We all frequent message boards and online forums (such as alt.fan.dragonball), and we all contribute as much as we can. Unfortunately, we don't KNOW of all the places people post questions, so it's impossible for us to reach everyone. However, if you're reading this, you at least know where WE are, so it's possible for you to ask us directly.

What we're going for here is sort of an "Answerman" or "Ask John" (from Anime News Network and Anime Nation, respectively). We'd like you to e-mail in whatever questions you may have, so long as it somehow relates to the world of DragonBall; be it the manga, the anime, merchandise... whatever. We've been around for a few years, now, and we know the ropes... we like to think we know our stuff.

And we want to help. E-mail your questions to VegettoEX@aol.com with the subject "Ask VegettoEX." We'll try to update this section every Saturday, with at least one question straight from the fans. Thanks!

[ Last Updated: Saturday, 06 December 2003 ]
[ Past "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]

Q. Have you ever read Buttlord GT ? - Soulcleaver

A. Actually, no... I haven't. I've heard conflicting stories about it, though. At the same time, I'm *really* not into any sort of webcomics. I know a lot of them are funny, but it's just not my thing. At the same time... a friend of mine did a pretty damn amusing music video using the Buttlord GT images. Definitely check it out, especially if you know Brad DeMoss :P. - VegettoEX

Q. What are the e-mail addresses of the people at FUNimation that might know when the first season of Dragon Ball will be released uncut? - Jim M.

A. even_they_dont_know@funimation.com

On another funny note, I really had to clean up the grammar of THIS e-mail... whoooa, baby... Seriously, though... there's no real way of knowing. For the time being, KidMark still owns the home distribution rights to the first 13 episodes and 1st movie of DragonBall; until this expires, we won't see any of it released from FUNimation. However, keep in mind that FUNi did re-dub the first thirteen episodes (they aired on Cartoon Network when they began airing DB), so there is an uncut dub... we just don't know when we'll see it released, and neither does FUNimation. - VegettoEX

Q. I just had a couple of little queries that I thought you might help me with. When spelling and saying character names, I ultimately decided to go with whatever the Subbed DVDs used, but then my brother informed me that Dragonball is being translated by a different person than Z and GT. I noticed this quickly, like Nyoibo, my preferred spelling, becoming Nyoibou. And Kikoho becoming Kikouhou, and so on. I understand the O and OU thing, so I don't have a problem with choosing there, I prefer O, but then there are some names that I'm not sure of. Like Mutaito, Roshi and Crane's old master. If the original translator had done that, would it have become Mutait, like Kibit for example? I know this is trivial, but it's just a little bothersome watching one disc and then watching another and getting different spellings. Oh, and my brother swears up and down that the H in Puerh's name shouldn't be there, although both subtitlers use it. He uses Puer, and I'm wondering if he's right, and if so, why the H? - MegConetta

A. This is actually going to be a two-person response... but no Julian involved! I forwarded the e-mail over to Steve Simmons to find out exactly what his thoughts and conventions were when doing the translations and scripts. First off, he's my original response to Meg:

I *can* tell you that there's a difference between names like "Kibito" and "Kikouhou." For example, Kibito would be romanized:

ki - bi - to

... while Kikoho would be romanized

ki - ko (long "O" sound) - ho (long "O" sound)

When writing a long "O" sound, as I'm sure you've noticed, you can either leave it as the regular "o" by itself, write it as "ou," or as we do on the site, write it as "ô."

The "to" in "Kibito" is not a long "o" sound, so we wouldn't write it as "ou." The reason it's dropped? Because in Japanese there are only certain syllables and sounds, it's impossible to end a name on just a "t" sound (like we would say the word "bit"). So, the only logial way they have to end it would be with a "to" sound. You'll notice they generally trail off on the "o" part of it when said aloud.

And here's what Steve had to say:

For the most part, I dislike representing long vowels in my spellings when doing subbing, because the average viewer (who is unaware of this aspect of the Japanese language) never knows what to do with it. With so many different ways to Romanize Japanese, the confusion gets even worse (Goku, Gokuu, Gokuh, Gokou (rhymes with "you"), etc.). Manga-ka Masamune Shirow even uses a "w" there in his name. This is also true when I do names in the credits. Then you get into names like Matsuura, where the doubled "u" doesn't represent a long vowel, but two sequential short ones. Yeesh.

