I just played Asura's Wrath, and it immediately inspired me to get into a long ass, over the top anime. I read the entire manga series of Dragon Ball a few years ago, but I don't remember the bulk of it, and I never saw the anime. I already started with the original series, and finished the Emperor Pilaf saga, but I'm kind of confused about where to go next. I guess the majority of the movies aren't canon, but I feel like I'd be kind of lost if they start using concepts and characters that I haven't gotten to in the series yet. And I've heard differing reports on if GT does a decent job of wrapping up the story, or if I should take the final events of Z as the real conclusion and steer clear of GT.

@notdavid: You will be just fine continuing Dragon ball to the end.

Dragon Ball Z KAI is the remastered and abridged version to cut all the filler out. So I would suggest that version of Dragon Ball Z.

Dragon Ball GT, Its up to you once you have done Dragon Ball Z.

I wouldn't say avoid it...however dont consider it canon. Hell as stupid and out of place the movies get the GT series is worse.

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were based on Akira Toriyama's Mangas. Dragon Ball Z was being made while the books were coming out, hence the filler.

Dragon Ball GT was nothing to do with Akira Toriyama, he has no say in the series and thus it was made just to make a third series and more money which explains why it gets stupid and butt fuck crazy.

The movies try and catch them in chronological order of when they are set is my suggestion. They arnt bad however an early one "Lord Slug" is kind of stupid as Goku is dead and wont be back for a long time.....yet he is here to fight Lord Slug? Aswell as when they fight Cooler Goku was gone and not going to come back for a few years.....except he is in that movie which is between Freiza Saga and Cell Saga.

Just watch them. Also Try and get the Funimation releases of the movies. Cos man the non Funimation version are WEIRD! Oolong is know as Pigsy. Piccolo is known is BIG GREEN! and Goku talks like he is the plumber from a 70s porno.

I read none of the manga and only watched a couple of episodes of the anime (up to the Frieza Saga).

Most of the story beats are covered in Dragonball Z: Budokai 3. So, my advice is to go through that or the hd version coming to consoles later this year.

@Akyho said:

@notdavid: You will be just fine continuing Dragon ball to the end.

Dragon Ball Z KAI is the remastered and abridged version to cut all the filler out. So I would suggest that version of Dragon Ball Z.

Dragon Ball GT, Its up to you once you have done Dragon Ball Z.

I wouldn't say avoid it...however dont consider it canon. Hell as stupid and out of place the movies get the GT series is worse.

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were based on Akira Toriyama's Mangas. Dragon Ball Z was being made while the books were coming out, hence the filler.

Dragon Ball GT was nothing to do with Akira Toriyama, he has no say in the series and thus it was made just to make a third series and more money which explains why it gets stupid and butt fuck crazy.

Just remember Kai does cut out the final villain of the series.

@FlarePhoenix: does it cut out the whole buu saga or just super buu?

god those were so terrible

Just read the manga again. The anime is as long as it is because of all the drawn out filler. They released a series called Dragon Ball Kai which took out all the filler and made it closer to the manga. It's decent and cuts out a lot of the fluff, but only covers to the end of the Cell Games saga.

There was always a debate on whether or not GT was canon to the storyline since Toriyama wasn't involved very heavily. The recently released MMO which had lots of input from Toriyama disregards the events of GT entirely. Regardless of whichever one is the most canon, I wouldn't recommend GT at all. Even as a kid I thought it was boring.

@FlarePhoenix: I would consider that a good thing. As they were absolutely floundering around with Buu Saga.

However its probably still worth a watch in which case just smash that on at the end of KAI. Or just start with original versions everyone saw on tv in the 90s and early 00s.

You come out of Cell Saga its all awesome and yeah!

Then you slow down with the Great sayiman Saga...ok it was cute at first can we stop now? nope gawd......oh right stuff is happening. Babbadie saga ok now its getting good....god it is just guys talking for ages! oh right! SHIT BUU! all right here is were it begins...nope....BUU FUCKS AROUND FOR how long? Seriously how long did he just fuck around?

