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Podcast
Podcast Episode #0170
Published by 29 March 2009, 10:25 PM EDTComment

Episode #0170 of the podcast is available for download! This week it was just Meri and I, so we dipped back and took a more thorough look at Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Rule/Sparkle” CD+DVD single. You heard some general thoughts about it two weeks ago on the show, but tune in for more in-depth thoughts and tons of sample bits. There is also a huge written review over in the new “Reviews” section! All the regular news, releases, e-mails, and the good stuff you have come to expect is also in the show. Definitely check it out.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0170! VegettoEX and Meri go back and give an in-depth review of the deluxe CD+DVD package for Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Rule/Sparkle” single. How is the music in general, and then how does it fit in with the DB world? Is it worth purchasing, and if so, should you just upgrade to her new album instead of the single? Lots of great news, April’s releases, and your e-mails round out the episode.

REFERENCED SITES:

News
TV Specials To “Maybe” Be Released
Published by 27 March 2009, 2:08 AM EDTComment

Toei has updated their Dragon Ball DVD blog for the last time, seeing as all of the episodes and movies have been released. There is not much about anything we do not already know, except at the very end they leave us with some interesting news. Well, it is more of a “we are not really telling you anything, but we are going to say it anyway” kind of news:

もしかしたら、バーダックとかが出ていたテレビスペシャル版のＤＶＤ化があるかもしれないし…

Just maybe, there might be a DVD release of the TV specials, that characters such as Bardock appeared in…

Considering that this is the first time that Toei has ever mentioned the TV specials for an individual DVD release, I think it is fair to say we finally have some confirmation that they will indeed be seeing a DVD release in Japan. It is also not very clear, but we are assuming this includes both of the Dragon Ball Z TV Specials and the Dragon Ball GT TV Special. Also, no release date is mentioned, so it is really up in the air as to when this will happen. Of course, we may be reading too much into this, but it does not hurt to optimistically speculate.

News
Atari Gets Further In Bed With Namco-Bandai
Published by 25 March 2009, 11:37 AM EDTComment

While it is general video game industry news, it certainly affects Dragon Ball fandom in a huge way. According to a news piece over on Gamasutra, Infogrames (Atari’s full owner at this point) has agreed to sell a 66% stake in its “sales, marketing, and retail distribution” business called “Distribution Partners” to Namco-Bandai.

“Distribution Partners” was apparently set up as a joint-venture with Namco-Bandai in the first place, and many of its products were Namco-Bandai items distributed across Europe and Asia by Infogrames.

“This announcement is the culmination of our strategic relationship with Namco Bandai Games Europe who have proven to be an outstanding partner in creating the Distribution Partners business,” said Infogrames CEO David Gardner.

“The exercise of the put option will now allow Atari to focus its financial resources and creative energy exclusively on developing and publishing online-enabled games, shifting our operations towards servicing recurring revenues and a higher-margin online business model while still benefiting from access to Distribution Partners strong international distribution network.”

As a reminder, Bandai (and therefore the larger company, Namco-Bandai) holds the exclusive rights to Dragon Ball merchandise such as video games. In North America (and many countries abroad), Atari (and therefore the larger company, Infogrames) holds the sub-license from FUNimation (and therefore the larger company, Navarre) to distribute these products to their local market(s).

Yes, that is a lot of holding companies and sub-licensing. In a nutshell, Atari/Infogrames is creating additional business ventures and ties with Namco-Bandai, and Dragon Ball is in the midst of it. It will be interesting to see where this all takes us in January 2010 when Atari’s current sub-license from FUNimation expires.

News
Tokyo International Anime Fair – “Dragon Ball Kai” Preview
Published by 24 March 2009, 4:51 PM EDTComment

On March 20th, Fuji TV and Toei Animation held a preview of Dragon Ball Kai as part of the Tokyo International Anime Fair. Saeki Kenji of “Game Watch” was in attendance and has posted up a nice run-down of the event.

Some of our favorite actors were in attendance, including Mayumi Tanaka (Kuririn), Masako Nozawa (Son Goku), and Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo), shown from left to right in the back row:

Also in attendance was Tanimoto Takayoshi, the vocalist for Dragon Ball Kai‘s new opening and ending themes. Fans, dressed up as Piccolo and Goku, even got the opportunity to get up on stage, saying “they got goosebumps hearing the seiyuu’s voices in person”. Although Akira Toriyama was not there in person, he did make an official statement in his typical non-committal way.

