CD Japan has a listing for a new CD coming out in Japan 21 December 2005 entitled “Anime No. 1”. Set to include a track from Hironobu Kageyama, it has the “original singers for theme songs to classic animation series” that will “reprise their role to cover their own tracks and celebrate the history of animation”. No word on which Hironobu Kageyama it will contain, but logic dictates that it will be the 2005 version of either “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA” or “We Gotta Power!”

I do not know of any other “2005 version” CDs that were released for other shows, but that does not mean they don’t exist. We will be sure to let you know if we are getting another new version of a great song, or if we are just getting one of the sub-par tracks from earlier this year slapped on a new compilation CD.

FUNimation’s Z-Store has a couple copies left of “Legendary Super Warriors” for the GameBoy Color (which will play on a GBA, of course) for a shocking $4.95. Just watch out for the shipping — make sure you order something else so it is worth it.

Thanks to Tanooki Kuribo on the forums for this one.

Over on our forum, members RC315 has posted up some pictures and screen shots from the first release of the individual Dragon Ball Z TV DVDs in Japan. These are individual releases of the discs contained in the two DBZ “Dragon Box” sets, retailing for ¥3800 a pop. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (containing episodes 1-18) were released on 02 November 2005. Apparently, coming as quite a shock to all, the menus and disc art are completely different from the corresponding discs in the actual “Dragon Box” sets…!

The official website for “Bukū Ressen” (“Super Sonic Warriors 2” as it shall be known outside of Japan) is up and online as-of yesterday. Very sexy site, showcasing lots of new characters and features.

The game, coming out for the Nintendo DS, is due in Japan 01 December 2005 for ¥5040.

The Jumpland website has revealed a batch of details about the upcoming Dragon Box for the franchise’s movies, which now appears to be formally named “Dragon Box: The Movies”.

ORDER DETAILS:

• Pre-orders open now!
• Pre-order ends: 21 December 2005
• On sale: 24 March 2006
• Retail price: ¥50,000 (Amazon pre-order price: ¥39,000)

PRODUCT DETAILS:

• 8 discs, dual-layered, containing all 17 movies (3 DB, 13 DBZ, 10th Anniversary)
• Movies presented in 16:9 letterbox format
• Full color booklet
• Theatrical previews and TV spots included
• Picture labelled disks
• New Print Component Master
• 2 “Scouter” transceivers

Some interesting things to note here. First, the movies are going to be presented in 16:9 letterbox format (widescreen); while it is general knowledge that the movies were made in 4:3 full frame, they were primarily screened in theaters in the cropped letterboxed format. Perhaps there is something we do not know, or they are just cropping the film again. The scouters seem like a really cool idea, and we will also be getting the original movie introductions, which have not been released since the Japanese VHS releases!

Special thanks to Mr. Robot from the forum for pointing out this new info!

IGN has published their review, written by Jeremy Dunham, for the American version of “Sparking!” (“Budokai Tenkaichi”), giving it an overall 8.2.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi may not have the combat depth of competition like Tekken and Dead or Alive, but there’s still some definite finger-busting appeal to its simplistic fighting mechanics. And while it’s true that it’s large environments and dash-heavy gameplay may draw out the length of most contests and cause occasional camera problems, it’s still fun — and that’s what matters. Throw in a massively deep list of modes and features, more than 50 playable characters, and customizable goodies for your fighters and you have everything necessary to please both Dragon Ball diehards and fighting game curiosos alike.

Not too shabby, it seems.

“Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!” for the PlayStation may have come out in Japan yesterday on the 6th, but fret not US-PS2-owners: the American version (“Budokai Tenkaichi”) is due out very soon on 19 October 2005.

The “Greatest Hits” version of “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3” (also for the PS2) was due out for us lucky Americans 09 November 2005, but has since been pushed back to 14 December 2005. Atari’s enhanced re-release is a cheap $19.99, sports the original Japanese cover art, and will feature selectable English/Japanese language tracks for the game. Europeans already got their hands on this special treat, so be sure to check it out if you get the chance.

“Bukū Ressen” (the sequel to “Bukū Tōgeki”, published on the GameBoy Advance) is due out for the Nintendo DS in Japan 01 December 2005. The American version of the game (“Super Sonic Warriors 2”) is listed by FUNimation as available the week of November 22nd. Sorry, no Japanese cover art for this one, yet — let me know if you have come across it!

“Legacy of Goku 1 & 2” for the GameBoy Advance is a compilation of the first two games in the series on the same cartridge, and is set for release on 14 December 2005.

That is technically at least one new game release every month until the end of the year — sweet deal! Big thanks to Mike on the forum for the heads-up on things we had missed.

Toei has revealed the covers for their first 3 DVDs of the Z Dragon Box individual discs. Each of these discs will contain six episodes and are set to be released 02 November 2005. The first nine discs are already available for pre-order at Amazon Japan.

Best Buy is currently doing a major clearance on video games — you can pick up “Boo’s Fury” (the third game in the American-created “Legacy of Goku” series on the Nintendo GameBoy Advance) for a mere $4.99! Only while supplies last. Go, go, go!

Special thanks to JTurner954 for the heads-up on this one.