For names of Japanese origin, like Mutaito, I generally spell the whole thing out the way it sounds. Names like Kakarrot, where there's the pun on the word carrot, get the trailing "o" dropped to better try to indicate that (at least until Broli starts shouting it, then it gets hyphenated on). (You may have noticed a special bending-over-backward to try to make the Ginyu names more recognizable by their puns as well.)

That being said, if I had it to do over again, I would have used the spelling "Kibito," since it is derived from the word "Tsukibito" (attendant), as per my "Japanese origin" clause above. By the time I realized what I had done, it was too late to change it, however, and so the spelling stuck from there on. By similar reasoning (and under the same circumstances), I would have gone with "Dabra" (as in "Abra ca-") and dropped the "u" in the middle. So not even I follow my own rules 100% of the time.

I think I asked about Bibidi and Babidi, and about using the Disney lyrical "Bibbity-bobbity-boo" spellings, but was advised to steer clear of them for legal reasons. Or maybe that was my own advice to myself and I'm just remembering things fuzzy. I know I wasn't allowed to use the brand-name "Jell-O" to describe some gelatin-based snack in some other script, so I could have shied away as a result of that...

And despite my spelling of "Majin Boo," I draw the line at spelling YYH's Yusuke's alter ego "Poo" (or even "Pooh").

Sometimes, when there's no clear indication of how something should be spelled (including anything from the original studios), I take a liberty or two. Such was the case with the cross-dressing neo-Nazi "Herumafuroditto" from the Lupin III "Harimao's Treasure" feature, which even in the German version came out as "Helma Frodit." The pun there is obviously "Hermaphrodite," but rather than leave his name at that, I decided to Germanize it up a bit (him being a Nazi, and all), and so it became "Herr Mafroditte." It's fun for me to be able to do that sort of thing.

As for the h in P'u-erh . . . it's how they've spelled the name of the tea in English for as long as I've been able to determine (the hyphen is optional). It's not in my dictionary (although oolong is), but any search engine will bring up a bunch of dealers who will sell it to you under that spelling.

While "Puer" is also an accepted variant spelling, it happens to carry with it a rather unfortunate definition (http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/puer). And, as with Yusuke's companion creature, I just couldn't bring myself to do that to him (yes, I maintain that Pu-erh is a "him," not a "her").
[Note: the definition for "puer" mentioned above is the reason why we at DaizEX keep the apostrophe from the Pinyin spelling, hence "Pu'er."]

So that's your loooooooong response (a bit delayed, Meg, sorry!), but hopefully it does a pretty good job of clearing some things up! Little things like these in Japanese can go a variety of ways, and most are acceptable; it is nice, though, to understand how to go about doing it. - VegettoEX & Steve Simmons

Q. Due to FUNimation's decision on skipping the first 16 epsiodes, I simply downloaded them to understand the English dub better. As I watched these first 16, I was seriously wondering why FUNi decided to skip them, as I thought they were really good. Did they think that there wasn't enough action? If that is so, then THEY don't know GT, as it was originaly more comedy based if I recall corectly. Also, will we ever get to see those beutiful episodes in English (the Para-Para dance would be cool to hear)? - Sean Rossi

A. Lance Heiskell announced at Otakon 2003 that FUNimation would indeed be going back to release the first 16 episodes they initially cut... AFTER they've finished the rest of the series. Why did they cut it? Yes, it was to get into the "action" part of the series, first (we've actually discussed this quite a few times). Fans already knew ahead of time that DragonBall GT was/is crap, and FUNimation was trying their damndest to get around this preconception by changing it as much as they could to get that "... as you've never seen it before" idea going around. Yeah, it's stupid... yeah, I'd rather have it from episode one... but whatever. It'll all be out, eventually, and then all the kids can have their mommies bring the tapes back to the store when Trunks starts cross-dressing ^^. - VegettoEX

Q. Just a couple of questions of the usual fanboy caliber:
01) What's your favorite DB/Z storyline?
02) What's your favorite fight in the saga?
03) Who are your favorite voice actors? Japanese and American. - Jim

