As we reported last night, Toei Animation’s official “Battle of Gods” website was revamped yesterday; however, the majority of the new sections have not yet gone live. Thanks to some fun URL guessing, we have stumbled across the website’s new “Introduction” section that is not yet linked in the navigation, but is indeed live and available to the public. The page provides an introduction to the series (all of which we have seen numerous times already), the special note from Akira Toriyama that was previously posted on the official site, and of course what many fans have been clamoring for: a brief synopsis of the movie. Unfortunately the page is in Japanese only, but fret not, for we have diligently translated it for you!

鳥山明参戦。
オールスターキャストで蘇る本物の「ドラゴンボール」更に、この歴史的プロジェクトに、原作者の鳥山明が原作・ストーリー・キャラクターデザインとして名を連ねる。

描かれるのは、全宇宙の運命を賭けた魔人ブウとの壮絶な戦いから数年後の物語。全宇宙のバランスを保つ破壊の神・ビルスが長い眠りから目覚めてしまった！フリーザを倒したというサイヤ人の噂を聞きつけて、悟空の元へやって来るビルス。久々に現れた強敵を前にワクワクする悟空は、界王の忠告も無視してビルスに戦いを挑むが、その圧倒的なパワーを前に手も足も出ずに敗れてしまう。「地球にはもっと破壊しがいのあるヤツがいるといい…」不気味な言葉を残してビルスはその場を去っていった…果たして悟空たちは破壊の神を止めることができるのか！？

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Akira Toriyama Joins the Battle.
Not only is the real “Dragon Ball” being resurrected with an all-star cast, but what’s more, for this historic project the original author Akira Toriyama is involved with the original work, story, and character design.

The story takes place several years after the titanic battle with Majin Boo, that determined the fate of the entire universe. Bils, the God of Destruction who maintains the balance of the universe, awakens from a long slumber! Hearing rumors that a Saiyan defeated Freeza, Bils tracks down Goku. Goku is so ecstatic that a tough enemy has appeared after such a long time, he ignores Kaiō’s advice and fights Bils, but cannot do a thing against his overwhelming power and is defeated. Bils leaves, but his eerie remark of “Is there nobody on Earth more worthy to destroy…?” lingers on… Can Goku and co. really stop the God of Destruction?!

While there is still much left to be desired, it is at least a great starting point for fan speculation. We still do not know yet what role Whis will play — is he the one who tells Bils of Freeza’s defeat? Where do Whis and Bils come from exactly, and why was Bils asleep this whole time? All-in-all, it is a great time to be a speculative Dragon Ball fanboy! So be sure to check Kanzenshuu for the latest movie news and updates — we’ve got you covered!

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 Ōta

ＣＧ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!

Leaked pages (via Manga-News Japon and 2ch) from the upcoming Weekly Shōnen Jump 2013 issue #1 (due out this Monday) have finally confirmed the two characters previously seen on a questionable poster for the upcoming 2013 theatrical Dragon Ball Z movie, “Battle of Gods”:

“Z”の常識を破る破壊神、降臨!!
A God of Destruction who Violates the Common Sense of “Z” Descends!!

キービジュアル公開!!　コイツが破壊神ビルスだ!!
Key visuals revealed!! This is the god of destruction, “Birusu”!!

This (perhaps final?) version of the poster has a few small discrepancies from the initial version that leaked, such as Yamcha’s position in the background. This suggests that whoever leaked the original image was either working on it him/herself or otherwise had access to the work-in-progress version.

An additional image, which appears to be further down the same page of the magazine, reveals the names for both characters, along with their respective voice actors:

劇場版新キャラクター　ビルス＆ウイス!!
New Movie Characters: “Birusu” & “Uisu”

ウイス
声優：森田成一
“Uisu”
Voice Actor: Masakazu Morita

破壊神ビルス
声優：山寺宏一
God of Destruction, “Birusu”
Voice Actor: Kōichi Yamadera

まるで猫の様な姿をした破壊神ビルス！！そして、ビルスの傍らに立つ人物ウイスとは一体…！？
It’s as if the God of Destruction, “Birusu”, has a cat-like appearance!! And, who the heck is this “Uisu” person standing next to “Birusu”…?!

[ For additional line of text, see updated information below ]

The term 破壊神 (hakaishin, meaning “God of Destruction”) appears to be an actual title of some sort for “Birusu”, as it is included in the box next to him that contains his name. As for the current Kanzenshuu-approved choice of name spellings, ウイス is the first three characters in ウイスキー (“whiskey”), while ビルス could be modified from ピルス (“pils”, a.k.a. “pilsner”, a kind of beer). We cannot confirm at this point that these are the intended puns, but the logic seems sound enough for now — we will of course update with any subsequent information or confirmations.

Masakazu Morita previously played Tarble in the 2008 Jump Super Anime Tour special, Heya! Son Goku and Friends Return. Kōichi Yamadera, meanwhile, subbed for Hirotaka Suzuoki as Tenshinhan in Dragon Ball Z episodes 82 and 84, back in 1991.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods is the first full-length animated theatrical feature for the franchise since 1996’s 10th anniversary movie, Saikyō e no Michi (“The Path to Ultimate Strength”). It is due in Japanese theaters on 30 March 2013, with no official word just yet on an international release, though there are hints at one on a production level.

Update 1: After viewing the promotional page in its entirety, we have noticed an additional line of text that had been clipped off of the original leaked scans. This line of text appeared just below the new character introductions, and for the sake of completeness, we have included this text line below.

まるで猫の様な姿をした破壊神ビルス！！そして、ビルスの傍らに立つ人物ウイスとは一体…！？
It’s as if the God of Destruction, “Birusu”, has a cat-like appearance!! And, who the heck is this “Uisu” person standing next to “Birusu”…?!

Update 2: Scripwriter Yūsuke Watanabe responded to our inquiry regarding the possible source for the two characters’ name puns being alcohol based (“pilsner” and “whiskey” as the theories), stating:

由来、違いま～す！
That’s not the source~!

We will continue to push for clarification and confirmation!