I mean I survived 150 episodes of Dragon ball Z and didnt feel a single bit of drag but BAM Buu saga right in the face. Even when Goku when SSJ3 was ruined by how slowly it all happened and nothing actualy happened and even Super Buu saga was no diffrent from Buu Saga.....we spent too long inside Buu and the fucking around with fusion....and mystic Gohan...

Just cut it! Just Cut it.

End of Cell games fine. Hell Android Saga could be deemed slow, however vs Buu Saga that went break neck speed.

Sorry.....its just the memories.

@FlarePhoenix: Wow, really? Didn't know that Kai considers the whole Majin Buu arc to be filler.

Though it honestly did feel kind of anticlimactic and goofy compared to the Cell Saga.

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

@Akyho said:

@FlarePhoenix: I would consider that a good thing. As they were absolutely floundering around with Buu Saga.

However its probably still worth a watch in which case just smash that on at the end of KAI. Or just start with original versions everyone saw on tv in the 90s and early 00s.

I actually thought the Buu Sagas were the more interesting of the three major villains. With both Frieza and Cell, it was pretty much a case of "Z-Fighters fight them for a while until someone achieves a new level of Super Saiyan to finish them off". With Majin Buu that didn't happen. We had Goku go Super Saiyan 3, and Buu wasn't defeated. It gave the whole thing a sense of mystery of how exactly they were finally going to be able to defeat Buu.

Not to mention if you lose the Buu arc, you pretty much lose the majority of Vegeta's character development so there is that as well.

@Animasta said:

@FlarePhoenix: does it cut out the whole buu saga or just super buu?

god those were so terrible

It ends with the Cell Games. Goku is dead, the mantle has been passed onto Gohan, the end. Don't get me wrong, I kind of like that as a ending (my biggest gripe with DBZ is how poorly they treated Gohan after the Cell Games Saga) but I believe if you want to experience DBZ you need to watch everything; fillers and all. The whole "we're just rereleasing the show, but we're cutting out all the filler" never really sat well with me. I mean it's not like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood where they actually shot entirely new episodes, and had a vastly different story to tell. It's the exact same story, and from what I hear, mostly the same animation (with bits cut out, and some bits here and there redone).

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

Piracy is illegal.

@ajamafalous: I think they have a few seasons of dbz and kai on hulu plus, just not all of them. You may also wanna try the crunchyroll app if you have a roku box or ps3.

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

Piracy is illegal.

@notdavid said:

I just played Asura's Wrath, and it immediately inspired me to get into a long ass, over the top anime. I read the entire manga series of Dragon Ball a few years ago, but I don't remember the bulk of it, and I never saw the anime. I already started with the original series, and finished the Emperor Pilaf saga, but I'm kind of confused about where to go next. I guess the majority of the movies aren't canon, but I feel like I'd be kind of lost if they start using concepts and characters that I haven't gotten to in the series yet. And I've heard differing reports on if GT does a decent job of wrapping up the story, or if I should take the final events of Z as the real conclusion and steer clear of GT.

dont listen to the poster below you. To have the best experience is the original. Just watch all of DBZ and enjoy the fillers. GT is not great but it does have a better ending then DBZ to actually put the series to rest. I have watched all of kai and the original multiple times to the point that I can almost recite the entire script. I enjoyed Kai but nothing beats the 30+ episodes they cut out due to yelling and powering up and such. Good ole 2 week long fights due to the fillers and only 1 new episode a day back in school.

@FlarePhoenix said:

@Akyho said:

@FlarePhoenix: I would consider that a good thing. As they were absolutely floundering around with Buu Saga.

However its probably still worth a watch in which case just smash that on at the end of KAI. Or just start with original versions everyone saw on tv in the 90s and early 00s.

I actually thought the Buu Sagas were the more interesting of the three major villains. With both Frieza and Cell, it was pretty much a case of "Z-Fighters fight them for a while until someone achieves a new level of Super Saiyan to finish them off". With Majin Buu that didn't happen. We had Goku go Super Saiyan 3, and Buu wasn't defeated. It gave the whole thing a sense of mystery of how exactly they were finally going to be able to defeat Buu.

