Top Ten Reasons Dragon Ball Z is the Most Important Anime of All Time

Almost every other popular shonen today exists because of DBZ. DBZ and Goku are truly inspiring. That's why people are starting to find orphans as protagonists with cheerful, innocent, and righteous personalities, as well as their being big eaters, repetitive and boring.

Goku started those lovable traits many years ago, and other authors were so inspired by it that almost every other popular protagonist picked up that personality as well. Dragon Ball Z changed a whole genre. Not to mention, shonen used to stick with the rule: Protagonists have to be boys and shouldn't grow up. DBZ broke that rule and took the risk, becoming one of the most successful series of all time.

Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z were major successes in the West, particularly in the USA. They paved the way for more anime to cross the seas, such as Naruto and Bleach. If you want to prove your anime is the "best," it must cross the ocean and make its debut in the West.

If it hadn't been for DBZ, many of the popular anime series today wouldn't have been so famous worldwide.

If you ask any anime fan what their first anime series was, they would most likely say either Pokemon or Dragon Ball Z. In the late '90s and early 2000s, DBZ was very popular in the US and Europe (I think) and sold lots of merchandise and secured many sponsors in the West.

Noticing how hot DBZ was getting, Cartoon Network decided to air that and many other anime late at night on Adult Swim, creating the "Toonami" block. Even Toonami stated that DBZ was their longest-running series and highest-rated series ever.

The Super Saiyan transformation is easily the greatest moment in anime history. Imagine sitting there, a little kid or early teen, watching DBZ when Frieza killed Vegeta, survived the Spirit Bomb, and killed Krillin. You couldn't wait for Goku to get mad.

Just watching him transform into the legendary Super Saiyan gave you chills as you listened to him scream and watched his black hair turn blonde. This transformation led to the sensation of the Super Saiyan form we all know and love.

Frieza is the definition of a villain: cold-hearted and lusting for power. This shonen villain is perhaps the greatest DBZ villain of all time. He became one of the strongest anime villains of all time when he came back with a new form.

Meruem from Hunter x Hunter (one of my favorite series) is the king of the Chimera Ants and an amazing character. If you ever finish HxH, you'll understand why. Togashi even stated this too.

"It's OVER 9000!", "Fool! This isn't even my final form!", "Kamehameha," and many more things from DBZ helped create a vast number of memes.

DBZ reached its 30th anniversary earlier this year, setting a milestone in anime/manga history. It's still growing strong today with new movies out and even a new series.

The Dragon Ball manga was first published in 1984. Thus, it reached its 32nd anniversary this year and is still one of the most loved series out there. DBZ is truly a legend.

Light Yagami, Sasuke Uchiha, and Lelouch Lamperouge were inspired by none other than Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans and Goku's rival.

When Dragon Ball Evolution was announced, people went crazy. However, when it was released, it was met with terrible reviews from critics and fans of DBZ. Still, Dragon Ball Evolution was the first of many shonen to have its own live-action movie.

You know your series is very popular if they make a live-action movie. Just ask the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers.

Which, sadly, was a big failure. But it shows how popular DBZ is, being the first anime with a live-action adaptation.