Why has Dragon Ball Endured the test of time, in your opinion

[Cure Dragon 255]

I am really sorry for this thread,I promised a break, but its such a simple question that hasnt really been asked and I feared the idea would disappear from my mind and I've never get to ask.

-The Characters: The characters are likeable yet flawed in ways that makes it easy to love them and relate, yet still deceptively complex.

Fred Silverman "If the characters are simple, vivid and memorable the shows usually work"

-The Spectacle: There is a reason Dragon Ball has inspired so many artists, both Mangaka and animators, despite Toei's not being the best animation studio, the fights in Dragon Ball have never left the public conciousness. DBZ basically reshaped the way action is done in animation.

-The Feel of Epic Storytelling brought to life in a Modern Classic: On Paper, Dragon Ball is really simple "Hero's journey scriptwriting stuff" but like Kunzait said in many of his epic length posts about Wuxia being Dragon Ball's REAL GENRE, which is true, what Dragon Ball is bringing that epic wuxia storytelling and giving it an sci fi update that is also comedic and fun while also hardcore badass.

Speaking of which...

-The Comedy: Dragon Ball is REALLY funny! One of the harder things to get right specially in dubbing is the comedy, but Dragon Ball's comedy is off the hook! There is no way to not let out at least one laugh.

-Serialized Storytelling: Despite Toriyama NOT REALLY having an end goal plan for the series, the serialized storytelling has always helped it endure over other simpler stand alone shows. And even then its a bit underrated because you know the ending isnt the point, the point is the journey.

-The cuteness: Dragon Ball's Son family are just so charming as kids and it gives it an appeal over "Manlier 255%" manga. That's why my sisters loved it so much too.

-The Badass: Lets face it, DBZ is hardcore. It was a successful relaunch that gave the franchise a new look and feel.

You guys can write anything you want, opine anything you want in the way you wanna write..

[SupremeKai25]

Because it has a unique "charm" of not taking itself too seriously, the edgy/emo Cell saga notwithstanding. I mean, the final villain of the original series is a fat chewing gum monster and yet somehow the fights are still entertaining and you can feel the high stakes.

It also helps that Dragon Ball SUPER literally revived the franchise and aligns with the franchise's roots of not taking itself too seriously.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Many reasons:

• It's just a total feel good series any time, any day
• Stories are simple but powerful
• Characters are incredibly inspirational, probably even moreso if we grew up with them
  • And seeing those characters struggle and succeed against impossible odds teaches us we can do the same
• The fun over-the-top action
  • I know Kunzait83 will say this has been done in dozens of wuxia films from Hong Kong for decades, but let's be honest, your first love is your first love. If you seen it with Dragon Ball that's what you associate it with
• Toriyama's distinctive humour that's so serious in its unseriousness
• The countless easter eggs in every panel and every shot of the anime that adapted it. The more we think about them the more it shows how much of an expert Toriyama was in God knows how many movies from all over the world he watched. Only a genius can do that so effortlessly and consistently
  • As an example Bulma's gun when she first meets Goku I'd the M60 from Dr No, and then of course there's the R2D2 just casually chilling in the background
• The music, by and large is wonderful, especially Kikuchi and Tokunaga, the Westwood Anitunes score is also worth a listen

[Cure Dragon 255]

Many reasons:

• It's just a total feel good series any time, any day
• Stories are simple but powerful
• Characters are incredibly inspirational, probably even moreso if we grew up with them
  • And seeing those characters struggle and succeed against impossible odds teaches us we can do the same
• The fun over-the-top action
  • [*] I know Kunzait83 will say this has been done in dozens of wuxia films from Hong Kong for decades, but let's be honest, your first love is your first love. If you seen it with Dragon Ball that's what you associate it with
• Toriyama's distinctive humour that's so serious in its unseriousness
• The countless easter eggs in every panel and every shot of the anime that adapted it. The more we think about them the more it shows how much of an expert Toriyama was in God knows how many movies from all over the world he watched. Only a genius can do that so effortlessly and consistently
• The music, by and large is wonderful, especially Kikuchi and Tokunaga, the Westwood Anitunes score is also worth a listen

Thank you DBI, your posts are always so great. BTW you dont need to make a list. Not that its WRONG but you can also make an essay if you so desire. I just did it that way because its easier.

