How were you originally introduced to Dragonball?

Carrie · Post by **Carrie** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:58 am

This kind of topic has probably been beaten to death here, but I like hearing people's stories. How were you originally introduced to Dragonball? What were your first impressions, and how have they changed over the years?

I remember the very first scene I watched of Dragonball very, very, VERY vividly; not because it WAS DB, but because it was probably my first big "WTF" moment at 7 years old. It was when DB was airing waaaay early in the morning in the US, and my brother woke me up telling me I had to see this weird show he found. It was the episode where Goku takes Chi Chi to see Muten Roshi for his fan, and I remeber thinking, "Crap! Did she just throw an axe at that old man?! Oh wait, he's got a big band-aid on his head, he's fine." Which makes perfect sense when you're seven....

After that, I watched the first 13 episodes on tv like an addict, but never saw it again until it was broadcast on Cartoon Network, and only because I needed something to watch after Sailor Moon. And I will admit that it was a very long time before I put 2 and 2 together and realized this was the same show I watched so many years before.

And the rest is history, but Chi Chi still scares the bejeezus out of me.

Leotaku · Post by **Leotaku** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:40 am

That was when I first saw it too; around the mid 90s, when they were airing the first 13 DragonBall episodes on TV early in the morning.
I probably wouldn't have watched it myself, but my older brother was getting into anime at the time, and it influenced me to watch too. He said there was this anime called DragonBall that was going to be on, so I looked for it and started watching it on TV.

The first episode I saw was the one where Goku first fights Yamcha. I only caught the ending though.

aegoku · Post by **aegoku** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:36 am

I first saw Dragonball Z when it was in syndication. It was on before school, so I watched it a few times. This is around the time that Pokemon was starting to get big, so I wanted to watch anything anime. One of my earliest memories is getting a Vegeta action figure. I didn't know who he was at the time, but I knew that he looked cool.

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:08 pm

Years before FUNimation got DBZ they did the Pilaf saga of DB. It aired on YTV back when the only anime in North America were the '60s Speed Racer, the dub of Samurai Pizza Cats, and I think Ronin Warriors was just starting to debut on ABC. Back then, the only show FUNimation had the rights to without Saban's help was "Cyboars".

A few years later, FUNi 1 released season 1 of DBZ on YTV and shortly afterwards it got cancelled. At this point I was hooked. Then it got picked up by CN and YTV brought it back too. FUNi entered a weird exclusivity agreement with CN, so we got Ocean's dub of season 2. Saban dropped out, so CN and YTV began airing reruns of FUNi over and over again. FUNi finally got season 3 out, but again went into that odd exclusivity agreement with CN, so YTV turned to Ocean from then on.

Ironically, during that period in which YTV thought they'd get FUNi 2 at some time, I picked up Glenat's version of book 24, which was exactly where season 2 left off. I decided to get all books related to Z, and by the time the end of the Cell Games/25th budokai arc arrived, I changed my mind and started getting all the books. I never got any of FUNi's VHS since there were only 2-3 cut dub episodes per tape, costing a good $30 per tape.

Ex-Dubbie369 · Post by **Ex-Dubbie369** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:45 pm

My friend got me into the show right at the beginning of dub season 3. Because of this, I can't vividly remember how terrible the acting was and I fear ever watching those episodes of the dub again because I don't want t ruin my precious childhood memories.

SuperSaiyan3Goku · Post by **SuperSaiyan3Goku** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:48 pm

I originally saw it on Cartoon Network around '98 or '99, not sure when. My memory's not that clear, but I might have just saw previews of the show and just thought it was cool-looking, or I just stumbled upon it when I was switching through channels.

Either way, I love the show now better then I did 8-9 years ago.

Randio · Post by **Randio** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:45 pm

In 2001 I heard a few of my aquintances talking about this show called Dragonball Z. I was interested in what they were talking about and asked them to tell me more about the show. I then knew I HAD to see it, too bad we didn't have Cartoon Network in our village.

