Non-"Rock the Dragon" English Opening

jjgp1112 · Post by **jjgp1112** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:11 pm

penguintruth wrote:
But, yeah, maybe I'm projecting too much of my own beliefs onto it. At least it's not the generic rock riff we got for the dubs that pretty much tells you, "Yeah, there's some fighting in this show, cool, huh?"

But, um, it is a mostly fighting show, and not much deeper than your average action show.

penguintruth · Post by **penguintruth** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:12 pm

jjgp1112 wrote:Most 90s cartoons seem to be the most fondly remembered of cartoon shows.

Zeta Project, Static Shock, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, Extreme Ghostbusters, Godzilla: The Series, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Street Sharks, The Mighty Ducks, Road Rovers, Stone Protectors, ProStars, Double Dragon, Wing Commander, and Biker Mice from Mars are fondly remembered?

But, um, it is a mostly fighting show, and not much deeper than your average action show.

Your average action anime doesn't just drum up a random action montage with guitar riff as its theme songs. And DBZ is part of a bigger story that still retains some of its adventure elements.

Dr. Casey · Post by **Dr. Casey** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:14 pm

American cartoons are pretty much terrible all the way. I'll never stop liking The Powerpuff Girls, though (Sans the post season 4 crap).

JulieYBM · Post by **JulieYBM** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:15 pm

Cha-La's been the opening theme identified with Dragon Ball Z worldwide for 20 years. Longer than most of us have lived.

If you want to bother expressing too-late opinions on the matter, be my guest, but I've gotta wonder why one would at this point, espicially in comparison to one of many licensors LCD pandering.

That's all I've got left to say on this derailed sub-topic.

jjgp1112 · Post by **jjgp1112** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:15 pm

penguintruth wrote:
jjgp1112 wrote:Most 90s cartoons seem to be the most fondly remembered of cartoon shows.
Zeta Project, Static Shock, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, Extreme Ghostbusters, Godzilla: The Series, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Street Sharks, The Mighty Ducks, Road Rovers, Stone Protectors, ProStars, Double Dragon, Wing Commander, and Biker Mice from Mars are fondly remembered?

But, um, it is a mostly fighting show, and not much deeper than your average action show.
Your average action anime doesn't just drum up a random action montage with guitar riff as its theme songs. And DBZ is part of a bigger story that still retains some of its adventure elements.

I said show. That can mean cartoon, or "anime."

Kunzait_83 · Post by **Kunzait_83** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:15 pm

penguintruth · Post by **penguintruth** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:16 pm

verto wrote:"Goku will save us, we have to survive until Goku gets here, etc.".

I always felt the "Z" portion of DB was more about Gohan, myself. Obviously he didn't really come into his own until late into it, but he got way more face time than his father for a good chunk of the show. Largely due to the anime filler, I suppose.

Dr. Casey · Post by **Dr. Casey** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:16 pm

JulieYBM wrote:Cha-La's been the opening theme identified with Dragon Ball Z worldwide for 20 years. Longer than most of us have lived.

Nah, the average Daizexer is in their 20s. I think.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:17 pm

Static and Zeta came out in 2000. Know quite a few who liked Static, and while couldn't get into Godzilla, lot of guys said they liked it more than the movie that inspired it. The others you mentioned aside from Mighty Ducks and Road Rovers I couldn't get into. And The Mighty Ducks was much better than Mighty Ducks 3.

verto · Post by **verto** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:19 pm

penguintruth wrote:I always felt the "Z" portion of DB was more about Gohan.

I wish it was, he was always my favourite character when he actually did anything. But up until his fight with Cell i would say it was centered on Goku mostly, Vegeta a lot later on and Gohan once or twice per saga when he had his big explosion.

While I can see where you're coming from, taking Toriyama's writing style and general cluster-fuckedness, I'd say he gave Gohan his moments when he felt as though they were needed.

Onikage725 · Post by **Onikage725** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:19 pm

Super Sonic wrote:If you don't mind my asking, what 90s action cartoons were trying to be badass and failed? Only real badass sounding one I can think of was this but wouldn't call it failing. And its sister shows, along with with X-Men, and Johnny Quest's themes as I mentioned earlier were pretty well liked.

I'm guilty here of watching... too much.

This is by no means a comprehensive answer, but just to name a few. Some of these I liked, but I generally hold them all to be guilty pleasures at best, and blemishes on my viewing record at worst.

