That's for sure one of my favorite anime. When I was ten or eleven, after school, I ran towards home every day to get on time to watch an episode of DBZ. I could say it's intertwined with my childhood. My friends and I played pretending to be the characters; we collected toys and pictures. Anyways, I'm doing this review, especially for Naruto's fans and newer shounen that haven't watched this series.
I've watched its sequel (DBS) and, after that, videos related to it, like reactions, reviews, news, and so forth. One thing has caught my attention, the commentary section on youtube. I know the internet can be hateful most of the time, but this was a little awkward for me. DBZ fans were saying trash about Naruto as if only for its existence Naruto would be offensive. Eventually, Naruto's fans got tired of this and trashed DBZ as well, consequently turning it into a fight of soccer team's fans.
Without a doubt, DBZ is one of the inspirations for Naruto and newer shounen, so it has its merits. I think we have to accept that time has passed and, at least, for me feels good seeing a new generation have the same feelings and care for their own anime almost in the same way we did.
I have to admit that I didn't watch many episodes of Naruto. I went until the episode of Zabuza on the bridge. Not because I didn't like it, but when Naruto got released in the open television, I wasn't that interested in anime, and I got into my actual vibe of watching short series afterward. The few episodes I've watched made me believe this series has the potential to be even better than DBZ. (it's only natural, doing something based on previous knowledge, one can understand what it's good and bad, what has worked or not about its predecessor.)
Finally, the review.
DBZ has outstanding animation for the time it was released and even for the current time. The transformations and power-ups are pleasant to see (Impossible to forget the first Super Saiyan transformation). Saying the characters' design is creative is an understatement. They are so different in color, size, shape. Akira Toriyama (its creator) flexes hugely on that; his creative mind is on a whole another level. I don't remember seeing that diversity in any anime I've watched.
The sound is also a show for itself. Again, the transformations and fights. You feel the thunderous punches, the blows of energy, the landscape being destroyed. The sound is that good. The opening, oh god, the opening. An engaging rock style, I think you'll gonna listen to that every single episode. I remember two openings, one for Buu's saga and the other for Cell's. Maybe there are more, but I don't recall. Either way, the ones I remember are fantastic.
The plot, well, it's not that good. Graeter fans try their hardest to fix it's holes, arguing the most bizarre things. It's an almost-300-eps anime, so it's impossible for it not to have flaws. I'm sure the same applies to Naruto. I don't see that as a problem since the story is engaging, the world-building is terrific, and the characters are interesting. DBZ, despite the natural violence of a 90's fighting shounen, it's a wholesome story in its core. You'll watch with a smile on your face most of the time. Before I forgot, shout out to the villains. Their motivation is not the brightest, no gray areas, but still, they are fantastic. One more thing, prepare for whole episodes of talking before the fight. The characters staring each other talking trash. Who watched Frieza`s saga knows that. rsrsrs. Don't be a crybaby about that. You can now watch multiples episodes at once; I had to watch it one episode a day (and no weekend episodes!).
So, Naruto's fans (and other shounen's), please, give it a try. You won't regret it. And my DBZ fan's comrades, please, respect Naruto. Both can be good shows. Instead of maligning other's anime, invite their fans to share this amazing experience of watching DBZ.