Our groups anime opinion extrodinaire!

[Xannidel]

So I have been itching to do something like this where we can all express our opinions about an anime (the anime will change) and so I will kick it off with Dragon Ball/Z/GT

Dragonball was AWESOME! It had great colors, great animations and awesome music. They did a great job trying to make Goku's journey resemble Sun Wukong's Journey. The plot was pretty decent and they did a pretty good job at introducing all the characters that we all fell in love with in DBZ. The fighting is what sets this anime apart from the rest of the franchise. This series focused more on martial arts and less on power levels which form e was a breath of fresh air. The one thing that sort of ruined this series for me was the drawn out scenes meant to extend certain episodes longer then they should have. One other thing that annoyed me was what ever happened to Pilaf and his 2 companions and also Launch after Dragonball ended. I know that a TINY scene with launch shows up in the Cell Games Saga and Pilaf is to blame for the black star dragon balls to be used up and thus cause the whole setting for GT; but I wish they went into better detail as to where they went after their purpose in DB was over.

Dragon Ball Z: Well this was where my childhood, and I am betting most of everyone elses' childhood was spent watching the awesome adventures of Goku and company as the series picks up 6 or so years later AFTER DB and ends well over 10 years later in the DB timeline. The best thing about this series was of course how action packed the fight scenes were and how drawn out they were to keep us sucked in. The bad things were of course the introduction to "power levels" among other small time things. I personally did not have much of an issue with the DBZ series until after the Cell Games Saga. The Saiyan saga/Frieza Saga was, hands down, the best parts of the series due to how strong everyone was at the begining because of their previous training. After Goku became a SS, everyone else became useless and only served as death fodder or just tried to delay the potential inevitability that an asshole may win. Also the decline of power in Piccolo was also really disturbing; he goes from being really strong and rivaling Goku to being weaker then Krillian almost. Character progression went really well for pretty much every character (Vegeta should get an award for how his character changed.)

/sigh

I might as well get my rant of the Buu Saga out of the way.
First, why does it exist? Didn't the end of the Cell Games not end the series really well? Goku sacrificed himself so Cell did not destroy the Earth but Cell still came back and Gohan destroyed him once and for all, in an awesome way I might add. They even had a DBZ movie that further pushed the storyline after the Cell Saga. I really just hated the Buu saga, the way Piccolo is now a pacifist BABYSITTER, how Gohan is just so damn awkward and dresses equally as bad to boot, to how they try to transition Babidi and Buu into the series, to the fusion concept to the fucking SS3 bullshit. When I saw Goku do that I finally saw that the series was done and all they were doing was just sucking on fanboys dicks to still be liked. SS2 was introduced when Gohan went completely mental which made SENSE because we had all known he had potential and now that was showing. With SS3, Goku just acts constipated and that really just was terrible. He had shown no increased power since Gohan went SS2 and he went on MULTIPLE times, I might add, that Gohan had surpassed him. If that is true then where the fuck did he get the "power" to go SS3? When we saw Gotenks go from regular SS to SS3, who else called BS? They only go that far two times in the series: once to get out of the hyperbolic time chamber and another so Buu could absorb them. No other point beside that.

Kid Trunks was another bad thing that happened. We go from Future Trunks who is strong, kind in nature and tries to think sensibly; to a kid Trunks who is reckless, stupid, a wise ass and just a complete douche nozzle. I think why they made him that way was to show off more of Vegeta's genes because future Trunks had more Bulma's genes then Vegeta's.

GT: Is there really anything to say about this? This is nearly everyone's least favorite Dragonball series and for a good reason. The plot just kind of jumps all over the place and, at times, barely makes sense. The characters were just...creepy. The enemies were also creepy/odd and I do not know how half of them were able to beat Goku and company. The only good thing that GT had was the final episode where it shows all the characters remembering their adventures with Goku and Bulma in Dragonball.


So I will ask you all what you thought about Dragonball and after awhile I will change the anime to some other topic (it may or may not be mainstream.)

[cingchris]

Dragon Ball Z, that was my childhood along with Zoids (New Century) looking back on both shows though, they weren't really that good story wise and just focused on the fighting and the characters gaining power.

[Hexadecimal]

Along with Sailor Moon I remember watching a lot of Dragon Ball. However, that was AGES ago. While I did buy the Sailor Moon DVDs I kinda overlooked Dragon Ball, so my memory is really hazy. I did really like Launch as well, though!

