Dragonball

Remove all ads!

According to Lycos, the #1 most searched topic over 2002 was "Dragonball".

I've seen a few episodes of Dragonball & Dragonball Z on Cartoon Network (my daughter likes it) ... and honestly, I'm a little lost.

Can someone give the scoop on this?

In Dragonball the main guy is a little kid with a tail. In Dragonball Z he has a halo??? what is going on?

Yes, I'm getting old, but if there is ever a Thundercat's thread, I'll know all the trivia

 

"th-the thundercats... they're loose!"

this entire thread was created just so that you could use , wasn't it?

you're right about the little kid, that's goku, the central character in all of the dragonball anime/cartoons (the manga/comic on which the different series are based is called 'dragonball' all the way through).

i know so much about dragonball that by rights my head should explode with the knowledge, so if you've got any specific questions i'll be happy to answer them.

"HO!"

[ December 16, 2002, 18:07: Message edited by: the god ]

 

specifically ...

What happened to the tail? and Where did he get the halo

[ December 16, 2002, 18:13: Message edited by: Mathetais ]

 

Oh boy did you open a can of worms.

As cartoons go Dragonball and Dragonball Z are more like a soap opera. It’s probably the most complex story of the TV cartoons.

Dragonball starts telling the story of Goku a little forest boy and his adventures to learn martial arts. As he grows up they switch to DBZ (Dragonball Z for short) where Goku has a son and a wife.

The general plot for most episodes is: training for a fight, fighting in a tournament, fighting bad guys.

Large or small Goku is the hero, always fighting to the side of good, protecting the week and like. As he grows up the villains get stronger and stronger. Which forces Goku to get better and better so that he can save the day. Eventually they the villains get so strong they start coming from outer space, and other dimensions.

Eventually we learn that Goku is not an earthling (hence the tail). He’s a Sayan, a space alien too. Sent to earth to destroy it. As a child (before the show) he took a fall and hit his head. The “amnesia” caused him to forget his mission. However being a space alien, he has a special power. The light of the full moon makes him turn into a giant monkey like beast with tremendous power, and no self control. He becomes as dangerous to his friend as his enemies. This power is tied into his tail and eventually he permanently (I’ve never seen how) he looses his tail.

The little halo indicates the person has died. Characters who “die” in battle go to another plane of existence. There they are sorted and graded. The good ones go to a nice place, the bad ones don’t (cartoon haven/hell) and the great ones get special martial arts training.

Dead people can be brought back to life by wishing them back. This is where the dragon comes in, he grants the wishes. The dragon can only be summoned when all 7 dragonballs are gathered together and the magic words are said. The original Earth dragon could only be summoned once a year and grant one wish. Each person colud only be wished back from the dead once. The replacement Earth dragon can grant 2 wishes per summoning and I’m not sure if he can revive the dead more than once or his wishes are independent of the original dragon.

Eventually Goku dies in battle, and the “gang” are about to wish him back but he decides to stay dead since he has become so strong that he’s a target for anyone who wants to make a name for them self’s. In order to protect the Earth, and not give the villains a reason to come to earth he stays dead. That however does not right him out of the story nor does it stop the villains from coming.

The story at this point shifts more focus on to the next generation, Sayan / Earthling mix which are even stronger for the same age.

Check out www.toonami.com they have a very nice list and description of many of the characters. This show has been running for a very long time.

Hope that helps.

[ December 16, 2002, 18:48: Message edited by: Velcro ]

 

goku still has the tail... sort-of. he comes from another planet ('vegeta') where everyone has tails. these vegetans are a little like were-wolves, turning into giant monkeys at every full-moon. pulling the tail off returns vegetans to normal. the tail grows back however, so this is just a temporary solution. another character, piccolo, came up with a more permanent solution for stopping vegetans turning into were-monkies... by destroying the moon. the tail doesn't grow-back in the absence of the moon.

goku had the because he dies near the end of the '3rd series' (android/cell saga) of dragonball z. usually he would be in a heaven somewhere , but is given special dispensation to visit 'earth' in the 4th series (majin bou saga) in order to save the universe.



[ December 16, 2002, 18:58: Message edited by: the god ]

 

This is a soap opera!!!

I kinda like it, but being so lost, its difficult to keep up. One more note/question ... what's with the fat, pink, squeeky voice guy???? Can we get rid of that tub?

 

The pink guy is Majin Boo, he's a good guy now, but once he was evil. When he was evil he fought goku and the other good guys, he also destroyed the earth. He split in a good majin boo and a bad one. Goku killed the bad one. He also a very good friend of another lame character called Mr. Satan.

Oh, yeah, there's a sequel to dragonball z, it's dragonball GT.

[ December 16, 2002, 18:48: Message edited by: Mauricio Eiji ]

 

the God - Goku dies at the end of the Cell Saga not Freeza Saga.

