What Does Dragon Ball Have Over The Shonen Of Today?

[DonZ]

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So how is Hokuto no Ken (FONS) any fun ? i didn't watch the show, but isn't it a heavily, tragedy show with a depressing setting and atmosphere ? how is that fun?

[TheGmGoken]

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So how is Hokuto no Ken (FONS) any fun ? i didn't watch the show, but isn't it a heavily, tragedy show with a depressing setting and atmosphere ? how is that fun?

It's a different type of fun than the normal type of fun. The Last of Us(video game) is fun. Lots of depression movies can be fun once the hero kicks. I found New fist of north star awesome and fun

[Mewzard]

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So how is Hokuto no Ken (FONS) any fun ? i didn't watch the show, but isn't it a heavily, tragedy show with a depressing setting and atmosphere ? how is that fun?

How isn't a martial artist assassin roaming around in a post-apocalyptic future exploding evil thugs, bikers, etc into bits with badass fighting moves fun? Sure, there are dark points, but justice is dispensed with Kenshiro, and it has a lot of absurdly awesome fight moments. It's manga Mad Max with martial arts, basically.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSgpU70MZno

[Hellspawn28]

Tiger & Bunny is still recent and that was a fun Shonen in my opinion. I'm not a nostalgic purist since I will watch newer stuff if they are good. I can't stand Attack on Titan because of the dull characters and the movie is nowhere as graphic as people make it out to be. Go Nagai has made stuff that would make Attack on Titan look like a Nick Jr. show.

[DonZ]

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So how is Hokuto no Ken (FONS) any fun ? i didn't watch the show, but isn't it a heavily, tragedy show with a depressing setting and atmosphere ? how is that fun?

How isn't a martial artist assassin roaming around in a post-apocalyptic future exploding evil thugs, bikers, etc into bits with badass fighting moves fun? Sure, there are dark points, but justice is dispensed with Kenshiro, and it has a lot of absurdly awesome fight moments. It's manga Mad Max with martial arts, basically.

Ah, i get it, so it's a "badass" kind of fun. yeah, badass, cool, muscular dudes fighting can be fun to watch.

[FortuneSSJ]

The characters are original. Everytime I saw Naruto, Fairy Tail, One Piece i just see copies there.
Those 3 main characters for example are failed Goku copies.

[Vijay]

The characters are original. Everytime I saw Naruto, Fairy Tail, One Piece i just see copies there.
Those 3 main characters for example are failed Goku copies.

Haha! True... And expecting someposts on how Goku himself wasn't original & the Monkey King inspiration is cleary evident to defend their preferred main characters. At least Goku isn't stereotypical whining about Nakama all the time.

On topic:

1. Simple, enjoyable fights.

DBZ fights aren't creative for the sake of being creative. Goku has most legendary, epic fights locked.

2. Likable, NON-stereotypical characters.

You rave about 500+ episodes glorifying depth/complex characters. Ever found them NON-stereotypical? Same old "Nakama Chikara", "Ore-Tachi no Chikara".

3. Funny, without trying hard to be funny.

Watched Bleach. Champion when it comes to trying hard to death to be Funny. Naruto's lame jokes aren't even worth mention. FMA's jokes though enjoyable, occurs at most inappropriate time.

Goku aka Nozawa-san's voice alone does the trick. Now, thats class.

Simply watching Goku interact with Kuririn brings smiles to my face.

4. Yawn-inducing Protagonists.

Naruto, Ichigo Kurosaki, Luffy.

Take-out their stereotypical "Fight for Nakama-tachi" & you have an empty bowl called characterization. The worse of the bunch, Naruto. Pretending to be deep, some deep shit right there.

Luffy's character relies more gimmick whilw Ichigo's nothing when compared to his badass Hollow-counterpart.

I'd say Gon & Killua (Hunter Hunter) are better protagonists compared to the bunch I mentioned above.

Gon's a Goku's derivative. His confidence & curiousity to learn things makes him an appealing hero, completly blows Naruto as character.

