Why You Should Watch Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z is one of the first anime shows that spread the word about the diversity of animation/manga comics worldwide. This show is one of those popular anime that everyone knows about. The Dragon Ball series has been going on for so many years now. With sequels and a few installment specials, the insane levels of popularity have a large global fandom. It is a largely popular part of the Dragon Ball media franchise. After the success of the Dragon Ball anime series in 1986 its successor, Dragon Ball Z ruled the world with its making even in the non-Internet era.
Largely the TV run of Dragon Ball Z made it a household name and nostalgic memories for kids in Japan along with other countries. The Saiyan race is one aspect that global audiences believe in. Moreover, anime connoisseurs have recognized this one as an animal classic due to its timeless impact. To be honest no amount of words are sufficient to describe the popularity of the iconic story franchise. The Dragon Ball saga is the precursor is a highly evolved world of anime that a large number of people connect with today.
Before we proceed to Why you should watch Dragon Ball Z, Let’s see how the journey of Dragon Ball manga turns into a universe of its own. Akira Toriyama is the genius mind behind the enormously popular shounen work. The gigantic hit manga consists of 42 volumes adding a total of 519 chapters. For approximately 10 years is 1984 to 1995 Dragon Ball was published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan. To date, Toriyama san is highly regarded for reforming the anime world with his masterpiece. The show’s longevity springs from the magnificent Dragon Ball world that Toriyama created approximately 4 decades ago.
Dragon Ball Z is the most popular anime series of all time. No one knows how this manga transcended and became larger than the source itself. The plot of Dragon Ball Z can be summed up as the collective adventure of Goku and his son Gohan defending against the villains. Piccolo and Vegeta are the antagonists and opponents that majorly create chaos in the lives of Goku and his friends. A paragraph or 2 would not be enough to describe the 9 seasons with approx 291 episodes in the sub and 276 in the dub version.
So, here we begin with the reasons Why should you watch Dragon Ball Z.
Dragon Ball is a make-believe creation
The Dragon Ball universe is a make-believe creation. By now it’s created such a huge impact that every character and terminology used in the series has become a part of pop culture. Modern-day anime lovers have several references and things to compare with this anime. As a classic, it has a jargon of fictional terms and created concepts that over time people have gotten involved with. A lot of people believe in the fictional existence of this world designed by Toriyama san. It has a specific style and semblance that is hugely replicated in the form of shonen animes. Also, the sequels of the Dragon Ball franchise including Dragon Ball Z just keep making this larger than life.
Dragon Ball Z anime brings Toriyama’s imagination to life
The manga universe that Toriyama san had created when turned into anime filled with a spectrum of colors. The motion animation and enhanced illustrations added a new touch to the existing magnificence of the manga. However, it broke free from the source manga plot it remains interesting. The world presented to the fans with the limitations in the developing era of animation makes Dragon Ball Z a considerably amazing piece.
10/10 storytelling and voice acting
One thing that is unanimously loved about the Dragon Ball Z anime is great voice acting. From the sub to the dub version of the installment of the Dragon Ball franchise everything is superb. The original Japanese one and the dubbed version for the western audience featured some great voice artists.
Even the storytelling got better with anime production. There are detailed stories and backstories for all characters. Early-era shonen with diverse themes and characterizations is a characteristic feature of the anime.
High-octane action and fights
As compared to Dragon Ball its sequel Dragon Ball Z took the concept of transformations to another level. Dragon Ball initially began as an adventurous story that transformed into martial arts/shonen anime. The crazy battles within Dragon Ball Z anime give an altogether new direction and interest to the audience. The mention of planets other than the Earth and wider-scale battlegrounds added a fantasy touch to it. Several Goku vs Vegeta confrontations led to fired-up rooting in the anime community.
Dragon Ball Z Inspired several new works
Almost every shown in anime that you come across has something picked up from DBZ. A lot of authors themselves admitted to finding inspiration from the majestic Dragon Ball universe. Some elements in animes like Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, and several others resemble this part of the anime universe. The contribution of this franchise to the modern shonen cannot be denied. Some of the most iconic anime/manga you have ever come across might find their plot stemming from DBZ.
Power to Anti-heroes/Antagonists/Villians
Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z is one of the earliest overpowered anti-heroes. The character development depicted through Vegeta’s character is unmatched. Earlier the fights that were mostly between good and evil got a newer shade that exists between the binaries. Piccolo’s presence stood for the requirement of more work in an antagonistic character. Vegeta and Piccolo are a category of characters that brought in more competition for the hero. The character developments that were earlier centered on the hero were now carried out for other characters as well.
Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist), Levi Ackermann (Attack on Titan), Uchiha Sasuke(Naruto), and Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul) are some anti-hero characters like in Dragon Ball Z.
Has exclusive characters that do not exist in the manga
The Dragon Ball anime version and the Dragon Ball Z anime both have some exclusive characters and anime-only arcs. Due to the filler arcs, characters like Garlic Jr., Pikkon, and Cooler can be spotted in the anime series. Some one-of characters and filler characters whose names are not even mentioned in the canon made a place for themselves in people’s hearts.
Dragon Ball Z allured the West to the anime world
Anime’s popularity in today’s time is not hidden. Western countries have larger audiences than Japan for anime. The popularity and magnificence of anime were established with the Dragon Ball franchise. Before this the existence of Japanese animes was unknown. It was the mainstream success that ruled different parts of the world with the subbed and the dubbed versions. Toriyama’s raw manga sketches popularized through black and white versions; have kept alive anime in the of colored webtoons and light novels.
We know Dragon Ball Z might be one of the first anime sagas you ever got into. DBZ was probably the first anime that we cherished as a western audience. It has a cult following that is even popular with Gen Z. Dragon Ball Z might not be a newly created world in anime but it shortly remains relatable and stirs up nostalgia in our minds.
All the gaming freaks who cannot inspire themselves to watch or read Dragon Ball works can explore this fictional universe through DBZ Kakarot; a stellar game based on it.
If this humongous series interests you but you don’t want to indulge in it halfway try out some of the OVAs and movies to inspire yourself to binge-watch all that exists in the Dragon Ball universe. We would also love to know if you loved the manga more or the anime better.
