Kazuhiko Torishima has held a massive influence on every aspect of Dragon Ball‘s production, from before it was even a twinkle in Akira Toriyama’s eye, up through the creation of Dragon Ball Kai and beyond. In a fascinating interview with Forbes last year, Torishima discussed his thoughts on the television series adaptation, and why certain changes were made on the production side leading up to the “Z” shift. Tune in as we try to see what Torishiama saw so many years ago, and how these changes impacted the franchise for decades to come!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0429! Mike and Lance discuss the Dragon Ball franchise’s shift to “Z” based on Kazuhiko Torishima’s comments and observations from a 2016 interview with Forbes. What changes were made to the production team, and how did those changes trickle down and shape the franchise for decades to come? A little bit of impromptu listener questions wraps up the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Shueisha Releasing Digital Versions of Dragon Ball Film Anime Comics
• INTERVIEW: “Kazuhiko Torishima On Shaping The Success Of ‘Dragon Ball’…” @ Forbes
• WATCH: Lance (“MistareFusion”) @ YouTube

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.

One of the best parts of running Kanzenshuu is the wealth of history we get a chance to dive into and archive. This week’s episode takes a look at Akira Toriyama’s arcade machine design from 1993, brings us from 1991 to 1997 to 2010 reviewing different official English releases of the same Dragon Ball film, and wraps up with a quick gut-reaction to the latest Dragon Ball Super extravaganza with Goku vs. Jiren!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0428! Mike and Meri take a look back at Akira Toriyama’s arcade machine design from 1993 before diving into three separate reviews of the first “Dragon Ball” movie’s English-language release. We wrap up with an uncharacteristic, quick gut-reaction to the one-hour “Dragon Ball Super” special featuring Goku’s fight with Jiren!

REFERENCED SITES:

• CONTENT: New (Old) Translation: “Dragon Ball Z” Arcade (1993) Akira Toriyama Comment & Original Cabinet Design
• PRESS ARCHIVE: “Markalite” Winter 1991 Dragon Ball Movie Review
• PRESS ARCHIVE: “Animerica” January 1991 Dragon Ball Movie Review

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.

If there could be any single event to help wake the podcast back up, it would certainly have to be the recent Dragon Ball FighterZ closed beta. Tune in for our hands-on impression with the beta!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0427! Mike and Kirran discuss the “Dragon Ball FighterZ” closed beta. How is the game shaping up so far, and how different do the characters feel from each other? We come up with an impromptu top five list of characters we would love to see in the game, and chat a little bit about recent website content and bonus podcast material!

REFERENCED SITES:

• CONTENT: New Translations: “Showa vs. Heisei!?” Special, “Resurrection ‘F'” Anime Comic, and “Dr. Slump” Volume 18 Akira Toriyama Comments
• CONTENT: New Translation: Takao Koyama “Theatrical Story Q&A” from Dragon Box The Movies
• CONTENT: Press Archive Update: Winter 1991 Markalite Harmony Gold Dragon Ball Movie Review
• PURCHASE: “Dragon Ball FighterZ” @ Amazon
• FOLLOW: Kirran @ Twitter
• LISTEN: LongThoughts with Baloo – The Kanzenshuu King, the Manga Maharajah, VegettoEX!
• LISTEN: lo-fidelity

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.

Spoilers: most characters in Dragon Ball do not have surnames! Additional spoilers: some of the characters you think absolutely do not have a surname may in fact have a secret surname! Join us for a tour of the Dragon World’s family names, from the initial Journey to the West borrows up through the series’ later ancillary material.

孫悟空

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0426! Mike and Jake discuss surnames in the Dragon World. In a series where most characters do not actually have family names, how can you tell for sure when someone might actually have one? What examples tend to confuse fans, and which names might be hiding a secret surname away?! A bit of news recap and a related “Journey to the West” excerpt round out the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Lacco Tower Album “Far Away” Dated For August 2017
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (JP 3DS) 8th Week Sales
• NEWS: Trunks Confirmed As Playable Character in “Dragon Ball FighterZ” (PS4/XBO/PC)
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2” Nintendo Switch Japanese Release Date, Content, & Technical Details
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2” DLC Pack #4 + Free Content Pack Details & Release Date
• SUGGESTED READING: “Journey to the West” Volume 1 (Anthony C. Yu; Revised Edition) @ Amazon

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.

You could be forgiven for writing things off as “another year, another fighting game announcement”. This particular reveal, however, was so up our alley that it snapped us right back out of podcast hibernation! Dragon Ball FighterZ has been announced for an “early 2018” release, is a 3-on-3 fighting game on a 2D playing field, and is under development by Arc System Works. For those of us that remember a time before free-flight “DBZ simulator” games, it appears that our prayers have been answered.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0425! Mike, Ryan, and Josh preview “Dragon Ball FighterZ”, the new fighting game coming in 2018 from Arc System Works. Based on the E3 demo, how is the game feeling so far, and what is it doing to separate itself from previous franchise entries? A tease of new and forthcoming website content rounds out the episode!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: “Dragon Ball FighterZ” (PS4/XBO/PC) Video Game Revealed For 2018 Worldwide Release
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball FighterZ” (PS4/XBO/PC) E3 Debut Trailer
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (JP 3DS) 7th Week Sales
• NEWS: Ninth “Dragon Ball Super” Ending Theme Song Announced
• NEWS: Japanese “Dragon Ball Super” DVD & Blu-ray Box #8 Announced
• CONTENT: “Rumor Guide” Addition – The Name of Freeza’s Race

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.

