This is definitely the page to read over if you have any questions concerning this website, material on it, etc. Feel free to contact us (preferably over on the forums!) if you have any additional questions concerning anything at all. We're very friendly people, and we look forward to chatting it up with you!

[ General Website Questions ] [ Website Submission Questions ]
[ Obtaining Merchandise Questions ] [ DragonBall Questions ]
[ Technical Questions ] [ Personal Questions ]

- General Website Questions -

Q. Can I put a link on my site to yours?
A. Yes, you can!

There's no reason to ask. You're always welcome to link to Daizenshuu EX (please use the address "www.daizex.com" to link to us).

Q. Can I join your staff?
A. No, sorry.

This site is run by, and only by, Mike and Julian. Don't expect to see anyone else working as a regular "staff member" anytime soon. We're friends... not just internet buddies (although it may have started as such!), and we like to keep it that way. We may have some other friends contribute material from time to time, but we just don't like sites that have too many "staff members," which totally destroys any down-to-Earth dynamics there otherwise may be. Thanks for offering, but I think we'll be OK! :D

Q. How did your site get so huge / popular / nice / awesome / amazing?
A. Years of dedication and hard work.

This site actually began as VegettoEX's Ultimate DBZ Links Page in January of 1998. Nearly seven years later, this is the product of all the hard work that went into the page. Besides having a clean and professional (yet fun!) looking page, you also need to present yourself in some kind of mature and educated manner. We really strive for that, and I think it reflects when visitors read our site.

As for popularity, that's really hard to gauge.Daizenshuu EX was much more popular three/four years ago when DBZ was at its height of popularity in the US; it's very hard to tell just how "popular" we are these days. Some people say "everyone knows you," and some people say, "Who are you?" In the end, we don't even care... we're having fun, again, working on the site, and we're hopefully providing some interesting and intelligent material to people that may be looking for it. That's all that matters, to us.

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- Website Submission/Content Questions -

Q. Can I submit my website for a link on your links page?
A. Yes, you can.

Daizenshuu EX has never been about "link submission periods." You're free to submit a link whenever you wish. All you need do is send an e-mail to VegettoEX@aol.com with the subject "Link_Submission." I immediately throw all link submissions into a bookmark folder (appropriately entitled "Link Submissions"). I will not immediately get to them, however; you may have to wait a while. Also, all websites will be looked over by myself (VegettoEX) for a variety of things. I have the final word on whether a site gets linked, and it can be for any reason. Just because you submit a link does not guarantee that you will receive that link. As long as we all understand this, things should go well!

Q. Can we do an "affiliates" exchange?
A. No.

I never have and never will understand the concept of "affiliates," which just seems to be a glorified web-ring of sorts. Daizenshuu EX does not have an "affiliates" section, and never will. You're more than welcome to add a link to our site at any point, but if you'd like to see your link on our site, please see the above question.

Q. Can I use some of your content?
A. Preferably not.

If you're going to use anything, do not let it be anything more than an image or two, and please provide a link back to Daizenshuu EX. All content is specifically created by us for the sole purpose of this website. If it all starts popping up on various other sites, what incentive does anyone have to visit the site it originated from? Thanks for understanding!

Q. Can I submit an editorial for your section?
A. Absolutely.

SUBMISSION RULES:
1) Submit in text-only format (*.txt) attached to the e-mail
2) Do not type the editorial in the e-mail body
3) Please, no HTML coding in your editorial
4) Include a name and e-mail address at the top of your editorial, not just the e-mail
5) Relevant to DragonBall in some way, please
6) Spelling, Spelling, SPELLING!!!
7) Grammar, Grammar, GRAMMAR!!!
8) E-mail to VegettoEX@aol.com with subject "Editorial_Submission"

Q. You had / have a "fansounds" section. Can I send my files?
A. No, not quite yet.

While the "Fansounds" section may eventually return, at this moment, we're not ready to put them up, which means we're definitely not quite ready to accept more submissions. Thanks for your interest, though, and hold on to them...

Q. Why don't the MP3s download in your music database?
A. Because the music database doesn't have any MP3s!

It would be impossible to host an MP3 of every song in the music database. Not only that, but if we were to have every song, then you would have no reason to ever go and purchase the CDs like we had to do!