A. A. We like fanboy questions! We don't have to think about or research the answers :P

Mike "VegettoEX" LaBrie --

01) Favorite Storyline:
My favorite storyline? That's pretty tough. My favorite part of the series is the 23rd Tenka-ichi Budôkai, but that doesn't mean I feel it's story was the best part of the series. I'm going to have to give the typical answer of loving the entire story from the arrival of Freeza on Earth to the end of the Cell Games. The way Toriyama was able to tie in past-events (Red Ribbon Army) so flawlessly into current storylines, the jinzôningen themselves, the concept of time-travel and all the different timelines (and thus how they relate to and affect each other)... it's all really, really deep if you give it a chance, and I think it really epitomizes what DragonBall is all about.

02) Favorite Fight:
This kinda brings me back to what I said earlier. My favorite fight is probably Goku vs Ma Junior at the 23rd Tenka-ichi Budôkai. It was one of the last times when everyone really got a chance to show off new techniques, really be in awe of each others' powers... and you could just FEEL it when they were hitting each other (the only other time I've really been able to feel the hits on-screen was "Mystic" Gohan vs. Majin Buu). I just really, thoroughly enjoyed that fight. It, again, epitomizes what DragonBall is all about. As for within my favorite saga, as outlined above... SSJ2 Gohan vs. Cell. That's my boy, bizatch~.

03a) Favorite Voice Actor - Japanese
Ryûsei Nakao, hands down. I think he was absolutely amazing as Freeza (decent as Tambourine, but didn't really get a chance to shine with that role). His range of emotions from extremely calm, to annoyed, to thoroughly PISSED THE HELL OFF really impressed me throughout the entire saga. I love it when I get to hear him in other roles (Izuka in the Rurouni Kenshin OVA, and more recently for me, Eric in One Piece filler).

03b) Favorite Voice Actor - American
Eric (Johnson) Vale, hands down (again). Not because we hung out one day and he took us out to dinner, but because he's honestly done some great performances. I really don't know what else I can say about him. I will say, however, that Sonny Strait was the one who GREW on me the most. I absolutely could not stand his early season three Kuririn, but by the end of season four / five, I honestly can't imagine going back to Terry Klassen (and I've tried... it's pretty bad). He's nothing like Mayumi Tanaka, but I really like how his voice grew to interpret the character. If that makes me a sell-out, whatever... I don't care. It's the truth.

Julian Grybowski --

01) Favorite Storyline:
Piccolo saga

02) Favorite Fight:
Goku versus the (youthful) Piccolo-Daimaô

03a) Favorite Voice Actor - Japanese
Ryô Horikawa (Vegeta)

03b) Favorite Voice Actor - American
Eric Vale (teen/adult Trunks, Budôkai Announcer)

Q. There were these blurbs on the back of the outside covers of the DragonBall tankôbon. Do you know what they were about? - Stan Samuels

A. It depends on what you're referring to on the tankôbon. If you mean what we English-speakers usually think of as the back cover, then it's actually the front cover (these blurbs are the volume titles I have recorded on the "Manga Reference" page). If you mean one of the inside flaps, however, then it's likely you mean Akira Toriyama's messages to his fans (which are now included on the first page of all the "Shonen Jump" Viz volumes). I don't know what else you could be thinking of, actually... the back covers had barcodes and pricing info, and the spines simply had the title, author, and volume number. But regardless... I hope that answered your question. - Julian

Q. I've been looking for copies of the daizenshuu, particularly books 3 and 5 (the TV Animation books). I’ve searched across the internet and can’t these for sale. I read somewhere about a site, Sasuga Books, but yet again I had no luck there. Do you know of any sites where I can buy these books? - Heath Cutler

A. Unfortunately, these books are long out of print. Your best bet is probably an auction site, such as eBay... possible spellings to try in your searches are "daizenshu," "daizenshuu," "daizenshyu," or "daizensyu". Be wary of those who advertise the books as being "new" -- I made this mistake when looking for Daizenshuu 1, and what I got appears to be a Chinese bootleg of so-so quality (this may not apply to the other books; it seems like only the first one has this problem). So... good luck! A Daizenshuu is an awesome thing for a serious fan to have (though having it and being able to read it is even better). - Julian

