Does Dragon Ball Part One Get Too Much Praise?

[goku the krump dancer]

^ I usually refer to it as the "First Half" of Dragon Ball when referring to the manga.

Really? People do this? Am I just that old and not "with" what these kids are "spitting"?

Well as far as I know its just something I do. It's not often that I do do it though just when I feel the opportunity presents itself such as earlier.

I'm well aware that all 42 volumes of the manga are just "Dragon Ball" plain and simple but, when people bring up topics that somehow specifically revolve around a certain time frame of the series in this instance Dragon Ball's pre Raditz era, I just refer to it as the first half of the story mostly because of how Toei sorta "split it" in the anime version so thats just kinda how my mind works.. If that makes since.

[Zephyr]

I feel a lot of the praise for the earlier portion comes from a sense that having Goku be an alien was sort of a shark jumping moment, with everything after that stemming from said shark jumping moment.

[DBZAOTA482]

even GT to an extent.

I don't see praise for GT, but I do seem to see more hate for GT than love for DB.

DB - underappreciated.
DBZ - overpraised by the general populace.
GT - I don't think it's as bad as some say it is.

I'd say it's more like this:

DB - Underrated by the general audience but somewhat overrated by older fans
DBZ - Overrated by the general audience but somewhat underrated by hardcore anime fans
DBGT - Deserves (most of) the hate.

[thatdbzguy]

I wouldn't even really consider DBZ to be overrated by the general fanbase. Most of the time all they do is complain about how much something from DBZ sucked, and only like it for the nostalgia and/or fighting.

[Fizzer]

The first 16/17 volumes, and the first 153 episodes of the anime, get far less exposure and appreciation than they should. I don't just think this because I prefer that part of the story, but because (and I will never stop screaming this at the world) it is one fucking story. Why would you want to start an anime at episode 154?! Don't even get me started on people who call the entire thing "DBZ".

I think one reason that episodes 154-444 get bashed more is simply because they get more exposure. The more popular something is, the more people are looking for its flaws and being vocal about them. People who think something is good are less vocal than those who think it's bad and doesn't deserve all the fans it has.

[Duo]

I wouldn't even really consider DBZ to be overrated by the general fanbase. Most of the time all they do is complain about how much something from DBZ sucked, and only like it for the nostalgia and/or fighting.

You seem to be sampling a pretty small pool of the community. I do not know many fans (if any) outside of Kanzenshuu that consistently exhibit the behavior you're describing.

[thatdbzguy]

I wouldn't even really consider DBZ to be overrated by the general fanbase. Most of the time all they do is complain about how much something from DBZ sucked, and only like it for the nostalgia and/or fighting.

You seem to be sampling a pretty small pool of the community. I do not know many fans (if any) outside of Kanzenshuu that consistently exhibit the behavior you're describing.

Explore the internet enough, and you'll find them pretty commonly.

[Duo]

I wouldn't even really consider DBZ to be overrated by the general fanbase. Most of the time all they do is complain about how much something from DBZ sucked, and only like it for the nostalgia and/or fighting.

You seem to be sampling a pretty small pool of the community. I do not know many fans (if any) outside of Kanzenshuu that consistently exhibit the behavior you're describing.

Explore the internet enough, and you'll find them pretty commonly.

You're the one making the claim, the burden of proof lies on your shoulders. Debate etiquette 101.

[thatdbzguy]

You're the one making the claim, the burden of proof lies on your shoulders. Debate etiquette 101.

So you want me to get every single comment I've ever seen that complains about something from DBZ and bring them here?

[Duo]

You're the one making the claim, the burden of proof lies on your shoulders. Debate etiquette 101.

So you want me to get every single comment I've ever seen that complains about something from DBZ and bring them here?

No, moreso link to at least 5 different examples outside of Kanzenshuu. That would begin to offer some credibility, at least. I'm not expecting you to conduct polls.

[thatdbzguy]

You're the one making the claim, the burden of proof lies on your shoulders. Debate etiquette 101.

So you want me to get every single comment I've ever seen that complains about something from DBZ and bring them here?

No, moreso link to at least 5 different examples outside of Kanzenshuu. That would begin to offer some credibility, at least. I'm not expecting you to conduct polls.

Links to websites or just comments?

[TheAldella]

I wouldn't even really consider DBZ to be overrated by the general fanbase. Most of the time all they do is complain about how much something from DBZ sucked, and only like it for the nostalgia and/or fighting.