This week’s show has a few bits of what we do best: expanding some news into a larger topic, and going in-depth to reflect on some of our own processes compared with the franchise’s official English-language release. Tune in for a rundown on various changes (and perhaps even mistakes!) made with characters and names in Dragon Ball Super‘s latest story arc, and stick around for a comparison between our own translation versus Viz’s official translation of the special interview in the manga’s first collected volume.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0424! Mike and Jake review the latest “Dragon Ball Super” character name developments alongside a quick look back at various production slip-ups and changes. Julian joins for a little inside-baseball chat about translation using Viz’s “Dragon Ball Super” Volume 1 interview as a base. Tune in for all this and a little bit of news recap from the last week!

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Second Chapter of dragongarowLEE’s “The Case of Being Reincarnated as Yamcha” Published on Jump+ Digital Platform
• NEWS: WIRED Italia Interview With Toyotarō From Napoli Comicon
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (JP 3DS) 1st Week Sales
• NEWS: Yuka Komatsu to Voice Caulifla in “Dragon Ball Super”
• TRANSLATION: “Tori-Toyo Interview” Book Version
• “Dragon Ball Super” Manga (Collected Edition) Volume 1 @ Amazon

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.

After a short break, our podcast returns this week with a check-in on the updated visual style and effects on display in Dragon Ball Super‘s “Universe Survival arc”. We first took a look when the new arc was only a couple episodes into the story — tune in for our latest analysis!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0423! Mike and Ajay check in on the updated visual style and effects on display in the “Universe Survival arc” of “Dragon Ball Super”. Have the filters been toned down in any way, or is that perception just a side effect of the story’s various locales? Has pre-production evened out to acceptable levels, and what kinds of tidbits are out there on social media telling the behind-the-scenes story?

REFERENCED SITES:

• Live Stream Story Time Adventures (Bonus Podcast Episodes)
• Kanzenshuu /r/dbz/ AMA + Live Stream
• NEWS: Amazon Japan Dates “Dragon Ball Super” Manga Volume 3 For June 2017
• NEWS: “Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission” Vol. 1 Release Details
• NEWS: Japanese “Dragon Ball Super” DVD & Blu-ray Box #7 Announced
• NEWS: Viz Posts “Dragon Ball Super” Manga Chapter 23 English Translation
• NEWS: FUNimation “Dragon Ball Super” Home Video (DVD/Blu-ray) Release Begins July 2017
• Ajay @ YouTube
• Ajay @ Twitter

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.

This week’s podcast is another two-fold sort of news and topic episode: first up we review the twelve God of Destruction names (spellings, likely pun sources, etc.) before turning our attention to the various digital manga platforms in the English-speaking world and the disparate levels of image quality among them all. We have something for everyone, so tune in for some Dragon Ball discussion goodness!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0422! Mike and Julian dissect the names of all twelve God of Destruction characters revealed for the “Dragon Ball Super” TV series’ “Universe Survival arc”. Each appears to be alcohol-based, so what are the best spelling adaptations in our alphabet? Marc then joins to discuss digital manga storefronts and the varying degrees of image quality out there. One might think the actual publisher is the best source, but are there better options out there?

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Super” God of Destruction Names Revealed in April 2017 V-Jump Issue
• DIGITAL MANGA: Dragon Ball @ Viz
• DIGITAL MANGA: Dragon Ball @ Comixology
• DIGITAL MANGA: Dragon Ball @ Amazon (+ Comixology)
• EXTERNAL FAN SITE: With the Will (Digimon)

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.

On this episode of the podcast, after catching up with a couple weeks worth of news, we dive in to two smaller topics: (1) a check-in on the translation quality for Dragon Ball Super‘s anime simulcast and digital manga release, and then (2) an analysis of the new visual direction and color scheme on display in the “Universe Survival arc” of the anime.

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0421! Mike and Jake check in on the translations for both the “Dragon Ball Super” anime simulcast and the Viz digital manga publication. With each version moving along at their own pace, how do the translation styles stack up against each other, and have there been any noticeable errors? Ajay later joins to discuss the new visual direction for the “Universe Survival arc” of the “Dragon Ball Super” anime with its saturated colors and new line art techniques.

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: Masako Nozawa Wins Guinness World Record For Longest Activity as Video Game Voice Actor
• NEWS: Bandai Namco Releases First “Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X” (3DS) Commercial
• NEWS: Bandai Namco Announces Beerus “Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2” Raid Quest
• NEWS: “Dragon Ball Fusions” (3DS) American Update Set For February 13
• NEWS: Viz Posts “Dragon Ball Super” Manga Chapter 18 English Translation
• NEWS: Official “Dragon Ball Super” Website Unveils Universe 9 & 11 Characters and Voice Actors
• Ajay @ YouTube

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.

One of the staff- and fan-favorite podcast releases each year is our predictions episode. We dedicate an entire hour to reviewing the top five stories of the previous year, checking in on predictions we made last year, and we wrap it all up with a combination of safe and outlandish predictions for the next year. 2016 dropped a whole slew of surprises on us, so tune in for our reactions and analysis!

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0420! Mike and Heath check in on last year’s predictions and make new ones for 2017. With “Dragon Ball Super” entering its next major story arc, and 2016 having already dropped so many surprise bombs on us, what could 2017 possibly have in store for fans? Tune in for our reflection, predictions, and a few hot takes from the listeners!

REFERENCED SITES:

• 2016 In Review: Top 5 Dragon Ball News Stories

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.