An observation on Dragon Ball's English-speaking fanbases.

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:28 pm

You know reading that old interview reminded me of that other one Gen did years back that proved how dumb he was. If anyone remembers, he touted that they'd be getting or were looking into getting GT and then went on to describe the premise and totally got it wrong.XD I remember laughing out loud when I read that interview, then crying since I thought, "Dear God.....this is the guy in charge of the company....the one at the reins....what hope is there....?" ;_;

I should see if I can find that quote....

SSJ2bardock · Post by **SSJ2bardock** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:42 pm

VegettoEX wrote:I'd rather keep the discussion on the inclusion/exclusion of an "Off-Topic" forum out of this particular thread, unless it more specifically relates to the original topic at hand .

And I realize I'm stretching said original topic with some of my comments, but I believe they at least partially apply.

Onikage725 wrote:You're mad that even the link was brought up.
I'm not sure that I'm reading this properly, or if it's even directed at me. I'll try to respond, anyway!

I'm not "mad" that the link was "brought up". I'm not really "mad" any one way or the other. What makes me slightly upset is seeing unnecessary "turf wars" break out between members of forums that doesn't even necessarily truly speak for the masses of those boards in the first place (not that I think anyone ever actually could, especially with such diverse fanbases that DB forums create; it's impossible for there to be a "single voice").

I'm very much lately finding myself in a cross-roads of sort with regards to how I view the series, its fanbase(s), how I want to involve myself, what I want to cover, how I want to cover it, etc. At the end of the day, though, what it's all really boiling down to for me is pure shonen. By that, I'm talking about things like friendship, camaraderie, adventures, etc. That's what I want to see, and anything that doesn't fall in line with that is probably not something I really want to be associated with.

Additionally, I'm really-super-totally-seriously not looking for any kind of "praise" (is that the right word for this?) with regards to either the website or forum. I'm flattered if you all enjoy what you see/read/do/listen to here, but I stick by my comments that we are no different than any other site, and I fully understand that everyone could just up and go to someplace better at any point in time.

That's really why I want *everyone* to be ultra-shonen while you're here . If you choose to represent this board (again, not that I think anyone actually can, myself included) in another area, I absolutely expect you to act the same way while you're there.

If there was an emoticon for clapping I would have posted it 100 times, that was very well said Mistah Boss Man.

jjgp1112 · Post by **jjgp1112** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:06 pm

I read the interview and I wasn't repulsed at all. Matter of fact, I think he's sort of right. I sure as hell know that when I was a kid, I would get bored by pauses in music. Face it, most of us had short attention spans as kids.

And I understand the part about money. Don't forget: Funi was pretty small back in 1996 (why do you think they needed Saban to distribute it?)

Gozar · Post by **Gozar** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:18 pm

what Gen’s response essentially boils down to is that it was felt by FUNi that the American audience (small children generally) are simply too stupid to accept or pay any notice to anything that’s not loud and obnoxious.

Oh for the love of god come on. Don't you think that comment is a bit condescending?

jjgp1112 · Post by **jjgp1112** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:31 pm

Gozar wrote:
what Gen’s response essentially boils down to is that it was felt by FUNi that the American audience (small children generally) are simply too stupid to accept or pay any notice to anything that’s not loud and obnoxious.
Oh for the love of god come on. Don't you think that comment is a bit condescending?

That's what I'm saying. In my opinion, he blew it way out of proportion.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:39 pm

You guys must not deal with many modern American children much. I kinda agree with Gen.

Post by **Herms** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:53 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:You guys must not deal with many modern American children much. I kinda agree with Gen.

So who's watching Avatar, then?

NeptuneKai · Post by **NeptuneKai** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:54 pm

Herms wrote:
SSj Kaboom wrote:You guys must not deal with many modern American children much. I kinda agree with Gen.
So who's watching Avatar, then?

More people then I'd like.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 9:01 pm

Herms wrote:
SSj Kaboom wrote:You guys must not deal with many modern American children much. I kinda agree with Gen.
So who's watching Avatar, then?

Teenagers mostly, from what I've gathered.

Kunzait_83 · Post by **Kunzait_83** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 9:17 pm

Victator Supreme · Post by **Victator Supreme** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:04 am

SSj Kaboom wrote:You guys must not deal with many modern American children much. I kinda agree with Gen.

My four year old loves Dragonball. He goes around pretending to shoot kamehamehas all the time. We just got done watching th Garlic Junior Saga with the original music and he loved it. He loves Cha La Had Cha la too. He keeps trying to sing it.

Post by **Herms** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:16 am

SSj Kaboom wrote:
Herms wrote:So who's watching Avatar, then?
Teenagers mostly, from what I've gathered.

Wikipedia says it was the best rated animated series in its demographic, which was 6-11 year olds.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:19 am

Hmm. Well, I stand corrected on both counts, then.

Tweaker · Post by **Tweaker** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:34 am

Yeah, I've found that, ultimately, no matter how "mature" a show may be and how much it might appeal or be designed for older audiences, the younger kids will totally still cling to it regardless. The upside of this, of course, is that well thought-out cartoons will get well-deserved attention in newer generations. And that's never a bad thing, right?

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:05 am

Kunzait_83 wrote:Or hell, let’s step outside the realm of just music and look at shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle, or Animaniacs, which feature jokes and obscure references that are generally considered WAY above and beyond the level of intelligence and comprehension that’s generally “expected” of most children. But children DO pick up on the humor (even if it’s sometimes subconsciously) and in many cases if they don’t quite grasp a certain joke or reference, they either ask their parents about it or look it up on their own, and fucking actually LEARN something. Heaven forbid, I know.

Animaniacs even made a crack about that:

Yakko: We're gonna have to deaden the pain with a little Anastasia.
(Anastasia runs over and hits Rasputin over the head with a giant mallet)
Dot: (to audience) Obscure joke. Talk to your parents

Raki · Post by **Raki** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:29 am

Children are how you raise them. If you raise them to be spoiled brats who can't sit still at all, then Gen-sama is right. But if you raise to read,obtain knowledge, and be respectful to the authority of their elders then they won't be how Gen thinks most kids are.

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:01 am

As a child, I paid attention to music in cartoons all the time. My brother as well, and he was ADHD. One thing that really irks me is when adults are condescending and underestimate children just because they're children.

As for Funi starting out without enough money, it was worse than that. It was the fact that Gen had an uncle at Toei and miraculously had an opportunity to obtain the rights to DB that lead him to start the business in the first place. That's by his own admission people:

Eric: What is the history of FUNimation? Meaning, how did the company get started and why DBZ?

Gen: I loved anime when living in Japan in 8th grade. I was hooked on Uchuusenkan Yamato. This background, an entrepreneurial spirit, and great luck that my uncle is a producer at Toei led to meetings which led to my conclusion that DBZ was the best series Toei had which led to starting FUNimation through acquiring DBZ rights.

Source: http://www.pojo.com/dragonball/geninterview.html

(I should have also mentioned that had Gen not convinced a co-worker and his family to invest in creating a production company, he'd not ever gotten his hands on the show)

So ya, it was just dumb luck that this series fell into clueless people's hands. People that had no experience running a production company and boy, did it show. Yet they have the nerve to assume the kids in North America are the obtuse ones.

Kunzait_83 · Post by **Kunzait_83** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:26 am

Victator Supreme · Post by **Victator Supreme** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:32 am

If it were on tv I think it would have done just as well. It only initially did poorin syndication was because of the awful timeslot. Tell me one show that ever succeded with a 5:30 AM Sunday morning timeslot. Also first run syndication was satarting to die then.

Kunzait_83 · Post by **Kunzait_83** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:54 am