Not to mention if you lose the Buu arc, you pretty much lose the majority of Vegeta's character development so there is that as well.

You are right....however an Abridged version would be useful.

Althou....I did get an emotional response in the Buu Saga with what happened to Chi Chi at Kami's tower..I actually saw that as a random 1 minute clip from a P2P like Kazaa. Hey that was youtube back then didnt know what you were getting.

You can easily just smash Buu Saga on at the end even with KAI, its not like it transitioned well in the first place!

@McShank said:

dont listen to the poster below you. To have the best experience is the original. Just watch all of DBZ and enjoy the fillers. GT is not great but it does have a better ending then DBZ to actually put the series to rest. I have watched all of kai and the original multiple times to the point that I can almost recite the entire script. I enjoyed Kai but nothing beats the 30+ episodes they cut out due to yelling and powering up and such. Good ole 2 week long fights due to the fillers and only 1 new episode a day back in school.

I agree, I am just not sure how well he is to stay the course. Thought Id take the more guaranteed approach so he can at least finish it all, and if he feels true enough go back pure.

He is also slapping Dragon Ball in front of it. there is the movies and then he is considering GT. I think he might be pushing his luck finish most of it unless he has alot of guaranteed time

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

These look like the way to go. They released all three series and the movies, and I'm a sucker for consistent packaging.

@ajamafalous said:

Point out where I mentioned pirating anything, please.

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

I bolded the relevant parts for you.

@Akyho: Oh don't get me wrong, there is a lot in Dragonball that made me scratch my head a little (most of it coming from the stuff between Cell and Buu). Still, I think if you truly want to appreciate what the DBZ anime was, you need to watch it with the filler and everything intact.

Oh, and to answer the original poster's question: just keep going with Dragon Ball at the moment. The movies for all three series can be watched, but you really don't need to, to be able to enjoy the show. They are all non-canon, and never actually get mentioned in the shows themselves.

As for DBGT, I'd say it is definitely worth a look but I wouldn't go in with high expectations. The series had an incredibly poor start, and the show was cancelled not long after it started (I'm not sure of the exact timeline, but it was fairly quick). The only reason the show lasted as long as it did was because they wanted it to still be airing when the accompanying video game was released.

Each saga has some interesting ideas, and the show does actually follow up on some plot threads DBZ opened but never went anywhere with, but the show unfortunately has a stronger focus on comedy than action. It also completely missed what made DBZ so awesome which was, in my opinion, the hand-to-hand combat rather than the beam-spamming (If I recall correctly, there is like maybe one or two fights that aren't just entirely beam-spamming).

Personally I'd say just go grab the remastered season boxes. And once you're done with the Frieza saga go watch Dragonball Z Abridged.

@Petiew said:

@FlarePhoenix: I kind of disagree. I'd say the 'Dragon Ball Experience" can be obtained just from reading through the manga. The manga is the original and intended story. The anime filler is really just "Oh crap we're catching up to the manga, what do we do?" "Err Gohan meets a dragon and Goku falls off of snake way. People like Yamcha, right? Have him fight the Ginyu Force! Goku can save some pterodactyls while Gohan fights Tao Pai Pai." Most of the filler was really uninspired, and other arcs were dragged out so much. I think if someone tried to watch the entire series now they'd get burned out fast.

Sorry, I probably wasn't very clear. I'm talking about the Dragon Ball anime experience, seeing as how the original poster has already read the manga.

@Petiew said:

@FlarePhoenix: I just obviously wasn't paying enough attention then. Fair enough point, since it could put a different spin on material someone is already familiar with. I guess personally I just couldn't suffer through all of that again. Coming home from school to see Saiyaman fighting thugs again killed me inside. (Not really, but I found it really tedious even back then.)

