Kanzenshuu - The Original Dragon Ball Podcast

Mike joins Baloo to discuss running Kanzenshuu as well as Dragon Ball's early ties to Journey to the West, accompanied by a chat about the novel's various translations and its poetry.

Episode #0426! Mike and Jake discuss surnames in the Dragon World. In a series where most characters do not actually have family names, how can you tell for sure when someone might actually have one? What examples tend to confuse fans, and which names might be hiding a secret surname away?! A bit of news recap and a related "Journey to the West" excerpt round out the episode!

Episode #0425! Mike, Ryan, and Josh preview "Dragon Ball FighterZ", the new fighting game coming in 2018 from Arc System Works. Based on the E3 demo, how is the game feeling so far, and what is it doing to separate itself from previous franchise entries? A tease of new and forthcoming website content rounds out the episode!

Episode #0424! Mike and Jake review the latest "Dragon Ball Super" character name developments alongside a quick look back at various production slip-ups and changes. Julian joins for a little inside-baseball chat about translation using Viz's "Dragon Ball Super" Volume 1 interview as a base. Tune in for all this and a little bit of news recap from the last week!

Episode #0423! Mike and Ajay check in on the updated visual style and effects on display in the "Universe Survival arc" of "Dragon Ball Super". Have the filters been toned down in any way, or is that perception just a side effect of the story's various locales? Has pre-production evened out to acceptable levels, and what kinds of tidbits are out there on social media telling the behind-the-scenes...

Mike and Meri share more articles from old magazines making their way to the "Press Archive" on Kanzenshuu and then take questions from a live stream audience

Mike and Meri share articles from old magazines making their way to the "Press Archive" on Kanzenshuu and then take questions from a live stream audience

Episode #0422! Mike and Julian dissect the names of all twelve God of Destruction characters revealed for the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series' "Universe Survival arc". Each appears to be alcohol-based, so what are the best spelling adaptations in our alphabet? Marc then joins to discuss digital manga storefronts and the varying degrees of image quality out there. One might think the actual publisher...

Episode #0421! Mike and Jake check in on the translations for both the "Dragon Ball Super" anime simulcast and the Viz digital manga publication. With each version moving along at their own pace, how do the translation styles stack up against each other, and have there been any noticeable errors? Ajay later joins to discuss the new visual direction for the "Universe Survival arc" of the "Dragon Ba...

Episode #0420! Mike and Heath check in on last year's predictions and make new ones for 2017. With "Dragon Ball Super" entering its next major story arc, and 2016 having already dropped so many surprise bombs on us, what could 2017 possibly have in store for fans? Tune in for our reflection, predictions, and a few hot takes from the listeners!

Episode #0419! Mike and Chris discuss some of the core themes in the Dragon Ball series. From pushing oneself to the limit, to falling victim to your own hubris, to gathering the energy and support of your friends, Dragon Ball has it all. How do these themes repeat themselves throughout the franchise?

Episode #0418! Mike, Chris, Scott, and Meri review the "Future Trunks arc" of the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series. As the series transitions from multiple movie retellings to a fun tournament diversion and now to a dark, serious setting, does it find an identity of its own? What value is there in torturing Trunks again, and do the end results give us an emotional payoff? What does the escalating sca...

Bonus episode! Tune in as Mike provides a complete history of the "Dragon Ball Z" episode 120 insert song "Battle Point Unlimited" by Kenji Yamamoto (a.k.a. "Monolith"). What made it sound so distinct from the rest of the score, and how is the obvious case of plagiarism here admittedly so different and even innovative from what came later?

Episode #0417! Mike and Heath catch up on November/December news, including competing "Dragon Ball Super" English dubs, various updates and changes to "Dragon Ball Fusions" on the Nintendo 3DS, a new official spin-off manga from a well-known fan artist, and much more!

Episode #0416! Mike and Jake review "Dragon Ball Super" episode 69 along with all of its "Dr. Slump" (and various other parody!) references and call-backs. From the real Dr. Mashirito to Vegeta as the external voice of reason, tune in for a master class in Toriyama humor!

Episode #0415! Mike, Jake, and Kirran wrap up the Japanese release of "Dragon Ball Fusions" on the Nintendo 3DS. Does the game offer enough to keep you interested for an extended period of time? How does it shape up against other offerings, both on the handheld and console front? What kinds of expectations should be put in check? Tune in for all this and more!

Episode #0414! Mike and Jake discuss the quality of the subtitle translations available in Toei's "Dragon Ball Super" simulcast streams. With a mix of dub terminology, faithful adaptations, and even some direct romanizations, will the proper nouns be accessible to anyone at all? Terminology aside, how about (perhaps most importantly) the rest of the translation? Tune in for a great batch of exampl...

Episode #0413! Mike and Kirran discuss the "Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2" closed beta. What changes have been made to the gameplay and overall structure from the first game? How does the story appear to be shaping up, and what concerns do we have as we look ahead to the final retail release later this month? A news recap and look ahead to some upcoming website content round out the show!

VegettoEX joins Kirbopher to discuss the 1996-1997 "Dragon Ball GT" TV series. How did it come to be, what risks did it take, how did its story play out, and what legacy does it leave behind?

Episode #0412! Mike and Meri reflect on twenty years of Dragon Ball Z in America. In September 1996, FUNimation's English dub of Dragon Ball Z began airing in syndication, and it has only grown in popularity since then. How does that dubbed production stand the test of time? What can we learn from history? And what exactly was this Ocean dub, anyway? All this and a dive into our new "Press Archive...

Episode #0411! Mike and Ajay rejoice over Naotoshi Shida's work in "Dragon Ball Super" episode 57 before Mike goes it solo to discuss strength debates. The battle power lists, the multipliers, the scaling... these are all aspects that fans seem to like, but are they actually enjoying themselves? Is a dedicated obsession with this one facet of the series actually harmful and destructive to not just...

Episode #0410! Mike and Julian provide a brief history of Dragon Ball manga re-releases in Japan before turning their attention to the on-going "Soshuhen" (or "Digest Edition"). What makes this larger-sized, condensed release any different from the previous versions, and what type of fan do they suit best? Tune in for all this and a quick recap of the week's Dragon Ball news!

Episode #0409! Mike and Jake provide early impressions on "Dragon Ball Fusions" for the Japanese Nintendo 3DS. Particularly in light of "Dragon Ball Heroes" and its own on-going success, what does "Fusions" bring to the table? Should fans think about importing the game with seemingly no international distribution on the horizon?

Episode #0408! Mike, Heath, and Ajay discuss fake materials constructed to add fuel to the fire of the "Dragon Ball Super" troubled production narrative. How did these drawings fit so well into what we already knew, and what should have been some of the warning signs along the way? A quick recap of news from across the globe and a few website project teases wrap up the episode!

Episode #0407! Mike and Meri discuss the "change" of Trunks' hair color from lavender to blue for the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series. What has Akira Toriyama said about these kinds of changes in the past, and what circumstances might have led to this situation? Is this lack of consistency even a worthwhile conversation to have, or is it yet another overblown production nugget?