The Last AirBender Had Potential To Be Better Than DBZ

[Zebruh]

No, DBZ has plenty of quality. This new gen has no patience so I can't seem them waiting 4-5 episodes for shyt to happen like we used to.

Nah one thing I hate about DBZ when I try to watch it now, especially with so much other anime out nowadays with easy methods to watch, is that the shyt takes way too long for things to happen. It was filler central with downright terrible pacing at times. People knock Naruto for filler, but honestly, you can skip the filler arc episodes and blaze through the main arc's relatively quickly(just be ready for flashbacks). Once things start happening, the show has good progression and pacing. DBZ would make moves but out of 2-3 episodes, really only 4 notable things happened.

If DBZ dropped today, it'd be way less filler, especially since it doesn't need to catch up to the manga. It's quality, but a lot of shows have taken what it's done since then and excelled greatly.

i don't and it isn't

it's a fukking nickelodeon cartoon

dbz is the GOAT for a reason

Pretty much my sentiment as far as Avatar goes. I get it's anime influenced, but...it's a Nick cartoon, and one of their best at that.

 

[Illuminatos]

DBZ story was pretty mediocre, especially after the Frieza saga.

Now don't get me wrong DBZ is still top 5 but i'll take Naruto and YYH over it anyday.

 

[Arishok]

What I'm saying though is the thing that made DBZ so impactful wasn't the consistency of its story or its detailed animation. There were much better animes out that had a better story, narrative and animation. DBZ came out during a time before the internet wasn't as accessible but it was still the 5th top search in Yahoo! search engine in 2001. Like I said DBZ had a perfect formula. It came out at the right time and grabbed the attention of the right demographic to propel it to the icon it is today.

Same as Naruto which is way way way more comparable to DBZ than TLA is.



Like I just said DBZ did come out today. It's called Naruto and its one of the GOAT....

Now I'm a huge fan of both DBZ and Naruto but I also am a realist and will tell it like it is. DBZ told the same story over and over after the Frieza saga, even though Cell saga was my favorite. You have a villain, the heroes can't beat him, hero powers up, starts beating villain, villain powers up, rinse wash repeat until the hero powers up for about four to five episodes to defeat the villain.

While Naruto (part one) has better pacing and character development than DBZ, it's not that good especially considering the female characters in it.

With that being said, the way DBZ revolutionized anime and people are still trying to imitate and the fact that it could come out with a movie 20 years later and people still rush to buy it/watch it is what makes it great and what makes it legendary. The same with Naruto, as far as story/character wise ATLA wins by a landslide beating both DBZ and Naruto.

 

[onelastdeath]

Pretty much my sentiment as far as Avatar goes. I get it's anime influenced, but...it's a Nick cartoon, and one of their best at that.

Avatar was received just as well as dbz tho

 

[Airtrack360]

Now I'm a huge fan of both DBZ and Naruto but I also am a realist and will tell it like it is. DBZ told the same story over and over after the Frieza saga, even though Cell saga was my favorite. You have a villain, the heroes can't beat him, hero powers up, starts beating villain, villain powers up, rinse wash repeat until the hero powers up for about four to five episodes to defeat the villain.

While Naruto (part one) has better pacing and character development than DBZ, it's not that good especially considering the female characters in it.

With that being said, the way DBZ revolutionized anime and people are still trying to imitate and the fact that it could come out with a movie 20 years later and people still rush to buy it/watch it is what makes it great and what makes it legendary. The same with Naruto, as far as story/character wise ATLA wins by a landslide beating both DBZ and Naruto.

Like I said in my post, there were a lot of animes with much better story, character development, and animation than DBZ at the time BUT that's not always the formula for a successful anime franchise or at least one like DBZ. DBZ had many flaws and shortcomings when it came to the criteria your specifying, but I don't think anyone is debating who had the better story or animation except maybe OP, but like someone else said, it's like comparing apples to oranges.

It's like comparing a comedy film to a horror film. DBZ was about the action mixed with humor and a bit of light-heartedness. Nothing deep or philosophical about it. No rising factions, no civil wars gestures. Just the good guys vs. the bad guys.

