Is Dragon Ball the Star Wars of anime?

[ABED]

There's no guarantee of anything in life except death. An artist can be as passionate as they want, but if they aren't good, that's of little solace for me. If someone's half hearted try is better than someone's best, I'll take the half hearted because I want the better product. As to your last point, it's not like the same talent is working on every film so they can concentrate on several things at once.

[WittyUsername]

Don't they have the same producers for those movies? That being said, my main point about them needing to do things one step at a time is that it seems like they're going to be more likely to cause franchise fatigue when they keep releasing these movies every year the way they are. It seems counter productive from a business standpoint.

Back to the topic of Dragon Ball, I really hope they don't drag Super out for too much longer, but they most likely will, especially since they're setting up yet another tournament arc...

[ABED]

People today binge watch seasons. This is 1 movie a year. How is that a huge investment of anyone's time? One can just as easily argue to strike while the iron's hot. It's more likely that people would burn out on Super than Star Wars.

[precita]

In the western side only Star Wars is culturally acceptable though. If you say you like Dragonball as an adult you're looked down upon or laughed at like some kind of anime weeabo. Even fans of other anime look down on Dragonball Z fans.

The western fandom has never accepted Dragonball as being culturally acceptable. Meanwhile if you say you like Star Wars as an adult people are like, "Oh, Star Wars is cool!"

[WittyUsername]

I'm not about being a huge investment, I'm talking about people eventually getting sick of those movies if they make them a yearly thing.

[ABED]

I'm not about being a huge investment, I'm talking about people eventually getting sick of those movies if they make them a yearly thing.

And why would they get sick of them because it was every year? Do people get sick of the Superbowl or the fourth of July fireworks?

[WittyUsername]

And why would they get sick of them because it was every year? Do people get sick of the Superbowl or the fourth of July fireworks?

That's a very bizarre comparison that doesn't really work in this context. A sporting event and a film franchise are not the same thing.

[ABED]

And why would they get sick of them because it was every year? Do people get sick of the Superbowl or the fourth of July fireworks?

That's a very bizarre comparison that doesn't really work in this context. A sporting event and a film franchise are not the same thing.

It's not a bizarre comparison at all. They don't have to be the exact same thing for the example to work. They are yearly things that people don't get sick of. Why would people get sick of something just because it's once a year?

[WittyUsername]

And why would they get sick of them because it was every year? Do people get sick of the Superbowl or the fourth of July fireworks?

That's a very bizarre comparison that doesn't really work in this context. A sporting event and a film franchise are not the same thing.

It's not a bizarre comparison at all. They are yearly things that people don't get sick of. Why would people get sick of something just because it's once a year?

You don't watch sports for the story or the effects, you watch it to see who will win, and to have parties with friends. That's not really comparable to a film. Besides, some people only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.

[ABED]

That's a very bizarre comparison that doesn't really work in this context. A sporting event and a film franchise are not the same thing.

It's not a bizarre comparison at all. They are yearly things that people don't get sick of. Why would people get sick of something just because it's once a year?

You don't watch sports for the story or the effects, you watch it to see who will win, and to have parties with friends. That's not really comparable to a film. Besides, some people only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.

1 - Sports aren't stories, but the emotional reaction is similar. People don't just watch sports for the facts of who wins. They watch because there's an emotional attachment.
2 - People go to the theater for the story but also the communal experience, otherwise they'd stay home.
3 - Why would people get sick of something because it happens every year? It's an entire year!
4 - You do not get 100 million people watching just to see commercials, especially these days.

[WittyUsername]

1 - Sports aren't stories, but the emotional reaction is similar. People don't just watch sports for the facts of who wins. They watch because there's an emotional attachment.
2 - People go to the theater for the story but also the communal experience, otherwise they'd stay home.
3 - Why would people get sick of something because it happens every year? It's an entire year!
4 - You do not get 100 million people watching just to see commercials, especially these days.

