I read an article recently about how Dragonball Z is most likely going to replace Pokemon as the next big kiddie craze. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it means there will be plenty of DBZ action figures to populate my desk, and it also pretty well ensures that Cartoon Network will keep running it (maybe even with new episodes!); but, it also means that it will be overexposed to death, which will ultimately lead me to loathe it. Then again, DBZ has an attitude that Pokemon or Power Rangers just didn't have, and it's the first "big fad" since the Ninja Turtles that I didn't start out hating right off the bat. And I liked the Ninja Turtles, even after all of the hype.

Another thing that has me bothered is the fact that it's only a matter of time before my mom catches wind of this show through some preacher or televangelist and starts preaching to me about how evil it is because it promotes New Age philosophies and it's too gosh-darn violent (not my opinion, just what I know they'll say). Maybe so, but it's funny how they never mention on any of the positive aspects of these sorts of things ... such as the constant portrayal of bitter enemies putting aside their differences to work together for the greater good; or the family values promoted through Goku's relationship with his son; or Piccolo's evolution from evil, hate-filled bad-ass to noble, self-sacrificing warrior.

What really scares me is that they'll tone down the best things about this show for fear that it's too much for little kids to handle. They already edit a lot of the violence out for our fragile American sensibilities, and that's for the audience who watches it after midnight. Ah, well. I suppose if I'm really a fan I should be watching the uncut, subtitled videos anyway, instead of the cleaned up, dubbed rehashes they show on Toonami.