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3,762 Posts & 2,352 Pages Documenting Dragon Ball, since 1998. We've got you covered!
Published by 11 January 2009, 3:44 PM ESTComment

Episode #0159 of the podcast is available for download! Jeff joined the trio of hosts for taking a look at volume 23 of the manga. Goku still hasn’t arrived, but things are going crazy with Vegeta teaming up with the Earthlings, Ginyu-Tokusentai has arrived, the seven Dragon Balls have been gathered… crazy times on Namek, right now. How is the story moving along, though? Does Toriyama still seem like he knows what he’s doing? Definitely check it out.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0159! VegettoEX, Meri, Julian, and Jeff take a look at volume 23 in our “Manga Review of Awesomeness”. The proverbial excrement has begun to hit the fan, with Goku still on his way, and Vegeta being forced to team up with Kuririn and Gohan due to the arrival of Ginyu-Tokusentai. Is the story still moving along, though? News about layoffs and cover art, DBZ ABCs, January’s last release, and your great e-mails round out the episode.

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Published by 09 January 2009, 7:02 PM ESTComment

The sixth set of Dragon Ball The Movies individual discs (DBZ Movies 11 & 12) were released today, and in typical Toei fashion, they have already posted the next set of covers (DBZ Movie 13 & the 10th Anniversary Movie). These next two films, “Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won’t Do it, Who Will” (DBZ Movie 13) and “The Path to Ultimate Strength” (10th Anniversary Movie), are set to be released 13 February 2009.

You can still order any of the previously released discs or either of these discs from Amazon Japan.

Published by 04 January 2009, 9:17 PM ESTComment

Episode #0158 of the podcast is available for download! We were finally able to catch up with Julian again to record, so the core trio took a look back at 2008 in its entirety. We had all sorts of crazy stories, huge surprises, wacky releases, and so much more. Also, how did our predictions for 2008 fare? We took a look at those, as well as made (more beefy & substantial!) predictions for 2009. Definitely check it out.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0158! VegettoEX, Meri, and Julian take a look back at the extraordinary year that was 2008. Amazingly huge news stories, shocking surprises, and crazy releases summed up the year. In the end, though, what were the biggest stories and surprises? How did our predictions fare, and what do we see happening in 2009? January’s releases and your e-mails round out the episode.

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Published by 28 December 2008, 9:59 PM ESTComment

Episode #0157 of the podcast is available for download! We came back from Christmas down at my parents’ with bags full of old action figures, so we decided to tear into them and see what has been sitting around for the last decade or so. Definitely check it out.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0157! VegettoEX and Meri tear through some old bags of action figures to see what has been sitting around for the last ten years! Japanese figures, hilarious American attempts, and naming fun are plentiful. January’s releases, some more DBZ music homage e-mails, and tons more fun round out the episode and 2008.

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Published by 23 December 2008, 4:00 PM ESTComment

We hinted at a couple things previously, but our good buddy Greg gave us a really nice write-up of his time spent at Jump Festa this past week. There was a lot going on, so let me pull out a couple key quotes from him:

When it came Nozawa’s turn they asked who else she did beyond THE OBVIOUS 3 and a child answered Bardock. Both Tanaka and Nozawa commented that they were so amazed small children knew smaller roles they did so long ago. It was then that I exposed that banter as bullshit when Nozawa asked who ELSE she did. I raised my hand to answer Tullece (or whatever the hell the accepted dubbination calls him these days) and Nozawa made direct eye contact with me at which time she scowled, shook her head and went on to pick a child. So yeah, basically their amazement at children knowing the roles is bullshit, they wanted/expected them to know the answers and only intended on picking them.

How many Americans can say they’ve been scowled at by Nozawa herself? Ah Japan. Gaijin are all the same to you eh?

One of Tanaka’s most memorable scenes is that with Bacterian where Krillin is reminded he doesn’t have a nose and just kind of responds, “Oh…yeah!” Nozawa thinks it’s hilarious because she honestly believes Toriyama originally genuinely forgot to draw one.

So they made a big hoot about Japan getting the live action movie first on March 13th. Nozawa wants it to be first here because, “…DB belongs to Japan!” So they showed us the trailer. Turns out it’s just the trailer.

It was the first time to see the trailer for many of the fans. Why? Because Japanese people suck ass at using computers.

Piccolo was laughed at. Flat out.

When Goku said Kame Hame Ha there was audible laughter.

Nozawa said she was surprised because Goku was such a hunk and Yamcha looks like some bumpkin which should be the other way around.

The idols said it’s strange to see such a young Roshi and that it’s hard to picture him being a perv like that. (Later Nozawa would say, “You can tell he likes young girls!”, apparently commenting on his shirt out of the blue which directly contradicted that comment and the feeling of the crowd so it seems she was fed that line)

Then Nozawa laid the smack down on the American Kame Hame Ha. She said in Japan they extend the ‘Ka’ OR the final ‘Ha’ but in America they extend the first ‘me’ which just makes it sound way off.

Head on over to our forum to read Greg’s full write-up.

Published by 21 December 2008, 8:17 PM ESTComment

Episode #0156 of the podcast is available for download! Despite a couple minor mentions of the live-action movie, the episode is actually available on time! We brought on Marc (The Fanboy Review) to discuss FUNimation’s new Dragon Ball GT “season one” DVD box set.

It seems like quite a different monster than the Dragon Ball Z TV “season” sets, but is it ultimately worth it in the end? We cover everything from the video encode, to the audio tracks, to what has been removed or inserted. Definitely check it out.

That is not all we have for you, though. Marc has broken some some hilarity with the menus (which we mentioned during the podcast episode), so here are some versions for laughs. The first one here is a typical menu from the DBZ TV season sets. Note that the video on the DBZ sets is anamorphic widescreen. The menus are matted/letterboxed in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Here we have the DBGT season set main menu. Note that the video on the DBGT sets are 4:3. The menus have been added to (based on the same template as the DBZ ones) and are stretched to super-widescreen.

Finally, we have a fun little video for you to check out. On the show we discussed FUNimation’s marketing campaign back in 2003 for Dragon Ball GT, and how these box sets are almost an apology, or at least a convenient “forgetting” of the past. With us being Dragon Ball superfans that do not forget anything, we are happy to provide some more chuckles with a little comparison video.

Do not misunderstand us — while we have zero interest in watching FUNimation’s dub of the series, we absolutely adore that they went back and did dubbed versions of the songs. However, the real losers in this situation are the entire fanbase. Once again, FUNimation has further fragmented their market. By not simply including them in the first place five years ago, now the dub fans do not even have an option to get their “Step Into The Grand Tour” for an opening, and are happily proclaiming the original songs to be “gay”.

ERRATA: Just to clarify a couple things, it sounds like the name “Mr. Satan” is indeed used at some points in the English dub tracks on this set. Was the “uncut” GT dub inconsistent with this? Also, the set goes to episode 34, which is indeed not the complete Baby arc. That would be through episode 40, and even Super Saiyan 4 Goku does not really show up until episode 35…