Kanzenshuu

“Battle of Z” PS3 & Vita Demo Coming December 17th

Published by VegettoEX15 December 2013, 9:42 PM ESTCommentBattle of Z

While expected to be coming for quite some time, Sony announced via the official PlayStation Blog that a North American demo for the upcoming fighting game, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, will hit the PlayStation Network this coming Tuesday (17 December 2013) for both the PlayStation 3 and Vita.

Other territories should also see the demo soon, which will give players a taste of the game’s single player mission mode as well as the online multiplayer.

The game will also be hitting the Xbox 360 in all territories. Battle of Z is due out in Japan 23 January 2014, in Europe 24 January 2014, and just a few days later in North America 28 January 2014. First-pressings in Japan will come packed with a download code for Son Goku in his Naruto “Sage Mode” outfit along with a Dragon Ball Heroes card. North American and European releases will have pre-order downloadable content in the form of the Naruto outfit as well as Super Vegetto and Super Saiyan Bardock, while Europe alone will be receiving a special “Goku Edition” of the game with further physical bonus material.

Content

New Translation: “Battle of Gods” Nakagawa x Toriyama Interview

Published by VegettoEX14 December 2013, 8:34 PM EST5 CommentsDBZ Movie 2013

Following up on our recent posting of a short Masako Nozawa interview from earlier in the year, we have yet another piece of translation work from the never-ending pile of Battle of Gods promotional material. This time around, it is a joint interview between Shōko Nakagawa and original manga author Akira Toriyama!

Originally posted on the official website for the movie, the interview consists of Nakagawa tossing out brief thoughts and questions to Toriyama regarding his work on the film. Toriyama mentions that, despite being so heavily involved with the film and even designing characters, he apparently did not provide enough guidance on the design of the Oracle Fish – Nakagawa’s minor role in the movie – compared to what he originally had in mind:

Incidentally, I didn’t imagine the Oracle Fish as being this size; I pictured it as being bigger than human height. Although, since I didn’t draw a chart for scale, it ended up this size. (laughs)

bog_oracle_fish

Read the full interview, which has been archived in the Battle of Gods section of our main “Translations” page.

News

“Battle of Gods” Coming to Japanese PlayStation Network

Published by VegettoEX13 December 2013, 10:25 AM EST5 CommentsDBZ Movie 2013

Sony announced in an e-mail and blog post to members this morning that the new film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods will be coming to the Japanese PlayStation Network for rental and download-to-own services.

The film will be available tomorrow (14 December 2013). A purchase of the movie in high definition will run ¥4,000, a standard definition purchase ¥3500, HD rental ¥500, and SD rental ¥400. The HD version can only be purchased / viewed on the PS3; no further distinction is made about how that affects either the PlayStation 4 — which is not actually available yet in Japan — or Vita.

There is also a promotion going on from tomorrow through 15 January 2014 where if you purchase (not rent) the movie through the PlayStation Store, you will automatically receive a Battle of Gods exclusive custom theme for your PS3, as well as be entered in a drawing where six people will win a free download-version of the upcoming fighting game Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (three for PS3, three for Vita).

Battle of Gods currently retails in Japan for ¥3,990 on DVD and ¥5,040 on Blu-ray (MSRP) for standard editions, with the “Limited Edition” versions running ¥8,190 and ¥9,240 for the same formats, respectively. Various retailers — such as Amazon Japan — do have the film for a lower price, however.

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New Translation: OtonaFami Masako Nozawa Interview

Published by VegettoEX12 December 2013, 8:39 PM ESTComment

This is just a quick, little, relatively-insignificant addition to our “Translations” section, but in our never-ending journey to catalog virtually every bit of Battle of Gods promotional coverage, we present to you yet another Masako Nozawa interview translation! This one comes via the May 2013 issue of OtonaFami in Japan.

In the interview, Nozawa regurgitates most of the same points we have heard a few times before, but she does expand a little bit upon watching the movie for the first time alongside original manga author Akira Toriyama:

Right then and there, Toriyama-sensei gave it his seal of approval, saying, “It was incredibly good. It’s enjoyable, just like I thought.” The preview screening was mostly staff, and even though it was so unbelievably funny, none of them would so much as crack a smile. When I asked afterwards, they told me, “There’s no way we would laugh in front of you and Toriyama-sensei watching the film together, Nozawa-san“. (laughs) For the staff, it was also the day of Toriyama-sensei‘s check [of the movie], so they were probably nervous.

