Kanzenshuu

“Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2” (JP 3DS) 9th Week Sales

Published by VegettoEX08 October 2014, 8:39 PM EDTCommentUltimate Mission 2

For the week of 29 September 2014 to 05 October 2014, Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 for the Nintendo 3DS — a sequel to the first portable version of the nearly-four-year-old, still-going-strong, card-based arcade game — remains off the Media Create sales chart list. Famitsu, however, pegs the game as pushing another 3,185 copies during its ninth week on sale.

As of this last week, Famitsu pegs the game at 148,951 total copies sold. By Famitsu‘s own reporting, the first game had sold 169,866 copies by its respective ninth week.

Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 is available for purchase at CDJapan and Play-Asia. A Japanese system is required to play the (region-locked) game.

Content

“Battle of Gods” FUNimation Home Release: Quick Facts

Published by VegettoEX07 October 2014, 9:18 PM EDT5 CommentsDBZ Movie 2013

The 2013 film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods finally sees its home release today from FUNimation and comes packed with the original theatrical version along with a special extended edition. Stay tuned here at Kanzenshuu for a more complete review in the near future, but in the meantime, check out these quick facts: it is everything you actually wanted to know about this home release!

What is “Battle of Gods”?
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was the first new theatrical film for the franchise in seventeen years, hitting Japanese theaters 30 March 2013. Though its original concepts were created by Toei Animation, original manga author Akira Toriyama entered the production early on to oversee much of the story and dialog. The script is attributed to Yūsuke Watanabe. A musical score was provided by Norihito Sumitomo. Character designs and animation supervision were handled by Tadayoshi Yamamuro. The film was directed by Masahiro Hosoda. The story is written to take place between the defeat of Majin Boo and the 28th Tenka’ichi Budōkai and is officially set in Age 778.

What is in the extended edition?
The extended edition includes just over twenty minutes of additional material, ranging from three-second interstitial transitions to entirely new scenes. Virtually nothing is removed or replaced; it is all additive.

Is this release in English or Japanese?
As with pretty much all of FUNimation’s home releases since 2000, this release includes the original Japanese audio track (with accompanying English subtitle translations) along with the company’s own English dub.

Which region is encoded onto the Blu-ray?
The disc is solely encoded for Region A. Manga UK will be releasing their own version of this release in November.

Who provided the translation for the subtitles?
Long-time Dragon Ball fan and FUNimation translator for the franchise Steven J. “Daimao” Simmons provided the translation.

What name spelling is used for the main antagonist in the subtitles?
Simmons went with a spelling of “Beers” in the subtitle track. For more information on the question, read our own overview. The character’s attendant is adapted with the traditional “Whis” spelling.

Are all of the audio tracks provided in 5.1 surround sound?
The English dub for the theatrical version, the original Japanese track for the theatrical version, and the English dub for the extended edition are all produced in 5.1 surround sound. The odd man out is the Japanese track for the extended edition, which is presented in standard stereo sound.

What kinds of special features are included?
Two featurettes are included along with other, shorter videos adding up to roughly half an hour of bonus material:

“Behind the Scenes: Battle of Voice Actors” (9:55) – An extended scene of Goku fighting Beerus with overlaid boxes of the English voice actors performing the lines.
“The Voices of Dragon Ball Z: Unveiled” (19:23) – Short introductions to various English voice actors, showcases of them performing their lines, and more.
Textless Closing Song (3:31) – A creditless version of the movie’s closing theme song.
U.S. Trailer (1:48) – FUNimation’s English-language trailer for the film using footage from the extended edition.
Trailers – Promotional videos and trailers for various FUNimation-licensed shows.

Is such-and-such reference kept in the English dub?
For the most part, yes. This includes an off-hand reference to a particular character’s sibling as well as the length of certain types of entertainment. The English dub’s script receives a bit of “punching-up” as seen in the company’s original 2000-onward dubbing, but overall lies somewhere between that and their Dragon Ball Kai treatment.

