All in all, are you happy the revival happened?

[wolflonnie]

I think the Zamasu arc has a very depressing ending, but it's generally more hopeful than most of DBZ's arcs. It has little moments like Trunks talking to Gohan, Krillin & 18, etc., as well as some goofy elements here and there that, for me at least, most of the times worked (ex.: excluding Pilaf gang's antics, including Trunks overreacting to 18 in the anime / Trunks playing videogames in the manga).
The Tournament of Power has some very dark elements as well, those being the Zenos, but it still has the feel of a test of strenght for Goku and co., so they enjoyed the competition. They didn't "just" fought for their lives.

These colorful, somewhat wacky elements are present as well in DBZ, but in a significant less quantity, and quality as well.
By quality I mean the Majin Buu saga, which attempted to mix DBZ seriousness with a return of DB's wackiness, but they didn't mesh that well because it was an on-going action and crisis.
The Zamasu arc stopped the action here and there to catch some breath and explore character interaction in a somewhat tranquil, goofy setting.

That tranquil and goofy writing is what better represent Toriyama.
Try reading his other works, including Dottor Slump, Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, while not as good as DB you can still notice that Toriyama's signature, quintessential style is a wacky, goofy, almost everyday one, mixed with interesting action sequences.

DBZ leans a lot on seriousness, action and stackes, while Super tried to balance it, which resulted in a better product, for me at least.
[...]
Sooo yeah, tl;dr: I think DBS does a better job in balancing drama/serious action with more mundane, wacky and funny elements.

You keep saying "DBZ" to refer to the original run, so I'm going to continue with my assumption that you've only seen Z and Super, and I'll repeat myself: Watch the non-Z shows from the original run, it sounds like they'd be right up your street.

You're right. I only watched the 23th Tenkaichi arc of the original DB, and pieces of DBGT. I might do that

[ABED]

Given how readily available the original DB is, I don't know why any fan wouldn't watch the story from the beginning.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I dunno ABED, are there 30th anniversary OG Dragon Ball Blu Ray sets?


...dont hurt me.

[ABED]

I dunno ABED, are there 30th anniversary OG Dragon Ball Blu Ray sets?


...dont hurt me.

I'm not sure what the point is you are trying to make.

[Robo4900]

You're right. I only watched the 23th Tenkaichi arc of the original DB, and pieces of DBGT. I might do that

Do it, buddy! You'll have a blast!

OG DB is really weird at first, as is any long-runner when it first starts out, but it's an absolute blast. And GT, much as many don't like it, I can't help but love for its utterly fantastic music, and how unique and weird it is as a Dragon Ball series. Takes some time for it to find its niche, but when it does, there's nothing else in the franchise that quite has the same feel.

Given how readily available the original DB is, I don't know why any fan wouldn't watch the story from the beginning.

I agree with you. However, most people in the west grew up watching Z on TV, and maybe watched some or perhaps all of Funimation's butchered version of GT. So, Z is what people tend to come back to, that's what people think of first, and nostalgia for that is what draws people to go and rewatch the show, in general. Even if it's a really silly thing that's entirely brought on by the shortcomings of Funimation's ability to bring the show to the west, that is the reality we live with.

Still, no reason anyone can't make up for lost time now, in the 21st century. The blue or yellow bricks of DB, or whatever the Australian sets are, and the green bricks of GT, are readily-available for all to enjoy (the original DVD singles are pretty available too, I guess, since they tend to go for quite cheap, and the video quality's better, but... To each their own. Convenience is often king).
So, as I must've said at least once since Super #131 aired, this hiatus is the perfect time for people to fill whatever time they previously used to watch Super, with the two incarnations of the show they may have missed out on. Especially since Super's subs being ahead for so long has got so many previously-dub-focussed fans used to watching subbed, so naturally, anyone watching OG DB for the first time can watch subbed, then move onto Z, and see that subbed for their first time, and in all, this could make the full DB+Z+GT viewing a complete, new experience for them.