I wonder how the Dragon Ball anime will be improved in 2009? I’m looking forward to it!
– Toriyama Akira

The actors eventually talked about their record sessions for Dragon Ball Kai:

  • “This was a performance that swallowed up my life; I remember being stressed when we first started recording.” – Mayumi Tanaka
  • “I’m now a fan of this series myself.” – Toshio Furukawa
  • Though it had been 13 years since they last recorded, “It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.” – Masako Nozawa
  • “The tempo is very fast, so Goku is already dead by episode 2.” – Mayumi Tanaka

Tanaka’s last statement seems a little strange, considering that the Dragon Ball Kai episode titles revealed in V-Jump suggest that Goku does not die until episode 3 or 4. We are assuming this is simply a mistake on Tanaka’s part, but we will give her pass on this one, since she is now probably very busy recording both Kuririn and Luffy (One Piece). If it turns out she is right, it will make things quite interesting, as the series will be progressing at a much faster rate than anyone had anticipated.

As a special bonus, Toei gave a presentation on the remastering process used for the new series, including a comparison between their own DVD releases (on the left) and their HD remastering of Dragon Ball Kai (on the right). We are not exactly sure what all they talked about, or for that matter how much detail they went into, but I would have loved to been there to ask some questions… or at least have been a fly on the wall.

Here is that same shot of Goku just before he transforms into a Super Saiyan, as taken from episode 95 of the “Dragon Box Z Vol. 1”. The screen shot itself has just been re-sized, with no color correction:

You will notice that HD frame has been extended to the right, so it now shows Goku’s shirt. I am assuming the shot has been re-framed, but it is hard to tell exactly how much has been cut from the top. If anything, it confirms they will at least being going up to Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation… though we pretty much already knew that.

News
A Few More “Dragon Ball Kai” Tidbits
Published by 23 March 2009, 11:06 AM EDTComment

While Wasted Wisher has already noted to us that scenes from the Bardock TV special would be used in the first episode of Kai, an upcoming issue of Jump apparently confirms that Freeza will be making an appearance in the first episode, so this all lines up pretty well. Additionally, Jump states that a CD single release for the opening theme (“Dragon Soul”) will come out in May.

Podcast
Podcast Episode #0169
Published by 22 March 2009, 8:26 PM EDTComment

Episode #0169 of the podcast is available for download! We originally wanted to do a “bonus” episode mid-week to follow up and do a more thorough review of the “Rule” CD single, but that didn’t end up happening. We considered doing that for this week’s regular episode, but decided that a more traditional topic would be better (and not so much overkill with regards to the live-action movie). As you may have read previously on the home page, I posted up a response to a YouTube video asking and discussing what it meant to be a “true fan” of the series. We all decided to have our own discussion on this topic, so be prepared for an onslaught of indecision! We hit up all the regular news, releases, e-mails, and even the new “Donate” button/page that is linked over on the side of the home page (including naming our first “memorial” item!). Definitely check it out.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0169! VegettoEX, Meri, and Julian discuss what it means to be a “true fan” of the series. Is that even possible? What distinctions are made, and how do they even come to be? The expected “Kai” news tidbits, some licensing news from Europe and Asia, random video game news, the rest of March’s releases, and your e-mails round out the episode. We also (briefly) discuss the new “Donate” page available to readers and listeners, and name our first memorial item!

REFERENCED SITES:

News
“Dragon Ball Kai” Opening & Ending CD Singles Coming
Published by 21 March 2009, 12:37 PM EDTComment

As we predicted based on the short blurb about a CD single release for the Dragon Ball Kai opening theme, we are going to get double-dipped with the new opening and ending themes getting their own separate releases.

CDJapan is listing the opening theme, “Dragon Soul”, coming out 20 May 2009 in both a regular (COCC-16247, ¥1200) and “Limited Edition” (COCC-16273, ¥1300) version. There is no full track listing yet, and there are no details on what additional material the “Limited Edition” will come with.

CDJapan is also listing the closing theme, “Yeah! Break! Care Break!” (though mis-titled with “Year!” as the first word), as coming out the next month 24 June 2009. This one will also come in both a regular (COCC-16248, ¥1200) and “Limited Edition” (COCC-16283, ¥1300) version. As with the opening, there are no details on a full track listing or additional material in the “Limited Edition” beyond receiving a sticker.

Both songs will be performed by Takayoshi Tanimoto, though the new closing is also listing Takafumi Iwasaki as a performer.

News
“Dragon Ball Evolution” (PSP) JP First Day Sales
Published by 21 March 2009, 11:56 AM EDTComment

Our buddy Marc (The Fanboy Review) has a few gaming tidbits for us. Apparently Dragon Ball Evolution for the PSP did around a mere 1,200 copies in its first day. A Japanese blog gives a little break-down of first-day sales for other recent Dragon Ball games, so you can see just how much of a gap there is with this latest one — even the Xbox 360 version of Burst Limit did better.

On the American side of things, Dragon Ball is actually the 12th top-selling game franchise. More than 14 million units have been sold since 2002, coming out to over $300 million.