Shonen Jump readers vote DB as the...

[FortuneSSJ]

Dragon Ball is fun and has its own qualities but at the end of the day it isn't even lovingly written. It's accidental genius and as a result doesn't have much in the way of a story or conscious development. There are plenty of other titles out there more worthy of critical acclaim. This poll is a glorified popularity contest as it is so I suppose it's my fault for expecting the masses to be even half-way critical in their selection is too much.

Not eveyone looks for the complicated plot. Me, for example, when I decide to watch something I'm looking for entertainment more than anything. It can be the fights scenes, the comedy, the plot, the characters etc...Something that is worth my time. Other thing humans tend to forget is that a simple story can be great too.

Nowadays, a lot of humans just think:
Complicated plot = Great Story.
Simple plot = Bad story.

And sometimes this isn't correct.

The same way some humans think:
Character with a tragic past = Great character.

Its just for sake of drama and sometimes the character still sucks.

Dragon Ball follows a simple plot. Toriyama doesn't even try to make it complex and I still enjoy it more than Naruto and One Piece, which both have a plot more complex than DB.
If i would vote for the best complicated plot, HunterxHunter easily beats those two. Even some attacks rules and battle system (nen) are complicated unnecessary.

[Doctor.]

Naruto's characters are almost all terribly written, while most of DB's characters although not written in an outstanding way, even though most of them lack development are still all likeable. I don't know how anyone can call Naruto a well written story when the protagonist has gone against everything he used to represent.

Seeing as how, for me, the characters are the main thing a manga should do right, this is a big thing for me.

[ImmaDeker]

It didn't go downhill. It continued down the same path established during the Pain arc and even began to harken back to its mythological roots. The series matured through the themes it tackled

The show went from the Land of Waves showing the harsh realities of war to the Chuunin Exam having Rock Lee prove he was capable of killing people so bullies wouldn't laugh at him on the playground.

[sintzu]

I suppose it's my fault for expecting the masses to be even half-way critical in their selection.

The masses picking something over the other doesn't mean they aren't critical.

[Neshawn]

no hunterxhunter?!

[sintzu]

no hunterxhunter?!

It's #11

[rereboy]

Not eveyone looks for the complicated plot. Me, for example, when I decide to watch something I'm looking for entertainment more than anything. It can be the fights scenes, the comedy, the plot, the characters etc...Something that is worth my time. Other thing humans tend to forget is that a simple story can be great too.

Nowadays, a lot of humans just think:
Complicated plot = Great Story.
Simple plot = Bad story.

And sometimes this isn't correct.

The same way some humans think:
Character with a tragic past = Great character.

Its just for sake of drama and sometimes the character still sucks.

Dragon Ball follows a simple plot. Toriyama doesn't even try to make it complex and I still enjoy it more than Naruto and One Piece, which both have a plot more complex than DB.
If i would vote for the best complicated plot, HunterxHunter easily beats those two. Even some attacks rules and battle system (nen) are complicated unnecessary.

This is a very good post. More people should realize this.

[Attitudefan]

Sometimes the most simple can be the most compelling. I think that's why Dragon Ball works. Plus, it's easy for anyone, at any age, to fully enjoy the series. And even in its simplicity we find things so complex. Like all the characters; not much on them, so their mysterious and do things that may not seem as simple as it looks like on the surface.

A lot of that has to do with Toriyama's writing style. It's so simple yet so brilliant and innovative. He brought so much to the world of shonen.

[B]

The most shocking thing about this list is how high GIntama is. I know it's a popular series, but being above... basically all the action-heavy titles is something.

Obviously, it's the DB references.

[MCDaveG]

I don't wonder about Gintama. It is genius series and actually has really fun humour from the geek oriented one to things more crazy and evil then Toriyama can ever invent.
Gintama is also for teenagers I think, as One Piece is for kids, so it makes sense for me that it goes this high. I own most of the english released volumes and I am avid viewer of the series.

If there were only DB references, but damn, there is everything. From Gundam, Saint Seiya and all these classics up to parodying everything. My favorite episode was as they were going to buy a new video game console
and played this crazy version of Dragon Quest.

[ImmaDeker]

I suppose it's my fault for expecting the masses to be even half-way critical in their selection.

The masses picking something over the other doesn't mean they aren't critical.

Also Naruto has a villain who thinks life is pain, calls himself Pain, and dresses like he's lost on the way to a Green Day concert.

There isn't even the vaguest amount of maturity, intellectually, emotionally, or otherwise, in that comic. It is very much warfare as dumbed down and streamlined to the emotions of eight year old children. Which is fine for what it is (a comic for children), but is downright painfully condescending to read as an adult.

