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, 24 January 2004 ]
[ Past "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]

Q. Hey man, my question relates to something that you are apparently a part of. I was wondering on the status of "Project Doomrider." I'm a huge fan of DBZ, especially DBZ music videos, and i thought the idea of doing some to Darude would be awesome. The updates page for Doomrider has seemed to all of a sudden stop though. Would you happen to know if the Project is still going on, and if so, how is it going? - Cronan87

A. Great question! Progress is moving pretty slowly, unfortunately, but I think the end result is going to speak for itself. Currently I have about half of the complete, final HuffyUV exports from individual editors. We just signed up a back-up editor to the Early Namek arc, and a couple other back-up editors should be finishing up real soon. We currently don't have an editor for the Cell Games (don't ask; it's a long technical story, and we're not asking for people to ask US if they can edit; we're approaching people for this particular section).

I actually just updated the website for the project last weekend once I got your e-mail :P. Check it out... there's not much there that you're not reading right here, but it's interesting, none-the-less. However, since you're a visitor to my site (and so are the rest of you reading right now!), I figured I'd treat you all to even MORE "exclusive production stills" ^_~.

Track 05; Freeza arc Doomrider	Track 07; Trunks arc DannyWilson
Track 08; Jinzôningen arc Castor Troy	Track 09; 1st-Form Cell arc Hitori
Track 10; 2nd-Form Cell arc Grover	Track 11; Early Perfect Cell arc Maverick
Track 14; Budôkai / Saiyaman arc FurryCurry	Track 15; Early Majin Buu arc McKeed
Track 16; Fusion arc VegettoEX	Track 17; Chibi Buu arc Meri

So there you have it! Almost all of those images are incredibly misleading (especially mine... bwuaha...), but at least it lets all the fans know something's actually in the works! I'll definitely keep people updated on the status (judging by your e-mail and some posts on the message board, people are genuinely interested in seeing the final project! Yay!). - VegettoEX

Q. Which dialect of Japanese does Goku speak? - Stan Samuels

A. Well, since neither Julian or myself knew the answer, we went to someone who did... Akira Toriyama...! .. I mean... Steve Simmons!

It's a Tohoku (Northeast Japan) dialect variant, I believe, though different from the Tohoku dialect that Chichi and Gyumao use. Theirs has some quirky grammar elements to it, with proper pronunciation, whereas Goku's speech is just the opposite--fairly standard grammar, with some non-standard pronunciation. It's somewhat like comparing a Texas drawl to a Georgia one--you'll probably hear "y'all" from both, but they're still different enough that you can distinguish the two in other areas.

That non-standard pronunciation is exaggerated by Masako Nozawa, as well (probably to help distinguish Goku's character from his sons). She does a lot of ad-libbing of these pronunciation quirks (specifically, "ai," "ae," and "oi" verb combinations often come out as "ee"), since they aren't always scripted. Mayumi Tanaka does the same thing with Yajirobe and his Nagoya dialect, presumably so he doesn't sound so much like Kuririn (whose speech is quite standard).

That actually explains it pretty damn well! For example, in DragonBall GT Goku performs a slightly upgraded Kamehameha, called the "juu bai Kamehameha" (or 10x Kamehameha). He pronounces it as "juu bei" rather than "juu bai"... and then the announcer will come on and pronounce it correctly :P. Big thanks to Steve for the help. - VegettoEX

Q. If there had been one fusion you wanted to see actually happen (Goku/Gohan, whatever), what'd you think they'd look like? Also, what do you think of stuff like Tiencha from Budokai II? And for those without the game, any pics? Can't find 'em anywhere. - Knux Five

A. The fusion I wanted to see was the one Kuririn / Piccolo fusion that could have happened ("Piririn," I believe it was called). That was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. As for the Budokai 2 fusions, I think they're pretty damn cool. Granted, Tiencha is the only real "new" fusion introduced in the game, but it's pretty sweet. It shows a real love for the work on behalf of the programmers and such; the "Dodo-hameha!" is funny as heck to watch.

Oh, you want pictures?! How about a sneak-peak into the new "Transformations Guide" ? Does that work for you? :P Check out the page specifically dedicated to all the fantastic Budokai and Budokai 2 fusions and absorptions... and look forward to a more complete guide in the near future! Hope that's of some help ^^. - VegettoEX

Q. I've recently played the PAL version of Budokai 2, and I just can't get the intro song out of my head. The problem is that I'm not quite sure about its name, and have no idea for where to find it. All I know is that I'm almost positive that it's performed by the original DBZ artist (Hironobu Kageyama). Any ideas? I hope you even know what song I'm talking about since sadly, the US release only has an instrumental version of it... - Guy Eshel

A. I actually haven't played either the European or Japanese release of the game (unlike most of my other systems, my PS2 is a standard American one... no modding / Japanese system). This is actually pretty interesting to hear! I had just assumed that the other countries got the same intro theme as us (instrumental-only). I'm ecstatic to hear that Hironobu (may) have performed the theme in Japanese... !

