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Yes, it's true. Dragonball Evolution was released theatrically in America in April of 2009. Twentieth Century Fox with comedian Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer; Kung Fu Hustle) produced the live-action movie. James Wong (X-Files; Final Destination), directed the film. Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) played Goku. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) played Piccolo. Ariel Shaw was special FX director. About 85% of the film was shot in Durango, Mexico. Locations include the Mexiquillo Forest, Marley Ranch, Hacienda la Providencia, La Joya Ranch, Laguna Seca de Santiaguillo and a forum from a Convention Center in the Culture Institute. Production moved to Estado De México for some shots at the volcano Nevado de Toluca.
The actual reason is that Akira Toriyama forgot to draw them with tails in the manga.It's possible the two kids were born with tails but got cut off as soon as they were born.Another possibility is that because Goku and Vegeta impregnated their respective wives after their tails were gone for good, they passed along different genes than Goku passed to Gohan (who WAS born with one.)
Exactly how Yamcha obtained these scars is never given an explanation. He first sported them when the Dragon Ball crew got together at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, however, so it is strongly implied that he got them during his training for that tournament.
Near the end of the original Dragon Ball, Kami states (in the original Japanese version) that he restored the moon himself.
Akira Toriyama initially never had any plans to make Vegeta a major character (he had initially planned to end the series after Goku's fight with Frieza.) When things changed and he ended up making Vegeta a major player in the events that ensued, he started making the character taller. There's no "in-series" explanation for this, Toriyama just started drawing him taller (closer to Goku's height) when it was established he would be a major character.
It's true that they knew Gohan in Dead Zone, however Dead Zone was a movie created by Toei Animation. The movies are "side-stories", and (with rare exceptions) could never fit into the actual series timeline. Akira Toriyama did not directly create the movies (he only had minor involvement), thus they often contain plot holes that contradict things that take place in the series, and in Toriyama's original manga. As a general rule, the theatrically-released movies are not canon. The TV specials, on the other hand, DO fit into the series timeline, though even they have a few minor contradictions and plot holes.So, long story short, they don't know Gohan because they've never met him before, since Dead Zone (like any other theatrical movie) isn't canon.
Following The defeat of Evil Kid Buu, ten years pass. The Z-Fighters head to the World Martial Arts Tournament. By this time, Gohan and Videl have gotten married, and now have a daughter named Pan. Pan does very well in the fights, despite only being a few years old. Goku also reveals that he made a wish to the Eternal Dragon to reincarnate Kid Buu as a human being. The human being is an Indian boy from a poor village named Uub (Buu spelled backwards, appropriately enough.) Uub is set to fight Goku in the tournament, but lacks any real will to fight. Goku insults him and his family in an effort to get him to power up, which works. He begins exhibit power on-par with the Z-Fighters once powered up. The end of the series is Goku and Uub flying away to Kami's Lookout, where Goku promises to train the boy.Dragon Ball Z was followed up by another anime series called Dragon Ball GT, which continues the storyline. However it was not based on a manga by Akira Toriyama, and is generally not considered canon. Toriyama had only minor involvement in GT (much like the theatrical movies.)
Yes. The new series is called Dragon Ball Kai, and it is a retelling of the Z-portion of the series, with many filler segments removed for a faster-flowing storyline truer to Akira Toriyama's mang. Due to the removal of filler, it is expected to only run for 100 episodes (as opposed to Dragon Ball Z's 291.) Damaged frames have been removed, and scenes have been recolored. Frames have been extended and reformatted, so as to more effectively fit on a widescreen television. The series has NOT been redrawn, however, although there is new footage animated for an intro and outro credits sequence. The original voice actors have returned to re-voice their characters where applicable. There is currently no word on whether or not this series will be brought to America.
In the original Dragon Ball, while training under Kami prior to the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Kami permanently removed Goku's tail.
No. This is a mistake that was made in the original Saban dub of the show, and it has been corrected in all dubbed version since. Goku's father was a low-class Saiyan warrior named Bardock, whose story is told in the TV special Bardock - The Father of Goku. FUNimation has since redubbed the first two "seasons" of the show (which were originally done by the Ocean Group of voice actors for Saban) and Vegeta's speech to Goku during their fight regarding this phenomenon is now more accurate. Additionally, in the Budokai Tenkaichi 3 video game, Bardock CAN NOT use the technique to transform in moonless stages.
