A virtual wasteland?

[Li'l Lemmy]

I've enjoyed the content and maintenence of Daizenshuu EX for a while now. It's large, it's updated regularly and it brances out into an active community that reminds me of a 24-hour diner; just go in, eat and talk all you like, because there's always someone there. It feels alive.

But with the release of this news about the Season Sets, I started looking to other credible websites to find out their take on the whole business. I hungered for information and opinions. I wanted to see what people were feeling outside the message board and outside of Daizenshuu EX; to to get a lay of the land, so to speak.

I remembered the wonderful Kanzentai, and to a lesser extext myfavoritegames.com. But . . . after that, that was it.

Is it just me? It feels like a lot of the big and/or popular sites I knew from my fandom beginnings stopped updating months ago or have just disappeared completely, leaving only a wasteland of shadows and memories of what used to be. Even some of the relatively young sites like DBZGT Legacy and Pojo's Dragonball check in only sporadically, and sometimes just to say "we're still here".

I'm just not finding anything worthwhile. Is there anything left, or is the lively and spirited Daizenshuu EX in exceedingly rare company these days?

[fps_anth]

I agree. The only sites that I know that are making as big a fuss about this are in French, Spanish and Japanese.

[Li'l Lemmy]

I agree. The only sites that I know that are making as big a fuss about this are in French, Spanish and Japanese.

I'm sure mine is a common enough observation every time the fandom goes through a new development. The fandom continues to evolve and change no matter what, and I'm definitely not saying anything new. But right now it just leels like were at an all-time low, despite the fact that these days DBZ is constantly being reinvigorated by new games and material (almost the the point of over-saturation, one would argue!)-- and now particularly these boxed sets. Where's the upswell?

Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai feel like all we have. But it could be just me. Or I could just be blind.

[DaemonCorps]

Well, as mentioned in that one podcast episode, some older sites are still around... but that's pretty much it; they don't update or anything.

I remember in my earlier days of my DBZ fandom, I'd google the term to find millions of badly made sites by fans that did nothing but put up pictures. Now I don't even bother, since I beleive that daizEX has become more or less a one shop stop for all your dragonball needs, with kanzentai coming in at its heels. To make a really bad analogy, I guess the two sites are the Walgreens and Target of the DB web. Though I won't say which one is which .

It's just one of those things that happens to shows after they've reached the peak of their umm... fandom-ness . Any non-hardcore DB fan has no clue what the hell's going on with these season sets. For those who know about the Nick Rewind releases, it's kinda like that (sadly ).

[Li'l Lemmy]

I remember in my earlier days of my DBZ fandom, I'd google the term to find millions of badly made sites by fans that did nothing but put up pictures. Now I don't even bother, since I beleive that daizEX has become more or less a one shop stop for all your dragonball needs, with kanzentai coming in at its heels.

The sad thing of it is that there are still millions of badly made sites out there while the number of good ones has dropped to a single digit figure. And would you believe that some of those questionable sites are actually updating still?

It's just one of those things that happens to shows after they've reached the peak of their umm... fandom-ness . Any non-hardcore DB fan has no clue what the hell's going on with these season sets.

I guess. But I dunno-- it just feels out of balance to me, is all. Granted, the series is over, but the way we're getting two to three games a year, the way FUNimation hypes its re-releases of
re-releases? . . . you'd think they were still making new episodes!

I would just think it natural that new fans would fall in to replace what's gone. But eh.

[Eclipse]

The Dragon Ball web land is pretty much drying up. While there are still a bunch of badly-created sites (99% of them having Photoshop layouts), the good ones have gone out, or ARE going out.

Honestly, most people just gave up interest. Most sites have either transformed into other anime-related websites, or now it's ALL about the 'full epz'. Hell, there are some good quality sites out there, but most of these are just shrines, and even though we love 'em, does the common fan love 'em?

Now I think it's time for new webmasters to step up and reclaim what's left over. I think these sites should have brand new content instead of ripping off 'power levels', 'timelines' and such. I really think updates shouldn't just be about new GFX, new media, or the 20th staff member to join. These are Dragon Ball fansites. They need to show Dragon Ball-love.

[Li'l Lemmy]

The Dragon Ball web land is pretty much drying up. While there are still a bunch of badly-created sites (99% of them having Photoshop layouts), the good ones have gone out, or ARE going out.

