Hey anime fans, is the Dragon Ball series actually revered as a good anime?
- Thread starter Sean Hollyman
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Well, I don't dislike it, but I never thought it was that good. Personally I prefer things like Death Note and lovely complex though 
1. Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex (First Season only)
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3. Eureka Seven
4. The Menancholy Of Haruhi Susumiya
5. Trigun
6. Black Lagoon
7. Cowboy Beebop
8. Samuri Champloo
9. Afro Samuri
10. The Boondocks (I will fight anyone who says otherwise)
Probably Gurren Lagan too but to be honest, personally I didn't care for it. I got all the jokes and all that but it was a parody of the genera. Every single anime these days has the sentence "if this was an anime we'd..." and TBH I'm kind of sick of it. Those 8 break the mould as far as anime goes... with the exception of Eureka Seven, but the back up cast in that was so strong I could over look it. Revy in Black Lagoon takes the Tsundere archetype and beats it over the head with a stick.
Watch these and then you will know what good anime is. Personally I thought DBZ was over rated, but I think that was because I didn't like the way they didn't finish a story arc in an episode. But even looking back with my bias filter off (as best as possible) it was for the most part mindless Shonen.
As an addendum, watch Evangelion, even 25 and 26. If you know the back story behind those episodes then its actually really awesome what Hideaki decided to do with the limited budget he ended up having (and now with the new films we may actually see what he had actually intended). Even if you don't like it, if you want to get into anime you have to sit through it all. Eva has touched everything. You'll hear the phrase "Proof of existance" so often; that's Hideaki's influence.
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3. Eureka Seven
4. The Menancholy Of Haruhi Susumiya
5. Trigun
6. Black Lagoon
7. Cowboy Beebop
8. Samuri Champloo
9. Afro Samuri
10. The Boondocks (I will fight anyone who says otherwise)
Probably Gurren Lagan too but to be honest, personally I didn't care for it. I got all the jokes and all that but it was a parody of the genera. Every single anime these days has the sentence "if this was an anime we'd..." and TBH I'm kind of sick of it. Those 8 break the mould as far as anime goes... with the exception of Eureka Seven, but the back up cast in that was so strong I could over look it. Revy in Black Lagoon takes the Tsundere archetype and beats it over the head with a stick.
Watch these and then you will know what good anime is. Personally I thought DBZ was over rated, but I think that was because I didn't like the way they didn't finish a story arc in an episode. But even looking back with my bias filter off (as best as possible) it was for the most part mindless Shonen.
As an addendum, watch Evangelion, even 25 and 26. If you know the back story behind those episodes then its actually really awesome what Hideaki decided to do with the limited budget he ended up having (and now with the new films we may actually see what he had actually intended). Even if you don't like it, if you want to get into anime you have to sit through it all. Eva has touched everything. You'll hear the phrase "Proof of existance" so often; that's Hideaki's influence.
To partially quote my rival: DBZ is the Devil May Cry of anime, but with more screaming.
It's good if you're in the right mindset and it can be alot of fun to just sit through if you ever wanna watch it, but just make sure you're in the right mindset
Oh man, yikes. GT is an attrocious mess that should never have been green lit in my opinion and is utterly pointless in my opinion.
No seriously, Berserk needs more fans. Part of you may question my judgement for recommending the anime first before the manga but there is logic to this madness: Exposure to some of Susumu Hirasawa's music, particularly Forces. Much like Berserk, Susumu Hirasawa needs more fans.
It's good if you're in the right mindset and it can be alot of fun to just sit through if you ever wanna watch it, but just make sure you're in the right mindset
GT...BETTER!?BeeGeenie said:
Oh man, yikes. GT is an attrocious mess that should never have been green lit in my opinion and is utterly pointless in my opinion.
Or, Alternatively. Forget the silly psycho mech show, go watch this instead then go read the manga:Elect G-Max said:You need to watch better anime. I recommend:Sean Hollyman said:
No seriously, Berserk needs more fans. Part of you may question my judgement for recommending the anime first before the manga but there is logic to this madness: Exposure to some of Susumu Hirasawa's music, particularly Forces. Much like Berserk, Susumu Hirasawa needs more fans.
Toriyama was involved, he personally oversaw the production, or something.Syntax Error said:GT is the "Milk the Cash Cow, not-quite Franchise Killer" that turned Goku into a kid again, and Akira Toriyama was not involved in it.Hazy992 said:Well Dragon Ball is considered a genuinely good anime and one of the most influential. Dragon Ball Z however jumped the shark but in a good way. It's just ridiculous
It's one of the most ridiculous, OTT things I've ever seen and I love every minute of itDaystar Clarion said:Dragonball Z is one of those shows that's so bad, it's good
Also what's Dragon Ball GT? I've never heard of this before <_<
He also designed some of it, such as SSJ4, believe it or not.
