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, 26 December 2004 ]
[ Past "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]

Q. I know that you've seen some Shaman King so I was wondering... have you seen
the 4Kids dub of it? If so, what are your thoughts on it? - nephalim33

A. This is probably not the answer you're looking for... but... I've only seen half an episode dubbed, and it was while I was in the kitchen doing other things, so I wasn't even paying attention.

At the point that I'm writing this, I have three episodes left to watch in the series (62-64). It's been a fun ride, with lots of ups and downs. I thought the series was fantastic for about 40 episodes. For another 10, it was just kinda OK.. and then it really started dropping. I'm almost afraid to finish it because it SUCKS so much, at this point of the series.

Anyway, back to your question... there's really no answer I can give you. I heard the dub sucks, so I didn't watch it, and I don't watch it. Maybe I'll buy some R2 DVDs, and I'll probably pick up a few discs when it comes out for R1 (especially if it's dual-language), but I really don't care if the dub is bad (and have no idea if it is, since I haven't exactly seen it)... the dub's not what I'm watching. - VegettoEX

Q. I noticed in the Raditz arc, FUNi allowed "die" and "kill" in Season 1, but changed once Goku died. I was reading Chris Psaros old DBZ: Uncensored website, and noticed that Saban did not like those words and made FUNi go back a re-dub them. Is this true or not? - majinyusuke64

A. It's true. There's actually TWO different versions of the first four episodes to FUNimation's English dub, as distributed by Saban. The ORIGINAL dub ONLY aired ONCE on television... and that was its FIRST run. There were a couple extra lines, such as Kame-Sen'nin's "I smell death in the air" and Piccolo's "Well, you could die, for one thing" that you probably wouldn't recognize!

What's really amusing is that if you check out the extra entitled "The World of DragonBall," which can be found on the driving episodes Burger King VHS (as well as the two "Trunks" DVD releases), you'll hear these original-verson dub lines in the dialogue! It's almost as if FUNimation was teasing us by throwing them on :P.

These episodes did indeed have some lines re-inserted to cover up some of the more obvious dialogue (the two examples I gave above being changed to, "Uh oh, this isn't good!" and "I suppose you COULD make me angry...," respectively). The next time these episodes were aired in re-runs (all the way through their Cartoon Network airings), the versions with new lines inserted were the ones aired (these are also the ones available on the first volume, "Arrival"). From there on-out until the end of season two, any mention of "death" was "cleverly" danced around by bringing in the concept of "the next dimension" (which you can read more about over on our "Dub Mistakes" rumor page).

Hopefully that makes sense! It's a little wacky, but it's true! - VegettoEX

Q. What is your opinion on FUNimation's treatment of other animes besides
DB/DBZ/GT? - majinyusuke64

A. Well... I dunno. Fruits Basket seemed to be handled fantastically, although I only own the first volume, myself, and only watched three (or four?) of their volumes, total. I haven't seen much Yu Yu Hakusho (it just doesn't interest me), and I haven't seen any of their Lupin movies. I've seen a couple episodes of Blue Gender, which also didn't interest me, but seemed pretty well done.

So I guess I'm not the BEST person to ask. It seems, as a casual viewer, that they've greatly improved, though, and I look forward to each of their announcements. With the exception of the DragonBall franchise at times (*cough* DBGT *cough*), everything seems to be handled with love and care! - VegettoEX

Q. Out of all the new Dragonball games being released in the U.S., which ones are worth checking out? - Tripp

A. Great question! Those of us who have been around a while will remember the limited-run of Final Bout releases back in 1997, and laughed as we expected to never see another domestic DB game release ever again (and quite honestly, we weren't even expecting any more Japanese ones!).

Here we are at the very end of 2003 with a trilogy of action-RPGs nearly done on the GBA, a new 3D fighting game series on PS2 and Gamecube, a 2D fighter on GBA, those silly CCG video games... dear Kami, it's insane! I'd even venture to say it's... Mondo nuts!

While I never played the first Legacy of Goku, I've gotta tell you... I had a blast with the second one. I actually can't bring myself to beat the game because I don't want it to be over! There's some kinda monotonous stuff earlier on, and some side-quests that boggle the mind (why on Earth would Vegeta help move baby dinosaur eggs...?), but all-in-all, it's crazy fun. Who doesn't want to run around beating up dinosaurs as a SSJ?! LOTS of hardcore toss-backs to the show, and it was done by a team who honestly loved the show and went to great lengths to make it as detailed as possible. The Dragon World never seemed so alive. Definitely recommended.

On the other hand, the Budokai series has been very interesting, as well! As actual fighting games go... well, maybe not so much. If you're a fan of the show, though, there's really nothing quite like whipping off a fantastic Final Flash or Genki-Dama on an opponent who couldn't dodge in time. I had a blast (hur hur, "blast") unlocking everything in the first Budokai (Freeza's spaceship?! AWESOME!), and the fun-level lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. It's Friday night as I'm typing this, and I just picked up Budokai 2 today, so I haven't really played a whole lot of it. From the looks of what I have played, it seems to be the first game with more, more, more.

So what's my answer? Check them all out! Go rent some games and find out what you like. If you like the action-RPGs, go with the Legacy of Goku series. If fighting games (and unlocking things!) is more your style, check out the Budokai series. - VegettoEX

Q. DBZ Is comming back to Toonami in January, Do you have any idea if its the newly dubbed season 1 and 2? - My Arm is missin

A. I'll be finding out with you in January :P. - VegettoEX

Q. im probably gonna order the complete song collection the 4th set but how long should it take for it to arrive to the us please post my question - FusionHA2071

A. Just like a question from last week... well, read that answer. Grammar, please ^^;;

Anyway... it really depends on where you order from. For Amazon.co.jp, if you pick the standard international shipping, you'll generally get your item(s) between 7 and 12 days after date it ships. This is, of course, assuming you live in the US; if you live elsewhere, you're going to have a difference experience, obviously. Be sure to always read the policies and and shipping information on the site you're ordering from; luckily, Amazon Japan has an English ordering page! Woo-hoo!

And for any of those interested, here's the link to the new "LANDMARK" book that we're both ordering, and hopefully scanning some stuff from ^^;; - Julian & VegettoEX

We're gonna try to get back into a 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 mroe you send us, the more we can (try to) answer for you!

[ "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]