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Is the Pokemon anime more popular than DB?

BH

Canine pokemon fan
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  • Topic, the Pokemon anime has been around for over 20 years now and the only hiatus was after the Porygon episode that took many kids to hospital ("thanks" pikachu)

    Now for Dragon Ball, the show aired from 1986 to 1996 (to 1997 if you count GT), that's 10 years! Unless counting the revival of it in 2008/2009 2014 and 2015 with DBS, however DB fans still think DB is better, with pokemon being "too childish" (even thought both shows are targeret at Shonen - 7 year old boys)

    As a fan of both series i found it to be untrue, as i like both series, but what do you think, is Pokemon anime going strong or no?
     
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    Palamon

    Silence is Purple
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  • It....wasn't a cancellation, it was a hiatus.

    But, I don't necessarily think the Pokémon anime and Dragon Ball anime's popularity are comparable. Both have pretty different fan bases.
     

    CodeHelmet

    Banned
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  • Dragon Ball(original) and its successor series were basically Cable TV(Cartoon Network and typically on their Toonami block) while Pokemon happened to be on local TV channels early on before switching to Cable TV(Cartoon Network) in later seasons. As a result, Pokemon's popularity and saturation, as I see it, were far greater and if we're comparing the two series today on popularity, Pokemon, to me, has Dragon Ball beat by a mile.
     

    BH

    Canine pokemon fan
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  • Dragon Ball(original) and its successor series were basically Cable TV(Cartoon Network and typically on their Toonami block)

    Meh i wished both Pokemon AND DB were on polish CN, that channel really sucks today

    Pokemon, to me, has Dragon Ball beat by a mile.

    Hmm respect
     

    Taste of Tea

    Hoenn confirmed
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  • More popular among anime fans in general since DB Super reinvigorated interest in the franchise, but I think that overall the Pokemon anime is more well known at least in the United States.
     

    QuietDragon

    a wavering flower, a bird taking flight
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    • Seen Oct 20, 2023
    Yeah, as was stated, VERY different demographics and in Japan, at least, Dragonball helped establish a lot of shounen archtypes others would later reference and, as it's so well-known, it being an inspiration would be easily recognized and a given.

    (Ash's old eye style was very Toriyama-esque, so where Paul and Gary's, and Ash's hair is a little like a tamer, shorter version of Goku's).

    Even Kishimoto-sensei, Naruto's mangaka, talked about using aspects of Goku's character as building blocks and inspiration material while creating Naruto.

    Outside of Japan, hmm, it'd depend, in some places, only Dragonball aired, in others, DBZ is more well-known, or the sequel series aren't very popular...

    Pretty much only Kanto and maybe Orange Islands was when the Pokemon anime was hugely famous everywhere, DBZ was the one that was big stateside, I think in my country we only ever got the original DB... all of them feel bound to very certain eras.

    In Japan, I'd imagine DB and Pokemon are both more enduring, even in modern forms, but Pokemon already feels a bit old-fashioned to modern kids, who prefer Yokai Watch, which is why Sun & Moon changed so much to compete! I don't know enough about DB to judge its modern successor's popularity with oldr boys and teens.

    (... the late Ishizuka Unshou [voice of Ookido-hakase/Professor Oak and Adeku/Alder, among many other characters also took over playing Mr. Satan in the Dragonball franchise, was pretty famous for forgetting things I feel that's why they wrote Adeku that way... he once spoke to a coworker, asking him if he ever heard of Dragonball/if it was any good, either forgetting he was ever part of it or forgetting it was and still is immensely popular!!

    Either way, it was a memorable moment of his forgetfulness because of how much it shocked the seiyuu coworker recounting the story. ^^;)
     
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