Now that the promotional pages from next year’s first issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump covering the upcoming 2013 Dragon Ball Z movie have been officially released as of earlier today in Japan, Toei Animation’s official “Battle of Gods” website has been updated and overhauled with a new design, some new information, and the official movie poster that we’ve known about for a few weeks now. Currently only the “News”, “Movie”, and “Theater” sections are live, with all others listed as “Coming Soon”. Unlike the original iteration of the website, which featured an English version, this updated version is almost entirely in Japanese (albeit for the menu). The original teaser trailer is still available, although it appears Akira Toriyama’s comments originally published in Weekly Shōnen Jump have been removed.
Besides information about getting a “Collaboration Ticket” and special present, the only real additional information pertaining to the movie’s actual production is a short list of main staff members, which has been expanded upon from what was previously reported.
脚本: 渡辺雄介
Scenario: Yūsuke Watanabe監督: 細田雅弘
Director: Masahiro Hosoda音楽: 住友紀人
Music: Norihito Sumitomo作画監督: 山室直儀
Animation Supervisor: Tadayoshi Yamamuro美術監督: 加藤 浩
Art Director: Hiroshi Katō色彩設定: 堀田哲平
Color Design: Teppei Hotta特集効果: 太田 直
Special Effects: Nao ŌtaＣＧディレクター: 宮原直樹
CG Director: Naoki Miyahara製作担当: 藤岡和実
Production Supervisor: Kazumi Fujioka
As expected, the upcoming movie will indeed bring a few more newcomers to the regular Dragon Ball staff, one of which is quite an interesting choice — Norihito Sumitomo (住友紀人), who will be composing the theatrical score to the movie. Not only is he a newcomer to the franchise, but relatively new to the anime movie scene as well. He is most well known for composing the scores for various Japanese TV dramas and live-action films. The other new face to the franchise is color designer Teppei Horita (堀田哲平), although if you’re a One Piece fan, you’re already very familiar with his work.
On the flip side, we have franchise veterans Nao Ōta (太田 直) and Naoki Miyahara (宮原直樹) returning to supervise special effects and CG animation, respectively. Also returning to supervise the movie’s production process is Kazumi Fujioka (藤岡和実), a former assistant director for Dragon Ball Z and production supervisor for Dragon Ball GT.
As far as the cast is concerned, all of the normal hero voices we’ve come to know and love are listed. In addition, both Hikaru Midorikawa and Masaharu Satō are listed in the main cast, indicating that the cast for the film will most likely be the same as Dragon Ball Kai — Midorikawa replaced the late Hirotaka Suzuoki as Tenshinhan, while Satō replaced Hiroshi Masuoka (who was himself the replacement for the late Kōhei Miyauchi) as Kame-Sen’nin. Jōji Yanami is also listed, which means we’ll have the Narrator and/or Kaiō-sama on board for the film. Unfortunately, there is no obvious replacement for Videl’s voice listed, assuming she won’t be played by one of the existing female cast members.
And after all that, it’s now only a matter of time before we find out some of the movie’s more essential plot details. So stick around, because we’ll be sure to keep you updated with the most accurate information as more sections of the website become available!