Loved it to death^^
Watched it so many times everything is to predictable now, I can probably recall everything when i see 2 seconds of an episode
Going to wait till my memory fades me and watchin it again xD
Watched it so many times everything is to predictable now, I can probably recall everything when i see 2 seconds of an episode
Going to wait till my memory fades me and watchin it again xD
You know, I never understood the love for Gurren Lagann. It's not bad at all, but people worship it with such passion. Perhaps it's one of the gateway shows for the new generation? Like Dragonball Z, Trigun, Love Hina, Evangelion, Ranma 1/2, Cowboy Bebop, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, etc was for my generation?
Gurren sacrifices... well, it sacrifices its ability to be taken completely seriously by me. Sure, there's sad moments, and in proud, oldschool Gainax tradition, the ending is all fucked up and depressing as fuck, but by going for that oldschool 70s Super Robot, Burning Youth/Passion/Friendship thing (like the original Aquarion show, or Nadesico) it kind of creates a distance between you and the story. It's style over substance. Kind of like Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds. Sure, they're great movies, but it won't affect you the same way a Shawshank Redemption or a Grave of the Fireflies does. Perhaps it doesn't have to... I don't know.
As for Evangelion, complaining about the complicated, insane, or gibberish-filled story means you are kind of missing the point. Eva is in many ways a descent into madness, and the style in which the show was made helps the show to drag you down into that madness.
And Dragonball Z... I think it has pretty much been said already. Technically a good show? Probably not. But it's fun nonetheless, and for a vast majority of older anime fans it was one of those, if not THE gateway show that introduced this wonderful and horrid world of anime to us. You could perhaps compare it to Harry Potter, in how Harry Potter, being far from a perfect series of novels, introduced the love of reading to so many young people.
As far as new shows are concerned, I kind of agree with DJ66.
Moreoever, the reason most suggested "gateway" shows are so old, is because anime has changed a great deal. More and more, anime has become targeted at that small niche of japanese otaku that prefer fanservice and mind-numbing cliché over content and innovation. Because it's usually those crazy otaku that obsess over a certain female character's virginity, or perfectly-shaped bosom that spend the most money on the merchandise.
The same way mainstream western horror movies have slowly been gravitating towards "torture porn" the likes of Saw, Hostel, etc (which was almost exclusively the domain of exploitation horror), anime has been gravitating towards the grotesque forms of fanservice.
Ranma 1/2 had boobs and panties in every other frame, but the story didn't linger on them, it was usually mostly a comedic device. Anime nowadays almost exclusively focuses on the perverse.
One of the last shows I really really liked was Bakemonogatari, even though it had its fair share of loli, nudity, sexual innuendo, etc. At least it was done with some dignity, and when it sometimes strayed from that line, the witty dialogue was always there to keep our mind focused on the story, and not the luscious, rounded shapes of the female characters.
Its sequel, Nisemonogatari, I've only watched a few episodes, is already straying very far from that line, and even though the animation is gorgeous, and it's very sexy, I can't help but regret the direction it went (though I have never read the novels).
I won't go all oldfag and say anime is dead, but I sure miss the older shows.
PS: Naruto is cool lol?the manga anyway. Nothing wrong with brainless shounen fighting anime. And it's pretty much still an oldschool show.
Edit: Oh, btw. On the topic of Evangelion being copied to death; some of those copies are pretty damn amazing in their own right. Rahxephon, for example (early BONES). When watching Rahxephon, I'm hard-pressed to say Eva is better. The style, design, music, voice acting, atmosphere... in many ways it IS better than Eva (in others it's not). Even if the similarities between the stories are glaring, you don't really pay much attention to it while watching.
Gurren sacrifices... well, it sacrifices its ability to be taken completely seriously by me. Sure, there's sad moments, and in proud, oldschool Gainax tradition, the ending is all fucked up and depressing as fuck, but by going for that oldschool 70s Super Robot, Burning Youth/Passion/Friendship thing (like the original Aquarion show, or Nadesico) it kind of creates a distance between you and the story. It's style over substance. Kind of like Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds. Sure, they're great movies, but it won't affect you the same way a Shawshank Redemption or a Grave of the Fireflies does. Perhaps it doesn't have to... I don't know.
As for Evangelion, complaining about the complicated, insane, or gibberish-filled story means you are kind of missing the point. Eva is in many ways a descent into madness, and the style in which the show was made helps the show to drag you down into that madness.
And Dragonball Z... I think it has pretty much been said already. Technically a good show? Probably not. But it's fun nonetheless, and for a vast majority of older anime fans it was one of those, if not THE gateway show that introduced this wonderful and horrid world of anime to us. You could perhaps compare it to Harry Potter, in how Harry Potter, being far from a perfect series of novels, introduced the love of reading to so many young people.
As far as new shows are concerned, I kind of agree with DJ66.
Moreoever, the reason most suggested "gateway" shows are so old, is because anime has changed a great deal. More and more, anime has become targeted at that small niche of japanese otaku that prefer fanservice and mind-numbing cliché over content and innovation. Because it's usually those crazy otaku that obsess over a certain female character's virginity, or perfectly-shaped bosom that spend the most money on the merchandise.
