Latin Americas Obsession With Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball series has been a big part of people's lives
especially in Latin America. I know I stayed up watching reruns
and woke up early to see Dragon Ball Z.
Also, I know the song isn't the theme song for the dragon ball opening
but i had to replace it for copyright reasons.

[@roy4g7pegasonegro24]

Contributing to the topic. It is necessary to mention that the 90's was the Golden Age of anime in Latin America. Because before Dragon Ball Z arrived in 1996, Saint Seiya arrived here called The Knights of the Zodiac, which was the series that started the BOOM of anime in Latin America. And later on, the Triforce of Anime would be formed with Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon that would mark a before and after in the region. But not only them but also many anime that came to Latin America as:
Ranma ½. Captain Tsubasa, Mikami the Ghostbuster, Pokemon, Slam Dunk, Slayers (which was dubbed in my country Venezuela) Lost Universe, Zenki, Saber Marionet J, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bepop, Kuro-chan, Ninja Boy Rantaro, Doraemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! Hoshi no Engi, Digimon, Rurouni Kenshin, Serial Experiment Lain, Akira, Kaleido Stars, Tokyo Mew Mew, Super Doll Lica-chan, Sakura Card Captors, Koni-chan, Flint The Time Detective, Medabots (Another anime dubbed in my country Venezuela) Bayblade, Shaman King, Trigun, Monkey Typhon, Tetsuwan Birdy, Oh My Goddess, Bubblegum Crisis, Burn Up Police, You Are Arrested and many more that I forget their names.
But my point is that anime triumphed so much in Latin America. That even being a fan and being called Otaku, was more a symbol of pride and anime at that time between the mid 90's and early 2000's before youtube. And I remember it well, because I lived in that time. Where anime and Japanese culture were treated as something sacred and untouchable, and being able to go to Japan was the dream of many of my generation. It was very rare to see a kid of my generation that didn't like to watch anime, or even Dragon Ball...
And truth be told. Among all it is impossible not to name Dragon Ball as not only the most important anime of that time, especially Dragon Ball Z. But as the anime that has transcended the passage of time, as well as Saint Seiya. Being both, important vestiges of that great Golden Age for anime in Latin America.
Currently, thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix, Crunchyroll and now Anime Onegai, we are living a new Golden Age of anime in Latin America. Of course, not at the level as it was in the 90s and early 2000s where we were impressionable children before anything offered by anime and Japan in general. Today we are adults with certain criteria of consumption and more demanding with the product and the quality with which it is brought to our lands. But equally more open to anime in general than in previous years.
It may seem surreal to someone from the United States the enormous love and respect that we here in Latin America have for both anime and Japanese culture itself. But for someone who has lived that important Golden Age of anime in Latin America and who is also a big fan of Dragon Ball... it makes all the sense in the world why we Latin Americans have a great obsession not only with Dragon Ball but also with anime in general. To a level almost comparable to a religion.

[@SpeedPunch]

As an mexican my self that has read the manga the past 2 years, i like this.

[@yohnouchi2024]

Not to mention all the boys and girls named after the series in LA, DragonBall IS really huge around here

[@rapidash-cl2gt]

I sub :D

[@Enigma4270]

Good content-

[@mariogame2060]

viva PadreBall el padre del shonen

[@Juankprieto]

A lot of generalizations made here and in the original video. But it’s all in good faith. It’s important to know that in the 90s we didn’t have cable tv but more satellite tv that shared the different public a channels from different countries. Particularly Mexico and Peru had public channels like TV Azteca and Frecuencia Latina that included anime in their after school schedule. Dragon Ball is definitely the most famous anime for latin Americans thanks to these Channels. But it’s not the only one. Latam otakus also cherish other tittles like Saint Seiya, Captain Tsubasa, Sailor Moon, Sakura Card Captor and Neon Genesis Evangelion that aired in those time slots. And just before anime completely became mainstream and available through internet, we had a shining wonderful Argentinian channel called Magic Kids / Animax that finished popularizing the genre.