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3,853 Posts & 2,435 Pages Documenting Dragon Ball, since 1998. We've got you covered!
Published by 18 December 2017, 8:32 AM ESTComment

The fifth collected volume of Dragon Ball SD appears to finally be on its way from Shueisha according to Amazon Japan, with a digital version’s entry noting a 02 February 2018 release date.

The release will mark two full years since the fourth collected volume, no doubt due to the current bi-monthly schedule of Saikyō Jump where Naho Ooishi’s “chibi” spin-off manga is serialized. The fifth collected volume will pick up with Goku’s 22nd Tenka’ichi Budōkai battle against Tenshinhan in Dragon Ball SD chapter 39.

The January 2018 issue of Saikyō Jump, released earlier this month (01 December 2017), contained the spin-off manga’s 51st chapter since its 2011/2012 reboot. In 2016, the series skipped ahead from the end of the 22nd Tenka’ichi Budōkai to the Saiyan arc.

Published by 16 December 2017, 5:57 PM ESTComment

As revealed in today’s February 2018 issue of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine and in conjunction with Jump Festa this weekend, Beerus, Hit, and Goku Black from Dragon Ball Super have been announced as playable characters in the upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ video game.

Universe 7’s God of Destruction Beerus originally debuted in the 2013 theatrical film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (and its retelling in the Dragon Ball Super series). The assassin Hit debuted in the Universe 6 vs. Universe 7 tournament in the Dragon Ball Super series. Goku Black (née Zamasu) debuted in the “Future Trunks arc” of the Dragon Ball Super series.

The 3-on-3, “2.5D” fighting game is under development by Arc System Works for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (via Steam). The game is advertised as running at a 1080p resolution and 60fps frame rate, with higher resolutions available on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles. Other currently-announced playable characters include Son Goku, Son Gohan (Cell arc design), Vegeta, Freeza, Cell, Boo (Good), Trunks, Piccolo, Kuririn, #16, #18 (with #17), Yamcha, Tenshinhan (with Chiaotzu), Ginyu, Nappa, Gotenks, Son Gohan (Boo arc design), Boo (Pure), as well as “Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan” (SSGSS, or “Super Saiyan Blue”) versions of Goku and Vegeta that can be accessed early via pre-orders. Dragon Ball FighterZ will be released 26 January 2018 in North America and Europe, and 01 February 2018 in Japan.

Arc previously worked on Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden for the Nintendo 3DS, as well as the Super Sonic Warriors games (Bukū Tōgeki and Bukū Ressen) on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. The developer is otherwise known for their Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series of fighting games.

Published by 16 December 2017, 9:40 AM ESTComment

Continuing onward from previous chapters, Viz has added their English translation of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s thirty-first chapter to their website, moving further into the “Universe Survival arc” of the series. This continues Viz’s initiative of simultaneously publishing the series’ chapter alongside its Japanese debut, which saw its release today in the February 2018 issue of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine in Japan.

The Dragon Ball Super “comicalization” began in June 2015 as a promotional tie-in for the television series. The manga runs monthly in Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine, with the series’ thirty-first chapter coming today in the magazine’s February 2018 issue. Illustrated by “Toyotarō” (in all likelihood, a second pen-name used by Dragon Ball AF fan manga author and illustrator “Toyble”), the Dragon Ball Super manga covered the Battle of Gods re-telling, skipped the Resurrection ‘F’ re-telling, and “charged ahead” to the Champa arc to act as further promotion for the television series. Viz is currently releasing free digital chapters of the series, and began their own collected print edition earlier this year. The third collected volume is due out in English from Viz in July 2018, while the fourth collected volume was released by Shueisha in Japan last month.

The Dragon Ball Super television series airs Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. on Fuji TV in Japan. The series now receives weekly simulcast streams on services such as Crunchyroll. FUNimation has also announced their American streaming and distribution license for the series, with the English dub beginning earlier this year on Cartoon Network, while the home video release also kicked off this summer.

