The global appeal of Dragon Ball is undeniable. The work not only greatly influenced other story genres but also became a cultural symbol in Japan. However, Dragon Ball's impact in Latin America goes even beyond the role of an animated film from Japan. Why is that? Let's find out with Hobiverse.
From a low-budget movie to a phenomenon
Dragon Ball Z first aired in Mexico as a low-cost solution for television channels to serve young audiences. In that country there are only a few low-budget, very small-scale animation studios that produce telenovelas. Because production companies don't believe that women's and children's media is worth investing large sums of money into. Therefore, renting cartoons from other countries becomes a great, more affordable solution for animation shows in the Latin American region.
In addition to being a cost-saving solution, anime in Latin America is often treated much differently than anime in North America. For example: In the US, anime series such as Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya are dubbed twice, and at the same time, the censorship of violent elements is significantly reduced, finally the film is only allowed to be limited to 32 minutes. practice. The same film, when shown in Latin America, was renamed Saint Seiya: Caballeros Del Zodiaco, and was not overly edited and was shown as an OVA. Therefore, while the United States continues to hesitate before anime series with age-restricted scenes, television series have become an indispensable part of the childhood of many children in Latin America. .
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Dragon Ball Z was one of the first anime to be introduced to Latin America. The film achieved tremendous success. Dragon Ball characters began to appear in public in many different ways. You can also see famous Dragon Ball characters such as Songoku, Vegeta,... in street parades in Colombia, on football shirts in Argentina and restaurants in Mexico.
Why are anime in North America and Latin America so different?
Telenovelas are dramatic novels often originating from Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. This genre deals mainly with adult themes with elements of violence, drugs or even pornography. Furthermore, they are known for their rather flamboyant color tones and have many similar characteristics to anime. Perhaps this is the reason why anime is quickly accepted in Latin America.
Meanwhile in the US, television shows and short animations are often created with the main purpose of selling products. The toy market in the US is considered a top priority, while in Latin America it is for entertainment purposes. In addition, animation viewers are mainly women and children, considered a secondary market. America rejected the import of anime at the time, so Japan made several licensing agreements with Latin America.
It wasn't until anime became extremely popular in Latin America that the United States began to take notice. However, even if they decide to start broadcasting anime, some shows are edited and censored to the point of being unrecognizable. And Latin America decided to keep the shows intact, preserving the Japanese cultural influences in the anime.
Dragon Ball's impact in Latin America has gone beyond anime culture, becoming an indispensable part of people's lives. Not only Latin America, the film culture of many other countries is also affected. Indeed, Dragon Ball by author Toriyama Akira deserves the word super product.
