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: Sunday, 19 September 2004 ]
[ Past "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]

Q. I once had downloaded the Trunks teaser trailer (for FUNimation's release) that was on the Garlic Jr. saga tapes. However, the computer that it was on was destroyed in a small fire in my house, and I have been all over the internet trying to find it again with no luck. I plan on converting the song from that into a voice tone for my and other peoples cellphones so I was wondering if you might have it or know where to get it. - Solodarkprince

A. You mean this one right here? ^^

It's just the audio (MP3 @ 128 kbps, 44 kHz), but from the sounds of it, the audio is all you need. I ripped it from a certain The History of Trunks DVD, downsampled and encoded it to MP3 from there. This will, of course, contain any dialogue and sound effects that were present in the commercial; I don't believe Faulconer's Trunks Compendium CD has this audio on it, so you might be out of luck if you want the "karaoke version" (so to speak). - VegettoEX

Q. First of all I want to say that the "Transformations Guide" is interesting, but I have a question about it. Wouldn't Lunch also be in there, or is she not considered "transformed" enough? The same with Puar and Oolong. - Danyel Kulp

A. Expect them soon! We wanted to premier the section as pretty much "complete" with what's there, but we also wanted to leave it open for expansion. We'll be adding these "Miscellaneous Characters" at some point in the near future. Expect Oolong, Pu'er, Lunch, Zarbon, and more! - VegettoEX

Q. Even in translations, shouldn't Goku's real name still be spelled as "Kakarotto"? I mean, if spelled as "Kakarot," the fusion name should be "Vegit" rather than Vegitto!- Frob

A. We prefer to use "Kakarrot," since it preserves the "carrot" pun. but at the same time, we also didn't want to have to use "Veget" for Goku's and Vegeta's fusion, because it subtracts a letter from Vegeta's name, rather than adding Goku's to it. So... we stuck with "Vegetto." Yes, it's a compromise, but we like it that way. So there. :-P - Julian

Q. I bought the re-release of Final Bout (and it pretty much sucks) but I was wondering if you knew why it was released in 1997 since Dragonball Z had just started here, and most of the characters would be pretty unknown to most fans in this country. - Todd Salmon

A. 1997 was the time that season two of DBZ's dub was airing for the first time in syndication. Season two took a huge step forward for the show with Saban's demand for a full one-hour timeslot (two episodes) each weekend morning that it aired. The release of Final Bout seemed like a natural thing for FUNimation to do; it was DBZ-related, it was new for a system that was still growing in popularity (and would soon take over the world)...

But there is the point, sure, that most of the characters would be completely unfamiliar to American audiences. Many fans thought Chibi Goku was actually from the original DragonBall TV series, nevermind understand what SSJ4 was. Regardless, it was just another piece of merchandise to pump out to an eager audience. - VegettoEX

Q. A fansite I was stumbled upon stated that there are TWO ways to reach SSJ4; one way is to reach the human side from the golden ape, and the other way was to go straight from SSJ3. However, the fansite stated that Goku simply wasn't strong enough to go from SSJ3. However, Goku actually could have went from SSJ3 because, in one episode later in the series, he reached it without ever having to transform into a giant ape. I just want to know if this is true. Are there actually two ways to reach SSJ4? - 4shirtsandadog

A. This is a tough one. Beyond what we see happen in the show, we don't have much to go on. There's no manga to base anything off of, and the GT Perfect File books give little in the way of raw information.

It seems that for the first time you reach SSJ4, you must do so through the entire process of Golden Ôzaru and controlling the power down into SSJ4. After this, yes... there are many occasions that we see Goku simply "power-up" right into SSJ4 without the need for any prior transformations in that particular scene. - VegettoEX

Q. OK... Captain Ginyu has the ability to change bodies, right? Well, does that mean that the body we first see him in is a stolen one, or is it the body he was naturally born with? Another question related to Ginyu is if he could switch bodiies, how come he didn't ever change with Freeza? - Janemba the Great

A. This is one of my own personal favorite theories. It's true; we have no idea and no way to tell whether or not Ginyu is actually in his own body. We assume so because it makes the most logical sense...

His not switching with Freeza is probably mostly due to his utter fear of the tyrant. Most of Freeza's henchmen seem to know their place and their role quite well; Ginyu is probably no exception to this. - VegettoEX

Q. About the Vegetto vs. Gogeta argument: I know it's stated in the manga and anime that Vegetto is strong because of the rivalry between Goku and Vegeta, but what does this mean, exactly? Does this mean the animosity between the two parties makes the fusion stronger, or that since Goku and Vegeta are rivals, they've pushed themselves to the limit (above just about anyone else in existence) to keep up with one another over time, hence resulting in a stronger-than-normal fusion? (sort of like: which would be stronger: A fusion of Winston Churchill and Hitler or a fusion of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan?) Or is it some combination of the two? - Joshua Cochran

A. What's said in the dialogue is the following (taken from Steve's script in the subs):

"It's only because those two did it that it's gone so far. You've got two of the three greatest experts, from This World and the Next World combined, merged together, after all. Moreoever, you've got two rivals teamed together. That's obviously going to be what's strongest!"

