Official On-Going DBZ 2013 Movie Thread: "Battle of Gods"

[Saiyan Prince Vegeta]

True that. As it's looks nigh impossible Vegeta will be SSJ3 in this movie, the best thing we could get is Toriyama stating that Vegeta reached the form at some point.

[TheMightyOzaru]

Actually, some people here speak Japanese. Can one of you tweet the guy who confirmed mystic Gohan and ask him to ask Toriyama if Veget reached ssj3 by the end of the series? I'm sure this won't work like at all but hey I can dream .

[Chuquita]

It's possible one of the remaining chozenshuu might have such info, or maybe somewhere in that long Toriyama interview coming up that's mentioned on the main site.

[SaiyaJedi]

Also, re: the Exteme Battle Collection Q&A, the "ranking" supplied by the editors is not numbered in the book (that's Jake's addition, and IMO unwarranted), and what Toriyama himself says in the Q&A does not support Goku being his favorite. He doesn't even mention the guy! (Granted, he is asked to name five characters, and only comes up with four, but that's just the kind of person Toriyama is.)

So he does actually like Vegeta now then?

I was trying to stay out of that argument, but since you asked:

——ちなみに、鳥山先生の好きなキャラクターって誰なんですか？
鳥山　うーん、やっぱりピッコロが一番好きかな。敵の中でもピッコロ大魔王が一番好きですし、そのあともピッコロは一番好きですよ。ピッコロと悟空が、同じくらい好き。ベジータはまあ、そんなに好きじゃないですけど、ずいぶん助けてもらったから。最近ではサタンも描いてて楽しかったですけどね。サタンは、あそこまで重要なキャラになるとは思ってもみませんでしたよ、始めに出したときは。ただの一発キャラだと思ってましたもん。
　サタンもそうですけど、つまんないギャグとか考えてるときのほうが楽しいんですよ、闘いのシーンより（笑）。

——Incidentally, Toriyama-sensei, who is your favorite character?
Toriyama: Hmm... I really like Piccolo the best, I suppose. I like Piccolo-Daimaō the best among villains, and I like Piccolo the best after that, too. I like Piccolo and Goku about the same. As for Vegeta, well, I don't like him that much, but he's saved my bacon quite a bit, so . Recently, I've had fun drawing Satan, as well, but I never thought he'd become such an important character, back when I first came out with him. I mean, I thought he would be just a one-shot character.
　This goes for Satan, too, but I enjoy coming up with stupid gags more than battle scenes (laughs).

[Saiyan Prince Vegeta]

So I guess he didn't say Vegeta was one of his favourites in the Exteme Battle Collection Q&A, thanks for clearing that up Julian.

[SaiyaJedi]

So I guess he didn't say Vegeta was one of his favourites in the Exteme Battle Collection Q&A, thanks for clearing that up Julian.

Well, that's just the interview from Daizenshuu 2. The Q&A in the second Extreme Battle Collection book goes like this:

Q10　鳥山先生がお好みの戦士を５人あげてください。
僕は基本的に無口な方が、絶対カッコいいと思うんです。子供の時からそう思っていました。そういえば、天津飯もトランクスもそうですね。無口なヤツだらけ（笑）。クリリンは、無口じゃないけどイヤイヤながらも頑張っている感じが好きです。最初ちょっとだけ登場させるつもりで手を抜いて描いたキャラなのに、いつのまにか悟空の親友になってました（笑）。ミスター・サタンは、無口とは真逆。こんなせこいヤツではあるけど、悪いヤツじゃない的なキャラは、描いていて楽しかったから好きなんです。

Q10. Toriyama-sensei, please list your five favorite warriors.
I basically think that quiet types are absolutely cool. I’ve thought that ever since I was a kid. Speaking of which, Tenshinhan and Trunks are like that too. They’re all a bunch of silent types (laughs). Kuririn’s not quiet, but I liked the sense that he was grudgingly hanging in there. At first I only intended him to be around for a little while, so I drew him pretty shoddily, but somewhere along the line he became Goku’s best friend (laughs). Mr. Satan’s the complete opposite of the silent type. It was fun drawing him because despite being so petty, he wasn’t really a bad character, so I like him too.

