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News
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman’s Tie-in With Dragon Ball, Confirmed?
Published by 16 July 2013, 6:28 PM EDT7 Comments

In our most recent episode of the Kanzenshuu podcast, a possible tie-in was discussed between Akira Toriyama’s new series Jaco the Galactic Patrolman and the classic Dragon Ball manga. While there were apparent hints being dropped throughout the first chapter, which was recently published in this year’s 33rd issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, we were left with nothing more than “fan theories” as to what, or even if this could tie in with Dragon Ball. Akira Toriyama went so far as to even mention in his author’s comment that some of the nostalgia would become clear as the story progressed:

ちょっと古臭い感じの内容ですが最後まで読んでいただければなぜかわかりますよ<明>
The content seems a bit dated, but if you read to the end, you’ll understand why. (Akira)

While Toriyama merely hints at such connections and tie-ins, Shueisha has yanked the veil off the mystery and confirms what we suspected — Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is indeed tied to the legendary Dragon Ball franchise. A few key promotional lines on the digital and print announcement pages for issue 33 on Weekly Shōnen Jump’s official website lay it out pretty clearly.

全世界待望の「伝説」がここに帰還！！

The whole world’s long-awaited return of a “legend” is here!!

And to leave no lingering skepticism as to what they mean, they simply spell it out for us.

「ドラゴンボール」の衝撃が甦る！！

The shocking revival of “Dragon Ball”!!

There are also a few Japanese sites whose listings for this issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump contain what appears to be an official description of the series from Shueisha:

＜鳥山明先生による13年ぶりの新連載『銀河パトロール　ジャコ』とは＞
『ドラゴンボール』の衝撃が甦る！創刊４５周年を祝して巨星再来！
銀河の彼方よりやってきたナゾの宇宙人、ジャコ！！その正体とは！？

Akira Toriyama-sensei’s First New Series in 13 Years is “Jaco the Galactic Patrolman”
The shocking revival of “Dragon Ball”! In celebration of the 45th anniversary, the superstar returns!
Jaco, a mysterious space alien comes from a far-off galaxy!! What’s his true identity?!

So if you’ve been holding off on reading the first chapter, which is currently available for free via Viz’s latest starter pack, now is your chance to start from the very beginning and follow along. Once you’re all caught up, join our on-going forum discussion and let us know how you think this all ties into the Dragon Ball universe. What are your theories, impressions, or general thoughts on the new series? Let us know!

Podcast
Podcast Episode #0339
Published by 15 July 2013, 6:38 PM EDTComment

Akira Toriyama launched a new comic this week, and even better than that fact in and of itself, it is available simultaneously in English! Jaco the Galactic Patrolman officially hit Japanese shelves via Weekly Shōnen Jump a couple days early on Saturday (courtesy of today being “Marine Day” pushing WJ out ahead of its normal Monday release), but it also hits digital shelves today from Viz. In fact, the first chapter is available for free via their latest starter pack, so there are no excuses!

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What does this have to do with Dragon Ball, though, and why are we covering it on the podcast?

Various hints have been dropped that Jaco may have something to do with our favorite series. This week on our show, we dive into these hints and look for hidden connections of our own.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0339! VegettoEX and Julian dive into Akira Toriyama’s new comic, “Jaco the Galactic Patrolman”. Various hits have been dropped that it might have some connection with “Dragon Ball”, so we examine all of the currently-available evidence. News from across the world wraps it all up into one neat package!

REFERENCED SITES:

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum.

News
“Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission” 19th Week Sales
Published by 10 July 2013, 4:18 PM EDT1 Comment

Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission (on the Japanese Nintendo 3DS) had an interesting previous week: while it started falling off the charts, it mostly held steady in sales. This most recent week (the period of 01 July 2013 to 07 July 2013), its 19th week since release, the game pushed another 3,732 copies according to the Media Create sales list, putting it at just under 220,000 total copies sold. It climbed back up to #17 (from #23) on the list this week, even with sales dipping a tiny bit.

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Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission for the Japanese Nintendo 3DS is available for purchase at CDJapan and Play-Asia. As we feel compelled to note each time, however, the Nintendo 3DS is region-locked and Ultimate Mission will require a Japanese system for play. There is currently no word on an international release of the game.

News
“Battle of Gods” LATAM Theatrical Debut Dates
Published by 09 July 2013, 10:45 AM EDT11 Comments

Diamond Films and its partners have begun a series of social media updates announcing the upcoming theatrical debuts for the new film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods across Latin America:

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Battle of Gods has also recently been announced for the Philippines and Hong Kong this August.

News
European Merchandising Updates: Shirts, Skiing, & Snowboarding
Published by 09 July 2013, 8:49 AM EDTComment

Along with things like the upcoming re-remaster of the TV series in Spain, it seems like 2013 is shaping up to be an exciting year for European fans, too!

First up is a new line of t-shirts coming this year on the Springfield brand (announced back in April) which will be available online as well as in stores across twenty four countries:

The textile company Helvi 2000 acquired the merchandising rights for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z series.