And y'know what, I kinda envy those people; I'd love to watch the full run of DB+Z+GT for the first time all over again. Or even just the original series. There's nothing quite like it.

[ABED]

DB's also available on Hulu (I assume it's also on FUNi's streaming service).

[Cure Dragon 255]

I dunno ABED, are there 30th anniversary OG Dragon Ball Blu Ray sets?


...dont hurt me.

I'm not sure what the point is you are trying to make.

Its a joke. I'm making fun of the fact that Funimation doesnt love OD DB enough to give it lavish but still shitty Blu Rays. LOL.

[Mister_Popo]

Given how readily available the original DB is, I don't know why any fan wouldn't watch the story from the beginning.

It's somehow ironic we are debating the sense of the revival, while the original series (Dragon Ball, not DBZ) are somehow being treated stepmotherly by the franchise in comparison to DBZ and DBS. It's limping behind, and could even be 'overseen' by people who want to see the series from the start.

It didn't have any Blu-ray release, while DBZ already had two and Super one. Those aren't consired the "be all end all", but it's safe to say both Blu-rays are far superior over the DVD's/Orange Bricks. Kai also has a better quality release of the DBZ-portion of the manga (minus filler) on Blu-ray, but does not include any material from the original series. In my own country the original DB-content was even never shown, it began straight from DBZ.

So, if you want to own the first crucial animated part, the DVD-blue brick release (better than Orange Bricks but still not the quality it deserves) or highly priced and not easy to find Dragon boxes are your only options. This while Blu-ray is the norm nowadays and is slowly shifting towards 4K.

[ABED]

Is the home video release nearly that important anymore?

[Mister_Popo]

Is the home video release nearly that important anymore?

We're maybe getting off-topic here.
Just wanted to indicate, DB is not as well known as DBZ, because not being marketed with the same intensity.
I know people who just start to read or watch from DBZ onwards, without knowing DB exists.
It's not a problem to watch DB later on, but it's still preferable to start with it.

[ABED]

But is it some secret that there is a series that exists BEFORE DBZ? My issue isn't with people who may not know DBZ isn't the original, it's with those that keep making excuses for not even trying to go back and read or watch the story from the beginning. It's not a question of cheap or easy access any more.

[MyVisionity]

OG DB is really weird at first, as is any long-runner when it first starts out, but it's an absolute blast.

Maybe it's just me but I never really thought of the first DB arc as "weird". I mean I guess the series takes some time to find itself, but I was never put off by it.

DB's also available on Hulu (I assume it's also on FUNi's streaming service).

On FUNi's streaming service no subscription necessary it's actually free with ads for the whole series. DBZ is subscription only for almost all of it.

Given how readily available the original DB is, I don't know why any fan wouldn't watch the story from the beginning.

To many fans, the beginning of a story is just not particularly important. A lot of people are fine with simply coming into a series halfway through and not bothering with what came before. That's probably especially true for a series like Dragon Ball, where the anime is divided into two different shows with individual story arcs that a viewer can easily jump into at any time.

[ABED]

To many fans, the beginning of a story is just not particularly important. A lot of people are fine with simply coming into a series halfway through and not bothering with what came before. That's probably especially true for a series like Dragon Ball, where the anime is divided into two different shows with individual story arcs that a viewer can easily jump into at any time.

But the "different shows" is an artifice. They are the same series split in two for marketing purposes. This isn't conjecture. The people in charge have stated it outright they rebranded to make it more popular. The split is done at right time to where you can jump into the story and not get lost because it's a sufficiently simple story.

An issue, and probably THE issue I have with how those that don't go back to DB from the beginning is the way they frame it like it's a prequel, as if the value of going back to the chronological beginning is answering question of how the characters got to that point at the beginning of Z. It's not that at all. I'm concerned with people overlooking the EXPERIENCE of reading/watching the story from the beginning. If you like something, and find out that you are only getting 2/3 of it, why wouldn't you want to watch the first third of it?

I wonder what the Venn diagram is of people who love the revival and those that don't have a desire to watch or read the original DB.

