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Daizenshuu EX - Updates from January 2010 |
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31 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 8:22 pm EST -- We have joked about it for months. Several times we genuinely planned to talk about him, but something incredibly important would happen and shake up our episode schedule. With the last day of the month falling on a podcast episode release day, it was the perfect time to dive in and talk about our main man, Yamcha!
Loosely introduced as a play on the Journey to the West character Sha Wujing, Yamcha is one of the first "villains" brought into the story, and we make the argument that he is one of the first characters to be totally tossed aside by the author. Does he deserve more credit than he is traditionally given, or is he really just the bum that we tend to think of him as toward the end of the series? Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe. |
27 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 4:03 pm EST -- We will not be updating every single time that our buds over at TeamFourStar put up a new episode, but since "Season Two" kicks off with their newly-released Episode 11... and so many of you have e-mailed about it... and they have done nice things for us...
Head on over to their YouTube channel to check it out!
VegettoEX @ 9:20 am EST -- C21Media.net is reporting that Toei Animation has struck a deal with Megavision TV to air the DragonBall TV series in Chilé. No specific timeframe or episode content was listed.
We know that the franchise already has a huge following down in Chilé and has aired before (as well as received tons of great merchandise), so it makes sense that this would just be a new deal to re-air the show. Just as all our Brazilian friends came out of the woodwork last November, those of you in Chilé need to drop us a line and let us know what the current situation is down there. Has it not been on the air for a while? |
26 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 11:56 am EST -- Game Trailers has a new trailer for DragonBall DS 2 up for viewing, showcasing some of the playable secondary characters (including Arale!), the multiplayer mode, control configurations, and more. It continues to promote the bonus inclusion of the Shenron no Nazo Famicom game, this time with more footage than just the first stage of the game. The game is due out in Japan on 11 February 2010 for ¥5229, with no word on a North American release from Namco-Bandai just yet. You can pre-order the Japanese release of the game (which is region-free) over on Play-Asia for $54.90.
At the end of the trailer, it is revealed that the first DragonBall DS is being re-released under the "Welcome Price 2800" line on 28 January 2010, a budget-priced line for (obviously) ¥2800. The original run is still available on Play-Asia for $48.90, though retailers like Amazon Japan have dropped it to ¥2400. The new re-release is up for a pre-order price of $34.90 over on Play-Asia.
The American release of the first game, put out in November 2008 by Atari before losing the license in 2009, came out as DragonBall Origins, and is currently available on Amazon for only $17.56. Unlike the recent DragonBall Z: Attack of the Saiyans release on DS from Namco-Bandai which exclusively featured the original Japanese voice cast, Origins exclusively featured English spoken dialogue from FUNimation's cast.
UPDATE: Our buddy Tsukento wrote in to let us know that GameStop is currently offering the first game for only $9.99 new (and $8.99 used). It is not available online, so if you are interested, hop over to your local store to see if they have it. |
24 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 12:17 pm EST -- It was pretty difficult to do, especially as more information came out surrounding the circumstances of his death. This week, the core trio took a break from the standard topical issues to remember one of the greats in the industry, and someone that more than left his Mark on the series that we love so much — Daisuke Gôri. Why did he mean so much to us, and how did he act to such a level that his character performances were so believable? Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
The loss of such a voice actor is not affecting just us over here in general fandom. Yuko Minaguchi, who played Videl and later Pan in the series, made a blog entry earlier this week on January 20th detailing her own pain and rush of emotions:
It's one sad thing after another.
First, my beloved puppy ran away. [or possibly "died" -- "tabidachimashita" is "started on a journey"]
Then, the kind, great mentor Isamu Tanonaka passed away.
On my way to his wake, I heard the news of Gôri-san's death.
I've been doing nothing but cry.
I thought I'd find something fun, and continue my blog without touching upon that topic, but it just doesn't seem to work...
If I just continue to avoid updating, it seems like I'll just make people worry about me, so I'll give my honest feelings.
Last night, I had some drinks with a group of people I can rely on.
"In the future, if Dragon Ball Kai continues... when the time comes to play Videl... if Gôri-san isn't Mr. Satan, I don't want to be Videl," I sobbed, troubling everyone.
It's childish, but that's how I feel.
The big, kind, always-smiling Gôri-san. I really cared about him.
With so much sadness piling up, I feel uneasy by myself, and my feeble heart lets out a scream.
I hate goodbyes.
I'm sorry for saying such worrisome things. It's for the sake of moving forward, so just for today, please forgive me.
