How did you use to watch Dragon Ball and Z, (1997 to 1999)

[Eire]

Want a little bit of exotic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNDshQ7QKlY
The quality is a perfect rip from TV. One person reading everything with emotionless voice and French dubbing on the background. 4.30PM as I can remember, 2 or 3 episodes from Monday to Friday. Before DB were MKR and Slayers so nearly every evening I was running for my life from school. Now I can't imagine how I was able to watch it, but back then there were no kids in my town in the time of that "violent cartoon".

[Bura]

I think DragonBall Z started airing here in 1999?
Anyway, I watched it via Cartoon Network, every day and reruns on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We got pretty much the same stuff as the UK.

[Castor Troy]

I turned to the internet for my fix. I downloaded and still have most of the series in .RM(RealMedia). Each episode is about 12 megabytes, and most of the time you couldn't read the subtitles or understand the audio.

This is what you got when you downloaded a fansub in 1998. And it's how I first watched most of the series.

I used to have several of those. It was like watching a slide show.

The download times were just too much for my 33k modem, so I ordered fansubs instead.

[Suupaa Gohan 2]

This is what you got when you downloaded a fansub in 1998. And it's how I first watched most of the series.

Oh man, nostalgia. This was it. This was exactly the way I experienced the show in Japanese for years...today's YouTube generation probably can't even begin to comprehend how exciting it was to have these fansubs back in those days.

I feel so old.

[Jon Jon]

Caught one of the Raditz episodes on WB in the morning in about 1999-2000, when it aired at 6:30AM after Sailor Moon on weekdays.

Watched it on loop on toonami after that with the Freeza saga. Then I lost interest, then the Cell saga started happening so I started watching it again. Then that looped and I discovered the internet (I was about 11-12 then) and that's when I started discovering those sweet anime labs realmedia format fansubs (I've posted a few screens in the past from them on here).

That's how I watched the Buu saga. Then I moved onto Super5's fansubs of DBGT . Apparently, "DaBlackGoku" was dirty and selling them or something? It was mentioned during the commercial eye catches XD

EDIT:

@nachochip

That's how i watched them as well, though I only have a handful of cell saga stuff. I do have episodes 239-291 though . 12mb RM ftw XD

[ssj5goku]

Caught an episode of Dragon Ball in 1995 on a WB channel. Didn't like it that much until they showed Dragon Ball Z on Fox at 6:00am. Saw the debut of the very first episode. I've liked Dragon Ball ever since then.

[Bardo117]

I would watch it in spanish on TV. We got some channels from Mexico because we like so close to it, and that's how I first saw it.

I use to buy a lot of merchandise from Mexico for DBZ, but then one day they just stopped selling the toys...

[Scarz]

I watched DB/Z/GT on a bootleg VHS with my nerdy friends.

[Kendamu]

Before Toonami (syndication) -- Half-awake in the morning before school on FOX Kids every now and again if I got up before Samurai Pizza Cats... or whatever it was I watched then. Usually I caught the episodes where "nothing happened" and I had to have a good idea of the plot so I didn't enjoy it too much. I don't really think it counts as I only vaguely remember the landscape of Namek and what Gohan looked like during that arc.

Toonami -- Caught the last episode of Saban's "Season 2" where Goku arrives on Namek and fights ReaCoom and starts in on Jees and Baata. Best episode ever. I was hooked.

[Hellspawn28]

I never got into Dragon Ball until the early 00's back in 2000 or 2001, I remember seeing the episode where they wish back Goku back in 1998 since the episode would come on before Beast Wars and I was like "What's going on here". I do remember seeing the episode where Piccolo fought against Freeza in his second form back in 1999, and I thought it was stupid at the time. I still remember when they played DBZ on Kids WB! at one point.

Back in 1997-1999 I was into Pokemon, Digimon, Spawn, Beast Wars, Dinosaurs, and Godzilla at time then Dragon Ball.

[Turtle Marked Stone]

Recorded VHS tapes from Japan. My friend even sent in little transcriptions of what was being said for the first couple, then he found out how much work that was and promptly stopped. So yeah I watched the majority of DBZ raw, luckily it's none too complex so I got the gist of everything pretty well. Kinda wish I knew where they are.

[Kendamu]

I turned to the internet for my fix. I downloaded and still have most of the series in .RM(RealMedia). Each episode is about 12 megabytes, and most of the time you couldn't read the subtitles or understand the audio.

This is what you got when you downloaded a fansub in 1998. And it's how I first watched most of the series.

I used to have several of those. It was like watching a slide show.

The download times were just too much for my 33k modem, so I ordered fansubs instead.

Someone should've told me about those back then! I can't believe nobody did!