DBZ – A Dubbies Point of View

Written by Juuitchigou

I would like to start my first Editorial with a confession.

I am a Dubbie, and I have been since I first saw Dragonball Z last year. This is why I use Dubbie spellings, and refer to other things dubbed.

In one month, I will have been watching this incredible Anime for one year, and I still love it.

I first fell in love with Goku and his friends (and enemies) last April, when I seriously injured my knee. This injury, and the operations that followed, prevented me from attending college and I had nothing else to do but sit at home by myself and become emerged in the world of TV.

I was sitting there one day, when a familiar program aired on Cartoon network. You guessed it, it was DBZ. I had seen some episodes earlier that year, but had not paid any attention to them.

It wasn’t until I realized that there was a history to this wild adventure series, that I really started to research it.

My Internet quest led me to such magnificent sites as; Planet Namek, Ginga Giri Giri and Temple o Trunks. This is how I became informed, and I truly began to appreciate DBZ for what it really was.

I fell in love with the simplicity and the plot of the Anime, and soon I was spending all my time on the computer reading Fanfics and downloading the Manga.

Pretty soon I had a full knowledge of everything from Dragonball A – Z.

My walls were covered with posters, including those from GT, I was well into my own Fanfics series, and I had started a small Fan-site.

But as soon as DBZ had captured my heart (and my mind), it was time to return to college. I met all my friends again with a folder of Screen-caps, and a head full of facts.

After less than a week, I had a group of fellow students discussing the difference between Otakus and Subbies, whether Vegeta was now the King of the Saiyans, and how the hell did Juuhachi-gou have Marron?

I am one of the lucky ones, fortunate enough to have the resources to feed my desire to learn more. But with what I have learnt, I have shown many ‘Dubbies’ another side to Dragonball Z – the spiritual side.

If you look closely at DBZ, you will see what I mean.

My favorite episodes are not when Goku first becomes a Super Saiyan (Dubbie spellings, I know, but bear with me), when Freiza was defeated, or when he and King Cold came to earth.

My favorites are when our heroes are living their lives, doing what they do best – Yamcha playing baseball, Goku at home with Chichi, Gohan studying and Krillin still trying to get a date.

Then there is that other side, the commercial side.

I do not hide the fact that I love merchandise, I have a shelf full of action figures and a closet full of merchandised clothing. But this is not the true DBZ. Or is it?

Many people would argue with that, but one of the greatest feelings in the world is that when you own a little piece of DBZ, a little piece of the story.

The games are another story, as are the trading cards.

I am not a gamer. I am a writer and a drawer. (I have just started my first Manga) I own one Trading card of Yamcha in his Titans uniform that was given to me by a very thoughtful, very close friend.

I hold that gift close to my heart, which is exactly where I hold DBZ and many other Animes.

Give the Dubbies a break, we know a lot more than most give us credit for. With a good part of the violence cut from DBZ, it is easier to see the spiritual side. (not that I don’t enjoy a good fight or seven…)

But seriously though, it has to stop somewhere. When Vegeta died, Freiza lifted his arm, then we saw Gohan and Krillin. They didn’t even show him hitting the ground…

Also, everyone I know who have seen DBZ, and fully appreciated it are dubbies.

They are now drawing, writing and living (through RPGS) the world of Dragonball Z. I pride myself on the fact I have been able to educate more than one dubbie on the true DBZ –

The Fans are the true DBZ

We are the fans

Without us, DBZ would have withered and died. Whether we are Otakus, Subbies, or Dubbies like myself, we are what keeps it alive.

Dragonball/Z/GT may be finished, but it will forever live on in the heart of the fans.

Keep writing, it’s what keeps the spirit of Dragonball Z alive…

Juuitchigou