We all frequent message boards and online forums (such as alt.fan.dragonball), and we all contribute as much as we can. Unfortunately, we don't KNOW of all the places people post questions, so it's impossible for us to reach everyone. However, if you're reading this, you at least know where WE are, so it's possible for you to ask us directly.

What we're going for here is sort of an "Answerman" or "Ask John" (from Anime News Network and Anime Nation, respectively). We'd like you to e-mail in whatever questions you may have, so long as it somehow relates to the world of DragonBall; be it the manga, the anime, merchandise... whatever. We've been around for a few years, now, and we know the ropes... we like to think we know our stuff.

And we want to help. E-mail your questions to VegettoEX@aol.com with the subject "Ask VegettoEX." We'll try to update this section every Saturday, with at least one question straight from the fans. Thanks!

[ Last Updated: Saturday, 14 June 2003 ]
[ Past "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]

Q. I'm a little confused. There are so many DragonBall CDs that have been released, and I'm not quite sure what the difference is between them all. Can you help? Thanks, I appreciate it... - G. Neric Otaku

A. OK, so no one's actually already e-mailed me this question, since the section's just started, but regardless, it's a question that I get asked all the time, and I see asked on many a message board and forum. Luckily, I'm just the guy to help! Here on Daizenshuu EX, we've got a great "Music Database" you can take advantage of. We've got it split up into quite a few sections, which is probably the easiest way for me to break it down for you.

• CD Sets -- These are multiple-disc compilations, containing material from other CDs. They mostly have songs from the Hit Song Collection CDs, but may also contain a few video game tracks and exclusive remixes. Check out their track listings to find out exactly what's on them.

• CD Singles -- Pretty self-explanatory. What's neat about CD singles in Japan is that they're all released on the mini-CD format, which is approximately three inches wide. They haven't really caught on in the US, but you can find blank CD-Rs that are this size (they hold a little under 300 MB of data). Most of the opening and ending themes to all the TV series have gotten a CD single release in Japan. They usually contain at least another two songs on them, as well. DBZ CD singles usually have the appropriate ending theme on the same CD (for example, the "We Gotta Power" CD single also has "Boku-tachi Wa Tenshi Datta" on it). They may also have karaoke versions (just the background music; no vocals) included on them. In the case of DBGT themes, they usually contain at least one more song by that J-Pop artist, as well as karaoke versions.

• Hit Song Collections -- Very weird, but very neat at the same time. There are twenty "Hit Song Collection" CDs, two of which (the "half" CDs; 8 ½ & ½) are exclusively remixes of popular songs. Nearly every Hit Song Collection CD contains at least the opening and ending theme from whatever point in the series it was released during (1-15 are "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" while 16-18 are "We Gotta Power"). They may also contain important insert songs from either the TV series or movies that were airing or released during the CD release, as well (such as "Tenka-ichi Gohan," the insert song during DBZ Movie One, or "Unmei no Hi ~Tamashii VS Tamashii~," Gohan's SSJ2 transformation theme). The rest of the Hit Song Collection CD contents are filled with what are called image songs. Think of these songs as what we'd see on "Music Inspired by the Motion Picture..." CDs we'd see in stores. Most are performed by the regular DBZ artists (such as Hironobu Kageyama and KÛKO), but are not necessarily FROM anything in the series, or relating to anything specific in the series. They're just "in the same style" as other songs. Some are pretty catchy, and some are... well...yeah... NOT catchy. Other fun things you'll find in the Hit Song Collections are in-character songs (funny songs performed by the seiyû in their character voice, such as the fantastic "Bejîta-sama no O-ryôri Jigoku!! ~'Okonomiyaki' no Kan~," or "Lord Vegeta's Cooking Hell!! 'Okonomiyaki' Recipe," performed by Vegeta's seiyû, Ryô Horikawa).

• Video Game Soundtracks -- Another self-explanatory genre of CDs. There have been TONS of video games released based on the DB franchise, and most of them (especially the later ones) have had official soundtracks released for them. They'll contain either the music as-is from the game, or "arranged" versions (which means they won't be restricted to the sound output from the game; they may even be fully orchestrated!).

• Movie Music -- Music from the movies. Makes sense, huh? Not every movie has had a soundtrack released for it, but there are a few movie-specific CDs, as well as some that cover a few different movies all on the same CD. Opening and ending themes, background music...it's all here.

• Miscellaneous -- CDs that just don't fit anywhere else. Whether they be compilations, live performances, or even drama tracks (vocal dramas from the series on CD, like a radio show)... this is where you'll find them listed.

• Miscellaneous Non-DragonBall -- This is really just a fake category we made up to fit in some CDs that really don't have anything to do with DB, but kinda do. For example, the DBGT themes were performed by popular J-Pop artists; the artists' CDs that originally contained these songs are listed in this section. Sometimes you'll even find rare remixes or live performances that never appeared on an official DB CD!

• Foreign -- Well of course stuff from Japan is foreign, but that's not the point. Countries other than Japan and the US have had CD releases. For example, Germany gets drama CDs upon drama CDs all the time. France had their own compilation disc released, which even contains some original Japanese songs.

• Domestic -- Bruce Faulconer has plagued us with released of his music from FUNimation's English dub of DragonBall Z, and since they're technically licensed DB CDs...we made a section for them (which is happily far behind in track listings!). There's also been two CDs released from FUNimation's early days of dubbing with the Ocean cast (season one of both DB and DBZ have soundtracks).

• Bootlegs -- Bootleg, bootleg, bootleg! Those pesky SonMay and EverAnime companies are hard at work trying to trick you into buying their substandard releases of DB CDs. You may not even be able to tell the difference at a quick glance. We haven't listed EVERY bootleg CD, since they've gone and made copies of actual CDs (such as the Hit Song Collections). What we list are the CDs that DON'T have an official version (unlicensed compilations, usually). Stay away from these at all costs! They're usually identified by a large "SM" (SonMay) logo, or an "EA-####" (EverAnime) catalogue number.

Phew! So there's a TON of things that have been released on CD, so I really suggest checking out the "Music Guide" for detailed track listings. We're working on a new section to explain which songs are played where in the series, so look for that soon, too! Hopefully, that's at least been a little bit of help. Good luck shopping! For some more information on where to buy CDs, check out our "FAQ" page, as well.

That's it for now! E-mail us your questions for next week's update!

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