Is it true that every anime fan watches Dragonball Z at some point?

Dragon Ball Z tenRAB to be one of those shows that you either love or hate, depending on the person who watches it.

As for me, I seen a couple of episodes of the series around 1999-2000, but I didn't find it to be all that interesting. However, when my family got Direct TV back in May 2002, I saw an episode of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, on Cartoon Network, and became hooked on both series. To this day, I still enjoy both series.
 
I've seen it all, I love it. Definitely one of my top favorites. And I'd recommend it to anybody who hasn't watched it. It's a highly influential and fun series. If you have no desire to see it, just give it a try. Sit and watch the beginning of Dragon Ball all the way through Z. The beginning of Dragon Ball (uncut, of course) is the best part of the whole series and the last third of Dragon Ball Z is the second best in my opinion. All the stuff in the middle is hit or miss. The Red Ribbon Army saga and Namek saga are both plagued with mind-nurabingly slow filler episodes. However, some sagas were made better because of filler. The Saiyan saga really benefited from all the filler in the middle, with all the character development absent in the manga. And the fights in the Buu saga also really benefited from filler making them longer and more epic.

It's all what you're into though. If you prefer slice-of-life or romance anime, than this isn't for you. But if you like potty-humor and balls to the wall action, then the Dragon Ball series is a must-see. It's not all poop jokes and face-smashing though, there are plenty of heart-warming moments to balance it all out.
 
Your friend can't say that, my sister/mom/brother/dad don't watch the show at all. course none of them really like anime either, but they've at least heard of Dragon Ball Z from me LOL.
 
MOST? no.

A few episodes/moments? yeah. only because almost all of my guy frienRAB (who weren't necessarily anime fans) loved it at the time. So it was a little of watching some of it with them and checking it out to see what the big deal was.... and could never get myself to like it. At all.

The start of my anime fandom was Sailor Moon
 
I found this to be an interesting post because I know exactly why the OP asked this question. Anyone from the generation that watched anime in the early/late 90's (especially in other countries) watched DBZ at some point. It was a given, they almost had to. If you watched anime in the 90s, you watched DBZ at some point. Your a young kid, proally in your early teens so its no surprise you've havent watched it or dont need to watch it. But if you were to poll every 20 something anime fan in the US, id say 99% of them would validate OP's statement.
 
As the years have gone on and DBZ hasn't been on TV regularly, significantly less people will seek it out. Dragon Ball Z came around at a time when a lot of people my age watched it nearly every single day for YEARS. It was ubiquitous in the anime community.

I don't see Dragon Ball Z being one of those shows that people will recommend to newcomers to anime until the end of time like Cowboy Bebop.

If this question were asked in, say, 1999, and someone said no, I'd be a bit more surprised, but not now.
 
Hear about it? Yes.

Watch it? No..

Honestly I don't think any normal new anime fan would want to watch DBZ to be honest, it drags on and some people get turned away by all the muscles and long ten minute power ups. =p Only people watching it back in the Toonami days seem to like it alot.
 
That statement would only apply to America, though (or, I guess any countries that Toonami aired in, to be more specific). A lot of other countries have aired anime and did not have Toonami or even cartoon network, though, so how do you explain who DBZ became popular elsewhere, since, from what I have heard, it did also become quite popular in various Europian countries.

As for the power ups and dragged out fights, I reccomend that most people should read the manga, for that reason. It doesn't have any ten minute power ups or dragged out fights (power-ups basically just happen within 1 or 2 panels on a single page ). In fact, most battles can be read through in rather short amounts of time, and the entire portion of the Dragon Ball manga, which covers DBZ, measures up to about 26 volumes which is actually not that long for a Shounen Jump series at all (its actually a pretty average length, if anything).

Although, if you corabine that with the 16 volumes covering the part of the manga which was adapted into Dragon Ball, that makes the entire series 42 volumes long (and as far as the manga goes, the entire series was just called Dragon Ball). That does make the series much longer, but its still far from the longest series out there, and the manga is at least much better written then most of the half-hearted shounen of today, IMO.
 
Well, anyone who likes anime should have at least heard of it since it was on tv and FUNimation re-releases a DBZ dvd like every other week. But seriously, FUNimation's dub isn't the way for new fans to start the series. The dub's script is pretty bad in places. It would probably be best to start with the original Dragonball and watch the Japanese version (if FUNi ever releases the first episodes).
 
As for watching DBZ, I've seen almost all of the last 3 seasons and a little bit of the preceeding seasons. I've also seen a fair bit of Dragonball. I honestly learned most of the story through the games.
 
I wouldn't say that at all as a lot of people don't enjoy the show, as mentioned here several times enough to be an example.

Myself, yes I have watched all of the series including GT. (Which honestly was hard to sit through.) I was pretty into the whole DBZ fad when it got popular in 1996 and so on during the early jr high/high school years...there was already Sailor Moon and whatever. Pokemon/then Digimon. I'd actually seen Dragonball first on vhs and enjoyed that kind of more.

I would say that probably people who don't even know what anime is or care would have heard of DBZ, though. Unless you'd been sitting in a cave somewhere. Like Pokemon. ^^; But then again, maybe people haven't. I dunno.



lol I've actually heard that said before!

I kind of wonder what would have happened if Hokuto no Ken had been obtained in 1996, edited and dubbed by Funimation or something instead of DBZ...

Hrm!
 
I'm sure most have heard of it, it's almost impossible with it being as talked about as it is but as proven by this thread there are many that haven't seen it.

In fact I think it's probably impossible for all fans to see any one anime.
 
Regardless of what you think of the show , I think it is true. Every anime fan will come across DBZ at some point. Even those that dislike the show have watched it--or else they wouldn't know to dislike it!

(Me, I liked it when I was 14. I think the show does its job for the audience it is targeting)
 
I've never even seen one episode of any Dragon Ball series, and I have to tell you, I've got no desire to.

... though I do watch the abridged series by Team Four Star... does that count?
 
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