Why was DBZ so well recieved worldwide?

[TheGmGoken]

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

...Almost EVERYONE was on topic. Kei just answer a simple question of mine

[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?

...Almost EVERYONE was on topic. Kei just answer a simple question of mine

No. They weren't.

[TheGmGoken]

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

...Almost EVERYONE was on topic. Kei just answer a simple question of mine

No. They weren't.

Yes...they was

[Roland_ELoG]

Dragon Ball Z was so well received in the US because FUNimation slaughtered it. Massacred it. Ruined it. And that's what it needed.

I think without the heavy handed musical score, which fills dead space and helps younger kids get an emotional read on the scene, it would have remained in the niche market, and so might have Anime in general for a while longer. I think Normal Americans (TM) weren't ready for the unfiltered Japanese experience yet.

I say this even though I love the massacred version. So, hey, whatcha' gon' do.

[sangofe]

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.

I don't think so, because DBZ's been popular worldwide, and it's come out at very different times. It's just popular because the story's simple, the action's good, and the characters are easy to get attached to. Plus, it was something new and fresh.

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?

Yes, a couple of years ago.

Dragon Ball Z was so well received in the US because FUNimation slaughtered it. Massacred it. Ruined it. And that's what it needed.

I think without the heavy handed musical score, which fills dead space and helps younger kids get an emotional read on the scene, it would have remained in the niche market, and so might have Anime in general for a while longer. I think Normal Americans (TM) weren't ready for the unfiltered Japanese experience yet.

I say this even though I love the massacred version. So, hey, whatcha' gon' do.

I believe the West is more than USA, though. And there are very few countries who changed the music and censored the show as much as FUNimation, yet DBZ was really popular. I don't think it'd remain unpopular had they not done this. But who knows.

[Sin]

Updated the title to worldwide reception as opposed to just in the West, hopefully this broadens the conversation a bit.

I went on holiday to Tenerife a couple of years ago and was surprised by how much DBZ related merchandise and artwork they had there, it was really reminiscent of the late 90's in the UK fandom, I wondered whether they had always had a big fanbase for DBZ or whether it was a newer phenomenon. Also, here in the UK the sudden resurgence in the DBZ fanbase is great to see, I went to a fair the other week and there was a DBZ style game stall with plushies as prizes, you would not have seen that 5 years ago!

[90sDBZ]

Updated the title to worldwide reception as opposed to just in the West, hopefully this broadens the conversation a bit.

I went on holiday to Tenerife a couple of years ago and was surprised by how much DBZ related merchandise and artwork they had there, it was really reminiscent of the late 90's in the UK fandom, I wondered whether they had always had a big fanbase for DBZ or whether it was a newer phenomenon. Also, here in the UK the sudden resurgence in the DBZ fanbase is great to see, I went to a fair the other week and there was a DBZ style game stall with plushies as prizes, you would not have seen that 5 years ago!

Yeah it's great to see Dragonball making a comeback in the UK. We've got the Orange Bricks topping the anime sales charts and Kai doing well in the ratings on Kix and now we're getting the GT boxsets too. And I saw a DBZ alarm clock in a shop last year. I'm hoping we get more merchandise at some point. I remember going on holiday to Spain and seeing some DBZ toys in a shop a few years back. And I saw a magazine with DBZ in it at the airport. Back in the day the merchandise we got in the UK was handled pretty badly by AB Groupe though. We had toys of characters from the Buu saga and the DBZ movies coming out even though neither had aired at the time. And the only home release we got back in them days was the Big Green movies. Thank god AB don't seem to be pulling the strings any more.

[Ringworm128]

Because it's DBZ. No seriously it has action, adventure, robots, aliens, magic with a story that's grand and epic but simple enough for most to follow. What kid wouldn't like that?

Dragon Ball Z was so well received in the US because FUNimation slaughtered it. Massacred it. Ruined it. And that's what it needed.

I think without the heavy handed musical score, which fills dead space and helps younger kids get an emotional read on the scene, it would have remained in the niche market, and so might have Anime in general for a while longer. I think Normal Americans (TM) weren't ready for the unfiltered Japanese experience yet.

