Why is Dragon Ball Z so low in the popularity ranking?

Energetic-Nova said:
If you think Dragon Ball Z looks off, gander at Sailor Moon.

But really.... not everyone is me and willing to rewatch

They probably saw some random eps as a kid

Futari_no_Ossan said:
Bc it really is mediocre if you're willing to put down those nostalgia goggles? I like the show and Vegeta (best Vegeta is Majin Vegeta and not that abomination that he is in Super) is amongst my fav characters but objectively it's just not well made as a show. But is it enjoyable? Yes it is IMO, more so than Mediocre no Yaiba despite the latter having higher production value.

A few common glaring issues with DBZ: there's no sadness when anyone dies bc they can all get resurrected or exist in some other planes, they're not gone forever thus no tension. For an action show, the action is not well animated and a fight can last dozens of eps. It's an endless powerup, a common issue found in most battle shounen, not exclusive to DBZ in which all battles are based on strength, Goku gets beat go train come back beat villain then another stronger villain shows up to beat Goku for him to go train again to make a comeback, ad nauseam ad infinitum

_Maneki-Neko_ said:

No, they enjoy it more than "dark seinen", because luckily a lot of anime fans aren't so obsessed with the idea that something has to be dark and gritty all the time to be good. Unfortunately some are, but they are usually the type of people, who want to project a picture of themselves being person, who mostly likes mature and dark stuff.

About the original question: It's mostly nostalgia that bonds people to the Dragonball series, I think and a lot of new anime fans don't feel any nostalgia for it.

KuroudoAkabane said:
its low coz its slow

like its really popular, but man it drags on eh?

i still remember goku on the nimbus trying to go t some palace, it was just him flying for ages.....

haruhi s2 felt shorter than that, and that was just 1 ep 1 times over/..

also, just coz its popular doesnt mean its gotta have a higher score,

I love fairytail but still rated it 8.

Drawler said:


true, sailor moon is also really really low in the ranking when it is the most popular shoujo series ever made

Drawler said:
Independent of what you think of it, we all know DBZ is one of the most popular anime ever made, even people that are not anime fans know about it, Dragon Ball Super even broke Crunchyroll during its last episodes due to massive traffic, so why in the most popular ranking is only at 82?? Under so many other anime that aren't as popular and known as it? Shouldn't it be among the top 20 at the least?? MAL stats sometimes don't make much sense...

Huguin said:
I already thought about it once, I think many people who saw dragon ball, saw it when they were children or teenagers, ending up that they don't remember so much, and they don't put it on the list, even having seen it before.

In addition, it may be that many people who saw dragon ball, do not have an account here.

Armados said:
Because its not really good.
Its a great anime to let children be hyped about and enjoy a mindless action series, but, as they grow older and figure out there was more or less no plot and everything is just using the same repetitive formula (looking at you Dragon Ball Super), the series just falls flat.

Also, popularity != quality.

A simple series that doesn't require thinking would most of the time be far more popular than a one that does, simply because it appeals to more people. Its very apparent in the gaming industry, and it obviously is apparent in the anime/manga industry as-well. It still doesn't make it a better product overall.

Berserkerz said:


apparently dbz is homophobic, racist, and misogynistic now.

this generation is a lost cause

Armados said:

Also, popularity != quality.

Scordolo said:

BRO,you are so wrong.Take SAO for example,it is very popular but does it have high rating?Nope.

Stygian_Prisoner said:


The "!=" means the same thing as "=/=", as in "does not equal". @Armados should have probably used the latter version of the symbol instead, which is more general.

The former is more commonly used in programming, which not everyone is familiar with and can lead to confusion, as evidenced by you not being the only one in this thread to misinterpret the symbol.

Scordolo said:

You should've just said 'does not equal to' instead lol.Many mal users are not familiar with programming.I'm about to learn the codes btw since I took computer for my college.

DBZisUnderrated said:


In this case we're speaking on the O.G. Dragon Ball and not Z.. I wouldn't call it homophobic, misogynistic? Debatle. Racist? Definetly. Dragon Ball made a buttload of racist jokes back when it first started

Ghemotoc said:

Because more people saw other shows?
You gotta realize than not eveyone who watches anime comes on MAL. I'd say those who only watch DBZ don't come here at all. Personally? Saw and read it when I was a child, and I'm too lazy to rewatch/reread it and close my eyes over the various racist, homophobic or mysogynist moments, so it's gonna stay out of my list.

edit: ^ exactly

Drawler said:
Independent of what you think of it, we all know DBZ is one of the most popular anime ever made, even people that are not anime fans know about it, Dragon Ball Super even broke Crunchyroll during its last episodes due to massive traffic, so why in the most popular ranking is only at 82?? Under so many other anime that aren't as popular and known as it? Shouldn't it be among the top 20 at the least?? MAL stats sometimes don't make much sense...

IrrelevantGuy said:

That statement doesn't make any sense to be honest.

Scordolo said:
Everyone watched Dbz as a kid so they don't know how to rate it.Also they don't want to watch 100+ episodes just to rate it.Same goes for Pokemon.It is also very low in popularity rankings.

Drawler said:
Independent of what you think of it, we all know DBZ is one of the most popular anime ever made, even people that are not anime fans know about it, Dragon Ball Super even broke Crunchyroll during its last episodes due to massive traffic, so why in the most popular ranking is only at 82?? Under so many other anime that aren't as popular and known as it? Shouldn't it be among the top 20 at the least?? MAL stats sometimes don't make much sense...

katsucats said:
Aside from the nostalgia factor, DBZ is not really a great anime at all. It might have been great compared to the Saturday morning cartoons when it introduced people to anime. But it isn't much compared to other anime.

