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INTERACTION |
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Daizenshuu EX - Updates from December 2008 |
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28 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 9:59 pm EST -- Episode #0157 of the podcast is available for download! We came back from Christmas down at my parents' with bags full of old action figures, so we decided to tear into them and see what has been sitting around for the last decade or so. Definitely check it out.
Here are some pictures of some of the more memorable items:
As amazing and fun as some of these are, they can never compare to Kuririn with a machine gun:
We mentioned this during the podcast episode, but Gamasutra has an interview up with Clyde Mandelin, who handled the translations for FUNimation's release of the original DragonBall TV series. Check it out.
See you in 2009! |
23 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 4:01 pm EST -- We hinted at a couple things previously, but our good buddy Greg gave us a really nice write-up of his time spent at Jump Festa this past week. There was a lot going on, so let me pull out a couple key quotes from him:
When it came Nozawa's turn they asked who else she did beyond THE OBVIOUS 3 and a child answered Bardock. Both Tanaka and Nozawa commented that they were so amazed small children knew smaller roles they did so long ago. It was then that I exposed that banter as bullshit when Nozawa asked who ELSE she did. I raised my hand to answer Tullece (or whatever the hell the accepted dubbination calls him these days)and Nozawa made direct eye contact with me at which time she scowled, shook her head and went on to pick a child. So yeah, basically their amazement at children knowing the roles is bullshit, they wanted/excpected them to know the answers and only intended on picking them.
How many Americans can say they've been scowled at by Nozawa herself? Ah Japan. Gaijin are all the same to you eh?
One of Tanaka's most memorable scenes is that with Bacterian where Krillin is reminded he doesn't have a nose and just kind of responds, "Oh...yeah!" Nozawa thinks it's hilarious because she honestly believes Toriyama originally genuinely forgot to draw one.
So they made a big hoot about Japan getting the live action movie first on March 13th. Nozawa wants it to be first here because, "...DB belongs to Japan!" So they showed us the trailer. Turns out it's just the trailer.
It was the first time to see the trailer for many of the fans. Why? Because Japanese people suck ass at using computers.
Piccolo was laughed at. Flat out.
When Goku said Kame Hame Ha there was audible laughter.
Nozawa said she was surprised because Goku was such a hunk and Yamcha looks like some bumpkin which should be the other way around.
The idols said it's strange to see such a young Roshi and that it's hard to picture him being a perv like that. (Later Nozawa would say, "You can tell he likes young girls!", apparently commenting on his shirt out of the blue which directly contradicted that comment and the feeling of the crowd so it seems she was fed that line)
Then Nozawa laid the smack down on the American Kame Hame Ha. She said in Japan they extend the 'Ka' OR the final 'Ha' but in America they extend the first 'me' which just makes it sound way off.
Head on over to our forum to read Greg's full write-up.
In related news, Tanooki Kuribo let us know that Viz is going to be putting out adaptations of the upcoming live-action movie a la the "Chapter Books" we mentioned the other day under the "Viz Kids" label.
These are being adapted for Viz by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon, just like the "Junior Novel" versions we talked about a while back, too.
VegettoEX @ 11:54 am EST -- If you are in the market for some Region 2 DragonBall DVDs, and especially the beginning of the series, you are in some serious luck.
Amazon Japan is running a holiday sale right now where you can grab volumes 1-9 (that's episodes 1-54) for a disgustingly-low ¥10,770. That is about 70% off the price!
Get in there and grab it while it's hot! |
21 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 8:17 pm EST -- Episode #0156 of the podcast is available for download! Despite a couple minor mentions of the live-action movie, the episode is actually available on time! We brought on Hujio (Kanzentai) and godofchaos (The Fanboy Review) to discuss FUNimation's new DragonBall GT "season one" DVD boxset.
It seems like quite a different monster than the DBZ TV "season" sets, but is it ultimately worth it in the end? We cover everything from the video encode, to the audio tracks, to what has been removed or inserted. Definitely check it out.
That's not all we have for you, though. godofchaos has broken some some hilarity with the menus (which we mentioned during the podcast episode), so here are some (shrunken-down) versions for laughs. The first one here is a typical menu from the DBZ TV season sets. Note that the video on the DBZ sets is anamorphic widescreen. The menus are matted/letterboxed in a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Here we have the DBGT season set main menu. Note that the video on the DBGT sets are 4:3. The menus have been added to (based on the same template as the DBZ ones) and are stretched to super-widescreen.
Finally, we have a fun little video for you to check out. On the show we discussed FUNimation's marketing campaign back in 2003 for DragonBall GT, and how these boxsets are almost an apology, or at least a convenient "forgetting" of the past. With us being DragonBall superfans that don't forget anything, we are happy to provide some more chuckles with a little comparison video.
