Is it just me or is GT more popular than DB?

[90sDBZ]

While GT gets a lot of hate it does seem to get talked about a lot more than DB by most English speaking fans. In spite of how much it's hated on I can't help but notice that whenever a new game gets announced everyone makes a big fuss about having GT characters in but don't seem to care so much about DB characters. Also everyone always talks about SS4 and the GT villains but don't mention the likes of King Piccolo much. I get the impression that a lot of fans haven't even watched DB. Maybe because there was not much action early on so they just arrogantly dismissed the rest of the series. I know I've seen a few people call it boring.

Another thing I've noticed is that for some reason since DBZ Kai has been airing on Kix here in the UK there seems to be a high interest in GT on the Kix website. A lot of the comments are kids asking for GT and others bragging that they've already seen it and even some saying it's the best series. DB on the other hand hardly ever gets mentioned.

It strikes me as weird that DB, which is a much better series and the one that started it all gets overlooked so often. You'd think there'd be more interest in seeing the origins of the Z Fighters. I remember being really excited back when Toonami UK announced they were airing DB and really enjoying the series despite the less than great Blue Water dub. Unfortunately it was only shown in full about 3 times before getting taken off.

Could the greater interest in GT be down to it having more Z-style action? Or is it just because most kids are only interested in seeing big Super Saiyan transformations like SS4 and don't care about the greater substance the story of DB offered? I for one was really interested in the story of DB and seeing how Goku met everyone and how he got so strong with all the cool training he did and awesome Tournament fights. Throughout Z there were many flashbacks to DB which always made me very curious about the story behind them. For those of you who also saw Z first, what did you think when you saw the DB flashbacks? I remember being really curious about Piccolo's flashback of his backstory with Goku. Back then I didn't actually know there was a series before Z and I always used to wonder why they never aired "The older episodes of Z" as I used to think of them.

[dbzfan7]

I remember back when I was a kid and watched filler-less dbz videos on adamdudeman's channel that he had an open poll that had people vote if they wanna have him do DB or GT next. The winner was GT by a significant degree. I think it is the action as I recall voting for GT as well (I wouldn't make that same choice now).

[The Time Traveller]

Wait, does that mean he would have removed all the filler from DBGT?

Cool.

[dbzfan7]

Wait, does that mean he would have removed all the filler from DBGT?

Cool.

He would cut down on the filler that usually took away from the fights. I noticed episodes were actually longer when I learned of more websites than youtube. The whole thing would be cut down into parts for each saga.

[Vijay]

Prequels are often over-looked as mere step-stones into something great/famous/popular.

Same theory.

GT as DBZ's sequel alone earns the show some deserved popularity. I myself was attracted towards GT more than DB. At first anyway.

I agree on GT villains being more/most spoken/debated topic than Db villains like Commander Red or King Piccolo.

[TheGmGoken]

DB is very underrated because of the lack of Ki blast being tossed every second. Hence why Piccolor Jr is the most talked about arc with english fans. I always prefer DB over the other 2 due to plot and fighting. But it saddens me people ignore it at times because of the lack of Ki attacks. Some people don't even know DB exist and only know of GT and DB. Some don't even take the time to watch it so that's also a factor

[Super Sayian Prime]

I believe Funimation's stated that GT has sold better for them than DB.

[90sDBZ]

It's actually pretty ironic that GT is more popular because of the action because when DB does get around to the action it's great. It's a case of fans taking quantity over quality. The fights at the 22nd Tournament are way better than any fight in GT and arguably Z but a lot of so-called fans missed out on that because they were too impatient with DB. What also really annoys me is how a lot of fans jump on the anti-Yamcha bandwagon without having seen how badass he was in DB.

[Ryu-Ken Bakuhatsu]

A lot of people think that if it's Dragon Ball and it ain't got blonde haired muscle men, or red furred muscle men with monkey tails, or it doesn't have the letter "Z" tagged to it then it ain't worth their time.

In my experience I've noticed that the problem most people have with Dragon Ball is just that Goku is a "kid" for the majority of it.

