Have You Ever Been Ashamed Of Liking DBZ?

[Metalwario64]

I was around 2004, because that was when I wanted to be seen as "cool" at school (though it never worked. :p). I even went so far as to declare I hated the show, but then in 2006 or so I stopped caring about what others thought of me, and in 2007 I got the urge to watch the series again, and I was ready to start buying the singles, thinking the Ultimate Uncuts had to have been finished by then, and then I discovered the orange brick, and that's how I got back into Dragon Ball, though me coming to Kanzenshuu wasn't until early the next year. I started out on FUNimation's forum.

It's weird that the gap between the end of the Ultimate Uncut airing on CN and the first orange brick wasn't really that long (only 2 years!), but it felt like many years had passed at that time. On the other hand, it feels like just yesterday the Dragon Boxes were finished being released...

[Rukura]

Nope. Always been upfront with co-workers and friends, whenever it came up (and/or was seen reading the manga or playing a game), and had no problem owning up to its flaws and even clearing some misunderstandings about the series.

Hell, my Facebook banner is still the moji thing from Toei's Battle of Gods website

[Daimo-Rukiri]

If it entertains me, I like it! Could care less what the "other" people think about it.

[SingleFringe&Sparks]

Everyone in my Elementary School loved it and we talked about it daily or playing DBZ at recess. The only people who would shame us then were the sailormoon fangirls who didnt get the show.

[Saiga]

I mean, I just threw together a Pokemon Stadium minigame party in my dorm, and had over 50 people show up and start playing. And not a single person batted an eye at a huge group of multi-ethnic 19-24 year olds playing a game from 15 years ago that was made for 8 year olds, including the professors who came in (and some of them played as well).

That is just incredible, really. Kind of makes me wish I lived in a dorm when I was at University.

[Captain Awesome]

Hiding your interests from possible romantic partners isn't a great idea in my opinion. Its better to just be honest and confident. And if she likes it, then at least you will know she likes who you really are.

That would be a great idea...

That is if Dragonball (or anime) defined me as a person to even the smallest most infinitesimal degree. The reality is it doesn't; it's a childhood fixation that I was never completely able to shake. I'm trying not to be completely dismissive or condescending, but that isn't how adults do things, we lie to one another until it's too late to back out and then start letting the truth out in small discrete portions. If you really think that that it's a "good idea" to foist your cartoon collection on a girl you met at a bar, or after that first date went really well then I'm afraid you're in for a rude awakening.

Have I been in relationships where my partner was well aware of my dorky leanings?, of course, However proudly displaying your shrine to children's entertainment isn't putting your best foot forward, you're shooting yourself in it.

[LordCrumb]

I'm 29, and my work mate is 21, and we talk about Dragon Ball all the bloody time, in front of anyone. No shame at all. Couldn't give two hoots what others think. Dragon Ball is just plain awesome.

[rereboy]

That would be a great idea...

That is if Dragonball (or anime) defined me as a person to even the smallest most infinitesimal degree. The reality is it doesn't; it's a childhood fixation that I was never completely able to shake. I'm trying not to be completely dismissive or condescending, but that isn't how adults do things, we lie to one another until it's too late to back out and then start letting the truth out in small discrete portions. If you really think that that it's a "good idea" to foist your cartoon collection on a girl you met at a bar, or after that first date went really well then I'm afraid you're in for a rude awakening.

Have I been in relationships where my partner was well aware of my dorky leanings?, of course, However proudly displaying your shrine to children's entertainment isn't putting your best foot forward, you're shooting yourself in it.

Aren't you generalizing a little too much about people hiding stuff? I for one, don't really hide anything. Sure, I see no need to go around proactively and intentionally talking about Dragon Ball to everyone I know, because there's a lot more to conversations (and to me) than Dragon Ball but I don't go around avoiding talking about it either. Much the same way, I won't intentionally hide my manga collection and other geeky stuff I own if a romantic interest comes over to my place but I won't intentionally go out of my way to talk about it or show it.

What I was trying to tell you is that actually hiding that stuff isn't a great way to go about things. If a romantic interest has a problem with you having a manga collection or whatever, that will just prove to you, early on, that she cares too much about shallow appearances. "OMG, he has geek stuff, eww, he must be uninteresting and immature and I'm so not interested". You really want to be associated with someone who would think that right away? At least by not going out of your way to hide it, you would find out very early on if she is such a person.

