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Naruto vs. Dragon Ball Z.




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EinSpiegel



Joined: 22 Mar 2012
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:23 pm Reply with quote
Along with the majority of anime fans, I have grown up submerged in the exciting tales of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. And along with the appreciation of anime in particular, I also began to get into different genres within the art form. Although Naruto is "Action", it still contains many of the key character developing points that make great anime shows. What I want to figure out is which series is superior, what are the different character features that stand out? That are relate-able to modern perspective. Comparing the two by the story telling aspect, as well as paring characters up in actual fights. Some would be adamant on their opinion of certain victories. while others might be caught in the middle. There are different power levels that have been defined. What needs to be determined is the reality that is established in the world created. Meld the two into the same existence and see who comes out on top.

[EDIT: Please don't all caps. -TK]
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Noity



Joined: 05 Nov 2011
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:44 pm Reply with quote
Naruto is seperior in almost every aspect; all fights are more detailed, more purposeful (in DBZ, the only purpose of fights is because "Hey, it's evil, let's destroy it before it destroys Earth"), character development is MUCH better, and overall there are some moments in Naruto that are so emotionally strong that it makes you cry, while in DBZ all I can see is stupid fights, stupid dialogs, etc. No offense to DBZ fans, that's just my personal opinion, but I really don't like Dragon Ball Z, I think it's one of the worst animes I've ever watched.

P. S. I think you should've made a poll...
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8494
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Noity wrote:
(in DBZ, the only purpose of fights is because "Hey, it's evil, let's destroy it before it destroys Earth")


Maybe if you only watch the English dubbed version it is.

Naruto had an interesting premise, but totally failed it after a while. Dragon Ball Z has more charm to it.
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EinSpiegel



Joined: 22 Mar 2012
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:25 pm Reply with quote
I agree that the English dubbed version lacked a certain amount of depth. But the dialogue simply reflected the storyline, which made a point to repeat the villain process. Although that isn't necessarily the case when it comes to the original Dragon Ball. The show consistently described the battle between the "pure of heart" and corrupt. I think Dragon Ball deserves credit for shaping the world in which Naruto was conceived in.
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Xanas



Joined: 27 Aug 2007
Posts: 2058
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:14 pm Reply with quote
I can't watch the Japanese dub of DBZ because I can't take Goku seriously as a high pitched chick, sorry. (I am fine with other series that the male is played by a female, but with Goku I don't think it fits at all.

As someone who vastly prefers the English dub I'd have to disagree on all counts with it being superior that Naruto in Japanese but not in English. That said, I'm curious if anyone has specific translated lines to refer to make the point about losing the story in English, that might be somewhat valid. I haven't really watched DBZ with the subs on to compare the dialog, but I did this with Yu Yu Hakusho and vastly preferred the English version. Obviously, it's a much different series but they were both dubbed by Funimation and in both cases in terms of casting I preferred the Funi's version.

On enjoyment both of these series are relatively similar for me. DBZ and Naruto both have quite a bit of terrible pacing and a fair amount of filler content. It's at certain times when battles are starting or ending that the characters tend to shine because that's when they will be unleashing their new techniques/etc. Once a battle stretches out over multiple episodes, it tends to get worse rather than better.

I like both of these shows, but to be honest the Naruto filler killed me and I haven't recovered. On the other end of the spectrum, Naruto tends to seem to respect it's other characters a lot more than DBZ does. DBZ became all about Goku quickly, then Gohan very briefly and back to Goku. Naruto tends to use it's other characters a lot more and ideally that is better. Sadly it's full of filler that bogs it down even worse than DBZ.
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EinSpiegel



Joined: 22 Mar 2012
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:38 pm Reply with quote
great response. DBZ defiinitely was a story about one person and the people around him while Naruto is about a village. and the people living in that village. a protagonist is obvious in each. but Goku always seemed to have a straight and narrow point of view about the situation at hand. unlike Naruto who has mood swings and is a little more recognizable to the audience.
I was looking for new features that are like these shows and a favorite movie of mine "Tekkonkinkreet" and I came across this trailer for a 6part movie. "PES peace.eco.smile" its only in Japanese so i'm not to sure about what the message is, but the imagery is clean and i think it's paced very well. whether it will hold up. i dont think its going for the same demographics as action shows like DBZ and NARUTO. but i think anime fans in general would enjoy watching this.

http://youtu.be/NlTHPfhmn9g
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Gatherum



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Aurora CO
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:44 pm Reply with quote
Dragonball Z did not focus on deep emotions or any sort of idealogical concept, but this hardly detracts from it because it was more focused and doesn't give me the impression of a series that drowns in naïveté or that has overstepped its bounds.

Naruto had potential, but it was bogged down by far too many flashbacks and shit that didn't really NEED the extra elaboration, not to mention the tutorial narratives that really could have been made more concise. Because of this, its fights were horribly paced and choppy at times.

It undermined what deeper concepts or themes it had with the, "just try harder and you can do anything with enough determination" gimmick and it displayed quite a few animation and/or art hiccups, something that Dragonball Z really didn't have a problem with.

To Naruto's credit, the story was built on a world that could handle its scale, but it all became meaningless when Naruto himself became the only relevant protagonist, who, once again, wins just because he's determined enough to do it, not because he is smarter or more analytical than his given opponent. That's sad, considering all the time that was put into developing the other characters. Frankly, the series in general just feels like it's become altogether too convoluted and ridiculous. Dragonball Z, ironically, was entirely more restrained, though I will admit that it did have similar pacing issues before Kai was conceived.
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EinSpiegel



Joined: 22 Mar 2012
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:00 am Reply with quote
I prefer the fight scenes in Naruto a little more. The speed as angles within their fight are still easy to follow. and you don't lose either aspect by showing what is happening. Rather than DBZ making characters move so fast that the audience doesn't need to see what's going on, or when they do it's a cycle of the same three punch exchange. Now I'm over simplifying it, but there is a noticeable formula in the fight scenes in DBZ. I think Naruto has more variety.
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Primus



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 2803
Location: Toronto
PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:20 am Reply with quote
Dragon Ball has engaging characters and early a very fun and comedic storyline. Naruto had engaging characters, and decided to toss them to the side in favour of characters with the personality of white beard.
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