[Robo4900]

Maybe it's just me but I never really thought of the first DB arc as "weird". I mean I guess the series takes some time to find itself, but I was never put off by it.

Fair.
TBH, largely the same here, but if you've only ever watched Z, you'll probably find that first arc of DB to be really odd. And, as you say, it take some time to find itself. So... Doesn't bother me, but I know a lot of people can be put off by early instalment weirdness. So, I thought it best to note that.

On FUNi's streaming service no subscription necessary it's actually free with ads for the whole series. DBZ is subscription only for almost all of it.

Really? Damn, you Americans have it good.

To many fans, the beginning of a story is just not particularly important. A lot of people are fine with simply coming into a series halfway through and not bothering with what came before. That's probably especially true for a series like Dragon Ball, where the anime is divided into two different shows with individual story arcs that a viewer can easily jump into at any time.

But the "different shows" is an artifice. They are the same series split in two for marketing purposes. This isn't conjecture. The people in charge have stated it outright they rebranded to make it more popular. The split is done at right time to where you can jump into the story and not get lost because it's a sufficiently simple story.

An issue, and probably THE issue I have with how those that don't go back to DB from the beginning is the way they frame it like it's a prequel, as if the value of going back to the chronological beginning is answering question of how the characters got to that point at the beginning of Z. It's not that at all. I'm concerned with people overlooking the EXPERIENCE of reading/watching the story from the beginning. If you like something, and find out that you are only getting 2/3 of it, why wouldn't you want to watch the first third of it?

I wonder what the Venn diagram is of people who love the revival and those that don't have a desire to watch or read the original DB.

Quoting both of these because I have a similar thing to say to both...

Yep, absolutely. But much as it is just an artifice, because of the way Funi skipped over the first third of the story, westerners are just used to skipping to that point. Again, it's all just a silly thing that came about from Funi's shortcomings in bringing the show to the west, so it really shouldn't matter, but... Well, it does. The way people were exposed to the show initially made a big impact. Still, as I say, there's no reason people can't jump into the beginning now, and make up for lost time. It's not like anyone's ruined themselves from having watched Z and Super before DB and GT. They're right there, and as I said before, with people now more used to watching in Japanese than ever, the barrier to entry of how crap Funi's DB and GT dubs are compared to their work on Kai and Super, really isn't a factor. And presuming people are willing to watch the old shows in Japanese, they can watch the full DB+Z+GT run in Japanese for their first time, which means not only are they seeing DB for the first time (possibly GT too), but it makes the viewing experience of Z new again too. So... Now is a really good time for people to go and see what they missed.

People who stubbornly stand by "i'm not watching that prequel crap" or other such nonsense do annoy me, but in my experience, they're the vast minority; most people just didn't get around to DB. It didn't seem prudent at the time it was originally airing (which is fair; Funi's marketing was terrible, and their timing for airing it was even worse; they started airing it in the middle of one of the Androids sagas, as I recall), and they never ended up going back and seeing it after the original run, never bothered to pick up the DVDs afterward. And now that Dragon Ball is new again thanks to Super, I'm seeing people like wolflonnie who are now realising "Hey y'know what, people talk highly of that first third of the show I missed. I should check that out." or something to that effect.

So... Yes, it's frustrating, but things are changing, at least among the more hardcore fandom.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Is the home video release nearly that important anymore?

For people who like to own physical copies of the series they love (like I do) and live in areas that don't always have great internet connection (which I do occassionally) yes they are.

As for the thread topic, yes I am glad the revival happened. Not all the new stuff is great, but the good stuff (DBS Broly, Future Trunks arc, Yamcha manga, etc) have made it all worthwhile for me and I just pretend the bad stuff (like Minus) never happened.

Having said that, I'm one of those people who just always wanted new Dragon Ball so otherwise it would have been like an itch never scratched.