Read the full interview, which has been cataloged with the rest of the Battle of Gods material on our “Translations” page!

News

“Battle of Gods” Taiwanese Home Release Coming January 2014

Published by VegettoEX12 December 2013, 10:26 AM ESTCommentDBZ Movie 2013

While plenty of countries have secured theatrical screenings, so far the Hong Kong version (on VCD, DVD, and Blu-ray) is the only official, international home release of the new film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods.

It looks like Taiwan is next on the list, with a Blu-ray coming in January.

Pro-Ware Media will release the film 09 January 2014. It will feature the Japanese language track in Dolby True-HD 5.1, with the Mandarin dub included as a Linear PCM 2ch track. Optional Chinese subtitles will also be included. The Blu-ray will run you $1080 TWD, though pre-orders are open for only $970 TWD, which also come with a movie poster as a bonus.

Thanks to tinlunlau for the heads-up!

News

“J-Stars Victory Vs”: “Jojo” & “Nube” Characters + Opening Theme

Published by VegettoEX11 December 2013, 12:25 PM EST5 CommentsJ-Stars

Next week’s upcoming 2013 #3 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan is set to debut three new playable characters for the March 2014 Jump-franchise crossover fighting game extravaganza, J-Stars Victory Vs, on the PlayStation 3 and Vita. Additionally, the issue reveals details on the game’s opening theme song.

Jonathan Joestar and his grandson Joseph Joestar, from the first and second parts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (“Phantom Blood” and “Battle Tendency”, respectively), will have their signature moves, Jonathan with his “Ripple” technique and Joseph using clackers offensively.

Meisuke Nueno from Hell Teacher Nube is also profiled, although gameplay involving the character is not shown.

The game’s opening theme song will be titled “Fighting Stars” and will be performed by a trio of shōnen music superstars: Hironobu Kageyama (Dragon Ball Z), Hiroshi Kitadani (One Piece), and Akira Kushida (Kinnikuman/Toriko). Kageyama and Kitadani, in addition to performances with the supergroup JAM Project, previously collaborated on the opening theme to the 2006 PlayStation 2 and Gamecube crossover fighting game Battle Stadium D.O.N, “don’t give up” (which has, sadly, never received a CD single or soundtrack release).

The advertisement also mentions a preorder bonus in the form of a “J-Stars Victory BOOK” in Jump Comics-style format, featuring information and images of the characters in the game, as well an “augmented reality” app for the PlayStation Vita that will allow characters to “jump out” in 3D, which is available now.

As Wobbufett pointed out on our forum, this brings the total number of series with confirmed representation in the game to 21, the same number promised for bonus audio tracks in the “Limited Edition” version. It is possible that we have seen the extent of the representation for further series, though there is obviously no precise confirmation at this point with three months to go. As it stands, the 21 series currently represented include (with both playable and support characters for certain series):

Dragon Ball (two playable characters)
One Piece (two playable characters)
Toriko (two playable characters)
Naruto (two playable characters)
Bleach
Rurouni Kenshin
Kochikame
Gintama
Yū Yū Hakusho
Hunter × Hunter
Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar (support-only)
Chin’yūki
Medaka Box
Nisekoi
To Love-Ru (support-only)
Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Beelzebub
Sket Dance
Kuroko’s Basketball
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (two playable characters)
Hell Teacher Nube

J-Stars Victory Vs is due out 19 March 2014 in Japan on the PlayStation 3 and Vita. Regular and “Limited Edition” versions will be available for both platforms. Son Goku and Vegeta are the two characters currently announced from Dragon Ball, alongside a wealth of other characters from Jump series old and new alike.

For those interested in importing the game, CDJapan is currently running a double-reward-points bonus — up to 1600 points — for orders through the 20th of this month. The company has both the “Limited Edition” (PS3/Vita) and regular edition (PS3/Vita) versions for pre-order.

News

“Jaco the Galactic Patrolman” Collected Release in Japan Delayed?

Published by VegettoEX11 December 2013, 10:17 AM ESTCommentJaco

The final chapter of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, in its original Japanese Weekly Shōnen Jump printing back in September, announced that a collected release would be coming 04 January 2014.

