30 November 2008

Podcast Episode #0153 Available!
VegettoEX @ 3:45 pm EST -- Episode #0153 of the podcast is available for download! You have all probably been watching it non-stop for the last week, so take a break and listen to the bunch of us talk about the Jump Anime Tour special, Ossu! Kaette Kita Son Gokû to Nakama-tachi!! We brought on Hujio and Herms from Kanzentai to discuss it with us, too! It has been over ten years since the last true, new addition to the franchise, so how does this hold up? Lots of great discussion points and stories to be shared. Definitely check it out.

We have also heavily updated the main page of the "Movie Guide" to include the new Jump Anime Tour special (basic info as well as a detailed synopsis) and a few other items. It should be a little more streamlined, and all of the other pages should follow suit in the near future.

Just wanted to leave you with one last thing for the day, though. On last week's show, our buddy Jeff decided that it would be a fantastic idea to fuse Appule and Paragas together to form "Appuragas". Well... one particular listener went above and beyond the call of duty.

That's right. Appuragas, submitted for your approval. What do you think, DragonBall fandom?

23 November 2008

Podcast Episode #0152 Available!
VegettoEX @ 3:17 pm EST -- Episode #0152 of the podcast is available for download! I don't blame you if you're too busy watching and re-watching the new Jump Anime Tour special (see update below), but if you're looking to cure that DBZ itch a little more, we're here for you! We tackled Volume 21 of the manga (DBZ Volume 5 if you're going with Viz), and we certainly had some interesting thoughts about where Toriyama is taking the story and how he's getting there. Lots of other great stuff, too, if you've got the time in between viewings...! Definitely check it out.

Jump Anime Tour DBZ Special Streaming Now!
VegettoEX @ 11:48 am EST -- That's right, folks! It's online right now and it is completely subtitled in English (pretty well, no less)! Go watch it!

Head on over to Jumpland's English page for the special, and click the big "Download Browser" button in the bottom-right. You'll need to be on a Windows-based machine to install this viewing program. Once that's done, go ahead and click the "Watch this anime" button in the middle with Vegeta & Table. As mentioned, it is completely subtitled in English (with the translations apparently done by a one Mr. "Anthony Carl Kimm").

The special is going to be available for streaming online completely for free up until 31 January 2009. We are assuming (with absolutely no confirmation, of course) that there will be some type of DVD release in the future after that.

EDIT: Nevermind! Future DVD release confirmed! It sounds like it will be coming packaged with certain Jump magazines in Japan starting next year, so everyone start making pen-pals...!

Check back later today for Episode #0152 of the podcast which, while unfortunately not yet about this new special (that'll be next week), is a wonderful "Manga Review of Awesomeness"...!

19 November 2008

R2 DVD Charts, Random DB Coverage
VegettoEX @ 12:07 pm EST -- We are pulling a bit of material all from the same place, so while it seems like we're simply regurgitating info you can read elsewhere, I don't feel too bad about it since we give you new content at least once a week ^_~.

This week's Oricon chart (reported through Anime News Network) shows the individual Japanese R2 DVD releases of DBZ movies 8 and 7 in the top two spots doing about 7,070 and 6,476 copies, respectively. Definitely not too shabby in the numbers department.

Anime News Network also has an updated "The X Button" column discussing many things Toriyama, including a pretty favorable review of DragonBall Origins for the Nintendo DS. In addition to Infinite World, we did have some meaty initial thoughts on the game on this week's podcast, so tune in there if you're looking for even more coverage.

Speaking of which, three years ago to the day we started up that little show here on the site. The podcast is three years old, and the site itself is coming up on eleven years. Time sure flies when you're having fun...!

18 November 2008

IGN's Scathing Infinite World Review
VegettoEX @ 9:38 pm EST -- Wow. I don't think you could possibly sum it up any more than Greg Miller did for his own review over on IGN:

Do not play Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World.

Yep, they've given it a 3.5 (out of 10). If you tune in to our latest podcast episode, you'll hear from our end that we certainly don't feel like it's anywhere near that level. Since this is such a huge discrepancy, let's take a couple points from Greg's review and see how he arrived at the final score.

It's not that fighting is broken in this fighter; it's just that it's really boring. You'll tap buttons like mad, and end up just firing off fireballs.