A few weeks later, I saw an episode of the Andoids Saga, when Piccolo was powering up to fight 17. I thought it was AWESOME, and I now really had to see it whenever I had the chance again.

I bought some DBZ magazines, learning about some of the earlier episodes, characters and Super Saiyans. Especially that last thing interested me.
A few weeks after that, I bought Movie 3, but it was labeled with a 1 (it was one of the 'UK Dub' movies) and there was a summary which said something about Son Goku's brother landing on earth and kidnapping Son Gohan. I immediatly thought of what I read about Raditz. Even though I was disappointed it wasn't the series, I enjoyed it.

I showed it to a few of my friends, who didn't understand it and found it boring.

In 2002, there was an anouncement on this network called Yorin. It seemed they had aquired the rights to broadcast some CN cartoons, including DBZ. You won't believe how happy I was after I saw that commercial.

Later, the same friends who thought the movie sucked, became almost as hooked to the series as I was. We even pretended to be DBZ characters in real life, we called each other by our character's names, I was Gohan and the one who pretended to be Goku even called me his son, pretty funny. It even went so far that they congrantulated me with my birthday when the episode of Gohan's birthday in the Cell Saga was on TV.

shenron002 · Post by **shenron002** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:49 pm

Years before FUNimation got DBZ they did the Pilaf saga of DB. It aired on YTV back when the only anime in North America were the '60s Speed Racer, the dub of Samurai Pizza Cats, and I think Ronin Warriors was just starting to debut on ABC. Back then, the only show FUNimation had the rights to without Saban's help was "Cyboars". Rolling Eyes

A few years later, FUNi 1 released season 1 of DBZ on YTV and shortly afterwards it got cancelled. At this point I was hooked. Then it got picked up by CN and YTV brought it back too. FUNi entered a weird exclusivity agreement with CN, so we got Ocean's dub of season 2. Saban dropped out, so CN and YTV began airing reruns of FUNi over and over again. FUNi finally got season 3 out, but again went into that odd exclusivity agreement with CN, so YTV turned to Ocean from then on.

Ironically, during that period in which YTV thought they'd get FUNi 2 at some time, I picked up Glenat's version of book 24, which was exactly where season 2 left off. I decided to get all books related to Z, and by the time the end of the Cell Games/25th budokai arc arrived, I changed my mind and started getting all the books. I never got any of FUNi's VHS since there were only 2-3 cut dub episodes per tape, costing a good $30 per tape.

That's the way I remember it to, Props to YTV Canada. I also remeber seeing DBZ on Teletoon, in October 1997, they played it back to back with Spawn.

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:27 pm

shenron002 wrote:
Years before FUNimation got DBZ they did the Pilaf saga of DB. It aired on YTV back when the only anime in North America were the '60s Speed Racer, the dub of Samurai Pizza Cats, and I think Ronin Warriors was just starting to debut on ABC. Back then, the only show FUNimation had the rights to without Saban's help was "Cyboars". Rolling Eyes

A few years later, FUNi 1 released season 1 of DBZ on YTV and shortly afterwards it got cancelled. At this point I was hooked. Then it got picked up by CN and YTV brought it back too. FUNi entered a weird exclusivity agreement with CN, so we got Ocean's dub of season 2. Saban dropped out, so CN and YTV began airing reruns of FUNi over and over again. FUNi finally got season 3 out, but again went into that odd exclusivity agreement with CN, so YTV turned to Ocean from then on.

Ironically, during that period in which YTV thought they'd get FUNi 2 at some time, I picked up Glenat's version of book 24, which was exactly where season 2 left off. I decided to get all books related to Z, and by the time the end of the Cell Games/25th budokai arc arrived, I changed my mind and started getting all the books. I never got any of FUNi's VHS since there were only 2-3 cut dub episodes per tape, costing a good $30 per tape.
That's the way I remember it to, Props to YTV Canada. I also remeber seeing DBZ on Teletoon, in October 1997, they played it back to back with Spawn.

