When Dragon Ball debuted in overseas markets like the U.S., one of the world’s largest newspapers at the time had a hilarious reaction to the impending force that is Toriyama’s action series. The franchise was one of the series to pave the way for anime as a medium to be enjoyed all over the world.
Refound by Reddit user xtremerussel, an image of a Wall Street Journal article about Dragon Ball Z has left a lasting impact on fans. On December 3rd 1999, Wall Street Journal reporter Sally Beatty reported on the astonishing popularity of Dragon Ball Z among young children and teenagers and made an unforgettably hilarious comparison.
It was here that she described Dragon Ball as a fusion of Pokémon and Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. “A sort of Pokémon meets Pulp Fiction, the show is much darker than the average kiddie cartoon.” As humorous as that is, it couldn’t be further from the truth as Dragon Ball is a far cry from both the series.
Dragon Ball Gets The Modern Redesign It Needed From Jujutsu Kaisen’s Author
In celebration of Dragon Ball’s upcoming 40th anniversary, Jujutsu Kaisen’s Gege Akutami got the chance to homage Akira Toriyama for a cover image.
Dragon Ball Took Over In America
Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama
Dragon Ball Z might be considered one of Toonami’s best anime now, but its debut in 1998 was more contentious. The WSJ article notes the incredible popularity the series had among teenage boys, leading to Cartoon Network receiving the most views in its history at the time, with 1.7 million households watching the series. Ratings were at an all-time high and the popularity of Dragon Ball led to the channel increasing its allocated time for anime. More anime were also in the catalog, namely Gundam Wing and Tenchi Mento.
Given how different Dragon Ball Z was from most cartoons at the time, there were obviously concerns about the series and its violent premise. This was made more true given how shows were more bloody and gory before many regulations and censorship were put in place. Fortunately, the distributors of the series, Funimation, removed the blood and moderated the level of gore that would have otherwise been displayed to the children in the USA. Now, Dragon Ball is often considered a perfect anime to introduce kids to the medium.
Where to Watch Dragon Ball Z: How to Stream Online
Dragon Ball Z is possibly the biggest anime in history, and fans new and old are still watching today. Here are all the platforms it’s available on.
As shown by the article, Dragon Ball was one of the most popular series at the time and was an icon with audiences inside and outside of Japan. As one of the highest-grossing media franchises, the series did wonders propelling the medium to a global. The tales of Goku and his friends have been made into movies, spinoffs, games, and many other forms of media that demonstrate the huge demand that Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise has garnered.
Watch Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Super
Dragon Ball Super is a sequel to the original Dragon Ball series as well as the fan-favorite Dragon Ball Z anime. Dragon Ball Super takes place ten years after Majin Buu is defeated and follows Goku and his friends on all-new adventures. Much like its predecessors, Dragon Ball Super was praised throughout its 131 episodes.