Are the original Japanese or English versions of FLOW’s songs included?
The English dub tracks and original Japanese language tracks for both versions of the film feature FLOW’s English versions of “Hero: Song of Hope” and “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA”. This has been the case with most other international releases (even in the Japanese language tracks). An opening screen of text on the release acknowledges and notes this change.

Are the end credits only provided in English?
Yes, the credits are exclusively written in English accompanied by the English version of FLOW’s “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA”. The Japanese cast is attributed to character names as they appear in the subtitles (Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Kaioshin, etc.). The kanzenban pages are not edited from their original Japanese text.

What types of releases are available?
A two-disc DVD set as well as a three-disc DVD & Blu-ray combo set are available. Each contain both the original theatrical and extended versions of the film.

Where can I purchase this home release?
Most retailers carry the movie. It is also available online from retailers such as Amazon and RightStuf.

I want to know more about this movie!
Head on over to the respective page in our “Movie Guide” for anything and everything you ever wanted to know about Battle of Gods! We have interview translations, character designs, links to our podcast reviews, and much more.

Is there a new movie coming in 2015?
Yes! Check out our article to learn everything there is to know so far.

News

“Dragon Ball Heroes” JM Wrap-up & Next Update Coverage

Published by VegettoEX05 October 2014, 12:18 PM EDTCommentDragon Ball Heroes

A four-year anniversary stream for Dragon Ball Heroes took place earlier today, and while a focus was indeed put on the “Super Saiyan 4 Broli Explosive Birth Festival” to show off the newly-upgraded villain, the main takeaway from the event was the future of Dragon Ball Heroes itself.

YouTube user “pontaosu” captured a video of the new promotional video for the upcoming JM7 (Ja’aku Ryū Mishon 7 / “Evil Dragon Mission 7”) update, which showcases Super Saiyan 4 Broli against the avatar heroes and series heroes, along with a special appearance from a cloaked Paikuhan at the end.

As promised, the event included a special feature looking ahead to the future of Dragon Ball Heroes. Another pre-produced video recapped the on-going “JM” update series, which will have two more updates: JM7 in November, and JM8 in January 2015, presumably to wrap-up the Dragon Ball GT-oriented aspects of the game.

A “new series” — or rather, a new batch of updates, presumably under a new overarching name (a la “Galaxy Mission” and “Evil Dragon Mission”) — will hit later in 2015. The teaser concludes with a shadowy figure who appears to be none other than Bardock in his Time Breaker / mind-control outfit from Dragon Ball Online. With Time Patrol Trunks already making an appearance in Dragon Ball Heroes, it appears that the card-based arcade game will be going into material from Dragon Ball Online — the now-defunct online multiplayer role-playing game — full force alongside the upcoming Dragon Ball XENOVERSE console game, also hitting in early 2015.

Thanks to “pontaosu” on YouTube as well as “TheDevilsCorpse” on our own forum for staying as on top of things as ever!

News

“Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2” (JP 3DS) 8th Week Sales

Published by VegettoEX01 October 2014, 10:43 AM EDTCommentUltimate Mission 2

For the week of 22 September 2014 to 28 September 2014, Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 for the Nintendo 3DS — a sequel to the first portable version of the nearly-four-year-old, still-going-strong, card-based arcade game — has fallen off the Media Create sales chart list. Famitsu, however, pegs the game as pushing another 4,094 copies during its eighth week on sale.

The Media Create and Famitsu reports on weekly sales for the game are starting to even out; as of last week, the two were roughly 2,000 total copies apart. As of this last week, Famitsu pegs the game at 145,766 total copies sold. By Famitsu‘s own reporting, the first game had sold 161,032 copies by its respective eighth week.

Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 is available for purchase at CDJapan and Play-Asia. A Japanese system is required to play the (region-locked) game.

