31 July 2007

Sparking! METEOR Available For Pre-Order
VegettoEX @ 6:42 am EDT -- In case you've missed it, Sparking! METEOR (JP PS2) has been available for pre-order over on Play-Asia for a couple days. The price is set at $64.90 (standard) and will be released on 04 October 2007.

29 July 2007

Podcast Episode #0087
VegettoEX @ 12:55 am EDT -- Episode #0087 of the podcast is available for download! This week, Meri and I took a look back at Otakon 2007 and all the wonderful events that took place. In addition to talking about all the cool things we picked up in the dealer's room, we give a recap of our panel, "The DBZ You've Never Seen". Check out who showed up...!

There are a ton of things for you to check out while listening to the episode, including some more pictures, some video clips, and so much more. Definitely check it out.

And a big, special, dai-love hello to all of the new visitors and listeners from both AnimeNEXT and Otakon :D.

26 July 2007

Viz Manga Re-Release! Broli Blu-Ray! Otakon AMV!
VegettoEX @ 10:20 pm EDT -- It's taking us a really long time to catch up on all the news we missed while at and recovering from the convention, so please take it easy on us while we try to readjust to life behind a computer monitor :P. Our AMV from Otakon is up for download, but we'll get to that in a little bit.

The most interesting news comes to us from Comic-Con currently going on. Anime News Network's coverage of the Viz panel gives us a little information on the upcoming "Viz Big" series, which will include Rurouni Kenshin alongside both DragonBall and DragonBall Z.

Viz Media opened its panel with the announcement of "Viz Big," an omnibus line that collects long-running series into three-in-one volumes. This new US$17.99 format offers new illustrations on paperback covers with gatefold flaps, color page inserts, and a larger print size (5.75 by 8.625 inches, like Vagabond). The May 2008 launch titles under Viz Big include Rurouni Kenshin, Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball Z.

Everything in there seems to point to a kanzenban-styled release, but probably not the exact same thing. The dimensions are pretty close (my measurements of the kanzenban coming to 5.75 by 8.25). The new artwork, flaps, color pages, and larger print size all ring the kanzenban bell, though. So will Viz finally release it properly, including all the bits here and there they've been censoring (artwork, dialogue, names, etc.)? Will they include the new ending Toriyama wrote? Who knows?! We'll certainly keep you updated as we find out more information!

The next big of absurdity comes to us courtesy of FUNimation. They will apparently be releasing the first two Broli movies (DBZ Movies 8 & 10) on Blu-Ray (as a single-disc double-feature). It sounds like they're going the same "remastered" route (and boy-oh-boy, do you know that we use that term EVER so ironically when referring to their latest releases) as the TV series, so you can expect the same... err... "visual quality" blown up to the full HD resolution, allowing you to see every pixel of wrongness. All right, so we'll admit we're totally down on these releases, but if you're reading this site, you probably know where we're coming from and we need say no more :P. You can check out a trailer over on the IGN article page.

So with all that out of the way, it's time for some non-DBZ stuffage! As you may know, the only non-DBZ content we ever put up just happens to be our music videos (although some of them tend to be DBZ from time to time). Meri, Jeff (who you may recognize from the podcast every month or so), and myself worked on a video that we submitted to Otakon's AMV contest this year, and you can go ahead and check it out! We have both XviD and H.264 encodes for you. You can download the XviD right here, or you can grab the H.264 over on the information page on AnimeMusicVideos.org as a local download.

(Download XviD; 57.6 MB)

All of the relevant information can be found on the respective AMV page. We hope you enjoy it!

23 July 2007

Podcast Episode #0087... Delayed ;_;
VegettoEX @ 9:20 pm EDT -- We're going to have to unfortunately push back Episode #0087 to next weekend, and miss only the second week of episodes since the show began. We attempted to record last night, and there was absolutely no energy left after the convention to speak of.

We'll make it up to you! You're going to be bludgeoned with an array of content in the next week, including some of the videos we showed at our disgustingly-successful panel ("The DBZ You've Never Seen"), and our Otakon AMV as soon as everything's all done and encoded properly. You video tech nerds can look forward to H.264 and XviD encodes of it! There might even be some video from our AnimeNEXT gameshow panel, as well!

If you find yourself absolutely needing some audible content to keep you sane for the next week, do the internet a favor and check out some of *our* favorite podcasts. You can find a bunch of links down on the right-hand side of this page.

15 July 2007

Podcast Episode #0086
VegettoEX @ 9:14 pm EDT -- Episode #0086 of the podcast is available for download! We planned on cranking out a relatively short episode, but ended up going for a pretty normal length. This week, Meri and I discussed AnimeNEXT from the DBZ fan's perspective... what kind of programming was there, what was there to buy, what kind of cosplay was there, and just how was the Dragon World overall represented? We also discussed the huge news of Hironobu Kageyama's new theme song for the upcoming video game "Sparking! METEOR". Definitely check it out.

