Impressions upon watching DBZ episode one

[desirecampbell]

Since I've signed up here, I've come to understand that a lot of people didn't start watching the series with the first episode of DragonBall. For many it was some random episode rather late into Z.

It seems that rather few people watched Dragonball (or at least the first season which is all we had at the time) and then started watching Z at the first episode.

The reason I bring this up, is I still remember catching the first episode of Z. I remember not knowing what the show was for a bit and then thinking 'hey this reminds me of that DragonBall show' and then 'Hey that kid's got a tail just like... like... what was his na-' "hey Goku" 'Holy shit! Is this the show? what happened? who's the big guy holding Goku?' "Hey guys, this is Gohan, my son" 'Hot cow balls, Goku's grown up? With child? Who's that bald guy?'

Soon after I as confused further by who Ten and Piccolo were - but I was more focused on 'What? Space?! What? Did he just fly? Holy shit he blew up a car!'

At the time I didn't know jack about DragonBall so I had to pick things up as I watched ('Piccolo doesn't seem to like Goku') which work alright, but wasn't perfect ('Perhaps Goku owes him some money').

Then as I grew more knowledgeable on the series I thought about what the best way to introduce someone else to the series. Others suggested an episode of the Cell games, or something in the Buu saga. But they also warned against showing anything that would ruin the surprises, like Trunks' arrival.

Then I thought, what about the biggest surprise in the series: Goku's a goddamn alien?!

So, here's the big topic, what are your thoughts on the first episode? What order did you watch the series in? What do you think about the need for people to experience the shock of 'Goku's an alien'? That is, do you think it's better for people to watch DragonBall and then see Z to get the full effect?

[Tatsunoboshi Horoko]

I was exposed to Dragonball at an early age, but not properly introduced to it until FuNi broadcasted their dub early in the mornings on some station down here (was in the WPIX? I forget.) Anyway, I knew of a character named "Son Goku" from some tapes my cousin sent to me when he still worked overseas. Of course, I knew absolutely no Japanese back then, so I really just watched for the potty humor and pretty displays of flashing lights.

So, by the time FuNi's dub of the first episode of DBZ had aired (I had only seen Dragonball) I recongnized the character, but I asked myself "What in the name of hot marbles is going on?" And since I didn't even know they released those 13 or something sum odd episodes of Dragonball, I didn't even know what I was really watching. I thought it was just some weird "what if" movie.

In short, my first reactions were "Oooo, purty colored stuff", "A son?", "Flying?", "Green alien dude?", "Holy crap! He blew up stuff with his hands! HIS HANDS!!"

After that, I watched the series in systematic order. Then, when I had started taking up Japanese several years later, I started getting into the original version. It's one of the first shows I ever got introduced to by its dub first.

I think it's always important to watch a series you're not familiar with from episode one to the end. Then, you get the full effect of the series and you aren't just all "Wha...?" when the series takes a turning point.

[DaemonCorps]

Yay, another topic about how we all got into the show!

Well, I seriously think that if I were introduced to DBZ with its first episode (not the FUNi/Pioneer condensed one) that I would be immediately turned off. I mean boys falling off cliffs and being chased by a wild animal? I could just watch Animaniacs if I wanted something like this!

Luckily, I was introduced to the series by my friend who would tape the show when it was on the International Channel. Not wanting to be lost while we watched episode upon episode, I did some google searches, only to come up with some crap-quality saga run-downs... but it was all I could rely on at the time!

This was the same time that FUNi was airing the episode on CN, but I wasn't entirely into the show until CN reached the slightly tamer saga that was the Great Saiyaman Saga and started watching the series in order from that point. Up to this day, the only full sagas I've seen are: the Tenshinhan Saga until the end of DB and the Great Saiyaman Saga until the end of Z; I've seen most of DB, but I'm sure that I've missed a few episode here and there.

And now for the last part of the topic: I think that DB's beginning was the boring-est thing ever, so I don't think I'd even be capable of watching the series from beginning to end. But I do agree that watching the series in order would make the whole 'Goku's an alien' thing more shocking. The earliest point in DB that I could stand to watch would probably be the training episodes before the first tournament and continue on through the entire series from there.

[Castor Troy]

The first thing I thought when seeing pics of DBZ was "It's Chrono Trigger with golden hair!".

The first ep I saw was "Tien goes all out" when it was first in syndication. The majority of the episode was Gohan looking scared and Piccolo looking upwards, so it didn't really appeal to me at the time.

I caught a few random episodes like Yajirobe cutting off Vegeta's tail, the filler fake namek ep in that castle, and Vegeta's wrath ep, I kind of liked what I saw, but never really became a big fan.

