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We are going to be honest... we just do not visit a whole lot of DragonBall sites. It's not necessarily that there aren't any we like, but quite frankly, there's not a whole lot "new" for us to learn or be entertained by. With the recent resurrection of fandom in Japan due to things like DVD boxsets and new video games, our attention has shifted to these Japanese sites for actual informational purposes. This is probably going to be reflected in the number of official Japanese sites we list below.
[ Official Sites (US) ] [ Official Sites (Japan) ] [ Fan Sites ] [ Staff Favorites ]
- Official Sites (US)
- Atari (USA)
( http://www.atari.com/us/ )
— Official website for the company responsible for DragonBall video game distribution in North America. Recently fully acquired by their parent company Infogrames, Atari's sub-contract for the DragonBall franchise expires in January 2010.
- FUNimation Productions
( http://www.funimation.com )
— Official website for the company responsible for the English dubbing and distribution of DragonBall, DragonBall Z, and DragonBall GT in North America since 1994 (with a release cycle beginning in 1995). Also responsible for dragonball.com, dragonballz.com, and dragonballgt.com. They handle a wide variety of anime besides DB, including Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Yuu Yuu Hakusho.
- Geneon Entertainment (formerly Pioneer Home Entertainment)
( http://www.geneonanimation.com )
— Official website for the company originally responsible for the distribution of the first two seasons of the edited and English dubbed DragonBall Z (produced by FUNimation) as well as the first three DragonBall Z movies (produced in conjunction with FUNimation).
- Shonen Jump (US)
( http://www.shonenjump.com )
— Official website for the North American version of Shonen Jump. Produced by Viz Communications, Shonen Jump is a monthly anthology of popular manga, which currently includes DragonBall Z.
- Viz Communications
( http://www.viz.com )
— Official website for the company responsible for the translation and distribution of the DragonBall and DragonBall Z manga in North America since 1998. Also responsible for the US version of Shonen Jump, which previously ran the DragonBall Z manga along-side many other series before returning to "graphic novel"-only release formats.
- WebFoot Technologies, Inc.
( http://www.webfootgames.com )
— Official website for the American video game developer responsible for the Legacy of Goku games on GameBoy Advance, etc.
- Official Sites (Japan)
- Bandai Games
( http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp )
— Official website for the Japanese DragonBall video game distributor. Also includes the following sub-sites:
- DIMPS
( http://www.dimps.co.jp )
— Official website for the game developer of the DragonBall Z / Budokai series of DBZ fighting games. Also includes the following sub-sites:
- Jumpland.com
( http://www.jumpland.com )
— An online "RPG" of sorts, where you navigate the landscape (and interact with) characters from both DragonBall, One Piece, and now, Naruto. Although broadband is a must to be able to play (as is a decent reading knowledge of Japanese), there's lots of interesting stuff to find, such as exclusive (and neat-looking) desktop backgrounds from each showthat you can only get by winning certain minigames (Julian's favorite game is the DB quiz hosted by Trunks). Even though much of the site is now pay-only, there's still lots of interesting stuff. If you're feeling adventurous, be sure to try it out!
- s-manga.net
( http://www.s-manga.net )
— Shueisha's own manga "preview site," totally in Flash. Great for getting previews of what's coming up in the next Shônen Jump.
- Spike
( http://www.dimps.co.jp )
— Official website for the game developer of the DragonBall Z / Budokai series of DBZ fighting games. Also includes the following sub-sites:
- POP WEB JUMP
( http://jump.shueisha.co.jp/ )
— Official website for the Japanese Shônen Jump.
- Toei Animation (DragonBall)
( http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/dragon/ )
— Main page for Toei Animation's television series, DragonBall.
- Toei Animation (DragonBall Z)
( http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/dragonz/ )
— Main page for Toei Animation's television series, DragonBall Z.
- Toei Animation (DragonBall GT)
( http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/dragonball/ )
— Main page for Toei Animation's television series, DragonBall GT.
- Fan Sites
- Dragonball Angels - The Goten Shrine
( http://www.lisa-rye.com/dbatgs )
— I've always liked this site. It's fun to look at, fun to look around, and it just "cute" overall. Character-based sites are always tricky to pull off and make accessible to a wide audience, but this one pulls it off. Especially if you're a Goten fan (and who isn't? too cute!), I hope you check this out.
- Kanzentai
( http://www.kanzentai.com )
— This is pretty much the only other current, authoritative, interesting general DragonBall website out there today. If you want to keep up on news and genuinely interesting information and research, combine this site with our own, and you're set for life.