We'll be at Otakon next week running a panel! More info to come on this home page in the very near future. Listen in for details.

11 July 2007

Sparking! METEOR Online Play Clarification
VegettoEX @ 7:43 pm EDT -- Atari's press release from earlier today clarifies what's going on with the online play in their domestic release of Sparking! METEOR (Budokai Tenkaichi 3). Here's what it has to say:

Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) one of the world's most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced that Dragon Ball Z(R): Budokai Tenkaichi(TM) 3 will have online multiplayer capability on the Wii(TM). Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 combines the lightning fast fighting and action game play that have made Budokai Tenkaichi 1 and Budokai Tenkaichi 2 the #1 fighting games of 2005 and 2006. Developed by NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. / Spike, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is slated to release during the 2007 holiday season.

In addition to offering online game play on the Wii, Dragon Ball Z will celebrate the final installment of the Tenkaichi series for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system with an exclusive 'Disc Fusion System.' In combination with Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 when either Budokai Tenkaichi 1 or Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is inserted into the PlayStation 2 system, game play modes will be unlocked. Each game in the series will provide a different and exciting game play mode.

"Atari is incredibly excited to provide online game play for the Wii and a special 'Disc Fusion System' for the PlayStation 2 system version of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3," said Emily Anadu, Senior Product Manager, Atari, Inc. "Adding online game play for the Wii will finally deliver on a feature that the fans have been waiting for while the 'Disc Fusion System' on the PlayStation 2 system rewards those fans that have supported us since the beginning of the Budokai Tenkaichi series.

Improving upon last year's hit 3D fighting experience, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 offers more than 150 playable characters, more than 30 battle stages, and upgraded shading techniques providing enhanced and devastating effects. Furthermore, the Wii control system has been fine-tuned, allowing players to easily direct characters, mimic their favorite DBZ moves and execute explosive attacks.

Anyone hear anything about the "Disc Fusion System" with the Japanese PS2 versions of the game? Those are the ones I've been buying the last two years :P. I would assume they're coming out over there, since Atari doesn't do a whole lot else beyond distribute what's produced over there in Japan.

10 July 2007

Sparking! METEOR Original Theme Song + Online Play
VegettoEX @ 7:40 pm EDT -- Now this is the news I've been waiting for! Ever since DragonBall Z 2 (Budokai 2) and DragonBall Z 3 (Budokai 3) and their all-new songs performed by Hironobu Kageyama, fans have been drooling in anticipation of new DBZ material from the man himself (the Battle Stadium D.O.N. opening theme left a lot to be desired).

Well, fret no further... the Japanese site for the game has officially stated that the game's theme will be an all-new song written by Yuriko Mori (!), composed by Kenji Yamamoto (!!), and performed by Hironobu Kageyama (!!!). Could we possibly be more excited...?!? The name of the song is simply "Super Survivor". You can hear a bit of the song in a trailer over on the official website.

IGN also has a trailer up for the game, though it's the Atari trailer and does not contain the song in any way, shape, or form.

Word on the street is that the Wii version of the game, exclusively, will feature online play. It was apparently noted on Atari's DBZ game website earlier, but was removed at some point today.

Special thanks to the couple billion people that left e-mails and forum comments on this stuff :D.

08 July 2007

Podcast Episode #0085
VegettoEX @ 6:17 pm EDT -- Episode #0085 of the podcast is available for download! This episode is a recording of the panel we did this weekend at AnimeNEXT entitled "The DBZ Variety Hour". We ran a Jeopardy-esque gameshow, answered a bunch of questions from attendees, gave away a crapton of prizes, and had a whole lot of fun. Many thanks to everyone who came out to see us, and welcome to all of the new visitors and listeners! We hope you had fun, we hope you enjoy the promo DVD, and we hope to hear from you in the near future. Definitely check it out.

05 July 2007

To AnimeNEXT!
VegettoEX @ 2:20 pm EDT -- We are off to the convention! Check the schedule right above this update, and we'll see you this weekend.

01 July 2007

Podcast Episode #0084
VegettoEX @ 9:42 am EDT -- Episode #0084 of the podcast is available for download! We recorded in pieces this week, somewhat. Meri and I recorded everything but the topic, while Julian and Jeff (and to an extent [cursing at video games in the background], Andrew) joined in for the full topic discussion. This week, we did volume six of the "Manga Review of Awesomeness". It would appear that we all enjoyed volume six more than five, but we're not sure that Toriyama quite knows what he's doing just yet. Listen in for more thoughts.

Then there's the AnimeNEXT planning! You can see our schedule up above, and listen in for more details, but rest assured you do not want to miss out on the DBZ Variety Hour next Saturday at 3 pm in Panel 2. We're going to be playing DBZ trivia gameshows, giving away tons of prizes, and so much more. In fact, everyone who shows up to the panel gets a free promo DVD! Yes!

As for the podcast episode... you know the drill. Definitely check it out.