Has the Novelty of New Animation Worn Off?

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

As I much as I like seeing new stuff, whenever I go back and look at it, half of it feels like it was rushed out the door. The Jump Special feels like the only piece of animation that really had any effort go into it, with it's pencil drawn-esque backgrounds. Now I'm not sure if that's just because Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans and Episode of Bardock were more action based, but whenever I watch them I always think, "Meh, it was cool. Some nice touches here and there", but I never really feel blown away by it (it might be just because the Jump Special was out first.
But then again, the two newer specials almost don't feel Dragon Ball at all, or is it just me. The animation seems to lack any sort of soul (minus the Jump Special, and maybe the Kai opening).

[samuraix123]

I definitely gotta agree with you. watching the Jump Special was ''That's so Dragonball I love it!'' but watching the new stuff it's like ''pretty cool'' if that makes sense even though I like watching the new material, I much prefer looking at the old school animation more. the new Episode of Bardock, to me in my opinion looks ''Gummy''? like

[JulieYBM]

More effort was placed into the 2008 special than anything else in recent years, so I think it's more so that. For me, I still enjoy seeing the new projects, espicially with Ultimate Blast's opening (loved how they brought in Kurita Shin'ichi to do key animation), but I do feel Toei needs to stop messing around and do a serious production like with the JUMP Super Anime Tour special.

[Chuquita]

The 2008 special felt like it was made with the long-time fans in mind. That thing was made with love. A big party with everyone (including forgotten characters like Lunch) there? Bulma and Vegeta arguing with each other? Goku messing with Vegeta for fun? A new saiyajin character? Chi-Chi pulling out a frying pan to smack Kamesennin with? Even having Gotenks doing shout-outs to older attacks. The whole thing felt self-aware in a fun way.

The Bardock and RB2 specials are if not purely for the younger crowds, then they were certainly made with more of a merchandizing line of thought.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

I really love the Jump Special and the reanimated scenes for Ultimate Tenkaichi. I think the reason I wasn't as enthusiastic about Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans was because I never really played(or watched) the old Playdia version; I think the same feeling went towards Episode of Bardock because well...honestly it was stupid. I don't want the new animation to stop and I don't think the Novelty is wearing off, I just think the contents of the story are just as important as the reanimation themselves. Also, for the record, I think the Jump Special had the best animation. I don't know if it's because the other animations were outsourced to Korea, or if it's because the Jump Special had both traditional and digital elements; in either case, I'd like to see more stuff done like that.

[dbboxkaifan]

Episode of Bardock (OVA 2011) had great animation and music but the story sucked, there was simply nothing amazing about it, only Burdack turning Super Saiyan.

The Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans (OVA 2010) also with great animation and music, though the story didn't feel that interesting neither.

Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! (OVA 2008), the music was the original DBZ soundtrack, so great, the animation had some flaws as usual but great, as for the story it brought us Tarble, Vegeta's brother he looked promising, but on RB2 they wasted him with a silly pod attack as his ultimate attack.

My favourites: OVA 2008 > OVA 2010 > OVA 2011

Toei Animation just needs to quit trying suck the milk out of a dry cow already and move to a new one.. Dragon Ball Heroes!

Oh yeah, Ultimate Blast cutscenes were really awesome but they didn't give us too much as it'd pass to the battle instead.

Anywho, I'm probably going to buy Dragon Ball Z For Kinect for the game itself and for Episode of Bardock since I already own 2010's OVA on RB2, this 2011 OVA will be on DBZFK. Maybe next year we'll have Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! on the new DBZ (don't really see them killing DBZ so what the hell) game release.

[DarkPrince_92]

I definitely feel the same way. The Jump Special I can appreciate, but the other 2 specials after that is just....meh for me. It looks cool, but I don't get the same sensations like when I watch the TV series. Different essence between the old and new animation.

[Tekkaman-James]

Personally, I can't get enough of the new animation. After such a long drought of no new Dragon Ball animation (Final Bout was from 1997, Budokai 2 was from 2003), I am ecstatic every time we are treated to something new. Maybe I'm just easy to please.

The Jump Special was like manna from Heaven, so it's hard to compare the other new pieces to it. PtEtSSJ was neat because it was a remake of another piece of animation Toei did back in the 90's. Episode of Bardock is the only one I didn't enjoy. Don't get me wrong, the animation was beautiful and the voice-acting was excellent, but I just don't like the non-canonical stuff. SSJ Bardock, SSJ3 Trunks, and all of those other things are kind of lame to me.

Regardless, I enjoy seeing every last bit of new Dragon Ball animation because, were it not for the passion of the global fanbase, none of these things would exist. Therefore, I'll take all of it while it lasts because Toei is making it just for me.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

Regardless, I enjoy seeing every last bit of new Dragon Ball animation because, were it not for the passion of the global fanbase, none of these things would exist. Therefore, I'll take all of it while it lasts because Toei is making it just for me.

This. Series ended 15 years ago, yet we've gotten close to an hour of animation in the last two years.

[Kendamu]

Regardless, I enjoy seeing every last bit of new Dragon Ball animation because, were it not for the passion of the global fanbase, none of these things would exist. Therefore, I'll take all of it while it lasts because Toei is making it just for me.

This. Series ended 15 years ago, yet we've gotten close to an hour of animation in the last two years.

I've never really exactly expected new animation for Dragonball after it was over. It's over. Everything's animated. Time to sit back and enjoy it all.