He is one of the modern greats that none of us will ever forget, and it is safe to say that anime will never be the same without his distinctive, booming voice making us all smile. |
21 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 9:24 am EST -- Kotaku is reporting that Nintendo of Japan is introducing a new line of budget titles for the Wii called the Minna no Osusume Collection (or the "Everyone's Recommendation Collection"). Games re-released under this line are ones that have received high user-given scores on Nintendo's own Minna no Nintendo Channel (released in North America under the simple "Nintendo Channel" title). The ¥2800 price point for this series falls in line with the standard budget price of similar lines in the past, such as Sony's "PlayStation THE BEST" line. As a part of the launch on 25 February 2010, our own franchise's Sparking! METEOR will be included. Note that this is only for the Wii release, and does not affect the PS2 version of the game which still retails for essentially full-price at $74.90 on Play-Asia, and a reduced ¥5643 on Amazon Japan. As a contrast, the MSRP for the American release of the Wii version (Budokai Tenkaichi 3) has a current MSRP of $19.99, and is available on Amazon for $17.84.
As for American video game price-drops, our deal-hunting forum buddy Tsukento noticed that Revenge of King Piccolo has dropped down to a $19.99 MSRP across retailers, and is currently available on Amazon for $17.96. We gave our thoughts on the game in a full review shortly after its release last October, so you know that this is the sweet-spot in terms of pricing for those that may have been holding out on it.
In even more exciting news, our forum member Amaranth Sparrow has dived head-first into translating new information coming out of the current open-beta for DragonBall Online in Korea. You can read all the juicy details for yourself on our forum, but here are some of the highlights:
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The main villain is referred to as "The Pale Man" and is named "Miira" (not to be confused with Miira-kun, one of Baba's fighters). While he does not appear to himself be a part of the Makaiôshin as previously speculated, there is a good possibility that the female that accompanies him is, and may be the one who created him
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Gohan published a book called "Groundbreaking Science" around Age 800, which appears to have taught the general population concepts such as ki control; he also explained how the Katchin metal (which was used to test the Z-Sword) could indeed be cut, which led to a newfound interest in swordsmanship, as well as Goten and Trunks founding the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School which teaches how to infuse blades with ki to overpower opponents
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This aided them when the remnants of Freeza's army attacked in Age 820
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Kuririn founded the "New Turtle School", which taught humans how to fight alongside each other in groups to take advantage of their collective strengths, allowing them to compete against stronger, individual enemies
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Tenshinhan believed it was more important to to develop individualized attacks than with support from others, and developed new attacks that revolved around collecting ki in strategic ways to unleash incredible bursts of energy with precise timing
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In Age 790, Majin Buu accidentally found Mr. Satan's "Bob & Margaret" adult book, and used it to form ideas about female mates and ultimately create his wife, "Booby", from a part of his own body, and also hit her with his "Love Beam" causing her to give birth to a "Baby Buu"; the family grew quickly, and was later recognized as its own race
There is a ridiculous amount of extra information over in our forum, so be sure to check it out! |
19 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 12:24 pm EST -- Our buddy Tanooki posted up a screen shot from a trailer for the forthcoming fourth "season" of the original DragonBall TV series, which reveals some cover art and a 30-episode-count. The "DB TV Series" page of our "DVD Guide" has been updated with this information.
Based on these tidbits, it seems the blue bricks will probably finish out their release comfortably in 2010, with the fifth and final set containing approximately 30 episodes, as well; assuming the fourth set has exactly 30 episodes, that will take us from 93-122, leaving a final set to go from 123-153.
Any time we post about current releases that are non-Dragon Box sets, we receive a deluge of e-mails and questions from folks asking about future prospects for Dragon Box re-releases of these episodes. To reiterate what we know: we don't know. FUNimation has said absolutely nothing regarding the franchise and further home releases beyond the DBZ TV series and its movies in the original Dragon Box press release from last summer. We cannot make a recommendation for you in terms of what you should purchase or wait for — if you want the series to watch right now, go ahead and buy it! If you want to play your cards differently and wait on domestic Dragon Box sets that may or may not come for the original DB and GT, that is up to you! No matter how it plays out, rest assured that you will learn about any future releases first (be they from Japan or the US), right here on Daizenshuu EX. |
18 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 9:03 am EST -- This is certainly one of the most difficult entries I have ever had to write on the website in the dozen or so years it has been online.
Daisuke Gôri (the stage name of Mr. Yoshio Nagahori) has passed away. From the Tokyo Shimbun and Anime News Network:
The Tokyo Shimbun paper reports that Daisuke Gouri, the voice actor best known for playing Robin Mask in the Kinnikuman television anime series as well as Umigame and Mr. Satan in the Dragon Ball franchise, has passed away in Tokyo on Sunday. He was 57.
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The newspaper reports that Gouri was discovered, with blood dripping from his wrist, by a passerby on a street in Nakano ward. Police officers at Nakano station are investigating his death as a possible suicide. According to the authorities, Gouri apparently collapsed face-down onto the street at about 3:00 p.m. The Yomiuri Shimbun paper adds that a knife was found under him along with a last will nearby.
