But Think of the Dubbies!
by "Guardian"

Originally Posted: 3 April 2000

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All right, all right. I admit it. I'm a Dubby. The most abhorable, deplorable, disgusting little piece of DBZ-loving trash this side of the planet Vegeta. But dammitall, without the Dub... I would not be aware that Dragonball ever existed. I would be one of the millions of people who would be looking at the Lycos top 50 Search phrases list, seeing Dragonball Z along with Pokemon taking the 1 and 2 spots and scoffing at those "kids shows".

I am a longtime fan of anime. I had never, however, found an anime television series that I enjoyed. The only ones available to me (as someone who missed the Robotech craze by about two years), however, until recently, were Voltron and one of the many incarnations of Gatchaman, I mean Eagle Riders, I mean G-Force. And Teknoman... which was almost passable. (Tekkaman Blade 2 is much better. I suggest it)Then one day, about two years ago, I was watching Fox Kids Saturday Morning.

I've always been a big BattleTech fan; I even watched the awful animated series. The week after the rerun of BattleTech ended, I looked at the TV guide channel and saw "Dragonball Z". Thought to myself... let's see. I change to Fox and what do I see? Raditz's Saiya-jin butt sticking at me while he flies over the Earth and picks up Piccolo on his scouter. "Wow," I thought to myself, "This looks interesting. And it's anime.. and I've never seen it before; let's give it a chance!"

So began my Dragonball craze. Every Saturday morning, 11:30 AM Central Daylight Time, I was up watching DBZ. Then it was canceled and replaced by WMAC Masters. Woohoo. I thought it was over with, until two or three months later, I find it on Cartoon Network and my heart leapt.

It was at that point that I began looking for DBZ sites on the internet. It was at that point when I found myself ridiculed by nearly every site I came across. I found names I didn't recognize: Kuririn, Buruma, Tenshinhan, Freezer. I thought, at first, "Wow, they can't even spell simple names right." Then I discovered that it was FUNi that had that problem. I began downloading video clips of Japanese DBZ beyond the first half of the Freezer saga; clips of Cell and Majin Buu. And of something called Dragonball GT.

Super Saiya-jin. SSJ. That stuck in my head since I downloaded Goku's memorable first transformation. Though I called it Super Saiyan then. It became my new craze; every day I would drop onto my bed at school and turn on the television, waiting for that miraculous event where Goku, my hero and favorite character, would adopt the blond-haired green-eyed look and defeat the evil Frieza and his awful one-liners.

Since then, I've immersed myself in DBZ lore and wisdom. I can tell you the whole story, from day one of DB through episode 294 of DBZ. And I can even tell you DBGT. But, as the kind of person who finds myself enjoying what I experience first as the most easy for me to understand, I find myself anticipatingly awaiting the release of the rest of Season 3 and Season 4.

And I will continue to be ridiculed and I will continue to watch the raw Japanese episodes that a transfer student here owns. And I will continue to love Dragonball in all of its forms and try not to be a purist. I can handle any form of it; having been exposed to the worst first, it allows me to handle it with a much more open mind than those who have been watching the sub or raw Japanese for years.

A Dubby will do as a Dubby will do. I will continue searching for information, for understanding and for enjoyment within and about the Dragonball Universe. And I will continue to write disjointed editorial essays because I'm tired of following five-paragraph format and I'm tired of needing three points of support. And I will continue to watch the dub, undaunted and happy (though I DO WISH they would release more eps on TV... I'm starting to get confused when I go outside and the sky is blue instead of the Namek green.)

My point, after all that, is this: dubbies are ridiculed like crazy on nearly all of the big sites. We are mocked and we are made fun of. Sure, we deserve it; we're watching the shit version of a great show! But what needs to be done is not mocking and not teasing and not being snubbed; if you think dubbies are in the wrong, are bad or whatever, SHOW THEM WHY.

Explain how the dub does not stand up to what it should be. Show how amazing the Japanese eps are and how pathetic the Americanized ones are in comparison. Snub the dub. Do not deny the dubby his or her chance to learn what Dragonball is all about and really should be just because their circumstances provided them with an awful product.

Some of the new sites that are popping up now, containing correct Japanese information are the result and product of dubbies, like myself, realizing the true value of things, reading the other sites and showing that they can learn. Give others who are not so resourceful a place where they can learn. DBZ: Uncensored is one of the only sites of this type I have found. It shows how the shows are different and WHY the dub is so bad. More of this is needed.

The dubby lives and is not something that will simply go away. More and more are being created every day at 4 PM and 11:30 PM central. The ones that choose to populate the internet can be shown why the dub is okay to watch but is not okay to be considered quality. If all they find are "Dubbies suck" and "100 ways you know you're a dubby -- LOL!!", they will find themselves turned away and you will have more loose cannons spreading false truths across the countryside and an uprising of dubbies of all sizes, shapes and ages coming upon you and those annoying, "stupid" questions will multiply and you will have an epidemic on your hands!

These dubbies must be prevented from doing this: show them they way rather than mocking their way. For only he that is shown the right path will find the right path; not all of us can show the right path to ourselves. I was shown through VegettoEX's original site nearly a year ago. But I am resourceful and have an ever-growing lust and hunger for information. Not all of the dubbies do. Show them the way and I can guarantee you, they will thank you. Unfortunately, this may also cut down the mailbag section, which would be the only bad part of this entire scenario. And the mailbag is funny. Just like stupid people, keep some hardcore dubbies around, if for nothing more than entertainment.

Contact: c-wolf@cornell-iowa.edu