I talked to a guy a while back about Dragon Ball...Z, and he'd only ever really watched that part of the story. So I mentioned "Dragon Ball" and his reaction was like "What's Dragon Ball? Is that when they're kids?". His whole attitude was exactly like I said before - if Goku and everyone else are "kids" then it's not worth their time.

Almost all the people I've talked to in person about Dragon Ball are that same way, with about 2 to 3 exceptions.

I think it's because so many people have it so stuck in their heads that the Dragon Ball franchise is "SUPER HARDCORE AWESOME GREATEST ACTION CARTOON OF ALL TIME RAWRGH" [no thanks to FUNimations marketing] that they don't truly appreciate what a fantastic, colourful, fun-filled and at many a time funny of a story that it really is - and anything that's not blasting, punching, standing, staring, charging, yelling for 30 minutes is complete crap.

I can't tell you how many times I've told people it's a kids story and they insist it's not. Personally I feel that you can only truly appreciated the real story once you understand it's primarly aimed at kids, and understand that it's Asian, read the manga, understood where Toriyama was coming from, watched the anime in Japanese, or even read Dr. Slump, and so on - then and only then can you truly understand the true character of Son Goku and the world he lives in.

Without thoses first 194 chapters, you don't have the complete picture and you can't understand the complete scope of it.

[Kid Buu]

Well Nicktoons did choose to air GT and not DB so...

[DBZAOTA482]

In North American I suppose since the time they attempted to show Dragon Ball on TV (for the second time) DBZ was already a massive hit and they pretty much advertised it as just the same show only "smaller" which made people feel as though it was pointless to watch it, being the prequel and all.

[TheGmGoken]

In North American I suppose since the time they attempted to show Dragon Ball on TV (for the second time) DBZ was already a massive hit and they pretty much advertised it as just the same show only "smaller" which made people feel as though it was pointless to watch it, being the prequel and all.

A lot of people(I'm shocked to say this) thought Dragonball was made AFTER dbz. So some think it's like a sequel prequel

[NintendoBlaze53]

Prequels are often over-looked as mere step-stones into something great/famous/popular.

Same theory.

GT as DBZ's sequel alone earns the show some deserved popularity. I myself was attracted towards GT more than DB. At first anyway.

I agree on GT villains being more/most spoken/debated topic than Db villains like Commander Red or King Piccolo.

In North American I suppose since the time they attempted to show Dragon Ball on TV (for the second time) DBZ was already a massive hit and they pretty much advertised it as just the same show only "smaller" which made people feel as though it was pointless to watch it, being the prequel and all.

A lot of people(I'm shocked to say this) thought Dragonball was made AFTER dbz. So some think it's like a sequel prequel

I as a fan of great story's and genuinely funny jokes more then just mindless action, for this Dragon Ball is my favorite of the trilogy despite me liking the story the Tenkaichi Budokai Arcs are my favorite arcs. most people dismiss it of as a prequel, but the only reason DBZ exists is because Toriyama's fighting was the most popular part of DB as Gaffertape said in his Dragon Ball Dissection and it's pretty obvious Toriyama was getting sick of it buy the Boo saga. As for the games I see this too people constantly wishing for SSj4 and Baby playable i would love a Raging Blast style Dragon Ball game with boss battle's & beat em up sections like One Piece Pirate Warriors, the best DB game we got was Revenge of King Piccolo but I want a true DB fighting game.

[Insertclevername]

I believe Funimation's stated that GT has sold better for them than DB.

I theorize that was possibly due to GT being a small series to own with only two season sets and a special compared to 5 sets for Dragon Ball and 9 sets for Dragon Ball Z with two TV specials. So it's got affordability and convenience.

