While I know it doesn't stand up to other
japanimation titles
out there in terms of the quality of the artwork,
but there is something about
DragonBall Z that I like. It's
something different to watch on TV than episodes of Scooby-Doo or Bugs Bunny that I'd already seen a million times over, or worse true crap like Top Cat. Boy do I miss the days of
Robotech and
Star Blazers. That's when they knew how to do americanized versions of japanimation properly. Since then it's been a long time since any US TV station has aired any anime.
The Sci-Fi Channel grew some balls a couple years back and put on
Vampire Hunter D and a couple of other cool anime titles to bring anime back into the light.
I'm sure you are all
aware of the differences between Dragonball Z as it aired in Japan, and what's being
forced down our throats these days. The american version
is shit. It
has to be
sanitized because
the majority of the population of the US is not mature enough to handle the
animated violence.
Funimation could NOT put the show on the air uncensored because of the
bullshit regulations they have to follow. Don't call the show shitty, when all you get to see is the weak version meant
to protect the fragile minds of this country's youth.
Parents these days are too busy to raise their children themselves, so they sit them in front of a TV and force the politicians to draft rules and regulations governing what can and cannot be broadcast in the US.
I personally think Dragonball Z has a great storyline compared to some of the other crap that's on TV with real actors or animated. The entire Dragonball series and most of Dragonball Z started out as a show for japan's younger crowd. Apparently there was enough of a following of older folks griping about the lack of good content, meaning fight sequences and they switched gears towards the end of the Frieza saga. The change is noticeable in the shitty american version. The fights got better and lasted twice as long as previously. They even aired the episode where Krillin was blown to bits by Frieza and Goku got mad and got even.
I was upset with how badly that scene was hacked. I got over it quickly because I'd already seen an import version. Do yourself a favor, rent the UNCUT dubbed or subtitled version of Dragonball Z. Don't stop there, do that with all the anime that's currently airing on TV these days. You'll see a much better product all around.