I just couldn't get into DBZ; too much of dudes just standing around charging their power and deaths meant nothing with the Dragon Balls around and, if I remember correctly, they did show the characters in Heaven so it was no big deal if an MC bit the dust.

Sorry! Maybe I should've just waited for the next anime show discussion; I didn't really have anything of value to add.

[Ouberry_13]

Ah, DBZ, I remember thee well. You were the first anime I ever saw as a child, and I loved every second of you. Unfortunately, I grew up, and realized how bad you really were. You honestly weren't the greatest anime ever, but thankfully, you weren't the worst.

Anyway, enough of that. Yes, the Cell saga was a great way to send off the series. But, be honest, tell me you didn't feel just a little upset when Goku just up and abandoned his family (again) to train some little kid. How is that any way to end a series? I mean, I know Goku kinda sucks as a father, but come on. I also agree on the Kid Trunks thing, as well as the Piccolo thing.

Ah well, at least we still have the games, most of which are pretty good fighting games. Honestly, most of the time, the games were more fun than the series. Mainly because the games were able to condense the entire series down into only a few hours of fights instead of all the filler and dragged out episodes of only one fight.

[BumblebeeCody]

Dragonball Z is complete nonsensical bullshit but that's what I love about it. It's not supposed to be taken seriously. A few episodes building up the insane fighting that we all want.

I connected to Dragonball instantly because I loved the sense of adventure. Goku not being a super powered being had to go through his journey with a level of challenge. It introduced the characters like Yamcha who is a strong warrior in the series but it then left pointless in DBZ.

As for GT I honestly don't mind it. The story had to progress and it did. The characters died/moved on and the legacy was left. It was nice to see what the Z Warriors left on the planet but also to see Trunks (future) in his true time and then reference why he went back to DBZ from an alternate DB GT. I love Dragonball but wouldn't call it the greatest anime ever but it's hard to find many faults with it (there are some but not as obvious as something like Naruto).

I do no watch anime anymore though. I'm always on the look out for something interesting but animes nowadays had a ...creepy fanbase that I don't want to associate myself with or just have no sense of making a decent series. Random animes (mainstream or not) I found that are good would be:
The Big O
Outlaw Star
Onepiece (though I haven't watched it in years but I love journey cartoons)
Afro Samurai
Cowboy Bebop
Anything by Studio Ghibli (stories, incredible art and animation. Traditional Japanese art with no over top bullshit with bluehair spikey a-holes)
Cardcaptors (nothing really special but was enjoyable though I was 10 when I watched it)
Digimon
Pokemon (The series stays strong to Pokemon, follows the stories and is generally a still solid series)
Beyblade

[Hexadecimal]

^ I am so with you on Big O! It is without a doubt my most favorite anime of all time!

I kinda doubt you'll get into it, but just for the hell of it watch Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt sometime. I really dig the art style, but it does get pretty gross and immature, but yet I just kept watching.





The English dub sucks, BTW. They were actually told to amp up the amount of swearing and I can't stand the voice choices.

[retrolinkx]

I don't watch anime much, only an odd few, half popular, or just old.

I've only ever seen:

Death Note
Gurran Laggan
Code Geass
Darker than Black
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Cowboy Bebop

And probably more I've forgotten, I do want to watch more though.

[BumblebeeCody]

(11-10-2012 10:22 AM)retrolinkx Wrote:  I don't watch anime much, only an odd few, half popular, or just old.

I've only ever seen:

Death Note
Gurran Laggan
Code Geass
Darker than Black
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Cowboy Bebop

And probably more I've forgotten, I do want to watch more though.

I haven't heard of Darker than Black. Also I would love to see Haruhi die. I watched 3(or 4) episodes of that (to get a valid opinion on it) and wow is she annoying. Like, is Afro Samurai just jumped in sliced her head off...damn would it be awesome.

