Our forum member GotenZ1 spent some time at E3 this last week and got a chance to play Tenka’ichi Dai-Bōken for the Nintendo Wii (being released outside Japan as Revenge of King Piccolo). Confirmed is a new vocal theme song! We do not yet have any details on the performer, but do know that it will not have 2D animation for the opening sequence (which we still have not seen since Budokai 3 back in 2004).
Episode #0178 of the podcast is available for download! Meri, Julian, Jeff, and myself all sat down to take a look at Volume 27 of the manga. The Freeza arc is coming to a close… but it’s not quite done just yet. Was there enough to keep us interested? Are we totally ready for this saga to end? Doesn’t something pretty major happen this volume…? Another exclusive music track, some great video game news for those in North America, and our usual shenanigans round out the episode. Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
We would like to give a huge congrats to Tekkaman James for winning our “Super Exciting Guide” contest! Listen in to the latest podcast episode for his name suggestion for Mr. Satan’s wife.
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0178! VegettoEX, Meri, Julian, and Jeff dig into Volume 27 in our “Manga Review of Awesomeness”. The Freeza arc is still going, but is it still going strong? A huge transformation has finally taken place, but was it what the doctor ordered? A remix of Tapion’s theme, great news for American DBZ video game fans, June’s releases, your e-mails, the end of one contest, and the beginning of another contest round out the episode.
REFERENCED SITES:
We have it on good authority that all of the new Dragon Ball video games are due out this fall in North America in addition to their European releases. These games include Attack of the Saiyans on the DS (dropping the “Kai” title just like its European release), Revenge of King Piccolo on the Wii, and Raging Blast on the PS3 & 360.
The real clincher here? They are coming straight from Namco-Bandai, just like in Europe. Atari is nowhere to be seen.
UPDATE: In come the press releases!
We have reached out to Atari for a statement on their current and future role in the franchise. As you heard on our most recent podcast episode (and will eventually come in some sort of concise written form to the home page), quite a bit is going on with the company these days.
Episode #0177 of the podcast is available for download! Meri and I took a listen with the “Dragon Soul” CD single for your review enjoyment. We also talked about the latest two episodes of Kai, went through some great e-mail, etc. You know the drill by now. Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0177! VegettoEX and Meri review the “Dragon Soul” CD single, along with talking about the most recent “Kai” episodes. Bizarre video game games and corporate restructuring, June’s releases, your great e-mails, and our “Super Exciting” contest round out the episode (along with tons of great tunes)!
REFERENCED SITES:
The CD single for the closing theme to Dragon Ball Kai, “Yeah! Break! Care! Break!”, is set to be released 24 June 2009 in either a regular (¥1200, ~$13.00 US) or “Limited Edition” (¥1300, ~$14.00 US) version.
The track listing is as follows, with both song titles written in English:
It seems that even the hard times are hitting Toei Animation, the company responsible for animating the Dragon Ball franchise, as Anime News Network (via animeanime.jp) is reporting that during a board meeting on Monday, Toei Animation has decided to change the positions of some of its top executives. Chairperson Tsutomu Tomari will effectively step down and serve as a board member and adviser starting on June 24. Here’s the initial report from ANN:
Toei Animation, the largest anime production company in Japan, has announced that it decided in a Monday board meeting earlier in the day to change the positions of its top executives. Chairperson Tsutomu Tomari will effectively step down and serve as a board member and adviser starting on June 24. The current president, Hiroshi Takahashi, is assuming the dual roles of chairperson and president. Senior director Kozo Morishita will be promoted to executive vice-president, and senior director Hirotarō Nishi will be promoted to senior managing director. Morishita is currently in charge of the planning and sales departments, and Nishi is in charge of the accounting and information system departments.
As far as we know, this will have no effect on Dragon Ball Kai, but I guess only time will tell. We will be sure to keep you updated if any news to the contrary surfaces.
Episode #0176 of the podcast is available for download! We apologize for the day-late-posting on it, but it’s a long holiday weekend for us… so that’s our excuse. This week we brought on Herms (and eventually Hujio showed up) from Kanzentai to discuss and totally dissect the two recent “Super Exciting Guide” books from Japan. Beyond some of the repeated information from past books, we got a chance to dig into new information like Mr. Satan’s real name, and perhaps the most intriguing, the idea of “Makaiōshin”. Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
We had to leave you with the following image to go alongside one of the later discussions in the episode. You’ll know it when you hear it.