I dont think Kunzait would disagree wtih the bolded part because DB IS WUXIA, that's its real genre. Sure its most "Babies and Foreigners first Wuxia story" (This term is NOT DERROGATORY in this context, just that its the Gateway Series to this especific genre) but Wuxia nonetheless.

Also many many many Wuxia stories have been told and retold over and over, what makes a wuxia movie stand out its either its quality or offering a gimmick or appeal to the current audience.

Speaking of it. KIKUCHI. Kikuchi is VITAL to the sound of a mighty Kung Fu Legend. Even by people who hate his music, they cant deny it very much defined Dragon Ball.

[JulieYBM]

Hot half naked guys punch each other a lot, and Toriyama's art and the directing and animation of the cartoons really depicted that in a cool, revolutionary way. Now we're just riding a wave of nostalgia that extends the zeitgeist into new generations.

[MasenkoHA]

Toriyama's art and a love for people getting punched in the face is universal

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

Being endlessly rebroadcasted helped a lot, you can't be forgotten if you have constant spotlight, I know that's the case in LatAm.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Being endlessly rebroadcasted helped a lot, you can't be forgotten if you have constant spotlight, I know that's the case in LatAm.

I always envy Latin America for that reason. Dragon Ball comes and goes on UK and Irish TV.

From 2005 to the very end of 2012 we had a long draught after everything Dragon Ball was taken off our Toonami channel, which led to the series declining in public consciousness because of the lack of DVDs in that time and failed, badly planned merchandise with only the games keeping it alive (and possibly contributing to the mandela phenomenon DBZImran spoke of where many fans swear we always had the Funimation dubs on TV from start to finish, which I not only know for sure 100% to not be true but is provable from the absurd amount of recordings out there).

While the series was off TV between Kix dropping Kai in late 2014 and Pop premiering Super in summer 2019 it was still very much present with Manga UK putting out new releases all the time, Sky Movies occasionally airing Battle of Gods and Resurrection F and Super streaming on Daisuki in 2016 simulcasted.

Of course Crunchyroll streams the series legally now (although I personally avoid them for the sake of not supporting their growing monopoly) but I'd love if we had it being rerun on various channels all the time, especially those years there was nothing. I think traditional TV did a better job at making a wide variety of shows known by the public. Streaming services are great, but overwhelming at times and a lot of good content gets lost in the oceans of material companies like Crunchyroll have.

[kemuri07]

I think it's a combination of Toriyama's supreme talents as a mangaka as well as being in the right place at the right time.

[MasenkoHA]

. I think traditional TV did a better job at making a wide variety of shows known by the public

Not really. Plenty of shows later regarded as classics would get canceled because television networks failed to promote them properly or they had horrendous timeslots.

[AliTheZombie13]

Having rewatched a lot of bad shows from my childhood:

Because it feels like a genuine story, a world your father would tell you about to make you fall asleep and have nice dreams.
It's something you can still watch as an adult without feeling cringe at every second, because it doesn't outright insult your intelligence or treats you like a stupid toddler who will just consume whatever they throw at you.

Not putting show names here as to not insult anybody, but... a lot of the stuff we used to think was cool as kids was actually awful.
Every second we watched them, they would treat us as dumb. Characters looked at the camera, saying obvious things to appease moral guardians, every episode ended the exact same way with the characters discussing the moral of the episode, then laughing as the camera faded to black, and everything always remained the ever unchanging Status Quo.

Most of these old shows were very, very, VERY obviously corporate. Like, every single week, there would be this great new invention, this great new vehicle called the Supreme Somethinginator, this new cool villain/hero that would once and for all defeat the villains/heroes, and it would get quickly forgotten in favor of the next big thing next week. It's as if the creators of these shows were yelling directly at you, "HEY KIDS!!!! BUY OUR SHIT!!!!"

It's one of the reasons why I'm not fond of Super, it reminds me a lot of these bad old shows. The original Dragon Ball, even with its numerous writing flaws, still felt like it was trying to build a world and tell you a good story, while Super felt like it was desperately trying to sell you the next big cool thing before quickly forgetting about it and resetting everything to the way it was.

