whats Z in Dragonball Z?

macwebcam · 03-22-2002, 06:18 PM

anyone here knows what Z in Dragonball Z stands for in this anime?
also is it done with mac maybe?

thx

Tyger · 03-25-2002, 06:33 AM

it stands for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

lemme sleep!

sorry I'm not a great fan.

lerkfish · 03-25-2002, 09:29 AM

My three year old would watch it if I let him. I made the mistake of having the cartoon channel on around then, NOT for dragonball Z but batman beyond which follows. The Z came on and I was appalled....not just because its violent, because Batman beyond is somewhat violent...but in Z that's all there is...fighting, that's it. No real credible plot beyond that that makes any sense. In addition, it made my three year jump up and start punching after one viewing. With batman beyond, he jumps up and pretends he's flying, or talks about the plot (why was that guy put in that school prison? How can Inque turn into liquid?)
There is no discussion of plot with z, except to ask "what is going on?".

As far as what the z stands for, since kanji doesn't have a directly analagous alphabet, I imagine that was dreamed up by the english translators.

Komainu · 03-25-2002, 07:52 PM

I don't know what it stands for, and I doubt it stands for anything really. I also doubt it was developed by the translators, because the name of both the original dragon ball and dragon ball z in japanese sounds approximately like "doragon booru." I'm betting the "Z" was just added as a cool sounding way to distinguish the two shows.

moyashi · 03-28-2002, 06:10 PM

The Japanese techincally have 5 alphabets but they'll say 3 (Kanji - still using older character than China does) hiragana (the rounding simple looking characters) katakana (the more abrupt straightish looking characters) -- (both hiragana and katakana are Kanji derivatives) and finally 2 sets of romanized alphabets (Heburn and Kunrei -- I say 2 because there are slight descrepencies between the 2). Many Japanese might try to argue that the romanized ABC alphabets shouldn't be counted but they are taught in elementary schools (ummm close to 80% that is) not as in the first stage of learning English but rather as the first stage to write the romanized alphabet. Also, many road signs will show kanji with the phonetic romanization of that kanji.

Learning to read and write Japanese, Chinese or Korean is much like what all of us went through to learn English. So the pronunciation of these characters might as well as be thought of like this: automobile. Did you just say each letter and phonetically connected them to pronounce that word? Or did you more likely digested the whole word at a speed faster than you can blink? Kanji is the same, you see the characters and the meaning and pronounciation are instantaneous.

The "Z" in DragonBallZ is pronounced (zed-o). No, it's not a translators creation. Meaning = ' '. More likely since it's the ending of the series or might just be that it sounded cool. ((I'll double check this later))

Was there ever a plot to any DragonBall Series? Yes, fighting and more fighting. Also, the idea of finding the 7 Dragon Balls was a good way to kill off a character with a super evil guy and then following up on how to get the good guy out of heaven and back was a great way to extend the series.

Do you need any type of plot beyond fighting? I remember many of the first season shows of GI Joe to be no bettter. hmmm but then again GI Joe never had heads popping off and rolling to the front of the TV screen to tell Goku (or was it SanGohan) to keep trying.

lerkfish drew my attention to something interesting. The comparative responses in very young children. (note: any child under 5 shouldn't be watching something like DragonBall).

- He mentions his 3 year old trying to fly after Batman but punching after DragonBall.
- After Batman wants to know and asks many questions about that particular episode.

Interesting, I've seen many Japanese children imitate their favorite heros such as Ultraman and KamenRider but never DragonBall. After DragonBall they seem more alert but not imitative. For me personally I'd take the DragonBall reactions since I've been Ultraman kicked too many times.

Japanese society isn't taught to be inquisitive so there is no need to produce very thought provoking shows beyond the most intuitive reaction I've seen of "ahhh, that's so true" or "ahhh, I've never thought of it that way".

I wonder though, should TV really be used to teach (or psudo-teach) or children?
Are such shows as DragonBall that destructive to the maturing mentalities of young children?
Should children be even put through any type of social programming based through TV (as in, should shows produce strong thought production)? Let me word this out; Seasame Street, I believe is easily viewable without any major type of social programming and doesn't need the assistance of an adult to intrepret or answer questions. While another show like Batman Returns produces many questions that an adult needs to provide appropriate answers too. Is it that much better if an adult thinking that such-and-such program is safe to watch since it is low on violence (or at least socially tolerable) and is thought productive that they can just turn the Telly on and plop junior in front then goes off to do the dishes and afterwards doesn't take the time to explain each show and answer each question.

