The Dragonballs, should I watch them?

[Dimitriov]

Hmmm. Hard to say. Dragonball ended up having the best fight scenes in any shonen style series ever, period. I think the best thing to do is break it up.

Dragonball: A lighthearted adventure series, like Onepiece. It has action, but the focus is on the humor and sense of adventure. Dragonball is a little more story driven. If that sounds good to you, then definitely watch it. That said, it lacks the over the top action your probably expecting. You can skip this without any trouble, but it is neat to watch the protagonist grow up.

Spoiler

Dragonball Z: Fucking metal. This series, at its best moments, is like an adrenaline shot to the arm. The fights are phenomenal and epic on a scale I've never seen. If you watch it with the English voices and soundtrack then it's an incredible experience. Avoid the Japanese dub, it's cancer. They had elderly women voicing large, adult men. That said, DBZ lacks the sense of whimsy and adventure that Dragonball had. It's less plot heavy, and more action oriented. Fights drag on for dozens of episodes at a time, and there's a lot more filler. Ultimately I would say it has higher highs and lower lows. Still worth watching if you want a large, epic fighting series. The Frieza and Cell saga finale's gave me chills. I would say the whole series is worth it just for those two moments.

Spoiler

There's a slight change in tone

Just remember. Don't watch the Japanese dub, don't watch it with the atrocious Japanese soundtrack, and don't watch the remake, Dragonball Kai. Just watch it in the original English dub.

No. No no no no. Just no. The English dub is fucking atrocious. It's like it was rewritten by a retarded twelve year old.

"Ally to good! Nightmare to you!" Ugh. Watch the original Japanese it is so much better. So Goku has a high voice, so what? It suits him and the writing is much better and so are the characters.

 

[Spider RedNight]

Oh man, and the dub/sub war is just around the corner! *grabs popcorn just in case*

Also I'm one of those losers who watches something just because of actors and/or voice actors that I like so the only part of Dragonball anything I watched (other than the spare episode of Kai when it was on the Nicktoons channel) was the Cell saga because I'm a slut for Dameon Clarke. I DID watch a better portion of the Abridged series though and I will say that it was very funny despite me not knowing what the hell they were talking about.

Did I enjoy the actual show I watched, "The Cell Saga" as it's called? errrrrno. No, can't say that I did. Would you enjoy it given your interest in other shows? Most likely as it does share a lot of tropes with One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, etc.

Despite not being a fan, I also agree that you should start with DragonBall first and go from there. Start at the beginning and get to the buildup that is the other series.

Also watch it in whichever language you prefer. Seriously, that just depends on what your preference is. The ONLY show I tell people to explicitly watch in its original language is Wakfu because that dub is just.... not good. (which is what people say about all English dubs but I digress)

What were we talking about? Ohhhh right, Dragonball.

 

[ThatOtherGirl]

Ok, db is worth watching, yes. But understand it has problems. Do not go in expecting anything as consistently good as One Punch Man, but DB has some magnificent high points.

Once you are finished (or you give it up) go watch DBZ abridged by Team Four Star. It is really, really good.

 

[Fox12]

snip

The Japanese Dub is typically much better then the english one. But for DBZ? Not at all. It's probably the single worst Japanese dub I've ever heard in any series, by far. It's filled with baffling decisions and incompetent director decisions. There are scenes that are embarrassingly funny at best, and unwatchable at worst.

The soundtrack is similarly awful. In English it sounded like they tailored each song to the scene its in. There were beautiful tracts, peaceful tracts, sad tracts, and action packed tracks. Those songs were then chosen to carefully fit the scene. The Japanese track sounded like they just recorded bland, uninspired sheet music and ran it over the episode without any thought.

The English Dub is just as good as the Japanese one. This isn't Neon Genesis, where you have to hang on to every word. It's a series about guys punching each other so hard that the planet explodes. The English dub improves upon the show in every conceivable way.

