The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 24

yl'WgwlMWjl)ryy Tlfllllllll.lll1jT-i.l.rjmjll.,.,-.rii lynyy-- IJ' 1' 'In' 1 'H'H' DEGEORGE TUBULAR SKYLIGHT 24 NATIONWORLD SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1999 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE-TIMES http:tampatrib.com 'Dragon' could be next Pokemon Out Shines The Competition! DeGeorge Our Name Is Your Guarantee Since 1953 Free Call or Visit Estimates vww.deqeorgeceilinqs.com 1 span" to sit through a serial cartoon, one in which complex plot lines unfold over 80 or more episodes. "The show spends a lot of time in relationship development" says Fukunaga, explaining the popularity of "Dragon Ball "It tries to tackle a little bit more difficult subjects than the typical children's show." Ball had plenty of naysayers when it made its debut in syndication in 1995. For three years, the show had no regular home, airing on various local TV stations and at odd hours, sometimes as early as 5:30 a.m. Gen Fukunaga, Funimation president recalls children's programming and licensing executives telling him that "kids in the U.S. wouldn't have the attention Building on the craze for the Japanese show in this country, Funimation says it has signed deals to produce a "Dragon Ball merchandising avalanche: action figures, calculators, pajamas, trading cards and watches.

"Dragon Ball products have generated more than $3 billion in worldwide sales since the show was launched in Japan in 1986. In the United States, "Dragon i it- lb. 1 A p1 -Lz3n XT fK sMLjqM I 1 fx i il i 4 The Japanese animated series, which carries a fantasy violence rating, pulls in huge audiences for the Cartoon Network. By SALLY BEATTY of The Wall Street Journal As many a young child knows, "Dragon Ball a violent animated series imported from Japan, is a huge cartoon hit A sort of Pokemon meets "Pulp Fiction," the show is much darker than the average kiddie cartoon. Every weekday afternoon on Tune Warner Cartoon Network, characters age, die and get vaporized suffering far worse fates than Wile E.

Coyote ever did. Brutality is a staple. In one recent episode, beads of sweat form on the brow of a character named Vegeta as he is nearly strangled to death by an evil foe named Frieza. In another, Frieza uses the horns on his head to impale a good guy named Krillin through the chest Mesmerized, kids are tuning in to the Cartoon Network in record numbers. "Dragon Ball attracted an audience of 1.7 million households Sept 30, the largest number in the network's history.

The show's ratings among 6- to 11-year-olds the demographic group most coveted by children's advertisers leaped 95 percent in the fourth quarter through Nov. 30 since a year earlier. Nearly 1 million children in that age group tuned in to watch the show Oct 1, another record for the network. Advertisers are lining up, too, including Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc.

Even the U.S. Navy is running macho recruitment ads at the end of the show. "Dragon Ball also is crackling on the Web. On the Cartoon Network's Internet site, it generates among the most inquiries of any of its shows. Last week, "Dragon Ball ranked as the fifth-most-requested topic on the Lycos search site, behind singer Britney Spears and the Pokemon cartoon, but ahead of the World Wrestling Federation and Pamela Anderson.

Based on the success of "Dragon Ball the network plans to boost its programming time devoted to Japanese animation to three hours from two, adding two new shows next year. "Gundam" is a tale of bad guys from outer space, and "Tenchi Meyo!" is the story of a lady's man caught up in an interstellar war. The Cartoon Network says it hasn't had complaints from parents or advertisers about the show's violent content In fact the U.S. dis-. tributor and licensing agent of "Dragon Ball Funimation Productions says the show is toned down for U.S.

sensibilities blood is often edited out and frames are erased to soften the blows in certain battle scenes. The Cartoon Network also runs "anger management" spots that appear during "Dragon Ball and other shows. "There's nothing wrong with being angry," counsels a bubble-headed host in a space suit "It's all in how you deal with it Anger can be a motivational tool." The network says there is no connection between the spot and the show's content Betty Cohen, president for the Cartoon Network, says "Dragon Ball is no worse than other popular Japanese programs like "The Power Rangers" or "Digimon," a show about mechanized monsters airing on News Fox Kids. "People are attracted to action and people in battles with certain forces and unusual characters, but if not about real-life human stuff," says Cohen. Young boys tune in to "Dragon Ball for some of the same reasons people go to sports events, she adds.

"They want to see conflict" Network executives note that "Dragon Ball is rated Y7-FV FV stands for fantasy-violence the most cautionary rating available for a children's show. That rating designates "Dragon Ball as not suitable for children younger than 7. Under a voluntary rating system adopted by the TV industry in 1997, the rating appears for 15 seconds at the start of each episode. "Dragon Ball picks up where two hot trends in animation leave off. The movement toward edgier, Brooks Brothers Mayor's Jewelers Harold's Cache Talk about going out for the holidays.

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But by Japanese standards its level of violence was considered fir.