Don't misunderstand us; while we have zero interest in watching FUNimation's dub of the series, we absolutely adore that they went back and did dubbed versions of the songs. However, the real losers in this situation are the entire fanbase. Once again, FUNimation has further fragmented their market. By not simply including them in the first place five years ago, now the dub fans don't even have an option to get their "Step Into The Grand Tour" for an opening, and are happily proclaiming the original songs to be "gay".
But hey... it's not like we all didn't say the same things about "Step Into The Grand Tour" back in 2003. Karma, I suppose.
ERRATA: Just to clarify a couple things, it sounds like the name "Mr. Satan" is indeed used at some points in the English dub tracks on this set. Was the "uncut" GT dub inconsistent with this? Also, the set goes to episode 34, which is indeed not the complete Bebi arc. That would be through episode 40, and even SSJ4 Goku does not really show up until episode 35... |
20 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 12:44 pm EST -- I told you that we have been working to clean up a few old sections, update those sections, and then bring you some new material. Well, we are on step two of that process right now. I am very happy to bring you another three episodes in our "Filler Guide" (DB 009-011) courtesy of Rachel's incredibly hard work.
With that out of the way, we have some "breaking news" for you coming out of Jump Festa courtesy of our old buddy Greg (who you old-timers will remember as the maintainer of The Ultimate DBZ Information Site). He's had a couple of his real-time comments transferred over to an Arlong Park thread, so let's catch up with a couple of these that relate to DB:
(23:20 EST) Dragon Ball Stage started. If he does it like the Luffy/Goku Talk, he'll take meticulous notes and get them down on the board himself in the near future it seems. I haven't heard a word of specifics about the last one.
Greg: "Bulma's Bike is here evidently. This looks bad; they pulled out Akiba Idols to promote Nozawa. What were they thinking?"
(23:33 EST) Greg: "So far I am severely unimpressed. We're listening to airheads talk about some very basic stuff."
"Finally some interesting information coming out. Nozawa thinks Cell is the most frightening villian."
(23:51 EST) Greg: "First game pictures look like DBZ Sparking but with real textures. Bulma seems to be a fighter this time around. They're also giving out door prizes; Movie Tickets, etc. One guest won a role in the dub of the movie." (Live Action Movie?)
(00:05 EST) Greg:"Toriyama left a message to the cast and crew of the movie: He felt surprised when he saw everything but after meeting the cast and crew, he felt they were splendid. He hopes that it will become a new Dragon Ball to be enjoyed and confirms that he is very much looking forward to it."
There you have it! Perhaps an upcoming Shônen Jump or V-Jump will give us some more information on this secret game in the near future (which may or may not be the PSP game based on the live-action movie). It is intriguing how they are once again pumping out video games this year after a slight lull in early 2008. Toriyama's comment about the live-action movie is the expected response, falling right in line with his comments about DBGT as it began to air. It does not really say anything one way or the other, it does not really prove anything one way or the other, but it is interesting none-the-less.
UPDATE: Greg confirmed for us that the game footage was indeed PSP-based. He also noted the following:
Oh, and I didn`t deem this as urgent enough to write home about, but yesterday Nozawa talked smack about the American Kame Hame Ha. Details to follow.
Greg, I love you :P |
19 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 12:29 pm EST -- This news all would have been up yesterday, but I have instead been flat out in bed for the last two days. Apologies on the delay, but hey... it's that time of year.
With Viz running out of things to do with the DragonBall manga (seriously: 1- monthly releases, 2- large graphic novels, 3- smaller graphic novels, 4- "VIZBIG", 5- collector's edition hardcovers, 6- boxsets), it only makes sense that they would find some other way to exploit one of their best franchises. Coming out mid-2009, the "Chapter Books" under the "Viz Kids" label seem to be something along the lines of... well... we don't quite know. Manga is already mostly pictures, so how do you "kid-ify" that even more? Perhaps it will be very simple words with the occasional illustration?
These see a release beginning 04 August 2009 with the first two volumes, and then on 01 September 2009 with the next two volumes. They are priced at $4.99, so don't expect a whole lot out of these.
Gamekyo.com has a scan from the latest Shônen Jump with info on a new, traditional handheld RPG! DragonBall Z Story for the Nintendo DS will feature teams of three (you will have six characters on reserve, and choose your three team members) and will run from the Ma Junior / 23rd Tenka-ichi Budôkai arc up through (at least) the Saiyan arc (with the subtitle of the game being The Saiyans Attack).
The game is coming from Namco-Bandai to Japan in Spring 2009, and the February issue of V-Jump will have more information.
This isn't too terribly interesting, but CDJapan has a small version of the cover art for the upcoming CD single containing the Infinite World OP & ED.