Westerners aren't that closed minded, we've had orchestral score's for decades in TV and movies and I don't hear anyone going "that Superman movie would be so much better if the theme was synth music" As for kids my nephew and niece have no problem watching Kai and Z with the Kikuchi and Yamamoto scores and they don't grow bored as soon as a bit of silence comes on. Heck when I was a kid I loved the music for Star Wars and I don't remember going "this is soooooo boring" during the Vader and Obi Wan fight.

[kei17]

If you think of reasons why it's well received in the West, you'll notice that the reasons are not really unique to Europe and North America. Dragon Ball has been well received almost everywhere in the world as a large phenomenon and the West is just a part of it, so I guess there's little point in talking specifically about the case there. I mean, thanks for updating the title.

Also, the success in the West tends to stick out because most of the members here are from North America or Europe, and the situations in the rest of the world are less visible. From what I know, in East and South-East Asia, Dragon Ball must have been bigger than it was in the West.

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?

Sorry, it was misleading. I mean it's currently being aired and fans must be increasing there.

[Ringworm128]

On the subject of DB and popularity, was GT well received anywhere?

[kei17]

On the subject of DB and popularity, was GT well received anywhere?

The U.S. and Latin America I guess.

[Ringworm128]

On the subject of DB and popularity, was GT well received anywhere?

The U.S. and Latin America I guess.

I ment more in terms of fan feedback. It sells well in the U.S but it's still a scapegoat for most DB fans.

[TheGmGoken]

If you think of reasons why it's well received in the West, you'll notice that the reasons are not really unique to Europe and North America. Dragon Ball has been well received almost everywhere in the world as a large phenomenon and the West is just a part of it, so I guess there's little point in talking specifically about the case there. I mean, thanks for updating the title.

Also, the success in the West tends to stick out because most of the members here are from North America or Europe, and the situations in the rest of the world are less visible. From what I know, in East and South-East Asia, Dragon Ball must have been bigger than it was in the West.

That's true. It was a HUGE hit in South Korea.

[Sin]

If you think of reasons why it's well received in the West, you'll notice that the reasons are not really unique to Europe and North America. Dragon Ball has been well received almost everywhere in the world as a large phenomenon and the West is just a part of it, so I guess there's little point in talking specifically about the case there. I mean, thanks for updating the title.

Also, the success in the West tends to stick out because most of the members here are from North America or Europe, and the situations in the rest of the world are less visible. From what I know, in East and South-East Asia, Dragon Ball must have been bigger than it was in the West.

That's true. It was a HUGE hit in South Korea.

Whenabouts? And is it still?

To be honest yes, originally I was asking about the west because I have no clue about other areas of the world (bar East Asia) so I'm sorry for being so closed-minded about it's popularity elsewhere I didn't mean for it to come across as a closed discussion for western users.

Are the games available everywhere or are those a mainly Japan/US/EU thing, I mean, are they even well received all throughout the world? I know a lot of my friends who got into DB through the games themselves.

[TheGmGoken]

If you think of reasons why it's well received in the West, you'll notice that the reasons are not really unique to Europe and North America. Dragon Ball has been well received almost everywhere in the world as a large phenomenon and the West is just a part of it, so I guess there's little point in talking specifically about the case there. I mean, thanks for updating the title.

Also, the success in the West tends to stick out because most of the members here are from North America or Europe, and the situations in the rest of the world are less visible. From what I know, in East and South-East Asia, Dragon Ball must have been bigger than it was in the West.

That's true. It was a HUGE hit in South Korea.

Whenabouts? And is it still?

To be honest yes, originally I was asking about the west because I have no clue about other areas of the world (bar East Asia) so I'm sorry for being so closed-minded about it's popularity elsewhere I didn't mean for it to come across as a closed discussion for western users.

Are the games available everywhere or are those a mainly Japan/US/EU thing, I mean, are they even well received all throughout the world? I know a lot of my friends who got into DB through the games themselves.