That said, I have really enjoyed the new animated openings, cutscenes, and specials that we've gotten post-2000.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

I'm always happy when new animation is made, but for me the one that I liked most was the Jump special. To be honest, if it were to ever happen, I would want them to do what if scenarios like in the games with the new animation. But actually take the time to flesh it out and make it look crisp and clean as possible. But as of late I've been falling back on Dragon Ball in general.

[theoriginalbilis]

I'm quite jealous of the Saint Seiya and Fist of The North Star fans: they get new series or movies produced every couple of years. Even though Dragon Ball is right up there in terms of popularity and social consciousness, we maybe get a 30-minute video game tie-in animated at best.

I agree with most of the folks here: make us some new anime based on Dragon Ball Online, Dragon Ball Heroes, or make some anime involving character backstory/histories (like the Saiyan/Freeza history.)

That being said, I still like the newer stuff. I just wish we had more of it, and as high quality as the newer FOTNS/Seiya animations.

[Gaffer Tape]

I mostly agree with Kendamu. It's over. It's been over. Most of the new animation is just random video game shots, remakes, or fan fiction ideas to promote video games. It's not really furthering anything in any way... and, really, it shouldn't because, as previously stated, the series is long, long over. But the JSAT was pretty awesome. I'll give you that.

[JulieYBM]

I mostly agree with Kendamu. It's over. It's been over. Most of the new animation is just random video game shots, remakes, or fan fiction ideas to promote video games. It's not really furthering anything in any way... and, really, it shouldn't because, as previously stated, the series is long, long over. But the JSAT was pretty awesome. I'll give you that.

Eh, I don't think we have to look at it from that angle. One could say the same about Star Trek and how the first six movies and later Star Trek: The Next Generation completely revived the franchise, both critically and financially, where not necessarilly necessary outside of quenching fan demand. That's exactly what Dragon Ball needs (both for fans wanting more content and investors wanting more money). The perceived lack of dignity of the product be damned. After all, we see how everyone's mind changed after Star Trek II turned out to be both fun to film and made gads of money.

[Gaffer Tape]

Sigh, yes, this is true. Or it can be true. But I'm always one who's wary of franchise fatigue. Yeah, Star Trek certainly got revived in the 80s and that lasted for another 25 years, and now there's a new (terrible) movie carrying the torch. So, yeah, when it works it works, although, as huge a Trek fan as I am, I'd be glad to see it end now. Star Wars should have ended quite a while back. But in general, I feel that stories need to end. They don't need to become inexhaustible franchises. They need to tell their story and be done at some point. I mean, like I said in my last, Dragon Ball has pretty well done that anyway. The manga ended pretty definitively... open-ended, sure, but Toriyama doesn't seem to have had any inclination to start it up again. Pretty much everything since then has been, well, fluff. Stuff for the sake of stuff, not any kind of Star Trek II scenario. Even the the JSAT, which I love, is fluff. A nice little anniversary reunion piece, and yet it is still the most substantial thing so far. People talk about this resurgence of Dragon Ball over the past decade, which is true, but it generally hasn't been in regards to anything new. It's just been people reliving old Dragon Ball, which is great, certainly what I would prefer, but no indication that there's going to be some big new DB project that continues the story, and, as far as I see, no need to. We've (well, specifically Japan) gotten a home release for the series, a re-release of the original manga, video games that constantly retell the old story, a pseudo-remake of Z, a pseudo-remade manga with SD characters, and a full remake of old video game-based animation. They're just spinning their wheels. I think the thread title says it all: novelty. It is just a novelty, and it's high time for Dragon Ball to fade away. Doesn't mean we have to enjoy it any less just because there's no new product.

[Kendamu]

I mostly agree with Kendamu. It's over. It's been over. Most of the new animation is just random video game shots, remakes, or fan fiction ideas to promote video games. It's not really furthering anything in any way... and, really, it shouldn't because, as previously stated, the series is long, long over. But the JSAT was pretty awesome. I'll give you that.

Eh, I don't think we have to look at it from that angle. One could say the same about Star Trek and how the first six movies and later Star Trek: The Next Generation completely revived the franchise, both critically and financially, where not necessarilly necessary outside of quenching fan demand. That's exactly what Dragon Ball needs (both for fans wanting more content and investors wanting more money). The perceived lack of dignity of the product be damned. After all, we see how everyone's mind changed after Star Trek II turned out to be both fun to film and made gads of money.

Like I said, I appreciate the new stuff we have gotten, I just expect it about as much as I expect the old Batman: TAS or the 80s TMNT to be renewed for more episodes.

[Michsi]

Whenever I hear about a new animation project for DB my first reaction is "meh", but not because I have grown tired of the franchise or because I'm too aware of them just wanting to continue milking a cash-cow, (I doubt there is anybody here that would object to a new well done movie/special/series, no matter how over and done with Dragon Ball seems)bur rather because I'm just not a fan of how the new animation looks and visual appeal means a lot for me. I wasn't really that impressed with the Jump special either, though I admit it's probably the best looking piece of animation to come out ever since the actual anime ended.

Of course, the fact that the story in all these specials are rushed and unimaginative doesn't help either.

[dbboxkaifan]

The animation is still quite good but the story given are usually pretty boring and uninteresting, like Episode of Bardock.

Out of the three 2011, 2010, 2008 the 2008's OVA wins.

It shouldn't be hard for Toei Animation to come up with a totally brand new story since they've got Dragon Ball Heroes and God knows what.