[Fizzer]

I think GT is more popular because the characters are absurdly powerful in it, like in the latter parts of Z, because they're adults, because GT is darker (shitty serious dub music anyone?) and just because it's after Z. Also, there isn't much of a focus on fighting early in DB, and I'm pretty sure the American fanbase would get tired of plot and dismiss it before that changed. I think there's a common view that DB is a kids show but DBZ somehow isn't, too, DBZ is ultimate badass epic hardcore action cartoon sick Faulconer brutal extreme edition, and it manages to drag GT in with it.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

Well, when you think about it, Dragon Ball had a bit of a weird history in the US. It ran for 13 episodes at a bizarre time of the day before getting cancelled. Then when FUNimation began dubbing it again, it was sandwiched between 'Z' stuff so it was likely overshadowed by that. I don't remember hearing a lot of people making noise when FUNimation dubbed Movie 2, but Ginyu Assault on the other hand...well, we know all know how people reacted to that. By the time GT rolled around, Funimation had finished with DBZ, dubbing-wise (apart from the movies of course), so it was free to go out and be the centre of attention. It also feels like FUNimation put a lot more effort into promoting GT, I don't recall seeing much advertising for Dragon Ball, but it might be because GT's ads were more memorable with the whole, "You think you know GT?" bullshit.

Speaking of advertising, I have to imagine that GT was a lot easier to market. It still has that mysterious, exclusive-to-Japan feel to it, even though it's been available in English for years. For me, it brings me back to the days of Beckett magazines where you'd gobble up any information relating to GT, true or not. With DB, it's kinda like you already know all of this stuff, but with GT there's this sense of the unknown and also, I hate to say it, but I think how the characters go far beyond their Z-counterparts is a big part of it. It's just more appealing to the kiddies. Also, bringing it back to one of my previous points, DB's re-launch was happening in the middle of the Z-phase (2001, I believe), so it didn't have the same sort of hype behind it and I think the end result is a lack of nostalgia for this part of the franchise because no one has the fond memories of its initial release, at least not to the extent that they have with DBZ. Years down the track, this creates a problem for FUNimation trying to market the series, because they can't take the nostalgia route as they aren't able to call on the same sort of memories that they can with Z, and they obviously can't market it as new hotness because it looks ancient. GT, on the other hand, is still relatively recent so they can take that "new-hotness" approach with it.

Personally, I find that I enjoy reading DB a lot more than watching the Anime and GT...I don't even know how the story goes, to be honest...

Here's how the story goes we find out
About a Treasure in the Grand Line
Theres no doubt, The pirate who's eye on it
He'll sing I'll be King of the Pirates
I'm gonna be king
Ya-yo, ya-yo, ya-yo, ho-ho
His name is Luffy
That's Monkey D. Luffy
Gonna be king of the pirates!
He's made of rubber - (female singers) how did that happen?
Yo-ho-ho he took a bite of Gum Gum
Ya-yo, ya-yo
His name's Zolo, He's just like a samurai
And a L-A-D-Y Nami's not shy
The pirate crew coming through, doin' their thing,
With the king of the pirates, he's gonna be king!
Ya-yo, ya-yo, ya-yo, hoo-hoo
Set sail for One Piece, it's the name of the treasure in the Grand Line!
Ya-yo, ya-yo
Set sail for One Piece!

[KentalSSJ6]

Well, when you think about it, Dragon Ball had a bit of a weird history in the US. It ran for 13 episodes at a bizarre time of the day before getting cancelled. Then when FUNimation began dubbing it again, it was sandwiched between 'Z' stuff so it was likely overshadowed by that. I don't remember hearing a lot of people making noise when FUNimation dubbed Movie 2, but Ginyu Assault on the other hand...well, we know all know how people reacted to that. By the time GT rolled around, Funimation had finished with DBZ, dubbing-wise (apart from the movies of course), so it was free to go out and be the centre of attention. It also feels like FUNimation put a lot more effort into promoting GT, I don't recall seeing much advertising for Dragon Ball, but it might be because GT's ads were more memorable with the whole, "You think you know GT?" bullshit.

