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One thing I've appreciated about DBZ's global fanbase is the surreal Mugen battles it helped produce. God bless Latin American DBZ fans
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Mar 17, 2015 20:08
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I have to admit I was really, really surprised that the battle of the gods screening was completely full at my theater. It was shown multiple times during that weekend as well. The gender ratio was 90% male of course. 
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Mar 17, 2015 20:11
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Raxivace posted:DBZ having such a diverse fanbase is really cool and awesome. I wonder how the differences in each culture account for such an enthusiastic response to the series- do kids in Mexico relate to it differently than French kids or African-American kids? We all like Vegeta cause he makes things go explodey. I was a cool kid though and knew Trunks was cooler. edit: One of the most bizarre things about Battle of the Gods is that Goku never actually says Kamehameha. He only says the end part and fires it. Momomo fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 20:18
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To be fair, "Well I've got one...FOR YOU" makes up for it as one of his most badass lines in the franchise.
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Mar 17, 2015 20:22
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Momomo posted:We all like Vegeta cause he makes things go explodey. I was a cool kid though and knew Trunks was cooler. Trunks isn't Cooler though. 
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Mar 17, 2015 20:30
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I don't know much about how DBZ appeals to Latin Americans, but I recently read a blog post about how a black guy felt growing up with DBZ. It's kind of easy to see how DBZ can appeal to people all over the world. Not only is it a classic story of a powerful hero continually growing in order to protect that which he cherishes, but there's also a consistent theme of that which is other is not always bad: Goku and Piccolo are aliens, the Androids are decent people despite them being pricks in the other timeline, Buu had a gentle soul despite being made and raised to be a tool of destruction. The entire series is full of things that any minority in a given country would appreciate just as much as the every-man. I doubt Toriyama intended or expected the series would has such an incredibly broad appeal, but he stumbled into a gold mine with DBZ. Goku is up there with Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse.
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Mar 17, 2015 20:31
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I daresay Goku is a much more likable character than Superman, because while they both have similar backstories, fly, shoot lasers, are super strong and are drat near invincible to the degree where you could say that Goku is a Superman ripoff crossed with Sun Wukong. However, Goku is just a very simple, innocent, down to earth guy. Goku also has to work really hard to be as strong as he is and often gets his rear end kicked before he finally prevails. And yeah, another big theme of the series is eventual redemption and how former enemies learn to become friends. I'm not just talking Vegeta and Piccolo, almost EVERYONE in Goku's circle of friends was a former enemy at some point. Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo, Vegeta, Buu, Oolong, the Ox King, Android 18, Majin Buu, hell, even his best bud Krillin was a jerk to Goku at first. Hell, Bulma is the first person he meets and the first thing she does is try to shoot him with a pistol. Villains like Freiza and Cell who are so irredeemably evil that they have to be destroyed is also somewhat rare. Goku really doesn't kill a lot of people, either. He kills King Piccolo and Kid Buu and that's almost it. Okay, well, he does wipe out like the entire Red Ribbon Army, so his kill count is probably in the hundreds, but after that you don't see him offing anyone else more than a few times.
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Mar 17, 2015 20:49
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Goku constantly pushes himself to new limits. Superman never had to train a day in his life. Honestly, I'd liken Superman more to a good-natured Frieza.
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Mar 17, 2015 20:58
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The first time I ever saw DBZ was when I woke up at 6 in the morning and flipped on kidsWB and was greeted to Dodoria's pink ugly self throwing energy blasts at Krillin and Gohan while they tried to escape with Dende and for whatever reason I thought it was the coolest thing. I must have watched the Raditz to Ginyu loop three or four times before I even knew about the other sagas, let alone DragonBall.Esroc posted:I wish Mira was fleshed out more. I like that guy. But Xenoverse basically relegated him to midboss status, and not even a particularly difficult one. Mira looks DBGT as all hell. Amorphous Blob fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 21:04
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Im kinda curious about the dragonball online/heroes stuff because Mira and toes show up there too I guess, but they never brought it over.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:19
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On reflection I started bodybuilding a couple of years ago and DBZ was and continues to be big motivation for doing so, so I guess DBZ has been a positive influence in my life.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:24
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Lumberjack Bonanza posted:I don't know much about how DBZ appeals to Latin Americans, but I recently read a blog post about how a black guy felt growing up with DBZ. Not sure I have much to add, but thanks for that article. Really fascinating read. Interesting that he particularly felt uncomfortable about Mr. Popo as a kid. As a dumb white kid, I didn't really understand the issue with his design until I was much older, but now that I'm watching through the franchise as an adult it's quite unfortunate. Even the original Dragon Ball has a weirdly large number of blackface characters. On the other hand, like you said the show is also very much about how "that which is other is not always bad", very consistently throughout DBZ at least. Even in Dragon Ball's very first arc, it is Oolong, the walking pig of all people, who ultimately saves the world despite being mocked throughout the rest of the franchise. Raxivace fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 21:30
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Monaghan posted:On reflection I started bodybuilding a couple of years ago and DBZ was and continues to be big motivation for doing so, so I guess DBZ has been a positive influence in my life.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:32
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Never made the connection with Mr. Popo myself as a kid, only person I ever saw mention him negatively was my white mother. None of my other friends (all black) never really cared about him. Piccolo is totally a black guy though.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:43
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I teach eighth graders. They know DBZ. It is surreal for then when I make references just to get a reaction out of them (like including the historical King Kamehameha in a lesson).
