Outdated - Do you care?

[MozillaVulpix]

I have never heard that complaint levelled to me regarding Dragon Ball before. I've seen people say it's overrated, or that other shows do what it does better, but not that it's outdated. But if you're actually discussing the series in the context of when it came out, doesn't that kind of make the 'outdated' argument irrelevant? You're looking at it specifically because it's dated.

[Attitudefan]

Ask those same people if Mozart or Bach are outdated. I mean, quality is timeless.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Yasssssssssss!! Just like that my army is growing!

[ABED]

I already gave my stance on it -- including the answer to your question of if I care (which is no). The only real question that matters is if you care. Enjoy what you like. If someone believes that the series is dated, you really can't say anything about it because in some ways it is. It's all a matter of preference and neither is right or wrong. I gave an entire explanation in response to your original question and you focused on the little part where I asked in what way you were relating this to Dragon Ball, in a way trying to coax something discussion-worthy out of you. You didn't really specify anything in your opening statement. You just kind of made a blog-style title and didn't really give a lot of context. Your question is super vague and open-ended and I was asking you to narrow it down a bit and relate it to Dragon Ball. It's not much of a discussion when the answer can be, "Nope."

I don't know what your aim is with this comment. I know how I feel. I wanted to see how others felt. Clearly if they are on this forum, they are a fan.

I don't know what you mean by me not giving much context. The question isn't vague at all. Of course it's open ended. That's by design to get a discussion going. The connection to DB is implicit. The question is very simple - Do you care if the music or animation or anything about the show is "dated"? It's not surprising the overwhelming majority here don't care that DB's animation and music might be dated. What would be more interesting to me is to read a comment from those that have used the "dated" argument, such as those in favor of the Faulconer score.

[NintendoBlaze53]

Production values of a show can be dated, such as animation, however they will never be outdated, and being dated is not necessarily a bad thing. However plot and characters can become outdated, mediums evolve to fit with the times, as time goes on certain previous works or elements may become less relevant and not as good as they once were. In terms of anime I don't feel any stories are outdated, however certain tropes or themes are very outdated. Shonen especially has evolved now compared to 30 years ago, our new standard of quality is My Hero Academia which is why when something like Black Clover comes out, a show which reuses cliches and elements from Shonen stories two decades old, it IS outdated. A more odd example is JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, it took over 30 years for the series to be animated and by the time it was, it was parodied and copied numerous times. Despite the anime's brilliant adaption which proved it is indeed a story not worn by time, some of it's cliches and story beats were outdated in the current landscape of anime, despite it being one of the founders of many of those elements.

For Dragon Ball I don't feel any of it is dated, aside from maybe the sexual harassment themes. Even production wise it holds up well today, why do you think we see so many "If Super looked like DBZ" articles? Dragon Ball holds the test of time very well.

[ABED]

What tropes are you referring to, specifically?

[nickzambuto]

Dragon Ball is dated. Just because I'm in love with the franchise and will always be biased towards it, doesn't mean I can't admit that. But is dated necessarily bad? Look at the music. That was dated back when the show was airing, yet to this day that shit is freaking epic. The datedness actually adds to the appeal, Dragon Ball comes across as a timeless epic, a legend. The animation is also dated, but is that bad? Everybody is always complaining about how shiny Toei is nowadays, sounds like the old school is actually superior.

[ABED]

Dragon Ball is dated. Just because I'm in love with the franchise and will always be biased towards it, doesn't mean I can't admit that. But is dated necessarily bad? Look at the music. That was dated back when the show was airing, yet to this day that shit is freaking epic. The datedness actually adds to the appeal, Dragon Ball comes across as a timeless epic, a legend. The animation is also dated, but is that bad? Everybody is always complaining about how shiny Toei is nowadays, sounds like the old school is actually superior.

THis is confusing. Is the whole story dated? If it's timeless, how is it dated?

[Basaku]

No. Quality is timeless. If something becomes "Dated" it surely wasnt good to begin with.

I mean, nothing else to add really. Of course swing isn't the dominating 'popular music' of today anymore like it was in the 30s, but that doesn't change the fact that it was and is amazing (and infinitely better than modern pop)

[nickzambuto]

Dragon Ball is dated. Just because I'm in love with the franchise and will always be biased towards it, doesn't mean I can't admit that. But is dated necessarily bad? Look at the music. That was dated back when the show was airing, yet to this day that shit is freaking epic. The datedness actually adds to the appeal, Dragon Ball comes across as a timeless epic, a legend. The animation is also dated, but is that bad? Everybody is always complaining about how shiny Toei is nowadays, sounds like the old school is actually superior.

THis is confusing. Is the whole story dated? If it's timeless, how is it dated?

