Heroes' Masi Oka Acknowledges Dragon Ball influence

laserkid · Post by **laserkid** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:30 pm

Well aware and frustrated badly over that fact >.<

I just don't know how else to catch up on it.

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:47 pm

Keep a look out for marathons. To help those catch up, the day before a fourth episode, they'll have a three-episode marathon for some reason. Since they did this all throughout the season, I wouldn't be surprised if they did an entire season marathon. Any holidays coming up?

Anonymous Friend · Post by **Anonymous Friend** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:22 pm

laserkid wrote:Well aware and frustrated badly over that fact >.<

I just don't know how else to catch up on it.

Scifi channel also aires reruns. Plus check out Heroes 360 experience:

Wikipedia wrote:Heroes 360 experience is a digital extension of the NBC series Heroes released on January 19, 2007 and which explores the Heroes universe.

The Heroes 360 experience began on January 22, 2007, the day when episode 12 "Godsend" was first aired. Viewers can investigate clues from the show on the official website. The Heroes 360 Experience uses several aspects of the alternate reality game.

In an interview at the Wizard World in Los Angeles, co-executive producer and writer Jesse Alexander said that all the stories in the experience "connect with the show," and provide participants with real spoilers. He went on to say that this current experience is a dry run for an even bigger experience in the works for next year.

The Heroes 360 experience has had 48 million page views as of March 22, 2007, plus over 27 million video downloads.

Also, NBC sometimes have their shows on they're site to view.

omae no kaasan · Post by **omae no kaasan** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 10:07 pm

Drew inspiration for his character from Dragon Ball huh?

Yeah. You can see the stunning similarities between them.... -_-

And where did Ando draw his influence from? Mr. Baseball? ^O^

And although I'll admit the angst-o-meter can sometimes run off the charts, the acting and writing in Lost is unparalleled on the small screen. Finally a show that doesn't take its audience for fools and has a depth and continuity that rivals some of the most complicated work that mangaka like Urasawa can pump out. Took them long enough.

KaiserNeko · Post by **KaiserNeko** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:13 am

Olivier Hague wrote:Well, it's my turn to disagree... "Heroes" really isn't that well-written. Lots of plot-holes, lots of idiot plots, etc. It's entertaining, but that's about it.
(and "Lost"'s writing is just plain terrible)

I'd really, really like to see you actually back up that mention of plot holes.

Olivier Hague · Post by **Olivier Hague** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:58 am

KaiserNeko wrote:I'd really, really like to see you actually back up that mention of plot holes.

Sure.

"Heroes" spoilers ahead, obviously...

* Wiki-girl's faulty memories.
When Charlie and Hiro first met in that diner, she explains that she had received a Japanese dictionary as a birthday present.
But as we later learn, Hiro is the one who gave her that present in the past. Then, they fell in love. And yet, Charlie doesn't know who he is when he shows up again, right before she's killed by Sylar.

Now, sure, you could argue that Hiro changed the past when he went back in time, and that he wasn't the one who bought her that present in the first place. But what happened to the guy who bought her the dictionary in the first place, then? Did she end up with two dictionaries, in the end? Great present idea, Hiro!
Also, if Hiro changed the past, how come Andô -who didn't travel with Hiro- remembered everything from the old timeline, and still ended up in the new timeline, the one where Hiro was at that birthday party? Why the special treatment?

According to the comics (and maybe the TV series, I'm not sure), Sylar did kill Charlie in the end anyway. If Hiro warned her, why did she stay? Sure, she was doomed, but getting killed like that? Really?
The cops specifically asked for Hiro and Andô to stay around... Not one to act suspicious, Hiro promptly disappears... Nobody cares. Maybe that's because the cops themselves are nowhere to be seen right after that. It's just a gruesome murder, after all. Besides, they didn't even close the diner. Sure, there's a body in the back, but don't you love them waffles?

