Dragonball Z

 The year is 1984 and a manga with a young boy and a tail has hit the shelves for readers to buy. Who could of possibly thought that 41 years later it would have millions of people together. Also making Akira Toriyama the creator a LOT of money

Dragonball volume 1 manga

In 2018 one of the biggest stories in anime was wrapping up known as the tournament of power and this such a special story that saw incredible moments the INTERNET BREAKING ULTRA INSTINCT.

This transformation got fans so hype they had to watch and not only did they crash the official streaming sites but ALSO THE PIRATING SITES! It would all come to a end where in March 2018 the tournament of power was ending which meant the finale of dragon ball super. This was celebrated in so many ways and in Mexico they tried to have a massive viewing party. Problem was Toei the animation studio was fighting saying they didn't have the legal rights for it. So to fix this the Mexican government reach a deal with the Japanese embassy giving legal right to stream watch parties in massive groups. This was such a big deal for fans that the government stepped in and made it be able to happen for fans. Which allowed them to finish watching what went onto be a incredible finale (1).

Brazil. Boa Vista 2018 watching Dragon ball super

The DBZ fandom is huge and full of smart talented people so its not a surprise that a group as talented as TFS was made. Team four star is a youtube group that made and entire series called an DBZ abridged. An Abridged series is where fans have their own voice lines over the main series to make it comedic. There is 69 episodes of DBZA and more episodes that are either commentaries about the creation the abridged episode or animations about their own made storylines. Now they got so poplar that they were suppose to cameo in DBZ Kai which was a retelling of DBZ but to go much faster with content like the filler episodes cut. They were as far as it being done with promos of the episode out where you could hear there voices but when it came out. They were no where to be heard which left fans speculating. One fan on reddit started a thread asking was there an answer of what happened. Some had theories others just saying stuff but one fans theory which sounds logical was that Toei who had copy right strike some of their videos before. Wasn't really happy with this cameo and forced Toonami to cut it before it made to air (2). Of course this is all speculation and we probably wont know what happened with the cameos.

Now being a fan doesn't come without its hardships and hard times. In 2024 of march it was announced that creator of dragon ball Akira Toriyama had passed away which sent fans spiraling. Its hard hearing news that someone you were fond of passed. Now imagine millions of people hearing the creator of the thing that they loved passed. It was hard especially since his final project Dragonball Diama hadn't released yet. However the words gone but never forgotten ring high. With not only fans around the world mourning him. Legends across the world also acknowledging him and what he left us with. People like Jackie Chan thanked him for his work. The French president sharing as a nod to his passing. The most important one in my opinion however was Tite Kubo. The creator of popular anime Bleach who shared how Akira's works was something he read since he was a child and someone who molded him and his work (3). 

However there is one tribute left to talk about which is this. Dragonball was something I did not get into late in my years but by god it took me by storm. So thank you Akira for a ride I will never truly forget

Akira Toriyama April 5th 1955-March 8th 2024

(1.) Bayle, A. (2018, March 11). “dragon ball super” finale to be live-streamed by Mexican government | inquirer entertainment. INQUIRER.NET. https://entertainment.inquirer.net/265267/dragon-ball-super-finale-live-streamed-mexican-government

(2) pspiq5, U. (2016). R/DBZ on reddit: TFS cameo removed from Toonami broadcast of Dragon Ball Kai: The final chapters. Reddit. 

(3) Jump, S., Rant, G., Enix, S., Nintendo, Darko-simple-ART, D., & Elizabeth Sok                                                                                          Canadian writer and translator with a doctorate in history. She’s either running after her little ones or in her Kyushu garden with a cup of yame-cha an. (2024, April 1). The legacy of Akira Toriyama: Dragon Ball and beyond. GaijinPot Blog. https://blog.gaijinpot.com/the-legacy-of-akira-toriyama-dragon-ball-and-beyond/