What I mean by this question is that growing up, for me, Dragon Ball Z was looked at as the definitive "anime." While Japanese animation was obvious in America beforehand, Dragon Ball Z felt like one of the first to be advertised and viewed as something separate from traditional American animation. It was clearly foreign and had all the hallmarks of anime that would come to define the medium, including its over-the-top fights and silly quirks.

I don't know, this has just been in my head for a while, and I wonder what everyone else thinks.

For me as a kid, Dragon Ball Z was basically the water cooler show people would discuss without even using the term "anime" as they weren't aware the cultural differences. Even though Pokemon was similarly huge, people had weird assumptions about it (my favorite instance of this being how somebody said Pokémon was French because the term uses an accent aigut over the e 🤣)

This is to say, it was a foundational introduction to anime for millions, but I think it didn't have people curious about the medium in the same way as later waves hit Toonami or other channels, drumming up anime curiosity. It is the quintessential anime for people our age (alongside probably One Piece, Sailor Moon, or others like Saint Seiya), but Gen Z is pushing that in other directions now, growing up on Naruto, getting hyped for Jujutsu Kaisen, or getting into other genres offered by shojo, josei, or seinen gems.

Dragon Ball Z was definitely one of my first introductions to anime, and I definitely remember it being a popular topic of conversation. For me, I think Sailor Moon was more influential. Even though I loved Dragon Ball Z, I wasn't getting up early before school to watch it like I did Sailor Moon. Both feel like they were really important for introducing different types of anime to a Western audience, and both seem to have had pretty significant staying power. I couldn't believe the size of the crowd when I went to see the Sailor Moon: Super Live show!

I'd go with Jujutsu Kaisen .... more so than Dragon Ball Z, it injected itself into western music, fashion, and movies.

8 hours ago, MAG said:

I'd go with Jujutsu Kaisen .... more so than Dragon Ball Z, it injected itself into western music, fashion, and movies.

I'd say Dragon Ball Z did exactly those to varying degrees earlier as well, JJK is just getting its current moment. But they just don't make them like they used to, in terms of lasting legacy.