As adults, we are more savvy about the things we consume. I don't know about you, but I would gladly sit down to hear and put up with a friends' bad story, taking a peek into their creative mind and see what crazy stuff they came up with a smile on my face rather than hear a businessman tell me at the end, "And you can get your very own Goku for only $99!"

TL;DR: Dragon Ball has "soul" whereas lots of other shows feel like they only exist to sell you something.
Just my two cents on this.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Having rewatched a lot of bad shows from my childhood:

Because it feels like a genuine story, a world your father would tell you about to make you fall asleep and have nice dreams.
It's something you can still watch as an adult without feeling cringe at every second, because it doesn't outright insult your intelligence or treats you like a stupid toddler who will just consume whatever they throw at you.

Not putting show names here as to not insult anybody, but... a lot of the stuff we used to think was cool as kids was actually awful.
Every second we watched them, they would treat us as dumb. Characters looked at the camera, saying obvious things to appease moral guardians, every episode ended the exact same way with the characters discussing the moral of the episode, then laughing as the camera faded to black, and everything always remained the ever unchanging Status Quo.

Most of these old shows were very, very, VERY obviously corporate. Like, every single week, there would be this great new invention, this great new vehicle called the Supreme Somethinginator, this new cool villain/hero that would once and for all defeat the villains/heroes, and it would get quickly forgotten in favor of the next big thing next week. It's as if the creators of these shows were yelling directly at you, "HEY KIDS!!!! BUY OUR SHIT!!!!"

It's one of the reasons why I'm not fond of Super, it reminds me a lot of these bad old shows. The original Dragon Ball, even with its numerous writing flaws, still felt like it was trying to build a world and tell you a good story, while Super felt like it was desperately trying to sell you the next big cool thing before quickly forgetting about it and resetting everything to the way it was.

As adults, we are more savvy about the things we consume. I don't know about you, but I would gladly sit down to hear and put up with a friends' bad story, taking a peek into their creative mind and see what crazy stuff they came up with a smile on my face rather than hear a businessman tell me at the end, "And you can get your very own Goku for only $99!"

TL;DR: Dragon Ball has "soul" whereas lots of other shows feel like they only exist to sell you something.
Just my two cents on this.

I am going to get so much flak for this, but the whole "Merch driven shows are shittier than shit" vibe really needs to die, sure Capitalism IS evil but so much merch driven stuff is of very high quality. Animation as a whole is a business that really needs a lot of funding, so Merch Driven shows are very much a necessary evil. You dont like unlikeable characters that dont develop, that dont grow? That's wholly on Toriyama the "Auteur". But you can find that in many merch driven shows characters make mistakes, learn, and do not forget what was learned. Characters go through an actual arc.

Sure this is to "SELL MORE TOIZ!!!!" and to give a sense of legitimacy. But to me unless the show is like DearS (Where the viewer is meant to learn the lesson Slavery of a sentient being is a kawaii desu ne thing.) I really dont see any evil.

[GhostEmperorX]

With all that's happened to and around it over the years, it's a given at this point that no matter what you throw at it, nothing can actually kill the franchise for real.
One can only imagine how many other IP's would have been sunk by almost anything that's happened on the official side alone, whether with the JP/international version or the western market side (France, US, etc).

Aside from that, Toriyama just had something about him that not many others can say they had. In particular, the way he integrates his interests, as well as other references or influences even if it's just a movie he saw not too long ago, it's all done in such a way that it doesn't even feel out of place in the setting of DB.
There's also his knack for improvisation, even if it's the most contrived of plotlines. One picturesque, iconic moment after the other. And you wouldn't even have time to realize what's going on before the next arc.

As far as Toei and the anime, there's numerous instances where they made some really good expansions on parts of the manga. Even with Z being something of a slog (when compared to DB too), the rebrand and everything that came with it was, as much as I may not entirely agree with some aspects of it, a really smart move. Almost like adding "Z" gave Toei and other shareholders the green light to do whatever it took to rake in the Zeni (13 movies for one thing, as well as tons of games, CD's, etc).

Another thing is that (and I once made a topic on this before), while it certainly incorporates elements of its time, it doesn't feel like it's chained down to it.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

. I think traditional TV did a better job at making a wide variety of shows known by the public

Not really. Plenty of shows later regarded as classics would get canceled because television networks failed to promote them properly or they had horrendous timeslots.

