The length of the anime can play a part in this. Just like with other television series, longer running shows can leave more of a lasting impact, and DB and DBZ had hundreds of episodes.
I don't watch enough anime or am familiar with Japanese society/culture enough to notice the changes, but in America the talent is certainly not there like it was in previous decades/generations, largely due to politics; also, seemingly greed.
When you combine just those two things you realize why you're unlikely to ever get a Star Trek on par with the late 80's/90's versions like TNG, DS9, Voyager.
DB defined many aspects of the genre, and had/has massive popularity worldwide. Personally, I vastly prefer the 80's/90's character aesthetic/style... the buff manly look that characters had then over the teenage scrawny looks they have today.
Berserk is another great one from that time.