Namco-Bandai’s LaLaBit Market is offering a “Special Edition” version of the upcoming Nintendo 3DS game Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission. This special “LaLaBit Market Edition” comes packed with the game, a Heroes-branded carrying case that holds twenty cards, as well as six “Heroes Tournament” packs of cards.
The special edition is due out the same day as the regular edition — 28 February 2013 — for an upgraded ¥7,980 price tag.
Thanks to Siliconera for the heads-up.
The Japanese band FLOW has announced a 20 March 2013 release date for a CD single containing their new version of the classic Dragon Ball Z theme song “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” which will be used as the main theme for the upcoming movie Battle of Gods. The CD will be a “double A-side” release, which means that both “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” and another included song — an insert song for the movie — are considered high-enough profile to be promoted and released at the same time.
3/20 — A double A-side single is set to go on sale!!! A recording of “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA”, the main theme for the movie “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods”, and an insert song!!!
The band also announced that the full length version of “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” will debut on Tokyo FM on New Year’s Day:
1/1(火)TOKYO FMにて「CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA」フル尺初オンエア！
映画『ドラゴンボールZ 神と神』主題歌「CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA」が、
元旦の夜、下記番組にてどこよりも早くフル尺が初解禁いたします!!!お聞き逃がしなく!!!TOKYO FM系「SCHOOL OF LOCK!」
2013年1月1日（火）22:00～23:55
On January 1st (Tuesday) the full-length “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” will air on TOKYO FM for the first time!
“CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA”, the theme song for the “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods” movie, will be unveiled the night of New Year’s Day on the program below faster than anywhere else!!! Don’t forget to listen!!!
TOKYO FM’s “SCHOOL OF LOCK!” series
01 January 2013 (Tuesday) 22:00~23:55
So if you can find a way to tune in to Tokyo FM and listen to “School of Lock!”, you’ll be able to hear the premiere of the band’s full length version of “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA”. At the moment the CD single hasn’t popped up for pre-order on any online retailers, but we will of course be sure to let you know as soon as it does, along with any additional details we can find!
2012 has been one of the most exciting years to be a Dragon Ball fan, no matter where in the world you live. Every single type of news story — from the controversial to the heart-warming to the completely banal — has come and gone over the last 365 days. We merged Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai back on April 1st and have been able to cover the news even better than we already were beforehand (not that any of us were deficient before, or anything…). We have been so incredibly proud to share this ride with you and bring you the best coverage, the most accurate translations, the most original features and guides… and we plan on bringing you far more in 2013.
That all being said, let us take a look back at 2012. These were the top five stories of the year according to total website traffic, rate of traffic growth, social media conversations, etc. If all five of these stories seem recent to you, that is because they are — these stories from just the last couple months completely blew everything else out of the water from the entire rest of the year!
#5: December 5th — New Crossover Video Game Announced: “Project Versus J”
The last year brought what most felt was a snooze-fest of video game announcements — between Dragon Ball Z for Kinect (a motion-control re-skin of a re-skin) alongside Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection (a mostly-competent release with a replacement soundtrack and a missing game), expectations were low for 2013. When the first page showcasing Project Versus J found its way to fandoms far and wide, it was clear that excitement was once again in the air.
#4: November 10th — New 2013 Dragon Ball Z Movie Title: “Battle of Gods”?
There are leaks, and then there are leaks. In what turned out to be an in-progress version of the eventual poster for the upcoming 2013 movie, we learned the title of the movie (“Battle of Gods”) and caught our first glimpses of two new characters, who themselves would later be revealed as “Uisu” and “Birusu”, the God of Destruction. Fans argued whether it was a cat or a bunny or a jackal (and most importantly of all, why on Earth Gohan was a Super Saiyan?!), but one thing was for sure — this was going to be crazy.
#3: July 10th — New 2013 Dragon Ball Movie First Details
After the countdown website revealed that a new Dragon Ball movie was on the way, fans were salivating for the first bits of any real information. When Jump came out with a two-page spread detailing Tadayoshi Yamamuro’s involvement with the animation, as well as Akira Toriyama’s own personal statement about his involvement with the movie, it seemed like things could not possibly get any better.
#2: July 27th — New Dragon Ball Z 2013 Movie Teaser
It did not yet have a name, but when the short teaser trailer for what would become Battle of Gods debuted on Fuji TV this past summer, the Internet exploded with enthusiasm. All it took was a sweeping shot into a smiling Goku for everyone’s excitement to reach new levels.