As we hit mid-December, however, there are still absolutely no retailer listings online, and even Shueisha’s own January 2014 schedule is devoid of any Jaco / Dragon Ball content. While it is typical for previously unannounced/stealth releases to pop up very close to their release dates, it is rare for an actually announced product to be paid zero lip-service this close to release.

Fans in Japan have also taken notice. One such intrepid blogger, as pointed out to us on Twitter by Dragon Ball collector extraordinaire Peking Duck, went so far as to phone Shueisha to see what was up, and was apparently told that the collected release has been delayed until April 2014. No explanation was offered for the delay, although an April release date would make it a part of fiscal year 2014–15, and thus tie it neatly to the franchise’s 30th anniversary.

Viz digitally released all eleven (“10+1”) chapters of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman translated into English in their own Weekly Shonen Jump, doing so simultaneously alongside its Japanese print counterpart. There is currently no word from the company on a collected English release either in print or digital form. Currently, the oldest back-issue Viz has available for purchase is the 2013-09-16 issue, which contains Jaco’s ninth chapter.

Content

Translations: Dec. 2013 “V-Jump” & “Battle of Gods” Interviews

Published by VegettoEX08 December 2013, 3:33 PM EST4 Comments

Despite us still getting around to digging into this month’s issue of V-Jump, we find ourselves still catching up with the wealth of information from last month’s issue! The December 2013 issue (which was officially released back on 21 October 2013) had a series of interviews with various authors and artists promoting all sorts of Dragon Ball material, including the latest updates coming to Dragon Ball Heroes… and we have English translations ready for your consumption!

Up first is a special interview with none other than Akira Toriyama himself! The lengthy Q&A session touches on Jaco the Galactic Patrolman now that its serialization has come to an end, along with a few one-off, random, fun questions. The interview also has three bonus illustrations courtesy of Naho Ooishi (Dragon Ball SD), Toyotarō (Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission), and Yoshito-kun (Dragon Ball Heroes).

Also included was a lengthy Q&A with Toyotarō directly from V-Jump (and Saikyō Jump) Editor-in-Chief Akio Iyoku. They discuss how “Toyotarō” got involved with drawing, his Dragon Ball Heroes deck, and more!

A very short Q&A with Naho Ooishi was also included, which touches on her multiplayer gaming and includes a message for her readers.

Believe it or not, we are also still catching up on Battle of Gods-related interviews! Though the movie hit theaters last March and saw its Japanese home release in September, there is still so much to dig into and cover. The “Official Movie Guide” saw its release just before the theatrical debut and contains a wealth of new interviews and comments. We are kicking things off with the big one: “Akira Toriyama Special Interview“.

While there are not any significant new revelations in the interview, Toriyama does speak to how he first became involved with the movie with its original draft and seeing the final product come to fruition.

We will have more translations from the “Official Movie Guide” in the future, so stay tuned! If you are still aching for more Battle of Gods content, however, we did unceremoniously translate and post two other tidbits: Toriyama’s message from the “Limited Edition” version of the home video release, as well as the “Godly Interview” from the animanga version of the film.

Goku 6, Beerus 10, Whis 15. Knock yourselves out with that one.

News

“Victory Mission” Chapter 15 in January 2014 V-Jump

Published by VegettoEX07 December 2013, 1:17 PM EST1 CommentVictory Mission

The January 2014 issue of V-Jump officially hit Japanese shelves back on 21 November 2013, and continues with the spin-off/advertisement manga series Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission by “Toyotarō“.

In this fifteenth chapter — “Seven Evil Dragons” — Dr. Auto, whom the Artificial Human trio call “grandfather”, has summoned the Dragon inside the game world, but what emerges is not Shenlong, but a malevolent, cigar-chomping dragon. Dr. Auto tells the dragon to hear his wish, but it instead tells him he will not listen to humans. As the dragon appears in front of the crowd outside the game as well, Battle Navigators Tsubasa and Momo-chan enter the game to intervene. Nym and Nico receive instructions from Genom to head to where “Grandpa” is because something is wrong, and Tsubasa and Momo-chan get the now-opponent-less Beat and Note to come with them.

