Hey Gaf! First thread so be gentle.
Largely as a result of hype for the upcoming Dragon Ball Fighters Z I decided to attempt watch all of the original Dragon Ball and Z before the release of the game early next year. I wanted to know who the characters are and what the backstory is so I can geek out more when the game drops.
Im a bit of a completionist so went right back to the start of the original series and have been working my way through over the last few months. I thought Id share some thoughts as getting into such a sprawling series can seem a bit daunting. I know Gaf has a lot of Dragon Ball / Z fans but hope a newcomers perspective is interesting.
Growing up in the UK, in the 80s and 90s I was mainly aware of Dragon Ball though games magazines as there was no way to easily watch it it may have been on satellite TV but Id never seen it. There was also a Japanese kid in my school who would bring some of his manga in his English wasnt so good and I couldnt read Japanese so Id just make up what they were saying. So Ive kind of had this made up version of what it was about going on in my head since the 90s. I thought Trunks was super cool because of his haircut and sword. That was all a long time ago though and I approached the original show tentatively as a 38 year old.
Firstly, I was surprised just how funny the show is some really great laughs, with Goku, Oolong and Krillin all bringing comedy. Master Roshi is hilarious as well (with some caveats ).
I love pretty much all the characters, and Goku is just great. Such a goofy doofus, always positive, brave and keen to do the right thing. Also, after 110 episodes Goku is still a kid, which is crazy as you dont really see him pictured that way much these days and I was expecting the adult Goku Id seen to show up after maybe eight episodes.
The production values are a really fascinating mixed bag. You can see where theyve had to stretch content out to fill the run time and theres quite a lot of reused material and filler. On the other hand, the animation itself is a lot better than I thought it would be and the fights in particular are fantastic. Ive been watching the dubbed version and the voice actors really sell their roles. I can just picture Roshis actor doing his pervy panting or Gokus endless chuckles and it makes me smile.
The music is also great, with a number of catchy tunes and that theme tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT1Dp69D7q0
Gets me hyped as hell and happy every time. Ive checked out DBZs intro and it just doesnt compare.
In terms of the story, the show is definitely picking up. While I loved the opening 20 episodes and the first martial arts tournament, the Red Ribbon Army arc dragged a bit, though the finale was pretty great.
Im just finishing the King Piccolo arc and the show is becoming closer to what Id imagined Dragon Ball would be. Lots of flying, screaming, energy blasts etc. Its funny that the show starts out vaguely grounded with only a select few able to use crazy techniques and the power on display just keeps increasing. Everyone can pretty much fly/turn invisible/destroy the moon at this point so Im wondering how theyll keep topping themselves.
I had an idea that it would be kind of a kids show, but its really violent on occasion and some of the humour is not kid friendly.
On that front theres definitely some stuff in the show thats a bit problematic these days Roshis perversion and the resulting portrayal of some of the female characters, and the way they draw black characters are some of the obvious issues. Im putting it down to a combination of the time it was made and the Japanese perspective. Its not affecting my enjoyment but it might put some people off.
Anyway Gaf, Im loving it, though 300 episodes of DBZ is looking like a lot to get through by January. Wish Id had it growing up but I think Id probably have been obsessed with it if I had.
As a final note, I was watching the martial arts tournament arc as I was about to do a BJJ competition. I had really bad anxiety and some of the lessons Goku and Krillin got as they competed (its putting yourself out there not winning, testing yourself etc) really helped me.
What do you think about this joyous little show? How old were you when you first watched it? Any advice for a newbie?
Largely as a result of hype for the upcoming Dragon Ball Fighters Z I decided to attempt watch all of the original Dragon Ball and Z before the release of the game early next year. I wanted to know who the characters are and what the backstory is so I can geek out more when the game drops.
Im a bit of a completionist so went right back to the start of the original series and have been working my way through over the last few months. I thought Id share some thoughts as getting into such a sprawling series can seem a bit daunting. I know Gaf has a lot of Dragon Ball / Z fans but hope a newcomers perspective is interesting.
Growing up in the UK, in the 80s and 90s I was mainly aware of Dragon Ball though games magazines as there was no way to easily watch it it may have been on satellite TV but Id never seen it. There was also a Japanese kid in my school who would bring some of his manga in his English wasnt so good and I couldnt read Japanese so Id just make up what they were saying. So Ive kind of had this made up version of what it was about going on in my head since the 90s. I thought Trunks was super cool because of his haircut and sword. That was all a long time ago though and I approached the original show tentatively as a 38 year old.
Firstly, I was surprised just how funny the show is some really great laughs, with Goku, Oolong and Krillin all bringing comedy. Master Roshi is hilarious as well (with some caveats ).
I love pretty much all the characters, and Goku is just great. Such a goofy doofus, always positive, brave and keen to do the right thing. Also, after 110 episodes Goku is still a kid, which is crazy as you dont really see him pictured that way much these days and I was expecting the adult Goku Id seen to show up after maybe eight episodes.
The production values are a really fascinating mixed bag. You can see where theyve had to stretch content out to fill the run time and theres quite a lot of reused material and filler. On the other hand, the animation itself is a lot better than I thought it would be and the fights in particular are fantastic. Ive been watching the dubbed version and the voice actors really sell their roles. I can just picture Roshis actor doing his pervy panting or Gokus endless chuckles and it makes me smile.
The music is also great, with a number of catchy tunes and that theme tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT1Dp69D7q0
Gets me hyped as hell and happy every time. Ive checked out DBZs intro and it just doesnt compare.
In terms of the story, the show is definitely picking up. While I loved the opening 20 episodes and the first martial arts tournament, the Red Ribbon Army arc dragged a bit, though the finale was pretty great.
Im just finishing the King Piccolo arc and the show is becoming closer to what Id imagined Dragon Ball would be. Lots of flying, screaming, energy blasts etc. Its funny that the show starts out vaguely grounded with only a select few able to use crazy techniques and the power on display just keeps increasing. Everyone can pretty much fly/turn invisible/destroy the moon at this point so Im wondering how theyll keep topping themselves.
I had an idea that it would be kind of a kids show, but its really violent on occasion and some of the humour is not kid friendly.
On that front theres definitely some stuff in the show thats a bit problematic these days Roshis perversion and the resulting portrayal of some of the female characters, and the way they draw black characters are some of the obvious issues. Im putting it down to a combination of the time it was made and the Japanese perspective. Its not affecting my enjoyment but it might put some people off.
Anyway Gaf, Im loving it, though 300 episodes of DBZ is looking like a lot to get through by January. Wish Id had it growing up but I think Id probably have been obsessed with it if I had.
As a final note, I was watching the martial arts tournament arc as I was about to do a BJJ competition. I had really bad anxiety and some of the lessons Goku and Krillin got as they competed (its putting yourself out there not winning, testing yourself etc) really helped me.
What do you think about this joyous little show? How old were you when you first watched it? Any advice for a newbie?