You seem to be sampling a pretty small pool of the community. I do not know many fans (if any) outside of Kanzenshuu that consistently exhibit the behavior you're describing.

Trust me when I say this: It's more common than you think. I've showed people Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Z Kai as well.

[Duo]

Comments on various forums / websites, etc. Anything to show a sample pool larger than the extremely long-term devoted fanbase here at Kanzenshuu. A few reddit examples would represent more casual fans, for example.

Most people I know love the Artificial Human arc best. I don't hold that against them, given that I think every arc after the end of the Saiyan arc has an equal amount of storytelling weaknesses.

[Kid Buu]

Comments on various forums / websites, etc. Anything to show a sample pool larger than the extremely long-term devoted fanbase here at Kanzenshuu. A few reddit examples would represent more casual fans, for example.

Most people I know love the Artificial Human arc best. I don't hold that against them, given that I think every arc after the end of the Saiyan arc has an equal amount of storytelling weaknesses.

Yup, every saga after the Saiyan arc just turns to crap at one point.

Namek: Goku's arrival on Namek
Cell: Cell starts absorbing the Androids
Buu: Mystic Gohan/Vegetto show up.

Around those times its just ass pull after ass pull.

[RocktheDragon]

I agree with people that have observed that, in online communities at least, love for the original Dragon Ball series is quite high! I do not believe this is mimicked with casual fans however and personally I have to admit to you all and to myself that I enjoy Dragon Ball Z the most. Hopefully it isn't too sacrilegious for me to say that I even enjoy GT a bit more than the original DB series.

That isn't to say that I do not appreciate the original DB series. I enjoy it very much and love how different it is from both Z and GT. That being said, much of the humor seems to go on a bit too much for me (especially in the beginning of the series) and most of the baddies (save for perhaps King Piccolo) don't hold my interest much. But again let me reiterate that I do appreciate the series for what it is and love watching it (just a little less than GT and a lot less than Z).

[thatdbzguy]

Most people I know love the Artificial Human arc best. I don't hold that against them, given that I think every arc after the end of the Saiyan arc has an equal amount of storytelling weaknesses.

You don't have to sugarcoat it. Nobody here's gonna attack you for saying those sagas suck.

Anyway, here's a site where you very commonly see DBZ bashing:

http://dbzf.co.uk/index/

Despite being a Dragon Ball Z forum, almost every one I've seen on there only likes DBZ for the nostalgia and doesn't think it's that good. This has basically become the "worship the original Dragon Ball because it is the flawless second coming of Christ that is leagues above anything in that shit known as DBZ" forum. And some of our very own members have switched over to this forum, like TheGmGoken and TheMightyOozaru.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

I've been bringing up Dragon Ball lots of times on the Dragonball forums, I go on, and people either say it's good, but leave it at that or dismiss it as being for much younger kids. If anything, it needs more praise. Most people don't have anything bad to say about it, if anything, but they don't really praise it. Dragonball Z gets ripped to pieces all over, but absolutely love parts of it that outshine everything.

It really comes down to those two points. Z was the opening half of the story to basically every international fan, thus it holds sentimental value that invites over-analysis in a way the first half does not, which gets uncomfortable when we get to the fact that Z has the arcs where Toriyama burnt out and it shows, nothing in the first half can compare. Let's not kid ourselves. It's a perfect storm of emotionally heightened interest in the half that holds series the weaker storytelling, of course the pre-Z grass is going to be greener.

I mean, I'll throw myself on the table and say that the Dragon Ball Hunt and 22nd World Tournament really don't do that much for me (My most memorable moment to me out of the later was 90% filler!), hell, I can't say I ever bought Piccolo Jr. as a villain (and this from a guy who love the family's demonic bent)! But I cannot say they made strange story choices the way Cell and Buu did.

[thatdbzguy]

But I cannot say they made strange story choices the way Cell and Buu did.

That's putting it ridiculously lightly.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

But I cannot say they made strange story choices the way Cell and Buu did.

That's putting it ridiculously lightly.

Why continue to spin the record I just illustrated was long broken?

[Saiga]

I'd say it's more like this:

DB - Underrated by the general audience but somewhat overrated by older fans
DBZ - Overrated by the general audience but somewhat underrated by hardcore anime fans
DBGT - Deserves (most of) the hate.

More or less how I'd put it as well.