Countries that start with DBZ really missed a lot

[Xeztin]

I will say that I felt "cheated" after finding out years later there was an original Dragon Ball about Goku's childhood but hey, what can you do?

Go back and watch the first series.

I meant getting cheated of that experience, I've seen the original and Z multiple times, (Plus GT) but you'll never get that experience back if you know Goku's already an alien and know what's going to happen in Z. Both series can be a stand alone anime but you'll still never get that "OMG he's a Saiyan?!" experience.

[ABED]

Maybe if I had seen DB before Z, it would've been a shocking twist, but it doesn't feel as much of a shocker as Kuririn's first death.

[nite_jay]

I feel like this is partially why there are so many Kuririn/Yamucha memes. You never really see them flex their muscles that much in Z.

[floofychan333]

Yeah, I wish that North America had started with DB. Thanks to Z's massive popularity, it seems that loads of fans either hate DB because it "doesn't have enough action," or simply refuse to watch it.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

I wish that the split never happened. If DBZ episode 1 was DB ep 154 i am pretty sure everyone especially the fans who think the first half of the series is not important would be less ignorant and would've bothered to watch those 153 eps.

- Travis

[sintzu]

Both series could be watched and enjoyed by themselves. Both have pretty nice endings that wrap most if not all loose ends together.

That's how I see it as well, they both make one story but they also work as 2 separate stories cause each one has a clear beginning and ending.

Let's say there's a newcomer to the franchise and he or she is asking how to start watching the show. Would you tell him or her that DB is skippable and that they can just watch Z?

I wouldn't say it was skipable but I think it would be harder for someone who's used to the over the top action of modern Shonen to get into DB so I'd tell them to start with Kai and then go back and watch DB.

It would be like trying to introduce someone who's used to modern big budget blockbusters to movies from the 70's, the movies themselves aren't bad but there's such a big difference between them and what's being made now that getting into them would be extremely hard.

I'd rather introduce someone to Kai and be sure they'd like it and go back to DB afterwords over introducing them to DB and risking them dropping it and never looking back.

The Dragon Boxes started with Z, The individual DVDs started with Z & Kai only covers Z.

Don't you think Toei would've released DB first if it was a must watch before Z ? look at star wars, in the 70's the 1st movie starts in the middle of an established world and an ongoing story and everyone understood it just fine so why is it such a stretch for Z to do the same thing even though it has and continues to do so ? countless other movies, shows, games,ect start in the middle of an established world as well.

Starting at Z is just like starting at Shippuden for Naruto. It makes no sense and is a butchered way of experiencing Dragon Ball.

That's because Naruto ended on a huge cliffhanger and Shippuden's events are continuing Naruto's.

DB's events wrapped up with Piccolo and Z's felt like a fresh start so starting with it isn't in any way shape or form like starting with Shippuden or One Piece's new world arc.

[MetaMoss]

The 1996-1998 syndication airing of DBZ was not that obscure. I remember it did well on syndication and I remember that Funimation did wanted more episodes to be produce after Goku defeat Recoome. Cartoon Network did help DBZ become popular, but DBZ was popular before it air on CN. It's like saying Family Guy and Futurama were relatively obscure shows before Adult Swim air them in 2003 (I remember watching Futurama back in 2000 and people talking about Family Guy around that time too).

I did saw Dragon Ball before I saw DBZ and could not get into it at the time. I remember being confuse by the two as I didn't know which one air first at the time. Most Kids watching DBZ at the time in 1998-2003 on CN didn't really care about the story. They mainly watch it for the action.

I really wonder how popular the syndication run was back then. I've heard Mike on the podcast say something similar to the effect of it being "not that obscure", but the show obviously wasn't successful enough for more than two seasons. Unless somebody has some hard numbers, I'm inclined to say you didn't find the syndication run to be "obscure" because you knew about it. Sure, it was a big deal in some circles, but it was nothing compared to how it exploded on Cartoon Network and became the household name it is now. I myself have yet to find someone IRL that became a fan of Dragon Ball through anything pre-Cartoon Network. My main point is that the Toonami airing is probably the biggest thing when it comes to the perception of Dragon Ball in the United States, and since that started with Z, we Americans missed out on a lot of stuff.

[sintzu]

My main point is that the Toonami airing is probably the biggest thing when it comes to the perception of Dragon Ball in the United States, and since that started with Z, we Americans missed out on a lot of stuff.