And I'd almost argue it presenting its concepts so painfully preschool makes it stupid for children, too. They deserve better.

[Nikkolas]

Why are you posting on a Dragonball forum then? It's a comic meant for children and insulting to read as an adult since it's mostly toilet humor about LOL BULMA IS A GIRL AND GIRLS HAVE PARTS I DON'T and farting.

Also the character's name isn't actually Pain and all the Akatsuki wear those robes.... Not that I like Nagato very much but there are much worse criticisms one can make of the series than the ones you chose.

I'd point to how it utterly insults its female cast but, well, not like DBZ is exactly weaving the Equal Rights Flag now is it.

[ImmaDeker]

Why are you posting on a Dragonball forum then? It's a comic meant for children and insulting to read as an adult since it's mostly toilet humor about LOL BULMA IS A GIRL AND GIRLS HAVE PARTS I DON'T and farting.

Dragonball has, for the most part, no higher pretensions other than being goofy comedy. It's not a particularly insulting piece of work. If it tried to convince you it was Tolstoy, maybe. But Dragonball has no real illusions about what it is.

Also the character's name isn't actually Pain and all the Akatsuki wear those robes....

This part of the post is interesting. Let's break down why:

Also the character's name isn't actually Pain

I never claimed it was. Here's what I said:

Naruto has a villain who thinks life is pain, calls himself Pain

If I'm claiming the character calls himself Pain, it can be inferred that Pain is not his born name and, indeed, I am not claiming his God given/what his mama gave him name is Pain. I am merely claiming this dude straight up calls himself Pain while believing all of life is pain. Which he does.

all the Akatsuki wear those robes....

Yeah, don't care about the robes. I was talking about the embarrassing facial piercings. So we've established that you equate references to Green Day and Green Day's associated punk rock culture with the robes of cultist, ninja assassins.

It's possible that you're not in a country or region where Green Day was ever big shit, so me saying "dresses like" could easily give the wrong impression when I'm talking about his I WALK A LONELY ROAD stupid goddamn facial piercings holy shit. So I'll let this one slide.

But the first chunk, concerning his name, shows you have a genuine lack of reading comprehension and don't mind me if I just not acknowledge your attempt to defend Naruto at all.

[DBZAOTA482]

I think you'd be better off a female character in Dragon Ball than Naruto.

[Nikkolas]

Why are you posting on a Dragonball forum then? It's a comic meant for children and insulting to read as an adult since it's mostly toilet humor about LOL BULMA IS A GIRL AND GIRLS HAVE PARTS I DON'T and farting.

Dragonball has, for the most part, no higher pretensions other than being goofy comedy. It's not a particularly insulting piece of work. If it tried to convince you it was Tolstoy, maybe. But Dragonball has no real illusions about what it is.

Also the character's name isn't actually Pain and all the Akatsuki wear those robes....

This part of the post is interesting. Let's break down why:

Also the character's name isn't actually Pain

I never claimed it was. Here's what I said:

Naruto has a villain who thinks life is pain, calls himself Pain

If I'm claiming the character calls himself Pain, it can be inferred that Pain is not his born name and, indeed, I am not claiming his God given/what his mama gave him name is Pain. I am merely claiming this dude straight up calls himself Pain while believing all of life is pain. Which he does.

all the Akatsuki wear those robes....

Yeah, don't care about the robes. I was talking about the embarrassing facial piercings. So we've established that you equate references to Green Day and Green Day's associated punk rock culture with the robes of cultist, ninja assassins.

It's possible that you're not in a country or region where Green Day was ever big shit, so me saying "dresses like" could easily give the wrong impression when I'm talking about his I WALK A LONELY ROAD stupid goddamn facial piercings holy shit. So I'll let this one slide.

But the first chunk, concerning his name, shows you have a genuine lack of reading comprehension and don't mind me if I just not acknowledge your attempt to defend Naruto at all.

You literally said Pain "dresses" like something. In what universe does "dressing" refer to body piercings? Because, dunno about you, but I have friends with body piercings and I've never heard of them "dressing" with their lip piercings. You "dress" yourself in clothing. Body piercings, especially facial ones like that, tend to stay in all the time. Maybe it's not my reading comprehension abilities that are so subpar but rather your ability to express your criticisms accurately? If you had perhaps just said "he has a stupid design", I would have thought of the body piercings. But, to show just how cool and hip you are, you likened one popular thing to another popular thing to insult both of them for no real reason.

Really though, I don't know what I did to possess you to act so rude but, yeah, I don't really want to talk to a jackass like you anymore either.