Dragon Ball GT Episode 64 Ratings

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

I'm curious, how well did GT: Episode 64 do in the ratings?

[GamingBuddha]

18.9% of people in Japan were watching it that day.

[SRB2Unleashed]

Wow, that's a really low number. Did people even know it was the finale? I know GT failed but damn...what were the ratings for DB and DBZ's finales?

[Super Sayian Prime]

Wow, that's a really low number. Did people even know it was the finale? I know GT failed but damn...what were the ratings for DB and DBZ's finales?

It's a really unfair comparison (timeslots, etc.), but the funny thing is - Kai has never reached those numbers.

[SRB2Unleashed]

Wow, that's a really low number. Did people even know it was the finale? I know GT failed but damn...what were the ratings for DB and DBZ's finales?

It's a really unfair comparison (timeslots, etc.), but the funny thing is - Kai has never reached those numbers.

I know I just checked. I expected atleast 47 or 97 to reach those numbers but then again...timeslot.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

Wow, that's a really low number. Did people even know it was the finale? I know GT failed but damn...what were the ratings for DB and DBZ's finales?

18.9% isn't too bad, but DBZ's finale rating was at 21.3% and Dragon Ball's was at 17.4% (Probably because it was filler episode :p ). Oh, by the way, I find it really surprising that the 'Great Saiyaman' episodes are some of the highest rated episodes in the series.

[Mosaic]

Wait, that isn't good? Granted Z made better ratings, but it doesn't seem like GT made horrible ratings.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Oh, by the way, I find it really surprising that the 'Great Saiyaman' episodes are some of the highest rated episodes in the series.

My theory is after seeing Super Saiyan 2 Gohan VS. Cell. Kids told their friends about it and showed them their recordings off of TV and so word spread of how awesome it is. Then when everyone tuned in... it was Great Saiyaman.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Then when everyone tuned in... it was Great Saiyaman.

Hey, the Great Saiyaman filler episodes were pretty funny.

[Ahiru77]

Oh, by the way, I find it really surprising that the 'Great Saiyaman' episodes are some of the highest rated episodes in the series.

My theory is after seeing Super Saiyan 2 Gohan VS. Cell. Kids told their friends about it and showed them their recordings off of TV and so word spread of how awesome it is. Then when everyone tuned in... it was Great Saiyaman.

Cruelest author troll ever.

[JulieYBM]

I figure people were tuning in because of the new opening...not to mention the status quo had really changed.

[What Up Namek!]

Those ratings look a lot better than the anime ratings today. Either waaaay more people were watching TV back then or the ratings system drastically changed.

[JulieYBM]

Those ratings look a lot better than the anime ratings today. Either waaaay more people were watching TV back then or the ratings system drastically changed.

It did change. More channels began to appear and the huge anime titles like One Piece were moved away from the primetime slots that they use to have.

[Hujio]

Yeah, it's not so much how the rating system changed (which to my knowledge hasn't), but where the anime is aired these days. While there is still plenty of anime that airs in "prime time", not too many people watch it. For instance, both Naruto and Bleach air during the week in prime time, but barely, if ever, make the top ten rated anime. Then you have series like Sazae-san that airs on Sunday night in prime time and pulls in outrageous ratings (usually in the low-to-mid 20s). So much of it is hit-or-miss these days, that it's hard to tell where a show will do well.

Anyway, back to the original topic. The final episode of GT didn't even have the highest ratings for the series. That belongs to the second episode of the series, which came in at 19.7%, the highest rating the series ever got. Let's take a look at the rating share numbers that really matter though (these are all taken from the "Episode Guide" on Kanzentai):

DragonBall
Average: 21.2%
Maximum: 29.5% (Episode 047)
Minimum: 13.7% (Episode 110)

DragonBall Z
Average: 20.5%
Maximum: 27.5% (Episode 218)
Minimum: 12.1% (Episode 273)

DragonBall GT
Average: 14.6%
Maximum: 19.7% (Episode 002)
Minimum: 9.6% (Episode 021)

I should note that I think it's a pretty fair to compare the numbers since all three series aired in the exact same timeslot, back to back to back. But as you can clearly see, GT didn't really come close to what the originals were getting. Ironically, and it's something a lot of people don't think about, DragonBall actually had better ratings that DragonBall Z. I just always found that funny, considering all the hype Z gets for being absolute awesome sauce and the best part of the series. Although you have to admit that Z is much more of an international sensation than DB ever has been.

[xzero]

Although you have to admit that Z is much more of an international sensation than DB ever has been.

For me, I never enjoyed any of the humor of DB/Z/GT. Roshi's perversions are chuckle-worthy, but a lot of it is just stupid or goofy. Z has a more serious tone than the others, and its humor:seriousness ratio is more enjoyable for those who don't want something striving to be funny but (IMO) failing miserably. I think there are more fans outside of Japan who feel the series was at its best when it is serious.

[Herms]

Ironically, and it's something a lot of people don't think about, DragonBall actually had better ratings that DragonBall Z. I just always found that funny, considering all the hype Z gets for being absolute awesome sauce and the best part of the series. Although you have to admit that Z is much more of an international sensation than DB ever has been.

Which is interesting, since according to Kazuhiko Torishima in Shenlong Times #2, the manga became a lot more popular during the Saiyan period and reached its peak with Freeza. So that part of the series was much more popular than what had come before in the manga, but less popular for the anime. I wonder why? Perhaps because Z really cranked the filler into overtime?

[Ashura]

Think about population and entertainment inflation over the years, I think it's actually surprising the numbers stayed so close.

Nowadays, there's so many channels and things to watch it would be amazing if Kai got half the ratings that the original stuff did. How did it fair comparatively?

[Herms]

Looking at the average ratings of individual story arcs, it seems things are a bit more complex:

DB: 21.2%
Search for the dragonballs: 25%
21st TB: 22%
Red Ribbon Army: 24.8%
Uranai Baba: 23.4%
Training filler: 21.1%
22nd TB: 19.4%
Piccolo Daimao: 17.1%
Heavenly training filler: 17.6%
23rd TB: 18.2%
Mt. Frypan filler: 17.3%

DBZ: 20.5%
Saiyan: 18.6%
Namek: 21.7%
Freeza: 21.7%
Garlic Jr: 20.7%
Androids: 22.7%
Cell: 20.3%
Anoyo-ichi Budoukai: 21.1%
Great Saiyaman/25th TB: 24.7%
Boo: 18.5%

So the Saiyan arc was well below DB’s average rating, but actually represented an upturn in ratings compare to DB’s last few story arcs. And then the Namek and Freeza arcs were both slightly above DB’s average and had the highest average ratings for quite some time, and by a good margin. And they remained that good or better until peaking with Great Saiyaman, and even when they dropped down with Boo they were still only a hair lower than the Saiyan arc, which as mentioned had a greater average than the last third of DB. So it seems that DB’s average series ratings are considerably boosted by its opening story arcs, while DBZ’s average ratings are dragged down by the Saiyan and Boo arcs.

[Kid Buu]

Was the Saiyaman arc popular in Japan due to the Sentai homage?

[Herms]

Was the Saiyaman arc popular in Japan due to the Sentai homage?

I kind of doubt that factor on its own would be enough to make it #1. Probably it was a combination of many factors.