And this applies to a bunch of other stuff. You don't have to go out of your way to tell every little thing about yourself, but generally, the more honest you are, the more sure you are that she likes you as you are, and relationships where there's a feeling of strong open honesty are usually the ones that work out the most. That will probably reduce your chances with some girls of course, but those will be the girls that have a problem with stuff you do, that you like, your interests, experiences, and stuff like that.

So, being confident (which is one of the biggest attractions for girls) and not going about actually hiding stuff would be much better, IMO.

But, of course, I'm talking about relationships. If you aren't planning to have a relationship, and if you bring someone that you barely know and that barely knows you home from the bar with you just to have a good time, then in that case it might be a good idea to hide it. Those interactions are ultimately meaningless so what I said doesn't really apply.

[Fizzer]

Hiding your interests from possible romantic partners isn't a great idea in my opinion. Its better to just be honest and confident. And if she likes it, then at least you will know she likes who you really are.

That would be a great idea...

That is if Dragonball (or anime) defined me as a person to even the smallest most infinitesimal degree. The reality is it doesn't; it's a childhood fixation that I was never completely able to shake. I'm trying not to be completely dismissive or condescending, but that isn't how adults do things, we lie to one another until it's too late to back out and then start letting the truth out in small discrete portions. If you really think that that it's a "good idea" to foist your cartoon collection on a girl you met at a bar, or after that first date went really well then I'm afraid you're in for a rude awakening.

Have I been in relationships where my partner was well aware of my dorky leanings?, of course, However proudly displaying your shrine to children's entertainment isn't putting your best foot forward, you're shooting yourself in it.

But there's a difference between trying to have a conversation with her about Dragon Ball or wearing a DB-related T-shirt or something, and simply having them on your shelf among all your other stuff. At worst, it'll catch her eye and she'll say "hey, what's that?", and it wouldn't be a big deal if it's sitting there next to a bunch of "acceptable" stuff. Maybe it's different where you live, but I think it would just come off as quirky, as long as children's entertainment or Japanese stuff doesn't dominate your collection.

Edit: Also agree with rereboy about being yourself when looking for love. If you're out for a one-night-stand then it doesn't matter who you act like, as long as you're attractive, but if you're looking for something longer term, you need someone you're compatible with, not just someone who likes you on the surface.

[rereboy]

At worst, it'll catch her eye and she'll say "hey, what's that?", and it wouldn't be a big deal if it's sitting there next to a bunch of "acceptable" stuff. Maybe it's different where you live, but I think it would just come off as quirky, as long as children's entertainment or Japanese stuff doesn't dominate your collection.

Even if it dominates it for one reason or another, I really don't see the problem. It doesn't really change anything of what I said. If she has a problem with it, she would react more strongly. If she doesn't have a problem with it, it wouldn't matter.

Personally, I have a big manga/comic collection that occupies some space. I have no figures or anything else, just manga/comic books. Some are next to regular books, others aren't. Some are more children oriented, like shounen manga, and others aren't. My girlfriend has no problem at all and even likes it. But, if she had a problem with it, she would have a problem with one of my interests, and if it was a big enough problem to interfere with the relationship, that would just mean that she was letting a completely shallow reason dominate her opinion of me and that she was boiling down what I am to one of my entertainment interests. And if she, for example, had no such problem if my entertainment interest was something like watching soccer and collecting soccer merchandise, that would just further prove what a shallow reason it was.

[tx3]

No

[KentalSSJ6]

Well, I just got back from my first visit to the local Anime Anonymous support group, and it went something like this:
"Hello. My name is Kamiccolo9. And I like Dragon Ball Z."
To which the circle of people responded with a collective yawn.

Seriously though, I've found that once people get out of that "need to fit in" phase that's so prevalent in Middle and High School (at least where I'm from in the States) then life tends to get a lot easier, at least as far as being able to enjoy what's "socially acceptable." From what I've experienced, college is where you can finally start to be yourself, without caring what anyone thinks of what you like. I mean, I just threw together a Pokemon Stadium minigame party in my dorm, and had over 50 people show up and start playing. And not a single person batted an eye at a huge group of multi-ethnic 19-24 year olds playing a game from 15 years ago that was made for 8 year olds, including the professors who came in (and some of them played as well).

In short, in my experience, once you "grow up" and get away from caring about whether or not what you like "fits in," you can start enjoying life a lot more.

Sounds similar to the DBZ tournament and movie marathon me and a few friends had when my copy of Battle of Gods came in from Amazon. Movies went well but we only played Budokai 3 for a hour cause I kept whooping everyone (likely due to the fact that in the entire group, I'm the only one who has any knowledge of fighting games...and I may have been using SSJ4 Goku..) so we just went with the movies after that.

