29 September 2006

Sparking! NEO Japanese Review Scores
VegettoEX @ 6:57 am EDT -- According to The Magic Box, Famitsu has given Sparking! NEO for the JP PS2 scores of 8, 8, 7, and 6, for a total of 27/40*. Definitely above-average scores. The game drops next week in Japan on October 5th.

* 8 + 8 + 7 + 6 obviously equals 29 and not 27, so if someone with the actual issue of Famitsu could confirm the numbers for us, that would be great.

27 September 2006

Jump Ultimate Stars News
VegettoEX @ 10:20 pm EDT -- The cover art for the upcoming Nintendo DS game, Jump Ultimate Stars, is out!

Lots of great new stuff coming in the game! It drops on November 23rd, exclusively in Japan.

26 September 2006

Podcast Episode #0044
VegettoEX @ 7:00 pm EDT -- Episode #0044 of the podcast is available for download! We recorded it before the convention, but due to remastering a video FOR the convention and delayed flights, the editing just couldn't get finished until this morning. So here you go! Certainly an interesting episode, going into depth about the gender roles of the characters within the show, the author himself, fans, and even comparisons to other manga-ka. And to totally destroy the intelligent side of the show, Meri's more than happy to tell you about the Top 5 Hottest Women in the series :P. Definitely check it out.

Expect new AMV material very soon (including a new DBZ video!). Lots of great things coming your way.

The contest ends this Friday! Get your entries in!

21 September 2006

Anime Weekend Atlanta
VegettoEX @ 12:10 am EDT -- We're off to AWA for the weekend, so... see you there, hopefully! You'll definitely want to check out the premier of Reflections of Style 3, a multi-editor project that Meri and I did a Honey & Clover video for. We also have our own panel in the Video Art Track (VAT) at some point during the weekend... we don't know exactly when, but we'll be there! We'll be playing our newest videos from this year (including our DBZ video in the Pro contest), some old stuff, some fun stuff, and more!

So be sure to come say hello!

All the DBZ Hit Song Collections were re-released in Japan, today... really cheap prices... grab them!

17 September 2006

Podcast Episode #0043
VegettoEX @ 12:00 am EDT -- Episode #0043 of the podcast is available for download! We talked for quite a bit about Toriyama's work on the Kochikame anniversary special manga crossover, and went into detail concerning all of the new videos from Peking Duck! Lots of interesting stuff out there. Definitely check it out.

16 September 2006

Toriyama's Work On Chô-Kochikame
VegettoEX @ 9:42 am EDT -- Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kôen-mae Hashutsujo (or simply Kochikame for short), various significant manga-ka have gotten together to showcase their appreciation with contributions in manga form! You can learn all about it (in Japanese, of course) over on the official website.

Of course, what would be even better is you heading over to the forum and checking out the scans courtesy of our new friend Peking Duck! Akira Toriyama's contribution is a little cross-over story in which Ryo-san is sent to work on Planet Namek, and decides to inform Freeza that his ship is illegally parked...! ^_~

Definitely check out our forum thread for scans and translations! We'll talk a little more about it on this weekend's upcoming podcast.

12 September 2006

Podcast Ending Themes Listing + Today's Releases
VegettoEX @ 7:17 pm EDT -- Ever wonder what song we happened to be using as the ending theme for a particular podcast episode? Of course you have! Well, here's a full list of everything we've ever used, complete with artist and album information so you can put it and the "Music Database" to good use in your purchases! Have fun!

With today being the 12th, we're finally seeing an important release in the US. FUNimation has brought out DBZ Movie 13, Ryû-Ken Bakuhatsu!! Gokû ga Yaraneba Dare ga Yaru (Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won't Do It, Who Will?), extremely oddly re-titled as Wrath of the Dragon. *cough*. Whatever.

If you never got around to pre-ordering for cheap, RightStuf has it for $22.48, but Amazon's got it for $16.99. Beating out everyone, Circuit City will ship it to you for $10.99.

In case you never grabbed the movies when they first came out, FUNimation's also selling this Broly Triple Threat DVD boxset, containing DBZ Movies 8, 10, & 11. RightStuf is jacking you for $26.98, but Amazon wants to give it to you for $22.49.

Happy purchasing. CONTEST!

10 September 2006

Podcast Episode #0042 + "Super DragonBall Z" Contest!
VegettoEX @ 2:57 pm EDT -- Episode #0042 of the podcast is available for download! Our significant-number-in-DB-fandom episode brings us some fun discussions with our buddy Jeff Heller. We talked a little bit about the "Doomrider" AMV project, got our rant on with some Wikipedia stories, and even debuted our latest contest! Definitely check it out.

That's right, thanks to the folks at Filter Magazine, we're giving away a free copy of Super DragonBall Z for the PS2, and we're tossing in a t-shirt to go with it! Don't pass up the chance to win some free swag!

09 September 2006

MR. SENSEI DragonBall Song Performances
VegettoEX @ 10:00 pm EDT -- Many of you know how I feel about "the site that shall not be named" and other (viral) video sites, but I can't help but link to this shiznit. It's just too awesome.

MR. SENSEI is a Spanish band that covers anime songs. And they do DB songs. Including the Budokai 3 opening.

• MR. SENSEI Official Website
• MR. SENSEI @ YouTube
• MR. SENSEI @ Google Video

So to all you American dub fans out there, take a look at how we Japanese-version fans roll throughout the world! *insert gang sign here*

07 September 2006

DBZ 2007 Calendars
VegettoEX @ 6:39 am EDT -- It's about that time of year! Looking to pick up a calendar for 2007? CDJapan has a crapton of anime calendars straight from Japan, including eight from DBZ! There are lots of character-specific ones to choose from this year, so definitely check them out. Thanks to Kyokochan83 for the heads-up!

06 September 2006

Ginyu/SSJ Animanga Vol. 5 Released
VegettoEX @ 7:30 pm EDT -- Yesterday saw the release of yet another DBZ "animanga" volume in Japan. This time up, it's the fifth volume in the second series, the Ginyu / SSJ arc.

It'll set you back a whopping ¥710. Kinokuniya up in NYC wasn't carrying any of these, so you'll probably have to end up ordering them online. Grab the latest volume of our favorite redundantly-redundant release over at Amazon Japan if you're interested.

04 September 2006

Podcast Episode #0041 + FUNimation DVDs
VegettoEX @ 8:20 pm EDT -- Episode #0041 of the podcast is available for download! Slightly late getting it online, but hey... I've been out of town, and it's a federal holiday... no big! This week, we describe in great detail all of the Japanese reference guides; from the daizenshuu to the DBGT Perfect Files to all of the recent books, anything you wanted to know about them, we've got it for you. Definitely check it out.

Also, as we reported back on August 13th (and in more detail in the podcast that week), FUNimation's officially put out the solicitations for the DBZ Movie 1, 2, & 3 DVD set due out on November 14th. This will include the re-dubbed versions of the movies with FUNimation's "reversioned" script, music, and voices on the English side, and (much more importantly) a new translation by Steven J. Simmons on the Japanese side. They are assumed to NOT be remastered video (read: not from the Dragon Box). The suggested retail price is $29.98, which you'll be able to pick up for cheap anywhere. Keep in mind that this will include the same re-released version of Dead Zone you picked up in May 2005, though we don't know if there will be additionally-changed cover art (safe to assume so?).

02 September 2006

Jump Ultimate Stars Release Date
VegettoEX @ 11:57 am EDT -- Jump Ultimate Stars, the sequel to the phenomenal Nintendo DS game Jump Super Stars, is due out in Japan (also on the DS) on November 23rd for ¥4800.