Letters to the Editor

It was good to hear both good feedback as well as bad and hear about the companies responsible for it. The Internet overflows with Web sites devoted to hate mail aimed at FUNimation. I, for one, am sick of it. Too many people are concerned with the Japanese version and fansubs. I have seen both, and I am here to tell you I don't like reading anything, let alone an action-filled telecast. I have been hissed and punted (removed) from chatrooms because I try to tell people to stop being so critical and enjoy this version.

America is the melting pot, and with so many diverse cultures, one cannot appeal to everyone. I like the fact that this immensely popular show has made its way to America. I don't go to chat rooms anymore, because all they consist of are 13-to-18-year-old kids who think what is good for one is good for all, and they blame FUNimation instead of the older generation of right-wing conservatives for the degree to which some things need changing. I will agree that some voices are bad, but others have promise. The only thing that really gets me is the lag time, the waiting from episode to episode and the waiting for newer episodes to air. I don't condemn FUNimation for what they are doing. Instead, I extend a gesture of thanks, and keep it up until the show is completely done.

Anonymous
Via e-mail

Jimmy Fowler, I am sorry to hear that you feel that Dragon Ball Z is just like WWF wrestling. Apparently, you refuse to look past the fighting and read into the very positive message that is being portrayed. A hero (Goku) fights off the powers of "evil," and while doing so, gives us a very good moral representation. His relationship with his son is a good example. Also, calling Goku a "nerd" is a totally off-the-mark description. As VegettoEx explains in his editorial on his Web site, he is simply naive -- simple-minded, perhaps, but very naive. This is not a nerd.

Another concern I have is the way you stereotype DBZ fans. Just because a few people send in immature comments to FUNimation does not mean that all DBZ fans are immature. Most of the people who write those letters are people looking for attention. On a final note, FUNimation does censor out too much of the show. Explain why they added a rock in front of Gohan's foot. Is that now considered inappropriate?

Please take this letter seriously. Remember what I have said when you write another article on a similar subject. Don't use just FUNimation's point of view. Look at the avid fan's point of view.

Anonymous
Via e-mail

Dear Dallas Observer, you guys completely fucked up what is wrong with FUNimation. They have been neglecting fans' wishes for so long that people have just given up. You crossed the line when you called us "anime snobs." More like Dallas Observer bitches. I suggest you visit VegettoEx's site and read his editorial on you guys.

Anonymous
Via e-mail

Editor's note: Indeed, there is a 3,400-word response to Jimmy Fowler's article, available at http://members.aol.com/vegettoex/editorials/vegex_17.html.

Dragon Ball Z is a great show no matter how you put it. Some of the battle scenes may repeat actions, and, yes, some of the dialogue is very corny, and the fact that FUNimation censors so much stuff out of it is so mind-bogglingly stupid that it's hard to imagine. I can sympathize with the fact that they're introducing it to a younger audience, but I have friends who can translate every word of the Japanese episodes for me without even thinking. I have three Japanese episodes in my house -- one with subtitles, two of which I know by heart because my friend recited them to me.

If there is one thing I like better about the American version, it's that the voices actually sound adult, they're in English, and the music is better. I'm 15 years old and have seen every single episode of Dragon Ball Z released on Canadian television, up until episode 53. No one can deny that the action (yes, action, not violence) in Dragon Ball Z is spectacular and that the storyline has depth, yet at the same time, it's simple and easy to follow.

If you ask my opinion, if FUNimation left only a few more things in, say, a couple of the "naughty words" and some of the blood, then maybe more varieties of people would watch it. It would easily surpass Pokémon.

Michael Forward
Via e-mail

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First off, I would like to say that I never write to any publications...until now. How Zac Crain got the job of picking the worst local records of the '90s is beyond me ("Please kill me," January 20). He's definitely got to be one of the most close-minded assholes in Dallas. Out of the albums he picked, how could Pantera, LeAnn Rimes, and the Dixie Chicks be on there? All three of these artists are multiplatinum sellers when it comes to records. Oh -- Zac, I wouldn't worry about Vinnie Paul coming to kick your ass. There's plenty of us Pantera fans that would gladly do it for him.

Anonymous
Via e-mail