I don't know why, but all of that never really bothered me. I think because it was what I actually started with when I watched Dragon Ball Z. I remember the first episode I ever saw was "Big Trouble for Bulma" where Bulma is getting chased around by two of Frieza's goons on Namek. I didn't go back to the show for a while after that. In fact, the only reason I ever watched it again was because the next episode I just happened to catch was "Save the World". That episode, despite the fact I had zero context, hooked me into the show.

So, of course, the first complete sagas I really saw were the Other World Tournament, Great Saiyaman, and so on.

@FlarePhoenix said:

As for DBGT, I'd say it is definitely worth a look but I wouldn't go in with high expectations. The series had an incredibly poor start, and the show was cancelled not long after it started (I'm not sure of the exact timeline, but it was fairly quick). The only reason the show lasted as long as it did was because they wanted it to still be airing when the accompanying video game was released.

Each saga has some interesting ideas, and the show does actually follow up on some plot threads DBZ opened but never went anywhere with, but the show unfortunately has a stronger focus on comedy than action. It also completely missed what made DBZ so awesome which was, in my opinion, the hand-to-hand combat rather than the beam-spamming (If I recall correctly, there is like maybe one or two fights that aren't just entirely beam-spamming).

I'm loving how lighthearted the first series is so far, and I like lasers. If GT is more of that, I'm on board.

@FlarePhoenix said:

@Petiew said:

@FlarePhoenix: I just obviously wasn't paying enough attention then. Fair enough point, since it could put a different spin on material someone is already familiar with. I guess personally I just couldn't suffer through all of that again. Coming home from school to see Saiyaman fighting thugs again killed me inside. (Not really, but I found it really tedious even back then.)

I don't know why, but all of that never really bothered me. I think because it was what I actually started with when I watched Dragon Ball Z. I remember the first episode I ever saw was "Big Trouble for Bulma" where Bulma is getting chased around by two of Frieza's goons on Namek. I didn't go back to the show for a while after that. In fact, the only reason I ever watched it again was because the next episode I just happened to catch was "Save the World". That episode, despite the fact I had zero context, hooked me into the show.

So, of course, the first complete sagas I really saw were the Other World Tournament, Great Saiyaman, and so on.

I was just about to say you're crazy for liking the filler. But then you brought up Other World Tournament. That was fucking dope.

Super Saiyan Kaioken...why was I so impressed with that as a kid?

Some of the filler is pretty great, Goku trying to drive? That's a pretty good episode. I'd say watch Dragon Ball Kai, if only to cut out the tedious power up episodes and dip into filler in between sagas. Watch Goku and Piccolo before the androids show up and watch other world tournament with some other stuff.

I'll throw my 2 pennies in on this. I am a big fan of the Dragon Ball Z series (have yet to watch the original Dragon Ball). I've got all the orange box remastered editions, the tin boxes for the movies, and I even own the 2 green box packages of the GT series. If you got the time, they are definitely the sets to pick up as they have a marathon mode that allows you to just watch one episode after the other with no title intros or credits. I think there is just the standard commercial thing in the middle of an episode, but still a great way to watch a lot of Dragon Ball Z. There is no real good place to start besides just starting at the beginning and working your way back. This way, like other posters have made mention of, you can watch characters like Vegeta and Gohan progress throughout the series.

I will agree with some poster up above, the Cell saga is where it should have all ended. Goku passes the torch to Gohan, Vegeta has a redeeming moment at the end, just a great way to go out.

TL;DR Buy the remastered box sets of Dragon Ball Z and start from the beginning. Or go real serious and start with Dragon Ball and really start from the very beginning.

@notdavid said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

As for DBGT, I'd say it is definitely worth a look but I wouldn't go in with high expectations. The series had an incredibly poor start, and the show was cancelled not long after it started (I'm not sure of the exact timeline, but it was fairly quick). The only reason the show lasted as long as it did was because they wanted it to still be airing when the accompanying video game was released.

Each saga has some interesting ideas, and the show does actually follow up on some plot threads DBZ opened but never went anywhere with, but the show unfortunately has a stronger focus on comedy than action. It also completely missed what made DBZ so awesome which was, in my opinion, the hand-to-hand combat rather than the beam-spamming (If I recall correctly, there is like maybe one or two fights that aren't just entirely beam-spamming).