I'm not trying to protect DragonBall at all but rather I believe that children know when something is pure violence and just that. Everybody loves to watch a good fight. And DragonBall goes to such extremes that it's very difficult to "not" understand this point. Look at the Wrestling character who is always side lined since he doesn't have that type of power and could die.

Last bit to go.

Japanese animation does have shows that provide social programming Sazae-san (the all time standard), Doraemon (provides a bit of thinking on top) and Chibi Maruko Chan (much more realistic and easy to relate to). Detective Conan (provides cognitative reasoning with no social programming -- although ... it gives up the answer or the answer is too far fetched to be even imaginable).

While of course many of the more violent easily sellable shows are translated instead.

...

CR

macwebcam · 04-01-2002, 08:07 AM

This is what I found out from people that watch DragonBall

"DB is the first series starting with Goku as a kid and growing up
DBZ, i haven't actually heard the reason for the Z, is when Goku finds out his true origins and begins fighting more than just threats on Earth
DBGT, i've heard the GT is for Galatic Travels or something put it's not offical, this is when all of the kids from DBZ have pretty much grown up, the Emporer at the start of DB finds the Black star Dragon Balls and actidentally wishes Goku was a kid again then the balls scater through out the universe and they must be returned to Earth in 1 year or the planet will be destroyed

there are 291 DBZ episodes, i think GT starts 10 to 15 years after the final Z ep

DBZ starts with Goku going to meet all his old friends and to show them his son Gohan"

"When Dragonball grows up, changed the name,

"dragonball " -> "dragonball Z" -> "dragonball GT"."

moyashi · 04-04-2002, 10:48 PM

I asked am anime nut ...

Z seems to come from an old anime/manga that was called, "Majinga - Z"

"GT" seems to have no derivative.

But, knowing a little about naming mentality in Japan, I say it comes from race car deriviations. for example the 3000GT or just GTO in Japan, skyline-GTR ... ect. Probably the writer just thought it sounded fast "GT" ... fast and hard action.

kirara · 07-13-2005, 04:59 PM

There are three series.

Dragonball
Dragonball Zed
DragonBall Grand Tour

^_-

FireWired · 07-27-2005, 12:38 AM

I know pretty much nothing about anime stuff, but I did read something about DBZ in.. uh.. a.. Nickelodeon magazine.. (it wasn't mine) and it said the Z doesn't stand for anything -- it just sounds cool. But, that's just what I read.

USTommyMC · 08-02-2005, 10:43 PM

Z stands for absolutely nothing. It was just added to differentiate between the original Dragon Ball and its sequel Dragon Ball Z. The hereos in DBZ are often refered to as the Z fighters or Z warriors. There is also a Z Sword in the series. GT also doesn't stand for anything, just added to differentiate between DBZ and its sequel Dragon Ball GT. Galatic Travels seems to make sense, since the main characters travel all over the galaxy during the first few episodes.

pantherman13 · 08-02-2005, 10:48 PM

I never liked any of the DB series because it was something that you need to watch from the first episode. If you missed a couple episodes, you had no clue what was going on. It was also needlessly violent.

USTommyMC · 08-02-2005, 10:56 PM

I don't know about the violence but you are right about missing one episode. I used to make fun of an ex-girlfriends brothers because he watched those cartoons. Then I found myself watching them years later only to struggle to catch up and figure out what was going on. I own all the GT DVDs, seen all the DBZ episodes and gave up on DB. As for the violence, Dragon Ball Z has some of the best, if not the best, fighting scenes of any anime series. I have a few episodes downloaded on my computer and catch myself watching a few scenes over and over. Just like Star Wars, DBZ has its own cult following.

yellow · 08-02-2005, 11:22 PM

That anime bugged me because everyone had the same screwed up feet. Ginormous ankles and tiny wee feet. Stupid looking.

pantherman13 · 08-03-2005, 09:04 AM

The tiny feet thing are kind of hard-coded into Japanese culture I supose. Years ago, asian women would wrap there feet in a bandage really tightly so it basically crushed there foot to make it look smaller. It was considered attractive, but I don't know if they still do it today.

03-22-2002, 06:18 PM	#1
macwebcam Prospect Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2	whats Z in Dragonball Z? anyone here knows what Z in Dragonball Z stands for in this anime? also is it done with mac maybe? thx

03-25-2002, 07:52 PM	#4
Komainu Prospect Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Ypsilanti, MI Posts: 25	I don't know what it stands for, and I doubt it stands for anything really. I also doubt it was developed by the translators, because the name of both the original dragon ball and dragon ball z in japanese sounds approximately like "doragon booru." I'm betting the "Z" was just added as a cool sounding way to distinguish the two shows. __________________ "Beware the Power of Stupid People in Groups."

