Is nostalgia the only reason you still like DBZ?

thatdbzguy · Post by **thatdbzguy** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:50 am

A lot of people nowadays watch DBZ simply for the nostalgic factor it gives them. Are you one of those people?

I personally grew up more with the video games than I did the actual show/manga, so I don't really have much of a nostalgic attachment to DBZ.

90sDBZ · Post by **90sDBZ** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:25 am

I have great nostalgia for it but that's not the main reason I still watch it. I believe that it's a genuinely great show that can be watched countless times. And I love the animation style. I know a lot of episodes have issues with the animation but I feel like the general look Dragonball has is pretty timeless. Even today there's no other show as special as it. I actually watch Kai on TV these days even though that's not the version from my childhood and not my favourite version it's still really awesome to me. And the fact that there's so many different versions of it actually makes it easier to rewatch it over and over.

YouTube · Post by **Ajay** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:33 am

I think there's been an influx of nostalgic fans with the release of Battle of Gods that's certainly pushed the franchise lately. Bit of a shame as I'm sure their phase is likely to die out soon enough.

It's certainly not nostalgia for me - perhaps at the start of my revisiting the fandom but certainly not now. I watch the Japanese version near exclusively which is not the version I grew up on so it's not something I can be nostalgic about.

I grew up on the Ocean/Westwood dub and whilst the latter is fairly awful at times, I can't help but love it out of pure nostalgia. That's the only part of the franchise I can say I love with rose tinted glasses.

MCDaveG · Post by **MCDaveG** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:41 am

Well, I don't know. I think it (nostalgia) makes a big part and reason I like the Dragon Ball. Every time I pop in episode of the series with Japanese score, the atmosphere takes me back to my childhood as I was sitting at home after school and watching it in TV. Second reason is, for me, Dragon Ball is for me the anime from the better times. I don't know if I'm too much old for it, but I pretty much despise the new mainstream series. I don't understand, why is everyone so wet from example Evangelion, because I never found charm in it myself and I really don't like the cliché anime drawing, you know, huge eyes made from two lines and disproportional pupils, pointy chins. Of course, Dragon Ball have these characteristics used too, but in genuine and original way. As I was kid, all anime shown here or on other channels looked like Pokémon, Inuyasha, Monster Rancher, Digimon, looked almost the same.
But from the new anime, I like Naruto for the visual, it's closest to Dragon Ball for me visually and One Piece has the adventurous atmosphere and long humongous fights, but still, Dragon Ball will be the one and only shonen for me, with Saint Seiya and Yu Yu Hakusho right behind it. I'm also huge Gundam fan, but I also like the UC and the others not that much. Only non-UC series I liked was first part of Gundam 00 and the movie. I absolutely despise Gundam Seed, most for it's anime cliché stuff. Dumb singing idol being leader of revolte? Oh, for God's sake!

So maybe I'm allready too old (24) for new anime and don't understand nowadays teen culture, but nostalgia aside, Dragon Ball is really good series and it defined the shonen genre for me, because it's traits are iconic. Yeah, Saint Seiya and others had it before, but DBZ has the unique feel. The formula of long dragged fights, with some verbal exchange and discussing with your opponent instead of non-stop skirmish, thinking out the tactics and each episode ending with cliffhanger, that's what I love, that's what caught me the first time in TV and I still love it today. And we are talking about DBZ only, if we take the whole series, I also love the settings since first episode of DB and how the world looks like overall. How many series have it's own recognizable architecture? Those buildings inspired by retro-futuro UFO houses and technology.

TheMightyOzaru · Post by **TheMightyOzaru** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:49 am

MCDaveG · Post by **MCDaveG** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:05 am

TheMightyOzaru wrote:No.

Hah, I could've written it the same way and I would've save a quantum of time!

rereboy · Post by **rereboy** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:06 am

Not even nostalgia saves the anime for me nowadays. However I really like the manga and I honestly think its a great manga.

Aoi · Post by **Aoi** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:15 am

I was thinking about this actually. Thanks for posting this thread.
My answer is: Not at all.

I grew out of 99% of the things that I used to be interested in as a child and much of what I was interested in as a teen. For example, I feel extremely nostalgic towards "Are You Afraid of the Dark?". But, I can only tolerate sitting through maybe 1-2 episodes of that show because it's just not good for me anymore. I adore Dragon Ball because it is legitimately a wonderful story written by an exceptionally talented author.

Revolution · Post by **Revolution** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:20 am

90sDBZ wrote:I have great nostalgia for it but that's not the main reason I still watch it. I believe that it's a genuinely great show that can be watched countless times. And I love the animation style. I know a lot of episodes have issues with the animation but I feel like the general look Dragonball has is pretty timeless. Even today there's no other show as special as it. I actually watch Kai on TV these days even though that's not the version from my childhood and not my favourite version it's still really awesome to me. And the fact that there's so many different versions of it actually makes it easier to rewatch it over and over.