Published by 16 December 2017, 7:50 AM ESTComment

Toei Animation and Japanese musical group OnePixcel have announced that their song “LAGRIMA” — the group’s “major debut single” — will take over as the eleventh ending theme song for the Dragon Ball Super television series beginning in January 2018.

A CD single for the song has yet to be detailed.

CDs for the show’s first ten ending themes — “Hello Hello Hello” by Good Morning America, “Starring Star” by KEYTALK, “Light Pink” by LACCO TOWER, “Forever Dreaming” by Czecho no Republic, “Easy-Going Dance” by Batten Showjo Tai, “Fried Rice Music” by Arukara, “An Evil Angel and Righteous Devil” by THE COLLECTORS, “Boogie Back” by Miyu Inoue, “Far Away” by Lacco Tower, and “By a 70cm Square Window” by ROTTENGRAFFTY — have been released.

A CD single for the show’s first opening theme — “Chōzetsu ☆ Dynamic!” by Kazuya Yoshii — was released 07 October 2015. The series’ second opening theme — “Limit-Break x Survivor” by Kiyoshi Hikawa — recently saw a proper, physical CD single release 25 October 2017 following TV-sized and full-length digital-only distribution.

Published by 16 December 2017, 12:10 AM EST1 Comment

Shueisha’s recently launched “Dragon Ball Official Site” has announced the production of a new Dragon Ball theatrical film scheduled for a “super-wide” national release in Japan in December 2018. This movie will be the 20th produced for the franchise, with the first movie premiering over 30 years ago in December 1986.

As with the 2015 movie Resurrection “F”, original author Akira Toriyama developed the movie’s story and concept, as well as writing the its script and providing character designs. While movies of the past have centered around specific enemies, this film’s theme will center around “the universe’s mightiest warrior race, the Saiyans”. It is undoubtedly very likely that much, if not all, of the new information provided by Akira Toriyama in his “Saiyan Special Q&A” in the January 2018 issue of Saikyō Jump was taken from the story development for this new movie. Read below for the full announcement:

An important announcement from the mountain stage on the first day of “Jump Festa 2018”!

The development of a new Dragon Ball movie, the momentous 20th film in the series.

The Dragon Ball movies began at the Toei Manga Festival in 1986.

They went on to produce numerous such beloved characters as “Coola”, “Broli”, “Bojack”, and “Janenba”.

After 2013 saw the premier of the first film in 17 years, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (net gross 2.99 billion yen), the Dragon Ball world expanded even further with 2015’s Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection “F” (net gross 3.74 billion yen), leading to the TV anime Dragon Ball Super currently airing. As befits the 20th entry in a movie series that has continued to pursue even stronger characters and even more entertaining stories, this film is being diligently produced with the goal of having the greatest scale and quality of the series to date!

As was the case with the last movie, original author Akira Toriyama-sensei is in charge of the original work, script, and character designs, raising expectations even higher.

It looks like he’s already done more image illustrations than for any movie before, so we can’t wait for the film’s debut in December 2018!

And the theme for this movie is “the strongest warrior race in the universe, the Saiyans!” From Battle of Gods onward, Goku and co. have achieved new evolutions such as Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue.

And so, it seems that this film depicts the “origin” of Goku and co.’s strength, the strength of the Saiyans, who remain the strongest warrior race in the universe even after all sorts of powerful warriors from throughout the universe have dauntlessly appeared.

Don’t take your eyes off the infinitely growing “Saiyans” or the infinitely evolving world of Dragon Ball!

“Dragon Ball 20th Movie Commemoration Project (provisional title)”
Original Author, Script, & Character Design: Akira Toriyama
Super-wide National Roadshow in December 2018

Unlike the two most recent film announcements, which were announced in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump and V-Jump magazines, the official announcement for the 2018 movie was made earlier in the day at “Jump Festa 2018” during a stage presentation. This is likely an attempt by Shueisha to control the announcement and avoid news breaking prematurely, as has happened in the past due to prevalent early online leaks of magazine issues. Also in contrast to previous movies, which have premiered in spring and summer months, the 2018 movie will premiere in December. It is likely no coincidence that the only other Dragon Ball movie to premiere in December was the very first.