The Spanish brand Springfield will distribute this new range of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z t-shirts for men (4 designs) that will be launched in 2013 (Spring/Summer collection). This collection will be available exclusively in all European Springfield stores and websites (24 countries).

The shirts do not appear to be up online for order yet, but if you have seen them out in stores, be sure to grab us some photos!

Additionally, Goku and friends were special “guests” at the Kumi Yama summer ski and snowboard competition in France last week.

DBZ_Kumi-yama_grand

The most awaited annual summer ski and snowboard competition, Kumi Yama, will this year welcome Goku and his friends as official guests from July 5 to 7 at the ski resort “Les 2 Alpes”.

Riders will enjoy a dedicated decor on the snowpark and wear a Goku or Piccolo bibs. The costumed characters will also be there for the pictures!

Game One will be the main media partner and two of Dragon Ball Z licensees will also support the Kumi Yama: Namco Bandai Games and Freegun.

Various Dragon Ball characters can be seen across the event’s website, and judging from the event’s Facebook page, plenty of photo opportunities were available over the weekend:

Additionally, APO has announced a limited-edition Dragon Ball Z snowboard for their winter line which will be available starting in October, and was on-hand at the Kumi Yama event for fans to preview:

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This limited edition snowboard is a triple collaboration with the super powers of Dragon Ball Z, APO and Kumi Yama, with a production of only 100 boards making it a true collectors item.

APO, the pioneers of snowboarding in Europe has joined forces with the leaders of animation from Japan, Toei Animation. The partnership has created a limited edition snowboard featuring the cult Japanese phenomenon, Dragon Ball Z. This late edition to the APO winter line for 13-14 will be available online and in selected stores as of October 2013.

This late release also collaborates with Kumi Yama, Europes largest summer snowboard and freeski event. The event takes place on the Les 2 Alpes Glacier every summer bringing together the best riders in the world from over 20 different countries. In this, the 6th year of the Kumi Yama they follow a Dragon Ball Z theme with the characters being present in the park elements. This summer the APO International snowboard team will be taking part: Sage Kotsenburg, Gerome ‘Coin Coin’ Mathieu, Aljosa Krivec, Tyler Chorlton and Rowan Coultas.

The limited edition snowboard is 155 cm with a twin tip rocker and APO’s double flex technology. This board rocks on any terrain, park, pipe or powder with it’s freestyle shape. A true ally for the Dragon Ball Z crew.

Vincent Arnulf, designer at APO realised his childhood dreams to create the design: ‘I was a kid when this tv series was out. It’s universe spoke to me and it was one of the first ‘manga’ animations to arrive in France. I loved the graphics, the characters and the frenzy of the quest. I have many manga illustration and constantly reproduce freehand animations, so it was amazing that years later I am able to ride a Dragon Ball Z with APO. So sick!’

How did you work to generate the design?

‘Rather than telling the story, I wanted to represent the Dragon Ball Z universe with all the key characters and Sheron in the middle. I also adapted different treatments to the surfaces to highlight the illustrations with a selective varnish’.

Podcast
Podcast Episode #0338
Published by 08 July 2013, 7:00 PM EDTComment

It has been a very busy last couple of weeks for Dragon Ball. With multiple new video games on the horizon, recent manga compilations from Viz, upcoming video re-releases from FUNimation, and even international remasters of the series recently announced, it is understandable how one might think we accidentally stumbled a decade into the past. It truly is 2013, though, so tune in for some great news analysis, a review of Viz’s recent 3-in-1 edition of the manga, and a bit of calling-out Takao Koyama for some recent statements about a product he may have gotten a little too self-invested in despite not actually working on it.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0338! VegettoEX and Julian catch up on two weeks worth of news including “Battle of Z” and “J-Stars Victory Vs” gaming updates, a new streaming option in North America, new remasters coming to Spain, and “Battle of Gods” home release inclusions. A focus on Takao Koyama’s recent “Battle of Gods” statements and Viz’s recent 3-in-1 manga release wrap up the show.

REFERENCED SITES:

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum.

Content
REVIEW: Viz Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 1
Published by 08 July 2013, 2:07 PM EDT2 Comments

We began receiving an official English translation of the Dragon Ball manga from Viz around fifteen years ago. If you asked me then how many editions we would have in fifteen years’ time, I likely would not have been able to come up with anything resembling an accurate answer. Much like I will be purchasing Raditz on home video for the umpteenth time later this year, I recently purchased Pilaf in comic-form for the umpteenth time.

viz3in1_home_page

Last month, Viz began releasing their new “3-in-1” edition of the Dragon Ball manga, not to be confused with the “Viz Big” version, which was also a 3-in-1 edition of the Dragon Ball manga. Purported to be uncut and uncensored, this latest version packs 36 chapters between Kanzenban cover artwork, but what are you really getting between those red pages…? Read on for the full scoop.

News
Viz To Release Print Edition of “Full Color Comics”
Published by 07 July 2013, 6:44 PM EDT8 Comments

Viz Media announced today during its industry panel at Anime Expo in California that they will be releasing a print edition of the Dragon Ball “Full Color Comics” beginning in February 2014.

