Why so much filler?

[DaemonCorps]

I know that the manga and the anime were pretty much running at the same time, so filler was necessary to keep the anime behind, but why so much?

In other series like Yu Yu Hakusho, there's virtually no filler at all, but I'm sure that that's only because the manga was so vague, that they needed to expand on it in the anime (which was actually made the series better). Early in the series, the anime even cut out parts of the YYH manga! Was this because the manga was already over by the time the anime was being aired?

[Domon]

I know that the manga and the anime were pretty much running at the same time, so filler was necessary to keep the anime behind, but why so much?

Er... honestly, it sounds like you're answering your own question. The anime came out not long after the manga started, and since one manga chapter just will not be enough to fill up 20 mintues of screentime, extra stuffs have to be added on. Plus, a new episode had to air each week, so they couldn't just take a break from production(which would've reduced the episode count quite a bit).

Another problem, I suspect, is the constant fighting content. I imagine it's hard to make such action last a significant amount of time(since normally, they would be rapided paced, edited, etc), so that would demand the creation of other scenes that would be easier to pace out(didn't stop them from staring contests, but whatever).

As for other series, it depends on a number of factors. How far along the manga is, how long the series is planned to last(in either forms), the content and how things can be expanded/added/moved around/elaborated on, etc, and however the directors/writers of the anime plans things out. Some anime do end up being quite a bit different than the manga counterpart(look at Love Hina, Rurouni Kenshin or Sailor Moon). Even with the fillers, the Dragonball anime is probably one of the more faithful adaptation there is.

[Thanos6]

What is it with the Japanese animation industry that they don't take "season breaks?"

[Domon]

What is it with the Japanese animation industry that they don't take "season breaks?"

Just a different paradigm, basically. It's how the beast is set up there, and has been for decades. Breaks do happen from time to time, but not in the same fashion as American television.

[Xyex]

What is it with the Japanese animation industry that they don't take "season breaks?"

Just a different paradigm, basically. It's how the beast is set up there, and has been for decades. Breaks do happen from time to time, but not in the same fashion as American television.

Ya, if you look at the air dates you'll notice random breaks of a couple weeks or so. There really doesn't seem to be much... reason to their break schedule. They just have them, when they feel like it. Maybe... it's related to if they're falling behind in episode production or something?

[B-kun]

What do you mean "no reason"?

Sports.


... Seriously, they usually cause breaks due to sports shows that take up the time slot.

[Duo]

It isn't so much bad that there is so much Filler, but rather the fact that around 80% of it sucks.

[Xyex]

What do you mean "no reason"?

Sports.


... Seriously, they usually cause breaks due to sports shows that take up the time slot.

Ah. Well, that I did not know.

[Kaze no Mune]

What is it with the Japanese animation industry that they don't take "season breaks?"

A few anime that took long breaks between "seasons" are...

Samurai Champloo
Tsubasa Chronicle
Ah! Megami-sama TV

Those are recent ones that come immediatlly to mind, but I'm sure I could name others. The main reason Dragon Ball didn't have virtually any breaks (or none at all) is because of it's immense popularity, as you could have guessed (or may have been posted already).

[Thanos6]

Yeah, but look at the X-Men and Spider-Man and Batman cartoons of the 90's. Those were insanely popular too (each one got #1 in its timeslot easy) but they went by seasons.

[Cyberman]

It isn't so much bad that there is so much Filler, but rather the fact that around 80% of it sucks.

The only real bad filler I could think of is the Garlic Junior saga. I like some filler such as Vegeta admitting Goku is better or the Z Warriors trying to help Gohan fight Cell in the Kamehameha stand off.

[Thanos6]

Vegeta admitting Goku is better

If that's from the Kid Buu fight, it wasn't filler.

[Domon]

Ya, if you look at the air dates you'll notice random breaks of a couple weeks or so

Well, I was thinking of Japanese television in general, but yeah, it applies to DB too.

Yeah, but look at the X-Men and Spider-Man and Batman cartoons of the 90's. Those were insanely popular too (each one got #1 in its timeslot easy) but they went by seasons.

Those are all American tv shows, and thus, are not good examples for your arguement(since all American tv goes by season).


On another note; I know some will disagree, but I vastly prefer filler materials like the Garlic Jr. saga and the driving episode over the things like "starting contests" and "long, drawn out power up" sequences. Starting contests and the like makes it painfully obvious that the series could be faster and tighter paced. I think having more episodes like Garlic Jr and the driving one would've masked this problem somewhat, as the important material wouldn't then need be as drawn out.

[Kaze no Mune]

Yeah, but look at the X-Men and Spider-Man and Batman cartoons of the 90's. Those were insanely popular too (each one got #1 in its timeslot easy) but they went by seasons.

