Why do you like Dragonball?

[smiley]

Well? Is it just nostalgia or do you really enjoy the series? If so, why?

[Rory]

I liked it because of the kick-ass action, and the cool power ups.
I was 10. As I grew up with the series, I began to gain a deeper respect for what was there, hunted down the source material, while watching the anime in original Japanese. I fell for the characters, for Toriyama's art style, his illustrations and fight choreography still captivate me. I also think the music given to the series is mesmerising, and though I don't really like the anime TV series any more, I find it fits the movies very well, and gives them a great atmosphere (a very distinctive 'Dragon Ball' feel, a sense of light hearted escapism which is established very well in the manga).
Now I enjoy the Kanzenshuu community, while still reading the manga every now and then (which really holds up), and watching a movie on occasion. I'll also play a few of the genuinely great Dragon Ball games on PS2 every now and then too.
So basically: great characters, fantastic action, unique atmosphere exclusive to the series.

[samuraix123]

Why do I like Dragonball? well this may be kinda long. As I've said in past posts, Dragonball to me isn't just some cartoon. it's my childhood. the characters have taught me so much. growing up without a father in my life and seeing a figure like Goku was amazing. sure, there was batman, superman, spiderman. but in my eyes none matched up to Goku. I always loved how Goku fault to protect the innocent. it's just hard for me to explain really...Dragonball just has this charm to it that will never loose it's shine.

[Hellspawn28]

I don't feel nostalgia for watching DBZ since I seen the show so many times as a teenager in the 00's. I like the Dragon Ball franchises for it's characters.

[Fizzer]

I'm the first to admit that Dragon Ball has lots of flaws, I often question whether or not it's actually "good", but I know that I like it either way. It's the characters, they're so easy to love. It's also the music, the general atmosphere, the scale and length of the series, the change that the tone of the series and also the characters go through, and also nostalgia. Dragon Ball is just a fun but still emotional series with good characters and a good sense of change.

[dbboxkaifan]

It was one of the cartoon series I grew up watching and still like it. Basically this.

Edit: The best thing that Dragon Ball has to offer is the enormous variety of music from the series, films, specials, ovas and games.

[Shiyonasan]

I think the nostalgia factor is a big reason, but I also like Dragon Ball for its characters and music. I love seeing the shenanigans that happens when the characters interact or spar/fight with each other.

The Japanese score just completes the product for me as well. Even though I didn't get to hear Kikuchi's score until about 2009, I still get that nostalgic feeling as if I've been listening to it for 20 or more years.

[Insertclevername]

The appeal of 80's/90's goodness anime goodness, the tight community here, the amazing artwork, great characters and the I love the music too! Dragon Ball is just one of those things I love being a fan of, it just appeals to me so much.

Oh, and I like some of the video games too!

[TheMightyOzaru]

Everything about it is fantastic. The characters, the powers, the mythology just all of it really. Nostalgia just makes it even better

[Zephyr]

Nostalgia plays a big part of course.

It's so ridiculously over the top all the way through, that even when it has a serious tone to it, I can't help but chuckle and see how certain things seem just like massive, multiple-story-arc-long gags.

Also, no matter how much of the series I view, there always seems to be more that I haven't watched (though as of now that's almost exclusively been reduced to seeing everything in Japanese).

Oh, and the art style has had an insane influence on how I draw.

[TRL]

For me it's just several things the whole packages. You've got so much levels of fun.
You've got your high tech vehicules and sci-fi stuff, traditional oriental themes, you got your dinosaurs and dragons, you've got silliness, you've got seriousness, brutal killings by great villains, a vast universe down to the depths of hell, overwhelmingly powerful kiblast shooting characters against the backdrop of a somewhat regular society and the reactions that these crowds give at tournaments, the tournaments with so many great ways to win a match. And then there's the vast scope of time it covers, Goku grows up, gets married, has children and in the end even Gohan does it too. I've never seen that in any other fiction really.

[Saiga]

Nostalgia isn't a part of it, for me. Since I hate the anime which is what I watched as a kid. Although I am nostalgic for the Budokai games.

I like the characters and the battles, mostly. I really like the manga's art style, and the Saiyans are just so damn awesome.

[Thanos]

I think it's safe to rule out nostalgia when you have a consistent run of fandom, right?

[Fox666]

I guess. At least the anime is what I watched during my childhood, but I prefer the manga ten times more.

[SSJGarfield]

Dragonball Z was the first anime I followed religiously in the early 00's when I was around 16/17 years old when it was aired on Cartoon Network and Yorin between 2000 and 2004 and the one thing that truly got me into anime.

I followed the series for it's story, awesome characters, comedy and action and it hasn't dissapointed me one bit

[BeastMode]

Nostalgia aside, I think it's a genuinely good series. Nostalgia plays a part, but that's not the only reason I enjoy/like it by any means.

[DoomieDoomie911]

Well, since I only got in the series about four years ago, it's definitely not nostalgia. I like the story and the characters, as well as the voices (in the Japanese version). Plus, it always makes me so happy to watch (or read) it. In times of stress or worry, I know I can always turn on my TV and watch a little Dragon Ball!

