Differences between English and Japanese MSQ Dialogue (bit of a rant)

[Enla]

Well..... There IS a big difference between Dragonball and Dragonball Z if i am allowed to interfere here While the original Dragonball was all about fun and being intentended as "Gag-Anime", Dragonball Z took a sudden change to way more sirious topics. Suddenly there where hole citys or even the planet distroyed and a lot of people die.

Still ran in Shonen Jump, which back in 2009 surveyed that most of it's readership was under 14 and specifically targets young boys. Though it also boasts high appeal for elementary and middle school girls as well. (These are a bit older in terms of surveys but the core demographics haven't really shifted from what I can tell.) Dragon Ball Z has always been Shonen. If it was truly meant for older teen/adults it'd be listed as Seinen. I honestly scratch my head at the 'it's not for kids' argument. It's okay to like something that's targeted to people lower than your age, and in different culture at that that has different values and ideas for what is acceptable consumption of media by minors. Stuff like Dragon Ball in particular ave universal appeal that can be enjoyed by all ages. There's no shame in liking it whether you're 5 or 50.

Moving on stuff like what 4kids did is pretty out of the norm and frowned upon these days in the dubbing industry and in fandoms at large. Just look at the flak Netfix got for taking Precure and turning it into Glitter Force. These days as the world turns more towards global awareness most companies strive to bring authentic representations of the media they're adapting to their audiences. Adapt, but don't change beyond the recognizable seems to be the motto.

Edit: I also recommend checking out Mary Cagle's comic about her experiences teaching English in Japan. In one she pretty clearly notes that her elementary students were pretty addicted to watching Attack on Titan.
https://www.marycagle.com/

[Exitos]

Yeah i know its still shonen and for teens around 14 (nevertheless i still like DB and DBZ very much and have the DVD collection at home). Still i feel like there was a strange shift between DB and DBZ where the original was way more childish and based on fun attacks like gokus Rock-Paper-Sissor and stuff while DBZ got a way darker tone to most of the story.

[Enla]

Yeah i know its still shonen and for teens around 14 (nevertheless i still like DB and DBZ very much and have the DVD collection at home). Still i feel like there was a strange shift between DB and DBZ where the original was way more childish and based on fun attacks like gokus Rock-Paper-Sissor and stuff while DBZ got a way darker tone to most of the story.

It started out pretty Dragonball-esque, the stuff with Snake Way in particular, but the moment it hit the Seiyan reveal I will agree it did feel like someone was behind Toriyama's back and telling him to dial it to 9000.

[Krotoan]

Yeah i know its still shonen and for teens around 14 (nevertheless i still like DB and DBZ very much and have the DVD collection at home). Still i feel like there was a strange shift between DB and DBZ where the original was way more childish and based on fun attacks like gokus Rock-Paper-Sissor and stuff while DBZ got a way darker tone to most of the story.

... Like when Kaiosama made goku chase a monkey around the planet to train? Or when Goku's son decided to dress as a Sentai hero to fight crime?

I don't think it ever really changed.

Let me clarify that as an older person I still enjoy it, but I'm not going to pretend dragonball is "serious". I liked Avatar too and felt it had good writing and animation, but it was still very much a kids cartoon. It's still about a guy who shows he "powers up" by changing hair and then proceeding to yell for half a book only to use his "final gambit technique" or have people "believe in him" to win.

[Exitos]

... Like when Kaiosama made goku chase a monkey around the planet to train? Or when Goku's son decided to dress as a Sentai hero to fight crime?

I don't think it ever really changed.

Let me clarify that as an older person I still enjoy it, but I'm not going to pretend dragonball is "serious". I liked Avatar too and felt it had good writing and animation, but it was still very much a kids cartoon. It's still about a guy who shows he "powers up" by changing hair and then proceeding to yell for half a book only to use his "final gambit technique" or have people "believe in him" to win.

Yes thats true in a way. The difference i mean isnt really about DBZ being for a older audience, its just more like it feels different from DB. It may be the artstyle or the hole "going to the universe and fight ever stronger getting enemys" but DBZ lacked the easygoing and childish atmosphere from the original DB. So for me it felt just like a complet different show (still for teens/wouldnt really say kids) but just different in apearence.