I'm loving how lighthearted the first series is so far, and I like lasers. If GT is more of that, I'm on board.

I don't know if I would say lighthearted, so much as just plain drug-inducing. For example, there is an episode where Goku, Trunks and Pan are forced to dance against their will, an episode where Goku has to play a board game, and, I forgot to mention, Goku is a kid throughout the entire series.

@Doctorchimp said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

@Petiew said:

@FlarePhoenix: I just obviously wasn't paying enough attention then. Fair enough point, since it could put a different spin on material someone is already familiar with. I guess personally I just couldn't suffer through all of that again. Coming home from school to see Saiyaman fighting thugs again killed me inside. (Not really, but I found it really tedious even back then.)

I don't know why, but all of that never really bothered me. I think because it was what I actually started with when I watched Dragon Ball Z. I remember the first episode I ever saw was "Big Trouble for Bulma" where Bulma is getting chased around by two of Frieza's goons on Namek. I didn't go back to the show for a while after that. In fact, the only reason I ever watched it again was because the next episode I just happened to catch was "Save the World". That episode, despite the fact I had zero context, hooked me into the show.

So, of course, the first complete sagas I really saw were the Other World Tournament, Great Saiyaman, and so on.

I was just about to say you're crazy for liking the filler. But then you brought up Other World Tournament. That was fucking dope.

Super Saiyan Kaioken...why was I so impressed with that as a kid?

Some of the filler is pretty great, Goku trying to drive? That's a pretty good episode. I'd say watch Dragon Ball Kai, if only to cut out the tedious power up episodes and dip into filler in between sagas. Watch Goku and Piccolo before the androids show up and watch other world tournament with some other stuff.

I've got a good 60 or so years until I die, so I'll probably watch the original series, filler and all.

Watch Dragonball Z and forget everything past the point in where Cell dies. Buu is not even worth it. Done.

Have a child explain it to you...end the end it'll will make just as much sense...and at least this way it will be adorable

Or just watch Yu Yu Hakusho...

@ajamafalous said:

Point out where I mentioned pirating anything, please.

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

I bolded the relevant parts for you.

@ajamafalous said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

@ajamafalous said:

Point out where I mentioned pirating anything, please.

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

I bolded the relevant parts for you.

Have you ever listened to a song or watched a music video, commercial, TV show's theme song, etc. on youtube that wasn't uploaded by the original copyright holder? By your definition that's piracy, and you're absolutely lying if you say you haven't. If the rights holders cared they'd take it down; NBC and VEVO do it all the time. I even mentioned Netflix so I think it's pretty clear that I'm willing to pay for it and I'm not looking for a fucking torrent or something. I'm honestly offended you'd even insinuate that.

Yes, everything you mentioned IS piracy. A lot of those videos do get taken down, but more and more people keep uploading them and it gets to a point where it is not worth the time and money to keep getting them taken down. Also, it was pretty clear from your post you wanted to watch them the easiest way possible regardless of legality.

Although I would like to see that in court

Judge: You are charged with stealing a car.

Defendant: Judge! Have you eaten a grape without paying for it at the supermarket? By your definition that's stealing, and you're absolutely lying if you say you haven't!

Judge: Well... umm... crap... you have me there. Case dismissed!

Also, it was pretty clear from your post you wanted to watch them the easiest way possible regardless of legality.

@ajamafalous said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

Also, it was pretty clear from your post you wanted to watch them the easiest way possible regardless of legality.

That's not even almost true. I'm not going to respond to the rest of your post or any more replies from you because you're just acting like an asshole for the sake of it.

Even if you ignore the whole youtube bit , you still asked whether any other websites had it and you didn't specify streaming or downloading (torrent or otherwise). That is piracy.

@FlarePhoenix said:

@ajamafalous said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

@ajamafalous said:

Point out where I mentioned pirating anything, please.