[ABED]

I didn't say it's irrelevant, I was asking about the degree of its relevancy. The home video market isn't dead, but it's not the cash cow it once was. The fact that DVD's are still prevalent (or exist at all) is pretty good indication that the home video market isn't that important. If it was, at some point DVD's would've become obsolete as the new format came alone, just like VHS before it.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I didn't say it's irrelevant, I was asking about the degree of its relevancy. The home video market isn't dead, but it's not the cash cow it once was. The fact that DVD's are still prevalent (or exist at all) is pretty good indication that the home video market isn't that important. If it was, at some point DVD's would've become obsolete as the new format came alone, just like VHS before it.

I would say it's still as relevant as it ever was. Sure we're not in the DVD boom of the early 2000s anymore, but like anything else these things come in ebbs and flows. Streaming is going through its own boom at the moment because it's relatively new and having a sea of shows and movies at your fingertips is still a novelty, much like the concept of having your own personalized library from buying DVDs once was. However, as something becomes profitable for the companies it also becomes a greater cost for the consumer. We haven't seen it yet because there are few streaming services big enough to compete with Netflix, but with Disney+, the upcoming Warner Brothers streaming service, HBO Max all coming it's going to become prohibitively expensive to get all the shows you want for a decent monthly price. At that point we will see a bit of a resurgence with people paying for the streaming services they want and buying other stuff they like on physical media. For example I'm only a casual anime fan, so if there's stuff on Netflix I heard good things about I'll check it out, but other than that it would be very common for me to only watch one new movie a month so for movies I heard good things about (like Akira and Summer Wars) buying the Blu-Rays makes more sense than paying for an additional streaming service (like Crunchyroll on top of Netflix).

DVD is still prevalent because the 2008 recession delayed people's uptake of Blu-Ray and prices being prohibitively expensive for some (which in the case of Dragon Ball greatly affected sales of the level sets). Blu-Rays are slowly catching up with DVD though and now with UHD Blu-Rays available they are dropping in price significantly and becoming more attractive to even the average consumer. The physical media market may never be as big as it once was but I can definitely see it making somewhat of a comeback as older, but still fantastic formats like Blu-Ray will only come down in price and streaming and internet costs continue to grow.

[ABED]

They aren't becoming prohibitively expensive. You don't have to have them all, and you can opt out from month to month, and people only have so much time in the day to watch what it so they don't need all of them at once. People are really overblowing that issue. I don't think we'll ever see a resurgence of physical media, but I do think it has its place given streaming is dependent on deals and movies and shows cycle in and out.

Given the marginal cost of trying any series (including DB) is now effectively $0, there's no excuse to not at least give the start of the series the old college try.

These revivals are like seeing a magic trick twice - still enjoyable but doesn't give quite the same high.

[goku the krump dancer]

I'm in the middle honestly. I don't hate the new stuff but a lot of it is really nothing to write home about. Battle of Gods is to this very day, the only thing to truly expand the universe. Everything after that is mostly 2 steps forward, 3 steps back.

We've only got glimpses of other universes through shitty mock characters in meaningless tournaments. Hit is Pikkon 2.0, Cabba & Frost are just diet Gohan and Freeza. The only Good thing that came out of the u6 tournament was Vegeta becoming a mentor and the possibility of exploring a new saiyan home world. Granted what little we did see didnt seem all that interesting, they operate exactly like humans.

The 2 new major antagonist arent that great either, Zamasu's and Jiren's character type have been done exponentially better in YuYu Hakusho for example. Sensui shits all over Zamasu when it comes to the nihilistic fallen hero and Toguro over Jiren as the great warrior with serious insecurities that went too far.

This Moro arc so far is doing a mildly decent job at making universe 7 seem bigger, so far none of the prisoners are connected with Freeza in any way, which is good and it added some new back lore to the Kaioshin of U7 and Boo. We'll see where things go though.

The worst part about the revival is the new fans who put Super on this crazy pedestal and they seem to ignore the original series outside of some of the obviously popular moments. Its so head splitting to read sometimes.

[Dbzfan94]

The worst part about the revival is the new fans who put Super on this crazy pedestal and they seem to ignore the original series outside of some of the obviously popular moments. Its so head splitting to read sometimes.

Pretty much agreed with everything you said but this especially. It drives me up a wall.