The first ep I caught during the first CN run was the episode after Raditz died and the start of Gohan's training, and for some reason (mostly not having anything else to watch at that time), that's when I got hooked. When that initial run ended and I finally got to see the first episode, it was pretty surreal. All the characters were in a big OMGWTF mode when Raditz revealed Goku's origins. I read a lot of summaries on the net, but none of them compared to actually watching the episodes. The rest was history after that.

[Duo]

I can only wish I had started with the first Episode of DragonBall...though I do think my first Z episode was the actual first episode.

No, I really wish I could've magically had all 42 Volumes of the Manga in English without having had any other exposure. That would have owned.

[Eclipse]

I sadly wished that one of the TV stations I watched as a young boy had Dragon Ball. But they had Dragon Ball Z.

I pretty much watched it from the first episode onwards (from DBZ, remember). Like desire, I picked up things as I came along, though I had no idea who any of 'em were (except for Goku, who I had thought of as 'some karate master'). But I really loved the series, and continuted watching. Of course, the station only had up until the early Namek saga, which I didn't watch (I finished watching right after Vegeta escapes), then of course, for the next couple of years, I somewhat kept the series in my head, until I rented a certain game one day..

I seriously had no idea how they did some things in the early episodes and I was captivated by it (though not flying) 'Whoah, he blew up that car!' or 'That green dude got his arm blown off! Awesome!'

[Bura]

Well I first noticed DragonBall Z when I was just flipping through the channels and suddenly Cartoon Network had this new show, which turned out to be DBZ. I started watching from episode one, and the first scene I saw was Raditz standing on the beach (I'm of course talking about the english dub episode of DBZ, where Raditz reaches Kame House in episode one).

I thought the animation was kinda weird, since I was used to american animation and all. Oh well, I thought it was interesting and I kept on watching and that's how I became a fan...

I always wanted to know what would happen next, and before I knew it I tuned in every day, and thanks to me so did my little brother and even my dad, lol.

Of course, it took quite a while before I knew about DragonBall and GT, and I watched the series without spoilers since we didn't have an internet connection back then!

I was 12 years old when I saw my first DBZ episode. ;p

[Mr. Announcer]

Eh, yeah. I was young at the time and ready to watch just about anything on television. Basically I just liked how it had pretty colors and had a story that continued on with each episode. My dad noticed I had been watching it every Sunday for about a year so he bought me some tapes of the pioneer dub of Dragonball and I soon came to know the first series. I had no idea what happened in between however which made me to come up with some pretty strange ideas.... So my exposure to DBZ, Dragonball and the manga happened in about the same sphere of time.

[Chuquita]

I remember watching some of the early eps on CN (this is during early 2000) of Goku's Snakeway adventures, him catching bubbles, Piccolo throwing Gohan at the mountain, but I didn't start watching regularly until the Freeza episodes where Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Kuririn are all fighting the Ginyu Force.

[Hao_Kaiser]

Geez... it must've been some random Nappa episode... I can't really remember, as I was kinda young (I'd say 9 or so... yeah.)

Might Cousin introduced me to it. He made up a lot of crap about it like 'ZOMG NAPPA ISH SUPAH SAYAN!!!', and he's a big a-hole now, but you gotta love him for introducing me to the series.

[DaemonCorps]

Just a reminder for people, since it seems like some of you aren't exactly answering all that you can answer. And just to clarify things:

So, here's the big topic, what are your thoughts on the first episode? What order did you watch the series in? What do you think about the need for people to experience the shock of 'Goku's an alien'? That is, do you think it's better for people to watch DragonBall and then see Z to get the full effect?

[Sebastian (SB)]

I've never seen the first dubbed episode of Dragon Ball Z until much later on in my fandom where I was knowledgeable enough of the series & knew what was going on. My general impression was of the first episode was mixed because the voice actors were different that of their FUNi Texas counterpart. However over time I've grown use to them by watching each episode after until mid-Namek season where the Texas cast took over. I generally didn't like how the first dubbed episode seemed to rush things. It was obvious the episode was heavily butchered.

I started watching Dragon Ball Z first with the 72 episode season that covered all of the Jinzoningen/Cell arcs. Afterwards I started watching Fansubs I purchased of some of the Dragon Ball Z animated films. That's where I started growing much more in touch with the original Japanese version. In that meantime, I started watching Dragon Ball. I loved how they kept the original BGM.