Q. At the end of DragonBall Z movie 11 we see some scenes with Goten and Trunks' birth. My question is... were those scenes originaly used for filler and they just scrapped it, or was it specific animation just used for the ending sequence? - ZeroGZ2

A. Unfortunately, I lent my 2nd generation LaserDisc master tape to a friend during my freshman year of college, and I haven't seen the tape since. D'oh! From what I remember, yes, there were a few scenes of the kids as little babies. I can only assume that no, these were not originally "filler" episode scenes, but were specifically done for the movie (which is interesting, because most movie ending themes simply re-tell the movie in that corner of the screen). - VegettoEX

Q. I just gotta ask you... I heard that a long time ago you actually met Gen Fukunaga at an anime convention and that you even spoke to him. So c'mon, be honest- what kind of a person is Gen really like? Is he really as evil as everybody makes him out to be? Or is he actually a nice guy? - Tom Delaschle

A. It seems my reputation gets quite elaborated upon across the internet ^^;;. I've never met or talked with Gen Fukunaga, so I can't say anything about him, personally. Sorry! Here's a list of people I have met / spoken with, over the years (in the order that I can remember them)...

• Monika Antonelli (e-mail contact): The FUNimation voice actress for Pu'er and Chiao-tzu. Back when I was a rambling rabid fanboy cursing the horrors of season three (which, granted, was pretty god damn terrible...), Monika e-mailed me with an editorial for the site explaining where she was coming from, how all the new voice actors / actresses got their jobs, what their backgrounds were, etc. She was extremely nice and open to ideas. Unfortunately, our conversations just kinda slowed down over time. I sent her an e-mail a year or so ago to try and get back in contact, but never got a response. Sad!
• Chris Sabat (e-mail & phone contact): The FUNimation voice actor for Vegeta / Piccolo / Yamcha / 800 other characters, and voice director for most of DBZ. Shortly after I had spoken with Monika, Chris e-mailed me in one of the earliest attempts by FUNi voice actors to really get out there and interact with fans to try and get around some of the negativity. He really was a nice guy, and really does speak as deep as you think. Chris eventually just stopped calling me back, after a while :P.
• Ian Corlett (e-mail contact): The original Ocean voice actor for Goku in the first season (and half of season two) for DBZ. Ian actually e-mailed me out of the blue thanking me for all the kind words I would say about him on the site. Ian remains one of my favorite American voice actors of all time; he'll forever be the ONLY English Goku, for me. We spoke a couple more times, but eventually lost contact.
• Eric (Johnson) Vale (e-mail, chat, phone, in-person): The FUNimation voice actor for Future Trunks. Eric originally got in contact with Meri because he was going to be attending a DBZ CCG signing show in Philadelphia. Knowing that Meri and I lived nearby (Philly's about a 35 min. drive from my old house), he asked us to come down and hang out with him for the day. It was there that I learned he used to hang out in my chat room all the time under a different name (without telling me!). Eric was easily one of the funnest people I've ever met. After the signing was over, he begged us to stay and hang out for the rest of the day (since he had absolutely nothing to do). He ended up taking us out to dinner at some bar in Philly, and later hung out at the hotel with him, Sonny Strait, and some of the people from Score (who were doing the card game thingie with them). It was fantastic. Then there's that time he called my house and talked to my mom... but that's a totally different story for some other day... !
• Sonny Strait (one random phone yelp, in-person): The FUNimation voice actor for Kuririn. The first time I talked to him (kinda) was when I called Sabat in the recording booth one day a long time ago. Sonny was actually in the booth right then doing some lines for the show, so Chris told Sonny to say hello to me in his Kuririn voice. It was... amusing, to say the least. Later on, I met him in-person as outlined above with the Eric Vale trip. Sonny was a pretty cool guy; he wasn't really interested in hanging out or anything, like Eric was, but he was still really cool and seemed glad to meet us. We talked for a while later at night, but had to ultimately drive back to Jersey, so we didn't get to talk TOO much with him.

