Online retailers are showcasing the cover art for the upcoming CD single, Progression, which is the theme song for the soon-to-be released Raging Blast as performed by Hironobu Kageyama:

There is still no track listing for the disc across all retailer sites and the official page for the disc on Lantis’ website.

Namco-Bandai has posted a ¥6.04 billion (approximately $66.7 million) loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.

In terms of Dragon Ball overall, the franchise dropped in net sales from ¥8.7 billion in the first six months of fiscal 2009 to ¥4.5 billion this fiscal year, with a forecast of a full year net sales figure of ¥14 billion, down from ¥15.8 billion last fiscal year.

There were no Dragon Ball games in their top-ten-performing games for the quarter, though with Raging Blast launching globally and Attack of the Saiyans launching outside Japan in Q3, there is the potential for those numbers to pick back up.

In terms of general toys and hobby merchandise (non-video games), the franchise dropped in net sales from ¥1.7 billion in the first six months of fiscal 2009 to ¥1.2 billion this fiscal year, with a forecast of a full year net sales figure of ¥2.5 billion, down from ¥3.2 last fiscal year.

Since FUNimation’s first Dragon Box Z set has begun shipping early from RightStuf to some very few lucky people, forum member Haseowolf was lucky enough to receive his set extra-early!

His thread on the forum contains numerous pictures of the packaging and Dragon Book that the set comes with, as well as several screen shots of the actual video. It is a bit too early to make any sweeping judgments on the video’s quality quite yet, but on the whole, everything looks pretty nice. The packaging and Dragon Book also look extremely similar to the original, as we have been led to expect. We will definitely be keeping track of any new information as it becomes available.

GameFront is reporting that Raging Blast has received scores of 9 / 8 / 8 / 8 (33/40) from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu.

Interestingly, this is the exact same score set that Burst Limit received a little over a year ago.

Many people seem to be forgetting that the DS also gets a new game next week: Attack of the Saiyans. Released earlier this year in Japan as Dragon Ball Kai: Saiya-jin Raishū, it is due out here in the US the same day as Raging Blast on 10 November 2009. Here are a batch of new screen shots from Namco-Bandai:

Several independent confirmations have come in that orders for the “Limited Edition” version of Raging Blast in Europe have been canceled or otherwise put on indefinite hiatus. There is no official word from Namco-Bandai as to what is going on with production of this release, though it seems the standard edition is still on-track for its release on 13 November 2009.

Several independent confirmations have come in that orders for FUNimation’s first “Dragon Box” have not only been shipped, but may actually be out for delivery if ordered from RightStuf. While this is significantly ahead of its now-official release date of 17 November 2009, it is plausible. We remind everyone to be wary of comparisons and reports that may get out there early, and to always be sure of the technical expertise of those claiming to be comparing different releases. We will, of course, have a full break-down and review here on the site in the near future!

When we think about Latin America and the Dragon Ball franchise, we think of areas like Mexico, Brazil, and Chile which have long, on-going love affairs with the series. Panama is not a country that first comes to mind, though. Thankfully for those of you in Panama, Toei has struck a deal with Medcom to air the entirety of the first Dragon Ball TV series (all 153 episodes). Speaking of Brazil, though, Playarte has secured a deal to release the Dragon Ball series on DVD (while not especially clear in the article, it seems to be inferred to be the first TV series).

While I know Latin America loves their Dragon Ball (and their Saint Seiya), I am pretty ignorant as to what the actual home releases have been like. Anyone in Panama or Brazil that would like to give us a little background would be eternally thanked!

FUNimation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre, having been purchased in 2005. Today, Navarre held their second-quarter fiscal 2010 conference call for the period ending 30 September 2009.

Unlike last quarter’s release and call, there was not much of interest for Dragon Ball fans. The bankruptcy of Circuit City (a “$60-odd million customer”) hurt their net sales, and their publishing segment (of which FUNimation is a part) was down to $21.4 million from last quarter’s $28.8 million. It was noted that FUNimation had a weaker release schedule this quarter, which they noted would happen last quarter (followed by an explanation at the time that Q3 & Q4 would be stronger for FUNimation). Despite this weaker release schedule, it was noted that FUNimation met internal targets for the quarter.

In the grand scheme of things, FUNimation has “56-60%” of the North American anime market share, and things remain strong for them with two competitors no longer in existence, first-dibs on many properties, and the ability to be selective about these new properties.

There you have it… your financial analysis for the second quarter of the fiscal year! Sorry it could not be more interesting, but it was a slow quarter across the board for most companies.