Oh and Death Note, add that to my list. Such a well made anime. Interesting developed characters with such a dark theme. Fantastic anime that I enjoyed. I've also seen the movies, have the manga and read the L case files (L.A.B.B Murder Case and L Changed the World)...and I have my own replica Death Note (Doesn't work ... Full of Hentai that my friends I drew though)

[Xannidel]

Okay so let's change the topic from DBZ to One Piece. I have not seen all the episodes (I am on like episode 51) and so far this is an interesting anime but it does strongly remind me of DBZ in the sense that is takes like 5-10 episodes to get something done. What I will say about this anime is that it is an awesome anime that really does have a unique amount of characters. The pirates that follow their captains all seem to have some aspect that makes them unique but also makes them part of that captains' crew. Luffy reminds me of Goku in the sense that he honestly does not give a fuck about anything as long as he gets to One Piece. He is a carefree persona like Goku but also fights for his friends. The devil fruit is also an interesting concept but I am curious how many times they are going to pull THAT card out when Luffy fights another strong person. (so far there have been like 2 or 3 other people introduced that ate the devil fruit including Luffy)

Sadly this is not as long as the DBZ one because I have not finished watched all of One Piece. So what do you guys think of One Piece?

[Skarro]

One Piece is my all time favorite anime, DBZ is my 3rd.

I can tell you are not that far in, It's still a bit slow at the beginning of the grand line but Just wait. its going to get much, much better. And by the time the war happens I could imagine you'd say it's the best too

Yes Luffy, like Naruto and many other anime characters is based off of Goku

Pull that card? If you don't like Devil Fruits then stop watching, its a main part of that world and ALOT of pirates and marines will have different abilities because of them, on the grand line almost everyone with a 50 Million Beli or higher bounty has one. Though some incredibly powerful people don't have them (like Shanks) and I can't tell you why without spoilers, but there is a system of strength like Kai in DBZ or Chakra in Naruto that's introduced much later on. Enjoy the easy going pace and weak fun villains while you can because it gets much more intense.

[Xannidel]

(11-11-2012 12:12 AM)Skarro Wrote:  One Piece is my all time favorite anime, DBZ is my 3rd.

I can tell you are not that far in, It's still a bit slow at the beginning of the grand line but Just wait. its going to get much, much better. And by the time the war happens I could imagine you'd say it's the best too

Yes Luffy, like Naruto and many other anime characters is based off of Goku

Pull that card? If you don't like Devil Fruits then stop watching, its a main part of that world and ALOT of pirates and marines will have different abilities because of them, on the grand line almost everyone with a 50 Million Beli or higher bounty has one. Though some incredibly powerful people don't have them (like Shanks) and I can't tell you why without spoilers, but there is a system of strength like Kai in DBZ or Chakra in Naruto that's introduced much later on. Enjoy the easy going pace and weak fun villains while you can because it gets much more intense.

You misunderstand me, I never said I hated the Devil's Fruit. In fact I said it was an interesting concept but I do not want them to pull that card out for every strong person in the anime.

Spoiler (Click to View)

I mean I so far I only know Buggy and Luffy and the Marines Captain at the town near the Grand Line have eaten the Devil's Fruit ATM and that is all good and dandy because there was a gap between when they were introduced. I just do not want them to get into the Grand Line and then EVERYONE that they encounter has eaten the fruit. I thought they mentioned that there was only 20 or so Devil Fruit (or maybe I just imagined that one)

[Skarro]

(11-11-2012 01:08 AM)Xannidel Wrote:  

(11-11-2012 12:12 AM)Skarro Wrote:  One Piece is my all time favorite anime, DBZ is my 3rd.

I can tell you are not that far in, It's still a bit slow at the beginning of the grand line but Just wait. its going to get much, much better. And by the time the war happens I could imagine you'd say it's the best too

Yes Luffy, like Naruto and many other anime characters is based off of Goku

Pull that card? If you don't like Devil Fruits then stop watching, its a main part of that world and ALOT of pirates and marines will have different abilities because of them, on the grand line almost everyone with a 50 Million Beli or higher bounty has one. Though some incredibly powerful people don't have them (like Shanks) and I can't tell you why without spoilers, but there is a system of strength like Kai in DBZ or Chakra in Naruto that's introduced much later on. Enjoy the easy going pace and weak fun villains while you can because it gets much more intense.

You misunderstand me, I never said I hated the Devil's Fruit. In fact I said it was an interesting concept but I do not want them to pull that card out for every strong person in the anime.