News

Voice Actor Updates From Anime Weekend Atlanta 2014

Published by VegettoEX29 September 2014, 8:57 PM EDT1 Comment

Anime Weekend Atlanta 2014 took place over the weekend and with several friends of the site in attendance we have been able to secure a couple quick Dragon Ball voice actor updates.

Jourdan (“Kakarot88”) passes along word that Yūko Minaguchi confirmed she would return as the voice of Videl in the upcoming video game Dragon Ball XENOVERSE. Minaguchi added that she would also return to voice Videl and Pan again in the future, and that the Majin Boo arc of Dragon Ball Kai has been an exception due to her living in New York at the time; the role of Videl has been taken by Shino Kakinuma for the final arc of the “refreshed” series.

William (“theoriginalbilis”) also passes along word by way of “OmegaRockman” that Scott McNeil continued to confirm the existence of an alternate English dub of Dragon Ball Kai sourcing many actors from the original Ocean Studios pool (used in FUNimation’s original 1996-1998 Dragon Ball Z dub and a later alternate dub primarily produced for the UK market). It was also slipped that the role of Goku has indeed been re-cast (yet again) to the heavily-suspected Richard Ian Cox. This will be the fourth actor from said voice pool to play Goku (Ian Corlett, Peter Kelamis, Kirby Morrow, and now Cox); Morrow noted in a 2010 podcast appearance that the new production company found his portrayal to be “too cool” for the character.

Said alternate dub of Dragon Ball Kai has never been officially confirmed by any production company or television network, though voice actors for Freeza (Lee Tockar) and the aforementioned Goku (Kirby Morrow) have slipped tidbits about their new castings or replacements, respectively. Earlier this year, what appears to be a replacement opening theme song for the alternate production was discovered on a website for composer Dave Steele.

News

Ryō Horikawa to Release Anime Theme Song Covers Album

Published by VegettoEX29 September 2014, 1:01 PM EDTComment

Set for release this November in Japan is a new anime theme song covers album from none other than Ryō Horikawa (voice actor for Vegeta) entitled — amusingly enough — “Ryō Horikawa’s I-Tried-Singing-Anime-Tunes” (堀川りょうのアニソン歌ってみた Horikawa Ryō no Anison Utatte Mita).

While no full track listing is available yet, songs from such popular anime as Fist of the North Star, Tomorrow’s Joe, Space Battleship Yamato, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Saint Seiya are set for inclusion.

The album (DDCZ-1990) will drop 05 November 2014 for ¥1,620 and is available for pre-order from CDJapan and Amazon Japan.

In-character as Vegeta, Horikawa has performed two Dragon Ball songs: a Dragon Ball Z image song entitled “Lord Vegeta’s Cooking Hell!!: Okonomiyaki Recipe” in 1989, and a Dragon Ball Kai insert song entitled “Saiyan Blood” in 2009.

Horkiawa released a voice acting coach DVD, Seiyu ni Naro Voice Acting Studio, back in 2009.

News

Bandai Namco Announces American “Xenoverse” Network Test

Published by VegettoEX25 September 2014, 8:38 PM EDT3 CommentsXenoverse

The American branch of Bandai Namco has announced they will participate — alongside the European and Japanese branches — in the second phase of the Dragon Ball XENOVERSE network test in October.

Unlike the first phase, which was exclusive to Japanese account holders and was entered via lottery courtesy of a PlayStation Network download item, the American branch will dish out download codes to the first 20,000 North and South American players who grab them 03 October 2014.

When is the test?

Network Test servers will go live Oct 4th at 5:00 AM PDT

Network Test will end Oct 5th at 8:00 AM PDT

How can I participate?

On Oct 3rd, we will share a download code on the Dragon Ball Z Games Facebook Page that is redeemable via the PlayStation Store for the first 20,000 players who enter it.

After 9:00 AM PDT on Oct 3rd, players can start downloading the client.