I remember that! Teletoon had some really good stuff when it first started out: DBZ, Spawn, the Marvel '90s shows (I do believe they were the last Canadian channel to air the X-Men TAS)... Then they started making their own shows. Aside from Di-Gata and 6Teen, I wish their shows never caught on.

It's a shame they only had Saban's shows, however. Because of that, DBZ on Teletoon was doomed to fail from the start. Their French DBZ was fantastic though (for what it was). I've never been able to find their dubbing company. Any idea if it was the same inhouse group they used for their other French anime?

sailorspazz · Post by **sailorspazz** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:34 pm

First exposure was to Dragonball in 1996. It was playing super early in the morning (like, 5:30 AM) and my friend and I happened to be staying up really late one night so we caught an episode (I think it was the one where Oolong is introduced?) It was anime, so that made it instantly cool (back in the infancy of my otakudom when the only show I'd seen was Sailormoon), but I wasn't usually awake at that time, so I didn't continue watching (heh, I hadn't yet learned to program my VCR

)

A couple years later I found DBZ playing in sydication on Saturday mornings. They played 2 episodes each week at 10AM, and since that was a time I could manage to be awake by, I kept watching and got hooked (I think the first episode I saw was the one where Vegeta kills Dodoria, or somewhere around there since I got the instant impression that Vegeta was a total badass). However, the problem was that the station would keep looping through the Namek episodes and The Tree of Might movie over and over, so I never got to see the Saiyan saga at that time. Eventually, the episodes were cancelled, and I was a sad fangirl

So flash forward again to 1999. My cable provider updated which channels were available and I suddenly had Cartoon Network. I was watching one day and was suprised to see Gokuu fighting against Freeza. So I watched until the end of the Freeza saga, and then finally caught the Saiyan saga when they started reairing it after they completed running the Freeza saga. And then I was happy

LaRésistance · Post by **LaRésistance** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:51 pm

I was given the DB sticker album (http://www.comicsbdland.com/Divers/Pani ... n_ball.jpg) and started watching Dragon Ball soon aftewards (it was back in 88 or 89).

DaemonCorps · Post by **DaemonCorps** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:01 pm

I must have come across this topic at least three other times before this, but I do agree that hearing others' stories about how they got into the series is fun. Also, I'm sure each time I explain my "origin" to the series, i might add some new stuff in, so that's always a plus:

I got into the series near the end of the Cell Games. But way before that, my carpool at the time was really into the series and would always ask me if I watched it. My other friends would talk to him about the series, too. All I knew about the series then was that it was pretty violent in comparison to what 12 year olds were expected to watch. Because of that, I tended to steer clear of the show whenever I stumbled into it and only caught glimpses of whatever CN was airing at the time-- afternoon blocks of the Namek/Ginyu episodes. I vividly remember seeing Dende and being really surprised to hear such a small character say "Don't piss off the god of love!"

I also remember my carpool bringing in his taped episodes of the i-Channel airings of the uncut Cell Games. At one point he asked me if I could tape an episode for him that he missed taping on CN. The episode turns out to be the Vegeta vs. #18 fight and I remember flinching every time a punch was thrown.

As the series picked up more speed and more and more people got into the series, I figured I'd give it a try. I didn't start watching the series on a regular basis until it started airing premiere episodes of the Great Saiyaman Saga. Since those episodes were incredibly tame in comparison to the other episodes I remember seeing, I kept on watching and slowly got sucked into the series, become more and more desensitized to the violence and blood

. When the current "season" of the series stopped, I decided to pick up some VHS tapes of the next episodes that wouldn't air on TV for some time. I started at the episode after Vegeta dies against Buu and stopped sometime after the kids fuse into Gotenks as SSJ. Then I watched the rest of the episodes on i-Channel occasionally all the way through to the final episode of GT, occasionally watching the dubbed episodes as they continued airing on CN, too.