Because they got picked up by other broadcasters or the DVD market gave them greater exposure and over time repeated airings or numbers of people buying them led to a cult status developing.

That doesn't happen anymore because monopolies are putting smaller businesses at risk, wanting to control all the content themselves. In fact, we're even starting to see original content that is purged from streaming services become lost media because unlike in the traditional TV days there aren't as many options for them to get a second look.

I'm not saying streaming services are bad, they're wonderful in moderation but from a preservationist's perspective we'll be looking at a very grim future if people have too much faith in them, which sadly is the case in my experience.

[Cure Dragon 255]

. I think traditional TV did a better job at making a wide variety of shows known by the public

Not really. Plenty of shows later regarded as classics would get canceled because television networks failed to promote them properly or they had horrendous timeslots.

Because they got picked up by other broadcasters or the DVD market gave them greater exposure and over time repeated airings or numbers of people buying them led to a cult status developing.

That doesn't happen anymore because monopolies are putting smaller businesses at risk and , wanting to control all the content themselves. In fact, we're even starting to see original content that is purged from streaming services become lost media because unlike in the traditional TV days there aren't as many options for them to get a second look.

I'm not saying streaming services are bad, they're wonderful in moderation but from a preservationist's perspective we'll be looking at a very grim future if people have too much faith in them, which sadly is the case in my experience.

This is the first time I actively tried to avoid the whole broadcast and tv deals thing and ALSO the first time other posters deviated towards it. I think it was way easier for a show that didnt thrive on a first run to thrive better in rerun syndication. Airing a popular such as DB in ANY form is always a good idea. But even lesser known shows have thrived on it. While it is true that streaming IS INDEED the new Syndicated Reruns... But sadly its REALLY HARD for any new show to thrive on Streaming alone. Sure that has nothing to do with Dragon Ball, so it doesnt matter but most of streaming's major actual hits are just reruns of extremely successful traditional television shows.

[GhostEmperorX]

I also forgot to mention, many people are coming to the franchise from many different places, mediums, etc. The guys in charge really cast a wide net with the sheer quantity of products they put out across just about any media sphere you can think of.
And even though it may tell the same story more often than not, people still end up wanting more.
While I'm not sure what went on during the one period of time where nothing new was coming out (in its home country of course), it probably had a lot of residual interest left over even then.

[AliTheZombie13]

I am going to get so much flak for this, but the whole "Merch driven shows are shittier than shit" vibe really needs to die, sure Capitalism IS evil but so much merch driven stuff is of very high quality. Animation as a whole is a business that really needs a lot of funding, so Merch Driven shows are very much a necessary evil. You dont like unlikeable characters that dont develop, that dont grow? That's wholly on Toriyama the "Auteur". But you can find that in many merch driven shows characters make mistakes, learn, and do not forget what was learned. Characters go through an actual arc.

Sure this is to "SELL MORE TOIZ!!!!" and to give a sense of legitimacy. But to me unless the show is like DearS (Where the viewer is meant to learn the lesson Slavery of a sentient being is a kawaii desu ne thing.) I really dont see any evil.

Obviously, animation isn't cheap and there needs to be a way to fund it.
If I recall correctly, Osamu Tezuka overworked the people at his studio to the point some died and made his shows toy-driven because it was what was helping them fund his stories.

There are exceptions to this rule, Dragon Ball itself had a drastic genre shift early on to make the show more appealing to young boys by Toriyama's own word. My problem isn't when people want to make money off their creative vision, my problem is when their creative vision is limited to just "Make money doing whatever, because kids are stupid and will consume whatever" and we get some of the most generic, soulless, pointless stories fed to us.

A prime example of this is Digimon Adventure 2020, where the producers flat-out admitted they weren't interested in telling a good story, but rather, just showing cool fights and cool monsters that kids would mindlessly consume. Result: We got one of the worst Digimon seasons to date.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I am going to get so much flak for this, but the whole "Merch driven shows are shittier than shit" vibe really needs to die, sure Capitalism IS evil but so much merch driven stuff is of very high quality. Animation as a whole is a business that really needs a lot of funding, so Merch Driven shows are very much a necessary evil. You dont like unlikeable characters that dont develop, that dont grow? That's wholly on Toriyama the "Auteur". But you can find that in many merch driven shows characters make mistakes, learn, and do not forget what was learned. Characters go through an actual arc.