Some may even argue that if DBZ took itself too seriously and added in some TLA elements than it may not of been as popular as it was.

 

[Arishok]

Like I said in my post, there were a lot of animes with much better story, character development, and animation than DBZ at the time BUT that's not always the formula for a successful anime franchise or at least one like DBZ. DBZ had many flaws and shortcomings when it came to the criteria your specifying, but I don't think anyone is debating who had the better story or animation except maybe OP, but like someone else said, it's like comparing apples to oranges.

It's like comparing a comedy film to a horror film. DBZ was about the action mixed with humor and a bit of light-heartedness. Nothing deep or philosophical about it. No rising factions, no civil wars gestures. Just the good guys vs. the bad guys.

Some may even argue that if DBZ took itself too seriously and added in some TLA elements than it may not of been as popular as it was.

Never mind then, we agree

 

[Arishok]

Compare shows decades apart brehs...

DBZ came out in the early 90's and revolutionized shyt. Anime has also changed a lot since then over all these years. Of course shows nowadays are gonna be better than it in some ways. DBZ is their blueprint, they just pick and chose on what they think they can do better. Shows change and audiences change.

It's hilarious when these type of threads pop up cuz they always say the same things

Ask yourself this, do you really think Avatar is gonna hold up the same as DBZ did for 20+ years?

And Avatar is not anime...

I personally think Avatar will definitely have a cult following and a legacy simply for inventing something as unique as "bending". There aren't a lot of shows I completely shut down everything for to watch and Avatar made me do that, I could be wrong though.

 

[Airtrack360]

I personally think Avatar will definitely have a cult following and a legacy simply for inventing something as unique as "bending". There aren't a lot of shows I completely shut down everything for to watch and Avatar made me do that, I could be wrong though.

True, but when you think about it. It's no different than Naruto's no jutsu system.

 

[winb83]

The Last Airbender isn't anime and it already is better than DBZ. I like DBZ but it's mostly a bunch of loosely strung together fights with a paper thin story. It excels at almost nothing else but the fighting.

 

[StatUS]

Dragonball manga is one of the GOATs just off influence. But the anime is Pokemon status. Just really popular with flashes of greatness every once and awhile.

 

[King Koopa]

Dragonball manga is one of the GOATs just off influence. But the anime is Pokemon status. Just really popular with flashes of greatness every once and awhile.

Yeah and dudes gotta realize that Toriyama was following a standard back then to how manga was done.

Why even compare the two in the first place? One is a Japanese cartoon that's based on a manga written catering to the shonen genre. The other is an American cartoon that came out decades later and does all of its writing in between the show's seasons. Avatar writers are going by what they want at they're own pace. They didn't have an editor breathing down they're neck like Toriyama did on some "You better do this and keep this shyt going for the fans ".

It's no surprise Avatar has better writing. Especially if they have all these other successful shows that came out before to learn from.

Dragonball would be very different if it came out today instead of the early 90's...

 

[onelastdeath]

True, but when you think about it. It's no different than Naruto's no jutsu system.

I think it's totally different than Naruto Jutsu.

The Last Airbender isn't anime and it already is better than DBZ. I like DBZ but it's mostly a bunch of loosely strung together fights with a paper thin story. It excels at almost nothing else but the fighting.

You think its better?

 

[onelastdeath]

UPDATE IN TO OP: Fire Nation is located right where America would be on a modernized map. The story could really be symbolism for American Slavery and Oppression

 

[Arishok]

True, but when you think about it. It's no different than Naruto's no jutsu system.

Naw it's way different. The way they have to move with the elements in order to control and direct where they're going is different than making symbols with your hands and stuff just appearing and doing whatever it's supposed to do.

 

[onelastdeath]

Naw it's way different. The way they have to move with the elements in order to control and direct where they're going is different than making symbols with your hands and stuff just appearing and doing whatever it's supposed to do.

Nowhere near the same thing. Bending is the focal point of avatar. There are justu's that have nothing to do with elements.