 

[Asita]

Dragonball is one of those things that you probably should watch if for no other reason than to appreciate how influential it has been. Much like Citizen Kane, Star Wars, Seven Samurai, Seinfeld, and Gundam, Dragonball helped to set a new standard for its niche. It both inspired a great deal of more modern productions (You know the big three of Shonen? Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece? They all cite Dragonball as a major influence) and ended up codifying a lot of conventions for its genre.

For which to watch: Dragonball, and Dragonball Z Kai[footnote]Kai over the original because Kai has much better pacing. English dub recommended over Japanese because Kai's dub is vastly superior to its predecessor, and Goku's Japanese voice is...well jarring to say the least.[/footnote]. Anything after that is supplemental.

 

[Dimitriov]

snip

The Japanese Dub is typically much better then the english one. But for DBZ? Not at all. It's probably the single worst Japanese dub I've ever heard in any series, by far. It's filled with baffling decisions and incompetent director decisions. There are scenes that are embarrassingly funny at best, and unwatchable at worst.

The soundtrack is similarly awful. In English it sounded like they tailored each song to the scene its in. There were beautiful tracts, peaceful tracts, sad tracts, and action packed tracks. Those songs were then chosen to carefully fit the scene. The Japanese track sounded like they just recorded bland, uninspired sheet music and ran it over the episode without any thought.

The English Dub is just as good as the Japanese one. This isn't Neon Genesis, where you have to hang on to every word. It's a series about guys punching each other so hard that the planet explodes. The English dub improves upon the show in every conceivable way.

I disagree completely. But I understand neither of us is likely to convince the other. For what it's worth I grew up with the English dub on tv and came to despise it later, so it's not a question of nostalgia.

However, I would invite you to watch the scene with Vegeta dying on Namek in both dubs back to back. It reveals very different things about the characters of Goku and Vegeta in the original. There are a number of scenes like that throughout the series where the dub makes a shocking difference in my opinion. Certainly in the magnificent fight scenes it doesn't really matter what is being said so much.

PS edit: I would maintain that in English it is just a show about guys punching really hard. But in the original it manages to be a bit more than that. Goku is neither as simple nor as good (though he certainly is a good guy) as he seems in the english version.

 

[Fox12]

snip

The Japanese Dub is typically much better then the english one. But for DBZ? Not at all. It's probably the single worst Japanese dub I've ever heard in any series, by far. It's filled with baffling decisions and incompetent director decisions. There are scenes that are embarrassingly funny at best, and unwatchable at worst.

The soundtrack is similarly awful. In English it sounded like they tailored each song to the scene its in. There were beautiful tracts, peaceful tracts, sad tracts, and action packed tracks. Those songs were then chosen to carefully fit the scene. The Japanese track sounded like they just recorded bland, uninspired sheet music and ran it over the episode without any thought.

The English Dub is just as good as the Japanese one. This isn't Neon Genesis, where you have to hang on to every word. It's a series about guys punching each other so hard that the planet explodes. The English dub improves upon the show in every conceivable way.

I disagree completely. But I understand neither of us is likely to convince the other. For what it's worth I grew up with the English dub on tv and came to despise it later, so it's not a question of nostalgia.

However, I would invite you to watch the scene with Vegeta dying on Namek in both dubs back to back. It reveals very different things about the characters of Goku and Vegeta in the original. There are a number of scenes like that throughout the series where the dub makes a shocking difference in my opinion. Certainly in the magnificent fight scenes it doesn't really matter what is being said so much.

PS edit: I would maintain that in English it is just a show about guys punching really hard. But in the original it manages to be a bit more than that. Goku is neither as simple nor as good (though he certainly is a good guy) as he seems in the english version.

Fair enough. The sub vs dub debate is unending, after all. The OP is probably better off watching whichever he's more comfortable with.

I'll never budge on Bruce falconer, though. His music was amazing. Thankfully the DVD lets you switch both the music and voices : P

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Just remember. Don't watch the Japanese dub, don't watch it with the atrocious Japanese soundtrack, and don't watch the remake, Dragonball Kai. Just watch it in the original English dub.

couldn't recommend this enough. I'm usually a guy who is perfectly fine with sub's, hell even prefer it a good chunk of the time, but dear god dragonball z in japanese is painful, these over powered ripped as fuck grown men have the voices of 80 lb female japanese teen girls, it's immersion breaking to say the least.