* Matt's grudge.
Matt went after the mysterious HRG (guys, we've known his name since episode 2, and we've met his family, he's not so mysterious we really need to refer to him by an acronym, no matter how much you liked "the X-Files") because "he did this to him".
Matt, you already had these powers before getting caught by the guy. If these things were happening to me, I think I'd pay a little more attention to the timeline of events, but hey.

* The goddamn "S" symbol.
Where the hell does it come from, anyway? Mohinder's father was looking for a pattern in the DNA of his patients... and I think we've all seen that "S" several times in that DNA. I certainly hope he didn't miss it. And he probably didn't, since the same "S" is on the cover of his book. So... he did find what he was looking for? He had evidence? And I'd assume that book with a big "S" on its cover explains it all, so... Shouldn't he get the Nobel prize, or something?
But then again, it also shows up on Jessica's tattoo (good luck explaining that one, writers), on the Haitian's pendant, and it's supposedly a combination of two kanji (right....) that can be found on centuries-old artifacts.
Admittedly, that's not really a plot hole yet, technically... but can you make any sense out of it? Especially regarding the whole thing about Mohinder's father's research, how much he knew, etc?

* Sylar getting trapped by Bennet.
So he can't use his powers. Why? Because of the Haitian, according to the creators of the show. And as a deleted scene would have revealed, he could attack Eden because the Haitian was away at that moment.
Thing is... the Haitian was away a lot, really. Making Matt's nose bleed, mostly. So why didn't Sylar escape? 'Guess he was behaving. Why didn't he escape after Eden's death? 'Guess he didn't want to leave with bloodied clothes.

* Sylar's escape
Let's ignore the fact that Sylar escaped just because (he's dead, but now he's not anymore!). Why didn't he kill Bennet on the spot? 'Guess the writers wanted to keep Bennet on the show.

* Hey, hobo!
Peter suddenly decides to add a laughing hobo to his apocalyptic dream. And sure enough, he meets him right away in the streets.
So what does he do? A man cackling as New York is about to go boom and everybody else in panicking? Surely, he must go to him and become his apprentice!
Yes, to Peter, when you dress like a hobo, sport a beard and speak with a British accent, you must be fucking Obi-Wan.
Of course, he turns out to be right in the end. Naturally. For all he knew, the guy couldn't even control his own invisibility powers, but hey.

* Bennet actually bought two plane tickets for that?
So Bennet and the Haitian go to New York to get Claude, but they fail as Peter showcases his sudden mastery of about a billion different supernatural abilites (this all happens on the roof where everything else ever happened in the entire history of New York).
Too bad the Haitian didn't think of blocking them. Since that's how the company was apparently keeping Sylar captive.
Ah, well.

* Sylar's escape II: Electric Boogaloo.
Mohinder's curare was supposed to simply stop Sylar's powers from working (because curare stops right there, naturally... just don't try this at home, kids) while he was torturing him (and yet, the torture was entirely based on the idea that his super-hearing was still fine).
How does Sylar escape? By regaining his powers! How? By stopping the curare injection... with his powers? Huh. Clever... I... guess?

* Eric Roberts is just pissed off.
We need a spectacular finale for this episode! Ted has to go nuclear (enough for everything to burst into flames anyway, not for characters to actually get weird diseases over time)!
How do we do that? Let's just have Thompson show up, and shoot Ted. That should piss him off.
OK. 'Not sure why the guy would do that (did it sound like a good idea at the time?), or why he was there at all in the first place. But OK.

* Sylar's escape III: Die, Sylar, Die.
Mohinder had just tried to kill Sylar for the murder of his father. He failed. Then Sylar nearly killed him. Sylar killed Peter. And then, Sylar passed out.
What does Mohinder do? Simple: nothing. He just leaves Sylar on the floor of his apartment, and quickly puts Peter's dead body in his taxi (does he get to keep his cab at all times, really?) to take it to his mother. 'Must be a New York tradition.
What could possibly happen, anyway? Sylar waking up, going after Isaac and killing him? Well, OK, maybe that.