Street Sharks
Mummies Alive
Ultraforce
The Mighty Ducks
Biker Mice From Mars
Extreme Dinosaurs
G.I Joe Extreme
Hammerman
The Power Team
Captain Planet (not so much EXTREME as just plain corny)

Many dubbed anime- Ronin Warriors' replacing YST's "Stardust Eyes" and "Samurai Heart" with the generic "THE POWER'S IN THE ARMOR!" *insert voice over* was weak. Likewise, Teknoman scrubbing all indications of "Reason" and 'Eternal Lonliness" with a voiced-over instrumental that basically ignored the pathos of the show to make to make Blade seem less tragic and more Japanese Iron Man was reflective of current US marketing trends. In both cases, while I would hum the US themes as a kid, I have no form of them on any storage device. The Japanese themes from those shows make regular stops on my playlists.

Don't get me wrong. We did get the Marvel and DC series', and Gargoyles, and a few other things. It wasn't all B-quality popcorn fluff.

And I do have to recognize that not every kid was like me or my friends. I like to write. I was always an "English" and "History" kid (as opposed to the "Math" and "Science" types). I've been reading at a college level since before my age hit double digits. So character development, intricate and inter-connecting plotlines, and adherence to continuity were always important to me. Many shows went for the "we're only going to be on for a year or two, let's just have a monster of the week to get the kiddies to buy some toys" approach, and those just simply weren't for me.

EDIT: Wow, you guys were all over this one :p

Dr. Casey · Post by **Dr. Casey** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:22 pm

Apparently I loved this show called Dino Riders when I was two and three, but I don't even remember anything about it.

Kunzait_83 · Post by **Kunzait_83** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:23 pm

penguintruth · Post by **penguintruth** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:24 pm

The X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons do not hold up quite as well as BTAS and STAS.

But I digress.

Onikage725 · Post by **Onikage725** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:26 pm

Dr. Casey wrote:Apparently I loved this show called Dino Riders when I was two and three, but I don't even remember anything about it.

That was 80's.

I actually have much more love for a number of 80's cartoons. I won't call that simple nostalgia, as my main "come home from school and watch cartoons" years were throughout the 90's. But if I come across an old 80's show now, I tend to still enjoy them. Many of the 90's ones I really don't care for anymore.

penguintruth wrote:The X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons do not hold up quite as well as BTAS and STAS.

But I digress.

The story arcs for the Marvel shows were top notch, I think. The art, not so much. Stand alone episodes also fell short in general. There also was a lot of thematic content. Spiderman shouldn't have even attempted Carnage.

Speaking of which, WildCATS was a series that should have been on HBO as an action equivalent to Spawn, not dumbed down to Street Sharks levels.

jjgp1112 · Post by **jjgp1112** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:31 pm

Kunzait_83 wrote:
jjgp1112 wrote:But, um, it is a mostly fighting show, and not much deeper than your average action show.
The thing is, genre-wise "general action" is totally different from "martial arts". One does not necessarily equal the other, with the martial arts genre having it's own completely unique-unto-itself set of tropes, archetypes, and themes (that Dragon Ball also very, very much shares in). You can't equate The Last Hero in China or Zu Warriors with stuff like the Transporter series anymore than you can equate DBZ to "generic action cartoon/anime #2,046".

The thing is I just don't...see it. Sure, it's unique, but not very deep. At the end of the day, it's always struck me as an action show beat-em-up type show with the typical themes of action cartoons.

Dr. Casey · Post by **Dr. Casey** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:35 pm

jjgp1112 wrote:
Kunzait_83 wrote:
jjgp1112 wrote:But, um, it is a mostly fighting show, and not much deeper than your average action show.
The thing is, genre-wise "general action" is totally different from "martial arts". One does not necessarily equal the other, with the martial arts genre having it's own completely unique-unto-itself set of tropes, archetypes, and themes (that Dragon Ball also very, very much shares in). You can't equate The Last Hero in China or Zu Warriors with stuff like the Transporter series anymore than you can equate DBZ to "generic action cartoon/anime #2,046".
The thing is I just don't...see it. Sure, it's unique, but not very deep. At the end of the day, it's always struck me as an action show beat-em-up type show with the typical themes of action cartoons.

Well, just wait for Kunzy to make that thread he mentioned earlier. It's a waste of time trying to debate with someone when you don't know the specifics of their argument yet.

Taku128 · Post by **Taku128** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:41 pm

penguintruth wrote:Zeta Project, Static Shock, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, Extreme Ghostbusters, Godzilla: The Series, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Street Sharks, The Mighty Ducks, Road Rovers, Stone Protectors, ProStars, Double Dragon, Wing Commander, and Biker Mice from Mars are fondly remembered?

I fondly remember Static Shock...

Dr. Casey · Post by **Dr. Casey** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:49 pm

Onikage725 wrote:EDIT: Wow, you guys were all over this one :p

We've slowed down now, though.

Boring.

Kunzait_83 · Post by **Kunzait_83** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:55 pm