During the early parts of my fandom, I looked up episode summaries, pictures, etc. on Pojo's site, Beckett's DBZ magazine, and kept up with FUNi's releases via the Z-Store. I ran into daizex as well, but only checked stuff there once in a while.

I got out of the fandom once the series (both DB and DBZ) stopped airing on Toonami/CN. But once daizex started their podcasts, I got back into the series and well... here I am now.

theoriginalbilis · Post by **theoriginalbilis** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:03 pm

Discovered Dragon Ball at 6am Saturdays on Fox, watched most of the first 13 episodes. But it was when DBZ started airing on Toonami in 1997-1998 that I really got into it.

- Bilis

Bardock the Mexican · Post by **Bardock the Mexican** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:05 pm

There isn't very much to it, but it's a version of the story I have told. I got into Dragonball one day when I woke up to a guy's voice and a child's voice going back and forth about finding "una chica". I thought it was even weirder when this kid comes back to the old man with a HUGE woman. I thought "what is this crap?" and watched it. Around then of course the Dragonball was minorly censored (stuff like Goku's grabbing and patting people in thier nether-regions and the like). Of course the other bit of classic editing was the "Miiiillk" just rolling off Goku's tongue. In a way you could say I was lazy from not changing the chanel from when I had left it on. I was using it to help me fall asleep...somthing I sometimes still do. I am so surprised how this stuff just kind of comes out when this topic comes up.

Super 17 · Post by **Super 17** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:38 pm

Wow, I first watch it when Yamcha was fighting Tenshihan in the 22nd tenkaichi budoki in Mexico 1994. After that there reshowed all dragon ball like 4 times before Z came in early 1996.

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:27 pm

Early to Mid Namek Saga.
Which is why I'm so upset at Funi for redubbing certain characters for their box set release.

What originally caught my eye was how Goku wiped the floor with the Ginyu Force.

It was impressive.

shenron002 · Post by **shenron002** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:09 am

It's a shame they only had Saban's shows, however. Because of that, DBZ on Teletoon was doomed to fail from the start. Their French DBZ was fantastic though (for what it was). I've never been able to find their dubbing company. Any idea if it was the same inhouse group they used for their other French anime?

Uhmm... I'm not too for sure what dubbing company they used, but I remember watching an episode or two along with the French Sailor Moon, it could possibly be the same company that did the Smurfs for CBC. Maybe write a letter/email to Teletoon, I betcha they would know.

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:43 pm

shenron002 wrote:
It's a shame they only had Saban's shows, however. Because of that, DBZ on Teletoon was doomed to fail from the start. Their French DBZ was fantastic though (for what it was). I've never been able to find their dubbing company. Any idea if it was the same inhouse group they used for their other French anime?
Uhmm... I'm not too for sure what dubbing company they used, but I remember watching an episode or two along with the French Sailor Moon, it could possibly be the same company that did the Smurfs for CBC. Maybe write a letter/email to Teletoon, I betcha they would know.

Not necessary, now that I think of it: I know it was them since it was essentially a French version of Saban's instead of the world-renowned crappy French version of DBZ, and then season 3 was a French version of Ocean Group's version. In other words, they did an inhouse translation of Saban's dub, as they've done with many of their English dubs, and then turned to YTV for season 3.

Grandmaster J · Post by **Grandmaster J** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:15 pm

Telemundo and Toonami.

Maker777 · Post by **Maker777** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:30 am

The first Dragonball Z episode I saw was the last couple of minutes of an episode where you saw Vegeta (I saw this scene and I was like...HOLY CRAP THIS GUYS SWEET. Now I am big Vegeta Fan) and Nappa eating the inhabitants of some planet before coming to earth and from then I was hooked. I didn't see it any more until CheezTV was airing the Android Saga and stuff.