It is due out 25 December 2008 in Japan. |
16 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 7:06 pm EST -- Episode #0155 of the podcast is (finally!) available for download! We had some interesting times trying to get the show done on time, and while we did talk about the live-action movie, I fully place the blame on O'Hare International Airport rather than the movie, this time. Meri and I talked about the trailer for the live-action movie and how both we and the general public are viewing the situation of this movie existing, and then Jeff joined us for Volume 22 in the "Manga Review of Awesomeness" where we agree that Toriyama has figured out what the Hell he wanted to do. Definitely check it out.
There has been a ton of news that came out while we were out of town, so catch up via the podcast as well as the breakdown below!
While not entirely an accurate name, Spain is currently seeing a release of the DBZ TV series which they are calling "Dragon Box" sets. They are actually just packaged sets of five discs each from the single releases that we have been talking about for a while now. There are a couple touch-ups in areas like translations, so if you are over there and have not yet picked up the singles, this is probably a great way to check them out.
The first set (volumes 1-5, episodes 1-40) came out 22 October 2008, and the second set (volumes 6-10, episodes 41-80) just came out 10 December 2008.
A kanzenban release is coming to the Dutch! Starting in January 2009, Glenat will be releasing a new version of the manga in the kanzenban style (34 volumes), including the new ending, the tribute illustrations from other artists, and a new translation!
The game just came out in Japan earlier this month, and Infinite World on the PS2 managed to push 76,000 copies in its first week (coming in second only to the latest Professor Layton game, which itself pushed 87,000 copies).
Speaking of Infinite World, a few more details about its OP/ED CD single have come out. Right now we are seeing it as having only four tracks:
- Hikari no Sasu Mirai e!
- Dragon Ball Party
- We Gonna Take You There
- Hikari no Sasu Mirai e! (Instrumental)
There is no word on what that third track exactly is, but we have heard that there would be at least one English song on the disc, so it is possible that it is an English version of the opening theme ("Hikari no Sasu Mirai e!"). The CD is due out in Japan 25 December 2008 for ¥1200 from King Records (LACM-4555).
While still on the subject of video games, Origins has a review up over on IGN. It seems like the major sites are only just now getting around to catching-up on some of these smaller releases, so if our own initial thoughts left you guessing (we will get around to finishing it, I promise!) check out Bozon's review over on IGN. He gave it an 8.2, which I think is pretty generous.
Once we saw that FUNimation was going to package DBZ movies 7 and 9 together for their next double-feature, we all correctly assumed we would see some type of (additional) Broli/Broly compilation to DVD and Blu-ray. Sure enough, Wal-Mart put up a listing for a "Triple Feature" with DBZ movies 8, 10, and 11 (all three Broli movies). Interestingly enough, they seemed to get a placeholder image with some odd background choices:
Yep, those are images from the two feature-style DBZ TV specials in the background. Hopefully this will be corrected before the double feature's release 31 March 2009. If you remember there being a Blu-ray release back in November 2007, you are correct. Check out the respective "DVD Guide" page for more information and clarification (and a little speculation).
This is something that you older fans are going to immediately recognize and get pretty psyched about! Bandai is apparently re-releasing the entire Carddass series over in Japan in big box sets. The first set is due out for a hefty ¥10,500, but it is a huge amount of cards...!
Head on over to dragonballtoys.com to check out some of the awesome DB stuff Banpresto will be releasing next year. We are especially fond of the following item, and leave the rest of the commentary to you:
The last bit of news comes to us courtesy of Jump over in Japan. Apparently Namco-Bandai is going to be developing a game for the PSP based on the American-made live-action movie!
There are no details other than that it will be coming out in Japan March 2009, which corresponds with the movie's release over there. There is no word yet on a North American release, but if we know Atari, they will jump all over the chance to put out more DB games. |
10 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 8:51 am EST -- We tend to only cover the biggest, most important bits of news regarding the upcoming American live-action DragonBall movie. It is an incredibly big piece of news in and of itself, but with so many other things going on in the Dragon World, it makes more sense for us here to only touch upon these big pieces.
Well, here are a couple of those big pieces!
The full-length Japanese trailer for the movie leaked online today, so go take a gander while you still can:
In addition to that, Anime News Network is reporting (via the Sports Nippon newspaper) that none other than Ayumi Hamasaki will be performing the theme song to the movie ("Rule"). They note that it will be used as the theme song "... in over 60 countries around the world"; there is no specific notation of whether or not the US will get this song.
We'll save our personal opinions for this weekend's upcoming podcast. While it will still be the "Manga Review of Awesomeness" for volume 22 (DBZ volume 6) of the manga, we will dedicate some time to the latest live-action movie developments. Hopefully it won't kill the podcast. Again.