After 5:00 AM PDT on Oct 4th, players can begin playing. As this is a Network Test, players must be connected to the PlayStation Network and can only play while the servers are live. The servers will go offline Oct 5th at 8:00 AM PDT.

Tune in to Podcast Episode #0370 for a quick recap and review of the first phase of the network test.

Dragon Ball XENOVERSE — currently in development by Dimps for Bandai Namco — will be released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC (via Steam) some time in early 2015, though no concrete release date has been set. The game’s story is set to adapt many elements from the now-defunct MMORPG Dragon Ball Online.

News

“Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2” (JP 3DS) 7th Week Sales

Published by VegettoEX24 September 2014, 10:40 AM EDTCommentUltimate Mission 2

Media Create has released sales figures for the week of 15 September 2014 to 21 September 2014, noting that Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 for the Nintendo 3DS — a sequel to the first portable version of the nearly-four-year-old, still-going-strong, card-based arcade game — pushed another 2,792 copies during its seventh week in Japan.

This places the game at 139,934 total copies sold thus far. Its predecessor had pushed more copies by its respective seventh week, but fell off the charts for about a month before seeing a large resurgence in sales starting with its tenth week after release.

Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 is available for purchase at CDJapan and Play-Asia. A Japanese system is required to play the (region-locked) game.

Podcast

Podcast Episode #0370

Published by VegettoEX23 September 2014, 5:30 PM EDTComment

This week has basically been all-XENOVERSE all the time! We have a short episode for you this time around, but it is a great catch-up on all the latest news for the game as well as experiences with the recent Japanese network test on the PlayStation 3. Tune in for the full scoop!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0370! VegettoEX dives into all the latest news on the upcoming “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE” video game (Towa and Mira from “Dragon Ball Online”, PC announcement, etc.) before reviewing the game’s recent Japanese network test. How much is the game an MMO in comparison to being a fighting game and how does it feel so far? Your thoughts and a special musical treat from Vitek round out the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

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

News

Shueisha Unveils Full “Shōnen Jump+” Digital Strategy

Published by SaiyaJedi23 September 2014, 10:00 AM EDTComment

After several weeks of teasing a new initiative that would “surpass” Shōnen Jump, Shueisha has unveiled their new “Shōnen Jump+” project.

The new “Shōnen Jump+” app — available for iOS, Android, and PC viewing — provides access to a digital version of Weekly Shōnen Jump day-and-date with the print edition. Individual issues (which lack the ads and product spotlights of the print version, but instead include bonuses like colorized chapters and other extra content) are available for ¥300 each or a ¥900/month subscription. Subscriptions also include the latest issue of Jump NEXT!!, a special edition of Jump that is released every few months.

In addition to all of the above (the “Plus” in the title), the app also features over 25 titles for free. New entries revealed thus far include one-shots from well-known Jump artists, new app-exclusive series, material previously serialized through the “Jump LIVE” app (such as ēldLIVE and Rough Diamond), and at least one series that ran in Saikyō Jump prior to its bimonthly revamp (Fuwari! Don Patch, Yoshio Sawai’s gently-paced slice-of-life spinoff of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo).

Additionally, readers will be able to check out chapters of selected past hits like Dragon Ball (which appears to be two chapters at a time, starting from Volume 36).

“Shōnen Jump+” currently offers the latest issue (2014 #43) with back issues going back to June’s 2014 #27 issue (available for individual purchase only).

After shuttering their monthly print publication, Viz launched their English-language “Shonen Jump Alpha” online product in 2011 with series delayed two weeks behind their Japanese counterparts. The company moved to a day-and-date digital version of “Weekly Shonen Jump” in 2013 which has included publication of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman and the “Full Color” edition of the Dragon Ball manga. While Shueisha has previously offered certain issues of the Japanese Weekly Shōnen Jump (such as the 45th Anniversary issue in 2013) through the “Jump Book STORE!” app, this marks the first time that the company has attempted a regular digital edition of one of its manga anthologies.