[Kendamu]

- I like the story in how, while "good versus evil" play a role, it's more of a personal stakes thing rather than "We're good and they're evil so we must go out of our way to fight them!! We are the Kame-sen'nin Warriors of Justice!!"

- I like how the characters slowly change over time, remaining the same fundamental people we've met over the years but adapting to new challenges, relationships, and other circumstances. Piccolo and Vegeta stopped being murderous, but they never stopped having the general personalities they had over the years. Goku, while learning more about and adapting to the world and how people took advantage of his optimistic and naive nature and while facing unspeakable evils, never became jaded and gritty because of the world and the people in his life.

- I like how the action changed as time went on due to the training methods (when looked at in-universe). At first, they studied martial arts that looked more like traditional Chinese Gongfu and had training methods meant to condition themselves for such fighting. As time went on and as the idea of being more efficient came into play, the movements became more precise like modern Chinese Sanshou, the training became a bit more high tech with gravity machines, and all the characters learned the importance of using their Chi in bursts to concentrate the power of their attacks. If you take DB Online into account, this goes even further by wrist bands and weighted shirts eventually being replaced with MMA gloves and rash guards.

- The serious nature of some of the plots contrasts in a really neat way with the overall happy and colorful themes of the show. It kind of gives the whole thing a "never say die" vibe that let's you know that they're gonna make it through whatever trouble they're in, even if a wish is needed to set things right again.

- Toriyama wrote the story week-to-week with only the most general outline and only one assistant and it still turned out amazing!! I can't think of anyone else that could do that under that sort of time constraint. That in itself is a show of Shonen spirit!

- It inspired me to take martial arts and fitness to higher levels than I had previously cared about. I sort of owe the series something for that.

I'm sure I could think up more, but I don't generally think about why I like Dragonball. I just do!!

[Ginkasa]

Nostalgia actually plays a pretty small role in my opinion on DB/Z despite my primary exposure to it being in jr. high and high school. I think there's a few reasons for this.

1) There was only a very brief period after they ran out of DB and DBZ episodes to air that I wasn't exposed to it some form after first experiencing it. I didn't own any episodes and only a few volumes of the early DB manga and there wasn't much reason to sit down and watch whatever random re-run they had on. Eventually I didn't have cable, so I didn't really have any input from the series at all. It wasn't very long until I had more disposable income and bought the remaining manga volumes and, later, the Dragon Boxes. Nostalgia may have played a small part in splurging for those, but only very small because...

2) Even without the almost constant exposure to the series, nostalgia couldn't play much part in my enjoyment of the series because the series now really isn't the same as what I grew up watching. I first saw the original Saban/Funimation dub up through that cliffhanger at the end of the "second season." That's what I really grew up on. I haven't seen that for probably over a decade. Even when I watch those episodes now, there're different voices and its a different script. It feels different, so it prevents my "remember when" juices from flowing, if that makes sense. Even the "third season" episodes have been altered some, so that doesn't even match what I remember from my adolescence. I haven't watched the Android - Buu sagas too much, so they almost feel new rather than nostalgic when I watch those. The manga as well. I didn't read through all the manga until I was an adult, so...

Anyway, I think there are many qualities to Dragonball and DragonballZ that endear me to it. In fact, I think different qualities have allowed me to like it at different points in my life. When I was growing up, I just liked the action and big explosions. Now, though, I find myself more drawn to Goku himself. He's just such a good character. I mean morally good. He's not evil in any sense of the word, completely self-less (except around food), and just... good. He really has no flaws except for being naive (which is really more of a good quality in the way its portrayed in DB). Normally this might make for a boring character, but Toriyama surrounded him by uber flawed characters which, first, highlighted Goku's goodness while, second, provided a lot of comedy opportunities that kept the whole thing from getting stale. I think that half (more?) of the cast consists of reformed villains/rivals just highlights how amazing Goku is. Its done in a very natural way so that not only do all the characters look up to Goku, but you do too. Like Superman done right.

I think a lot of the indisputable positives spring out from Goku. But it also just has a great base entertainment quality to it as well that just makes it fun to watch. The mixture between the action and the comedy and the drama is almost perfect, IMO (more so the manga and earlier bits of the anime, but still). I don't think nostalgia really has to play much of a factor in someone liking DB.

[DBZAOTA482]

All nostalgia aside, I still think of it as a genuinely good anime/manga series. It's a big shonen epic that starts off as a whimsical adventure/comedy where the testament of one's will is shown through a trial of bondage, teamwork, and pushing beyond one's limits (of which eventually became the standards for Shonen Jump titles) to evolving to a darker toned "good versus evil" story of similar themes. I also liked the action a lot (IMO it has some of the most elaborately choreographed fight scenes in anime/manga history), and I find most of the characters pretty likable in one way or another. It's also one of the few anime that has some filler material that I like.

One of the only issues though(at least concerning the manga; anime has additional issues) is that most of the characters dwindle down the path of being useless and neglected (Oolong and Pu'ar became useless in just the course of one arc; Lunch just disappeared), and the story becomes a little weak by the Majin Boo Saga.