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0176! VegettoEX, Meri, and Julian bring on Herms (and eventually Hujio) from “Kanzentai” to discuss the recent “Super Exciting Guide” books from Japan. While there is plenty of recycled information, the new bits that we do get (such as Mr. Satan’s real name and the Makaioshin) are intriguing beyond belief. Video game news, your e-mails, and a contest to give away the two “Super Exciting Guide” books round out the episode!
REFERENCED SITES:
In addition to the new Nintendo Wii game, Namco-Bandai will be bringing the latest Nintendo DS game to Europe, faithfully translated as (but dropping the “Kai” element), Attack of the Saiyans.
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans coming exclusively to Nintendo DS™ this autumn 2009 in Europe and the PAL regions.
The game follows the Saiyan Saga of the original DBZ story starting from the World Tournament and Goku’s triumphant defeat of Piccolo. Players will take the role of Goku and travel the DBZ universe from jungle to Snow Mountain on their quest to victory.
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans features a host of original features which will be sure to thrill fans, such as brand new gameplay, unique game modes, fun side quests and content never before seen in either the anime or manga series.
More details about this exciting addition to the DBZ range of video games will be announced soon. Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans is scheduled for launch across Europe and the PAL regions in autumn 2009.
We will hit you back later not only with the podcast episode for this week, but also a new contest! Stay tuned…!
Just as we have been expecting based on the current relationships between Namco-Bandai and Infogrames, Namco-Bandai will be releasing the new Wii game entirely on their own in Europe. Re-titled (from Tenka’ichi Dai-Bōken, or The World’s Greatest Adventure) to Revenge of King Piccolo, it should show up over in Europe some time in the fall of this year.
CERGY-PONTOISE, FRANCE – 25 May 2009 – NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S. today announced the forthcoming launch of Dragon Ball®: Revenge of King Piccolo exclusively for Wii. Scheduled for European launch this autumn 2009, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo promises to thrill fans with the first ever appearance of the original Dragon Ball story on Wii in glorious 3D.
Heading back to the early days of the Dragon Ball story, players will control Kid Goku as he sets out on fantastic adventures with his friends. The title faithfully reproduces the uniqueness and special humour of the early Dragon Ball series, while adding an original blend of action and adventure to the mix. With the original Japanese music and voiceover included for maximum authenticity, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo offers fans a dazzling new experience with the characters and universe they know and love.
The visuals in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo take the series to a new level by faithfully reproducing on-screen the original drawings of legendary Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama down to the finest pen strokes. Thanks to the high-quality, state-of-the-art graphics, fans will be able to immerse themselves in the Dragon Ball universe like never before.
Game modes include Story mode which follows Kid Goku from the Red Ribbon Saga to the King Piccolo Saga with the ability to replay previously completed stages, and the unlockable VS mode where players can take different unlocked characters into battle.
With in-game collectables, a host of unlockables, and more fun, fights and adventure than ever before all delivered in dazzling 3D, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo is the definitive Dragon Ball videogame experience coming to Wii this autumn 2009.
Our European buddy sangofe managed to get in touch with Plus Licens and inquired about the franchise’s situation over there. I clearly remember reading this on the podcast back in April, but it does not appear to have ever hit the home page:
Thank you for your e-mail concerning DragonBall. Plus Licens represents the rights holders for the DragonBall TV series, DragonBall GT and DragonBall Z, as well as the upcoming movie DragonBall: Evolution, in the Nordic region and Eastern Europe. This map shows the countries in question: (link #1)
For DragonBall we handle both the TV/DVD rights and the merchandising rights. That means that our potential customers are TV channels and DVD distributors who want to buy the right to show the TV series, but also different companies who want to use the DragonBall characters on their products or in their marketing. Such contracts can cover different territories; sometimes they only apply to a single country and sometimes multiple countries (e.g. the Nordic region). In practice this means that the salespeople at our offices in Stockholm, Warsaw, Moscow, Kiev, Budapest, Prague and Bucharest now regularly present DragonBall to potential local customers in different market segments. You can see a few examples of how we present DragonBall to potential customers in both marketing and TV/DVD here:
(link #2)
(link #3)When it comes to the TV series we can negotiate the rights to both the original and the version adapted for children, it’s the customer who decides based on his wishes and needs. If we sign a deal with a TV channel or DVD distributor Plus Licens is however not involved in the translation/dubbing other than on an administrative level. That is handled by separate studios. The translation of names and proper nouns are often coordinated with the company that published the manga so that they remain consistent. All material – voices, translations, marketing material – is continually reviewed and approved by Toei, the rights holder.
We are happy to hear about your interest in DragonBall and know that there are many knowledgeable and dedicated anime fans in the Nordic region as well as Eastern Europe who will hopefully contribute to making the series as successful on TV and in merchandising as it already has become as a manga.