The book itself goes on to state the following (but the text is not directly attributed to Toriyama himself):

鳥山先生が好きな５人の戦士たち!!
ピッコロ・ベジータ
余計なことは一切しゃべらず、孤高な雰囲気を持つふたり。カッコよさは折り紙つき。
クリリン
強い相手にビビりながらも立ち向かっていくクリリン。今では悟空の一番の親友！
ミスター・サタン
人間味あふれるキャラクターのサタン。世界中から愛されている。
孫悟空
鳥山先生の一番のお気に入りは、やっぱり悟空!　強さと優しさをかね備えた超戦士だ!!

Toriyama-sensei's five favorite warriors!! [Note: Except for Goku, they appear to be in no particular order.]
Piccolo, Vegeta
A pair who never say anything unless they have to, and have an air of aloof superiority. Their coolness is the real deal.
Kuririn
Kuririn stands against strong opponents, despite being freaked out the whole time. He’s now Goku’s closest friend!
Mr. Satan
Satan’s a character overflowing with human kindness and weakness. He’s loved the whole world over.
Son Goku
Toriyama-sensei’s #1 favorite character is Goku, of course! He’s a super warrior who’s both strong and gentle!

To me, this seems like the editors are deliberately putting words in Toriyama's mouth to make up for him being one character short. (He doesn't mention Piccolo or Vegeta, either, but seems to imply them by saying Tenshinhan and Trunks are "like that, too".) While it's entirely possible that Toriyama himself told them to go with these characters (or at least signed off on it), it does contradict what he said previously. Most likely, he just doesn't care that much one way or the other.

I should also mention that there's another facet to this argument, which is the comments made by Battle of Gods scriptwriter Yūsuke Watanabe. While we previously focused on his exchange with a fan about Gohan, as you can tell by the flow of the text, they're both continuing on from something they had already said to each other. This is the other part of that exchange.

First, the fan asks:

@yuusukewatanabe あの、なんでベジータをヘタレに描くんでしょうか？ 今度の映画でも、「ベジータが恐怖を～」とかいう感じらしいですね。 あなたは原作を全部読みましたか？

@yuusukewatanabe Um, why are you depicting Vegeta as a weakling? Even in this movie, it seems to have a feeling of, "Let's give Vegeta something to fear~". Have you read all of the manga?

(Watanabe doesn't reply to the following, but the fan also says:)

@yuusukewatanabe もうブロリーレベルなら余裕でボコれるぐらい強くなってるし、 勝ち目が無くても「俺はサイヤ人の王子！ベジータだ！」って立ち向かうのがベジータなんですよ。

@yuusukewatanabe By now, he should be strong enough to be able to thrash someone around Broli's level, and even if there's no hope of winning, he would say, "I am Vegeta, Prince of the Saiya!" and stand against them. That's Vegeta.

Then Watanabe replies:

@Peter_smit4 原作も読みました！原作ラスト１コマのベジータが大好きです！映画見てからまたリプライください！

I've read the manga, too! I really like Vegeta in the manga's last panel! [I think he means in the Kanzenban, with Vegeta vowing to defeat Goku sooner or later.] Please reply again once you see the movie!

To which the fan responds:

@yuusukewatanabe 劇場版のせいでベジータ＝ヘタレって思ってる人が多くて、またヘタレに描かれるのが嫌なんです。 映画は絶対観ます。

@yuusukewatanabe Thanks to the movies, there are a lot of people who think Vegeta = weakling, so I hate [the idea of] him being depicted as a weakling again.
I will absolutely see the movie.