I think the shock of Son Goku being an alien is very significant throughout the entirety of the series & manga because what started out as a more Quest type series gets full blown as a sci-fi/martial arts epic for that very reason. I very much support that most people should start with Dragon Ball to get that full effect & in general, be able to appreciate & understand the series a lot more instead of being baised, dismissive, confused & have to look up sources to understand much of the story. I also support that people start with manga as well because it gets you to read, it's much faster paced & the art is better than the actual animation.

[MisterFlashdude]

The first episode I saw was the one right after Goku first turned Super Saiya-jin. After that, I went with Toonami's flow, and watched the Cell Saga. After which, I purchased several VHS tapes of training right before the Nappa/Vegeta fight and then the fight itself. Around that time, Toonami put Dragonball on, and I experienced that.

It was actually a year or two into my fandom until I got around to watching the first episode of DBZ. I'd already got the jist of the story playing the old game Legend of the Super Saiya-jin, so it was more like I was fulfilling my responsibility as a fan to actually see it instead of just... knowing what happened. I can only imagine the excitement of the kid's seeing it in Japan for the first time, after spending so much time following Goku as a kid.

Probably similar to how I feel when I read what happens after the time skip in Naruto... I wonder if fans will one day feel that the first episode of Naruto 2 will be a better starting part than the actual first episode... (And hey! If you squint your eyes, Naruto 2 looks a lot like Naruto Z... )

[Steven Perry]

I think that DB's beginning was the boring-est thing ever, so I don't think I'd even be capable of watching the series from beginning to end.

Man, that's so true. It's best (in my opinion) to watch episode one of Dragonball Z, with the massive onslaught of information and excitement that keeps you wanting more. Also, the show's impact is even greater when you haven't experienced anime before. During Dragonball Z, you pick up bits of information as to Goku's and Krillin's past (like when they're having flashbacks)... which makes you eager to know what happened.

When Dragonball finally aired, it was fun to know something that the other characters didn't- that Goku was an alien. I got to see the origins of Goku and Krillin, and how Piccolo was born. Soon, everything fitted together like a puzzle, and that is a good experience. It's like... you're discovering manuscripts from an ancient past, which describe the origins of ideas and practises. Then, everything fits together and makes sense. Yeah, it was that fun- like a big discovery.

[Big Momma]

I didn't see the first episode of Z, but I first saw it on the 2nd or 3rd(Darn! So Close!) I remember Goku and Piccolo fighting Raditz.(Back then it was "Guy with pointy hair, green dude, and guy with long girly hair and short shorts[Gay?]) Anywhoo, I liked it for the action, and I didn't see the show again for quite some time, but I recognized it. And thus, here I am today.


Oh, I've been meaning to ask this, did anyone here watch the original in Japan as it was airing (new episodes) every week?

[Swift]

Well, though I barely count this as my true first viewing of the show, I first saw it not on Toonami, but on Fox. My brothers and I happened to come across an episode of it while flipping channels, which took place during the fake-Namek saga, of all things, when the fake Namekians reveal their true identity. I didn't understand anything at all, and my first reaction to the show was that it completely sucked.

Later, when it ran on Toonami, my brother reccomended the show to me. So, I watched it, not realizing it was even the same show as the one I'd seen on Fox. I was seven years old at the time. I missed the first, but from the second episode onward, I watched it every day until the end of the second season. I thought it was freaking awesome, and picked up on many of the plot elements as they went (for example, I understood the "If Piccolo dies Kami dies and vice versa" thing from watching Dead Zone). Then, when they reran the show over and over, I watched it again, over and over. I also saw all three of the original movies on Toonami. Of course I ran into the first episode, and when I did, I'm sure I enjoyed all the exposition about Goku and his Saiyan heritage, but I don't really remember my exact reaction. I watched those episodes so many times... It ruled. I memorized every detail of the plot.

Eventually, my brothers and I, tired of waiting for them to show new episodes, bought subtitled Freeza saga videos (I believe from Anime Labs), which started from the summoning of Porunga, and watched all of those, skipping the Ginyu episodes in between the start of those videos and the end of the second season. It's funny; I was so young, I barely even noticed the swear words, or bothered to look them up. I just went with it, not knowing what the words meant.

When they finally aired season 3 on TV, I barely bothered to watch it, and I greatly disliked all the new voices. When the Trunks arc came, though, having no way of seeing it other than buying DVDs, I watched the series dubbed from then onward. I still prefer the Japanese version way more, though.

I never had the surprise of Goku being an alien. For me, he's always been an alien Saiyan, from the beginning. It's a bit of a shame that this shock is lost for me and those who started on DBZ, but I think the Saiyan saga is one of the best starting points for newbies, and I think it's worth the trade-off to lose that surprise. That's just my opinion, though.