And since it got as big as it did it proved that DB wasn't required to enjoy Z.

[MetaMoss]

My main point is that the Toonami airing is probably the biggest thing when it comes to the perception of Dragon Ball in the United States, and since that started with Z, we Americans missed out on a lot of stuff.

And since it got as big as it did it proved that DB wasn't required to enjoy Z.

Required? No. But that doesn't mean it adds a whole another layer that really enriches your experience with Z. I'm not going to be the guy that says "you must watch DB and Z as a singular entity in order, otherwise you're doing it wrong", because a) that'd be pretty hypocritical of me and b) there's a whole lot of ways to enjoy Dragon Ball. I find that I love DB and Z for different reasons, so I can see someone not enjoying DB for not bringing what they loved from Z (and vice versa) (though at that point I'd probably recommend the Piccolo arcs). That being said, I'd still highly recommend going in order from DB episode/chapter 1 until the end of the Z era.

[ABED]

My main point is that the Toonami airing is probably the biggest thing when it comes to the perception of Dragon Ball in the United States, and since that started with Z, we Americans missed out on a lot of stuff.

And since it got as big as it did it proved that DB wasn't required to enjoy Z.

Who said it did?

[sintzu]

Who said it did?

Would it have gotten as big as it did if DB was required to understand and enjoy it ?

[ABED]

Who said it did?

Would it have gotten as big as it did if DB was required to understand and enjoy it ?

It's a simple story about fighting. The problem isn't lack of understanding, it's a lack of experiencing the full story. The audience can understand what Chaozu's death means to Tenshinhan, but not feel it. The same applies with Piccolo's development. If only Z existed, no way would anyone write the story that way. Muten Roshi, Kuririn, and Chaozu had already died once before? Goku and Piccolo were once mortal enemies? That's a whole lot of backstory to exposit in mere dialog.

[ShadowBardock89]

My main point is that the Toonami airing is probably the biggest thing when it comes to the perception of Dragon Ball in the United States, and since that started with Z, we Americans missed out on a lot of stuff.

Not really, as Dragon Ball was aired in 2001 on Toonami. Save for the last two Broly films, Bojack: Unbound, Super Android 13, and the most recent movies, most of the franchise has been aired on Toonami from its original run to its current run. We Americans DID NOT miss out.

[SaintEvolution]

In Israel they started with DBZ too.

In Middle East/Arabic countries I think they did it too, but I'm not sure.

In Brazil(my country) we started with the original DB in 1996, but only the first 60 episodes were aired, and then in 1999 they skipped directly to Z. The original DB was redubbed with Z actors and broadcasted again(this time all the episodes) in 2001/2002.

[MajinMan]

Let's say there's a newcomer to the franchise and he or she is asking how to start watching the show. Would you tell him or her that DB is skippable and that they can just watch Z?

I wouldn't say it was skipable but I think it would be harder for someone who's used to the over the top action of modern Shonen to get into DB so I'd tell them to start with Kai and then go back and watch DB.

It would be like trying to introduce someone who's used to modern big budget blockbusters to movies from the 70's, the movies themselves aren't bad but there's such a big difference between them and what's being made now that getting into them would be extremely hard.

I'd rather introduce someone to Kai and be sure they'd like it and go back to DB afterwords over introducing them to DB and risking them dropping it and never looking back.

The Dragon Boxes started with Z, The individual DVDs started with Z & Kai only covers Z.

Don't you think Toei would've released DB first if it was a must watch before Z ? look at star wars, in the 70's the 1st movie starts in the middle of an established world and an ongoing story and everyone understood it just fine so why is it such a stretch for Z to do the same thing even though it has and continues to do so ? countless other movies, shows, games,ect start in the middle of an established world as well.

Starting at Z is just like starting at Shippuden for Naruto. It makes no sense and is a butchered way of experiencing Dragon Ball.

That's because Naruto ended on a huge cliffhanger and Shippuden's events are continuing Naruto's.

DB's events wrapped up with Piccolo and Z's felt like a fresh start so starting with it isn't in any way shape or form like starting with Shippuden or One Piece's new world arc.

This doesn't make any sense. What you're essentially saying here is that you're worried that they won't enjoy Dragon Ball because it doesn't have fancy explosions and power ups. I'd say introduce them to Dragon Ball, and if they don't like it, they can drop it. If you don't like the series, what's the point of watching it? I introduced my friend to Dragon Ball last year (more like he wanted to watch it and I told him to start with the original in Japanese), and he loved it without having much context about the series other than Super Saiyans, fighting, and Goku. And he ended up liking the first anime more than Z.