 

[Saltyk]

So, it's no secret that I am a huge Dragon Ball fan. Probably one of the biggest fans on the site. So take what I say with a grain of salt, if you wish.

Dragon Ball is one of the seminal anime. You almost have to watch it as an anime fan. All other Shonen anime are heavily influenced by it. I've heard that Oda has admitted that Luffy is heavily inspired by Goku. You should almost watch it just for that reason. However, it's also a damn good series.

While you can start with DBZ, you may be better served to start with Dragon Ball. It helps to understand the characters and build the world better. The series starts off as a journey to gather the seven magical Dragon Balls, but does evolve into a more action oriented series as it goes on. It is important to know that it started off as a gag manga, though, and the series has plenty of comedy as a result.

DBZ is where the series changed. There was more of an emphasis on action, though there is still comedy, with the fights getting bigger as the series goes on. The beam struggle between Goku and Vegeta is the stuff of legends and one of my person favorite moments in the entire series. Where once, no one could fly, eventually fighters rarely touch the ground.

However, DBZ is a complicated beast. It has magnitudes more filler than Dragon Ball (though Dragon Ball has some). As someone said, DBZ has higher highs, but lower lows. And the fillers are often lows. Some of the filler even screws up the story (Goku apparently dying fighting Frieza and Gohan coming back to fight). Hell, it's why people joke about Frieza not knowing what five minutes is.

And yet, some of the filler is great. Goku and Piccolo taking a driving test. Much of Gohan's training with Piccolo is great and also helps establish their connection. We even get a moment where Krillen saves some people from Cell that is pure filler, and it's great.

If you can't stand the idea of filler, you should watch Kai. It removes about 90% of the filler. However, you might do well to find out what is filler, and just skip those filler heavy episodes. I also tend to like the Falconer music better, which comes in about half way through the Namek arc. Some serious stand outs are the Vegeta and Cell themes.

There's even some room for debate on Funimation or Ocean dub. Both have boons. Overall, I would say Funimation has the better dub, but Ocean does some scenes better, like the iconic over 9000 scream.

Alternatively, you could read the manga.

As for Super, I recommend the Battle of Gods and Resurrection F films. Both are great. Though, I won't shit on Super. It has been lackluster in moments, but also has some truly amazing moments. It even does some moments from the movies better. And I still can't decide between Dancing Vegeta or Chef Vegeta. I love them both.

Hope this long winded rambling helped.

 

[Flathole]

Have you seen Ghost in the Shell? It's a vastly superior anime that inspired The Matrix movies. Unfortunately, the newest miniseries/season, Arise, is by far the weakest.

You can and should trust me, I'm an expert. And a doctor*.


*Neither expert nor doctor. Treat with caution- Mandatory Disclaimer, Interpol Security & retention

 

[Leg End]

The questions are;

1. Should I watch the Dragonball series?

2. If yes, where should I start. The very beginning or elsewhere?

3. If no, any strong reasons as to why? Any other recommendations to sate my want?

1. Yes.
2. Dragon Ball if you want to get it all from the beginning and want more of a fantasy adventure about a boy with a tail not understanding what girls are. Skip GT unless you just really want more Dragon Ball and for now skip Super because fuck Super. Also fuck Kai. Basically fuck everything that isn't DB and DBZ straight.
3. Alternatively, watch Fist of the North Star, or even watch it right after if you haven't already.