This ^

... I love the it grows and gains complexity to it as the series developed but was still as easy as ever to follow.. I feel like I've gone a bit of a journey whenever I watch through the series from the beginning, its an experience.. it's as good as any other tv series out there and a lot better than most IMO!

Cursed Lemon · Post by **Cursed Lemon** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:35 am

DBZ is a genuinely great action show - if you want martial arts-themed ass-kicking, DBZ is pretty much tops.

Looneygamemaster · Post by **Looneygamemaster** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:54 am

Pretty much yes, for me. Dragon Ball's one of the the franchises that got me into anime, and for that, it holds a special place in my heart. But Dragon Ball Z is not a good show. It's decent at best.

YouTube · Post by **Ajay** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:53 am

Looneygamemaster wrote:But Dragon Ball Z is not a good show. It's decent at best.

Oof, that's brave!

I'd say it's pretty excellent at what it tries to be. I'm not sure it's ever attempted to be this award winning, dramatic show and when it has tried, I think it's pulled it off nicely e.g. Vegeta's farewell to Trunks.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:59 am

If Dragonball had never been a part of my youth and I'd never been led from Dragonball into watching Anime in general then I can't say that, as someone in their mid-20s, I would be likely to find it appealing at this stage of my life.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it's hard to say - as quite frankly Dragonball was one of the most important and influential aspects of my youth and adolescence. I am who I am in part because of Dragonball, it's hard to imagine who I'd be if not for it.

90sDBZ · Post by **90sDBZ** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 12:41 pm

Well I think I'd definitely still like it even if I saw it for the first time as an adult. I've actually heard of plenty of people not getting into it until their 20s or even 30s. Even at its worst Dragonball is at least decent. At its best it's incredible.

Aoi · Post by **Aoi** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 12:44 pm

Dragon Ball to me is what "Jaws" is to movies. It's way too good for what it was supposed to be. Both had extremely talented craftsmen make something special out of what otherwise should have been "average" at best.

Vijay · Post by **Vijay** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:06 pm

DBZ is a classic. A king of its genre.

Nostalgic factor applies to only those overrated piss poor anime series that idolized DBZ as inspiration & merely implemented & improvised some aspects of their respective shows.

No kidding. I'm 23. DBZ still blows me away, especially Cell & Buu Saga.

Looneygamemaster · Post by **Looneygamemaster** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:22 pm

I'd say it's pretty excellent at what it tries to be. I'm not sure it's ever attempted to be this award winning, dramatic show and when it has tried, I think it's pulled it off nicely e.g. Vegeta's farewell to Trunks.

No, I'd say that even considering what it's supposed to be (a shallow, yet fun action show), it leaves something to be desired.

Nostalgic factor applies to only those overrated piss poor anime series that idolized DBZ as inspiration & merely implemented & improvised some aspects of their respective shows.

Uh...huh. Out of curiosity, which shows would you be referring to?

YouTube · Post by **Ajay** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:31 pm

Looneygamemaster wrote:it leaves something to be desired.

What exactly do you find so wrong with the show? Not to sound antagonistic, I'm just curious! Especially considering you're on a dedicated fan site

Hellspawn28 · Post by **Hellspawn28** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:41 pm

I seen DBZ so many times as a kid and teenager that I find it hard for me to feel nostalgia for it. I still like DBZ because it made a impact on my life since it made me want to check out similar shows and made me want to draw action comics. I do have a lot of nostalgia for the original Dragon Ball and I would like to revisit that show one day when they give us the DB boxes here in the US.

Looneygamemaster · Post by **Looneygamemaster** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:46 pm

AjayLikesGaming wrote:
Looneygamemaster wrote:it leaves something to be desired.
What exactly do you find so wrong with the show? Not to sound antagonistic, I'm just curious! Especially considering you're on a dedicated fan site

Well, it pretty much embodies the flaws of just about every "Shonen Fighter" adaptation that goes over 52 episodes--horrendous pacing, wildly varying animation quality, and a general sense of fatigue. And these flaws come about, because you can tell that the creators care more about "making the manga move" then actually trying to adapt the comic.

I don't want to come off as too hard on it, mind you, as it still provides good fighting on occasion, and that sense of genuine fun that Toriyama provides still makes it watchable. It's one of the few aforementioned adaptations that I'd actually watch (replace that fun with tedious melodrama and "gripping" plot twists and you get stuff like Naruto and Bleach

). It's just that, even when it comes to shallow fun, there are far better options available at about a sixth of the time (I'd nominate Soul Eater, G Gundam, and even Slayers when the franchise is at its best--heck, even the original DB anime beats it).

That's just my view, don't want to come off as rude.

Kanzenshuu

Is nostalgia the only reason you still like DBZ?

Is nostalgia the only reason you still like DBZ?

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