The official Japanese website for “Shin Budokai” has been launched and has a bunch of neat stuff.

Shueisha’s release schedule shows reprints of the two Dragon Ball GT “Perfect File” books (essentially smaller-sized daizenshuu dedicated to the DBGT series) with a release date of 04 April 2006. Other than being described as “reprints” we really do not know anything else about them, though it is safe to assume there will not be a whole lot new to them, if anything at all.

This at least gives them a reason not to release any additional new anime guides a la Tenka-ichi Densetsu (DB) and Son Gokū Densetsu (DBZ).

Our next bit of big news comes to us courtesy of our friend Sean “Onikuno” Forster:

I was at Megacon today and spoke with Lance Heiskell the Funimation rep. I asked him the obligatory “what’s up with DB eps 1-13?” question. But this time I learned something new.

According to Lance, when Funimation set up the original contract with Kidmark who is now owned by Lions Gate, it was put in the contract that Kidmark would own the rights to those episodes indefinetley. Meaning they would always have distro rights.

The good news is that Funimation has NOT GIVEN UP. What they may have to do according to Lance is that they would be able to work out a deal where they would give a percentage of profits to Lions Gate. They are intent on making this happen. When this will happen is still up in the air.

After… how many years has it been, exactly?… we finally have confirmation that FUNimation is indeed trying to do something about it. It would not surprise me that all of us asking about the darn episodes convention after convention after convention finally got them to realize we want to purchase the episodes!

Gamespot is currently running a feature for “Shin Budokai” (PSP) on their front page right now. Something you may or may not already know about the game is that its story mode will draw elements from Dragon Ball Z movie 12 (out in the US next month):

As with the previous DBZ games, Shin Budokai will draw from specific story arcs from the long-running series. In this case, the game will draw material from the upcoming feature film Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, which follows Goku’s attempts to deal with a threat to the universe that will require him to buff up his already impressive skills. As a result, you’ll find a game roster that includes a mix of classic and more-recent additions to the mythos. Besides Goku, you’ll be able to choose Teen Gohan, Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, Krillin, Piccolo, Frieza, Android #18, Cell, Kid Boo, Cooler, Broly, Gotenks, and Pikkon initially. As you progress through the game you’ll unlock some fighters as well. Each character will come with their own set of unique moves and special attacks that you’ll need to master in order to kick butt effectively.

Additionally, the Japanese voice cast will be selectable!

Both the “LEGEND OF DRAGONWORLD” two-disc vocal song collection and “BGM Collection” three-disc set were released in Japan today.

Our forum member kenisu3000 has started a thread documenting which pieces are actually going to appear on the set, where they are from, what comes from the older 5-CD set, etc. Much thanks!

The Red Ribbon Army (self-described as “2una meets Elliot Smith…you know, something underground”) released a split-EP with Antique Row last month.

Support your fellow fans, and their awesome music — this is the kind of music you should be listening to, anyway. Check them out over on their MySpace page.

Toei has revealed the covers for their next three DVDs of the Z Dragon Box individual disc release. Each of these discs will contain sixepisodes, covering episodes 73 thru 90. These three DVDs are set to be released 01 March 2006. You can order any of the released discs or pre-order any of these three discs at Amazon Japan.

Well, sorta. The second so-called “Lost Episodes” disc (“Rejection”; DBGT episodes 4-6) is listed on the searches as $17.99, but going into the page will reveal a ridiculous price of only $9.99. If you need it, now is the time to grab it. Unfortunately, all of the others are still full-price (but cheap enough, comparatively speaking). It seems that this particular disc is shipping from a distributor other than Amazon — they may have a surplus.

While you are at it, pre-order movie 12 for $16.99.