Forum Wiki

PAGE TOP

3,766 Posts & 2,356 Pages Documenting Dragon Ball, since 1998. We've got you covered!
News
Chōzenshū #2 Title Revealed: “Animation Guide Part 1”
Published by 18 January 2013, 8:35 PM EST2 Comments

The mystery surrounding the series of four new Chōzenshū guide books — due to start their release in just a few short weeks — is becoming ever-so-slightly clearer. The first book’s title was revealed as “Story & World Guide”, and we now have a title for the second book via Amazon Japan and Shueisha’s own listing: “Animation Guide Part 1”.

With zero concrete information about the new guide books other than titles for the first and second volumes, it is looking more and more as if our predictions — that they will be, at least in part, some sort of re-release or combination of the Daizenshuu series of guide books — will be coming to fruition. “Story & World Guide” combines the titles from the second and fourth Daizenshuu volumes, while the first part of an “Animation Guide” could cover anything from the third, fifth, and tenth Daizenshuu volumes (the “TV Animation” releases) and/or the sixth volume (“Movies & TV Specials”).

Between those of us with our orders placed and those of us already in Japan anyway, we will be bringing you as much new (or potentially old?) information as we can with regard to these new (old?!) books.

The first Chōzenshū shifted its release date by one day to 05 February 2013 (at ¥2,200), and this second volume is due just one month later on 05 March 2013 (at ¥2,300).

News
Japanese Celebrity Voices Being Lent to “Battle of Gods”
Published by 17 January 2013, 7:11 PM EST7 Comments

Olympic gold-medalist jūdō-ka Kaori Matsumoto and voice actress/singer/TV-personality Shōko Nakagawa will both be providing voices to the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods theatrical film, due out nationwide in Japan on 30 March 2013.

matsumoto_nakagawa_bog

Matsumoto will play a female motorcycle police officer modeled on her appearance who appears during a party scene, while Nakagawa will play the “oracle fish” (予言魚) that first brings the God of Destruction “Birusu” to seek out Son Goku. Both provided statements of excitement to Japanese entertainment site Natalie regarding their contributions.

Matusmoto’s remarks are as follows:

今回、「ドラゴンボールZ～神と神～」の白バイの女性隊員役にキャスティングしていただき本当にありがとうございます。子供の頃から大好きなアニメ作品に出演できることはとても嬉しいですし、一生忘れることのできない宝物になります。でも、人生で初めての経験で、多分柔道よりも緊張しますし、ちゃんとできるのか不安だったりでまだ夢なんじゃないかと思っています。今回の出演をキッカケに孫悟空に少し近づくことができるので、一生懸命役に入り込んで、楽しみつつ頑張りたいと思います。

I am truly grateful to have been cast as a member of the police motorcycle squad for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. I am very glad to be able to perform in an animated work I’ve loved since I was a child; it will be a treasure I’ll never forget as long as I’m alive. However, it’s my first such experience in my life, and I’m probably even more nervous than with Judo, so I’m unsure whether I’ll be able to do it properly, and still wondering whether this is a dream. Through this performance, I’ll be able to get a little closer to Son Goku, so I’ll throw myself into the role earnestly, and do my best while also enjoying myself.

Meanwhile, “Shoko-tan” (as she is “cutely” referred to as by her fans) stated:

ドラゴンボール新作映画の予告をジャンプで見て感動にうち震えていたら、まさかのゲスト出演決定の知らせが！ 生涯最大のミラクルキターー！アルティメット感激です。ありがとうございます！全ての全世界・宇宙が待ち望んでいた待望の新作ということで、ドラゴンボールへの溢れる気持ちをこめて、全身全霊で挑みました。トランクスや悟空、ベジータたちにまた会えると思うと、ここまで生きていてよかったと心から思います。本当に、どんな言葉を持ってしてもこの嬉しさと感激を表せません！

When I saw the preview of the new Dragon Ball movie in Jump, and trembled with excitement, I had no idea that news would come of me being set to do a guest role! The greatest miracle in my life is here — ! I’m ULTIMATE moved. Thank you so much! It’s the long-anticipated new work everybody in the whole world, and universe, has been waiting for, so I took my overflowing passion for Dragon Ball, and tackled it with my whole body and soul. When I think I’ll be able to see Trunks, Goku, Vegeta and the others again, I feel from the heart that I’m glad to have lived this long. Really, whatever words I use, they can’t express my happiness and deep emotion!

Nakagawa is no stranger to Dragon Ball — the personality began a series of anime song cover albums back in 2007, and kicked things off with a full rendition and music video for the opening theme to the first TV series (“Romantikku Ageru yo”). A few years later she continued with the franchise on her third cover songs release with the first closing theme to the Dragon Ball Z TV series (“Detekoi Tobikiri ZENKAI Pawā”) and a TV-sized version of the Dragon Ball GT opening theme (“DAN DAN Kokoro Hikarete ‘ku”).