Stay tuned for more updates as they become available!

UPDATE: Toei Animation’s official “Dragon Ball Super” website has been updated with the announcement, which includes a link to the movie’s official website.

Published by 06 December 2017, 8:59 AM ESTComment

A new Amazon listing for Viz’s third volume of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s print edition is dated for 03 July 2018 at a $9.99 MSRP. A digital edition will also be available at various retailers, including Amazon, Comixology, and direct from Viz.

Goku’s adventure from the best-selling classic manga Dragon Ball continues in this new series written by Akira Toriyama himself!

Ever since Goku became Earth’s greatest hero and gathered the seven Dragon Balls to defeat the evil Boo, his life on Earth has grown a little dull. But new threats loom overhead, and Goku and his friends will have to defend the planet once again in this continuation of Akira Toriyama’s best-selling series, Dragon Ball!

With the Universe 6 and 7 Invitational Fighting Tournament over, Goku and his friends return to their normal lives. That is, until Future Trunks suddenly appears to warn everyone of a new threat—Goku Black, a mysterious warrior who looks like Goku but isn’t him! He’s a monster who has wiped out most of Earth and all of the Gods of Destruction and Lords of Lords from all twelve universes. Who is this mysterious man, and will Goku and his friends be able to stop him?!

The third collected edition is expected to cover chapters 16-20 a la its Japanese counterpart.

The Dragon Ball Super “comicalization” began in June 2015 as a promotional tie-in for the television series. The manga runs monthly in Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine, with the series’ thirtieth chapter coming last month in the magazine’s January 2018 issue. Illustrated by “Toyotarō” (in all likelihood, a second pen-name used by Dragon Ball AF fan manga author and illustrator “Toyble”), the Dragon Ball Super manga covered the Battle of Gods re-telling, skipped the Resurrection ‘F’ re-telling, and “charged ahead” to the Champa arc to act as further promotion for the television series. Viz is currently releasing free digital chapters of the series, and began their own collected print edition this spring. The second collected volume was released by Viz this week, while the fourth collected volume was released by Shueisha in Japan last month.

The Dragon Ball Super television series airs Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. on Fuji TV in Japan. The series now receives weekly simulcast streams on services such as Crunchyroll. FUNimation has also announced their American streaming and distribution license for the series, with the English dub beginning earlier this year on Cartoon Network, while the home video release also kicked off this summer.

Thanks to @dothemangodew for the heads-up!

Published by 03 December 2017, 9:28 AM ESTComment

We once again try to get back into the swing of things with what many think is a complicated process, but we have figured it all out: how to best calculate battle powers in the Dragon Ball franchise. Join us, won’t you?

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0430! After a five-year break, the “Dragon Ball GT Review of Awesomeness” returns. Mike, Meri, and Jeff review episodes 16-18, along with the FUNimation English dub-only recap episode, “A Grand Problem.” Can our heroes (and hosts) survive the onslaught of machine mutants?!

REFERENCED SITES:

Enjoy! Discuss this episode on the Kanzenshuu forum, and be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr.

Our podcast feed is available via iTunes and/or Google Play Music. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3, or you can listen on YouTube and/or SoundCloud.

Published by 01 December 2017, 3:53 PM EST1 Comment

Today’s January 2018 issue of Saikyō Jump comes packed with a slew of regular content (the latest Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission, Dragon Ball SD, Dragon Ball Fusions the Manga!, etc. chapters), bonus manga previews (the first chapter of The Case of Being Reincarnated as Yamcha), Goku and Mira cards for the arcade edition of Super Dragon Ball Heroes, as well as a bonus “Saiyan Super Strongest Comics” booklet and accompanying Akira Toriyama Q&A session.