1 - And people watch films for something they hope will either be fun and exciting, or compelling to watch. If they see the same thing every year, that starts to wear off.
2- They could get that communal experience from any other movie as well.
3 - People have gotten sick of other types of movies before due to the the excess of them. Ever hear of the Western and Slasher movies?
4 - I never said that everyone only watches for the commercials, but some of them do.

[ABED]

1 - Sports aren't stories, but the emotional reaction is similar. People don't just watch sports for the facts of who wins. They watch because there's an emotional attachment.
2 - People go to the theater for the story but also the communal experience, otherwise they'd stay home.
3 - Why would people get sick of something because it happens every year? It's an entire year!
4 - You do not get 100 million people watching just to see commercials, especially these days.

1 - And people watch films for something they hope will either be fun and exciting, or compelling to watch. If they see the same thing every year, that starts to wear off.
2- They could get that communal experience from any other movie as well.
3 - People have gotten sick of other types of movies before due to the the excess of them. Ever hear of the Western and Slasher movies?
4 - I never said that everyone only watches for the commercials, but some of them do.

But it's not the same thing every year. It's the same title, but different story and some different characters.
People get sick of crap and we're not talking about an entire genre, we're talking one single franchise.
Sure, SOME, but not nearly as many as you might think.

[WittyUsername]

But it's not the same thing every year. It's the same title, but different story and some different characters.
People get sick of crap and we're not talking about an entire genre, we're talking one single franchise.
Sure, SOME, but not nearly as many as you might think.

The problem is that it's difficult to constantly release movies in the same franchise, and not end up repeating the same thing in some capacity. Even Rogue One looks like it's going to be partially guilty of that, since it involves the Death Star, and we just saw a bigger version of that in TFA.

[ABED]

But it's not the same thing every year. It's the same title, but different story and some different characters.
People get sick of crap and we're not talking about an entire genre, we're talking one single franchise.
Sure, SOME, but not nearly as many as you might think.

The problem is that it's difficult to constantly release movies in the same franchise, and not end up repeating the same thing in some capacity. Even Rogue One looks like it's going to be partially guilty of that, since it involves the Death Star, and we just saw a bigger version of that in TFA.

I'll give you that, but I'm interested in the Han Solo movie given the directors involved.

Anyway, I do think the comparison between Star Wars and Dragon Ball is a good one.

[Gaffer Tape]

Do people get sick of the Superbowl or the fourth of July fireworks?

Well, I can't speak for people, but I've certainly long since gotten sick of both of those things.

But my original point is, I'm of the opinion that if your studio plan for making stories is "continue until it stops making money" instead of "continue as long as I have a story to tell" then you're inevitably going to run it into the ground. I'm not against a storyteller doing it for the money. But Toriyama stopped when he wanted to stop. He didn't stop when no one cared about Dragon Ball anymore, and there was no other choice to stop it.

Anyway, as I've said probably here and elsewhere, I like stories to have an ending. To tell their tale and then move on. So, especially in this increasingly corporate culture, when an author willingly ends a work rather than keeping it alive solely for the sake of a franchise, I have a lot of respect for that.

[ABED]

Do people get sick of the Superbowl or the fourth of July fireworks?

Well, I can't speak for people, but I've certainly long since gotten sick of both of those things.

But my original point is, I'm of the opinion that if your studio plan for making stories is "continue until it stops making money" instead of "continue as long as I have a story to tell" then you're inevitably going to run it into the ground. I'm not against a storyteller doing it for the money. But Toriyama stopped when he wanted to stop. He didn't stop when no one cared about Dragon Ball anymore, and there was no other choice to stop it.

Anyway, as I've said probably here and elsewhere, I like stories to have an ending. To tell their tale and then move on. So, especially in this increasingly corporate culture, when an author willingly ends a work rather than keeping it alive solely for the sake of a franchise, I have a lot of respect for that.

Sure but that's anecdotal, and given the size of their audience year after year, I can safely say that you and I getting sick of it won't put a dent in the NFL's bottom line or of fireworks manufacturers, just like I'm certain there will always be plenty of Star Wars fans. And these things can always bounce back as we've seen from Bond numerous times. You can keep pointing the finger at Disney, but there's no doubt in my mind that the people making The Force Awakens had a story they wanted to tell. Toriyama seemed reinvigorated for a while.