03-28-2002, 06:10 PM	#5
moyashi Triple-A Player Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sapporo Posts: 66	The Japanese techincally have 5 alphabets but they'll say 3 (Kanji - still using older character than China does) hiragana (the rounding simple looking characters) katakana (the more abrupt straightish looking characters) -- (both hiragana and katakana are Kanji derivatives) and finally 2 sets of romanized alphabets (Heburn and Kunrei -- I say 2 because there are slight descrepencies between the 2). Many Japanese might try to argue that the romanized ABC alphabets shouldn't be counted but they are taught in elementary schools (ummm close to 80% that is) not as in the first stage of learning English but rather as the first stage to write the romanized alphabet. Also, many road signs will show kanji with the phonetic romanization of that kanji. Learning to read and write Japanese, Chinese or Korean is much like what all of us went through to learn English. So the pronunciation of these characters might as well as be thought of like this: automobile. Did you just say each letter and phonetically connected them to pronounce that word? Or did you more likely digested the whole word at a speed faster than you can blink? Kanji is the same, you see the characters and the meaning and pronounciation are instantaneous. The "Z" in DragonBallZ is pronounced (zed-o). No, it's not a translators creation. Meaning = ' '. More likely since it's the ending of the series or might just be that it sounded cool. ((I'll double check this later)) Was there ever a plot to any DragonBall Series? Yes, fighting and more fighting. Also, the idea of finding the 7 Dragon Balls was a good way to kill off a character with a super evil guy and then following up on how to get the good guy out of heaven and back was a great way to extend the series. Do you need any type of plot beyond fighting? I remember many of the first season shows of GI Joe to be no bettter. hmmm but then again GI Joe never had heads popping off and rolling to the front of the TV screen to tell Goku (or was it SanGohan) to keep trying. lerkfish drew my attention to something interesting. The comparative responses in very young children. (note: any child under 5 shouldn't be watching something like DragonBall). - He mentions his 3 year old trying to fly after Batman but punching after DragonBall. - After Batman wants to know and asks many questions about that particular episode. Interesting, I've seen many Japanese children imitate their favorite heros such as Ultraman and KamenRider but never DragonBall. After DragonBall they seem more alert but not imitative. For me personally I'd take the DragonBall reactions since I've been Ultraman kicked too many times. Japanese society isn't taught to be inquisitive so there is no need to produce very thought provoking shows beyond the most intuitive reaction I've seen of "ahhh, that's so true" or "ahhh, I've never thought of it that way". I wonder though, should TV really be used to teach (or psudo-teach) or children? Are such shows as DragonBall that destructive to the maturing mentalities of young children? Should children be even put through any type of social programming based through TV (as in, should shows produce strong thought production)? Let me word this out; Seasame Street, I believe is easily viewable without any major type of social programming and doesn't need the assistance of an adult to intrepret or answer questions. While another show like Batman Returns produces many questions that an adult needs to provide appropriate answers too. Is it that much better if an adult thinking that such-and-such program is safe to watch since it is low on violence (or at least socially tolerable) and is thought productive that they can just turn the Telly on and plop junior in front then goes off to do the dishes and afterwards doesn't take the time to explain each show and answer each question. I'm not trying to protect DragonBall at all but rather I believe that children know when something is pure violence and just that. Everybody loves to watch a good fight. And DragonBall goes to such extremes that it's very difficult to "not" understand this point. Look at the Wrestling character who is always side lined since he doesn't have that type of power and could die. Last bit to go. Japanese animation does have shows that provide social programming Sazae-san (the all time standard), Doraemon (provides a bit of thinking on top) and Chibi Maruko Chan (much more realistic and easy to relate to). Detective Conan (provides cognitative reasoning with no social programming -- although ... it gives up the answer or the answer is too far fetched to be even imaginable). While of course many of the more violent easily sellable shows are translated instead. ... CR __________________ I'm just a rock in the river

04-01-2002, 08:07 AM	#6
macwebcam Prospect Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2	info I found out This is what I found out from people that watch DragonBall "DB is the first series starting with Goku as a kid and growing up DBZ, i haven't actually heard the reason for the Z, is when Goku finds out his true origins and begins fighting more than just threats on Earth DBGT, i've heard the GT is for Galatic Travels or something put it's not offical, this is when all of the kids from DBZ have pretty much grown up, the Emporer at the start of DB finds the Black star Dragon Balls and actidentally wishes Goku was a kid again then the balls scater through out the universe and they must be returned to Earth in 1 year or the planet will be destroyed there are 291 DBZ episodes, i think GT starts 10 to 15 years after the final Z ep DBZ starts with Goku going to meet all his old friends and to show them his son Gohan" "When Dragonball grows up, changed the name, "dragonball " -> "dragonball Z" -> "dragonball GT"."