Goku: Lost his sanity when Frieza killed his best friend Krillin.Future Trunks: Went into a fit of anger when he found the dead body of Future Gohan, who has been killed by the Androids (this contradicts the manga, which showed in a special chapter that Future Trunks could become a Super Saiyan before Gohan's death. Vegeta: After rigorous training in space, Vegeta grew frustrated that his training was getting him nowhere. He lost his patience and went into a fit of rage at his being unable to reach the level of Super Saiyan, which ironically caused his first transformation.Gohan: While training in the Time Chamber, Gohan keeps trying to reach this level of power, but never quite manages to get it down. Eventually, he thinks of all the villains who have terrorized the Earth and how he was unable to provide the level of help he should have. It is this guilt trip that causes his first true transformation.Goten: Casually transforms during a sparring session with Chi-Chi (it's possible he achieved the form with relative ease since he was conceived after Goku had already become a Super Saiyan.) (Trunks: Never revealed. Though given that he trained with his father Vegeta his whole life, his transforming was more-or-less inevitable.All other characters who became Super Saiyans were either non-canon characters (either from GT, filler scenes or movies) or fusions of characters who already knew how to become Super Saiyans.
No and no.Tao was a hired assassin employed by the Red Ribbon Army, and not actually someone within their ranks. The name "General Tao" is a dubbing error (this stems from the Mystical Adventure movie in which he WAS a General, but that movie is non-canon), and indeed, later dubbing material like the FUNimation dub of the original Dragon Ball call him "Mercenary Tao."Commander Red was the leader of the Red Ribbon Army. In fact, Dr. Gero never appears once in the original Dragon Ball series. Obviously Toriyama hadn't even invented Gero at the time he was doing the original Dragon Ball, so you might say he was a "behind the scenes" character that simply invented things for the army. He was certainly not in any sort of leadership position.
Dragon Ball consists of 153 episodes, 3 movies, and 1 tenth-anniversary movie.Dragon Ball Z consists of 291 episodes, 13 movies, 2 television specials, 1 "lost movie" comprised of footage from an obscure FMV game, and a 20th anniversary movie.Dragon Ball GT consists of 64 episodes and 1 television special.Dragon Ball Kai is a work in progress and is currently airing in Japan. It is estimated to run approximately 100 episodes.
The anime is paced far slower than the manga, and features a number of "filler" sagas that weren't in the original manga. These had to be added into the anime to keep pace with the release of the manga, which was still being put out as the anime was being made. As these fillers were created with only minimal involvement with Akira Toriyama, they often contradict major plot points of the series. For instance, the entire Garlic Jr. Saga was a creation of Toei Animation, and does not appear at all in Toriyama's manga. Some filler segments are merely fights from the manga that are extended, as well as drawn-out extended scenes of characters powering up. Ironically, most of the complaints people have about the show stem from anime-only filler and aren't problems that exist in the original manga.
While the "remastering" featurette on the first season box set explains that this was done in an effort to "create a more cinematic viewing experience", there is no denying that the picture has, indeed, been cropped at the top and bottom, even if there is minor picture gain on the sides of the frame.The true reason is that the film frames were quite dirty and damaged at the top and bottom. Not only was it easier for FUNimation to simply crop the image and remove the portions most dirty and damage, this also allowed them to release a presentation that was enhanced for viewing on widescreen television sets.However, the cropping has resulted in a serious outcry from fans, in that there are several frames of the show where the cropping (and the damage it does to the show) are obvious. Additionally, the series was remastered in a proper fullscreen presentation in Japan, for the Dragon Box sets that were released a few years ago. American fans are in an uproar, since Japanese fans get an uncropped remastered presentation on DVD.To put it simply, FUNimation did the quickest and easiest thing they could to "remaster" the show. a "frame by frame" restoration like many major motion pictures receive would have been far more expensive, especially considering how many episodes of the series there are.However, it should be noted that FUNimation will be releasing the Dragon Boxes, featuring the original aspect ratio and a frame-by-frame restoration, in America starting in November.
There is no simple answer to this question, since the seasons that aired on TV are not the same as the ones that were released in the DVD season sets.If you're going by the seasons that aired on TV, there are 7.1 - Saiyan Saga. 2 - Namek Saga. 3 - Captain Ginyu Saga, Frieza Saga. The Garlic Jr. Saga aired on Cartoon Network as a "mini-series" between Season 3 and 4. 4 - Trunks Saga, Android Saga, All Cell Sagas. 5 - Buu Saga Part 1. 6 - Buu Saga Part 2. 7 - Buu Saga Part 3.The season sets released on DVD use a different format, and there are 9 of them total.1 - Saiyan Saga (with beginning of Invisible Spaceship stuff). 2 - Namek and Ginyu Saga. 3 - Frieza Saga 4 - Garlic Jr. Saga, Trunks Saga, Android Saga. 5 - Cell Saga. 6 - Cell Games Saga. 7- Afterlife Tournament, World Tournament. 8 - Babidi, Buu. 9 - Fusion/Kid Buu/Epilogue.
