The problem with the Dragon Ball Z Online Community
by XHyperTrunks00
XHyperTrunks00@aol.com

Hello, everyone. Let me start of this editorial by explaining it's purpose. It is NOT made to bash anyone, nor is it made to insult anyone. It is just, my opinion. Bear in mind, that I am a hardcore DB fan for the past 4 years or so now, I really just love DB. Okay, now, on with the show.

The Dragon Ball Z North American dub has been criticized since the day it came out. This is understandable, seeing as the quality of the dub is really below par. However, here it is, the thing I am about to say that is going to burst everyone bubble. You may not want Dragon Ball to be called a cartoon, fine. We'll call it an anime, then. Remember how I said earlier that Dragon Ball Z was my favorite show? Yeah, well it's just that.

A SHOW.

Dragon Ball is, in my opinion, the story of a man's lifetime and the epic struggle of good versus evil. However, this is still A SHOW. It is meant for entertainment purposes, not to point out to everyone the meaning of life, or to show everyone their direction in life from now on.

Some of you disagree with me, fine, to each his own. I respect that.

However, to the main point of this editorial. Everyone's constant whining. And that's what it is. WHINING. All these webmasters, whom I have great respect for their dedication and hard work, just sometimes know how to really ruin something with all their whining. If the DBZ online community could just leave the dub be, or make polite criticism and try to help, which some of you are indeed doing, then everyone would be much happier, I assure you.

But instead, all we ever get is a bunch of people sitting at their computer whining about different voice actors, music, etc. I agree with them on most if not all of their points, but however, when the same argument is preached again and again, it is no longer an argument. It is WHINING. I for one, would be much happier if people could just learn to leave things be, maybe there are those that agree with me. If you don't, that's fine, I am not Akira Toriyama, just a man speaking his mind. I understand the depth of love and reverence some people must have for this show, I have it myself. But I think that looking at the dub, and criticizing everything it does, is just childish. FUNimation's target audience is children 4-12 years of age. Fine by me, I have my fansubs, and if I want to watch the dub, I will. I personally, view the dub as just another interpretation of my favorite story of all time. However, some people aren't happy with this, they feel the need to complain and complain, which is again, your choice. But you know what:

TOO BAD.

FUNimation's not going to change anything because you want them too. Except this fact now: we, my friends, are the minority. I know this, Last year during the Season 3 dub, guys who have never even heard of the Japanese version of DBZ were asking me what happens to Gokou, after he hit Freeza with the Genki Dama, in the middle of gym class! Though FUNimation's dub is below what many of us want it to be, it has introduced many new fans to the wonderful tale of Dragon Ball, which I am happy for. The more fans, the better DBZ thrives, the more happy I am. I can deal with the fact that they are "dubbies." They're in it for the combat, storytelling, whatever. But they're fans, just the same. And they, even though most of them are children 12 and under, outnumber us greatly. Still though, I think that's fine, to each his own.

Now, to all those people that think Akira Toriyama and Toei and FUNimation are all at fault, I think that Prince Vegeta, in an editorial to Kienzan's edge, said this the right way:

They're businessmen.

And they are, it is true. Toei doesn't care if FUNI puts their own music in the dub, though I am sure that they'd prefer they didn't, so that TOEI could get more money for the original score. But like Prince Vegeta said, it's useless to argue. FUNI's target audience won't care if they have the original score in there, and, as many as we DBZ purists are, we still wouldn't add much to the ratings, which is ALL FUNI cares about. They don't care about the cultural differences in the dub and the original, or anything like that. All they care about is $$$$. And they have every right to, no matter what anyone says. They paid to get the dub, it's theirs. They're businessmen. As for Akira Toriyama, some people out there call him Toriyama-sama, which I think is ridiculous. Sure, I agree, that man is great, he invented my favorite anime/comic/games of all time. But to call him lord or master is just garbage. He did this for the money, too, you know, just the same as any other artist or storyteller. He just had better ideas and imagination in his head. Don't take me wrong, I have great respect for the man, and would easily call him Toriyama-san, but that's it.

For all you people that are bristling right now, sorry, but this is what I believe. Dragon Ball Z is simply another form of entertainment, even an epic, but that's all it is. It's not life. There are other things out there. And to people like VegettoEX, who constantly bug FUNI about the dub: Stop acting like children. It will get you no where. All it does is annoy people who come to your site for DB info and multimedia. To people like Mr. E, who use more respectable methods such as petitions and passive resistance: Keep it up, guys. The way you guys are handling this situation is the best I have seen yet even though the petitions may not work, it does show a degree of maturity lacking in some others.

And to everyone else, quit your whining. It's a show. I'm sure that a bunch of people may in fact, disagree, and send long and detailed responses, but to each his own, like I said before. FUNI is dubbing the show to make money. If you dont like it, do not watch it. Quit your bitching. Don't ruin the experience for those of us that can enjoy both versions of DB, without constant complaining.

Sayonara and until next time,

XHyperTrunks00

P.S. Oh and best wishes to Chris Psaros on the surgery, we were all rooting for you.