This week on the podcast, we follow up on a previous bonus episode — one all about the song “Battle Point Unlimited” — and explore the song “Solid State Scouter” from the 1990 Bardock television special.

Show Description

Bonus episode! Tune in as Mike provides a complete history of the Dragon Ball Z Bardock television special insert song “Solid State Scouter” by Dragon Magic Orchestra. What makes the song so unique and memorable, and who actually made it?!

Referenced Sites

• Bardock TV Special Documentation @ Kanzenshuu
• The History of Bardock @ Kanzenshuu
• Yellow Magic Orchestra’s “Solid State Survivor” Review @ lo-fidelity
• Yellow Magic Orchestra’s “Solid State Survivor” @ Amazon

How to Listen

This bonus episode is exclusive to the website and regular podcast subscribers. Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3. Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum.

Supplemental Listening

For episode 10 of the revised lo-fidelity podcast, Mike and Jeff reviewed Yellow Magic Orchestra’s for 1979 album, Solid State Survivor. Fans of any type of music — not exclusive just to “anime” or “game” music! — will surely find something to love in this landmark album.

One of our favorite podcast traditions is our annual review of the top news stories, checking back on predictions we made the previous year, and making new predictions for the upcoming year! This time around, a good 3/4 of the Kanzenshuu staff is on hand for the speculation, so tune in for all the best hot takes around!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0431! Mike, Jake, and Julian reflect on the top news stories from 2017, as well as what we felt were some of the other important stories for the year. We check in on our predictions from last year, make new predictions for 2018, and toss around some listener predictions for the new year as well. Finally, what do we have on tap for the website in 2018?!

REFERENCED SITES:

• 2017 In Review: Top 5 Dragon Ball News Stories @ Kanzenshuu
• NEWS: New “Dragon Ball” Theatrical Film Announced for December 2018
• NEWS: Viz Posts “Dragon Ball Super” Manga Chapter 31 English Translation
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball SD” Volume 5 Coming in February 2018
• NEWS: Forthcoming “Extra Pack 2” for “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2” to Include “Fu” + Additional Story Material
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Symphonic Adventure” 2018 Encore Performances in Spain and Switzerland Announced

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

Kazuhiko Torishima has held a massive influence on every aspect of Dragon Ball‘s production, from before it was even a twinkle in Akira Toriyama’s eye, up through the creation of Dragon Ball Kai and beyond. In a fascinating interview with Forbes last year, Torishima discussed his thoughts on the television series adaptation, and why certain changes were made on the production side leading up to the “Z” shift. Tune in as we try to see what Torishiama saw so many years ago, and how these changes impacted the franchise for decades to come!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0429! Mike and Lance discuss the Dragon Ball franchise’s shift to “Z” based on Kazuhiko Torishima’s comments and observations from a 2016 interview with Forbes. What changes were made to the production team, and how did those changes trickle down and shape the franchise for decades to come? A little bit of impromptu listener questions wraps up the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Shueisha Releasing Digital Versions of Dragon Ball Film Anime Comics
• INTERVIEW: “Kazuhiko Torishima On Shaping The Success Of ‘Dragon Ball’…” @ Forbes
• WATCH: Lance (“MistareFusion”) @ YouTube

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

One of the best parts of running Kanzenshuu is the wealth of history we get a chance to dive into and archive. This week’s episode takes a look at Akira Toriyama’s arcade machine design from 1993, brings us from 1991 to 1997 to 2010 reviewing different official English releases of the same Dragon Ball film, and wraps up with a quick gut-reaction to the latest Dragon Ball Super extravaganza with Goku vs. Jiren!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0428! Mike and Meri take a look back at Akira Toriyama’s arcade machine design from 1993 before diving into three separate reviews of the first “Dragon Ball” movie’s English-language release. We wrap up with an uncharacteristic, quick gut-reaction to the one-hour “Dragon Ball Super” special featuring Goku’s fight with Jiren!

REFERENCED SITES:

• CONTENT: New (Old) Translation: “Dragon Ball Z” Arcade (1993) Akira Toriyama Comment & Original Cabinet Design
• PRESS ARCHIVE: “Markalite” Winter 1991 Dragon Ball Movie Review
• PRESS ARCHIVE: “Animerica” January 1991 Dragon Ball Movie Review

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

If there could be any single event to help wake the podcast back up, it would certainly have to be the recent Dragon Ball FighterZ closed beta. Tune in for our hands-on impression with the beta!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0427! Mike and Kirran discuss the “Dragon Ball FighterZ” closed beta. How is the game shaping up so far, and how different do the characters feel from each other? We come up with an impromptu top five list of characters we would love to see in the game, and chat a little bit about recent website content and bonus podcast material!