Very interesting, especially when you consider the scores given to games like Budokai 3 (8.0), Shin Budokai 2 (7.7), and Burst Limit (7.9). Granted, these were all written by different reviewers at the site, but that's a pretty huge difference when you know that the fighting mechanics in all four games are essentially the same (which some tune-ups and changes here and there, of course).

These events aren't fun, and they certainly don't make me feel like I'm playing the anime. Did I miss the episode when floating hexagons descended on the world?

This I can get behind. As you can hear in the podcast episode, I wasn't hugely fond of the new "mini-games" and how they all essentially played the same clunky way each time.

When Goku's deployed to learn how to block, three fractions are put at the bottom of the screen to represent how many times you have to do each type of block in the allotted amount of time. Oddly, the game never tells you how to do these blocks or which fraction is counting which type of block. You just have to leap around and try to figure out what the hell the game wants.

I both understand where Greg's coming from on this, and take major issue with it at the same time. The game doesn't tell you in an obvious way what your goals are and how to do them, but if you click through before you start the mission, there absolutely is a screen that explains how to do all three of those types of blocks.

Honestly, it doesn't seem like Greg played much of the game beyond the Saiya-jin arc when you consider that most of the text involving the rest of the game is essentially a rehash of marketing speak about the game known beforehand and right on the box itself. That's not to say I'm defending Infinite World to any insane degree, but it may warrant a much closer look than Greg and IGN were willing to give it.

GamePro gave it an equally-interesting 2-out-of-5, and we're still waiting for a bunch of the other big sites to dish out the official review.

In other Infinite World news, Game Trailers is hosting a very interesting trailer for the game called "Best of Budokai Trailer". It's pretty well done, including the mention of Hironobu Kageyama music that enthralled us so much on the back of the box. What's really interesting, however, is the obvious mix of game sources used to create it. Beta versions, Japanese version, and final American version can all be seen!

16 November 2008

Podcast Episode #0151 Available!
VegettoEX @ 3:51 pm EST -- Episode #0151 of the podcast is available for download! This week we took a look at the two latest video game releases, DragonBall Z: Infinite World for the PS2 and DragonBall Origins for the Nintendo DS. No clue what either of these are? You'll get a crash-course in them and be able to easily figure out if you're interested. With two games coming out at the same time, it make sense for me to briefly steal Meri's semi-recurring segment, and so I busted out what I consider the Top 5 DB Video Games Of All Time...! Definitely check it out.

In addition to the episode's general content, here are some news bits to catch up on:

Toei & Pony Canyon have slipped out the covers for individual R2 DVD releases of DBZ movies 9 and 10.

Also, our buddy Tanooki Kuribo dug up some info on new figures that just started coming out in the last couple months which we totally missed. Check out the third-form Freeza from the DX DragonBall Creatures line!

Absolutely awesome stuff. Pop in to the discussion thread on the forum for more information and images.

13 November 2008

Burst Limit Up For Spike TV Video Game Award
VegettoEX @ 11:01 am EST -- While it's mostly been considered a joke by gaming enthusiasts, Spike TV's VGAs have indeed been getting slightly better over the years. In a halfway-shocking nod, DragonBall Z: Burst Limit (the PS3/360 fighter from Dimps that came out earlier this year) is actually up for "Best Fighting Game". Being that it's up against the likes of Soul Calibur IV and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (OK, and the soon-to-be-released Mortal Kombat vs DC), it probably doesn't stand much of a chance. Regardless, the DragonBall and Naruto mentions certainly prove how far these games have come over the years.

Licensing News From France
VegettoEX @ 9:03 am EST -- This may only truly be of interest to all you Frenchies out there, but according to licensing.biz, TF1 Enterprises has been selected as the new merchandising broker for the various DragonBall properties.

TF1 Licences will handle France, French speaking Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Monaco and will have merchandising rights for the brand with the exception of toy, video games, publishing and Lamincards categories.

"TF1 Licences ranks among one of the international market's most prolific licensing organisations and brings to its representation of Dragon Ball an outstanding track record of licensing success and a deep commitment to our brands," said Kanji Kazahaya, director of the international department at Toei.

Did you guys 'n gals have any cool merchandise previously, or was it all import stuff?

