Dragon Ball
Being an anime fan that truly came of age in the early 1990′s, there are always defining moments. One of those for many fans was the the introduction of a huge series that had run in the late 1980′s with Dragon Ball and then into the mid 90′s with Dragon Ball Z. I was one of the outliers at the time as while I had heard of the show, it wasn’t one that I was particularly drawn to and the sheer scale of it that was developing only reinforced that.
But Dragon Ball was also defining in another way as when it started coming out here, it marked the founding of FUNimation as well. Which makes it pretty damn scary for a certain large number of fans to realize that was twenty years ago. Twenty. It’s not quite over 9,000, but it can make fans of my generation step back and realize the enormity of that.
Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z certainly changed a generation of anime fans around the world with what it brought to the table, particularly as it ran alongside another series in North America with Sailor Moon and when they started winding down, it didn’t take long for Pokemon to come into play. These three series are responsible for so many anime fans that it’s plainly ridiculous. And while there’s certainly overlap, each brought in a distinct audience as well which continued to grow and change with interests.
But Dragon Ball fans never are far from the show that brought them into the medium. It’s one of those defining series that highlighted what anime was like for you and you sought out more and more, which was good since the 90′s was target rich for action series. For myself, it took quite a few years before I caught the fever and I had to really struggle with it since I ended up going into it with the anime initially at a later stage that just didn’t click for me. To my surprise, it was reading the manga that got me hooked, particularly for the original series with young Goku, and from there I ended up getting drawn into the anime for both series. And I’m still one of those fans that will easily admit to liking Dragon Ball GT and wanting more. More!
While I haven’t watched every style of release that has come out over the years, it’s been interesting to see how this property essentially seems to have a release that’s designed for every kind of fan and what their interest is, from the original large body of work to the more hardcore pieces like the lavish Dragon Boxes that came out. For myself, I find the Dragon Ball Z Kai franchise to be the best of the best with its focus and tightness. But the real charmer will always be the original series with young Goku.
So with the twentieth anniversary of FUNimation’s founding and their continued work on the franchise that put them on the map, we must offer a solid salute and encouragement to fans to try and sample the property. With it being an anniversary like this, it’s definitely great to see FUNimation acknowledging it and making it so incredibly accessible for fans with the sale they kicked off this week. Here’s to another twenty years with Goku and the gang.