Dragon Ball Z Abridged

The thing is, Abridging is about cutting, condensing, and improving the padding and pacing, not the filler, which can just be cut. If the original doesn't have a lot of padding, there's not much to abridge without just cutting scenes, like the duels in more recent YGOTAS episodes.

And much of the Z filler has been completely skipped over.

If they're just going to tell the story of the original Dragon Ball anime without any of the filler, we already have that too. It's called the original Dragon Ball manga.

It’s becoming a consistent criticism of pretty much all abridged series playing themselves (semi-)seriously that it’s pointless to watch a Youtube parody of an anime when they can just watch the source material instead.

Is there really anything wrong with reinterpretation or adaption of a story though even if it uses the original material?

It mostly depends on whether people end up thinking that the adaptation isn’t adding anything that the previous work/adaptations did. For example, as much as I’m sure people rag on Kai for being “not muh DBZ”, it’s still an adaptation benefitting from not having to run alongside its source material and therefore slow to a halt for half a dozen episodes every once in a while.

Edited by Delphisage on Jun 30th 2018 at 1:58:37 PM

If you ask me, Dragonball is a terrible adaptation of Journey to the West.

There are usually two (general) groups of complainers for abridged: those who complain it's gotten too serious, and those complaining about how the comedy takes away from them telling the story "better" than the actual story.

Can we throw the second group into a volcano?

Did that second group even watch the original DBZ?

Edited by Delphisage on Jun 30th 2018 at 2:06:11 PM

I mean, I'd argue that some dramatic bits have been handled way better in DBZA than in the original, especially when you got into the Cell Arc.

Such as?

There have been some moments (mostly during the Cell saga, yes) that I feel have much more pathos to them than in the original. But then there are also ones where it feels forced and unnecessary.

I feel like it mostly evens out.

Edited by LSBK on Jun 30th 2018 at 1:14:19 PM

I do, however feel that when it comes to the Cell Saga people arguing that the comedy is getting in the way of the story are missing the point - if anything, the comedy makes a lot of the dodgy decisions characters make during the Saga a lot easier to swallow than in the original, and I'd argue that that's the major flaw in the original.

18 and Krillin. In the show 18 just kisses him and nothing is made of it until it’s time for him to kill her and then suddenly HE’s IN LOVE. Nothing is even made is she feels the same way all she does is thank him for removing the bomb and saving her and time skip they’re married.

In DBZA, Krillin falls for 18 HARD and can’t stop thinking about her so his actions make a lot more sense and she in return think he’s the cute one and has apparently at least fallen for him when he tries to be the hero.

Also Android 16. The whole he’s modelled after Gero’s dead son was not even alluded to in the original show or manga and only made its way through supplementary material after the fact. DBZA incorporates this into the actu show we see Gero’s son video diary to his dad before he’s murdered by Goku.

And then there’s Chi Chi who is allowed some pathos and explain why she wants her son to succeed scholastically and not be a fighter in the original manga/show its because....education mama? toriyama has issues with women? Idk?

Edited by BlueFire on Jun 30th 2018 at 12:07:54 PM

Krillin falling hard for 18 over a single kiss and being willing to risk the fate of the world on that is ridiculous, no matter what. His feelings on here were quick jokes about how pretty she is/how he wanted to get laid, not deep musings about his feelings.

That video diary of Gero's son is one thing I see people going either way on, but for me, I don't feel like it particularly added much, and it just looked bad.

Chichi having some pathos is fine, but the fact that we're actually supposed to agree with her is annoying.

Edited by LSBK on Jun 30th 2018 at 2:24:40 PM

Keep da jokes rolling...it'll mix eventually.

The video log of Gero's son was one of my least favorite parts of DBZA.

It's too serious and ultimately incorrect...

I like the idea a lot (since it makes Gero's motivation really solid) but ultimately if they wanted to go in that direction they should have made Gero a bit less comedic than he ended up being - and that's not really feasible either.

Edited by Sigilbreaker26 on Jun 30th 2018 at 9:03:58 AM

I mean, I think it can work (cause Goku killed a truckload of Red Ribbon members in his final rampage, and it makes things even more personal), but I can see why others don't like it. It's a little bit more pathos than villains get in DBZ unless they suddenly decide to become good guys (barring Frieza).

Like, if it had been in the original it might have even been a really good moment. But honestly DB's never gone for taking too close of a look at the realities of what its heroes get up to.

It probably didn't come up in the original, because Toriyama hadn't thought of it yet. I do agree a personal touch like that for Gero is nice, I just didn't like how they fit it in. But that's me.

It's why 16 wants to kill Kakarrot.

Given it was information from an artbook released around two decades after the Cell Saga concluded, it’s not exactly what I’d call valid. Besides, I’m fine with the petty motivation of just “built and programmed for the sole purpose of killing Son Goku”, given how many other characters’s motives boil down to that in the franchise.