Exactly my point. Dated by itself doesn't inherently and automatically mean anything bad or negative. It just means you can feel this is from another era. It can still be timeless if feeling from another era doesn't negatively impact the experience in anyway, which is the case for Dragon Ball. Actually the Dragon Ball Timecapsules thread got me thinking, these dated aspects actually add to the charm. Faxing over a photo of the time machine is hilarious, and actually up Toriyama's style of humor, so I'm almost tempted to believe it was an extremely subtle gag. Same with other things like the totally tubular 80s outfits.

[ABED]

If something becomes "Dated" it surely wasnt good to begin with.

That's an oversimplification. Technologies quickly become outdated, but that doesn't mean they weren't good.

Cell animation is outdated in the sense that it's not the norm (I might be wrong on that count, but I don't hear about or see much cell animation), but that says nothing of its quality.

[Bajosexto]

Dragon Ball doesn't feel outdated to me. Not saying it is or isn't. What I mean is that because Dragon Ball has always been there (I not exaggerating. Dragon Ball Z has been aring in Mexico since 1997. It's still currently aring) I've become really accustomed to its art style, music and story. It just doesn't feel old. I don't know how to explain it. I guess it feels timeless.

[Cipher]

The series (which I now have to refer to more specifically as the original run because we live on a sinful Earth) has aged like fine wine, a few of-its-era social missteps notwithstanding.

[Draconic]

Well, there are things that make shows dated in that the releases either look bad or, and especially, sound bad, due to the tapes and stuff that it was originally recorded on being literally dated. That kind of stuff can hurt enjoyment of a series further down the line from when it originally aired. And you can find that a lot in Dragon Ball.

I mean, I know this isn't the question at hand, but I think this goes hand in hand with that. If the technology that was used to make a show doesn't age well, or it's not available anymore due to understandable factors over long periods of time and a show or movie or something can't be fully enjoyed in it's initial format that can hurt it considerably.

Storytelling wise, though, something can get dated if it's playing to the trends of a certain time period/current. A story can be enjoyed a lot during a fad, but once that starts to die down, it's flaws become more apparent. Look at the beloved Western genre, which has a ton of classics AND hidden gems, but most aren't pretty good. Or closer to home, Marvel movies. Decades from now few will stand the test of time, even if it is enjoyable NOW to see superheroes on the screen in it's purest form.

Dragon Ball doesn't really fall into that category, except maybe GT, since it does borrow things from popular trends of the era, but it blends them with old ones and forms a nice complete package of familiarity and originality that makes it timeless.

Also, dated may not necesarilly be bad, but it means something wasn't great to begin with. If something that was considered good in the past is still enjoyed in the future, but not to the same extent, it usually falls under the umbrella of mediocrity running on hype. And I think that's measurable by how many young people actually care for said old media. If it's not drawing in young people or people who've never heard of that story before, than it's place is solidified in the past and therefore outdated.

[Bruma rabu]

The story of dragon ball and it's characters to me aren't dated. I feel that the series is timeless and any generation can enjoy it. But when it comes to the anime you could say it's "dated" as in the technology used, the way it was made and stored.

[GreatSaiyaJeff]

I recently tried to have a friend watch Yu Yu Hakusho, he wasn't interested because the animation seemed older. Which is funny because I still think it holds up.

[ABED]

I recently tried to have a friend watch Yu Yu Hakusho, he wasn't interested because the animation seemed older. Which is funny because I still think it holds up.

Story doesn't matter to him as much as the modernity of the animation?

[NintendoBlaze53]

I recently tried to have a friend watch Yu Yu Hakusho, he wasn't interested because the animation seemed older. Which is funny because I still think it holds up.

Story doesn't matter to him as much as the modernity of the animation?

To some people unfortunately yes, I was at a video store yesterday checking out the anime section and overheard a couple talking about anime. One of them was new the other a veteran by the sound of it. The veteran was choosing anime films to watch and then I heard "Akira and Ghost in the Shell are both really good, they're old though so you might not enjoy them".WHAT?! It's bloody Akira and Ghost in the Shell! They hold up better then most modern anime and just cause they're animated 30/20 years ago you aren't going to watch them?

[KBABZ]

I recently tried to have a friend watch Yu Yu Hakusho, he wasn't interested because the animation seemed older. Which is funny because I still think it holds up.

Story doesn't matter to him as much as the modernity of the animation?

To some people unfortunately yes, I was at a video store yesterday checking out the anime section and overheard a couple talking about anime. One of them was new the other a veteran by the sound of it. The veteran was choosing anime films to watch and then I heard "Akira and Ghost in the Shell are both really good, they're old though so you might not enjoy them".WHAT?! It's bloody Akira and Ghost in the Shell! They hold up better then most modern anime and just cause they're animated 30/20 years ago you aren't going to watch them?

That's the equivalent of saying "Nah, not gonna watch Terminator 2, that's 90s trash that is"!

[Hellspawn28]

I don't care if it's outdated if it is good. Something can be dated, but not bad overall. Movies like Videodrome uses dated stuff like VHS tapes, but the themes of the story are still very good.