I've watched FMA (BrotherHood). Just about 13 episodes in & bored to death.

[Kid Buu]

This is a question that popped up inside my head recently, and I find it to be incredibly interesting. Despite ending over a decade ago and being blown out of the water by vastly superior shonens like One Piece and FMA, DB still has plenty of fans around the world. Since this is the case, does this mean that Dragon Ball just has something that the shonen of today seem to lack? Did it do something better than them?

I couldn't get into One Piece; I'm not really a fan of sub stories about friendship and no offense but I find some of the character designs unappealing.

FMA I watched all of Brotherhood, it was good....but nothing stood out to me. Like it wasn't bad but nothing really wanted me to continue on. It took me half a year to watch it, and that is saying something for like a 64 episode series.

DB what stands out is the artwork, I like the adventure parts mostly (Pilaf/RRA/early Namek), and the fight scenes. I do agree that the series did lose its way with later arcs though.

[Kuwabara]

The overall aesthetic and tone of Dragon Ball and DBZ is way more appealing to me than what I usually see in modern shonen, though better shonen series have obviously come out. Part of that has to do with how both series were made with past technology. I'm going to prefer cels and film over digital production almost all of the time. I will say that I'm enjoying Hunter × Hunter a lot though, it carries a similar spirit while also being incredibly subtle in its self-awareness.

[Zenkai]

being blown out of the water by vastly superior shonens like One Piece and FMA,

That is entirely subjective. I've seen FMA Brotherhood in it's entirety. It's excellent (and one of my favorite animes), but I still prefer Dragon Ball-Z-GT.

[cesarcoronel07]

fun, simple, awesome fights, and unforgettable loving characters. That's all there is to it. I've watched FMA and FMA Brotherhood, enjoyed it! One of my favorite anime! Not even going to try watching One Piece... it just doesn't look appealing. Hunter X Hunter is probably my favorite shonen of today (Nowhere near Dragon Ball though). Hunter X Hunter's story is just awesome for it's own good! I love all the characters! And now with Yoshihiro Togashi returning to continue the manga after a long rest, things are about to go down!

[ABED]

Never was a YYHS fan. I can watch it(even made an Amv of it) but nothing worthwhile that I througt was fun or enjoyable

Really? You didn't laugh at Koenma? What about when we discover George is the narrator? The humor is very akin to DB.

[Kid Buu]

Since HxH is being mentioned, I gotta say I started that recently and am just meh with it. The story is okay but I find Gon to be a dull protagonist and the artwork isn't really detailed. The only thing keeping me interested is Hisoka.

[DonZ]

Since HxH is being mentioned, I gotta say I started that recently and am just meh with it. The story is okay but I find Gon to be a dull protagonist and the artwork isn't really detailed. The only thing keeping me interested is Hisoka.

It's the kind of show that keep getting better as it keep going forward with the story arcs. it may seem decent at the first two, or even three arcs, but after that it becomes super interesting. the Yorknew city arc and Chimera Ants arc are phenomenal. you HAVE to watch them!
and since you're interested in Hisoka, he'll play a big part in the Yorknew city arc, you'll like him even more.

overall, i find HxH to be the second best Shounen anime after FMA and FMA:B. and my second favorite anime of all time after Dragon Ball.

[TheGmGoken]

Never was a YYHS fan. I can watch it(even made an Amv of it) but nothing worthwhile that I througt was fun or enjoyable

Really? You didn't laugh at Koenma? What about when we discover George is the narrator? The humor is very akin to DB.

The humor I didn't notice cause it didn't make me smirk. Koenma wasn't that special and character narration I've seen many times

[Kid Buu]

Since HxH is being mentioned, I gotta say I started that recently and am just meh with it. The story is okay but I find Gon to be a dull protagonist and the artwork isn't really detailed. The only thing keeping me interested is Hisoka.