04-04-2002, 10:48 PM	#7
moyashi Triple-A Player Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sapporo Posts: 66	I asked am anime nut ... Z seems to come from an old anime/manga that was called, "Majinga - Z" "GT" seems to have no derivative. But, knowing a little about naming mentality in Japan, I say it comes from race car deriviations. for example the 3000GT or just GTO in Japan, skyline-GTR ... ect. Probably the writer just thought it sounded fast "GT" ... fast and hard action. __________________ I'm just a rock in the river

03-25-2002, 06:33 AM	#2
Tyger Prospect Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 43	it stands for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz lemme sleep! sorry I'm not a great fan.

03-25-2002, 09:29 AM	#3
lerkfish Site Admin Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Midwest USA Posts: 596	My three year old would watch it if I let him. I made the mistake of having the cartoon channel on around then, NOT for dragonball Z but batman beyond which follows. The Z came on and I was appalled....not just because its violent, because Batman beyond is somewhat violent...but in Z that's all there is...fighting, that's it. No real credible plot beyond that that makes any sense. In addition, it made my three year jump up and start punching after one viewing. With batman beyond, he jumps up and pretends he's flying, or talks about the plot (why was that guy put in that school prison? How can Inque turn into liquid?) There is no discussion of plot with z, except to ask "what is going on?". As far as what the z stands for, since kanji doesn't have a directly analagous alphabet, I imagine that was dreamed up by the english translators.

07-13-2005, 04:59 PM	#8
kirara Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1	There are three series. Dragonball Dragonball Zed DragonBall Grand Tour ^_-

07-27-2005, 12:38 AM	#9
FireWired Major Leaguer Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 443	I know pretty much nothing about anime stuff, but I did read something about DBZ in.. uh.. a.. Nickelodeon magazine.. (it wasn't mine) and it said the Z doesn't stand for anything -- it just sounds cool. But, that's just what I read. __________________ "The truth is, banana peels just aren't that slippery."

08-02-2005, 10:43 PM	#10
USTommyMC Triple-A Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 104	Z stands for absolutely nothing. It was just added to differentiate between the original Dragon Ball and its sequel Dragon Ball Z. The hereos in DBZ are often refered to as the Z fighters or Z warriors. There is also a Z Sword in the series. GT also doesn't stand for anything, just added to differentiate between DBZ and its sequel Dragon Ball GT. Galatic Travels seems to make sense, since the main characters travel all over the galaxy during the first few episodes. __________________ USTommyMC Staff Sergeant, USMC Technical Controller http://ustommymc.net

08-02-2005, 10:48 PM	#11
pantherman13 All Star Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 558	I never liked any of the DB series because it was something that you need to watch from the first episode. If you missed a couple episodes, you had no clue what was going on. It was also needlessly violent. __________________ "Well, my name's Jim. But most people call me... Jim."

08-02-2005, 10:56 PM	#12
USTommyMC Triple-A Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 104	I don't know about the violence but you are right about missing one episode. I used to make fun of an ex-girlfriends brothers because he watched those cartoons. Then I found myself watching them years later only to struggle to catch up and figure out what was going on. I own all the GT DVDs, seen all the DBZ episodes and gave up on DB. As for the violence, Dragon Ball Z has some of the best, if not the best, fighting scenes of any anime series. I have a few episodes downloaded on my computer and catch myself watching a few scenes over and over. Just like Star Wars, DBZ has its own cult following. __________________ USTommyMC Staff Sergeant, USMC Technical Controller http://ustommymc.net

08-02-2005, 11:22 PM	#13
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,652	That anime bugged me because everyone had the same screwed up feet. Ginormous ankles and tiny wee feet. Stupid looking. __________________ Chameleon's Consignment Loft]

08-03-2005, 09:04 AM	#14
pantherman13 All Star Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 558	The tiny feet thing are kind of hard-coded into Japanese culture I supose. Years ago, asian women would wrap there feet in a bandage really tightly so it basically crushed there foot to make it look smaller. It was considered attractive, but I don't know if they still do it today. __________________ "Well, my name's Jim. But most people call me... Jim."

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