First there was dragonball, then came DRAGONBALL Z which showed(I don't know if it was a first run or a rerun) in my country in 2000. I was 11 going on 12 that year and having loved Dragonball, i immediately grew to like its sequel. Oh how I enjoyed the toys, the keychains, the trading cards, even my water bottle which had pictures of both young and grown up Goku. <br /><br />I was enthralled by the awesome action and captivated by the vast array of cool looking characters. <br /><br />But that was a long time ago. Watching it now, 9 years later, the series does not hold the same amount of appeal as it used to. It's a "frog in a well" syndrome. Apparently I only thought Dragonball Z was that great because I was never exposed to anything better. <br /><br />For starters, the characters I once thought were "cool" are still cool, but nothing else beyond that. There isn't really much character development to speak off as the stories are more focused on the plot and the characters are just pre-set anime stock characters, put in place to advance the plot from one fight to the next. There are a couple of instances where the characters get some development and really shine as being remotely likable, but those come rarely and tend to get buried under all the action.<br /><br />The story is split into a number of distinct "sagas" but each of them progress slower than a sloth/snail hybrid. The pacing drags to the point of being unbearable only to the most patient and devoted of viewers. The horrendous story progression is not helped by the fact that every episode features lengthy rambling monologues, badly timed close-up shots that linger for too long, unnecessary dialogue and other cheap amateurish tactics just to fill up 25 minutes for an episode which contains no more than 15 minutes of actual story material. What starts off as an interesting premise soon falls into a set formula that goes from unoriginal to just painfully boring. The director's decision to follow different groups of characters on different adventures was a poor one and just made the convoluted plot so much more confusing. <br /><br />The fights are intense, epic and would please any action junkie out there. However some exceptionally poor animation and an over usage of animation short cuts give this whole show a very cheap look even for its time.(Some of the worse episodes of G I Joe were better animated than Dragonball Z). Thankfully, it makes up for that by providing some stunning and highly detailed artwork. <br /><br />So many anime fans extol the fact that Dragonball Z was so influential in making anime as famous as it is and influenced a whole generation of anime and manga creators. They cite Dragonball's numerous spin-offs and products as a testament to its greatness. Guess what, Adam West's Batman was influential too but I would hardly call it a good show. <br /><br />A popular show does not mean a good show<br /><br />In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. To kids who are not exposed to greater world of animated series and graphic novels, Dragonball Z would no doubt be one of the best shows around. People's minds tend to get clouded by the fact that Dragonball Z was so influential or might have been one of the first anime they ever watched(and thus introduced them to anime in general) that they remember only the good points and overlook the numerous jarring flaws of the series.<br /><br />Objectively speaking, Dragonball Z definitely does not deserve its current rating of 9.0/10. It is like a hot air balloon. It is beautiful to look at and even grand to behold, but look any deeper and it's just an empty basket and whole lot of nothing inside. This show has his moments like some good character progression, but nevertheless, it has too many flaws to speak of.