially if you go in the proper order (actually starting at the first episode or chapter of Dragon Ball, rather than Z).

EDIT -- And that's just talking about the older crowd. As Mike said, the relative success of Kai is evidence enough that it's still quite capable of attracting its intended audience. I doubt that'll change in the near future.

[TripleRach]

Well, I definitely didn't "grow up" on Dragon Ball. I was 15 when I got into it, and by then I was already physically grown and done with school. So I just liked the show for what it was, and I still feel the same way now. Actually, there were a lot of episodes and movies I hadn't seen at all until the past few years, in my mid-20s. I just liked (or disliked) that material the same as I always had.

In comparison, I did watch shows like the 80s ThunderCats and Ninja Turtles cartoons as a small child. I collect the DVDs and still watch them nowadays, but nostalgia is definitely the only reason I enjoy them. I can't say I genuinely enjoy them the way I do with Dragon Ball, nor would I ever recommend them to anyone else.

[piccolina]

I myself was 17/18 when I started watching Dragon Ball Z when it was on CheezTV back in the day. Much of the rest of my feelings are echoed (almost exactly) by TripleRach.

Part of my watching DBZ was actually due to discovering the genre of "anime" having been a Sailor Moon fan since 14 (but not knowing what anime was; I just liked cartoons all my life). I only really got into it from the Trunks Saga onwards after seeing it at the Supernova back in 2001 (I was 19).

I just turned 30 and I have recently been watching it and then Kai on Cartoon Network nightly before it went off air. Part of it is nostalgia, but mostly because I love it. I am thankful to have watched all of the episodes of Dragon Ball to DBGT, including all movies as released in Australia, in both Japanese and English.

Nostalgia, I feel, can only take you so far in such an instance; I'm obsessed! ^_^

[jda95]

Considering the ridiculous amount of young children who are into the series (even before Kai led to a surge in series popularity), it's clear that nostalgia alone isn't the only thing that draws people to the series. Yes, I'm sure 90% of all fans of the series first encountered in when they were young and were attracted to it for its shonen fighting spectacle.... but is that why we come back to it? Even though I know it's not the deepest series, the sense of fun and humor in the comedy, the themes of good vs evil in the battles, and above all, the characters who I love and want to see succeed bring me back.

[Codarik]

Here's a little saying I like to say, "The way I first watched it is the way I want to remember it."

[DBZ Mick]

I'm probably enjoying it more than I ever have, although... maybe not to the extent I was into the show 2003-2004.

[Kingdom Heartless]

I've never really had a lull in how much I love Dragon Ball.

I'm not sure how much nostalgia affects how I view things. I'm always open to watching new children shows and such, so it's not like I only enjoy animation from my childhood. I try not to let nostalgia blind me.... that's why it irks me when people claim animation isn't as good as when they were young, when we still have amazing shows like Adventure Time and the like, which easily match up to the average show of the '80s/'90s and so forth.

[Piccolo Daimao]

The way I enjoy DB now is different to how I did when I was a child. Back when I was younger, I was only really interested in the cool power-ups, transformations and explosions, and perhaps that played a part in how I managed to look past the poor gameplay of such games as Ultimate Battle 22 and Budokai 2.

My interest in the series did go on hiatus for a while, when I was more involved in other fandoms, but then I returned and my dormant love resurfaced in new forms.

[Sshadow5001]

Nostalgia does play its part with me but I generally like older anime anyway. I gotta say I'm really struggling to get through the Kid Buu stuff over the past 3 months. :/

I often wonder how I'd react to Dragonball now if I didn't know a thing about it.

[Zephyr]

I thoroughly enjoy Dragonball. I don't enjoy it because of nostalgia, I enjoy it because I find the characters, story, and overall feel of the franchise to be almost endlessly entertaining. Now, do I only find those things so entertaining because of nostalgia? Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's the only way one can enjoy the series.

Hell, I've turned my girlfriend into a mild fan, and I did so by simply having her watch a few episodes of TeamFourStar's Abridged series, no less.