> Dragon ball was definitely the show that popularized Japanese animation in the west
In Italy, Dragon Ball was first aired in 1989.
I watched it because it was from the "Dr. Slump guy" that had been aired in 1983, and I had fallen madly in love with it.
I've bought and read both manga later on, in the 90s.
Over the years Dragon Ball has become immensely more popular than Dr. Slump, but I'm fond of the first two chapters (Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z), I didn't actually enjoy much anything past Cell.
YouTube commenters insists that Akira wanted to end Goku’s arc at Cell, but fanserviced beyond that. If true, explains a lot. I also felt that there was a lot of maturity and build up to the climax of the cell saga and everything afterwards felt like it undid that growth and just went on and on.
In Italy, Dragon Ball was first aired in 1989.
I watched it because it was from the "Dr. Slump guy" that had been aired in 1983, and I had fallen madly in love with it.
I've bought and read both manga later on, in the 90s.
Over the years Dragon Ball has become immensely more popular than Dr. Slump, but I'm fond of the first two chapters (Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z), I didn't actually enjoy much anything past Cell.