@ajamafalous said:

Anyone know the best place to watch? I started from the beginning of Dragon Ball like four years ago and got to episode ~55 or so but then ran out of free time. I was just watching each episode in like three parts on youtube and that was kind of a pain. Is youtube where I should be? Are they on Netflix? Is there some other DB fansite that has them all archived?

I bolded the relevant parts for you.

Have you ever listened to a song or watched a music video, commercial, TV show's theme song, etc. on youtube that wasn't uploaded by the original copyright holder? By your definition that's piracy, and you're absolutely lying if you say you haven't. If the rights holders cared they'd take it down; NBC and VEVO do it all the time. I even mentioned Netflix so I think it's pretty clear that I'm willing to pay for it and I'm not looking for a fucking torrent or something. I'm honestly offended you'd even insinuate that.

Yes, everything you mentioned IS piracy. A lot of those videos do get taken down, but more and more people keep uploading them and it gets to a point where it is not worth the time and money to keep getting them taken down. Also, it was pretty clear from your post you wanted to watch them the easiest way possible regardless of legality.

Although I would like to see that in court

Judge: You are charged with stealing a car.

Defendant: Judge! Have you eaten a grape without paying for it at the supermarket? By your definition that's stealing, and you're absolutely lying if you say you haven't!

Judge: Well... umm... crap... you have me there. Case dismissed!

That's not even kind of the same thing.

I'd say just stop before Buu saga. My memory is a little fuzzy so but I don't remember anything really remarkable that isn't repeated again and again besides the escalation in collateral damage.

@supamon said:

I'd say just stop before Buu saga. My memory is a little fuzzy so but I don't remember anything really remarkable that isn't repeated again and again besides the escalation in collateral damage.

Come on, the Buu Saga (well Fusion Saga specifically) has Buu fighting against a ball of candy. That was all kinds of awesome!

@FlarePhoenix said:

@ajamafalous said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

Also, it was pretty clear from your post you wanted to watch them the easiest way possible regardless of legality.

That's not even almost true. I'm not going to respond to the rest of your post or any more replies from you because you're just acting like an asshole for the sake of it.

Even if you ignore the whole youtube bit , you still asked whether any other websites had it and you didn't specify streaming or downloading (torrent or otherwise). That is piracy.

so, did he have to specify? linking illegal content is forbidden on this site anyway so he was obviously looking for legal stuff.

and if you really think content holders have to spend so much time taking shit down on youtube, get real; I was watching a kim possible episode that was uploaded like early last year. Sometimes they literally don't care enough to take them down

Probably the best way to experience the entire Dragonball Z storyline is audio readings of the script by the one and only, Larry King.

@Animasta said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

@ajamafalous said:

@FlarePhoenix said:

Also, it was pretty clear from your post you wanted to watch them the easiest way possible regardless of legality.

That's not even almost true. I'm not going to respond to the rest of your post or any more replies from you because you're just acting like an asshole for the sake of it.

Even if you ignore the whole youtube bit , you still asked whether any other websites had it and you didn't specify streaming or downloading (torrent or otherwise). That is piracy.

so, did he have to specify? linking illegal content is forbidden on this site anyway so he was obviously looking for legal stuff.

and if you really think content holders have to spend so much time taking shit down on youtube, get real; I was watching a kim possible episode that was uploaded like early last year. Sometimes they literally don't care enough to take them down

Just because the rules are in place doesn't mean everyone automatically follows them. I mean how many youtube spam threads do we get, despite their being a rule against it and each and every time the thread gets locked? As I said, he asked about netflix AND any fan sites that may have it which means he was looking into both legal and illegal options.

I never said they had to spend so much time taking stuff down on youtube; I said that because so many different people will upload something if it is popular enough, content holders wouldn't have the time to track down each and every instance of their work on Youtube. Therefore the argument of "well if they really wanted it taken down, they would have taken it down" really doesn't hold a whole lot of water. Besides, time isn't really a factor: you can get some copyrighted videos that last less than a week, or you can get some videos that last a couple of years before finally getting taken down.