Just for comparison's sake, here's an MP3 I ripped of the American theme (instrumental, of course). See, the problem is... there's no soundtrack for the game. I know. That's insane. With the sheer amount of DBZ music that's been released over the last twenty years, you'd think that a new video game, of all things, would warrant a soundtrack. Unfortunately, neither the original Budokai (nor the new one) have had soundtracks released (and if they have, then we are SERIOUSLY out of our game and missing HUGE releases in Japan x_X;;).

If someone out there is experienced in the ways of digital ripping and owns the European / Japanese release of the game... what are you waiting for?! Let's get some tunes! - VegettoEX

Q. All three Dragonball series can currently be viewed on Cartoon Network. Five
years ago, did the fandom even think that was possible? - Knux Five

A. "Not a bloody chance in Hell," would probably have been (and I'm sure was!) our response. We honestly didn't think we'd ever see Trunks on TV, nevermind all three series running at the same time x_X;;.

Disregarding the original DragonBall syndicated TV run, our first scare actually came at the end of the first DBZ season in syndication. Normally there is a preview for the next episode (as we're all aware of); episode 26 didn't have one! Season 1 would run OVER and OVER again, randomly restarting from the middle of the season half the time, for about a year (*shakes cane* And we liked it, sonny!). FINALLY, a second season was announced (not only that, but would run for an HOUR at a time! WOW!). However, once that season ended... there was a next episode preview, but there was never a next episode! We watched seasons one and two over and over and over and over... and... well, you get the picture.

Even when Cartoon Network picked up the first two seasons, we (including FUNimation) were all very unsure as to what the future would hold. Would it be a hit? Would we see more? Would we ever get it released in Japanese?

Luckily, we can sit here today and say "Yes" to all of the above. It's been a freakin' great time to be a fan, especially if you've stuck with the dub since the beginning (see the ups and downs, whine along with them, get your Japanese version, and fall in love with the show again... well, that's how it was for me!). Once season three began, as TOTAL SUCK as it was... I think we all knew it was going to be a hit, and we'd eventually see (at least) the end of Z on TV.

Sheesh! Sometimes I talk too much. - VegettoEX

Q. Hey, I was just wondering if you know of any place where we can download Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z next episode previews since Toei wont give us theirs. Is there any place on the net where we can also maybe buy them besides fansubs, because they miss some of them? - Luis

A. To the best of my knowledge, no group specializes in "next episode previews" specifically, because it's such a trivial thing. I miss them too (a great deal!)... but life has to go on. If you're that desperately interested in seeing them, you can always purchase the Dragon Box R2 DVD sets! They've got them... - VegettoEX

Q. I've followed your site for a few years now, and I notice that you've pretty much always been extremely anti-ep, even long before dual-language DVD's or talk of them, back when even Super5 began to release full fansub episodes for download on the internet.

However, I read that you recently got to see all of Shaman King in it's original format via fansub/episode downloading. So what's the deal here? Are you no longer anti-ep? Or do you just not bother for really crappy dubbing companies that don't care and will probably never release uncut or dual-version DVD's? (like 4Shit... I mean, 4Kids) - Yusuke Urameshi

A. Hey, hey... let's try and be positive about things ^^;;. I could have just edited that out, but I guess that would defeat the purpose of your e-mail :D. Besides, renaming a company with curse words is... well... it was kinda passé about six years ago :P.

Anyway, I'm not inherently "anti"-downloading episodes; I'm pretty against it when a legal, viable alternative exists, though!

As an anime fan, it's very tough to not only follow the law(s), but be realistic about your fandom at the same time. I always had a problem with Super5 for several reasons. The biggest issue I had with them is that they WERE distributing downloadable episodes of material that WAS licensed and either HAD bilingual releases, already, or were soon on their way. They continued to release downloadable fansubs of series like DragonBall Z, DragonBall GT, and Rurouni Kenshin long after their license and releases; that's pretty disgusting.

Plus, have you ever seen their subtitles on DBGT? What language were THEY translating?!

Shaman King is a touchy issue right now with a lot of fans, but I'm trying to stay away from that. As everyone has learned (since all the questions keep asking :P), I'm really trying to stay away from all this "anti" company nonsense that's going around; it's just not healthy for the fandom (both in general and on a personal level). I said this on the message board, but I think it's funny... so I'll say it again.

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it!" - Mitch Hedburg

My viewing of Shaman King actually began before it was licensed, thankfully ^^;;. I did, yes, continue to watch it via digisubs after the license was announced (and it was airing on television). To my credit, I still haven't finished it, even via digisubs :P. I'm not trying to justify my own actions, but here are my thoughts on the matter. Remember, I'm not a legal expert, and I'm not even talking about legal stuff right now... just general ethics.

