Whether you've heard about it or not, an unconfirmed rumor has been slowing floating around the internet that DragonBall Kai would be ending after the Freeza arc at around episode 50. And you know how impressionable the interwebz can be, believing everything that's posted. Well, Happinet's official release website has been updated confirming that at least 99 episodes of Kai have been planned. We're assuming this episode count is nothing concrete, just an estimation from Toei based on how much material they think they'll be cutting. But unless Toei plans to really drag out the Freeza arc, I think it's safe to assume we'll be seeing both the Artificial Human and Majin Buu arcs of the series.

It was also announced that these 99 episodes will be spread across 33 DVD volumes and 8 Blu-ray boxsets. Assuming that there are no breaks in the series, this means that we can expect DragonBall Kai to be running up through at least the beginning of March 2011. I guess that means we have at least another year's worth of content. Yay?! Other than that, there's nothing else to really report on, but we'll be sure to dismiss any other Kai rumors that surface. In the meantime, I'll be updating the "DVD Guide" to reflect these changes shortly.

UPDATE: The "DVD Guide" has been updated with all of the current DragonBall Kai release information from Happinet. It appears that Blu-ray Box #4 will now contain 15 episodes on 5 discs, as opposed to the typical 12 episodes on 4 discs as seen with prior releases. Therefore the price of the box set has been increased from ¥15,960 (~$160) to ¥19,950 (~$200), but it is still set to be released on 25 June 2010.

They have also confirmed rough release dates for the remaining 4 Blu-ray box sets; October 2010, January 2011, April 2011, and July 2011, respectively. The final Blu-ray box set is listed to contain 9 episodes on 3 discs with a lowered price-point of ¥11,970 (~$120), but I anticipate we'll see those numbers change in the future. The individual DVD releases have remained unchanged, with each volume containing 3 episodes and a price-point of ¥2,940 (~$30). However, the release dates of any volume beyond DVD Volume #18 are still unknown.

It has been speculated, and actually known by a few, but it is now official. FUNimation announced on their Q3 Fiscal 2010 earnings conference call this morning that it has acquired the license to dub and distribute DragonBall Kai in North America. Now, if you're visiting us, you probably already know all about Kai. But just for a refresher, DragonBall Kai is a "refreshed" version of the DragonBall Z TV series which was produced for a high-definition (HD) presentation in honor of its 20th anniversary. The series features re-recorded dialogue, new music, updated sound effects, and new digital effects. At this time, the series is still being broadcast in Japan, meaning this will be the first time that any DragonBall series will be simultaneously released in Japan and North America.

However, there is one little catch. The series will be known as Dragon Ball Z Kai in North America. FUNimation first announced the name change on their blog this afternoon, by simply posting their "new" logo. No other official information has been released by FUNimation at this point, however their last Twitter post concerning Z Kai stated that "more information about DBZ Kai [will be] coming soon", including questions about "who? when? and how?". Hopefully "coming soon" actually means "coming soon".


A few hours later, the official Dragon Ball Z Kai website opened, announcing that releases would be "coming this spring". It was shortly after this that Wal-Mart posted listings for both DVD and Blu-ray releases. The listings show a release date of 18 May 2010, which is right around the corner.


Now you may be thinking that this is all happening so fast, but in reality it's been in the works since at least December 2009. According to our buddy Kendamu's research, that is when FUNimation purchased the dragonballzkai.com domain name, and when sources say dubbing for the series began. The Fanboy Review is reporting that the series is indeed being re-dubbed, however the cast is remaining relatively unchanged.

For now, that's all of the available information we have. But as soon as we know more, we'll let you know. In the meantime, you can find more information about DragonBall Kai in our "Episode Guide".

It's February 1st, which means only one thing... it's Horikawa Ryou's birthday! That's right, the voice of Vegeta has turned 52, and we'd like to wish him a happy birthday. Also, according to his most recent blog post, he celebrated a little early this year. On January 19th, he wrote:

先日、ＩＡＭ名古屋校にて少し早めのバースデーパーティーをしていただきました。 かわいい学院生達に祝ってもらえて、本当に幸せです！ ありがとう！！！ The other day, I had a somewhat early birthday party at the IAM (International Academy of Media school) in Nagoya. I was really happy to be toasted by all the cute students! Thank you!!!

Now I don't know about you, but I have a sudden craving for a Super Saiyan cake. "The Saiyan Blood is Forever!" And speaking of "Saiyan Blood", many of Horikawa's fans left comments of admiration on his blog for his new in-character image song found on the DragonBall Kai Song Collection CD and in DragonBall Kai episode 041. Also, for anyone that's curious, the International Academy of Media (written IAM for short), is a school that teaches voice acting, among other things. It has campuses located in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.

