Why Dragonball is not very popullar in UK?
- Thread starter Nao
- Start date
Welcome to the forums Nao.
Well personally I think the Dragonball franchise did reasonably well here in the UK. It would be frequently referenced at schools or on forums based in the UK, it is one of the most known animes here, but to be honest with you anime is quite a small market here, but big enough to have a supportive fan base. Hopefully this year we should be receiving Dragonball Kai on UK TV if all is true.
Edit: Added quote from Stuart-says-yes.
Well personally I think the Dragonball franchise did reasonably well here in the UK. It would be frequently referenced at schools or on forums based in the UK, it is one of the most known animes here, but to be honest with you anime is quite a small market here, but big enough to have a supportive fan base. Hopefully this year we should be receiving Dragonball Kai on UK TV if all is true.
Apart from Ryo Chan.Stuart-says-yes said:
Edit: Added quote from Stuart-says-yes.
It will have spread less as the anime is currently unavailable, partly due to copyright problems. It was broadcast on TV but has had no proper disk release.
Also the manga had problems with it's first release here. Comic shops (and most online shops) stock the USA versions from Viz Media, this meant fans didn't buy the UK release from Gollancz, as they already had American copies. That made it harder to get than it should have been for a few years.
Also the manga had problems with it's first release here. Comic shops (and most online shops) stock the USA versions from Viz Media, this meant fans didn't buy the UK release from Gollancz, as they already had American copies. That made it harder to get than it should have been for a few years.
The thing about DBZ was that even non-anime fans got into it, i was only in a game shop a few weeks ago when i over-heard some lads reminiscing about it after they saw a copy of DBZ Raging Blast 2 for sale (they went on to buy Fifa 11 after this), even my fiancee's sister has watched it and liked it (she keeps drawing comparsions to DBZ with all my drawings)
So I wouldn't say it wasn't popular but unless we get Kai here like dinkytom says, then it may be one of those shows that will never get a release on these shores...But then again the orange brick sets that america got can play on our dvd players so its not the end of the world.
So I wouldn't say it wasn't popular but unless we get Kai here like dinkytom says, then it may be one of those shows that will never get a release on these shores...But then again the orange brick sets that america got can play on our dvd players so its not the end of the world.
Thank you for your reply, everybody.
As far as I read opinions, I might misunderstand the situation a bit.
It is popular for most of anime fans but not for non-anime fans.
But Im also interested in the opinion
I'd like to know how bad is it.
As far as I read opinions, I might misunderstand the situation a bit.
It is popular for most of anime fans but not for non-anime fans.
But Im also interested in the opinion
Kirrimir said:
I'd like to know how bad is it.
KingJimmeh
Magical Girl
Dragonball Z has a lot of memorable characters, and a typical shonen plot. What a lot of people dislike is how long it is (300+) episodes, with a lot of the story taking a long time to get through, plus quite a few filler episodes to extend it.
With that having being said, Dragonball Kai is a modern re-release of DBZ with improved animation, sound and a few other little changes that also cut the series length down to about a 100 episodes. Due to the cost of licensing anything Dragonball-related, don't expect to see Kai released over here though.
It is an odd situation, especially considering the franchise must still be popular enough to warrant a new game every year despite the end of Dragonball GT (and the animated franchise in general) having been shown about 7 or 8 years ago now over here.
With that having being said, Dragonball Kai is a modern re-release of DBZ with improved animation, sound and a few other little changes that also cut the series length down to about a 100 episodes. Due to the cost of licensing anything Dragonball-related, don't expect to see Kai released over here though.
It is an odd situation, especially considering the franchise must still be popular enough to warrant a new game every year despite the end of Dragonball GT (and the animated franchise in general) having been shown about 7 or 8 years ago now over here.
I wouldn't say Dragonball Z is unpopular in the UK by any means, however it is more of a case that, it isn't as accessible for us in the UK. Manga wise, we can get a hold of it, anime wise, the only way that i know of is by importing from the US, since it has never had an official release here, Manga UK i believe had something to say on the matter there.
- Oh wait, wasn't there two of the movies released here? Regardless.
I think DBZ certainly had a role to play in some respects with fans who came to discover anime through watching it on channels like CNX, alongside Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star and Gundam Wing, but again, the UK hasn't had anymore exposure to the series bar through the TV or the games. You'd need to find someone with Viz details for manga sales
- Oh wait, wasn't there two of the movies released here? Regardless.
I think DBZ certainly had a role to play in some respects with fans who came to discover anime through watching it on channels like CNX, alongside Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star and Gundam Wing, but again, the UK hasn't had anymore exposure to the series bar through the TV or the games. You'd need to find someone with Viz details for manga sales
KingJimmeh
Magical Girl
It also helped that back during the late 90's, Cartoon Network would dedicate whole Sundays just to DBZ (Saga Sundays), which was huge exposure. Plus DBZ would be on at kid's prime-time when they showed new episodes (5.30pm).
More popularity? Maybe. If it where to appear on TV again though, i think it's safe to say there will be many watching it again, even if it was the 4kids version, which, ok, wasn't as terrible as expected. The chances only live with Cartoon Network and such now though, since we have no dedicated channels for anime, and that of which we did have, fell through. I'd watch it again though, if only for nostalgias sake.