The “We Asked Akira Toriyama-sensei! – Saiyan Special Q&A” focuses (appropriately enough) on all-things-Saiyan, from foods and holidays, to training and beyond. Perhaps most notably, original author Akira Toriyama dives into new lore explaining the history of the “Super Saiyan God” transformation:

Was the “legendary Super Saiyan” Freeza feared the Super Saiyan God that appeared in Battle of Gods?

In a certain sense, they are the same person. That is to say, very long ago, before Planet Vegeta was the Saiyans’ planet, there was a man named Yamoshi who had a righteous heart despite being a Saiyan. He and his five comrades started a rebellion, but he was cornered by combatants and became a Super Saiyan for the first time, though his transformation and fearsome fighting style shocked the other Saiyans. Outnumbered, Yamoshi eventually wore himself out and was defeated, but this was only the beginning of his legend. Afterwards, Yamoshi’s spirit wandered in continuous search of six righteous-hearted Saiyans, seeking a new savior: Super Saiyan God.

READ THE FULL Q&A TRANSLATION

The January 2018 issue of Saikyō Jump — a bimonthly children’s magazine published by Shueisha in Japan — is available for ¥530 at CDJapan and Amazon Japan.

This Q&A has been archived in our “Translations” section.

Published by 30 November 2017, 11:02 AM ESTComment

Online retailers have updated their listings for the ninth Dragon Ball Super home video box set in Japan, covering episodes 97-108, continuing onward into the “Tournament of Power” in the Universe Survival arc:

The disc label art features #17 and #18 from the Universe 7 team. As with previous releases, the box set will come packaged with a special booklet. On-disc extras will include a creditless version of the series’ ninth ending theme song, “Far Away”. Toei and Happinet have been releasing the series on DVD and Blu-ray box sets of 12 episodes each, all of which are cataloged in our “Home Video Guide“.

The DVD set is listed at ¥12,096 (+ tax) and the Blu-ray set at ¥16,416 (+ tax), with both scheduled for release 06 January 2018 in Japan. Both DVD and Blu-ray sets are listed as two discs each. Sets are available to pre-order via CDJapan and Amazon Japan.

The series’ eighth set was released in October, while the next three box sets are already set for release going through July 2018.

The Dragon Ball Super television series airs Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. on Fuji TV in Japan. The series now receives weekly simulcast streams on services such as Crunchyroll. FUNimation has also announced their American streaming and distribution license for the series, with the English dub beginning earlier this year on Cartoon Network, while the home video release also kicked off this summer.

Published by 29 November 2017, 8:39 AM ESTComment

In conjunction with the game’s latest update — providing the free “Hero Colosseum” mode to all players alongside the paid “Extra Pack 1” with new playable characters, special moves, etc. — Bandai Namco has introduced microtransactions into Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2. The in-game “TP Medal” currency, previously and also still available from completing missions and battles over the normal course of gameplay, is now available for direct purchase on various console storefronts.

In the North American release, TP Medals are available in five different batches (with international pricing obviously varying by region):

  • 200 TP Medals for $1.99
  • 500 TP Medals for $3.99
  • 1000 Medals for $6.99
  • 2000 Medals for $12.99
  • 5000 Medals for $29.99

Certain special attacks and costumes are only available in the game via the “TP Medal” currency (separate from the Zeni currency, which can also be used to purchase items, generally of a lower quality/effectiveness).

Bandai Namco has dabbled with other methods of TP Medal distribution before, such as redemption codes with figures as well as a partnership with Daisuki providing redemption codes to viewers of the Dragon Ball Super television series on their streaming service.

Developed by Dimps for Bandai Namco, Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2 is available worldwide for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC (via Steam), and Switch. In North America, the game launched for consoles 25 October 2016 with a PC release following 28 October 2016. In Europe, the game launched across all platforms 28 October 2016. In Japan, the game launched on the PlayStation 4 console 02 November 2016. The Nintendo Switch port was released in Japan and internationally in September 2017.