Is nostalgia the only reason you still like DBZ?

[Ajay]

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

Oh, no, you didn't at all. I'm always interested to hear valid criticisms.

I totally understand the pacing complaints and the inconsistent animation, I guess that's the result of creating a show at the same time the damn manga is still being made!

Although, I haven't actually seen the other titles you mentioned aside from G Gundam, so I'm not sure whether that's a valid excuse.

But yeah, with all that said, I guess despite its flaws, I find a certain charm about the show that pushes it above other similar titles that could be considered fundamentally 'better'.

Whether that be the colour palette, the absurdity of the characters or the general tone of the series, I can't say for sure but it certainly places itself as one of my favourite animes.

My taste in anime tends to lean towards titles like Elfen Lied, Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, Cowboy Bebop and perhaps even Outlaw Star. I've never really gotten into any other 'Shonen Fighter', so who knows how on earth Dragon Ball appealed to me so much!

[Aoi]

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.

^ This.
You can watch a show for 1-2 episodes because of 'nostalgia'. But you don't watch various versions of a 291 (or 444) episode show because it used to be great when you were a kid. Hell, Power Rangers was "great" when I was a kid. I can't even watch 5 minutes of that show anymore.

[bleed0range]

Nope. I still watch it on and off since way back when. There is always a small nostalgia factor, but mostly I watch it because I still love Dragon Ball as much now as back then. Battle of Gods is just finally something NEW to get to watch!! And I'm 28 btw (almost 29).

[El Diabeetus]

I've been keeping up with it since I was a kid, I never gave it up, so since I was 6 and have been a fan for 14 years. I still legitimately like it to this day. Although, I tend to watch Kai now unless it's the Japanese version. Otherwise I go watch Z, but I still enjoy the original DB and even GT despite it's flaws.

[TheGmGoken]

Well since Dragonball is not even on my top 10 anime-manga list. And I still love it. I'll say yes and no. Yes it makes me want to re-watch it more than other anime(s). But no. It's not the only reason why I still watch and like it.

[dbzfan7]

No. I love Dragon Ball to death because I love the characters, the fights, the techniques, the adventures, the music, some of the games, etc. Ever since I got back into Dragon Ball I have never gone a single day without thinking about Dragon Ball or doing something Dragon Ball related.

[Vegard Aune]

But yeah, with all that said, I guess despite its flaws, I find a certain charm about the show that pushes it above other similar titles that could be considered fundamentally 'better'.

You mean like Dragon Ball Kai?
No really, my stance on Kai is that, due to cutting out a lot of the redundancy, it is perhaps, strictly speaking, "better" than Z was... But I sort of feel like Z seemed like it had a lot more effort put into it, and at least Z had an excuse for its story moving at a snail's pace... Whereas Kai, post-Saiyan arc, seemed perfectly content to move at a turtle's pace for absolutely no reason whatsoever besides Toei apparently deciding that "Meh, let's just take two episodes of the original and cram them into one! Consistently!"
Yeah, sorry Toei, but the pacing of the DB manga does not lend itself to even ten minutes of well-paced animated content most of the time.

As for the original question... Yes, I believe it is. My stance on it is pretty much the same as Looneygamemaster's, or as I often put it myself, I do not actually consider Dragon Ball a particularly good show, yet I can't ever seem to bring myself to not like it in spite of its tremendous flaws.
I will say that the manga is genuinely fun though.

[Gonstead]

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.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[DBZ Mick]

Probably not as I got re-into it when I started watching in Japanese.

I'm more a casual fan though.

[KingofWisdom]

I think the fact that I've grown out of the pre-Kai English dubs (aside from the FUNi/Pioneer film trilogy) and yet still love the series is proof that there's more to it than that. At least for me. It's definitely my favorite manga/anime series, though, and that might be from nostalgia. But, no, I feel that despite any issues there may be in the writing, the overall charm of the characters more than make up for it. I still go back to the series and watch it; it holds up too. I'm not even burnt out on it yet.