#1: November 6th — Dragon Ball Kai is Set to Continue… but Not in Japan
Dragon Ball Kai has always been an interesting monster for us to cover. It was pretty much an unprecedented type of experiment: bring back the exact same version of a show, not reanimated, but edited down with an all-new musical score. The Japanese audience reacted to it with near total apathy, but the international markets seemed insatiable. When the seemingly-failed-experiment came to a seemingly-premature close with the Cell story arc, many fans were left wanting more. Toshio Furukawa’s teaser photograph and Mayumi Tanaka’s blog post unceremoniously announcing the continuation into the Majin Boo story arc nearly sent fans into convulsions with excitement.
Cheers, 2012! Here’s to an equally-amazing 2013.
The upcoming new series of “Chōzenshū” guide books revealed in the February 2013 issue of V-Jump has so far been a mystery. Other than being a series of books that would “tell everything about Dragon Ball“, we had very little to go on.
They are still mostly a mystery, but Amazon Japan gives us at least a tiny bit more to latch onto with a title for the first volume due out 04 February 2013 (alongside the first batch of new “Full Color Comics”): “STORY & WORLD GUIDE” with a list price of ¥2,200.
The title hearkens back to the titles of two information-packed “Daizenshuu” guide books from the mid-90s: number two (“Story Guide”) and number four (“World Guide”).
No cover art or listings for further volumes appear to be available just yet, but at least this guide book and the first three volumes of the “Full Color Comics” version of the Saiyan arc (seemingly priced at ¥630 a pop) should start making the pre-order rounds.
UPDATE: Shueisha’s official listing for the “Story & World Guide” notes that it will be a size B5 book, meaning it will be the same size as the Daizenshuu from the mid 1990s — all of the more recent guide books have been a smaller size.
When the first leak for the Battle of Gods movie poster hit the Internet, fans threw their arms up in the air and focused on what was clearly the most important scrap of information that would forever turn our world upside down: Gohan had golden hair.
Battle of Gods is set to take place “several years” after the defeat of Majin Boo, and “several years” before the final chapters of the series at the 28th Tenka’ichi Budōkai. At this point in the series, Gohan has received an “ultimate” power-up from the Elder Kaiōshin, and never again turns Super Saiyan, having said form seemingly replaced by this new upgrade… that is, until Dragon Ball GT comes around and just has him transform on the spot.
This week on our show, our expert panel dives in to the manga, the anime, Dragon Ball GT, guide books for each of those, and then onward into what little we know about Battle of Gods to definitively answer once and for all: why does Gohan have golden hair again?!
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0319! VegettoEX and Meri plow through a week’s worth of news that feels as if it could be an entire month’s worth of news: “Battle of Gods” is in full swing, and we have new colored manga and guide book announcements hitting all at once! Herms and Kaboom join in to take the “Battle of Gods” hype to its peak with the most in-depth discussion on Gohan’s hair you will ever hear. What happened to his “ultimate” power-up, and why is his hair golden again?!
REFERENCED SITES:
Happy Holidays, and enjoy the show! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forums.
With the Battle of Gods panel complete at Jump Festa ’13 today in Japan, the movie’s trailer — seemingly accidentally leaked online by Japanese online TV outlet CH11 earlier this month (and in high definition, no less) — has now been officially released to media outlets.
A full transcription and translation of the text and dialog in the trailer is available in our previous update.
Japanese fan reports from the panel indicate that a statement from original manga author Akira Toriyama was read stating his hopes for the movie’s success, and that the party scenes shown in the promotional images are of a birthday celebration for Bulma.
Enough of all this awesome news coverage; it’s time for some more content! We continue our “domination of translation” with two more voice actor interview translations from the 2004 TV anime guide book, Dragon Ball Tenka’ichi Densetsu. This time around we bring you interviews with Ryō Horikawa, the voice of arrogant Vegeta, and Mayumi Tanaka, who voices the lovable Kuririn and at times the grumpy Yajirobe (although nowadays many know her as the voice of Luffy in One Piece). The two discuss their auditions for the roles, along with their adoration for the series that has consumed their lives since at least the late-1980s.
You can check them all out over on the “Translations” page, and remember that there are still more to come! Tenka’ichi Densetsu is chock full of additional voice actor interviews, and we plan on bringing you all of them.