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Mar 17, 2015 21:43
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I always saw Popo as more of a Golliwog design, but seeing as Golliwogs themselves give that racist as hell vibe, it doesn't really help. I always thought Staff Officer Black was way more racist though, because that character is supposed to be human and it's just... well, it kind of speaks for itself. The name doesn't really help.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:47
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At least they redesigned Black in Path to Power.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:49
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Monaghan posted:On reflection I started bodybuilding a couple of years ago and DBZ was and continues to be big motivation for doing so, so I guess DBZ has been a positive influence in my life. I lift, and like half the guys I know who also lift have DBZ themed workout shirts. Neo_Crimson fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 21:50
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Neo_Crimson posted:I lift, and like half the guys I know who also lift have DBZ themed workout shirts. Are you training to beat Goku, or at least Krillin?
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Mar 17, 2015 21:53
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Raxivace posted:Are you training to beat Goku, or at least Krillin? I'd settle for Yamcha really.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:53
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Monaghan posted:On reflection I started bodybuilding a couple of years ago and DBZ was and continues to be big motivation for doing so, so I guess DBZ has been a positive influence in my life. It's good you were influenced by Goku and not Majin Buu.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:54
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I first started doing Taekwondo as a kid because of Street Fighter and Jackie Chan movies. Even though nobody does Taekwondo in those. Well, Juri does, but she didn't exist yet. DBZ sometimes makes me want to hit the gym but my overwhelming laziness generally wins out over my desire to get to a power level of over 9000.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:00
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Neo_Crimson posted:I lift, and like half the guys I know who also lift have DBZ themed workout shirts. As stupid as they are, those "train insayian" shirts are so tempting and I really want one. Starsnostars posted:It's good you were influenced by Goku and not Majin Buu. well I was a 115 pound twink when I started lifting and my philosphy was "Eat everything" so buu may have been a bigger influence then you think.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:03
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Gammatron 64 posted:I daresay Goku is a much more likable character than Superman, because while they both have similar backstories, fly, shoot lasers, are super strong and are drat near invincible to the degree where you could say that Goku is a Superman ripoff crossed with Sun Wukong. You don't have to 'daresay' anything, Goku is hands down more popular and a bigger influence today than Superman has been his entire career. Most everyone's aware of Superman, but that's primarily due to the fact that he's been around for a century. Awareness does not equal popularity. I dunno, anytime I hear 'ol Supes brought up in a discussion it's based on how much people thinks he sucks. His job had essentially boiled down to making Batman look cool these days.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:04
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Raxivace posted:Are you training to beat Goku, or at least Krillin? i'm short like krillin but i have better hair than him so i already beat him  srsly tho when i deadlift the sweat makes my hair stand up and then i put another plate on the bar and i'm all "and this...is to go....even FURTHER BEYOND!!!!!!!!!"
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Mar 17, 2015 22:08
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Neo_Crimson posted:i'm short like krillin but i have better hair than him so i already beat him SSJ3 is clearly Toriyama's commentary on Steriod abuse.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:19
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AmiYumi posted:When I went to see "Battle of Gods", the entire theater audience was Latino families, wearing those mall-kiosk DBZ shirts I haven't seen in years. It was wonderful.  I want all of them.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:19
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Going to use that as my profile picture for online dating.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:24
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Aurain posted:Going to use that as my profile picture for online dating. Gotta wear one of these once you get a date.  I'm having a hard time finding a button down goku shirt smaller than an extra large.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:31
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Amorphous Blob posted:I'm having a hard time finding a button down goku shirt smaller than an extra large.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:33
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Yeah the black background characters in Dragonball are interesting (like the woman who let Krillin borrow a marker so he could write "Kame" on a rock). The main issue is the lips. But none of them do or say anything particularly offensive. If an American (north, central, or south) drew that or if a European did, it would be inexcusable since that type of depiction is racist because of its cultural baggage. Could Toriyama in the early/mid 80s known the hurtful history behind such a depiction? It's possible, but given how culturally and ethnically insular Japan is, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially since modern Japanese comic book writer/artists still seem to have a hard time wrapping their brains around why it might be in poor taste to throw Nazis around everywhere. I want to believe...