[Kunzait_83]

In the past several years I've developed a visceral loathing of and contempt for nostalgia. And unfortunately I find that while it's certainly not my reason for still liking Dragon Ball, it very much seems to be THE most central reason why the vast overwhelming majority of others still do; which is one among several other major factors that sadly makes most all of modern Dragon Ball fandom in its entirety extremely unpleasant for me to be around for very long stretches.

[KingofWisdom]

I wouldn't say I loathe nostalgia, but I agree with much of what Kunzait_83 said. I can't go back to any of the stuff I grew up with unless I feel that it holds up, and it seems most discussions of the series I see on other sites will be very nostalgic in nature. I tend to avoid those threads. I'm much less bothered when it comes to nostalgia for the Japanese version, though.

[Unicorn_Bazooka]

I too didn't watch it much when i was younger.

I saw it a couple of times on the TV and thought that this is just another TV show.
I got re-interested into the series about a year ago, but i didn't get much of a nostalgia boner.

[elyas11]

Mostly but not fully. It's a very catchy, inspirational and trendsetting manga and show and it gives me chills that aren't nostalgia related.

But gonna be honest here, since I've started getting into actual proper storytelling and writing and all that, I did realise how weak DB is in that. And after finding out that Toriyama actually wasnt so passionate in his work and that he worked only one chapter ahead, I understood why my passion for it started fading away a little bit.

The best thing about DB is the fun though, it's about enjoying the show and finding it fun, rather than interesting and powerful storytelling.

[thatdbzguy]

Mostly but not fully. It's a very catchy, inspirational and trendsetting manga and show and it gives me chills that aren't nostalgia related.

But gonna be honest here, since I've started getting into actual proper storytelling and writing and all that, I did realise how weak DB is in that. And after finding out that Toriyama actually wasnt so passionate in his work and that he worked only one chapter ahead, I understood why my passion for it started fading away a little bit.

The best thing about DB is the fun though, it's about enjoying the show and finding it fun, rather than interesting and powerful storytelling.

I like to consider Dragon Ball as a whole as a "wonderfully-written terribly-written" manga/anime.

The source material on paper might not sound like good literature, but the way Toriyama handled the story was what made it so special in my eyes.

[OutlawTorn]

You can watch a show for 1-2 episodes because of 'nostalgia'. But you don't watch various versions of a 291 (or 444) episode show because it used to be great when you were a kid. Hell, Power Rangers was "great" when I was a kid. I can't even watch 5 minutes of that show anymore.

Under this definition, then the nostalgia thing would describe me as I don't really watch DBZ anymore and really don't care about any additional material that has been produced since. I don't really like the series any less than I did originally, it's just with so many episodes, it's become prohibitive as a show to watch over and over and I don't think there's a random episode which I would even call my favourite.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I'd say nostalgia plays a big part in why I like the series. There are times when I'll be reading the manga or watching the anime and something really stupid or convenient will happen and I'll get really depressed that I like the series so much. Then I'll read or watch other parts of the series or play some of the games and remember there is something to DBZ. But yeah, if I had no nostalgia for it, I'd definitely like it a lot less than I do now. I freely admit that the English dub sucks and other Shonen series have much better stories.

[mAcChaos]

In the past several years I've developed a visceral loathing of and contempt for nostalgia. And unfortunately I find that while it's certainly not my reason for still liking Dragon Ball, it very much seems to be THE most central reason why the vast overwhelming majority of others still do; which is one among several other major factors that sadly makes most all of modern Dragon Ball fandom in its entirety extremely unpleasant for me to be around for very long stretches.

What is wrong with nostalgia? It is one of the more pleasant feelings to have.

[DBGod]

Although nostalgia indeed plays a large role for me, it has also given me another chance to to appreciate the series.

Here is an example, back when GT aired on YTV, I disliked it, in fact, I didnt even bother watching it because even back then, I knew it was trash. However, after watching it many years later due to a nostalgia feeling, I learned to appreciate it a lot more.

So nostalgia plays a large role, but it certainly isnt the only reason why I continue to watch these series.