Speaking of advertising, I have to imagine that GT was a lot easier to market. It still has that mysterious, exclusive-to-Japan feel to it, even though it's been available in English for years. For me, it brings me back to the days of Beckett magazines where you'd gobble up any information relating to GT, true or not. With DB, it's kinda like you already know all of this stuff, but with GT there's this sense of the unknown and also, I hate to say it, but I think how the characters go far beyond their Z-counterparts is a big part of it. It's just more appealing to the kiddies. Also, bringing it back to one of my previous points, DB's re-launch was happening in the middle of the Z-phase (2001, I believe), so it didn't have the same sort of hype behind it and I think the end result is a lack of nostalgia for this part of the franchise because no one has the fond memories of its initial release, at least not to the extent that they have with DBZ. Years down the track, this creates a problem for FUNimation trying to market the series, because they can't take the nostalgia route as they aren't able to call on the same sort of memories that they can with Z, and they obviously can't market it as new hotness because it looks ancient. GT, on the other hand, is still relatively recent so they can take that "new-hotness" approach with it.

Personally, I find that I enjoy reading DB a lot more than watching the Anime and GT...I don't even know how the story goes, to be honest...

Here's how the story goes we find out
About a Treasure in the Grand Line
Theres no doubt, The pirate who's eye on it
He'll sing I'll be King of the Pirates
I'm gonna be king
Ya-yo, ya-yo, ya-yo, ho-ho
His name is Luffy
That's Monkey D. Luffy
Gonna be king of the pirates!
He's made of rubber - (female singers) how did that happen?
Yo-ho-ho he took a bite of Gum Gum
Ya-yo, ya-yo
His name's Zolo, He's just like a samurai
And a L-A-D-Y Nami's not shy
The pirate crew coming through, doin' their thing,
With the king of the pirates, he's gonna be king!
Ya-yo, ya-yo, ya-yo, hoo-hoo
Set sail for One Piece, it's the name of the treasure in the Grand Line!
Ya-yo, ya-yo
Set sail for One Piece!

Oh god..what dub used that opening? I remember it was the dub Toonami used years ago.

[Blade]

I can understand why GT would be more popular than Dragonball in many countries for two primary reasons:

1) It's the direct sequel to Dragonball Z, which is by far the most popular series in the franchise, and was heavily billed as such.
2) It (for the most part) is consistent with the epic battle-centric tone of Dragonball Z, whereas Dragonball for the most part isn't.

In most markets Dragonball was underbilled

[90sDBZ]

And yet in Japan DB was popular enough to run for 153 episodes and get a sequel made while GT got cancelled after 64 episodes causing the anime to come to an end. It really goes to show that Japanese kids have different tastes. Here in the UK we actually got DB after Z and GT had ended. It even had some cool promos like "Before GT. Before Z. There was only... Dragonball!" but it still didn't get that popular. It is pretty sad to think there are actually people who are ignorant enough to believe that DB was made after Z even though there are obviously several flashbacks to DB in Z and the DB animation style looks a lot like the early Z animation style. If it were made after Z then it wouldn't look so similar to early Z.

[Blade]

And yet in Japan DB was popular enough to run for 153 episodes and get a sequel made while GT got cancelled after 64 episodes causing the anime to come to an end. It really goes to show that Japanese kids have different tastes. Here in the UK we actually got DB after Z and GT had ended. It even had some cool promos like "Before GT. Before Z. There was only... Dragonball!" but it still didn't get that popular. It is pretty sad to think there are actually people who are ignorant enough to believe that DB was made after Z even though there are obviously several flashbacks to DB in Z and the DB animation style looks a lot like the early Z animation style. If it were made after Z then it wouldn't look so similar to early Z.

GT didn't cause the anime to come to an end, GT extended the anime once it had exhausted all of the source material due to the end of Dragonball's serialisation.

Moreover, GT was never cancelled - the intended scope of the series is much debated but has never been explicitly states. There's a long-standing rumour that actually GT was extended beyond its intended length in response good ratings or to promote the video game 'Dragonball GT Final Bout' (which I dispute as nonsensical, as the budget for extending the series would have far outweighed the budget the game was created on and its expected sales revenues.)

Actually, I used the word 'exhausted' in my first sentence - which I think is a fitting term to describe the state of the franchise at the end of GT. I think that has more to do with why the anime was never extended.