Why was DBZ so well recieved worldwide?

[Sin]

So we all remember the late 90's - early 00's (well, most of us), and the hype surrounding DBZ at the time. You can probably ask anyone who was a child/teen or had a child/teen in that period of time what DBZ is and they'd give you their recollection, it's popularity was entirely similar to Pokemon in that it wasn't restricted to a male or female demographic and the audiences age range was particularly broad.

Why was it such a hit in though? Receiving a kind of reception only a handful of anime series' have had in the last couple of decades, was there really a gap in the market for DBZ? I'm not entirely sure about the US but here in the UK DBZ was advertised pretty heavily before it's initial airing, was that the case in America?

[TheGmGoken]

Wasn't it well recieved everywhere?

Also I think it was the simple plot that anyone can follow(Man finds out he's an alien and is a protecter of Earth) and the fighting was great. Maybe compared to other Cartoons(Since they was American Cartoons not Asia...more specifically Japan's Cartoons) the action was more impact and better to watch.

[Hellspawn28]

Because it was a TV show with tons of action and cool looking characters. It was a show that people never saw before and we're the right age to get into DBZ. The DBZ boom started back in 1998 since it was on Toonami after schools and more people watch it then they did with the early morning showings on TV from 1996 - 1997. DBZ in the US had a lot of marketing, you could not go to a Toy Store without seeing DBZ stuff.

[Looneygamemaster]

It's really the same thing that makes all anime titles hits outside of the fandom: DBZ was nice and comfortable, but looked juuuuust different enough from anything else at the time to make it unique.

[penguintruth]

It was received well in every direction.

Except in Burkina Faso. Philistines.

[90sDBZ]

I think it did so well in places like the UK and the US because there really was no other show like it. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the various dubs it was always a really unique show that had a plot that was both engaging and easy to follow. For me the show was truly addictive as a kid and is still pretty addictive now. As someone else said it was heavily advertised in the UK and quickly became the most popular show on Cartoon Network. From what I remember it was the only anime of the original Cartoon Network UK anime lineup to stay on the air throughout the years on the Toonami UK block, CNX and finally the Toonami UK channel. Once it got taken off Toonami ceased to be Toonami for me. At first I couldn't believe it actually got taken off. The simple thought of DBZ not being on the air had never even occurred to me so when it finally happened I was really sad about it. Naturally Toonami UK didn't last all that long without it.

[kei17]

Except in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso got the French dub and it became popular actually.

[TheBlackPaladin]

As much as I disagree with some of the production descisions made by FUNimation producer Barry Watson (who no longer works at FUNimation), he did make one observation in an interview that I think is actually a pretty good one. He noted that, in most North American cartoons, the stories are self-contained in each episode. It's sort of like there's a "story of the day," and then that's it. You *might* see a min-series every once in a while, but most North American cartoons are just episode-by-episode, self-contained stories. DBZ, on the other hand, was one giant meta-arc, with each episode serving to continue a much longer narrative. Sure, you had some time jumps here and there, but I definitely wouldn't refer to DBZ as a series of self-contained episodes like other North American cartoons. Because of this, it added to the feel of a story with much greater stakes, which served to pull viewers in more.

In my opinion, of course.

[Sin]

What about Russia? I've never met a Russian DBZ fan.

And I agree with a lot of the points, especially the fact that the episodes weren't self-contained, DBZ was probably the first animation I watched that had 'arcs'. It's interesting that it was s heavily marketed, so it was either a marketing risk which paid off or they knew it was going to be successful.

[kei17]

Wasn't it well recieved everywhere?

Youichi Watanabe, a war photographer, said that in Iraq, he had seen many people watching Dragon Ball by bothering to use private electric generators during the war. Also, I remember reading a Japanese backpacker's blog which says that he found DBZ Video CDs being sold at stores even in Tibet, and Cuba was the only country in which he didn't see anything related to Dragon Ball during his round-the-world trip.

What about Russia? I've never met a Russian DBZ fan.

I know that there are DB fans in Russia because I've seen a Russian fandub of DBZ. Now the official Russian dub is being aired, so I guess they'll increase in the future.

[sangofe]

So we all remember the late 90's - early 00's (well, most of us), and the hype surrounding DBZ at the time. You can probably ask anyone who was a child/teen or had a child/teen in that period of time what DBZ is and they'd give you their recollection, it's popularity was entirely similar to Pokemon in that it wasn't restricted to a male or female demographic and the audiences age range was particularly broad.

Why was it such a hit in the west though? Receiving a kind of reception only a handful of anime series' have had in the last couple of decades, was there really a gap in the market for DBZ? I'm not entirely sure about the US but here in the UK DBZ was advertised pretty heavily before it's initial airing, was that the case in America?