I haven't been to South Korea since I was 14. So I don't know. Most likely though seeing as some of my Korean friends are HYPE for BoG. Also the games are sold around the world. I THINK

[kei17]

Whenabouts? And is it still?

In South Korea, Dragon Ball was first serialized in a manga magazine named IQ Jump in 1989, and it boosted the magazine's circulation to 600,000 copies from 100,000. The heyday was the mid-'90s, when Champ started releasing the Korean dub of the anime series. As a result of the great popularity, bootleg comics flooded the market, and some of the bootleg publishers even published Japanese doujinshi as "spin-offs."

"Spin-off" comics:



I don't know its current popularity, but I guess it's still hot there because the anime series are still being broadcast on several TV channels.

[Roland_ELoG]

Because it's DBZ. No seriously it has action, adventure, robots, aliens, magic with a story that's grand and epic but simple enough for most to follow. What kid wouldn't like that?

Dragon Ball Z was so well received in the US because FUNimation slaughtered it. Massacred it. Ruined it. And that's what it needed.

I think without the heavy handed musical score, which fills dead space and helps younger kids get an emotional read on the scene, it would have remained in the niche market, and so might have Anime in general for a while longer. I think Normal Americans (TM) weren't ready for the unfiltered Japanese experience yet.

Westerners aren't that closed minded, we've had orchestral score's for decades in TV and movies and I don't hear anyone going "that Superman movie would be so much better if the theme was synth music" As for kids my nephew and niece have no problem watching Kai and Z with the Kikuchi and Yamamoto scores and they don't grow bored as soon as a bit of silence comes on. Heck when I was a kid I loved the music for Star Wars and I don't remember going "this is soooooo boring" during the Vader and Obi Wan fight.

I was only partly referring to the style of the music. What I mean is, by the time the 00s rolled around, things were different than they had been when DBZ was first on the air. Long protracted scenes of silence make impatient kids think the TV is broken, or that nothing is happening. It does that to many adults too. FUNimation's version stuffed the show with wall to wall music. The music gave a clear tone to every scene, and filled dead space and slow pans.

Whether or not that's a good thing has already been discussed to death. I just think it was a conscious decision made to keep the show accessible to its target demographic. Ie: youths. It worked on me.

[Sin]

Whenabouts? And is it still?

In South Korea, Dragon Ball was first serialized in a manga magazine named IQ Jump in 1989, and it boosted the magazine's circulation to 600,000 copies from 100,000. The heyday was the mid-'90s, when Champ started releasing the Korean dub of the anime series. As a result of the great popularity, bootleg comics flooded the market, and some of the bootleg publishers even published Japanese doujinshi as "spin-offs."

"Spin-off" comics:
*snip*


I don't know its current popularity, but I guess it's still hot there because the anime series are still being broadcast on several TV channels.

Wow that's really awesome, though I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not that they got doujinshi published as "spin-offs", I suppose it's good for the general fandom as long as they're aware it isn't official. I remember in France reading a manga magazine with a lot of info in GT in it (we were only at the Namek Arc by this point in the UK) and then an image of Bulma advertising 'Dragonball X', let's just say that when I got back to the UK and ran a google...

[Fizzer]

I haven't really seen the "resurgence" in the UK, I've only heard about it on Kanzenshuu. I've seen the DVDs in HMV and CEX, but I haven't seen any merchandise or anything. I hope they start airing things other than Kai on TV, and, as unlikely as it is, that we get Battle of Gods screenings.

[Sin]

I haven't really seen the "resurgence" in the UK, I've only heard about it on Kanzenshuu. I've seen the DVDs in HMV and CEX, but I haven't seen any merchandise or anything. I hope they start airing things other than Kai on TV, and, as unlikely as it is, that we get Battle of Gods screenings.

The issue here in the UK is that the market for anime/manga in a physical store is fairly low, it's often overpriced in your high street comic store and even in HMV when compared to imports/online, and as well as this we seem to have some kind of stigma to anime/manga here, you find it on a small shelf usually at the back of the store, like it's embarrassing to be buying it.