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 weekend with at least one question straight from the fans. Thanks!

[ Last Updated: Monday, 11 October 2004 ]
[ Past "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]

Q. About how long does each saga take place? As in real world time? I know about the 7 years between the Cell and Saiyaman sagas, but how about the Andriods/Cell and the Buu sagas? It would seem they only take place within a few days, but I'm not sure. - N K

A. It's extremely difficult to tell. Beyond certain things that we know have a set amount of time (such as the passing of years, as you've mentioned) it's... well... just tough to tell. There are only a few instances where we see the passing of day to night to day, again. Also, time (in general) seems to pass sooooo much more slowly in the anime :P

Usually there is no time frame given, although we can probably asssume that most (aside from ones where a specifically stated amount of time passes) occur over several days to several weeks.

There's also the timeline/calendar from the seventh daizenshuu that lists several key dates, but these don't always necessary make 100% sense... though they are a good guideline. For example, the daizenshuu states that Nappa & Vegeta land on Earth 762 A.D. on November 3rd. It's then stated that Goku, Kuririn, and Gohan are hospitalized the day after (which means that entire segment of the manga/show took place in the span of a single day).

Big thanks to Greg Werner's translated timeline for that last bit o' info ^^. - VegettoEX

Q. This is about the difference between translations of specific Japanese episode titles. There seem to be two different translations!

A. Basically, it comes down to two items... a set of fan translations, and a set of official (or, in this case, Steve's!) translations.

Your "other" translation that you've included is definitely fan-made; not only is it different, but in the second case it's also completely wrong! Let's take a look at the two episode titles you've noted the numbers for.

Look at the differences in punctuation with the fan translations (specifically, how Steve's punctuation actually lies in the same place and same order as the Japanese original). Also, even if you don't know Japanese, you can probably pick out some words here and there (such as names) that really clue you in as to what's being "translated" correctly or incorrectly. Look at the second example; Goku and Vegeta's names are obviously in the title, yet are nowhere to be found in the fan transation. In both cases, Steve's are super-accurate, while the other... isn't. That's not to say that there can't be alternative translations that are also right, but the other examples you gave definitely aren't.

Hope that helps some! - VegettoEX & Julian

Q. I was listening to Led Zeppelin and I heard the weirdest thing. A song very similar to GIRI GIRI --Sekai Kyokugen--. The song in question is the "Immigrant Song." I was just wondering if there is a real similarity or if it was just me. - Miguel Angel Arellano

A. Indeed there is a similarity! "Immigrant Song" seems to be one of the more widely ripped-off songs, but let's not stop there... DBZ music is actually rather non-original for more than just this song!

The Super Butoden 2 soundtrack has always bugged me; a good majority of music on it seems to be either vaguely inspired by or directly ripped from other popular pieces of music. Back in high school when I worked at Blockbuster, there was a certain manager who would pop in Pink Floyd concerts at night when the rest of the crew had left. There was one song I immediately picked my head up on... holy crap, it was Cell's theme! The song in question is "One of These Days," and from what I understand, is easily one of the most ripped-off songs (in this case, it's nearly the exact same song).

So here's some MP3 samples! In all three, the first song is the "original" song, while the second is the DBZ song. Be shocked and amazed! The Piccolo one may be a little bit of a stretch, but the other two are quite obvious. (All MP3 @ 128 kbps, stereo)

There you have it. Not that I'm a Faulconer fan by any means, but next time you throw Shunsuke Kikuchi's and Monolith's Japanese scores for the shows and games up on a pedestal, just remember these samples :P - VegettoEX

Q. I've wondered this for awile, and knowing alot about DB/Z/GT and even asking other people no one seems to know. Does Lunch's personality switching sneezes have an origin? What about her personalities, was she born with both, and if not, which was the original? - godofchaos

A. Like many things in DragonBall (and anime, in general)... there are just some things that are never explained. Lunch and her sneezing is one of them! We're tempted to believe that her calm, blue-haired self is the original. - VegettoEX

Q. When did Chichi and Goku move into that big house they had at the end of DBZ? And what happened to their old home? - chichilovesvegeta

A. Did they even move in there? We're both drawing a blank on that. If they did, then probably right after Videl and Gohan got married. You'll also see their old home seems to have been moved closer to the shrine for Grandpa Gohan (which means it was probably a capsule home).

Of course, the next question is... where did they get the money to get such a nice new home?!? Well, Goku did win the 23rd Tenka-ichi Budôkai, so there had to have been some saved-up cash from that. Also, we've got good ol' Mr. Satan as part of the family through marriage now, and he's certainly not going to let family members keep slumming it up in the woods! - VegettoEX

Q. What was Gohan's job at the end of DBZ? On one fansub of mine, he mentions the books being for class (a teacher?) but I haven't seen that sub in a long time. All the websites refer to him being a scholar of some sort. - TachiChan

A. Officially, he's a "scholar." That said, "scholar" is just a generic term for someone in an academic profession. So really, he could be a lot of things: a university professor, or a researcher, or a museum curator, even... we really just don't know. So, your guess is as good as ours. - Julian

Q. If Roshi destroyed the moon in his battle with Goku during the tournament in DB, how come Piccolo also destroys the moon in the Saiya-jin saga in DBZ?. - Eternal Phoenix

A. Kami-sama brought it back after permanently removing Goku's tail. As for how he accomplished either of these feats, don't ask... he's God, for his own sake. :-P. - Julian

Q. Have you ever thought about going outside of the internet, DragonBall wise? What I mean is you should try releasing one of those “unofficial” books like Pojo did — only better. You could try having a “Best of Ask VegettoEX” and “complete song translations” as well as a “plot-hole guide.” I know I could get of this stuff online, but wouldn’t you like to use your great DB knowledge to earn you some serious cash? - sagramor peralta

A. Long story short? We just don't feel good about charging people for information like that, especially concerning a property we don't own!

I have a real problem when mere fans like us try to "cash in" on their own darn fandom and make a profit off of it. It's not our show; we just love it a whole lot. I've tried coming up with some kind of logical reasoning and discussion in regards to my / our opinions on the matter, but it just doesn't make any sense when I try to put it in words.

Besides, it's kinda nice being this little niche site, years later, where people know they can come to actually get some decent (accurate) information :P - VegettoEX

THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSION:

Q. What was Black's rank in the Red Ribbon Army? I need both the original Japanese word and the English translation. - Adamant

A. Read over the discussion, here! Looking forward to your thoughts!

We're trying to stay with our weekly schedule for the section... so... e-mail us your questions for next week's update! We love getting all these questions, each week, so the more you send us, the more we can (try to) answer for you!

[ "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]