One of the things I've always enjoyed about Daizenshuu EX is its unusual ability to maintain such strong enthusiasm for the series long after its end, long after everyone else appears to have given up, long after the community as we once knew it has withered on the vine. Particularly with the invention of the Podcast and the obvious fun they have with that, you'd think Toei were still cranking out new episodes somewhere across the ocean-- and with the exception of a few notables like Kanzentai, I'm not seeing any other sites like that anywhere else on the web. I consider this to be a sad thing.

My misunderstanding lies in why there aren't other sites like that. When we talk about Daizenshuu EX, we're referring to a webmaster who by his own admission is drowned in work, and yet here he comes in at least a few times a week to clean up the forum, post an update and record a podcast. Surely other people could do the same, surely other people have that sort of love for this show; people who still go to school or work or whatever and still find time to frequent the message boards and play the games and buy the DVDs.

So why aren't they a presence? Mike can't be the only fan left who knows HTML. Have we just become lazy?

Most sites have either transformed into other anime-related websites, or now it's ALL about the 'full epz'. Hell, there are some good quality sites out there, but most of these are just shrines, and even though we love 'em, does the common fan love 'em?

I noticed. When I'm referring to the empty community, I'm not factoring in things like character shrines; there seem to be plenty of those. I like shrines, and some of them are well-made. But when it comes to websites that celebrate DragonBall as a whole, ones that pull people together . . . we're just not seeing much of that anymore.

I'm not talking about galvanizing the community again. It's never going to be the way it was. But I don't think it's too much to want more than two or three good websites-- and if we could in fact show some semblance of intelligence in the websites and content we put up, then who knows; we might actually have a community again, and not just a random scattering of good and bad.

Now I think it's time for new webmasters to step up and reclaim what's left over. I think these sites should have brand new content instead of ripping off 'power levels', 'timelines' and such. I really think updates shouldn't just be about new GFX, new media, or the 20th staff member to join. These are Dragon Ball fansites. They need to show Dragon Ball-love.

DragonBall was in a different sort of era then. There was such a huge enthusiasm for every aspect of the show that every site out there (even some of the best ones) had to put things like PL charts and Attack Lists and Character Deaths and such in order to feel "complete". Everyone was in competition with everyone else. But now that it's all died down to this degree and so many of the old webmasters have moved on-- not to mention that the show is now over-- I see an opportunity to sweep away the ruins of what was and build a new and better tribute to the series.

The problem is, we're experiencing a manpower shortage. Though I suppose I shouldn't complain, so long as we have something left.

[Bardock the Mexican]

I could set up one of my own websites to galvanize the Spanish speaking fans and get them to enjoy it despite it's age. For this to work I would have to have the site to have broad appeal to Spanish speakers of all countries. Not just Mexico but all of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. In spite of the large group to appeal to, I don't see it as having enough people to change anything. What I am doing on Wikipedia may make it happen and my site as well. I hope.

[Li'l Lemmy]

In spite of the large group to appeal to, I don't see it as having enough people to change anything. What I am doing on Wikipedia may make it happen and my site as well. I hope.

I can't speak for everyone else, but my idea isn't to "change" anything, at least not in a "let's-reimagine-the-universe" sort of way. We're not an army-- well, maybe we used to be. But I don't think we need huge, all-encompassing sites to prove there's still life in this community; a small, dedicated, well-designed and thoughtful website can do more than a large, disorganized, poorly-conceived copycat database would.

I think if a site or shrine has heart in it, then even something small and focused can become something valued. Not that big sites aren't nice, but those are rather hard to pull off.

Internationalizing DragonBall in particular is, I think, a fantastic idea, since there's more to it than just the Japanese and English versions (and some really great dubs) . . . but you should follow that idea at your own pace. A website is supposed to be fun for you before it's fun for everyone else.

[Eclipse]

DragonBall was in a different sort of era then. There was such a huge enthusiasm for every aspect of the show that every site out there (even some of the best ones) had to put things like PL charts and Attack Lists and Character Deaths and such in order to feel "complete". Everyone was in competition with everyone else. But now that it's all died down to this degree and so many of the old webmasters have moved on-- not to mention that the show is now over-- I see an opportunity to sweep away the ruins of what was and build a new and better tribute to the series.

I understand that, but there are sites made in the last year or so that only have that. Just that. Bare-bones stuff. Nothing special. It's like making a cookie. Add your stuff, power levels and shit, and there you have it. Minimal updating plus lots of 'involvement' in said community makes a tasty cookie!

[Li'l Lemmy]

Er . . . well, then those would fall under the category of Websites I'm Not Interested In. Unless they have something special or unique to them (or otherwise show a decent effort on the part of the webmaster), I've had my fill of "cookies".

I want some damn milk. But that's just me.