[Mystic Jack]

It never really surprised me, when I finally saw the first episode of DBZ it just made sense to me. (Possibly because I was obsessed with Super Man at the time, I know I'm sad).

[Blade]

I watched it for the first time while airing on UK Toonami somewhere around the Freeza saga - must have been 6 or 7 years ago. I then kept watching it until the arrival of Trunks (at which point the anime was static at for quite some time) and then saw it back to Trunks from the start on another re-run. It was fairly confusing to me, as I didn't understand as to why the series started so strangely without introductions.

Then of course I took my interest online and learnt of the mysterious 3rd series with Curtis Hoffman's synopsis list, aswell as downloading the first one or two episodes of fansubbed Dragonball (12mb RM format took a god damned century on dialup).

Not to deviate off topic too much, but does anyone know the issue surrounding the UK getting AB's distribution of the DBZ Dub with the Ocean Group's voice actors after the 'Trunks saga'? For some very odd reason the UK got Funimations dub back for a short time during the 'Super Buu saga' only for it to be re-aired a few weeks later with the Ocean Group's dub once again.

Not that I am complaining, I probably prefer the Ocean Group voice acting over Funimation's - but it could have helped when it came to getting the DBZ Movies, god, were those horrible. (The Blue Water DB and DBGT dub wasn't all that bad though, the latter being better than Funimations anyday).

[Onikage725]

I'm much like you. I watched anything that looked interesting back then, and kept an eye on new cartoon releases on TV. So when they started advertising Dragon Ball, I gave it a chance.

"Dragon Ball! Gotta find that Dragon Ball! Don't stop until you've got 'em all, the 7 magic balls! It's all you gotta do to make your wish come true!!"

Or something to that effect.

I was enthralled. Then the season ended. I figured that was all there was.

Then I start seeing adds for Dragon Ball Z. Somewhere I picked up Goku's name (and the hair is distinct), and figured "ok, they aged him to adulthood for a sequal series." I didn't know what an over-simplification that was. So I watched the Arrival arc.

I was SO lost. I saw "Krillin" and pegged him as Oolong redesigned (til they said his name). I had no clue who Piccolo was (actually wondered if he was a relation to Pilaf). Bulma had...um...matured. "Master Roshi" was the same, but it wasn't til I saw Yamcha that I felt I had a safe zone. Needless to say, Chi Chi/Goku/Gohan was quite a shock. I watched most of the series with little difficulty (backstory shanked, but going forward wasn't hard to follow), and during the hiatus (the Raditz-Recoome loop o' doom) I started up High School. New facility, computers everywhere, and through the glory of the internet I began to glimpse what I missed. Found sites like DBZ Uncensored, Planet Namek, Greg Werner's site, the old VegettoEX, Temple of Trunks, Ginga Giri Giri, and the like.

I also met a friend as a sophomore who was a fan of the original version. We're close to this day, and that's all because I was on one of the old sites (I think it was SRE DBZ, if thats correct) watching clips from movie 11. My first Japanese clips viewed, and he stumbled by and was shocked to see someone else watching the original language. So he helped me out (also another good friend got some fansubs of the Cell Saga as well as movies 7,8,11, and 12. The other friend I mentioned had subs of 9 and the TV specials). So by the time FUNi started airing new eps on CN, I was a full-on decently educated fan of the original version. I watched most of the english eps due to availability, but the new cast never really did it for me back then.

[Gouki*]

From the minute Dragon Ball Z aired on Australian television, I was interested. It wasn't like anything I had really seen before and it had awesome martial arts in it. I watched it thinking it was good, until Goku died. It didn't really click at first. Then suddenly, my mind exploded.

"Wait. Did they just kill off the main character in episode three?"

I heard them say they'd wish him back. I had no idea what was going to happen next. If they could kill off the main character with such reckless abandon imagine how awesome it's going to be! Anyone could die at anytime! Stronger bad guys coming? How the hell is that possible? This is awesome! Then, once Tenshinhan (who remains my favourite "never got enough spotlight" character), Yamucha and Chaosu were introduced, I became completely hooked. The increased cast, the seemingly harsher battles, the unique character designs. It was around then I started investigating the series online.

And it was, even with all the knowledge of how much was cut and changed, the Ocean Dub still holds a special place in my heart, and while a couple of voices weren't all that great, I will always prefer them to Funimations group.

I watched every episode right up until the end of the Cell Saga, then I had no idea when it was going to start back on TV or what episodes were showing. But by then I didn't mind. I'd gotten bored with the dub completely. I hated it, I'd seen too much of the Japanese version to go back, so the DVD's were fine. I watched most of the Buu saga every night after school.