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Mar 17, 2015 22:34
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Parrotine posted:You don't have to 'daresay' anything, Goku is hands down more popular and a bigger influence today than Superman has been his entire career. Like, yo, I get that you hate American comics. All of your posts in this thread are about it. But Superman has had a ridiculous influence on popular culture worldwide since his inception. Outside of just the invention of the superhero, you also have the existence of serialized periodicals, the importance of sci-fi tropes in modern fiction (not all Superman, sure, but he was a big help), and lots of other bits and pieces lifted from the Superman mythos and brought into other realms of fiction. Yeah, you don't like him whatever. That's cool. However, to say Dragonball, while it is good and popular worldwide, is more influential than Superman is ridiculous. Also Death Battle was right. QTIYD
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Mar 17, 2015 22:44
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Amorphous Blob posted:Gotta wear one of these once you get a date. This shirt owns a lot, where can I get one? Little Mac posted:Like, yo, I get that you hate American comics. All of your posts in this thread are about it. But Superman has had a ridiculous influence on popular culture worldwide since his inception. Outside of just the invention of the superhero, you also have the existence of serialized periodicals, the importance of sci-fi tropes in modern fiction (not all Superman, sure, but he was a big help), and lots of other bits and pieces lifted from the Superman mythos and brought into other realms of fiction. I agree with you on most of your points, even though I dislike Superman as a character 80% of the time. That said, I think Goku is drat near as culturally saturated as Superman around the world. DBZ was translated into any language that isn't literally dead and it just happened to be a story that transcends cultural boundaries. I'm not going to even begin to speculate as to which had more cultural influence, a metric which is pretty hard to measure, but I'd probably put Supes and Goku somewhere near even at least. Arsonist Daria fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 22:45
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Little Mac posted:
Death battle cheated and used stuff from the non-cannon all star superman.  .
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Mar 17, 2015 22:45
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Even Raditz could give Superman a hard time. Base Goku would be cleaning the gore and brain matter off his fist after one punch. That Death Battle was silly.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:47
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Parrotine posted:You don't have to 'daresay' anything, Goku is hands down more popular and a bigger influence today than Superman has been his entire career. Superman was, no joke, influential in descrediting the KKK. Not to mention literally creating the concept of the superhero in the first place.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:50
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SSG Goku could beat up Superman because god ki > the sun
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Mar 17, 2015 22:50
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Xibanya posted:Yeah the black background characters in Dragonball are interesting (like the woman who let Krillin borrow a marker so he could write "Kame" on a rock). The main issue is the lips. But none of them do or say anything particularly offensive. If an American (north, central, or south) drew that or if a European did, it would be inexcusable since that type of depiction is racist because of its cultural baggage. Could Toriyama in the early/mid 80s known the hurtful history behind such a depiction? It's possible, but given how culturally and ethnically insular Japan is, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially since modern Japanese comic book writer/artists still seem to have a hard time wrapping their brains around why it might be in poor taste to throw Nazis around everywhere. I want to believe... Yeah I doubt that Toriyama understood the significance of blackface or why it is wrong. To be honest, in DB's case I feel it more as a sad symptom of American/"Western" racism and its influence across the world rather than any racism necessarily on Toriayama's part. Mr. Popo comes dangerously close to being the "Magical Negro" stereotype though, if not an outright example, but even with him there are things that complicate that. Earlier I mentioned I thought it was cool how DB and DBZ used a variety of different cultural influences in its storytelling. The blackface is the unfortunate negative part of that.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:51
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WickedHate posted:Even Raditz could give Superman a hard time. Base Goku would be cleaning the gore and brain matter off his fist after one punch. That Death Battle was silly. You are massively underestimating just how loving stupid Superman is at his most powerful. Goku will probably eventually be stronger or is now but goddamn is Superman capable of some stupid poo poo
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Mar 17, 2015 22:52
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Guys we all know that if Goku and Superman met they'd quickly become good friends, they're both too nice for there to be any other result
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Mar 17, 2015 22:52
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