Shaman King has a MUCH better chance of seeing a bilingual release than any other young children's anime that is on television right now. Why, do you say? For starters, the home distribution license resides with another company. Also, the manga came out (in Shonen Jump) long before the anime began on TV. This manga has the original names and a damn fine translation into English. There is a market for this original version, and it would be silly not to provide it along with the English dub.

As of yet, however, there has been no home release. On a personal level, I'm actually just waiting it out to see what kind of home release it gets! Once I find out what's coming out, I'll make my purchase decisions. If I can get some subtitled R1s, that's the route I'll take. If I can't, I'll probably pick up some R2s along the way (especially since I'm dying to do a Shaman King music video, even though I have no ideas :P).

DragonBall Z ? Has a legal, subtitled alternative. Shaman King ? Doesn't... yet.

So yeah. There's no home release, right now, so I'm fine with the digisub thing until we get some kind of announcement. Until then, I don't see what the fuss is all about. We don't want to watch the dub, so whatever... don't watch it. No a big deal ^^;;. Let's just wait and see what the home distribution turns out to be. If we have to, there's always the R2s. If you don't like the American product, buy the R2s and take the scripts from your digisubs. You'll legally have what you want to have, and you'll be "protesting" the American release at the same time. It's really a win-win situation for everyone!

Now if I can just FINISH the series... stupid... horrible... last 20 episodes... - VegettoEX

Q. In GT, it is stated the 'Ultimate Black Star Dragon Balls' were created by Piccolo (I'll just call him that), before he split into Piccolo Daimaou and Kami-sama. In DBZ, Piccolo and Kami join once again. However, this turns the Dragon Balls to stone. Now, if Piccolo had the power to create Dragon Balls before his split-up, why didn't he just revive the Dragon himself, instead of bringing in Dende? Of course, this is probably just another GT plothole... =P - Gabe Buijs

A. Ssssh! Pointing out GT plotholes gives Piccolo a headache!

In all seriousness, you answered your own question. Yes, it would seem likely that Piccolo would be able to do so. However, that part you're mentioning happened in Z, where-as this new-found (well, old-found) power of "Piccolo" (being the original Namekian sent to Earth before the split) could create DragonBalls. It's all very confusing, makes no sense... and GT's just so darn silly when it comes to these things! - VegettoEX

Q. I know that Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is finished, and (pretty much) Dragon Ball GT is done with. What will happen to this site when GT and the DBZ movies are all done with? - Lrddrc3

A. As far as I'm concerned, it's all been over and done with since September of 1997 ^^;;. Honestly, though, the Americanizations and English productions will have no effect, one way or the other, on the future of this site. The original Japanese version is what I originally fell in love with. While the English dub has already brought new work and "fun" to the site, the way the site is these days, it just doesn't matter. The love and work will continue long after FUNimation is done and has moved on! - VegettoEX

Q. If FUNimation could have improved the series in any little way with the benefit of hindsight, would you want them to? Sure, it changes from the original version, but if it's an improvement... Say they fixed some plotholes with dialogue or minor animation fixes, or even throw in some Trunks/Freeza or Gohan/Cell footage in the end of Bardock to show that there was more past the Goku/Freeza fight, letting Bardock know that Freeza would die at the hands of King Vegeta's grandson, or that his own grandson would become a great savior, etc. - Knux Five

A. I think plotholes and such give us, as fans, so much more to talk about and discuss with each other. I mean, how fun is it to tell your friends that Gohan kills eight Cell Jrs?! They NEVER believe you!

Honestly, I think the only changes I'd have them make were to some of their OWN decisions. I never really did get over the choice of a voice for Freeza (to the point where I dislike using him in Budokai simply because of that).

Then again, the fact that NONE of Buu's absorptions and transformation make any logical sense bugs the living daylights out of me. - VegettoEX

Q. Really... shouldn't Vegeta be King of all Saiyans, instead of the Prince? His dad's been dead for a good part of his life. - Knux Five

A. *sarcastic* You know, I think you're the first one to mention that! ^_~

Hehe. Yeah, it's true. Maybe he just doesn't realize how the chain of command works... Plus, "Saiya-jin no ôji" sounds cooler than "Bejiita-ô". - VegettoEX

THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSION:

Here we are in the second week of this new feature! I think it's a really neat thing to add to the section, and I'm glad to see people are getting involved. This particular question hasn't gotten a TON of responses, and it's something I'd love to see more discussion on!

Q. The whole Kaio and Kaioshin stuff has got me confused. Is the DB universe divided into 4 galaxies, each monitored by a Kaioshin, which is then divided into 4 sub-galaxies, each monitored by a Kaio? Or is it 1 Kaio+1 Kaioshin per galaxy? - Dayspring

A. Read over the discussion, here! Lots of great input from quite a few people.

We're trying to stay with our weekly schedule for the section... so... e-mail us your questions for next week's update! We love getting all these questions, each week, so the more you send us, the more we can (try to) answer for you!

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