Your opinions of DragonBall overall?

JBoogie · Post by **JBoogie** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:36 pm

What do you think were the ups and downs of DragonBall(Z/GT), manga or anime? What do you think were the best and worst parts in terms of story, fights, characterization, etc. Where do you think the series excelled and lagged the most? What would you change about the series if you could? What do you think Akira Toriyama could have done better?

Sorry if my questions are redundant

LeprikanGT · Post by **LeprikanGT** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:37 pm

Akira could have stayed on and drew GT so it would look the same as the other two. I would have liked to see either more sagas or more movies.

In general, i want WAY more DB/Z/GT becuase it is the best animated show in history [to me].

Raki · Post by **Raki** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:42 pm

I'm starting to like the manga more than the anime.

LeprikanGT · Post by **LeprikanGT** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:44 pm

I like the colors and the not reading aspect...plus I've seen the show so itd be slightly redundant for me to read it. But I would like to own the two manga boxsets, for the boxes/murals lol

Super Ghost Kamikaze · Post by **Super Ghost Kamikaze** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:45 pm

The best stuff is early on. I can't help but grin with fanboy glee whenever young Goku is flying around on Kinto'un. The best example of this is in the anime, the part where Goku's heading off Kame House to get training after the first wish of the series.

SatoSky · Post by **SatoSky** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:45 pm

LeprikanGT wrote:Akira

And here we go.

JBoogie · Post by **JBoogie** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:46 pm

Raki wrote:I'm starting to like the manga more than the anime.

Off topic, maybe?

LeprikanGT · Post by **LeprikanGT** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:48 pm

@Sato:

Just didnt feel like typing out the whole name.

Mystic · Post by **Mystic** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:50 pm

Sadly, I haven't really read much of the manga. I started collecting Shonen Jump a while back, when they were still releasing them "unedited" I read up till the Cell Saga, I think. Then I just stopped collecting 'em when I found out that they were releasing them edited, mainly "One Piece" but, it still made me mad.

Dragonball is the reason i'm into Anime right now. It's my first anime...you can call it my first love, really. And it's never going to change the fact that it's the best anime in the world too me. It'll never get old, ever.

The Dragonball World, It's Characters, the Villians, It's Heroes....it still till this day, amazes me to no end.

In closing, DRAGONBALL is what makes me a fan of DRAGONBALL.

Bussani · Post by **Bussani** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:52 pm

LeprikanGT wrote:I like the colors and the not reading aspect...plus I've seen the show so itd be slightly redundant for me to read it. But I would like to own the two manga boxsets, for the boxes/murals lol

It's good to read it just to see which parts were filler and which parts weren't. If you ask me, the manga makes a lot more sense most of the time.

Sprite Satan · Post by **Sprite Satan** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:02 pm

Honestly, I find the manga reads a little too fast for my tastes these days. It wouldn't have felt that way if I had to wait week by week for each chapter, but seeing as I just got a bunch of volumes at the same time, it just flies by.

As a whole, I find Dragon Ball to be sheer lunacy that just manages to combine the right ingredients to be something special. With a little less care, it could easily have been something incredibly lame.

NeptuneKai · Post by **NeptuneKai** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:03 pm

I think Dragonball is a mixed bag. Story wise I think it was getting redundant by the Cell arc. The Buu saga was fun n' all but I just hated the story. It was clear Toriyama was just pulling things out of his ass by the time the fusion ordeal started. "Oh hey the last two warriors are two kids about the same height and power!? Well golly gosh aint that a coincidence I learned this ultimate super cool technique that can save us all... that just happens to fit this situation perfectly!"

Not to mention I really had to roll my eyes at Super Saiyajin 3. It looked stupid and was entirely unnecessary. By the Buu saga Super Saiyajin turned from an incredible legend of a form that amazed all to "LAWL HAI MY 8 YEAR OLD BROTHER WENT SUPER SAYAJIN BY ACCIDENT THIS MORNING!"

You can imagine my exasperation when they pulled out the fucking earings as another way to fuse magically and have the advantage. At this point it was just starting to become a bad fanfiction. "Once you put these earings on you'll NEVER unfuse...NEVER....EVER EVER UNFUSE...Oh wait somehow you unfused when you were absorbed by Buu?"

We had to watch an old purple god dance around Gohan for how many episodes just so he could be absorbed pathetically after a short fight? Not to mention how many forms did Buu need? I sincerely felt that Buu was going to be around forever in between his 7 odd forms and constant regeneration (it was the same exasperation I felt when Cell popped back into existence after Goku's noble sacrifice.)