And Watanabe makes his case:

@Peter_smit4 俺『ドラゴンボール』ってベジータの物語だと思うんですよねえ。ベジータが悩み傷つき戦う姿が好きなんですよ！おっしゃるとおり表面的な部分だけ見てヘタレと思われるの嫌ですよね。もちろん悟空が主役ですが、悟空とは違うベジータの凄さが出てるかと！

@Peter_smit4 You know, I consider Dragon Ball to be Vegeta's story. I love seeing him fight while troubled and hurt! As you say, I don't like it when he's thought of as a weakling, simply going by appearances. Goku is the star, of course, but perhaps it brings out Vegeta's greatness, which is different from Goku's!

It's at that point that they go into the exchange about Gohan being a Super Saiyan (or not) in Battle of Gods.

...So, have we exhausted all possible avenues about whether Vegeta is in favor with the creators or not? 'Cause I'm just about spent, here.

[NeoKING]

Wow, that guy sounds like a typical YT commentator.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

http://news.mynavi.jp/c_cobs/news/entab ... fc-z3.html
More KFC stuff on the way.

EDIT 3: The official Japanese KFC website might be a better source:
http://japan.kfc.co.jp/news/news130305kfc.html

EDIT: More promotional stuff:
http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/movie/2013_d ... ws/21.html

EDIT 2: Dragon Ball bowl?
http://www.lawson.co.jp/ponta/static/dbbowl/

[SaiyaJedi]

http://news.mynavi.jp/c_cobs/news/entab ... fc-z3.html
More KFC stuff on the way.

More promotional stuff:
http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/movie/2013_d ... ws/21.html

We've covered the latter on the site already, but not the former. Will have to get on that (after the bunch of other things we're trying to get done...).

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

http://www.bunkatsushin.com/news/article.aspx?id=70265
Apparently they're shooting for 3 billion yen with Battle of Gods, at least that's what Google Translate tells me. Can't view the full text since I'm not a subscriber.

EDIT: Looks like an official wall scroll:
http://shop.toei-anim.co.jp/products/de ... %E3%83%BC/

[AnimeMaakuo]

.

[sintzu]

I should also mention that there's another facet to this argument, which is the comments made by Battle of Gods scriptwriter Yūsuke Watanabe. While we previously focused on his exchange with a fan about Gohan, as you can tell by the flow of the text, they're both continuing on from something they had already said to each other. This is the other part of that exchange.

First, the fan asks:

@yuusukewatanabe あの、なんでベジータをヘタレに描くんでしょうか？ 今度の映画でも、「ベジータが恐怖を～」とかいう感じらしいですね。 あなたは原作を全部読みましたか？

@yuusukewatanabe Um, why are you depicting Vegeta as a weakling? Even in this movie, it seems to have a feeling of, "Let's give Vegeta something to fear~". Have you read all of the manga?

(Watanabe doesn't reply to the following, but the fan also says:)

@yuusukewatanabe もうブロリーレベルなら余裕でボコれるぐらい強くなってるし、 勝ち目が無くても「俺はサイヤ人の王子！ベジータだ！」って立ち向かうのがベジータなんですよ。

@yuusukewatanabe By now, he should be strong enough to be able to thrash someone around Broli's level, and even if there's no hope of winning, he would say, "I am Vegeta, Prince of the Saiya!" and stand against them. That's Vegeta.

Then Watanabe replies:

@Peter_smit4 原作も読みました！原作ラスト１コマのベジータが大好きです！映画見てからまたリプライください！

I've read the manga, too! I really like Vegeta in the manga's last panel! [I think he means in the Kanzenban, with Vegeta vowing to defeat Goku sooner or later.] Please reply again once you see the movie!

To which the fan responds:

@yuusukewatanabe 劇場版のせいでベジータ＝ヘタレって思ってる人が多くて、またヘタレに描かれるのが嫌なんです。 映画は絶対観ます。

@yuusukewatanabe Thanks to the movies, there are a lot of people who think Vegeta = weakling, so I hate [the idea of] him being depicted as a weakling again.
I will absolutely see the movie.