Links: Horikawa Ryou's Official Blog

Similar to FUNimation's first Dragon Box Z set, the second set has begun shipping early from RightStuf.com to those lucky people that pre-ordered the set. Fortunately for us, our buddy Haseowolf was lucky enough to receive his set extra-early, again!


He was nice enough to throw up some pictures of the packaging and Dragon Book that comes with the set, as well as several screen shots of the actual video. In the meantime, if you haven't ordered your own copy yet since its official release date is 16 February 2010, RightStuf is still offering a pretty good deal. It is going for $35.99, which is 40% off of the suggested retail price and less than Amazon's price of $53.99. In addition, if you're one of the people that was on the fence about purchasing the first Dragon Box Z, you may consider picking it up from Amazon which has dropped the price down to $31.99.

Links: Dragon Box Z Vol. 1 (RightStuf), Dragon Box Z Vol. 1 (Amazon)

I know I just posted the latest cover art for the fifth DragonBall Kai DVD volume, but merchandise news waits for no one! Although most of these items were already announced, many of them have received cover art over the past couple of days. So let's get to it!

Shueisha's has revealed on their online book store that the next TV animation comic is set to be released on 4 February 2010 for ¥730. This set will be titled the "Majin Buu Battle arc", and as of now, we don't have any actual cover art. But knowing Shueisha, they probably won't post it until a day or two before it's released. Whether or not this is the last arc of the series, the final Z comic should be released sometime this fall, hopefully.

Bandai's DragonBall DS2: Charge! Red Ribbon Army is due out on 11 February 2010 for ¥5,229. It is the sequel to the first DragonBall DS, which was released domestically as DragonBall Origins. The game will contain an emulated ROM of the first DragonBall Famicom game, The Mystery of Shenlong, which was released domestically in 1986 as Dragon Power. You can view a trailer for the upcoming DragonBall DS 2 video game here, and/or order it here.


Next we have the second Blu-ray box set and sixth volume of the DVD releases of DragonBall Kai. Both are set to be released on 19 February 2010; the DVD release will contain episodes 016-018, while the Blu-ray box will contain episodes 016-027. The high definition Blu-ray release will set you back a pretty ¥15,960 (~$160), while the the standard definition DVD release is the typical price of ¥2,940 (~$30). However, Amazon Japan is offering some pretty good discounted pre-order prices, so be sure to take advantage of them while they last.

Amazon Japan / CDJapan

Amazon Japan / CDJapan

If you're curious why we keep using such small cover art for Kai home video releases, it's because of Amazon Japan. For some reason, they've stopped putting up large cover images, or in some cases, even putting up a cover at all. If anyone knows of any site that has higher resolution images, please let us know. Anyway...

Three new Koro-chan Pack DragonBall Kai CDs are all due out on 24 February 2009. Each will retail for the standard ¥1,500 and contain a small number of songs on the mini-CD, as well as a picture book. Along with the cover art, we now also have track listings for each Koro-chan Pack, as detailed below. All of the songs included were previously released on the DragonBall Kai Song Collection CD except for the three karaoke tracks. So if you already own that, then you might want to pass on these and save your money.


Well that's it, you're now all caught up on everything DragonBall that's being released next month. Hope you've saved up your money, cause it's gonna be one Hell of a month! Also, don't forget to check us out on Twitter for site updates, behind the scenes randomness, and Herms' all around intriguing insight.

DragonBall Kai episode 041 is now available in the "Episode Guide" for your viewing pleasure. This episode featured a new eyecatch and two, count 'em two, insert songs! Overall, it covered a little under a half of DragonBall Z episode 084 and the entirety of episode 085, which is equivalent to the last six pages of chapter 305 and all of chapter 306. Be sure to check back next week for another exciting episode of DragonBall Kai! We're quickly closing in on some legendary Super Saiyan action!


As always, DragonBall Z episode 085 has been added to the "Episode Guide" and chapter 306 has been added to the "Manga Guide". You'll also find lyric translations and dedicated pages for the two insert songs "Saiyan Blood" and An Ultra-super Dragon Soul" in the "Theme Guide". However, at the moment you won't find the new eyecatch is available on the site, but as soon as it is, I'll let everyone know. Enjoy~!

Links: DragonBall Kai Episode 041, DragonBall Z Episode 085, Chapter 306, Theme Guide

The cover art for the fifth DragonBall Kai DVD volume has been unveiled on Happinet's official release website. It is set to be released on 29 January 2009 for ¥2,940 (~$30) and will contain episodes 013-015 in widescreen as they were originally broadcast. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until February for another fullscreen Blu-ray release, but in the meantime don't forget that you can still order any of the previously released Kai DVDs or Blu-rays through our "DVD Guide".


Be sure to check back soon, as we have a couple of nice content updates coming your way, one of which will be in conjunction with a new contest. And finally (I know this is unrelated), I highly recommend everyone listen to the latest Daizenshuu EX podcast episode about the belated Daisuke Gouri who passed away last week at the age of 57.