Thanks to forumite DragonBoxZTheMovies for the heads-up!

News
“Ultimate Blast” Receiving “PlayStation 3 The Best” Re-Release
Published by 15 January 2013, 10:13 AM EST1 Comment

The big console game of 2011 for the Dragon Ball franchise — Ultimate Blast (released internationally as Ultimate Tenkaichi) — is set to receive a re-release 21 February 2013 on the Sony PlayStation 3 under the reduced-price “The Best” line.

ultimate_blast_ps3thebest

Not necessarily an indication of the game’s quality (an assessment we would certainly caution you about), “The Best” is a line used in Japan to re-issue decently-selling games at a cheaper price, done as a combination tactic to get the game back in the players’ mind space as well as re-issue it under a new SKU rather than reducing the original pressing’s price.

No Xbox 360 re-release is listed in Japan. The PS3 version is up for pre-order on CDJapan with an MSRP of ¥3,800. No cover art has been released, but the standard tactic is to shrink the original cover art down and surround it with a border. Those interested in the original musical score for the game (a newly-synthesized mix of music from original TV series and movies composer Shunsuke Kikuchi, along with a few key bits of music from Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Kai) may be interested in checking out this reduced-price re-release — the music, as was done with the entire Sparking! and Raging Blast series of games, was replaced in the international releases.

Ultimate Blast sold 700,000 copies worldwide by the end of Namco-Bandai’s Fiscal 2012, a (surprising) jump from the 580,000 copies Raging Blast 2 had done in the prior year.

Tag Vs (released internationally as Tenkaichi Tag Team) received an equivalent PSP “The Best” re-release this past summer on 12 July 2012.

The next new game for the franchise, Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission on the Nintendo 3DS, is due out in Japan 28 February 2013 alongside a LaLaBit Market Special Edition version of the game. There is no international release of the game announced as of yet.

News
Dragon Ball Z Moji Maker Added to Official ‘Battle of Gods’ Website
Published by 12 January 2013, 10:59 AM EST4 Comments

Toei Animation’s official “Battle of Gods” website has posted their first “Special Contents” page, a logo maker based on the Dragon Ball Z logo. Simply enter your name into the “Moji Maker Z” form, choose your preferred background, and hit the “GO!” button. You can then post your personalized logo on either your Facebook or Twitter account, which is a rather genius and inexpensive advertising move by Toei for the upcoming “Battle of Gods” movie. The logo maker gets its name from the Japanese word moji (文字), which means “character”, as in the letters of the alphabet. Now go make your own Dragon Ball Z-style logo!

News
Weekly Young Jump Announces Early “Battle of Gods” Screening
Published by 11 January 2013, 5:19 PM EST3 Comments

It has been reported via a Japanese blog site that issue #5/6 of Weekly Young Jump has announced a preview screening of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods on 12 March 2013. There are five screenings scheduled across Japan (listed below) with a limited number of attendees that will be determined from a lottery selection. To participate in the lottery you must return the entry ticket included in the magazine by 20 February 2013. A listing of other recent Shueisha magazines that also feature these lottery tickets is provided, which includes Weekly Shōnen Jump, V-Jump, Jump SQ, and Ultra Jump.

The screenings are set to begin at 6:30PM, with the doors opening at 6:00PM, at the following venues:

As a special treat to those attending the Tokyo preview screening, some of the movie’s cast will be providing a special introductory greeting message, presumably in person.

Thanks to forum member DragonBoxZTheMovies for the heads up on this.

News
Dragon Ball Heroes “Galaxy Mission 6” Coming January 17th
Published by 11 January 2013, 4:01 PM EST4 Comments

As we’ve come to see since its debut in November 2010, the Dragon Ball Heroes arcade game has been rolling right along with new cards and new missions nearly every month, and this month is no exception. The special boss mission featuring Super Baby will be wrapping up shortly on 15 January 2013, which appears to be bringing the “Galaxy Mission 5” two month reign to a close, as “Galaxy Mission 6” (GM6) has been announced to launch nationally in Japan on 17 January 2013. This galaxy mission will be leaving the realm of Dragon Ball GT and returning to a back-story many fans are familiar with: The Saiyans VS The Freeza Army.