09 November 2008

Podcast Episode #0150 Available! A Month of News!
VegettoEX @ 9:10 pm EST -- Episode #0150 of the podcast is available for download! That's right, Meri and I have returned from our wonderful vacation consisting of those pesky little "wedding" and "honeymoon" things! We are right back into the swing of things, though, and joined back up with Julian to do a podcast of catching-up on news. Definitely check it out.

Of course, we can't just talk about it all on the show and not go over everything in text, so here's a recap of everything that's been going on!

New DBZ Abridged
The folks from TeamFourStar have updated with Episode 6 of their series, along with a Halloween special. We love the work they've been doing, so we hope you all enjoy it, too!

Navarre Q1 Fiscal 2009 Quarterly Report
There is nothing of huge interest this time around for Navarre, FUNimation's parent company. The only slight bit of news was the following note regarding the "publishing segment" of Navarre, which includes FUNimation:

Net sales for the publishing segment were $27.4 million (before inter-company eliminations) for the first quarter fiscal 2009 compared to $29.6 million (before inter-company eliminations) for the first quarter fiscal 2008. The 7.4% decrease in net sales over the prior year quarter was primarily due to a lack of new releases in the software category and stronger anime releases in the prior year. The Company believes sales results in the future will be dependent upon its ability to continue to add new, appealing content and upon the strength of the retail environment.

All this really says is that the economy is kinda crappy at the moment, and better releases came out last year.

FUNimation Goes After Bootleggers
This one came from Anime News Network while we were gone. Thankfully, FUNimation has finally decided to go after DiscountAnimeDVD.com and its associated persons and businesses. It took them years, but it's great to finally see them go after what is a genuine threat to the industry.

FUNimation's Next Releases Are...
Apparently FUNimation will finally be breaking their shockingly accurate chronological consistency for the first time in the next "remastered" series of releases by packing DBZ movies 7 and 9 together.

That's right; you're looking at Vegeta from the Cell arc on the cover front and center, instead of... oh, I dunno... something actually from one of the movies. Sure, there's Gohan and #13(?) hidden in the background, but this is certainly a very silly choice of cover art to match the silly choice of skipping a movie (to, no doubt, create another interesting Broli pack). This double feature will be dropping on 10 February 2008, along with the second "season" (let's just say "second half) of the DragonBall GT TV series:

Yep, that's SSJ4 Gogeta, who appears within a single episode, gracing the cover of the set. Early reports are noting that the DBGT TV special will also be included on this set. February's a wacky month for FUNimation, apparently.

FUNimation Marketing Blunder
We don't mean to keep jumping down FUNimation's throat, but this is just too hilarious to pass up. Apparently their main DBZ website had up the following advertisement for the upcoming DBZ movies 5 & 6 double feature release:

The HD-DVD mention was, obviously, a mistake. When you clicked said link it would take you to the standard DVD ordering page. How this could get through any type of review process is beyond us, though.

New Video Games Available ("Infinite World" & "Origins")
Both DragonBall Z: Infinite World for the PlayStation 2 (official press release) and DragonBall Origins for the Nintendo DS (official press release) made their way into North American stores this week.

Next week's podcast episode is going to be our initial thoughts on both of the games, so stay tuned for that. As a brief recap, though, Infinite World is basically a bonus, phoned-it-in budget release for the US (though full-price in Japan) that takes Dimps' Budokai series, incorporates a couple little things from its next-gen brother Burst Limit, slaps in some mini-games, and jumps into your PS2. DragonBall Origins (or DragonBall DS as it was named in Japan) is an all-new 3D action game for the DS very similar in style to a Zelda release in terms of its puzzle-solving and action sequences.

New DragonBall x One Piece Crossover Game
While it is unfortunately not a new console game, the 40th anniversary of Shonen Jump brings us more crossover goodness in the form of Bandai's new Let's!TV Play game, DragonBall Z x One Piece: Batoru Taikan Gomu-Gomu no Kamehameha ~omee no koe de ora wo yobu~ (or DragonBall Z & One Piece: Battle Sensation Gum-Gum Kamehameha ~With your voice you can call me up~... yes, that last part is as if Goku was speaking it). Think of it as something like a standalone Wii game, except that you also get to call your partner for help and unleash dual super attacks.

Bandai has a commercial for it on their website which includes some actual gameplay footage:

Looks pretty neat! It's pretty difficult to find these online for order from anywhere that will ship internationally, so if you happen to find a reliable place, let us know!