Corporate culture? It's because of corporations that you have Star Wars and Dragon Ball to begin with. Do you feel the same way towards Sole Proprietorships or Partnerships?

[sintzu]

I'm of the opinion that if your studio plan for making stories is "continue until it stops making money" instead of "continue as long as I have a story to tell" then you're inevitably going to run it into the ground.

Toriyama stopped when he wanted to stop. He didn't stop when no one cared about Dragon Ball anymore.

This describes what happened to bleach after the battle with Izen (chapter 423).

It's such a shame Bleach's author didn't stop as well cause not only did he run it into the ground, he couldn't even finish the story which made all the work and sacrificing bleach's reputation be for nothing.

I've read comments saying Toriyama stopped because he was lazy or because he didn't like DB anymore but in a recent interview he said he simply didn't think Goku could get any stronger or any stronger opponents could appear which is something I fully respect cause there were multiple ways he could've continued like having an artist do the drawing or going monthly but he decided it was time to end it and I wish more creators would do the same instead of forcing themselves and their work to continue beyond their time.

[MetaMoss]

I'd say the comparison of Dragon Ball to Star Wars is pretty applicable. They both:

• Have been a huge influence on their respective home country's pop culture (esp. action-adventure cinema with SW, shonen manga with DB)
• Are still relevant and popular, decades after their introduction
• Have captured the hearts and minds of countless fans worldwide, in many countries outside their own
• Are recognizable to the general population of many countries, even to non-fans

When I see this question of "Is DB the anime equivalent of SW?" I ask, "What is Star Wars to movies?" From how I see it, Star Wars is the biggest name in cinema, a very visible and very well-known franchise that has no equal on those fronts. They certainly aren't the best-made movies ever or have the most complex or interesting plots, but they hit the cultural zeitgeist and became movies everyone knows about. I'd be damned if my grandma didn't at least recognize the name Star Wars. For anime, Dragon Ball is definitely the equivalent of that level of recognizably. I'm from the US, and DBZ was one of the biggest shows of the early 2000s, with it and Pokémon heralding in a time of mainstream interest in anime and other aspects of Japanese culture. This anime boom that DBZ helped bring still has effects on today's anime market and fandom, and that influence will likely continue for a long time. And generally, to this day, the name Dragon Ball Z is something that most people I've mentioned it to have instant recognition of, even if they've never watched anime or read manga in their life. I wear a lot of T-Shirts of things I'm in to, and I get comments from folks most frequently with my Dragon Ball shirts (usually "I love DBZ"). I'd say that Dragon Ball hit that cultural zeitgeist, even if it's not to the degree that Star Wars has.

Corporate culture? It's because of corporations that you have Star Wars and Dragon Ball to begin with. Do you feel the same way towards Sole Proprietorships or Partnerships?

You're really gonna try getting that pedantic about this? What's so difficult to understand about someone preferring new installments done "for the love of the art" rather than "for the love of profit"? Sure, with things like Star Wars and Dragon Ball, you're really only setting yourself up for disappointment (after all, GT was made immediately after Toriyama had ended on his own terms, just so Toei could cash in), but a person can dream.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

What's so difficult to understand about someone preferring new installments done "for the love of the art" rather than "for the love of profit"? Sure, with things like Star Wars and Dragon Ball, you're really only setting yourself up for disappointment (after all, GT was made immediately after Toriyama had ended on his own terms, just so Toei could cash in), but a person can dream.

Making art for art and making art for profit are not mutually exclusive, they're one in the same, it's a profession like anything else.

[ABED]

What's so difficult to understand about someone preferring new installments done "for the love of the art" rather than "for the love of profit"? Sure, with things like Star Wars and Dragon Ball, you're really only setting yourself up for disappointment (after all, GT was made immediately after Toriyama had ended on his own terms, just so Toei could cash in), but a person can dream.

Making art for art and making art for profit are not mutually exclusive, they're one in the same, it's a profession like anything else.

My thoughts exactly.