How popular is dragon ball z

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

Dragon Ball Z was a revelation to 14-year-old me. Gone was the slapstick silliness of most children's cartoons, in were sprawling sagas full of drama, character development, and overblown fight scenes in which planets were destroyed by colorful heroes; and villains were as dedicated to hurting each other as they were to excruciatingly long pre-fight dialogue.

Although the original Dragon Ball was broadcast in Japan back in 1989, before making its way to western audiences via Cartoon Network and its spin-off channel Toonami in the late-1990s and early-2000s, its popularity has never faded. If anything, the fandom has grown, despite there being a 12-year absence of new episodes between the end of Dragon Ball GT in 1997 and the start of Dragon Ball Z Kai in 2009.

'Dragon Ball Z' fan Morgan

With the release of the new film Dragon Ball Super: Broly this month, the franchise looks set to attract an ever wider audience. What's strange is that—as we literally just established—a huge fanbase has existed for years, and while there have been 20 animated DBZ movies released since 1986, this is only the second to get a UK showing. So why did the powers-that-be decide to treat British audiences to a theater release of Broly?

"Because a shit-ton of fans demanded it," explains Jerome Mazandarani, COO of anime production giants Manga UK. "We discovered with the previous release, Resurrection F [2015], that the DBZ fanbase in the UK transcends normal anime fandom and is a multigenerational phenomenon. Outside of Studio Ghibli and Your Name, DBZ is the biggest anime movie franchise in the UK."

'Dragon Ball Z' fans Abigail and Chris

At a special screening for fans in London's Leicester Square, that multigenerational audience is clear to see. The fans lining up outside are more diverse in terms of age and ethnicity than I've seen among any other major cult following. Noticeably, though, that diversity doesn't stretch to gender: the fans are very much mostly men.

"I've been a Dragon Ball Z fan since I was 15, and I'm 33 now, so it's been the most influential thing in my life," says one fan, Winston. "Dragon Ball Z isn't my favorite anime—it's beyond that. It's my life story. It's beyond TV shows, beyond anime—it is what I do with my life. I got my pay rise just so I can buy more Dragon Ball Z stuff. Whenever there's a convention or [a chance to meet the voiceover actors], I just study really hard, put in the work and make sure I can get there. My next plan is to buy a house so I can fill it with Dragon Ball Z memorabilia."

I'd already been exposed to some manga and anime before being turned on to Dragon Ball Z, but for many of the fans here, it seems their dedication stems from the fact that DBZ was their gateway into this world.

"We were watching it from a young age, [on] Cartoon Network, before Toonami was even a thing," says Shakeel, from London. "We were, like, five or six when we first saw it, and the fight scenes just blew our minds. We'd watch Dragon Ball Z from, like, 12 AM all the way through to 12 PM, all day."

"It was the first anime we ever watched—it was the OG anime," adds his brother Kameel, whose arm is covered in anime tattoos. "If it wasn’t for Dragon Ball Z, I don't think anyone in the western world would even be into anime, at least the way they are now."

The author (left) kamehameha-ing

This is a sentiment repeated regularly over the course of the night: "I got into anime after watching Dragon Ball Z on Cartoon Network, and it changed my life." But for the majority of fans, that initial exposure happened a decade ago. Why is the franchise's fandom still as enthusiastic as ever?

"I think illegal streaming, [anime streaming site] Crunchyroll and Netflix have taken anime mainstream, which in turn has turned local television broadcasters back onto the medium in a bid to attract tweens, teens, and millennials to their channels," says Jerome Mazandarani. "Dragon Ball is the Iron Maiden of anime because its fans are multi-generational. You'd have an old gray metal dude in a denim jacket covered in heavy metal badges attending the gig with another, younger middle-aged metal dude in the same attire, and beside them would be a tween metal dude in matching paraphernalia. Dragon Ball is the same to me: We see dads and sons at Comic Cons all the time; it's been passed on organically over time through family and friends."

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Even 35 years later, the saga continues more alive than ever. Photo: YT-Best Movies

LatinAmerican Post | Ariel Cipolla

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When talking about anime is inevitably referring to one of the most popular in all of history: Dragon Ball. It is 35 years since its first broadcast in Japan , as this television adaptation of the manga was a milestone in the history of animations.

The truth is that, even 35 years later, the saga continues more alive than ever. This phenomenon seems to be inexplicable, especially if we consider that, unlike other anime that tend to be much more niche or that are never consumed outside of Japan, the Dragon Ball saga allowed us to break the stigma of Japanese animation .

There are people who do not even watch anime, but they know and even like the saga of Goku and his friends. This can be seen, particularly, in the wide reception it had in Latin America, since it was the story that formed a whole generation of young people and that shows no signs of exhaustion, since a continuation of the saga is expected in the future. Let's see the keys to the success of Dragon Ball.

The success of Dragon Ball

The first thing to say is that we are not measuring the quality of the product itself, but its reception outside the Japanese territory, which is much more used to this type of series. In this sense, just mention the word "anime" and see what is the first name that comes to mind of any person, almost inevitably, the Dragon Ball saga will be the first to come out of most people's mouths.

Precisely, an investigation carried out by the NRC reveals that, although it is very popular in Japan, it does not have the same reception as in other territories , such as Latin America, where it still remains the main exponent of Japanese animation culture. Therefore, you have to understand the reasons for its success.

One of the first questions has to do with its own narrative structure, which is friendly for everyone, even those who do not love anime. From the first moment, we are introduced to a very charismatic character, who had abilities that were not from that planet. That is to say, a whole mysticism was formed around Goku's own history and everything that could arise around him.

In other words, a "classic tale" was told, with the typical hero's journey, to which comic and supernatural elements were added (such as the famous dragon balls), where the fights became essential to reflect the spirit of the series. This makes, at first, the rivals of Goku and his friends quite simple, but, often as the adventure extends, new heroes and increasingly powerful villains arrive.

It is inevitable to feel identified with Goku, but also the cast of secondary characters is completely essential, regardless of the saga in which we find ourselves. That is precisely another of its key points: the possibility of expanding the adventures, not only without losing quality, but also improving it.

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Despite at first the initial adventure of Dragon Ball could be a bit childish, a much more serious and better step is taken for Dragon Ball Z, where we will meet Goku as an adult. That is, unlike what happens with other animation series, where the first periods are the best , here the passage from one period to another generated an advance in the plots and enriched the narrative universe of the series, with themes and much more serious motivations.

For this reason, little by little we are growing with these characters and the component of nostalgia emerges. Thus, we discover that the innocent little Goku has a son and a wife . Even the dramatic moments also become more and more serious. We cannot fail to mention the first death of Krillin , one of the most iconic events of the saga, which also allowed Goku to transform into a super-saiyan.

At the same time, these changes of power that allowed the characters to advance and not remain stagnant, meant the expansion of the franchise itself. As the transformations existed, more and more powerful enemies would appear, which would mean that the danger would be greater and greater and, over time, Dragon Ball Z would acquire an increasingly serious tone .

For example, from HobbyConsolas they mention that the 3 sagas of Dragon Ball Z are "almost perfect" and generated the attention of all viewers. That is, although at first Dragon Ball was already interesting, with the passage of time it was perfecting itself, to the point of leaving the bar extremely high for the products that follow.

Therefore, even today, everyone awaits the continuation of Dragon Ball Super, the official saga that continues the story of Z (after the story of the controversial Dragon Ball GT was erased from the official story), which, according to mentions CinemasComics, it could happen by 2022 . What is clear is that, even 35 years later, Dragon Ball is still the most loved anime, even for those who are not fans of this cartoon style.