That... uhh... pretty much outlines whom I've actually spoken with. Hopefully that clears some things up about myself! Once the site died for a year, I really lost contact with anyone at FUNimation, and really have just gone off into my own world (which I think is for the best; I don't care about the PRODUCTION of the show, anymore... I've gone full-circle back to just loving the show for what it is, again, which is something I really missed when I was so hung up worrying about FUNimation... not to say I didn't end up liking some of the people... but now I'm rambling). So I'll stop ^^. Leads real nicely into the next question, though... - VegettoEX

Q. I also remember hearing that Ian Corlett himself e-mailed you explaining why he wasn't coming into the VA business. Do you still have a copy of the e-mail he sent youl or do you remember what he said to you? - Tom Delaschle

A. Like I explained in your last (really great!) question, yep, I talked with Corlett a few times via e-mail. Actually, Corlett was big on e-mailing both me and Chris Psaros (of DBZ: Uncensored) at that time. Ian's first e-mail to me was really just to say "Thanks" for all the kind words on the site. Later on, I asked him whether or not he had been contacted by anyone at Ocean regarding coming back to do DBZ voices again (this was when Brian Drummond had released info that HE had been contacted to do DBZ dubbing again, and no-one had a clue what the bloody Hell was going on... it would turn out to be the AB dub for the UK). Anyway, Ian told me that yes, he had been contacted, but declined because he really wasn't into voice acting, so much, anymore. In terms of WHY he wasn't, it was really Psaros that got into the nitty-gritty with Corlett. To read that e-mail, go ahead and click here (Google search for "Ian Corlett VegettoEX" is actually how I found it :P). As for my Corlett e-mails... they're not on archive.org (I found what the URL would have been), and there's not here at school with me... I'm pretty sure I've got them backed-up on CD at home, somewhere... - VegettoEX

Q. i have a question to regards of a soundtrack on your site, i am a very big big dragonball fan and i LOVE all the music soundtracks to dragonball i own every soundtrack besides a few video game ones. but i am most anxious to get ultimate battle 22 the soundtrack.....

Do you have any i dea where to find it or any info at all ???of it, please it be most important to me since i am a dragonball antic. - lys shirey

A. I decided not to clean up the grammar in this one because it's so damn cute and enthusiastic ^^;;. To answer the question, though... it's really pure chance, these days. A year or so ago, I was lucky to find a certain individual who was unloading TONS of pretty "rare" (oh, "rare," how I hate thee as a word) CDs on eBay, and paid up the ass for them. These days, you'll probably just have to do it by pure chance searching through eBay and Yahoo! auctions. Most of the CDs are out of print and ridiculously hard to find (like the UB22 and Legends OSTs), so... there's really no advice I can give other than to be patient and have lots of money ready when you find them ^^;; - VegettoEX

Q. This may seem stupid but, what does BGM stand for? - Mark

A. "BGM" simply stands for Background music. BGM is all of the music, excluding opening / ending themes or insert songs (like Unmei no Hi or Mind Power), that is played during episodes of a show (for shows like DB, it's pretty much all instrumental). - VegettoEX

Q. How do you feel about the no next episode preview this on the DB/DBZ DVD's, and do you think FUNi will ever be able to get them...? - Luis

A. I miss all the "Ossu! Ora Gokû!" lines, I truly do, but I ended up getting over it. It's not just FUNimation; ADV and Pioneer were not given them for the Sailor Moon DVDs. So yeah.. I miss them, but whatever. I'll just watch the next episode if I want to find out what's going to happen, next. - VegettoEX

Q. I was wondering, since "Budokai" was ported over to Japan, did they change the language and use the original seiyuu? I find that the only thing standing in the way between me and liking Budokai was the voices. I prefer Japanese (as do most of us), as it sounds better. Can you please just give me a "yes" or "no" answer as to if they are japanese in the Japanese version? I'm sure you're thinking this is a dumb question (and I'm sure it is), but I would just like to know! - Makaar Dulorn

A. This person gets "mad props" for remembering me back from the SonGohan and Wuken days. Rock on!

Anyway, here's what I know... yes.... the Japanese version of "Budokai" (which is actually just called "DragonBall Z" there) uses the entire original Japanese cast for voices in the game. Actually, there's one exception: Hikaru Midorikawa. From what I've been told, he's the only seiyuu that didn't return to voice his respective character (Artificial Human #16), due to insane "busy" schedules (he was working on Wolf's Rain at the time).