Gôri was easily one of the most prolific voice actors in our beloved series, playing characters such as Umigame, Gyû-Maô, Enma-Daiô, King Cold, Mr. Satan, and a constant flow of side characters throughout the entire airing.
His unbelievably deep voice ran the gamut of roles from stern to friendly back to cold-hearted and wacky, again. His talent was unmatched. If you watch anime at all, you know his voice. It is difficult to imagine anime, let alone just DragonBall, without Daisuke Gôri. |
17 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 8:55 pm EST -- This week we finally get around to having two quick conversations that have been on the back-burner for far too long. Our good buddy and forum moderator Kaboom joins us for a quick discussion about fans that, believe it or not, actually do care about battle power discussions and enjoy creating speculative lists. We also quickly cover Ryô Horikawa's voice acting coach DVD which came out last year and never got the five minutes that we should have given it long ago. Our buddy Corey joins us for everything else, and that's a show! Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
In a bit of sad news, voice actor Isamu Tanonaka passed away this week on the 13th at the age of 77 from a heart attack. While having more prominent roles in other series, he did have bit parts in DBZ as Bibidi (Babidi's father) and Raichi (one of the two fake Namekians). |
15 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 12:59 pm EST -- Licensing.biz is reporting that Toei Animation has struck a deal with Uniqlo, a Japanese fashion retailer, for the development of new T-shirts for a range of Toei's properties this coming spring, including DragonBall. Most interestingly is that his deal covers (in some capacity) France, Russia, the UK, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Korea... as well as the United States. There are not a whole lot of details concerning the deal, and how it affects the deluge of new shirts (most under the Kai moniker) being tossed out at consumers each month in Japan from COSPA, or how it would affect any sub-licensing deals that may otherwise go through FUNimation/Navarre here in the US.
VegettoEX @ 10:22 am EST -- It may go without saying that it has been a pretty slow last couple of weeks in terms of news. That's OK with us — it gives us a little time to catch up on things and gear up for whatever the next onslaught will be.
Various retailer sites have posted up full track listings for the three Koro-chan Pack DragonBall Kai CDs all due out next month. For those unfamiliar with the concept, these "Koro-chan Pack" discs are lower-priced compilations of previously-released music with a small number of tracks on each disc. We saw one each for the original DB and DBZ back in 2007, and then there were plans for a Kai version last year which was ultimately canceled, seemingly in favor of the single DragonBall Kai Song Collection disc.
If you already own that disc, you may as well stick with it — these discs offer up very little in the way of new material. As expected, each of the three discs contain music associated with and used during that portion of the story arc thus-far in Kai. The only new material you will find are karaoke versions one one song per disc ("Win Tough Fight!", "CHASER!", and "Ultra Super Dragon Soul", respectively). We have added each of the three discs and their full track listings over on the "Miscellaneous CDs" page of our "Music Guide".
We do not yet have cover art or details on the "picture book" bonuses that will come with each of these 12-cm CDs when they come out on 24 February 2010 for ¥1575 a pop.
In all honesty, I may be passing on these, shocking as that may be. Sure, they are cheap, but I already own any of the significant material over on the DragonBall Kai Song Collection disc. Only true karaoke enthusiasts need dive in, it seems. |
10 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 12:00 am EST -- Getting back into the groove of things, we continue onward into January with Volume 32 in our on-going "Manga Review of Awesomeness." Characters are doing stupid things all around (specifically Kuririn and Vegeta), and it results in Cell finally reaching his perfect form. We have gripes about some of the story elements, but does it all come together, especially with some of the gorgeous, full-page spreads? Tune in to find out! Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
The episode was streamed live this past Friday evening with a great audience and their lovely participation! For information on when we stream live (is it not often, especially if Skype is in the mix), be sure to tune into our Twitter and Facebook pages.
As you will hear on the show, Game Trailers has three promotional videos up for DragonBall DS 2. It is incredibly interesting how much attention the inclusion of the first Famicom game is given, especially in the two TV spots.
Finally, RightStuf is having one of their 40%-off sales on all FUNimation merchandise. This would be a great time to toss in a pre-order for their second DBZ Dragon Box coming in February, with 40% off the MSPR knocking it from their regular pre-order price of $44.99 down to $35.99. |
03 January 2010
VegettoEX @ 9:00 pm EST -- We took a break last week to enjoy time with friends and family, but we are ready to kick off 2010 with a bang! This episode the core trio breezed through all of the big news stories from 2009, and then checked in on our predictions that we made last year. One of us did really well, one of us did just "OK", and the other made a mockery of themselves. At the request of tons of people, we also run down what we consider to be the top five stories of the entire last decade! Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
As a supplement to our audio discussion on the top five stories of the last decade, we are proud to present our new feature — "A Decade In Review: 2000-2009".
Finally, our forum has completed its major upgrade and server move. It is business as usual, though — be sure to follow the rules and carry on as you normally would! Excuse any minor hiccups while we finish a little housekeeping on it, though. |
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