Anime News Network’s coverage of the panel notes:

Viz Media will release Dragon Ball Full Color Edition on February 4, 2014 for US$19.99. The volume will be a larger size than regular manga, and will be about the same size as an American graphic novel.

In Japan, Shueisha is currently releasing digital-only versions of the first sixteen volumes of the Dragon Ball manga (and onward) in addition to print editions of the remainder of the series (starting with the Saiyan arc onward). The latest releases are the five volumes of the Freeza arc (released 04 April 2013); no print editions of the Cell and Majin Boo story arcs have been announced as-of-yet.

Viz is currently publishing the “Full Color” edition of the Saiyan arc in their Weekly Shonen Jump digital release with one chapter per week.

Content
Takao Koyama’s Thoughts on “Battle of Gods”
Published by 07 July 2013, 12:04 PM EDT4 Comments

Takao Koyama is a name that is likely familiar to most of the Kanzenshuu audience. Having been the main writer for all thirteen previous theatrical Dragon Ball Z films as well as the “series organizer” for the Dragon Ball Z TV series, the man is quite intimately familiar with the franchise.

The new film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was written by newcomer Yūsuke Watanabe, however, with plenty of input from original manga author Akira Toriyama. In this case, Koyama was approaching the film much like any other audience member.

After seeing the film, Koyama penned a post on his blog, Noppo no Zakkan (“Noppo’s Various Impressions”). In it, he details his thoughts on the villain of the movie (Beerus, God of Destruction) and its “issue at hand”:

On Sunday the 7th, in the middle of a spring storm, I headed out to Apollo Cinema 8 in Tennoji, Osaka, near my regular lodgings, and watched it surrounded by children. It was a little embarrassing.

It was my first experience watching from the audience a Dragon Ball Z theatrical feature that I hadn’t handled the script for myself. It felt a bit strange.
Next to me, a young couple watched cosily together. I bet they could scarcely imagine that the old fogey with thinning hair sitting next to them was the one who handled the scripts of all 13 Dragon Ball Z theatrical movies.
But that’s not important to me.

And so, the movie began.
I was surprised right from the opening.
Once it started with the familiar “waves crashing into rocks” opening that is a byword for Toei, it then went into the 20th Century Fox opening, and continued with a credit for Toei Animation. Such wonderment. Actually, it’s because 20th Century Fox was involved in the production. I know the situation and some behind-the-scenes stories concerning that, but it’s top-secret information, so I can’t write about it.

And so, as for substance of the issue at hand…….

In handling the scripts for the films, what I always worried about each time was the problem of what to do about the opponent Goku fights against. That’s because, at the very least, they had to be stronger than [the ones from] the previous movie.
After much hard work, I was unable to come up with an opponent stronger than Broli, and fell into a rut where I made him appear three times.
That is to say, there’s the matter of questioning the idea of Broli as the strongest. As you are well aware, vehement opinions on the subject have been flying back and forth on this message board, as well as a variety of [other] websites.

For this time, Goku’s opponent, designed by Toriyama-sensei, was even a God of Destruction.
In the world of Dragon Ball Z, that’s a setting where even Broli, before the God of Destruction, would face a gap like that between a Yokozuna and the very bottom of the sumo ranks. That Broli, reduced to a pushover.

Only, from the impression I got of the character on the screen, Broli was scarier, no contest. Am I the only one who found that Broli looked overwhelmingly frightening? Or am I just biased towards my own creation?

Any more than this would become a spoiler, so I’ll hold off on it, but Noppo would like to hear the impressions of the Broli fans….

By all means, please see this work, which had a turnout of one million people in the first six days it was out.

The online Japanese fandom has come to refer to this as Koyama “dissing” (ディスる) Beerus and/or Battle of Gods.

We have archived our translation of this blog post in the Battle of Gods section of our main “Translations” page.

Koyama had previously participated in a roundtable discussion with Akira Toriyama and Masako Nozawa in the TV Anime Guide Tenka’ichi Densetsu back in 2004.

News
“Battle of Z” (360/PS3/Vita) Tidbits From Japan Expo
Published by 04 July 2013, 6:54 PM EDT4 Comments

While Anime Expo is taking place this weekend in California, Japan Expo is also taking place over in France.

Namco-Bandai EU is on hand this weekend to showcase the upcoming game Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z to fans and press, and while it is not playable for attendees, a few of our European buddies have gotten a couple scoops.

boz_logo_500w

Long-time friend LaRésistance (posting with Jeux Vidéo Magazine) had a chance to speak with the producer of the game, Kunio Hashimoto. In the interview, Hashimoto speaks to the game’s production under its new developer (Artdink) and its focus on team-based play. A few key bits of information fans might find of most interest are that multiplayer is relegated to online-only play (there is no split-screen for local multiplayer) and that there will be some sort of new “What If?” story involving the Saiyans if “something special” happened with them. For now, Namco-Bandai has only showcased the Saiyan and Freeza arcs, but is asking fans to stay tuned for more information and further reveals.

Treevax has also also been covering a new gameplay demo from the event, which showcases the same style of Shunsuke Kikuchi music being used in battles a la the Sparking! and Raging Blast games in Japan (all of which had replacement scores composed for their international releases).

Thanks to all our friends sending along information!