Other than him, though, it's everyone ^^. Hope that's a good enough answer! - VegettoEX

Q. Hey, I have a question relating to the Japanese Playstation One DBZ/GT games. Which game -- Dragonball Z: Legends or Dragonball: Final Bout -- would be gamer-friendly to the average American fan that hardly understands Japanse? Gamer-friendly meaning easy game controls and the least amount of reading stuff in a game plot. Thanks for taking your time to read this question. - Katie C.

A. This is actually a REALLY great question! I'm glad it was asked. I'm assuming you left out Ultimate Battle 22 because it received a domestic port, so I'll leave it out, as well.

In terms of controls, Final Bout is the winner. But it's a bad win. Legends' controls are technically better, but they're extremely unintuitive for the beginning player (you press "up" to move forwards). It's really, really responsive, but it does take some playing to get used to. Final Bout, on the other day, plays much more like a traditional fighter. Unfortunately.. the game is really, really bad. I'm not just saying that. It really is. The controls are RIDICULOUSLY unresponsive, the hit-detection in the game is nearly nonexistent... ugh, it's just such a TERRIBLE game to try and play. Don't listen to what DBZ fans may tell you... it's really not worth the ¥2800 to spend, even as a completist.

I really recommend picking up Legends. You don't need to know Japanese to navigate the (very few) menus. Furthermore, there's one really fantastic FAQ that's been written for the game that you can find over on GameFAQs written by Henry LaPierre. It specifically addresses the Sega Saturn version, but the Saturn and PS1 versions are absolutely indentical in gameplay and such (just a few graphical differences, and maybe a move change here and there). The voice acting is all straight from the original cast (and really well done; there's lots of it!), you get to go through the entire story, there's a shitload of characters (even if they're all more or less identical to play as, but Final Bout is the same way, what, with its six Goku playables). So yeah... get Legends and print out the FAQ. You'll have a blast. I know I did! - VegettoEX

Q. In an early Ask session, when talking about Viz's DB manga, you put "uncut" in quotations like that. What exactly did you mean? I know there are some pop culture references and a few other Americanized and otherwise inaccurate things in them (besides calling Volumes 17-42 Dragon Ball Z), but, overall, aren't they pretty much accurately translated and uncut, at least much more so than the dub? - LanceESR2

A. I only put "uncut" in quotations because the term applies more appropriately to the film/TV medium (the idea of cutting footage from the reel, etc.). "Uncensored" or "unedited" seems more apt to describe comics. I can't recall every single instance of changes in the (discontinued) censored version of the manga, but it mostly involved making the dirty jokes a little less "dirty" (either by limiting the audience's perspective by blocking our view to what the characters see, or by not making their intentions plain as day in the dialogue). There were a few instances of cutting back on swearing in early "cut" versions of the DBZ manga, but that was actually a result of overcautiousness and the swearing was put back in fairly quickly.

As for Americanisms and mistranslations, it wasn't as blatant as FUNimation's version (references to US money, the Oscars, etc.), but mostly in things like slang that seemed unnatural coming out of the characters' mouths. Bulma, in particular, was made to sound like a stereotypical valley girl at first (although the meaning of her dialogue stayed about the same), and the Narrator (or Akira Toriyama, I suppose) was given a much more active voice, speaking directly to the audience and making some obviously English-centric jokes. There were also two things in the 21st Tenka-ichi Budôkai that I can remember which were either mistranslations, or blatant anachronisms: one was Jackie Chun calling his "Yoi Ko Min-Min Ken" ("Good Child Nighty-Night Fist") a Chinese name, which it wasn't; the other was a reference to DragonBall Z in the narration during one of Goku's battles. After the first Budôkai arc, however, things became much more consistent and accurate, possibly due to an editorial change.