In addition to the reveal of a newly-colored version of the manga and new set of guide books, the February 2013 issue of V-Jump rides on the Battle of Gods hype train with a few additional tidbits of information.
The first bit of information splashed across the top of the page dives into our new “God of Destruction”.
ナゾ１ 悟空と激突するキャラクター！！その正体はいったい…！？
余裕の表情で悟空と組み合う戦士。何を隠そう、正真正銘この生物こそが、破壊を司る神ビルスなのだッ！！！
Mystery 1: The Character Clashing with Goku!! What On Earth Could His Identity Be…?!
A warrior grappling with Goku with a look of composure!! Trying to hide something, this creature is the genuine god who governs destruction, “Birusu”!!!
Reiterated is the information that the movie will take place several years after the defeat of Majin Boo, but also several years before the end of the original series.
ナゾ２ 物語はいつの話？
魔人ブウとの死闘から数年後。「Z」最終話の数年前のようだ。
Mystery 2: When is the Story Set?
A few years after the deadly battle with Majin Boo. It also seems to be a few years before the final episode of “Z”.
The magazine analyzes some of the artwork — much as we fans have been doing — and wonders (in the typical coy Japanese advertising style) whether there was some sort of party, judging by the glasses in everyone’s hands.
ナゾ３ 激戦中のはずなのに手には…！？
仲間達の手に握られているのは、乾杯のグラス！？何かのパーティなのかも…！？
Mystery 3: In the Middle of a Heated Battle, and Yet They’re Holding…?!
Everyone’s holding a toasting glass in their hands?! Is it some kind of party…?!
Another of the numbered blurbs also wonders if “Uisu” is also a god himself (alongside “Birusu”, the “God of Destruction”).
ナゾ４ ビルスに仲間はいるのか！？
ビルスの傍らに、常に寄り添う従者の存在が！！このウイスもビルス同様に“神”なのだろうか…！？
Mystery 4: “Birusu” Has an Ally?
An attendant who is always by the side of “Birusu”!! Could this “Uisu” be a “god” like “Birusu”…?!
The final numbered blurb showcases Super Saiyan 3 Goku coming up against “Birusu”, an image also showcased on the promotional media package distributed earlier this week.
ナゾ５ ぶっちゃけ…ビルスは強い！？
これだけはハｯキリ言っておこう。 ビルスは、間違いなく 「Z」 史上最強の存在だ！！！
Mystery 5: Frankly… “Birusu” is Strong?!
We’ll be blunt about this at least: “Birusu” is without a doubt the strongest being in the history of “Z”!!!
Battle of Gods is due out in Japanese theaters 30 March 2013, and we at Kanzenshuu will continue to be at the forefront of its coverage up through release!
Yesterday we reported about some very early rumblings of a new fully-colored manga re-release and something being called a “Chōzenshū” (超全集). Fortunately, our very own Julian rushed out to grab the February 2013 issue of V-Jump and snapped a quick photo of the page containing the essential details we had been missing!
As of now, the “Full Color Comics” will cover both the Saiyan and Freeza arcs of the original manga storyline. The three Saiyan arc volumes will be released 04 February 2013 and the five Freeza arc volumes will be released 04 April 2013, although there is still no price point listed.
The page also specifies that the “Chōzenshū” will be a four volume set of illustrated reference books that “tell everything about Dragon Ball“. The four volumes are listed to come out next year on February 4th, March 4th, April 4th, and May 9th, respectively.
At the moment these releases have not popped up for pre-order on any online retailers, but we will of course be sure to let you know as soon as they do, along with any additional details we can find!
The on-going promotional mini-manga for the Dragon Ball Heroes arcade game (and upcoming Nintendo 3DS port) returns for a fourth chapter in the February 2013 issue of V-Jump released today in Japan. In this latest, seven-page chapter of Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission, “A Rival Appears?!” (ライバル出現!? Raibaru Shutsugen!?), a tournament arc begins, and a potential rival, “Erito” (エリト — possibly a play on “Elite”) makes his debut. The story is “to be continued” as usual, indicating that the manga will be going on for at least the foreseeable future.
The mini-manga by the mysterious author “Toyotarō” ran for only two pages each in its first first two chapters in the December 2012 and January 2013 issues of V-Jump respectively, while the third chapter last month was expanded to nine pages.
The February 2013 issue of V-Jump is currently available via CDJapan, Play-Asia, and Amazon Japan.
This new chapter has been cataloged on the “Official Manga Spin-offs” page of our “Manga Guide“.