Goku left his Power Pole at Kami's Lookout in the original Dragon Ball. It serves as an elevator up to Kami's Lookout from Korin's Tower. Though he does use it in the Dead Zone movie, and Gohan uses it in the World's Strongest movie (though this is one of the many movie plot holes, it should be at the Kami/Korin Tower Link.) Indeed, other Z-Fighters later train at the lookout, so they would (most likely) need the pole there to be able to reach Kami's place.Why Goku stops using the Nimbus is never really given an explanation, and it does, indeed, show up in the first saga of Z. The most likely answer is because it became obsolete to Goku. In later sagas he can fly far faster than the cloud could ever carry him, and he eventually learns the Instant Transmission technique, which is a far more efficient form of transportation.Later we see that Goten uses the Flying Nimbus when Gohan first started High School.
The drivers license episode was anime-only filler. There's also no mention made of why she doesn't use the Nimbus Cloud to go to the store and get groceries; by this time in the series Goku isn't using it anymore, and it's been established in the past that she could ride it.
Chevrolet (the company whose name can be found on the Farmer's truck in the first episode) is, indeed, a real auto manufacturer. Additional info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChevroletHowever, it is worth noting that in the original manga, the truck doesn't have a manufacturer name on it.
Game Poy is, indeed, a fictional hand-held video game system, though it is a rather obvious parody of Nintendo's Game Boy line of systems.
This is another example of an anime-only filler scene that didn't appear in Toriyama's original manga.The character of Pikkon did not appear in Toriyama's original manga at all, although Toriyama did create the character.
Quite a few things, actually.The first Dragon Ball movie (commonly called Curse of the Blood Rubies in America) was never released uncut in America. This could change soon due to FUNi releasing the complete original series.Dragon Ball is now being released in Season Sets, with the first having hit stores on September 15, 2009. Prior to this, Saga Sets were available for all subsequent sagas, but these are long out of print.The "lost movie" The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans, was never released in any form in America. This is because it is based on an obscure Japan-only video game.The 20th Anniversary Movie - Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return! has never been released in America either. There was a promo only Japanese home video release, but no word on an American release yet.Dragon Ball Kai is still airing in Japan, and no home video release of that series has been done to date, obviously. Japan only home video releases are planned for later in the year.The season sets of Dragon Ball Z were cropped to a 16:9 aspect ratio and hit with heavy digital noise reduction. Uncropped, frame-by-frame masters will be hitting America in November/December in the form of the Dragon Box sets.
By far the most frequently-asked question on the message boards about the show.At this point, Gohan has received his Mystic powerup from the Elder Kai. While it doesn't look like he is in an advanced state, after receiving his Mystic powerup he is just as strong, if not stronger, than a Super Saiyan 3.Transforming into a Super Saiyan (considering it is even POSSIBLE in this state) would most likely only waste energy. It might even be a downgrade (some of the Budokai video games treat "Mystic" as a transformation on its own, above Super Saiyan 2 for instance.)So long story short, he doesn't transform because his abilities have been unlocked by the Elder Kai, and he's as strong (if not stronger) than a Super Saiyan 3. Transforming, if possible, would only waste energy or even be a downgrade in strength.
There is no simple answer to this question, but I shall do my best.Toei Animation originally animated the movies in a 4:3 aspect ratio (equivalent to the square-ish size of a typical old-style television set.) However, they intentionally animated the movies with the intention of being cropped, so as to fit onto Japanese theater screens. In other words, they were very careful in animating the movies, so that no details would be lost when cropping for a theatrical exhibition. All theatrically-release Dragon Ball/Z/GT movies were, indeed, cropped for their theatrical release, but animated from the beginning by Toei knowing they would be cropped.It gets even more confusing with the American DVD releases. Early American Dragon Ball/Z/GT movie releases were in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Usually in America, this is the aspect ratio associated with cropping a theatrical movie to fit an old square-shape television set. In actually, the OPPOSITE is true.This is Toei's original 4:3 animation, BEFORE it was cropped for Japanese theatrical exhibition. In other words, these versions actually had MORE picture than the Japanese official theatrical releases! However, as was previously stated, these movies were created with the intention of being cropped for widescreen exhibitions, so these movies actually had more picture on the screen than was ever meant to be seen.The latest "double features" released in America of the Dragon Ball Z movies properly crop the movies back to their Japanese widescreen exhibition aspect ratio, and are enhanced for viewing on widescreen televisions. At long last, American audiences have the "properly cropped" versions that only Japan has had for years.However, one of the double features was of the Trunks/Bardock specials. These originally aired on TELEVISION, in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and were intended to be seen as such. That said, this double feature HAS been cropped, and is no longer in its proper original aspect ratio intended for viewing.
The season box sets represent the FUNIMATION dub of the show, not the older Saban dub that introduced most people to the show. The FUNimation dub uses the voice cast that has been around from the Ginyu Saga on (they redubbed what the Saban crew had done before), and a score of music by Bruce Faulconer. This explains why you won't find the old "Rock the Dragon" theme song; it's a Haim Saban/Shuki Levy composition and exclusive to the old Saban dub, which was never released uncut on home video.
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