UPDATE: IGN is actually "premiering" the "international" trailer, themselves, with various formats and sizes available. Check it. |
09 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 11:58 am EST -- I have been plugging away at a few specific things over the last month or so for the site, and I am hoping to debut at least one new section very soon! In the meantime and before all that, though, I wanted to clean up a few existing things and add some supplemental material to others.
The first of these is the "Rumor Guide" which has a general clean-up (some back-end stuff, but also some minor text updates), as well as one genuine new addition. Big thanks to Kenpei for reminding me about this one:
RUMOR: Linkin Park performed the original FUNimation opening theme for DragonBall Z, affectionately titled "Rock the Dragon".
You probably already know the answer to this, but head on over to the main page of the "Rumor Guide" for a little enlightenment, none-the-less. |
07 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 11:06 am EST -- Episode #0154 of the podcast is available for download! We had such a fun time with this one, and I genuinely both enjoyed myself a ton and learned a bit in the process. We brought on Meghan and Kat to talk about cosplay with us, wide sub-topics all over the place with things like cross-play, photo shoots, and more! They were truly great to have on, so look for them again in the future (since there is still so much more we could talk about). Definitely check it out.
In more personal news (but still DB-related), I got in a few new things this week that you might find of interest (as mentioned on the show):
That one right there is Daimaô Fukkatsu for the Famicom. It's actually the first Famicom game I own (besides the American NES release of Dragon Power), so it's great to be dipping back into the past a little bit. I got it for mere dollars with complete packaging (instruction book and all) and it is in absolutely amazing shape!
In more hilarious news, sangofe has fed into my addiction and personal joke, and has provided yet another copy of DBZ movie 1 for my collection:
With another four languages or so on this disc, I am in amusing-fandom-heaven. To recap, here are the versions of the movie I now own:
- Fansub VHS
- Dub VHS (FUNimation/Pioneer; 1997)
- Subtitled VHS (FUNimation/Pioneer; 1997)
- Laserdisc (FUNimation/Pioneer; 1997)
- DVD (FUNimation/Pioneer; 1997)
- DVD (FUNimation "Ultimate Uncut"; 2005)
- DVD (FUNimation "First Strike" Box Set; 2006)
- Dragon Box DVD Set (Toei; 2006)
- German DVD (Polyband/AB Groupe; 2004)
- Sweedish DVD (SF Norge/AB Groupe; 2004)
- and... taped off of Cartoon Network
Anyone else want to contribute anything? |
03 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 12:19 pm EST -- FUNimation's new DragonBall GT "season one" boxset is finally out, and boy do we have a whole bunch of info pouring in about it!
- Five discs
- Same packaging style as the DBZ TV "remastered" season sets
- A new encode and "clean-up" though there are numerous blurring issues that continue to remove detail
- Full screen presentation (no cropped-widescreen)
- Contains Episodes 1-34 (correctly numbered; no more "Lost Episodes" nonsense)
- Audio tracks: English dub w/ Japanese score, English dub TV broadcast track (Menza score), original Japanese
- OP, ED1, ED2 included on English tracks as new English versions of original Japanese songs
- Both English dub audio tracks play with English versions of original Japanese theme songs
- The newly dubbed songs do not use the original Japanese instrumentation
- "Step Into The Grand Tour" is completely absent
- English dub tracks all use "Hercule" in spoken dialogue (whereas the original DVD release used "Mr. Satan")
- The eye-catch is visually cut to match the English music instead of the (proper) reverse way
- Next-episode previews are removed (whereas the original DVD releases had them)
- Opening credits have Japanese production crew listed
- Original DBGT logo is gone, replaced solely with FUNimation's own creation
- Japanese title cards are gone, replaced solely with FUNimation's dub title cards (no alternate angles)
- Extras confirm that the DBGT TV SP will be included on the second box set
Special thanks to SSJ Kaboom for pulling together the above image. Check out all sorts of additional tidbits in our discussion thread.
Finally, in a bit of frustrating news, the special Goku figure from Medicom that we mentioned at the very beginning of the year is starting to showcase serious production issues, as brought to our attention by our forum member Oldphan and posted on dragonballtoys.com:
With the prices that people pay for these things, it is certainly frustrating to see something like this. Hopefully Medicom will get their act together and issue some type of statement, especially with more DBZ figures on the way. |
01 December 2008
VegettoEX @ 11:29 am EST -- Haven't picked up Burst Limit yet? If you don't mind playing it on the 360 with its terrible controller for fighting games (and trust me, it's not any better with the Hori joystick due to the button assignments and the necessity to hold down certain buttons while pressing others), feel free to grab it over on Amazon for a special Cyber-Money price of $14.95.
The PS3 version (which I would have purchased if I had a PS3 at the time of the game's release) is also supposed to be $14.95 today, but is still showing up as $39.99 for the time being, anyway... |
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