REFERENCED SITES:

• CONTENT: New Translations: “Showa vs. Heisei!?” Special, “Resurrection ‘F'” Anime Comic, and “Dr. Slump” Volume 18 Akira Toriyama Comments
• CONTENT: New Translation: Takao Koyama “Theatrical Story Q&A” from Dragon Box The Movies
• CONTENT: Press Archive Update: Winter 1991 Markalite Harmony Gold Dragon Ball Movie Review
• PURCHASE: “Dragon Ball FighterZ” @ Amazon
• FOLLOW: Kirran @ Twitter
• LISTEN: LongThoughts with Baloo – The Kanzenshuu King, the Manga Maharajah, VegettoEX!
• LISTEN: lo-fidelity

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

Spoilers: most characters in Dragon Ball do not have surnames! Additional spoilers: some of the characters you think absolutely do not have a surname may in fact have a secret surname! Join us for a tour of the Dragon World’s family names, from the initial Journey to the West borrows up through the series’ later ancillary material.

孫悟空

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0426! Mike and Jake discuss surnames in the Dragon World. In a series where most characters do not actually have family names, how can you tell for sure when someone might actually have one? What examples tend to confuse fans, and which names might be hiding a secret surname away?! A bit of news recap and a related “Journey to the West” excerpt round out the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Lacco Tower Album “Far Away” Dated For August 2017
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (JP 3DS) 8th Week Sales
• NEWS: Trunks Confirmed As Playable Character in “Dragon Ball FighterZ” (PS4/XBO/PC)
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2” Nintendo Switch Japanese Release Date, Content, & Technical Details
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2” DLC Pack #4 + Free Content Pack Details & Release Date
• SUGGESTED READING: “Journey to the West” Volume 1 (Anthony C. Yu; Revised Edition) @ Amazon

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

You could be forgiven for writing things off as “another year, another fighting game announcement”. This particular reveal, however, was so up our alley that it snapped us right back out of podcast hibernation! Dragon Ball FighterZ has been announced for an “early 2018” release, is a 3-on-3 fighting game on a 2D playing field, and is under development by Arc System Works. For those of us that remember a time before free-flight “DBZ simulator” games, it appears that our prayers have been answered.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0425! Mike, Ryan, and Josh preview “Dragon Ball FighterZ”, the new fighting game coming in 2018 from Arc System Works. Based on the E3 demo, how is the game feeling so far, and what is it doing to separate itself from previous franchise entries? A tease of new and forthcoming website content rounds out the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: “Dragon Ball FighterZ” (PS4/XBO/PC) Video Game Revealed For 2018 Worldwide Release
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball FighterZ” (PS4/XBO/PC) E3 Debut Trailer
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (JP 3DS) 7th Week Sales
• NEWS: Ninth “Dragon Ball Super” Ending Theme Song Announced
• NEWS: Japanese “Dragon Ball Super” DVD & Blu-ray Box #8 Announced
• CONTENT: “Rumor Guide” Addition – The Name of Freeza’s Race

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

This week’s show has a few bits of what we do best: expanding some news into a larger topic, and going in-depth to reflect on some of our own processes compared with the franchise’s official English-language release. Tune in for a rundown on various changes (and perhaps even mistakes!) made with characters and names in Dragon Ball Super‘s latest story arc, and stick around for a comparison between our own translation versus Viz’s official translation of the special interview in the manga’s first collected volume.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0424! Mike and Jake review the latest “Dragon Ball Super” character name developments alongside a quick look back at various production slip-ups and changes. Julian joins for a little inside-baseball chat about translation using Viz’s “Dragon Ball Super” Volume 1 interview as a base. Tune in for all this and a little bit of news recap from the last week!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Second Chapter of dragongarowLEE’s “The Case of Being Reincarnated as Yamcha” Published on Jump+ Digital Platform
• NEWS: WIRED Italia Interview With Toyotarō From Napoli Comicon
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (JP 3DS) 1st Week Sales
• NEWS: Yuka Komatsu to Voice Caulifla in “Dragon Ball Super”
• TRANSLATION: “Tori-Toyo Interview” Book Version
• “Dragon Ball Super” Manga (Collected Edition) Volume 1 @ Amazon

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

After a short break, our podcast returns this week with a check-in on the updated visual style and effects on display in Dragon Ball Super‘s “Universe Survival arc”. We first took a look when the new arc was only a couple episodes into the story — tune in for our latest analysis!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0423! Mike and Ajay check in on the updated visual style and effects on display in the “Universe Survival arc” of “Dragon Ball Super”. Have the filters been toned down in any way, or is that perception just a side effect of the story’s various locales? Has pre-production evened out to acceptable levels, and what kinds of tidbits are out there on social media telling the behind-the-scenes story?

REFERENCED SITES:

• Live Stream Story Time Adventures (Bonus Podcast Episodes)
• Kanzenshuu /r/dbz/ AMA + Live Stream
• NEWS: Amazon Japan Dates “Dragon Ball Super” Manga Volume 3 For June 2017
• NEWS: “Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission” Vol. 1 Release Details
• NEWS: Japanese “Dragon Ball Super” DVD & Blu-ray Box #7 Announced
• NEWS: Viz Posts “Dragon Ball Super” Manga Chapter 23 English Translation
• NEWS: FUNimation “Dragon Ball Super” Home Video (DVD/Blu-ray) Release Begins July 2017
• Ajay @ YouTube
• Ajay @ Twitter

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.