I got introduced to Dragon Ball Z in my first year of college by my roommates at the time. It was my first real experience with anime. I remember being impressed with how long they could draw out a fight.
I don't remember when I first started, just that my friend and I would have sleepovers and stay up till like 4 in the morning watching it haha
First time I watched Dragonball Z - I had to go into my dad’s work with him for a few hours one random Saturday when I was like 8. It was kind of a tech-y cubicle type office and there was basically no one else there, assuming because it was the weekend. Dunno why we were there, but he had custody that weekend so there I was. Anyway he told me to just stay in the break room, where there was a vending machine and a TV. It only had basic channels, but this was during that short period in the 90s when WB aired DBZ. Honestly… I hated what I saw lol. It was an early, particularly slow Namek saga episode and I had zero context for any of it. I felt like it gave me a headache. But I left it on in hopes something else would air afterward. Decided it was not for me Cut to maybe a year or two later, I’m in my room with the TV on, waiting for whatever block of shows Cartoon Network had scheduled that evening after Toonami. I decide to flip over to the channel early, and it’s Dragonball Z. I would’ve changed to something else, but I think there maybe wasn’t much longer in the episode so I toughed it out. Then this scene happened, and idk man. Something changed. I was fucking hooked I still remember acting out the sequence of from memory while I was in the shower that night lol. It spoke to me, for whatever reason. Dunno what I was going through at the time, but the way a kid fearlessly stood up to this bloodied alien thing and briefly kicked its ass was everything. Never missed an episode after that, even if I had to record it on the VCR. I was Saiyaman for Halloween. I’d spend hours on dial up internet reading early DBZ forums, taking all of those dumb typo ridden “quizzes” and looking for the coolest little gif animations I could find. I’d pass notes back and forth during class with a friend in middle school that were always just a bunch of dumb factoids and trivia. My school notebooks were filled with drawings of the characters, even fan fiction (I even created an awful, non DB related comic of my own). And here I am nearly 25 years later, still seeing the Super movies in theaters, getting unnecessarily giddy at DB references in hip hop, waiting with bated breath for the Daima announcement. On the “topic suggestions” box on the answer sheets at my weekly bar trivia, I write Dragonball Z in like every other week lol. Sorry for the word vomit, probably too long of an answer to the original question. Can’t help but sincere post!
I remember watching the Buu saga as it aired on Toonami so that must have been around 2002. Suddenly I had all the action figures & videos games
I have absolutely no way of knowing either way, but... was Dragon Ball ever NEARLY that popular in Central/Latin/South America? I assumed it was fairly mainstream just like it was in the rest of the world back in the day, but when I saw all of those countless videos of the outdoor watch parties for Dragon Ball Super all over Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, etc., I was SHOCKED at just how popular it really was.
Just a few months ago, Toriyama acted like the next arc of Super could be the last (though he’s said all kinds of stuff like that before lol) because it was getting so close to End of Z. So that at least gives me hope that he (and now Toyotaro) has known how Super will wrap up. Hopefully this hiatus will give them time to make sure they do it justice.
New Super chapter leaked early. It’s the end of the “super hero” arc and they will be going on a hiatus before the next arc. Probably a few months off like between the granola arc and superhero arc. Maybe longer with Toriyama’s passing. That said this is one of the best chapters in a loooooong time. Dragon Ball Super - Chapter 103 - Passing On To The Future - Ragnarok Scanlation
Not a surprise, but still good that it's confirmed. Super will return for a next story arc, but in the mean time a "special" manga chapter will be released that includes Gevo (Dr. Gero's son). Android 16 was based off Gevo so design wise they're almost the same. https://screenrant.com/dragon-ball-super-future-confirmed-hiatus-end/ [Get All the Latest Info on Dragon Ball Games and Goods in the Jam-Packed V Jump Super-Sized June Edition!] | DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL SITE
The situation obviously wasn’t going to get better with Toriyama passing away, but yeah it’s been a mess for nearly a decade. Toei, Shueisha, Toriyama, Iyoku, etc. None of them could agree on how to proceed with a serialized anime, how it would impact manga sales and the story, etc. so the anime has just been deadlocked despite everyone wanting it to come back. Pretty sure that’s exactly why we are getting Daima instead of Super.
I don’t even care what the show is about or how good or ridiculous it is. I’m just pumped to have any form of Dragon Ball back in my life.