It's the kind of show that keep getting better as it keep going forward with the story arcs. it may seem decent at the first two, or even three arcs, but after that it becomes super interesting. the Yorknew city arc and Chimera Ants arc are phenomenal. you HAVE to watch them!
and since you're interested in Hisoka, he'll play a big part in the Yorknew city arc, you'll like him even more.

overall, i find HxH to be the second best Shounen anime after FMA and FMA:B. and my second favorite anime of all time after Dragon Ball.

Will do. The manga artwork i pretty bad, so I'm watching the 1999 anime instead (Gon has the same VA as Naruto there). I heard the 2011 anime has bad pacing though, but I guess I'll have to switch to that once I finish the 1999 anime.

Didn't realize in the new anime he is voiced by Megumi Han, daughter of the legendary Keiko Han.

[goku the krump dancer]

The characters are original. Everytime I saw Naruto, Fairy Tail, One Piece i just see copies there.
Those 3 main characters for example are failed Goku copies.

Speaking of failed Goku clones, PLEASE don't get me started on the Kilik replacement kid from Soul Calibur 5. Yuck.. Just, yuck.

[ABED]

Never was a YYHS fan. I can watch it(even made an Amv of it) but nothing worthwhile that I througt was fun or enjoyable

Really? You didn't laugh at Koenma? What about when we discover George is the narrator? The humor is very akin to DB.

The humor I didn't notice cause it didn't make me smirk. Koenma wasn't that special and character narration I've seen many times

Different strokes then because the style of humor is practically identical to DB's. And in what way is Koenma not special?

And what shows has the narrator been revealed as one of the characters in such a fashion? Please pick a title that's not obscure.

You wrote nothing was fun. Really? None of the fights were fun?

[Vegard Aune]

6- it ended at the right time unlike the so called big 3 that will continue for the $$$ regardles of the quality of the story

Ahem... One Piece has had a clear goal from day one. That clear goal has not yet been reached. It would make no sense for it to end now. Granted one could make the argument that Oda is dragging it out (He did originally intend on the manga to run for only five years) but it seems less like he's stalling and more like he just severely underestimated how long it would take for him to tell the story. Also if Dragon Ball ended at just the right time... why are there so many debates all the time about how it should/could/was totally meant to end at *INSERT EARLIER POINT IN THE STORY HERE*? Honestly, at the very least the Majin Boo arc severely overstayed its welcome.

Now let it be said, I do like One Piece more than DB (as my avatar might have made obvious), but I will say one thing DB does have over it; Like others have mentioned before, Toriyama is much better at drawing action. Now yes, the chaotic battles in One Piece can be cool in their own way, but they're also often rather disorienting. Toriyama on the other hand manages to draw some genuinely cool, well choreographed fights and one never has any problem making out who is doing what. And seeing how DB eventually turned into a straight-up action-manga, having easy to follow and impressive action-scenes is obviously a pretty big plus.

[Darknat]

6- it ended at the right time unlike the so called big 3 that will continue for the $$$ regardles of the quality of the story

Ahem... One Piece has had a clear goal from day one. That clear goal has not yet been reached. It would make no sense for it to end now. Granted one could make the argument that Oda is dragging it out (He did originally intend on the manga to run for only five years) but it seems less like he's stalling and more like he just severely underestimated how long it would take for him to tell the story. Also if Dragon Ball ended at just the right time... why are there so many debates all the time about how it should/could/was totally meant to end at *INSERT EARLIER POINT IN THE STORY HERE*? Honestly, at the very least the Majin Boo arc severely overstayed its welcome.

That's just because Toriyama wanted to end it before it did, that doesn't mean it was too long. 42 Tankobons seems like nothing compared to the Shounens of today.

Buu saga has it's flaws, but I personally liked it because it brought back the humor it had before, and broke the "new transformation to defeat the bad guy" trend by introducing SS3 from the start. I personally don't like Cell saga that much besides Gohan having the spotlight in the end and the character of Trunks. I think it was a bit boring compared to the other sagas.