For one, it wastes so much time, they had to make a Kai to condense it. The plot introduces one of the most tension-breaking mechanics of all time: the dragon balls. Who cares if Krillin dies for the 10th time if they can just wish people back infinitely?

Also, even though it's the most well known, at the end of the day it still just follows the typical shounen battle archetypal format, where characters get stronger by fighting villains of the season. None of the characters' perspectives change throughout all that time. Goku, aside from having longer hair and all, does not learn any new insight throughout those hundreds of episodes, perhaps besides passing it off to Uub as an excuse to end the series.

The fights aren't all that interesting, and just features the characters' after-images jumping around while perpetually doing Jojo's "muda muda" or shooting balls of light. What martial arts they throw in there are just repeated frames of high kicks and the spare uppercut finisher. There's no real interaction with the environment nor strategy, since power levels rule the day.

Seriously, I challenge you to list just one thing that's great about DBZ that doesn't exist in dozens of others?

Pokemon has the exact same problem. Even the people who love Pokemon has to admit that the movies are some of the cheesiest shit in anime if it weren't for nostalgia value. Even if you loved Pokemon as a kid, you'd still probably rate it low if you were serious about it.

Drawler said:


why? what doesn't make sense to you about it?

Chris_Concept said:
I feel that DBZ was watched by almost everyone, everyone knows about that anime but I think those that watched this anime only saw that and thats it..more than likly only watched a few animes and that was it.
I do feel that DBZ should be higher up.

Scordolo said:

BRO,you are so wrong.Take SAO for example,it is very popular but does it have high rating?Nope.

Lorenzo47 said:


I'd disagree. I'd suggest rewatching/reading it. It's designed to be a journey of self improvement that can be enjoyed by all ages, races, genders, etc. It's meant for everybody. Just because it has a simple plot doesn't mean it has no plot. No offence meant, but if you think it's mindless action, then i'd guess you weren't paying attention, especially with some of the earlier fights. Like it or not it is the gold standard of battle mangas, and inspired/created a whole genre and was mainly responsible for bringing anime to the english speaking world. I completely agree it's not the best show or the most complex, but I feel you're definitely low balling it.

Armados said:




You may not agree with me, and that's fine, but if you'd carefully look at each and every arc, you'd pay attention said arcs existed primarly because characters are stupid. Now, while stupidity is a trait, its just a way for Akira Toriyama to abuse and extend his arcs endlessly for some easy money. Frieza, Cell, Buu could've all been killed before they even reached their final forms. Buu never even had to show up to begin with.

Now you might say that just cutting down an arc in the middle of it is bad writing, which it is, but once again, the way each and every arc is being established, is the responsibility of Akira Toriyama. If Frieza is such an unstoppable force, the self-proclaimed "tyrant of the universe", I'd expect him to be smarter, I'd expect other characters to atleast attempt to eliminate him fast instead of the typical "haha I reached your powerlevel or went beyond it now I'll start playing with you for the sake of whatever" and then they go pikachu face when Frieza declares he is going to transform again, and they just stand there, while looking at him, with the usual gasps or scared noises. You'd expect him to create the perfect plans in order to transform while characters try to stop him, you'd expect him to be ruthless and attempt to kill anyone who seems like a threat immediately instead of playing with them endlessly. You'd expect him to even be surprised people are constantly matching his current power level, as we've never even seen anyone come near those power levels and other characters acted like said power levels are insane, yet he just kept on his usual, bragging self.

The franchise as a whole is great for kids - kids like action, they dislike thinking and there isn't really much to understand/miss out, but, as a whole, from let's say, someone who loved DBZ while he was a kid and grew up on it, the series is just bad. Akira Toriyama doesn't really know how to write a coherent story. You may claim that characters are lovable, which some are, but characters alone aren't enough to make a story good/appealing. A fighting simulator for 270 episodes (or less if we throw out fillers) isn't good writing.

Lorenzo47 said:


I don't understand your point of view there. To address both points. Firstly, the idea of Freeza not immediately killing off those who are clearly weaker than him, but close enough to present a challenge. Them being a challenge is why he leaves them, because he lives his whole life with no one on his level, so of course when he can find a fight where he gets to test himself but has no risk of losing or at least no risk of dying, of course he'd take it.

Secondly, the idea that they can all be stopped before reaching their final form, you'll have to present examples for other characters or situations, as with the case of Freezer, it's pretty clearly demonstrated they can't attack while he's transforming. Earlier in the same arc, Goku is powering up to against Ginyu, Ginyu then attacks Goku and all the attacks bounce off of Goku. None land, in fact they're deflected and almost hit his teammate Jeice. So not only is attacking someone who's powering up or transforming just a waste of your own energy, it can also result in damaging yourself or teammates.

So as I just explained, neither of those points are really valid as they are kinda clearly explained by the characters themselves or situations that happen within the story. So in short, the issue's you have with it is that the plot happens due to character stupidity, but the examples you presented aren't characters being stupid??

Also, just to quickly add, after re reading your response, although I disagree that you dont think Freeza is smart, just because he is the tyrant ruler of the universe, doesn't mean he has to be smart, if everyone is physically weaker then him, no one could stop him from forcing his will. Plus, later it's shown that it's actually his father's empire, and his father is implied to be stronger and smarter than Freeza. Oh, also, just because a character reaches a similar power to Freeza, or is slightly stronger, no, doesn't mean they can just quickly wipe him out and be done with it, they're trying to win when they fight him, but they're not leagues ahead that they could just crush him. The characters declaring their strength, yes that's just arrogance, but that's not really a story problem. It could also be the characters hyping themselves up to help their confidence and teammates confidence, you see the same thing happen in professional sport. The show also isn't just loved by those with nostalgia, i've got two different friends who watched it as adults with no prior nostalgia or bias, and they both loved it.