Lets get the basics out of the way. The buu saga isn't filler. It is very much so canon. Kai didn't do so great in japan. It just really didn't catch on surprisingly enough. So they ended it early with the cell games, saying that it might later on pick back up if theres enough interest. Wouldn't bet on it. Gt may be not from akira, but its certainly entertaining in its own right. Some of the movies get hokey as hell though.

I personally think you can skip most of the original dragon ball. Its great, but not really necessary. If you've read most of it, finish it in manga form. Z is where things get tricky. Very much so. If you have the time, id reccomend doing the original series. Just the atmosphere settles better. Granted, to get to the end of the frieza saga is double the amount of episodes. After you watch it enough times, you'll know where to and not to skip. Doing either the english dub with jap music or japanese dub is fine.

Problem 1- the releases. The orange brick sets are very cheap, but the video quality isn't the best. Its 16:9 cropped and had the dnr treatment from hell. So much detail lost. The dragon boxes are the best way to go, but 1-4 are extremely expensive. Matter in fact, i sold my 2nd and 4th ones for 180$ each.

Now with kai. If you have a life, its the best route to watch. It may only go up to the cell games, but you can finish the series with the regular vanilla z. Its probably the most reccomended way.

Problem 2- Kai has 2 different musical scores. It started to have its own original music. Copyright problems came along, and the entire series was shifted back to the original DBZ score. The new score isn't bad at all. Problem is, the original score doesn't mix in well with the kai show. Its shoehorned in. And this is the score thats going to be on most newer dvd/blu-ray releases.

Lastly, I reccomend dbgt. Its so cheap.You can buy the series for 20$ easily. It starts out extremely slow. But the last few saga bits are an amazing watch. The last 15 or so episodes stay epic.

@supamon said:

I'd say just stop before Buu saga. My memory is a little fuzzy so but I don't remember anything really remarkable that isn't repeated again and again besides the escalation in collateral damage.

Come on, the Buu Saga (well Fusion Saga specifically) has Buu fighting against a ball of candy. That was all kinds of awesome!

@supamon said:

@FlarePhoenix

@supamon said:

I'd say just stop before Buu saga. My memory is a little fuzzy so but I don't remember anything really remarkable that isn't repeated again and again besides the escalation in collateral damage.

Come on, the Buu Saga (well Fusion Saga specifically) has Buu fighting against a ball of candy. That was all kinds of awesome!

Haha c'mon! Buu turns nearly EVERYONE into food and eats them. Sure it's funny and amusing but it's the most jarring thing to watch where a lot of characters die anti-climatically as food.

Yes, but it is still awesome when the candy fights back. Am I wrong? :P

Last year I watched all of Dragonball for the first time, and it was nice to see the origins of characters like Tien and Yajirobi and understand some of the references left in Z. However I felt like the majority of that series was pretty skippable, it wasnt as funny as it seemed to think it was, the animation is pretty poor, and the action isn't very good. So I'd recommend not finishing that because it doesn't really hold up. Anyways then I moved onto Kai which retroactively improved my opinion of DBZ by a lot, and I was really surprised at how much I found myself enjoying it (though they butchered the soundtrack I remembered). Once that was done I moved onto the Majin Buu arc, which I decided was totally unnecessary to the story, and probably shouldn't exist at all. Never watched GT, don't really plan to. So if you want my advice just watch Kai and skip everything else.

@Hunter5024 said:

Last year I watched all of Dragonball for the first time, and it was nice to see the origins of characters like Tien and Yajirobi and understand some of the references left in Z. However I felt like the majority of that series was pretty skippable, it wasnt as funny as it seemed to think it was, the animation is pretty poor, and the action isn't very good. So I'd recommend not finishing that because it doesn't really hold up. Anyways then I moved onto Kai which retroactively improved my opinion of DBZ by a lot, and I was really surprised at how much I found myself enjoying it (though they butchered the soundtrack I remembered). Once that was done I moved onto the Majin Buu arc, which I decided was totally unnecessary to the story, and probably shouldn't exist at all. Never watched GT, don't really plan to. So if you want my advice just watch Kai and skip everything else.