However, be sure to check out the "Music Downloads" section. There you will find a wide range of downloadable MP3s (mostly 96 kbps, 44 kHz, stereo) that come from actually-rare sources (live performances, remixes, etc). This section will be updated frequently, so be sure to check back!

With that said, you should also pay attention to the general "Music Database," because you can base your purchases off of what you hear in the downloads with what CDs they correspond to in the music database. Enjoy!

Q. I have [insert anything here] that I'd like to send to your site. Will you post it?
A. No.

We always get lots of things sent to us that people would like on the site (especially fan art and fanfics, which we just don't specialize in, folks). Please do not send us things. If we see an attachment in our e-mail boxes, we're 99% likely to just delete it (c'mon.. random DBZ e-mail address with an attachment? Virus, indeed!). Thanks for asking to help, but I think we'll be OK :D.

Q. Why is a link in your menu black? I can't click on it.
A. The section's not quite ready to go back up.

We're currently working on bringing you some awesome new sections. The inactive links are basically just there to give you a "heads-up" as to what's coming your way. Look for them very soon! You're definitely going to want to check them out.

Q. Why can't I download your Anime Music Videos?
A. You're not yet a full-member of AnimeMusicVideos.org.

Due to the insanity of the internet (and its giant crash circa 2001), it's just nearly impossible to keep up such large files (that are in such high demand) for any period of time on regular web servers.

Luckily, the central hub of the AMV fandom and community, AnimeMusicVideos.org, has something called the "Golden Donut." It is a fan-driven and fan-funded dedicated server that we collectively use to host our music videos for fans to download... free of charge to you! When you first sign up on the site, you only have access to any DIRECT or INDIRECT downloads; these are links maintained by individual editors, with files that are hosted on their own personal web space. After a two-week probation period, members are then free to download any of the LOCAL hosted videos; these are the videos located on the "Golden Donut" server. To speed up the process, you're more than welcome to donate any amount to the server; it's only through you and us that we're able to keep the server up and running! The costs are literally in the thousands of dollars every month, so anything that you can contribute is amazing and welcome.

That said, I do not run AnimeMusicVideos.org, and can not help you with any specific questions or issues you may have in your time at that site. For additional help, please use the forums on that site.

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- Obtaining Merchandise Questions -

Q. Where can I buy the series on VHS/DVD?
A. Everywhere! Online and "real life" stores, included!

Check out our "DVD Guide" for a listing of every DVD that's been released and/or announced. You'll be able to find exactly what language tracks are available on each item, when it was released, and what episodes/movies you'll find on them.

The domestic FUNimation DVD releases can be found at a large range of stores, ranging from your local BestBuy all the way up through the great DeepDiscountDVD.com. The recent Japanese "Dragon Box" releases can be found at CDJapan and Amazon Japan.

Be wary of bootlegs, though; if it's too good to be true (and/or contains Chinese subtitles), they're bootlegs! These discs are of very low visual quality, and have translations done from Japanese to Chinese to English, leaving a lot to be desired in the grammar.

Q. Where can I buy DragonBall CDs?
A. Lots of places!

Anime conventions are a great place. There's always one dealer on the east coast that has a huge table at every con, with surprisingly good prices. With the release of all the new CD sets, you're almost sure to find some CDs for sale. It's really hit or miss, though, at cons. Beware of SonMay and EverAnime bootlegs!

Online is a different story. The best place for straight-from-Japan CDs is CDJapan, hands down. Sometimes it's a little tricky to find what you want ("DragonBall" vs "Dragon Ball"), but if you search hard enough, you'll find what you want. Try looking for artist names, as well (for example, "Hironobu Kageyama").

Joys Japanimation occasionally will carry both legit and SonMay CDs, but it seems all they carry now are the Bruce Faulconer soundtracks.

Anime Nation is another example of an online store which occasionally carries legit CDs, but currently only has in stock the American dub's score by Bruce Faulconer.