* We can escape, too!
Wouldn't it be a great idea to not drug Matt so he can use his powers to know what's going on exactly and possibly plot an escape?
Sounds good to me! Just don't forget to not drug Ted either! After all, it's not like the guy could kill us all just by willing it, or anything!

That's just off the top of my head...

omae no kaasan wrote:Finally a show that doesn't take its audience for fools and has a depth and continuity that rivals some of the most complicated work that mangaka like Urasawa can pump out.

'Funny you'd mention Urasawa, as he's reponsible for the narrative trainwreck that is "20th Century Boys"... ^^;

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:46 am

Boys, last I checked, this was a Dragonball message board. -_-

tinlunlau · Post by **tinlunlau** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:24 am

This isn't the first time I've heard that Dragon Ball Z is influential.
I'm sure it's definitely influenced Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow. There's an old movie of his called "Flirting Scholar" where he pulls a Kamehameha out of nowhere just so he can unmask the brides.

Mr.Piccolo · Post by **Mr.Piccolo** » Tue May 01, 2007 1:14 pm

Jerseymilk wrote:Boys, last I checked, this was a Dragonball message board. -_-

Saying that takes the fun away from certain people trying to show their superiority in things other than Dragonball..

-Rick

Maker777 · Post by **Maker777** » Wed May 02, 2007 1:49 am

laserkid wrote:Interesting, I've been meaning to see the show, as I'd heard Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, which I LOVED him in), was supposed to land a major role in it. But I am so far behind on the show that I'm honestly waiting for DVD Boxed sets. Now I hope they come out soon, as this makes me even more interested.

Yeah he plays an Invisable man who is training Peter Petrelli. Here in Australia we are at the episode that Hiro meets his dad and stuff. But this isn't a Heroes website so I'll stop there.

theoriginalbilis · Post by **theoriginalbilis** » Wed May 02, 2007 2:22 am

tinlunlau wrote:This isn't the first time I've heard that Dragon Ball Z is influential.

There's also an issue of Wizard Magazine that interviewed the Wachowski Bros. way back when the 1st Matrix movie came out, and it noted that one of their biggest influences in making The Matrix was anime, especially Dragon Ball Z.

- Bilis

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:44 am

theoriginalbilis wrote:
tinlunlau wrote:This isn't the first time I've heard that Dragon Ball Z is influential.
There's also an issue of Wizard Magazine that interviewed the Wachowski Bros. way back when the 1st Matrix movie came out, and it noted that one of their biggest influences in making The Matrix was anime, especially Dragon Ball Z.

- Bilis

Personally I'd have thought it was Sophia Stewart's The Third Eye was their main inspiration. Makes sense as to why Reloaded and Revolutions was a steaming pile of horse manure.

laserkid · Post by **laserkid** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:16 pm

Maker777 wrote:
laserkid wrote:Interesting, I've been meaning to see the show, as I'd heard Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, which I LOVED him in), was supposed to land a major role in it. But I am so far behind on the show that I'm honestly waiting for DVD Boxed sets. Now I hope they come out soon, as this makes me even more interested.
Yeah he plays an Invisable man who is training Peter Petrelli. Here in Australia we are at the episode that Hiro meets his dad and stuff. But this isn't a Heroes website so I'll stop there.

]
I hope he's not ALWAYS invisible. Eccleston's a great actor. Still, glad to hear the rumors are true. Now I really have to see this show.

omae no kaasan · Post by **omae no kaasan** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:48 pm

'Funny you'd mention Urasawa, as he's reponsible for the narrative trainwreck that is "20th Century Boys"... ^^;

Oh I totally agree it's a trainwreck. In fact, its narrative is the manga equivalent of 9/11.