Funnily enough, with the exception of Vegeta, every major villain in Dragonball Z was intended to be the last. First it was supposed to end with Frieza (which was partly why Super Saiyan was so built up at the start, but turned into a kid's thing by the end of the series), then Cell (Goku dies, Gohan takes over, etc...) and it finally ended with Majin Buu (although interestingly, it was originally Gohan who was supposed to defeat Buu but the fans were like "No, Goku should be the hero! We want Goku to save the day").

The thing I liked in Dragon Ball was that there were characters who could actually match Goku. Master Roshi and Tien both proved to be better than him at one point, Piccolo could match him, and Krillin was coming up just behind. It was a nice change from DBZ's "IF YOU ARE NOT A SAIYAN YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO PURPOSE IN THIS SERIES!!!"

Also, the Majin Buu Saga proved to me that Mr. Satan was the most awesomeness character in the entire franchise.

The Cell Saga might as well be considered the pinnacle of Dragon Ball Z for two reasons:

• Final Flash
• Gohan destroying Cell, thereby completing the arc seeded so very early on in the series.

Fuck Buu and everything associated with it and all of the apologists who try to rally around that illogical, tonally misguided, vapid waste of a saga.

@supamon said:

@FlarePhoenix

@supamon said:

I'd say just stop before Buu saga. My memory is a little fuzzy so but I don't remember anything really remarkable that isn't repeated again and again besides the escalation in collateral damage.

Come on, the Buu Saga (well Fusion Saga specifically) has Buu fighting against a ball of candy. That was all kinds of awesome!

Haha c'mon! Buu turns nearly EVERYONE into food and eats them. Sure it's funny and amusing but it's the most jarring thing to watch where a lot of characters die anti-climatically as food.

Yes, but it is still awesome when the candy fights back. Am I wrong? :P

@The_Ruiner said:

Have a child explain it to you...end the end it'll will make just as much sense...and at least this way it will be adorable

Or just watch Yu Yu Hakusho...

This is a man of refined taste.

@supamon said:

@FlarePhoenix

@supamon said:

@FlarePhoenix

@supamon said:

I'd say just stop before Buu saga. My memory is a little fuzzy so but I don't remember anything really remarkable that isn't repeated again and again besides the escalation in collateral damage.

Come on, the Buu Saga (well Fusion Saga specifically) has Buu fighting against a ball of candy. That was all kinds of awesome!

Haha c'mon! Buu turns nearly EVERYONE into food and eats them. Sure it's funny and amusing but it's the most jarring thing to watch where a lot of characters die anti-climatically as food.

Yes, but it is still awesome when the candy fights back. Am I wrong? :P

Alright alright yes it is awesome.I'll give you that but I still won't recommend suffering through Buu to see that! I'd rather OP just pretend to be buu and imagine the candy he eats is Goku and Vegeta!

I think the biggest problem the Buu section had was that it dragged on too long, and it kind of started to get annoying how the Z Fighters were only getting beaten because they were cocky. With Gotenks it kind of made sense since he was two little kids who had recently gained a lot of power, but when Gohan started being all like "I'm so good, I can just take my time defeating Buu" it got a bit annoying.

I am a bit biased towards the Buu Saga since it was the first major villain I followed all the way through watching DBZ. Although my personal favorite overall still has to go to Cell with Frieza being my least favorite (By the time I got around to watching Frieza, I pretty much knew everything that was going to happen, so it kind of weakened it a bit for me).

@HistoryInRust said:

The Cell Saga might as well be considered the pinnacle of Dragon Ball Z for two reasons:

• Final Flash
• Gohan destroying Cell, thereby completing the arc seeded so very early on in the series.

Fuck Buu and everything associated with it and all of the apologists who try to rally around that illogical, tonally misguided, vapid waste of a saga.

Yeah, not like the completely logical Cell section where Trunks goes back in time, goes back to the future, kills the Androids, gets killed by Cell, Cell goes back in time, Trunks goes back in time again, they defeat the Androids and Cell, Trunks goes back to the future again, defeats the Androids again and has to fight Cell... again.

Makes perfect sense to me!