The same way mainstream western horror movies have slowly been gravitating towards "torture porn" the likes of Saw, Hostel, etc (which was almost exclusively the domain of exploitation horror), anime has been gravitating towards the grotesque forms of fanservice.
Ranma 1/2 had boobs and panties in every other frame, but the story didn't linger on them, it was usually mostly a comedic device. Anime nowadays almost exclusively focuses on the perverse.
One of the last shows I really really liked was Bakemonogatari, even though it had its fair share of loli, nudity, sexual innuendo, etc. At least it was done with some dignity, and when it sometimes strayed from that line, the witty dialogue was always there to keep our mind focused on the story, and not the luscious, rounded shapes of the female characters.
Its sequel, Nisemonogatari, I've only watched a few episodes, is already straying very far from that line, and even though the animation is gorgeous, and it's very sexy, I can't help but regret the direction it went (though I have never read the novels).
I won't go all oldfag and say anime is dead, but I sure miss the older shows.
PS: Naruto is cool lol?the manga anyway. Nothing wrong with brainless shounen fighting anime. And it's pretty much still an oldschool show.
Edit: Oh, btw. On the topic of Evangelion being copied to death; some of those copies are pretty damn amazing in their own right. Rahxephon, for example (early BONES). When watching Rahxephon, I'm hard-pressed to say Eva is better. The style, design, music, voice acting, atmosphere... in many ways it IS better than Eva (in others it's not). Even if the similarities between the stories are glaring, you don't really pay much attention to it while watching.
I know I was joking. I'm pretending it doesn't exist because it sucksSyntax Error said:GT is the "Milk the Cash Cow, not-quite Franchise Killer" that turned Goku into a kid again, and Akira Toriyama was not involved in it.Hazy992 said:Well Dragon Ball is considered a genuinely good anime and one of the most influential. Dragon Ball Z however jumped the shark but in a good way. It's just ridiculous
It's one of the most ridiculous, OTT things I've ever seen and I love every minute of itDaystar Clarion said:Dragonball Z is one of those shows that's so bad, it's good
Also what's Dragon Ball GT? I've never heard of this before <_<
I personally don't like it. It was cool when I was little and liked the flashy lights and talky voices on the TV, but now it doesn't hold up for me. Of course my tastes have changed quite a bit since then and I prefer Shoujou anime opposed to Shounen so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.
Actually, if you want to get into Berserk in all types of media available, starting with the anime is the best route to go. That way, you'll have something GREAT to look forward to.Infernai said:
Heretic!evilneko said:
Purge the unclean!
But in all serious, a lot of the "anime" that makes it onto prime-time is really really shitty stuff but it has big explosions or a good hook.
I can recommend a handful of good stuff Gasorki, Noir, Eva (of course, but it's a mind trip), Bubblegum Crisis, Cowboy Bebop, a few others.
OH balls this! Berzerk does indeed need more fans! That an immortal Blade are pure awesome.Infernai said:To partially quote my rival: DBZ is the Devil May Cry of anime, but with more screaming.
It's good if you're in the right mindset and it can be alot of fun to just sit through if you ever wanna watch it, but just make sure you're in the right mindset
GT...BETTER!?BeeGeenie said:
Oh man, yikes. GT is an attrocious mess that should never have been green lit in my opinion and is utterly pointless in my opinion.
Or, Alternatively. Forget the silly psycho mech show, go watch this instead then go read the manga:Elect G-Max said:You need to watch better anime. I recommend:Sean Hollyman said:
No seriously, Berserk needs more fans. Part of you may question my judgement for recommending the anime first before the manga but there is logic to this madness: Exposure to some of Susumu Hirasawa's music, particularly Forces. Much like Berserk, Susumu Hirasawa needs more fans.
I think the DB series is considered a classic rather than a gold-standard for anime; just like you wouldn't criticise Citizen Kane for not being in colour, DB and DBZ get a lot of leeway in terms of quality because they were amongst the first global-hit animes. It's not so much nostalgia as it is respecting your elders.
Personally I don't think I could watch DBZ again, the Abridged series is the true DBZ to me, now.
Personally I don't think I could watch DBZ again, the Abridged series is the true DBZ to me, now.
Removing the nostalgia goggles, no, I can't say it is. It's your standard Shonen anime which doesn't really appeal to me anymore, but I can see why I liked it as a kid.
Right now I'm about halfway through Samurai Champloo and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Both excellent in completely different ways. Oddly enough, all my favorites are only one or two seasons long. Stories should know when to end.
Right now I'm about halfway through Samurai Champloo and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Both excellent in completely different ways. Oddly enough, all my favorites are only one or two seasons long. Stories should know when to end.
i love dragon ball z...for nostalgia. if i hadnt watched in in high school (as the second anime id ever watched, the first being pokemon) and was watching it now, for the first time, i doubt i would make it past episode 1. is stupid, cheesy, and the most repetitive thing ive ever watched...but i love it!
i learned that the hard way, by watching inuyasha (silly me, i expected a story to have an ending). its rare for me to watch an anime with more than 26 episodes now. thats the perfect amount of time to tell your story without having to cut out too much or resort to fillerWouldYouKindly said: