FUNimation has confirmed through a statement released Thursday that an immediate suspension of all current production for all planned DragonBall Z Blu-ray releases (including the recently announced Level 2.1 and 2.2). The press release reads as follows:

Blu-ray editions of Dragon Ball Z went into production based on fan demand, however due to technical challenges of restoring from the original film frame by frame, we are unable to continue these releases by way of this process. FUNimation will be re-evaluating the current process and researching more efficient methods of restoration.

We be sure to keep you posted as FUNimation re-evaluates their current process and available options. Nevertheless, it looks like there will be yet another tale to add to the ever growing release backstory of the DragonBall franchise in North America.

As first reported by French anime news Twitter account @manganewsjapon, and subsequently by Daizenshuu EX, the March issue of Saikyo Jump will come with a bonus insert DVD containing a copy of the recent "DragonBall: Episode of Bardock" and the Raging Blast 2 bonus feature, "DragonBall: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans". Since then, the official Saikyo Jump website has been updated with this information, noting that the March issue will go on sale 3 February 2012.


In addition, the latest issue of Saikyo Jump notes that the magazine's featured manga will begin receiving tankoubon releases on 3 February 2012. So far only releases for "Chopperman" (One Piece spin-off) and "Rock Lee" (Naruto spin-off) have been announced, which are set at ¥400 (~$5.20) a piece. Oddly enough, there has been no mention of DragonBall SD or any other main series being released. This is presumably due to the fact that SD is drawn entirely in color, as opposed to the others which are simply drawn in black and white.

This year's Jump Festa has officially come to an end, and with it comes the announcement that the DragonBall: Episode of Bardock anime adaptation that premiered at the event will be streamed online starting on 19 December 2011 via the "Bandai Channel" website. The special will be available for a limited time, as the stream will be taken down on 3 January 2012. However, the stream will not be available to those outside of Japan due to IP restrictions. Unfortunately, it seems this will be the same situation we saw back in 2008 for the Jump Super Anime Tour special.


A flyer handed out at the advanced screening of Episode of Bardock at Jump Festa details the online availability, along with character profiles and a few screen shots from the special (photo courtesy of Radittsu0395). There's also nothing confirming earlier rumors that a TV broadcast of the new anime will taking place in April 2012. However, it has been confirmed through various Japanese blogs that Nozawa Masako did return to voice Bardock and that Chilled was indeed voiced by Nakao Ryusei (Freeza).


Update: Toei Animation's "Anime Jan" retail website is now offering a free stream of the DragonBall: Episode of Bardock anime until 28 December 2011, at which point you will have to begin paying to watch it. However, unlike other websites, this stream is not region-locked and is available worldwide, of course with no subtitles. The only requirement is that you have the latest version of Microsoft's Silverlight installed. For those of you with legal concerns, I will note that this is a completely legal free stream provided by Toei, so enjoy it to your heart's content while you can!

The kick off of Jump Festa '12 on December 17th in Tokyo is less than a day away, so now's as good a time as any to get caught up on all the wonderful DragonBall events taking place this year! As we mentioned in mid-November, the biggest DragonBall-related event this year is the advanced screening of DragonBall: Episode of Bardock, an anime adaptation of Ooishi Naho's spin-off manga revolving around Bardock that ran in the August to October issues of V-Jump. The screenings are scheduled both days at 12:40 and 3:10 at the "Jump Studio" manga and anime special stage.

In celebration of the premiere of Episode of Bardock, the V-Jump booth will be set up as a life size replica of the original Tenkaichi Budoukai arena, although with two 65-inch plasma TVs to further enhance your experience. The booth will also feature a few exhibits, including one showcasing DragonBall.


If you'd like to keep track of the event on your own, you can either follow Jump Festa '12 on Twitter or visit their staff blog, both of which they'll be updating regularly over the next two days (even if you don't know Japanese, they post a lot of nice pictures). We'll be sure to keep you posted if any other DragonBall goodies pop up over the weekend!

With Christmas right around the corner you're probably scrambling to find the perfect gifts for your friends and family. Well, we at Kanzentai have come to the rescue once again with the perfect holiday shopping catalog: the Daizenshuu 7 Item Dictionary! This handy catalog goes through just about every item that appeared in the manga, the DragonBall and DragonBall Z anime, and even the movies and TV specials, making your Dragon World shopping a snap! Whether it's a Capsule Refrigerator for Dad, a Namekian Spaceship for Uncle Bob, or a Submachine Gun for little Suzy, you'll be sure to find everything you need to make this truly the merriest time of year!


Disclaimer: Item prices are subject to change depending on the ever-fluctuating Zenny to Yen to Dollar exchange rates. Lending rates and fees may apply. Any item painstakingly reorganized into English alphabetical order cannot be combined with any current sales, promotional discounts, or coupons. DragonBall GT items not included. All items are nontransferable, not actually for sale, and not redeemable for cash. All sales are final.

We reported back in October that Saikyo Jump will be switching from being published quarterly to monthly as of 3 December 2011, but at the time it was unclear whether DragonBall SD would be continuing. Well, we're no longer in the dark as Shueisha finally updated their offical Saikyou Jump website yesterday with their new line-up, which does indeed include SD. The January issue of the magazine is out now, but it appears that Amazon Japan doesn't currently have any available for purchase.


The website was also updated with three preview pages of the upcoming chapter, which appears to be an alternate retelling of the first chapter of DragonBall. So it's possible that we may be getting a full retelling of the original manga by Ooishi Naho, in full-color SD form.


Finally, they've posted a nice "Saikyo Survey" on the right side of the main page asking, "In order to be the strongest, who would you combo with?" The five options provided are Toriko (Toriko), Chopperman (One Piece), Rock Lee (Naruto), Son Goku (DragonBall), and Sai Jack (Saikyo Jump original character). Well, as of this post, Son Goku leads all of the characters with 51% of the total votes, with Rock Lee in second with only 19% of the votes. So it appears that Son Goku is still a beloved character by kids in Japan these days!

It's been somewhat slow on the news front lately in the Dragon World, but the relaxing break has finally come to an end today with the the following announcement from Bandai (in conjunction with V-Jump and Saikyo Jump) via their Bandai Channel website:

In order to take the first step towards new developments and further expansions of the "Dragon Ball" titles developing in V-Jump and Saikyou Jump, here's a project for further awakening the force of "Dragon Ball"! It's been conceptualized with S (Saikyou), SS (Super Saiyan), and S (Secret) as its keywords!

As part of this new "Dragon Ball Force Project", the recent animated feature Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans that appeared on last year's Raging Blast 2 video game for the PS3 and 360 will be streamed online. The announcement first appeared in the latest issue of V-Jump, and shortly thereafter on both the official V-Jump and Saikyo Jump websites. Neither sites note when exactly the online streaming will be available, for how long, or in which regions it will be viewable. It should be noted that this animated feature isn't available outside of the video game's release, with no home video release announced.


In addition to the above noted online streaming, they have also announced that the special three-chapter spin-off manga titled DragonBall: Episode of Bardock by Ooishi Naho that ran in the August to October issues of V-Jump will be receiving an anime adaptation. There will also be advanced screenings of the anime at Jump Festa '12, which will be held on December 17th and 18th in Tokyo. So far there has been no word as to whether or not there will be a home video release, possibly similar to the mail-in order forms for the release of the 2008 Jump Super Anime Tour Special.


Some members of the 2channel message boards have already begun noting some (unsourced) rumors that a TV broadcast of the new anime is slated for April 2012, exactly three years after the initial broadcast of DragonBall Kai. The rumors also note that Nozawa Masako has returned to reprise her role as Bardock and that the voice of Chilled will be provided by Nakao Ryusei (Freeza), who had previously done the character's voice for the DragonBall Heroes arcade game. The rumors also indicate that Toyosaki Aki, newcomer to the DragonBall franchise, will be portraying the role of Beri, a young villager who befriends Bardock.

We'll keep you posted as more details surface!