Editorials "The Japanese Were Lucky" Written: 8:27 PM EDT, September 5, 2000 - 9:06 PM EDT, September 7, 2000 The Japanese who watched Dragonball Z were very lucky people. I say this for many different reasons. Today, I was browsing through the listing of video clips of dragonball.org when I read something about Vegeta suprising everyone when he transformed into a Super Saiyajin. This got me thinking. I realized how this must've surprised alot of Japanese fans when they first saw this (when it was aired for the first time). Then, I thought that sure would be cool if it surprised me. But... it didn't. So much of Dragonball Z has been spoiled for me by downloading clips and reading information on the internet. It was then I began to wish that I had never brought myself into a situation where the story would be spoiled for me. Most of you that are reading this probably know alot about what is going to happen in the Dragonball Z storyline. Haven't you ever thought of how cool it would be to not know what was going to happen? If only I had used the net to only buy fansubs and read the latest DBZ news... then the show would've been so much better than it is to me now. Knowing about what is going to happen in the future does have its advantages... but I'd say there were more cons than pros. Now, of course, just about all of us hardcore fans feel that the Japanese are lucky because they got to see Dragonball/Z/GT in its unaltered form, in perfect quality, maybe even when it was first aired. That in itself is a marvelous thing, and they were very fortunate to see the true DBZ. However, they didn't know what was going to happen in the storyline (with the exception of the previews for next time at the end of each episode). Of course, several fans probably saw reruns and might've heard from their friends what they missed on the premiere or what they had already read in the manga. But still, so many fans were able to be surprised about the several twists and turns in the plot, while several of us downloaded hundreds of movieclips, not knowing that doing so would cause several surprises ruined. Just think of how emotional and overwhelming Gohan's SSJ2 explosion must've been to the first time Japanese viewers. If they hadn't've seen the preview for the episode they were watching or read the manga, they would be blown away by this incredible scene. Not to mention there were probably very few Japanese websites (if not any) that the Japanese might've gone to to find out what was going to happen. I'm not sure how far ahead of the show the manga was, but I'm sure it wasn't so far ahead that they could find out what was going to happen an equivalent of 50 episodes from where the latest episode was at. So, my guess is alot of the Japanese had almost no idea of the major events that were going to happen within the next 10 or so episodes. Many of us were introduced to the Japanese version through the internet. On several sites, this SSJ2 explosion clips was offered and highly recommended to download. So... we did download it... and watched it. Since we didn't have much of an idea of all of the events prior to that scene, the explosion didn't affect us as much as it could've if it was a surprise. Then, when we bought the fansubs, we all said, Oh look, here it comes! Unfortunately, the surprise had already been ruined for us, so the scene wasn't as emotional as it could've been, had we not ruined it for ourselves. The same goes for Goku's SSJ explosion, as well as the first time Vegeta turned SSJ in the anime. Most of us have seen the clips of these moments, but alot of fans haven't even seen the episodes around this event. Therefore, more of the story was ruined for us. Now, the way I am writing this editorial may be a bit confusing and all. But I think that you all understand what I am getting at. Downloading too many movieclips, without simply seeing the parts when viewing the series seriously spoils the story. Of course, it is nice to know what is going to happen and all, but the series would be so much better if you would allow yourself to be surprised. Some of you may not have access to any version of Dragonball/Z/GT... However, there are many U.S./Canadian fans that have access to the fansubs, but download as many clips as they can possibly download because they can't wait to see these famous segments of Dragonball/Z/GT. If you are able to obtain the Japanese version or are willing to wait to see the dub... *shudders*, then I highly urge you to not ruin the fantastic story for yourselves. Seeing the episodes in order, and being surprised by several turns of events in the plot, will be a much better viewing experience. Sure, you will most likely see these scenes one day, but it is best to simply watch the anime and to have as little spoiled as possible. I am now refraining from downloading any more movieclips that I have not already seen. I have also stopped reading anything that might spoil any more of the story for myself. I do admit that I have barely seen any DBGT at all. My goal is to buy the episodes and to enjoy every unspoiled moment of them. Luckily, sites don't talk about Dragonball very much, so most of the stuff I have read in Viz's commercially available manga were unspoiled, therefore much more satisfying to experience. Take, for example, the whole, entire Tenchi Muyo! series. I knew of nothing that was going to happen, so it has turned out to be one of my favorite animes. It was so cool having nothing at all spoiled, and being surprised at every unexpected moment in the plot (especially the extremely cool movies). Now, I'm not blaming the websites for anything. It is all up to us if we want to spoil the story or not for ourselves. Downloading an action clip every now and then doesn't hurt too much, but it is when we download several clips from episodes/movies/series that we haven't seen that we begin to ruin the story for ourselves. So, again, I urge you to refrain spoiling anything more for yourselves in Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT. For those of you who are lucky enough to know of nothing that is going to happen, I urge you to somehow get a hold of Japanese episodes and to not bring yourself into a situation where any of the story will be spoiled for you. One of the best ways to experience Dragonball/Z/GT is not knowing what is going to happen. -Sir Viktor- Back to Editorials Site design and content ©1999-2007 by James Walker (Sir Viktor) The Next Dimension is a non-profit fansite. Any copyright violations are completely unintentional. I highly recommend viewing this website with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Javascript enabled.