Can't you change your topic to the world, period? Has there been one country where it ever did poorly?

[JulieYBM]

People like combat. The Dragon Ball animated series had better fight scenes than any cartoon airing in the west during the mid 1990s to early 2000s.

[UpFromTheSkies]

As much as I disagree with some of the production descisions made by FUNimation producer Barry Watson (who no longer works at FUNimation), he did make one observation in an interview that I think is actually a pretty good one. He noted that, in most North American cartoons, the stories are self-contained in each episode. It's sort of like there's a "story of the day," and then that's it. You *might* see a min-series every once in a while, but most North American cartoons are just episode-by-episode, self-contained stories. DBZ, on the other hand, was one giant meta-arc, with each episode serving to continue a much longer narrative. Sure, you had some time jumps here and there, but I definitely wouldn't refer to DBZ as a series of self-contained episodes like other North American cartoons. Because of this, it added to the feel of a story with much greater stakes, which served to pull viewers in more.

In my opinion, of course.

Watson hit the nail on the head right there. I was one of the kids watching the very first Dragon Ball Z dubs back in 96, and the fact that the story continued from week to week really pulled you in and made you want to see the next episode, it also had a much more serious tone than other cartoons which made it more interesting; characters could actually die, and that never happened on any other show.

[TheGmGoken]

Wasn't it well recieved everywhere?

Youichi Watanabe, a war photographer, said that in Iraq, he had seen many people watching Dragon Ball by bothering to use private electric generators during the war. Also, I remember reading a Japanese backpacker's blog which says that he found DBZ Video CDs being sold at stores even in Tibet, and Cuba was the only country in which he didn't see anything related to Dragon Ball during his round-the-world trip.

What about Russia? I've never met a Russian DBZ fan.

I know that there are DB fans in Russia because I've seen a Russian fandub of DBZ. Now the official Russian dub is being aired, so I guess they'll increase in the future.

So basically everywhere BUT Cuba. Wow. Since I'm Korean(South) and I know North Korea is kinda isolated from the rest of the world. I wonder if any of the North Korea "people" know about Dragonball Z or even watch some clips of it.

[DarkPrince_92]

Universal appeal. Easy to follow. High action, some comedy, some suspense. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. I know so many people who love it, and not even know anime is a thing. I do some DBZ sketches from time to time, and people who see it just know what it is.

[Hellspawn28]

Has there been one country where it ever did poorly?

Maybe Afghanistan or Sudan?

[Looneygamemaster]

it also had a much more serious tone than other cartoons which made it more interesting; characters could actually die, and that never happened on any other show.

DBZ was never as serious as Batman: The Animated Series (as well as its followers in the DCAU), or Gargoyles, nor was it as mature.

Actually, now that I think about it, all of those shows I mentioned had character deaths and story arcs. Sooooo...I guess we're back to my original point about why DBZ hit it big.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Wasn't it well recieved everywhere?

...and Cuba was the only country in which he didn't see anything related to Dragon Ball during his round-the-world trip.

FIDEL, YOU BASTARD!

What about Russia? I've never met a Russian DBZ fan.

I know that there are DB fans in Russia because I've seen a Russian fandub of DBZ. Now the official Russian dub is being aired, so I guess they'll increase in the future.

Well, I trust your knowledge about international DBZ, but am I mistaken, or didn't a Russian dub of DBZ begin not too long ago?

[DragonBalllKaiHD]

Guys, the thread specifically asked why there was a huge hit in the west, not the world-wide. Can we focus on that topic?

My answer would be it was partly due to the exposure the fans got when early DBZ was aired in 96-98. At that time, much was not known about DBZ, except that it had action and the story, and the animation was so different from your typical cartoons. There were various DBZ websites in early 00's that had covered arcs that hadn't been aired yet. Anyone remembers Planet Namek and DBZ Uncensored? There were also so many websites (Pojo, MFG, DB Unlimited, etcs) that posted some awesome clips and pictures. The Beckett magazines also helps the popularity. You could see DBZ everywhere in the store and on the streets. These were the main reasons DBZ became so massively popular in the west (well, I'm actually speak for U.S., Dunno about UK.) If it was not for these, the Orange Bricks probably wouldn't have sold so well.

Don't forget there were some bootleg VHS of Boo arc episodes as well as GT. They were pretty common back in the day before those episodes ever came out.

[Super Sonic]

What about Russia? I've never met a Russian DBZ fan.

I know that there are DB fans in Russia because I've seen a Russian fandub of DBZ. Now the official Russian dub is being aired, so I guess they'll increase in the future.

Sorry about the lame joke, but have to ask, in the Russian dub, does the Dragon call forth them?

As for why it was so well received, who knows? Maybe it was just the right time with the right marketing.