But the story is fantastic. If there wasn't time literally pissed down the drain on unimportant side-ventures and obnoxious scenes of crowds singing and treating the main character as if he were a god. (I've forgotten his name it's been so long since I've ventured to read it)

That doesn't change the fact that the overall story and characters weaved into it (when laid flat out on a storyboard) are remarkably well-crafted and complex. A sure sign of a story that was carefully crafted from the bottom up.

I never liked how Urasawa told his stories, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the big picture.

For me, Lost has me both intrigued by the narrative and the big picture.

Heroes just....well....see the above post on plot-holes.

Olivier Hague · Post by **Olivier Hague** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:42 pm

omae no kaasan wrote:But the story is fantastic. If there wasn't time literally pissed down the drain on unimportant side-ventures and obnoxious scenes of crowds singing and treating the main character as if he were a god. (I've forgotten his name it's been so long since I've ventured to read it)

"Kenji".
Kanna is supposed to be pretty charismatic, too (emphasis on "supposed to be").

As for the story... Well, I like the pitch. But like you said, the treatment leaves a lot to be desired.
Plus, the author simply didn't know when to stop. He added tons of new "mysteries" without knowing where he'd go with them ("I'll figure something out!"). Of course, now, he doesn't know how to end his story. Heck, he even went as far as to claim that he never intended his manga to be about mysteries. Dude, 90% of your cliffhangers are about "who is the Friend?". Just suck it up and admit you don't have an answer, instead of blaming your readers for "not getting it". Jeez.

That doesn't change the fact that the overall story and characters weaved into it (when laid flat out on a storyboard) are remarkably well-crafted and complex. A sure sign of a story that was carefully crafted from the bottom up.

Up until volume 12, maybe...

omae no kaasan · Post by **omae no kaasan** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:58 pm

I liked what it did beyond 12 mainly because it careful showed how one fuck could turn most of the world into 'sheeple'.

I mean, if you pick up Volume 20 and see some of the shyt going on you'd just be like...yeah ok.

But the progression of 'Friend Inc.' is methodical and careful pulling all the right strings at just the right time.

Possible for any one man to plot out? Heeeeeeeells no. But interesting to think about and that's the goal of manga.

But yeah, his side-stories and meandering are the intellectual equivalent of watching Goku's famous, "KKKKKkkkkkkKKKKKKkkkkkKKKKK!!!!", at length.

As for why I'm a believer in the religion of Lost? A lot of people may not like the 5-6 degrees of separation idea, but when you eperience it, it's just creepy. On my way to Japan this time sat in the very LAST row of the connecting plane from Detroit, window seat. Only two seats in the set and the guy that sat down to me was from Massachusetts and with nobody else we talked quite a bit. Came to talking about college and I went to a small private college in NJ that 'boasts' 400 students per class year. Turns out he knew my college and asked if I knew anyone from the softball team. I knew maybe a handful of people in college and even less from sports teams. So I said no but he asked me if I knew a D. Waz because his partner at a research project in Kentucky was a D. Waz who went to my college.

She was my lab partner.

So yeah, Lost expands on the idea to a point where it CAN'T be explained but since the show is basically science VS faith, I think that's exactly the way they intend it to be.

Anyway....uh....Hiro.......DBZ....yeeeeeeah.

Maker777 · Post by **Maker777** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:00 am

laserkid wrote:
Maker777 wrote:
laserkid wrote:Interesting, I've been meaning to see the show, as I'd heard Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, which I LOVED him in), was supposed to land a major role in it. But I am so far behind on the show that I'm honestly waiting for DVD Boxed sets. Now I hope they come out soon, as this makes me even more interested.
Yeah he plays an Invisable man who is training Peter Petrelli. Here in Australia we are at the episode that Hiro meets his dad and stuff. But this isn't a Heroes website so I'll stop there.
]
I hope he's not ALWAYS invisible. Eccleston's a great actor. Still, glad to hear the rumors are true. Now I really have to see this show.

You can still see him but people act like they can't.