Infinite World Theme Song CD Single & Soundtrack
We are indeed getting some new music! The theme song to DragonBall Z: Infinite World ("Hikari no Sasu Mirai e!") will see its own CD single release on 25 December 2008. This CD single will include the opening and ending themes, presumably karaoke versions, and at least an English version of the opening! This CD is coming from King Records (LACM-4555) for ¥1200 (~$12). Pre-order it on sites like CDJapan or Play-Asia.

In addition to this, the full soundtrack for the game will be available 07 January 2009. It will include the short-length version of the opening theme, the ending theme, and also the English version of the opening (along with the majority of the game's standard background music). This CD is also coming from King Records (LACA-5852) for ¥3000 (~$30). Pre-order it on sites like CDJapan or Play-Asia.

As soon as official track listings and cover art are revealed, we'll have them for you!

More Theft Hilarity
A while back we told you about a funny story from Texas where a guy tried to steal some DBZ DVDs from his local Wal-Mart. This story comes to us from Japan, where a 21-year-old man and two teenage cohorts totally one-uped the American hick by stealing an entire gashapon machine. From Anime News Network:

The Mamoyama police station in the central Japanese prefecture of Shiga has arrested a man and two teenagers on October 22 on suspicion of stealing Dragon Ball anime figures — and the vending machine holding the figures. According to the police investigation, Tatsuya Chiyo, a 21-year-old concrete construction worker from Shiga's Rittō City, and two 16-year-old high school boys from the same city took a vending machine from outside a used bookstore in Mamoyama on July 7. Inside the machine were about 20 figures that sold for 200 yen (about US$2) each. The vending machine itself is worth about 14,000 yen (US$140).

Even though the bookstore had more than ten vending machines stacked side-by-side, the suspects reportedly took just the machine with the Dragon Ball figures "because they sell for high prices." The police say that they identified Chiyo from the fingerprints that were found on the machine after it had been abandoned in a nearby park.

Gotta love it.

Cheap DBZ & DBGT DVDs
RightStuf is clearing out even more inventory right now. If you head on over you can get a good deal on all sorts of DBZ movies and DBGT single volumes for ~$5 a pop. If this "remastered" business isn't up your alley and you have some holes in your collection to fill, this is a great way to do so.

More Cover Art
We already showcased FUNimation's upcoming DBZ movies 7 & 9 double feature along with their DBGT "season two" release, but here are some other upcoming items we are finally getting a glimpse of.

Viz will be releasing the entirety of the DragonBall portion of their manga 03 February 2009 (DB volumes 1-16):

Viz will also be releasing the entirety of the DragonBall Z portion of their manga on the same day (DB volumes 17-42):

Toei and Pony Canyon have also let loose the cover art for their upcoming single-DVD releases of DBZ movies 7 & 8 which will be out in Japan 14 November 2008:

Viz "Collector's Edition" Manga = Edited
Our buddy Tanooki Kuribo picked up Viz's recent "Collector's Edition" releases of both DB & DBZ volume 1. These hardcover editions seem to be part of a trend Viz is going with where they release just the first volume of a series in this special format with some color pages and updated cover art. Unfortunately, any editing from previous releases still remains, in addition to the early Trish Ledoux adaptation of Piccolo ("What say you?! Know you not the one to whom you show such insolence?!").

Jump Anime Tour Special To Be Streamed Online!
The best is always saved for last! That's right... according to Toei, the DBZ special from the Jump Anime Tour (Ossu! Kaette Kita Son Gokû to Nakama-tachi!!) will be steamed online beginning on 24 November 2008, the day after the last stop of the tour. From Anime News Network:

This year's 49th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine has announced on Saturday that the Jumpland website will stream three of the anime specials - Dragon Ball, Tegami Bachi, and Romance Dawn - that have been screened at this fall's Jump Super Anime Tour events. The free streaming will begin on November 24, the day after the last stop on the tour. There are no indications on whether viewers outside Japan will be blocked by their Internet protocol (IP) addresses.

We don't live under a rock, and are well aware that the instant something hits the internet, it will be immediately and infinitely available. The world has been waiting for the first true, new DB material since DBGT ended in 1997...!

All that readin' and listenin' should keep you guys 'n gals busy for quite some time. It's great to be back!