Spoiler (Click to View)

I mean I so far I only know Buggy and Luffy and the Marines Captain at the town near the Grand Line have eaten the Devil's Fruit ATM and that is all good and dandy because there was a gap between when they were introduced. I just do not want them to get into the Grand Line and then EVERYONE that they encounter has eaten the fruit. I thought they mentioned that there was only 20 or so Devil Fruit (or maybe I just imagined that one)

Spoiler (Click to View)

Well yes sorry for a looong while every strong enemy they meet has a demon fruit, since you wont see people stronger then what a human body is capable of without fruits in action for a very long time. So naturally a demon fruit is required for someone to be really strong. I guess enjoy these next few villains while you can. There are some other rare cases but I can't say more then that without spoilers. Yes you imagined there is only 20. There is one for every element or thing in this world it feels like haha, there is never the same fruit twice though. If someone eats one that type is gone for good. I was feeling the exact opposite at your stage, i was thinking. "Damn, I hope there are eventually many more people with fruits" haha Demon fruits are not a rare myth in the grand line like they are in east blue.. I'd say about 80 percent of strong people you meet after episode like 90 or so have demon fruits

btw if it feels rushed and like the producers really wanted to get them to the grand line as quick as possible its because it is. Sadly everyone but the writer himself wanted to move things along and get to the good stuff asap. He planned on having many more adventures outside the grand line and show many other weaker villains.

[Tophat Wolf]

(11-11-2012 02:41 PM)Skarro Wrote:  

(11-11-2012 01:08 AM)Xannidel Wrote:  

(11-11-2012 12:12 AM)Skarro Wrote:  One Piece is my all time favorite anime, DBZ is my 3rd.

I can tell you are not that far in, It's still a bit slow at the beginning of the grand line but Just wait. its going to get much, much better. And by the time the war happens I could imagine you'd say it's the best too

Yes Luffy, like Naruto and many other anime characters is based off of Goku

Pull that card? If you don't like Devil Fruits then stop watching, its a main part of that world and ALOT of pirates and marines will have different abilities because of them, on the grand line almost everyone with a 50 Million Beli or higher bounty has one. Though some incredibly powerful people don't have them (like Shanks) and I can't tell you why without spoilers, but there is a system of strength like Kai in DBZ or Chakra in Naruto that's introduced much later on. Enjoy the easy going pace and weak fun villains while you can because it gets much more intense.

You misunderstand me, I never said I hated the Devil's Fruit. In fact I said it was an interesting concept but I do not want them to pull that card out for every strong person in the anime.

Spoiler (Click to View)

I mean I so far I only know Buggy and Luffy and the Marines Captain at the town near the Grand Line have eaten the Devil's Fruit ATM and that is all good and dandy because there was a gap between when they were introduced. I just do not want them to get into the Grand Line and then EVERYONE that they encounter has eaten the fruit. I thought they mentioned that there was only 20 or so Devil Fruit (or maybe I just imagined that one)

Spoiler (Click to View)

Well yes sorry for a looong while every strong enemy they meet has a demon fruit, since you wont see people stronger then what a human body is capable of without fruits in action for a very long time. So naturally a demon fruit is required for someone to be really strong. I guess enjoy these next few villains while you can. There are some other rare cases but I can't say more then that without spoilers. Yes you imagined there is only 20. There is one for every element or thing in this world it feels like haha, there is never the same fruit twice though. If someone eats one that type is gone for good. I was feeling the exact opposite at your stage, i was thinking. "Damn, I hope there are eventually many more people with fruits" haha Demon fruits are not a rare myth in the grand line like they are in east blue.. I'd say about 80 percent of strong people you meet after episode like 90 or so have demon fruits

btw if it feels rushed and like the producers really wanted to get them to the grand line as quick as possible its because it is. Sadly everyone but the writer himself wanted to move things along and get to the good stuff asap. He planned on having many more adventures outside the grand line and show many other weaker villains.

I'm planning on watching One Piece myself, but I have a question.Does every character have a separate story arc or is Luffy the main focus of the show? It would be cool if it was like Teen Titans where I could just watch my favorite character's arc and skip all the boring filler.

[Xannidel]

Spoiler (Click to View)

The first 30-40 episodes show backstory for Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji. They even offer some backstory/some episodes composed entirely on some of the enemies (like Buggy, there is like 2 episodes straight for him)

Don't wanna risk ruining your day with that.

[Skarro]

Luffy is the main focus of the crew but only just before where I am now does his crew actually get seperated from him and hes alone again for a bit. Otherwise the arcs focus on the Straw Hat Pirates (Luffy's crew)

The canon side stories (like that buggy one) sadly stop which makes no sense to me. Instead of filler they should have continued with those side story mini arcs that are based off the manga. Makes me sad since they get much better.

btw though it is pretty obvious as you watch you spoiled who joins the crew.