Again, this isn't 1996. And your Star Wars comparison falls flat because Episodes 1-3 are prequels, while the original DB anime is absolutely not. They're completely different situations.

[sintzu]

What you're essentially saying here is that you're worried that they won't enjoy Dragon Ball because it doesn't have fancy explosions and power ups.

I'd say introduce them to Dragon Ball, and if they don't like it, they can drop it.

If you don't like the series, what's the point of watching it?

Your Star Wars comparison falls flat because Episodes 1-3 are prequels, while the original DB anime is absolutely not. They're completely different situations.

Yeah and that's probably why Toei released Z's dragon boxes and single DVDs before DB's and why they skipped DB for Kai and chose to introduce new people to the franchise through Z's part of the story.

I'd say if you were a businessman you'd be out of business very quick.

Not liking a part of it doesn't mean they won't like everything else, you've got people here who love Z but have only read about DB and I've seen people on other sites say the same thing.

They're exactly the same, Episode 4, arkham asylum, god of war, the lord of the rings & countless other stories start in the middle of an established universe and ongoing story which is what Z does so how are they different ?

The Witcher 3 is another great example of this, it's a trilogy's final yet the developers made sure it could be enjoyed even if you've never played the previous 2 and went as far as to say that it would be a better place to start than the 1st or 2nd game.

[MajinMan]

What you're essentially saying here is that you're worried that they won't enjoy Dragon Ball because it doesn't have fancy explosions and power ups.

I'd say introduce them to Dragon Ball, and if they don't like it, they can drop it.

If you don't like the series, what's the point of watching it?

Your Star Wars comparison falls flat because Episodes 1-3 are prequels, while the original DB anime is absolutely not. They're completely different situations.

Yeah and that's probably why Toei released Z's dragon boxes and single DVDs before DB's and why they skipped DB for Kai and chose to introduce new people to the franchise through Z's part of the story.

I'd say if you were a businessman you'd be out of business very quick.

Not liking a part of it doesn't mean they won't like everything else, you've got people here who love Z but have only read about DB and I've seen people on other sites say the same thing.

They're exactly the same, Episode 4, arkham asylum, god of war, the lord of the rings & countless other stories start in the middle of an established universe and ongoing story which is what Z does so how are they different ?

The Witcher 3 is another great example of this, it's a trilogy's final yet the developers made sure it could be enjoyed even if you've never played the previous 2 and went as far as to say that it would be a better place to start than the 1st or 2nd game.

We're not talking about business. We were talking about introducing fans to the series. Just because Z is more popular and can be enjoyed by itself does not mean that new fans should start with Z because of that. I can say the same thing about the original.

I think you fail to understand that Z didn't just come out of nowhere like the examples you listed. It came out a week after the original anime ended. All the characters and their backstories carry over and have meaning, including a few new revelations like Goku being a Saiyan and Piccolo being a Namekian. Again, starting at Z is not the same as starting at Star Wars Episode 4.

If I was a businessman trying to make money (for the franchise or myself), of course I'd promote Z over all. But that's not what I'm doing.

[sintzu]

I think you fail to understand that Z didn't just come out of nowhere like the examples you listed.

I know but my point was that you don't have to start from 0 in order to enjoy the story and its characters.

[ABED]

I think you fail to understand that Z didn't just come out of nowhere like the examples you listed.

I know but my point was that you don't have to start from 0 in order to enjoy the story and its characters.

Yes, people can start with season 4 of Friends, but they are still missing out. The fact that you can doesn't mean you should, nor is it like wrestling or soap operas with years of continuous storylines that aren't readily available, but that doesn't stop new fans from jumping on the moving train. The Lord of the Rings is written with the idea in mind that maybe people haven't read The Hobbit. Tolkien fills people in on the backstory. Toriyama just takes for granted that people read the previous chapters.

in the 70's the 1st movie starts in the middle of an established world and an ongoing story and everyone understood it just fine

Because it was written with that in mind. Lucas didn't just write "Oh and these guys died before and those two are mortal enemies".

[Bullza]

When I decided to start watching it I began with Dragon Ball but thought it was childish crap so I skipped to Dragon Ball Z.

I think for a lot of people starting with DBZ was for the best.