So...I hope that helps straighten things out a bit. - Julian

Q. This isn't really a question, but in a previous Ask, you were debating about whether or not Saiya-jin could detach their tails at will. I may be missing the point, but every time I think about that, I always think about when Goku was fighting the ghost of his grandfather, Son Gohan, who grabbed his tail. The tail eventually snapped off. Anyway, I'm sure you already know that story, but I always thought that was what Goku was referring to. - LanceESR2

A. It seems to me that it was likely they could, just as it happened with Goku in his fight against his adoptive grandfather. Neither Goku nor Raditz, at these respective times, had particularly well-trained tails, and once Goku's was removed, he was rid of the liability it caused. However, Raditz, when his tail was grabbed the first time, was probably unwilling to get rid of it, because the tail provides a huge advantage during the full moon, plus he knew he could get his brother to let go. However, if it happened again, he knew he wouldn't be able to count on that trick, so he would be forced to cut it off to get away. Goku, knowing that he was likely to do this, put him in a full-body grip, so he wouldn't have a chance to escape again. At least, that's how I see it, and it does make the most sense, given the dialogue. - Julian

Q. In the original DB/Z BGM, what instruments were typically used? - LanceESR2

A. Honestly, I don't know. There's some synthesizing going on, but it doesn't appear to be as much as Faulconer likes to use. There's a really beautiful piece in the movie nine BGM that's a violin solo. Unfortunately, I don't have all that conclusive of an answer for you! ;_; - VegettoEX

Q. Is it true that the FUNimation GT DVD's don't have the "Blue Velvet" theme? If yes, do you know if the awesome Blue Water dub will be released on DVD? - Jordy Baar

A. The reason you haven't seen "Blue Velvet" yet is because the song is not used until episode 42 (which is in the Super 17 saga). The latest DVD available right now ("Salvation") only covers up to episode 40. When the next two DVDs come out on December 30th, you'll see "Blue Velvet" as the ending themes for episodes 42-50 (which will actually take you into January's release). We've got this information over on the "DVD Guide" page for DragonBall GT, but just for further reference's sake, here's the breakdown of ending theme songs:

• "Hitori ja nai" (by DEEN): Episodes 1-26
• "Don't you see!" (by ZARD): Episodes 27-41
• "Blue Velvet" (by Shizuka Kudô): Episodes 42-50
• "Sabitsuita Mashingan de Ima o Uchinukô" (by WANDS): Episodes 51-63
• "DAN DAN Kokoro Hikarete 'ku" (performed by Field of View): Episode 64

As for if / when the Blue Water dub will ever be available on DVD... don't hold your breath. There's been no word on the Ocean DBZ dub home release, and I highly doubt there will be any word of Blue Water's DBGT dub home release. Hope that helps! - VegettoEX

Q. Have you seen the original version of GT and what do you think about it? I've seen the Blue Water dub, which was very close to the original and although it isn't as good as Z, I've really enjoyed watching it. I can't understand why people criticize it so much. - Jordy Baar

A. Let's see... you'll probably be surprised to hear that I haven't seen a good chunk of DBGT... the entire Bebi saga! I've seen from the beginning all the way up to when you first see Bebi incubating, got bored out of my MIND, skipped ahead to Super 17, slept through most of the Evil Dragon saga, and have seen (and paid attention to) the very end of the series.

In all honesty, DBGT is pretty damn bad. You always hear non-fans complain about how DBZ is so monotonous with its boring, drawn-out fights, pointless battles, no character development... well, they're wrong about all that if they're talking about DB/Z. If they're talking about GT, they're dead on.

The series is just one giant BORE, to me, for the most part. There are actually two parts of the series that I *really* enjoy. The first is the very beginning of the Super 17 saga, up until Super 17, himself, is formed. I though Super 17 was one of the worst character designs of all time, and a pretty pointless character. I also love the last six episodes of DBGT (Vegeta going SSJ4, "Super Gogeta," etc.). I think the last episode, despite the horrible disgrace the rest of GT did to the franchise, did a fantastic job of summing EVERYTHING up, paying tribute to the series as a whole, closing up loose ends, and giving hope for the characters' future(s).

Maybe I'm just rambling, now. To sum it up: GT sucks, with the exception of just a few small parts. I really did NOT enjoy what I saw, and doubt I'll buy more than those two parts. - VegettoEX

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