And Watanabe makes his case:

@Peter_smit4 俺『ドラゴンボール』ってベジータの物語だと思うんですよねえ。ベジータが悩み傷つき戦う姿が好きなんですよ！おっしゃるとおり表面的な部分だけ見てヘタレと思われるの嫌ですよね。もちろん悟空が主役ですが、悟空とは違うベジータの凄さが出てるかと！

@Peter_smit4 You know, I consider Dragon Ball to be Vegeta's story. I love seeing him fight while troubled and hurt! As you say, I don't like it when he's thought of as a weakling, simply going by appearances. Goku is the star, of course, but perhaps it brings out Vegeta's greatness, which is different from Goku's!

It's at that point that they go into the exchange about Gohan being a Super Saiyan (or not) in Battle of Gods.

...So, have we exhausted all possible avenues about whether Vegeta is in favor with the creators or not? 'Cause I'm just about spent, here.

if this dosen't mean vegeta will go ssj3 than i don't know what will

[Saiga]

Uh... it doesn't. Vegeta can have his moment in this movie without Super Saiyan 3.

[Chuquita]

*Wonders when some merchandise with ssjg Goku will appear.* I guess not til April as to keep the spoilers under wraps, huh? (Depending on if the office door doodle is or is not the new form).
Are WCF figures crane-game specific or do they sell them through CDJapan?

I really want listings for the behind-the-scenes/production book and animanga for this to appear so I can preorder. >_>
I hope there's a behind-the-scenes/production book like OP had for Z and Strong World.
I'm waiting to hear samples of the soundtrack first before I decide to buy that.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Iw_dYN9g4
Neat video of that 109 Men's sign/billboard thing that was posted a while back.

By the way, pulling it back to one of my earlier posts, is 3 Billion Yen particularly high for an Anime movie or is it pretty average? I know it's definitely not One Piece or Pokemon level but I'm just curious.

[TheMightyOzaru]

Uh... it doesn't. Vegeta can have his moment in this movie without Super Saiyan 3.

We can still hope....

[Chuquita]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Iw_dYN9g4
Neat video of that 109 Men's sign/billboard thing that was posted a while back.

By the way, pulling it back to one of my earlier posts, is 3 Billion Yen particularly high for an Anime movie or is it pretty average? I know it's definitely not One Piece or Pokemon level but I'm just curious.

That is a neat video. :3

Billion? O_O
Well, I guess if you include world-wide....

EDIT: One Piece Film Z made 3.1 billion in 10 days.
Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... in-10-days

I know I'm not in Japan and can't buy a ticket there, but I'm still hoping to contribute somehow through buying a piece of merchandise (once the listings for what I want/hope to see are uploaded) because all I've seen and heard of BOG sounds and looks so fantastic. *_*

[JulieYBM]

Three billion yen total? That may be possible, but considering the franchise recent financial pitfalls I'd be weary of such happening domestically. I can't imagine this film even has a budget on the level of the Strong World of Film Z, either so I should think Toei ought to count their blessings to get however much they do.

[Saiga]

I'd like to know how ambitious a goal that is compared to how other anime movies do, I know it's around 30 million dollars but that still doesn't help me.

If Film Z made 3 billion in 10 days, it certainly sounds feasible to me... although I guess there's a large drop in attendance after the first week. How long do you think this will be in cinemas for?

[JulieYBM]

If Film Z made 3 billion in 10 days, it certainly sounds feasible to me... although I guess there's a large drop in attendance after the first week. How long do you think this will be in cinemas for?

You have to take into account that Film Z was coming off a much longer and much more expansive blitz that's lasted since Fall 2009 when the hype for Strong World and the comic in general was at fever pitch. Dragon Ball isn't coming off anywhere near that sort of build up, so it'd be best to have weathered expectations.