Those shows were marketed for children, as was DB, but DBZ had a primetime timeslot when most families were sitting down to eat dinner. It's considered the "golden" hour, since it's when a large majority of Japanese people are watching TV during this time. Those shows aired, if I remember correctly, during a Saturday morning timeslight, mainly aimed at younger children (mainly boys).

[Deus ex Machina]

I'm completly with you on this one Domon. A few more filler arcs like the Garlic Jr saga would've given the series better pacing over all (since the real storyline could proceed without 15 minutes of padding per episode) and it would've given us many more stories.

And what does everyone have against the Garlic Jr saga really? Is it so painful to go a handful of episodes without Goku and a multitude of Super Saiyans in various forms?

[Rocketman]

And what does everyone have against the Garlic Jr saga really? Is it so painful to go a handful of episodes without Goku and a multitude of Super Saiyans in various forms?

No Goku. No Vegeta in any meaningful way. Too much Gohan.

[Cyberman]

And what does everyone have against the Garlic Jr saga really? Is it so painful to go a handful of episodes without Goku and a multitude of Super Saiyans in various forms?

No Goku. No Vegeta in any meaningful way. Too much Gohan.

There's no such thing as too much Gohan! I just didn't like the saga cause Garlic was a stupid villian in my opinion.


On the Vegeta admitting Goku is better thing, I'm pretty sure it is filler, because Vegeta fighting Kid Buu as a non SSJ was filler.

[Tsukento]

On the Vegeta admitting Goku is better thing, I'm pretty sure it is filler, because Vegeta fighting Kid Buu as a non SSJ was filler.

Uh, no. Vegeta clearly says "Kakarot" is #1 in the manga and the anime.

Also note that unlike American television, Japan doesn't exactly show reruns when a show is off the air for a break. In fact, aren't reruns usually a rare thing over there unless a series is completed or airs on another station or program block? o_o

[Domon]

I really don't understand why there is so much vemon towards the Garlic Jr. saga. True, the saga is not nearly as meaningful or memorable as any of the other sagas, Garlic Jr. himself is not a particulary striking or memorable villain(not compared to the likes of Freeza, Cell, or Piccolo Daimao), there are a few minor continunity issues involved (again; minor), and the saga exists for no real reason other than to fill up time. However, the saga does offer a change of pace, and allows some non-Goku characters to get the spotlight for a change. We get to see Piccolo, Kuririn and Gohan saving the day, and Kami and Mr. Popo actually have something substantal to do(GASP!).

For me, having Kami and Popo in the spotlight is one of the highlights of the saga. Most of the time, they're kinda just background decoration, but here, they play an important part in the plot. Kami otherwise, only saw action at the 23rd Budokai and (heh) Dead Zone. Popo... his first apperence and erm... showed Bulma about the Namek spaceship. He did gather the Dragonballs in the Freeza saga, but we saw none of it! As Chris Psaros of DBZ uncensored once said: they could've showed a mini Mr. Popo saga during that time. Something like that could've toned down the "5 minutes" problem or other things.

Plus, the saga is only ten episodes long, so it goes by pretty fast. I actually wish we've gotten more mini-sagas like Garlic Jr. They don't have to be ten episodes long. Five episodes might be a nice length, or maybe 2-3 episodes, depending on the idea. The 2-3 episodes one could focus on some of the more minor characters, and could be a great opportunity for humor(i.e. maybe we could see Oolong and Pu'ar together in some amusing antices, or maybe Dr. Breifs could make up some wackey invention). A five episode mini-saga could have a villain in it(original or otherwise) that one of the non-Saiyan characters could fight(perhaps allowing the likes of Tenshinhan, Chaozu or Yamcha to get the spotlight once in a while). At any rate, while such ideas would only exist to pad things out, I think it would've helped the pacing issue the series suffers from, and reduce the feeling of "gee, any other series could've done that in only half the time...".


How come the Otherworld saga doesn't get nearly as much disdain as Garlic Jr. saga does?

[DBZ MAN]

You can reason with things that have minor changes but not things that affect the structure of continuity. This then alters the course of the whole story. That’s why non-canon doesn't go with canon.

Take Spider-man for example, If Uncle Ben never died then Peter Parker would have never of felt guilt and wouldn't of felt to peruse being a 'hero' instead of an entertainer. Say a villain rose from this predicament some how in this what-if story and then you tried to place it in the story line of the ongoing comic series. It just wouldn't work because the villain came from a completely different plot from what has happened in the 'what if' story.

I can only guess that you could argue that when we were watching the Garlic JR saga, we were looking at the events that happened from the universe of the dead zone movie.

EDIT: Crap, really sorry, I've seem to edited the wrong post.