Whatever would Mickey Mouse say?

WHEN it comes to cartoons, there are two types of fans: Mickey Mouse people and Bugs Bunny people.

Mickey Mouse people like sweet, wholesome, frozen-from-the-waist-down entertainment - the kind the family pretends to enjoy. Bugs Bunny people, on the other hand, want more from a cartoon - whether that be a dopey Homer Simpson, a hapless Wile E. Coyote or Bugs in drag.

Well, if you are a Bugs Bunny person, by now you will have latched on to Dragon Ball. This phenomenally successful Japanese cartoon series - 153 episodes with a second series, Dragon Ball Z, consisting of another 153 episodes and loads of merchandising -shamelessly exploits anything and everything to tell its tale.

And a strange tale it is.

Goku, a young boy who flies around on a cloud, is searching for the seven crystal dragon balls needed to summon a magic, wish-granting dragon. As he travels around a world of fantasy and science fiction with a collection of odd-ball friends, he encounters monsters, villains and, of course, beautiful girls.

TVB Jade began showing an edited-for-children Dragon Ball in 1988. However, the late-night, unedited Dragon Ball that has been airing on Pearl since January has a viewership that is not bound by age or gender. On a given Friday might, this racier Dragon Ball can draw 300,000 viewers - an even spread of male and female over a large age group.

Why is this? Sex and violence, naturally.