Resurfaced Dragon Ball Review Goes Viral for Showing How Far the Series Has Come

One negative review for Dragon Ball Z has gone viral for reminding fans just how far perception of the series has come over the years. The anime world is at a much better place these days as not only has it become much more widely available outside of Japan, and much easier to access than it has been in early decades of the fandom in the West. This means the perception around the medium has begun to shift and change as well. But while it’s beginning to change, some aspects of its criticisms remain to this day.

When anime was really starting to take on on Cartoon Network, shows like Dragon Ball Z were viewed as ultra violent and even potentially harmful to children. As spotted by @nezumi_ningen on Twitter, one old review of the series has gone viral with fans as they note how far Dragon Ball as a franchise has come from that first perception from the general public. Check it out:

The review for Dragon Ball Z warns families about the “violent” series with “impalement” and “strangulation.” While this is an apt description of the Freeza saga of the series, it’s coated with many takes that seem far old-fashioned these days. This includes noting the franchise as a sort of “Pulp Fiction meets Pokemon.” But as fans have seen with sites such as this, the perception for anime has changed as a whole in recent years.

It’s been a long journey, and the anime medium is still fighting off this overtly violent perception that has been hanging over like a stigma. Even this review notes how Cartoon Network back then did not receive any complaints from parents or advertisers for Dragon Ball Z’s content. And even then, it does have to note how popular it was becoming with its audience back then too.

As fans are fully much aware, not only is the Dragon Ball franchise stronger than ever in the last few years (even without an ongoing anime series to keep the fire hot) and even more niche projects such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba are heating up the box office. But what do you think? How do you feel the perception around Dragon Ball has changed over the years? Let us know all of your thoughts about the situation in the comments!