As the two new Navigators lead the main characters to the action, Tsubasa introduces himself as Sora’s replacement, who came to Beat’s world because Sora had to go back to his. Sora had constantly been pursuing this Dr. Auto, who, while conducting peaceful research, had also gathered the seven Dragon Balls in order to grant a wish of his. Note is shocked to learn that the Dragon Balls still exist, as they were said to have disappeared long ago. Momo-chan chimes in to explain that Dr. Auto secretly studied the time-space transmission apparatus of the Dragon Ball Heroes machine, and used it to go back into the past. However, the balls that he got are the ones from the very end, with cracks in them. The Dragon that emerges from the cracked Dragon Balls is not the wish-granting Shenlong, but…! “The Black Smoke Dragon,” finishes Tsubasa.

Dr. Auto’s three grandchildren arrive as he begins to realize this dragon has no intention of granting his wish. No sooner do they greet him, however, than the dragon raises a whirlwind, splitting into seven different dragons, each with a cracked Dragon Ball in its mouth, and three of which carry away Nym, Nico, and Genom. Momo-chan comments dourly about the Evil Dragons splitting up, while Note shouts about not understanding what is going on. Kagyu, Kabra, and Froze catch up with the others to ask what is going on, as well, so Tsubasa decides to tell them all.

Back in Victory Colosseum, the competitors defeated in the first round are uneasy, and Erito comments that something is amiss. Even the spectators seem to realize that something is up. Meanwhile, in the game world, Tsubasa is telling everyone how Sora determined that the one to unleash the Evil Dragons in this world would be Dr. Auto. Momo-chan looks down at the old man, and adds, that is why Sora locked him inside this battlefield. At the present stage, the Evil Dragon’s influence is confined to within the battlefield; the clouds covering the sky are proof that all the Dragon Ball Heroes battlefields, every Age and every Mission, are under the Evil Dragons’ control. If they allow this to continue, eventually the outside world… in other words, the real world, will be encroached upon. If the Dragons are allowed to escape into the outside, it will mean not just the end of the world, but of the universe.

Everyone is horrified at this, but Tsubasa tells them that they are all candidates for the mightiest hero, discovered by Sora. Sora told them that the competitors at this tournament would surely save this world. For some reason, the Evil Dragons have appeared prior to the end of the tournament, but there is no doubt that the mightiest hero is among them. If they combine their strength, they will definitely be able to win! It is at that point that they realize Nym, Nico, and Genom are missing. Dr. Auto shouts to them that his three grandchildren have been kidnapped by those dragons, and begs for them to rescue them.

As Nym is spirited away by one of the Evil Dragons, his hair tie breaks loose, and he gets an evil look in his eye….

“Mission 15” has been archived on the main listing page for Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission in our “Spin-Off” guide.

The January 2014 issue of V-Jump is packed with additional Dragon Ball news and is available for purchase from CDJapan, Play-Asia, and Amazon Japan for an MSRP of ¥560.

News

Bardock & Coola “Zenkai Battle Royale” Details in Jan. 2014 V-Jump

Published by VegettoEX07 December 2013, 10:42 AM EST1 CommentZenkai Battle Royale

Originally teased back in the December 2013 issue of V-Jump, Bardock and (what was clearly) Coola are indeed set to make their debut in the arcade brawler Zenkai Battle Royale.

The latest issue of V-Jump — the January 2014 issue released back on 21 November 2013 — spills the beans on both new additions to the roster.

zbr_coola_bardock_reveals

Coola makes an appearance in his fifth and final form, promising to put up a fierce fight, although his move set is not detailed this issue.

Bardock joins the fight, capable of transforming into Super Saiyan. Two of his moves are profiled: “Revenger Assault”, which is a series of blows that can follow on from even a regular hit, and “Final Spirits Canon”, a high-speed energy ball that grows faster, more powerful, and longer-range as the player’s level increases.

This marks Bardock’s second, third, or fourth playable appearance in a video game depending on your territory and classification of whether a game is technically released yet or not. The transformation was originally debuted in the “Stage 5” update for Dragon Ball Heroes in Japanese arcades, tying in with a deluge of other Bardock-related content around that same time. Super Saiyan Bardock was also unlockable via a special QR code in the international-only Dragon Ball Z for Kinect on the Xbox 360, which also contained the special video feature Episode of Bardock. Super Saiyan Bardock has also been announced as a pre-order bit of downloadable content for the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Vita.