I suggest dubbed as a final note for DBZ and Dragon Ball as either. Watch the DBZ movies as well because they're all good for the most part but are totally non-canon unless it's Battle of Gods and Resurrection F, but expect not to know who the fuck a certain character is in F unless you've kept up with Toriyama's latest stuff.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Okay, this has gone far enough. It's time to end the dub debate once and for all.
The best dub is unquestionably:

Spoiler: Big Green Dub

Warning: May contain spoilers

 

[PapaGreg096]

The questions are;

1. Should I watch the Dragonball series?

2. If yes, where should I start. The very beginning or elsewhere?

3. If no, any strong reasons as to why? Any other recommendations to sate my want?

1. Yes.
2. Dragon Ball if you want to get it all from the beginning and want more of a fantasy adventure about a boy with a tail not understanding what girls are. Skip GT unless you just really want more Dragon Ball and for now skip Super because fuck Super. Also fuck Kai. Basically fuck everything that isn't DB and DBZ straight.
3. Alternatively, watch Fist of the North Star, or even watch it right after if you haven't already.

I suggest dubbed as a final note for DBZ and Dragon Ball as either. Watch the DBZ movies as well because they're all good for the most part but are totally non-canon unless it's Battle of Gods and Resurrection F, but expect not to know who the fuck a certain character is in F unless you've kept up with Toriyama's latest stuff.

"Fuck Kai" Kai is basically DBZ minus the filler, bad voice acting, and crappy pacing

 

[Fox12]

Okay, this has gone far enough. It's time to end the dub debate once and for all.
The best dub is unquestionably:

Spoiler: Big Green Dub

Warning: May contain spoilers

Damn, you're right. In fact, that wins for best dub in any language.

Is it just me, or did it start to sound like they were just fucking around by the end, ghost stories style?

 

[Drathnoxis]

Okay, this has gone far enough. It's time to end the dub debate once and for all.
The best dub is unquestionably:

Spoiler: Big Green Dub

Warning: May contain spoilers

Damn, you're right. In fact, that wins for best dub in any language.

Is it just me, or did it start to sound like they were just fucking around by the end, ghost stories style?

I have no idea, I find it very difficult to understand how something like this gets made. It's like Garzey's Wing. Is it really possible that everybody working on the dub was just that inept? If they were just screwing around, maybe that's why Bardock's lines are so rushed. Like, maybe someone bet him that he couldn't give all his lines in one breath or something.

 

[Dimitriov]

No, because you should never be watching anime ever for any reason. If you simply MUST watch anime (why?), and want to know if you should watch the Dragonball series, it's really very simple. Ready?

Please answer the following: Are you a 12 year old boy?

If you answered yes, then you should ABSOLUTELY watch Dragonball, you will enjoy it. If you answered no, then you should NOT watch Dragonball, you'll think it's for 12 year old boys.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

An odd position to take on a site like this. I think the same basic argument could be put forth with regards to pretty much every hobby treated with on the Escapist.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

Yes you should watch Dragonball and Dragonball Kai. Dragonball is a fun watch, it is a comedy at heart, you might find it similar to Fairy Tail at times with its wacky adventures.

Dragonball Kai cuts out so much fluff and filler from the Dragonball Z series. People will say to watch the originals but they will do so primarily out of nostalgia. With Kai you still get the plot and the fight scenes, you just cut out a few hundred episodes worth of power up sequences. If you feel the need to watch some of these filler episodes you should look them up later though.

Avoid Dragonball GT at all costs, it is very poorly written and largely considered to be non-canon.

There are also the movies. They are hit and miss, if you enjoy he show then give them a go. Just remember some are better than others.

 

[Dimitriov]

An odd position to take on a site like this.

How is that an odd position to take "on a site like this"? Last I checked, this wasn't an anime fansite. The OP asked a question, and I answered it honestly.
You might enjoy ridiculously overly musclebound men screaming like they're trying to pass a kidney stone 'til their hair turns blonde, then flying around punching each other, but I don't. I find it childish, and boring.

I think the same basic argument could be put forth with regards to pretty much every hobby treated with on the Escapist.

Wait, you mean the "I don't have the same opinion you do" argument could apply in a broad, general context outside of this specific thread? Mind = Blown.

No, you silly goose.

Are you a twelve year old? No? Then you cannot possibly enjoy video games because they are for children.

Like that. That argument. It's incredibly straightforward.