- Lovely Cyborg
( http://www.lovelycyborg.com )
— It takes a lot for a character shrine to grab me, and this one grabbed me from the very first click. An extremely clean look, ridiculously accurate and well-written information, and just plain ol' everything related to #18 you could ever wish to find and/or read. A great site, and one I hope sticks around for years and years.
- Temple O' Trunks
( http://www.templeotrunks.com )
— For over a decade, the ToT has served a wide variety of fans with an ever-increasing multitude of material, not always limited to (but usually including) the lovable Trunks. You'll find screen-shots, lots of funny material (including the always-popular "Feature Films"), and huge collection of music videos, old and new, showcasing Meri's talents across the many, many years. It may be a relic of the internet past, but if you haven't checked it out (or don't think it's up your alley), I assure you that you'll find something of interest!
- Ultimate DBZ Information Site / The Grand Line
( http://www.thegrandline.com/dbzinfo/ )
— Sure, Greg's got up a bit more than just DragonBall stuff, but you'll still find a nice archive of tons of DB-related material he's written over the years. There's an amazing character list, translated interviews... it's just pretty much a hardcore-fanboys' haven for information. Some of it is slightly out-dated and surpassed in quality-control on other sites, but this is where it all originated. Unless you've been living under a rock the last decade or so, you can't have missed this site.
- Staff Favorites
- AnimeMusicVideos.org
( http://www.animemusicvideos.org )
— The place to find anything and everything concerning anime music videos. The main point of the site is simply to be a database listing of every anime music video ever created; however, you'll also find that many of the videos have download links, fantastic forums, the ability to rate and review videos, and so much more.
- AnimeNewsNetwork.com
( http://www.animenewsnetwork.com )
— Provides almost daily news updates from the world of anime, both in North America and overseas from Japan. Their Encyclopedia database, though far from complete, is a handy resource.
- CDJapan
( http://www.cdjapan.co.jp )
— If you're looking to purchase some Japanese CDs or R2 DVDs, this should probably be your first stop. You're not going to find anything long out-of-print, but if it's something from within the last few years, they're probably going to have it. Make sure you purchase in bulk; it's really coming from Japan, and shipping can be a lot.
- Hanzi Smatter
( http://www.hanzismatter.com )
— A blog dedicated to the (mis)use of Chinese characters in Western pop-culture and body art. Think: Engrish.com, but in the opposite direction. Yes, it's hilarious, but at the same time it's a stern caution to those who think Kanji just "look cool," not to dabble in something they don't understand (especially when it comes to a permanent tattoo!). The subtitle of the site is "Yi zhi ban jie," which means (roughly) "a smattering of knowledge." It's especially fitting, because it could either be "a little bit of info " to help you on your way, or the kind of "partial understanding" that allows these (amusing) travesties to occur.
- lo-fidelity
( http://lofidelity.info )
— Originally hosted by Jeff and Brad, Mike (VegettoEX) has taken over co-hosting duties on this indie music review/appreciation podcast with Jeff. Every other week the podcast delivers a topical discussion, an album review, upcoming releases, and a Top 5 list.
- OverClocked ReMix
( http://www.ocremix.org )
— This "Unofficial Game Music Arrangement Community" is headed up by the one-and-only DJ Pretzal, who scans every video game song remix that's sent in, and posts up the best ones on a nearly-daily basis. Awesome, awesome stuff can be found here (be sure to check out all of McVaffe's stuff).
- Suburban Senshi
( http://suburbansenshi.kasterborus.net/ )
— Well, this is... interesting. It chronicles the (more-or-less) normal everyday lives of post-stardom Sailor Moon characters, as they converse, share interesting links, make professional wrestling predictions, comment on current events, and whatever else... all in the form of an IRC chat blog. The webmaster "Dr. Xadium" is a pretty big fan of DBZ, and it shows: in particular, the articles "In Defense of Dragonball Z" and "Son of 'In Defense of Dragonball Z'" lambaste the babbling of an idiot who "reviews" the series (read: rants like a moron about how he hates DB). Although the topic frequently turns to Sailor Moon (and at least a slight knowledge of its characters is required to get many of the jokes), it doesn't stop Suburban Senshi IRC from being uniquely funny.
- The Appcast
( http://www.the-appcast.com )
— Our friends Kevin and Bob do a weekly podcast with news and reviews all about application on the iPhone (and iPod Touch). The core topic each week will keep you enthralled, along with the top-lists and other focuses for the week.
- Video Game Conversations
( http://www.vgconvos.com )
— This is a little side-blog/podcast by Mike (VegettoEX), Jeff, and Andrew. It features regular blog updates, a monthly podcast, and general awesomeness relating to video games. If you like what we do here, you'll love what we do over there.
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