[rereboy]

Well, I just got back from my first visit to the local Anime Anonymous support group, and it went something like this:
"Hello. My name is Kamiccolo9. And I like Dragon Ball Z."
To which the circle of people responded with a collective yawn.

Seriously though, I've found that once people get out of that "need to fit in" phase that's so prevalent in Middle and High School (at least where I'm from in the States) then life tends to get a lot easier, at least as far as being able to enjoy what's "socially acceptable." From what I've experienced, college is where you can finally start to be yourself, without caring what anyone thinks of what you like. I mean, I just threw together a Pokemon Stadium minigame party in my dorm, and had over 50 people show up and start playing. And not a single person batted an eye at a huge group of multi-ethnic 19-24 year olds playing a game from 15 years ago that was made for 8 year olds, including the professors who came in (and some of them played as well).

In short, in my experience, once you "grow up" and get away from caring about whether or not what you like "fits in," you can start enjoying life a lot more.

This is a pretty good post and I must say that it generally falls in line with what I've experienced. I'm 27 years old, so I already went through all that and a little more.

[Flame Dragon]

My girlfriend knows everything about my love for videogames, cartoons, anime and web shows.
And she doesn't give me any shit about it. (To be fair, she loves cartoons too, and everytime i find something funny out on the Internet she laughs with me)

Remember, if someone doesn't like who you really are and tries to change you into liking only "socially accepted stuff" (which shouldn't exist in the first place), then it's probably wise to not waste your time with her.

[TheGmGoken]

Besides maybe peer pressure why would anyone be ashamed of liking something?

[Captain Awesome]

So, being confident (which is one of the biggest attractions for girls) and not going about actually hiding stuff would be much better, IMO.

Being a confident person and being confident about displaying your altar to Akira Toriyama are two completely separate things.

And please guys, your attempts at relationship advice are actually making my skin crawl. If I needed such a thing, ..I'd probably look somewhere other than a Dragonball forum?

[samuraix123]

Besides maybe peer pressure why would anyone be ashamed of liking something?

Because people have a tendency to want to fit in with the crowd and watching cartoons as an adult is so not coolio. But blindly voting for someone or reading trashy magazines is the way to go!

So, being confident (which is one of the biggest attractions for girls) and not going about actually hiding stuff would be much better, IMO.

Being a confident person and being confident about displaying your altar to Akira Toriyama are two completely separate things.

And please guys, your attempts at relationship advice are actually making my skin crawl. If I needed such a thing, ..I'd probably look somewhere other than a Dragonball forum?

I have to admit this gave me a good laugh!

[rereboy]

Being a confident person and being confident about displaying your altar to Akira Toriyama are two completely separate things.

And please guys, your attempts at relationship advice are actually making my skin crawl. If I needed such a thing, ..I'd probably look somewhere other than a Dragonball forum?

How confident can you be as a person if you can't even have an harmless entertainment hobby of yours somewhat visible at your own house due to the fear of being judged...?

Like I said, I'm not even talking about actively showing it or talking about it, just about not going out of your way to hide it because of other people.

And in my experience good advice is good advice, no matter the source.

[Captain Awesome]

How confident can you be as a person if you can't even have an harmless entertainment hobby of yours somewhat visible at your own house due to the fear of being judged...?

Please, spare me your psychoanalysis.

While I'm sure you're able to glean a great deal of information about who I am as a person from the scant three posts I've made in this thread, I'll stop you right there. I have no doubt that your advice was well intended, however that doesn't negate the fact that it reads like some poorly regurgitated rhetoric you heard from a high school counsellor. You know absolutely nothing about me, which makes your attempted insight into my personality insulting, and more than a little pathetic.

Hiding my Dragonball collection isn't some Freudian indicator of a lack of self-confidence, it's simply that it doesn't define me, so I don't feel the need to advertise it.

And at this point I could jump in with some personal details about who I am as a person, and what I do in my day to day, but y'know what? I don't need to, because I'm a confident person .

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

I'm 29, and my work mate is 21, and we talk about Dragon Ball all the bloody time, in front of anyone. No shame at all. Couldn't give two hoots what others think. Dragon Ball is just plain awesome.

Where in New Zealand is this? And can I join you?

I was ashamed of liking the show once...when I was 9 and my friend told me that it was "gay". It turned into a bit of a secret after that.

I still don't really talk about it to my friends, though, because I know that they don't care about it.