The first mission campaign has already been announced, which will be titled the “Giant Growth” campaign and feature bonus Ōzaru transformations for the majority of the Saiyan warriors. The official Dragon Ball Heroes website has also posted a short trailer, and a slightly longer promotional video, giving a brief overview of the new “Galaxy Mission 6”. The promotional video features some beautiful new animation, but also drops a fairly obvious hint around the 2 minute mark that “Birusu”, the “God of Destruction” from the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie, will at some point be making an appearance in the game. While his face is never actually shown, it’s pretty clear who they are hinting at with a glimpse of his legs and the tagline, “That guy in the movie?!” (映画のアイツが！？). It isn’t noted if he will be a playable character in the game, or if his appearance is strictly related to the story. You can watch the promotional video for yourself below:

A new “Giant Growth” ability card for Son Goku will be included in the March issue of V-Jump, which will hit store shelves on 21 January 2013. The issue is also set to include the latest Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie information and a trial sampling of the upcoming “Full Color Comics”. If you’d like to grab a copy of the March issue, it is currently available via CDJapan, Play-Asia, and Amazon Japan.

Thanks to forum member TheRed259 for tipping us off about the “Birusu” hint.

Content
ScrewAttack’s DEATH BATTLE!: Goku vs. Superman
Published by 10 January 2013, 9:24 PM EST26 Comments

While it was originally planned to launch back on 21 December 2012, the amount of work put in to ScrewAttack’s latest “DEATH BATTLE!” video — Goku vs. Superman — was seemingly unparalleled for the gaming culture outfit. The release date came, and the release date went.

Worry not, fellow fans. The prophesied day has come.

Kanzenshuu was proud to provide dozens upon dozens upon dozens of page of research, translations, verifications, and more for the fine folks at ScrewAttack. We are posting up this video without even having watched it ourselves. We are looking forward — just as much, if not more so, as the rest of you! — to seeing what the final outcome is. How much of our research was taken into consideration? How much was tossed out the window? What is there we can also learn about Superman?

We hope you enjoy!

News
Shueisha’s “Chōzenshū #1: Story & World Guide” Listing Updated
Published by 10 January 2013, 10:02 AM ESTComment

Shueisha’s official listing for the “Chōzenshū #1: Story & World Guide” was recently updated with a few alterations from its original listing back in December. While the price point remains the same at ¥2,200, the release date has been slightly adjusted by one day and is now set to be released 05 February 2013. If you have already pre-ordered the guide, fret not, because you will still be getting it first thing in February. This change could be tied to the fact that the first three “Full Color Comics” were set to be released on the same day, although they still really have not spread out the releases too much from one another.

You will also note that the guide’s author has been updated, going from the standard Akira Toriyama listing under the Jump Comics moniker to being published under V-Jump as a “Favorite Printing Comics”. This is only significant because many fans, including ourselves, have speculated that the Chōzenshū may merely be condensed reprints of the Daizenshuu volumes. However, V-Jump had nothing to do with their release, though V-Jump is of course also just a subsidiary of Shueisha. To make it even stranger, the first Chōzenshū volume has now been assigned a new ISBN (978-4-08-782496-4), which is something you do not often see.

We will be sure to keep you updated with any new developments as we quickly approach the release date!

News
First-Press FLOW “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” Comes With Illustration
Published by 09 January 2013, 3:43 PM ESTComment

Online retailer CDJapan recently updated their listings with an entry for FLOW’s upcoming “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” CD single. The listing notes that the first-run pressings of the release will come packaged with a digipak cover featuring an illustration of Dragon Ball. There is no word on what this illustration will be or who will draw it, so we will just have to stay tuned!

The release will actually be a “double A-side” single that is set to contain the aforementioned song — which will be used as the main theme for March’s Battle of Gods theatrical release — along with a still as-of-yet-untitled insert song. The CD single (KSCL-2209) releases in Japan 20 March 2013 for ¥1350.

Previous tie-ins with bands and Dragon Ball illustrations have included Team Dragon (from AKB48)’s various editions of the “Kokoro no Hane” CD single, as well as Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Rule” (the main theme to the live-action film Dragon Ball Evolution) CD single which came packed with an exclusive drawing of the singer by original manga author Akira Toriyama along with a poster of the singer from the CD single’s normal cover art.

News
Ace Cook “Battle of Gods” Instant Noodles Tie-In Promotion
Published by 09 January 2013, 9:35 AM EST3 Comments

The official Battle of Gods website announced a new partnership today with Ace Cook in Japan whereby purchasing specially-branded instant noodles could win you one of 10,000 Tosho Cards — a gift card good at bookstores across the country — worth ¥500. If you lift the lid and the card is there, you have won!

The applicable products are in Ace Cook’s “Super Cup” line, which for this promotion includes the “1.5x” and “Ōmori Yakisoba” products with a movie tie-in label. Under the “1.5x” series, the types include Soy Ramen, Miso Ramen, Pork Bone Ramen, Chanpon, and Deluxe Pork & Kimchi (the last being a convenience store exclusive). Under the “Ōmori Yakisoba” series, the types include Squid Yakisoba and Chinese-Style Yakisoba.

ace_cook_promotion

The promotion begins 04 February 2013.