Q. Where can I purchase daizenshuu, tankôbon, etc.?
A. Lots of places!

Again, your best bet are anime conventions. The daizenshuu are generally pretty prevalent at cons, as are the tankôbon (especially now with the kanzenban release) . The color movie tankôbon are a little harder to come across, but they're out there.

Amazon Japan is a great place to buy things, if you know your Japanese. They do have an English ordering page, so as long as you can FIND what you're looking for, you've got a great chance of actually purchasing it.

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- DragonBall Questions -

Q. Can you explain blah blah blah blah blah? :D
A. Nope!

There are a lot of sections on this site that can probably answer the questions you have. We specialize in exact, verbose, and niche information on this site, so be sure to check everywhere for answers you may need.

If you have specific questions, be sure to check out "Ask VegettoEX." It's a weekly Q&A session we have with our visitors, and there's always a great read to be had. For folks new to the scene, check out the "Newbie Guide" to get a crash course in everything DragonBall.

Please don't just send us random questions unless they're specifically for "Ask VegettoEX." We won't know what to do with them, and they're probably too long to answer :P.

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- Technical Questions -

Q. What program do you use to create the site in?
A. Macromedia Dreamweaver MX/2004.

The vast majority of the site structure was created in Macromedia Dreamweaver, both in the WYSIWYG and plain text-editing formats. There's both a lot of visual and text-based work put into this site, and both are equally valuable in terms of knowledge and assistance in keeping the site up.

Other programs that have proven of great use have been Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and.. well... Notepad!

In terms of audio, all MP3s are ripped and encoded with "CDex," a fantastic program that I recommend to anyone.

Music videos are created with Adobe Premiere 5.1/6.0, with visual effects enhanced by a lot of work in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop 7.0 , VirtualDub, a wide range of DVD extraction programs (check out the AMVapp on AnimeMusicVideos.org), TMPGEnc, etc.

Q. Why don't you encode your AMVs as DivX / XviD files?
A. General compatibility.

While it's true that DivX and its variants (such as XviD) perform better at similar (and even lower) bitrates, I still stick with MPEG-1 for my online distribution encodes. I do this for the sole purpose of providing the most widespread, guaranteed compatibility I can provide to my viewers. I know for a fact that my MPEG-1 encodes will be able to play on virtually any machine a viewer may have, and by releasing a single version of the video, I can control exactly how that video is going to look for every single person.

For conventions, I do encode 12 Mbps MPEG-2 encodes, for obvious reasons!

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- Personal Questions -

Q. Who are you, and why should I pay attention to what you say?
A. Because we're not your average fanboys, and we know our stuff.

This site is run by Michael "VegettoEX" LaBrie and Julian Grybowski.

Mike (22 years old) has been running this website for nearly seven years, and has just generally "been around the block." He's seen everything there is to be seen, and he loves the franchise more than you can imagine. He is a recent graduate of the Information Technology and Informatics program at Rutgers University, and currently lives with his girlfriend in New Jersey.

Julian (19 years old) has worked on the site since its re-opening in 2003, working hard on getting it and its content up and running for a full year before that. Julian currently attends Hamilton College and is now studying the Japanese language formally, after having independently studied for several years. He has a girlfriend and, when not attending school, lives with his family in New York.

We both love what we do on this site, and our goal is to provide you with the most current, accurate, and damn interesting information we can possibly provide. We aim to encourage a more intelligent and mature atmosphere than you may find on other websites... we know you'll see the difference.

Q. How can I get in contact with you / have a conversation with you?
A. Forum, chat, e-mail... in that order, preferably, please!

We have a great forum available for our visitors; be sure to read the rules before joining. We heavily enforce grammar and etiquette on our forum, and you'll probably notice the results right away. There's a very close-knit community surrounding this site with some of the most friendly and intelligent people you'll ever have the opportunity to meet. There's a wide range of boards for you to investigate, ranging from general DB questions to the most technical of video editing questions. Come hang out and meet some great people.

We also have a channel on IRC where you can come hang out and chat in real time. You'll almost always find a conversation going on, and it's a great place to find us in the evening for a chat.

Finally, you're welcome to e-mail us with anything else you feel needs addressing. You'll find our contact information at the bottom of the main menu on any page.

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