Mathetais - The Fat Pink Guy is the latest villain. He is EXTREEMALY powerful but has the mind of a child. He has been in the control of powerful magicians and has been used to destroy many planets. The best fighters in the universe have been unable to stop him up to this point. Can the Z fighters do it? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.

 

ah yes... he does indeed, i forgot! (though he'd died before- there's a rule to only being resurrected once). will edit my post...

 

Thanks for the help ... anything else I need to know? Keep it coming ... I think I'll really enjoy the show more!

 

I remember something with Goku & Co. travelling to another planet, where they defeat this powerful warrior whose intent is to take over the planet. I also remember something with Androids and a Creature named Cell. Cell was a biological being designed to become unbelivably powerful, by consuming two Androids. Naturally, the Androids resist Cell, but get sucked up into his system anyways, resulting in a perfect Cell. Goku & Co. defeat him in the end, anyways.

Oh, and there's a green guy called Piccolo.

 

you can learn a lot in the official web sites:
http://www.dragonball.com
http://www.dragonballz.com

 

Hehe i got the first two DRagonball cartoons
I love the party when that old guy sticks his head between Bulmas breasts and *puff* them

 

I saw one episode and thought 'God this is stupid' and have gone out of my way never to see another since, for which I am very thankful...

 

I don't understand the whole thing, either... and the whole idea of Dragonball yaoi is just weird. (yaoi= that's what anime people call slash )

I keep my anime obsession limited to Final Fantasy and Inu Yasha....

Ara
(Not liking Dragonball the least)

 

Arabwel - this may be a little OT...but what is slash?

I just can't stand not understanding the explanation of something.

 

Deviant mage either go read the current babbling topic or do a quick google search for slash.

 

Personally I'd like to reach through my monitor and slap anyone who thinks DB and DBZ have any redemming value. Fortunatley, the thought of lacerating my hands and replacing a $400 monitor keep me from doing so...

As hard as I try I cannot find anything redeeming other than it can occasionally be ammusing to laugh at its complete stupidity.

Okay, for the last 12 months on Cartoon Network they've been fighting ONE guy nonstop. It's fight fight fight with no reason other than for the sake of fighting. Attempting to discern plot is an exercise in futility. Fight. Defeat pink dude. Pink dude returns. Fight some more. Gain nifty ability. Hold pink dude at bay for some time. 10,000,000 people die. Fight pink dude some more. Think maybe today will be different. Nope. Fighting pink dude still.

DB on the other hand, at least attempts at plot and story. However fails miserably.

Worst of all, my roommate loves it and has covered my dorm room in posters. I've now made a point to consider all fans of such lesser people. They obviously have something wrong with them.

I could just be expecting too much from a childs cartoon...

However that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

(Oh yeah, someones bound to take my comment on lesser people seriously. I, however, was not. )

[ December 20, 2002, 12:50: Message edited by: Alex ]

 

I have read the entire manga, folks.
The HORROR....!

But seriously, DBZ is an enjoyable, albeit brainless way to kill some time. The story more or less became irredemmably lame right after the Cell/Android saga but it was already lame to begin with...

I've followed the adventures of Goku and Co. since I was 10 and that's a loooong time ago. Although I now think back and marvel at how extraordinarily moronic the anime/manga is, one can't help but feel nostalgic.

Advice to all anime watchers: Get those with the original japanese dialouge and english subtitles. I have never watched an english dubbed anime that did not have atrocious voice acting...



( 'Your amakerkiru, ryu-no hiromeki cannot defeat MY amakerkiru, ryu-no hiromeki...' Samurai X the anime, anyone? Imagine two swordsmen in the middle of a pitched battle and with one of them saying that line. Try saying it out loud to and you'll probably realise how ridiculous it sounds.)

When DBZ characters in the anime 'charge' their ki, they make utterly hilarious whimpers that contrast starkly with their ferocious expressions. I nearly died from laughing when I saw Gohan whimper and moan his way into super sayan mode. At least, with the orignal japanese dialogue, you are free from bad voice acting, the bane of many animes...

KAMEHAMEHA!!!

*dies from self disgust*

 

Well said Shura, but I liked the English voice-acting on Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X to you folks). It's definitely one of the better animes with English voices out there. And Kenshin sounds better with the male voice rather than a female one. But come on, you don't want them to translate "Amakakeru ryu no hiromeki" into English. It'll sound much more horrible since it's not really easy to translate the meaning into English.

But now, on topic. Dragonball, the manga and the anime, were a great read/watch. Then I grew up. I would recommend Dragonball if you are a 'virgin' to anime since I remember when I was a 'virgin' myself, I totally loved it. However bad some people will say it is, Dragonball is definitely one of the classics of anime and manga.