And that really doesn't answer anything, unfortunately (thanks for nothing Old Kaiôshin!). Personally, I've always taken it to mean that since Vegeta and Goku are such intense rivals, yes, the animosity between them just pushes the resulting fusion to even higher levels of... well... power. However, you bring up a good common-sense point; since Vegeta and Goku are rivals, they've personally pushed themselves to such high levels, that of course the resulting fusion will be so strong... they are strong to begin with!

So basically, we have no answer. I'm even less useful than Old Kaiôshin! - VegettoEX

Q. I remember hearing you refer to the female member of Bardock's team as
"Selypa." Wasn't her name "Fasha" ? - Mike Sato

A. The character's name is never spoken in the Japanese version, but she is listed in the credits of the TV Special and in Daizenshuu # 6 as "Seripa" (which we romanize as "Selypa," to show the "parsley" pun). "Fasha" is the name FUNimation gave her, so it is neither official, nor of any particular significance. And now you know. :-) - Julian

Q. Cell Spits out No. 18... yet when he regenerates, he's perfect. What was the cause of this? The popular theory that I accepted was that his matrix allowed him to regenerate to whatever his highest form was, OR that said matrix was not even there until Perfection, so that's all it knew to regenerate to. Is there a definitive answer? - Ben Plante

A. The Matrix is telling me that there is no definitive answer.

Yep, the popular fan-theory is that somehow Cell's nucleus/cells "remembered" what the perfect form (kanzentai) was, and when they regenerated the body, they went back to this form. Of course, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense... but it certainly was a convenient plot point to go with. Again, there's no real answer, and I'm a useless old man. - VegettoEX

Q. I'm taking Japanese 101-002, and just now I see that "chi chi" means "father." I've also heard it is slang for "breasts," so how does one differentiate between the two readings? - Sean Poncin

A. It's a matter of Kanji (Chinese characters). The character "chichi" for "father" is one, while the character "chichi" that means "milk" or "breasts" is another. As far as I know, writing it in katakana implies the "breasts" meaning (since it's a childish word); but, since she becomes a mother later on, I guess you could say that her name is a pun on "father," as well. - Julian

Q. There was a tanka (poem) that Toriyama included on the title page for the chapter in which Vegeta sacrificed his life. What was it about? Are there any translations of it? Even raw Japanese will do. - Son Goku-sa

A. This poem, which appeared on the title page of volume 39's chapter 467, is a lament on one's own death (in this case, Vegeta's). It was apparently inspired by a nearly identical piece by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the legendary military mastermind who lived at the end of Japan's Sengoku Jidai (Warring Sates Period). This tanka (a short waka poem of 31 syllables), as it appears in Toriyama's work, is the following:

AITÔ
Tsuyu to ochi
Tsuyu to kie ni shi
Wagami ka na
Kono yo no koto shi
Yume no mata yume

LAMENT
Just as dew falls
Just as dew vanishes
My own Self as such
A thing of this world
One dream after another

Q. What's the mural image on the side of the Kanzenban volumes? I've searched everywhere for a pic of it, even on Japanese auction sites, but with no luck. Is there any way that you or Julian could make a scan of it since you guys have all the volumes? If that's not possible, even just a detailed description would suffice. - Son Goku-sa

A. The "Mural" (that is, the continuous image that runs along the spines of the books) for the Kanzenban volumes is in the form of a race, in which Goku and Kuririn (on foot) are competing against Yamcha and Roshi (in drag racers), Piccolo Daimaô (on a hovering thing), and Vegeta (on a tricycle). Goku is winning, while Vegeta is bringing up the rear. Various characters watch from the stands and cheer their friends on. It's pretty cute, as everybody is drawn in super-deformed style. I'd like to scan it, but it's just too complicated to try and put all of the images (which often don't completely connect to each other) together into one long picture. Hopefully the description will do, though! - Julian

THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSION:

Q. Now, I apologize for not investigating this further but I don't (yet) have the full set of DB DVDs. The Room of Spirit and Time seems to be a second "easy" example (though one that I didn't notice) in that it first appeared in the DB anime but not the manga, and then later was a critical plot element in the Cell saga in both the manga and anime series. I haven't been able to find the reference to the room in the first 16 volumes of the manga, but I'm not sure that it isn't actually there someplace obvious and I'm not seeing it. (I have read somewhere that the "time travelling" room in the Saiyan saga was also referred to as the "Room of Spirit and Time" in the Japanese-language anime, though I can't confirm this. That would be interesting if true: two ideas for the same concept in filler and only one to become canon.) - jpranevich

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!

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