The ending...well it just sucked. Yeah Goku ran away from his friends and family after a very long period of time to go train an Indian boy he just met at the tournament. On the plus side the Buu saga had the best animation in its anime adaption. It seemed to move at a much better pace then the rest of the show and it wasn't nearly so heavy on the "let's sit around and stare at each other while we watch a mountain slowly crumble in the background" stuff.

Which is another issue I have with the show, the anime just isn't good.
It's so full of uninteresting filler that you are forced to sit through to see the canon material. I'm not even talking about the "BULMA'S BIG DAY" type of filler or "Chi Chi's crazy "b" story!" (although those are issues) I'm talking about the times where hero A stares silently at villain B, then we cut to a crumbling mountain, then maybe a violent river. Then we watch dark clouds roll in. Then more glaring into each others eyes. Then we cut to the agape mouths of random humans 26, 27 and 64! etc. etc. It's like the camera decides to focus on everything but the fight.

Those are my only real complaints. I really do enjoy the manga and the story overall (obviously).

SatoSky · Post by **SatoSky** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:00 am

LeprikanGT wrote:@Sato:

Just didnt feel like typing out the whole name.

Sometimes people get a little peeved when they refer to Mr. Toriyama only as Akira. Not sure why, I believe it has something to do with Japanese culture. Anyway, enough off-topicness from me.

LeprikanGT · Post by **LeprikanGT** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:07 am

Akira is just easier to type than Toriyama or both.

Bussani · Post by **Bussani** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:11 am

It's impolite to call someone you're not on familiar terms with by just their first name in most countries, not just Japan.

NeptuneKai · Post by **NeptuneKai** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:19 am

Bussani wrote:It's impolite to call someone you're not on familiar terms with by just their first name in most countries, not just Japan.

Yeah pretty much this, I wouldn't go to your house and call your mother by her first name personally.

Mr. Announcer · Post by **Mr. Announcer** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:22 am

Love Dragonball to death. It has it's flaws, but the good things about it are REALLY good.

I love the way the story follows the growth of the characters, getting you really attached to them and intensely interested in what befalls them. The get older, surpass their masters, start families...

I love Toriyama's sense of humor, seriously, A man commands an entire ruthless army to obtain the Dragonballs at any cost just for an upgrade in height.

I love the art!!! Obviously referring to the manga here. It's extremely expressive and the character and setting designs are so varied and intriguing.

And of course, the fighting. The bizarre training methods, Gokuh's timely arrivals to totally own minor enemies, and the mind bogglingly ridiculous levels of power they eventually reach.

Basically, I think that Toriyama is an extremely solid storyteller with untold amounts of creativity however...

Well, let's face it, the series did get a little repetitive and the villains became increasingly less compelling, sort of just put in place so that they'd have someone to fight against.

The side characters we had grown to love weren't given a whole lot of attention later in the series and the saiyajins hogged all the glory. I didn't really find the later levels of Super Saiyajin all that captivating either.

The anime had some pretty painful filler, all I'm gonna say is "Garlic Jr."

If I had to change anything, I would probably delve more into character interactions and developments. I know Toriyama is very plot oriented and it really gives Dragonball a lot of momentum, but I always felt like we were missing out a bit on the relationships between the characters by pushing things forward so quickly.

Still, it's like the best thing ever.

Innagadadavida · Post by **Innagadadavida** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:09 am

Mr. Announcer wrote:If I had to change anything, I would probably delve more into character interactions and developments. I know Toriyama is very plot oriented and it really gives Dragonball a lot of momentum, but I always felt like we were missing out a bit on the relationships between the characters by pushing things forward so quickly.

No kidding. Like time skips.

I would have liked to see more of the budding romance between Vegeta and Bulma. More of how it happened rather than, "I had a dream where I kissed Vegeta," then "Here let me nurse you back to health," then "Meet Trunks."

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:17 am

Innagadadavida wrote:I would have liked to see more of the budding romance between Vegeta and Bulma.

There wasn't one.

NeptuneKai · Post by **NeptuneKai** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:32 am

Rocketman wrote:
Innagadadavida wrote:I would have liked to see more of the budding romance between Vegeta and Bulma.
There wasn't one.

I'm inclined to believe this. Horny Bulma meets horny Vegeta they have a one night stand and a little accident is born.