Sure this is to "SELL MORE TOIZ!!!!" and to give a sense of legitimacy. But to me unless the show is like DearS (Where the viewer is meant to learn the lesson Slavery of a sentient being is a kawaii desu ne thing.) I really dont see any evil.

Obviously, animation isn't cheap and there needs to be a way to fund it.
If I recall correctly, Osamu Tezuka overworked the people at his studio to the point some died and made his shows toy-driven because it was what was helping them fund his stories.

There are exceptions to this rule, Dragon Ball itself had a drastic genre shift early on to make the show more appealing to young boys by Toriyama's own word. My problem isn't when people want to make money off their creative vision, my problem is when their creative vision is limited to just "Make money doing whatever, because kids are stupid and will consume whatever" and we get some of the most generic, soulless, pointless stories fed to us.

A prime example of this is Digimon Adventure 2020, where the producers flat-out admitted they weren't interested in telling a good story, but rather, just showing cool fights and cool monsters that kids would mindlessly consume. Result: We got one of the worst Digimon seasons to date.

Oh god, Digimon Adventure 2020. That's an awful toy driven show. But Osamu Tezuka? You are not getting what a toy driven show is. A toy driven show isnt SIMPLY "Sells Toys" because then every single anime would count. Heck every single kids show, anime or not. Creator Driven or not. I would say I think what you are trying to say isnt just "Toy Driven" but rather The creators dont give a damn about quality, just that the toys sell.


Osamu Tezuka created a broken system that treats animators like slaves, there is no more polite word for it, but he absolutely cared about quality and writing and didnt just shat out mediocre shit. There are episodes and I say there are even series that he would remove from circulation entirely because he was so driven by his perfectionism.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I am going to get so much flak for this, but the whole "Merch driven shows are shittier than shit" vibe really needs to die, sure Capitalism IS evil but so much merch driven stuff is of very high quality. Animation as a whole is a business that really needs a lot of funding, so Merch Driven shows are very much a necessary evil. You dont like unlikeable characters that dont develop, that dont grow? That's wholly on Toriyama the "Auteur". But you can find that in many merch driven shows characters make mistakes, learn, and do not forget what was learned. Characters go through an actual arc.

Sure this is to "SELL MORE TOIZ!!!!" and to give a sense of legitimacy. But to me unless the show is like DearS (Where the viewer is meant to learn the lesson Slavery of a sentient being is a kawaii desu ne thing.) I really dont see any evil.

Obviously, animation isn't cheap and there needs to be a way to fund it.
If I recall correctly, Osamu Tezuka overworked the people at his studio to the point some died and made his shows toy-driven because it was what was helping them fund his stories.

There are exceptions to this rule, Dragon Ball itself had a drastic genre shift early on to make the show more appealing to young boys by Toriyama's own word. My problem isn't when people want to make money off their creative vision, my problem is when their creative vision is limited to just "Make money doing whatever, because kids are stupid and will consume whatever" and we get some of the most generic, soulless, pointless stories fed to us.

A prime example of this is Digimon Adventure 2020, where the producers flat-out admitted they weren't interested in telling a good story, but rather, just showing cool fights and cool monsters that kids would mindlessly consume. Result: We got one of the worst Digimon seasons to date.

Oh god, Digimon Adventure 2020. That's an awful toy driven show. But Osamu Tezuka? You are not getting what a toy driven show is. A toy driven show isnt SIMPLY "Sells Toys" because then every single anime would count. Heck every single kids show, anime or not. Creator Driven or not. I would say I think what you are trying to say isnt just "Toy Driven" but rather The creators dont give a damn about quality, just that the toys sell.


Osamu Tezuka created a broken system that treats animators like slaves, there is no more polite word for it, but he absolutely cared about quality and writing and didnt just shat out mediocre shit. There are episodes and I say there are even series that he would remove from circulation entirely because he was so driven by his perfectionism.

[theherodjl]

Because it's about a bunch of cool, funny characters constantly getting into epic martial arts fights and getting stronger each time. I mean, who doesn't want to see Goku showoff his newest form where he defeats the latest villain with a massive laser beam, a giant ball of energy, or just punching through them??? It's worked for 40 years, why change a good thing?