Dragon Ball International

Category: Blog

  • On this day 20 years ago Dragon Ball concluded on Toonami UK

    December 13, 2004 was the end of an era, or so many UK and Irish Dragon Ball fans thought.

    The Piccolo Junior arc had been on the air every weekday since episode 123 (titled The Search for the Magic Stick in the Blue Water dub) premiered on November 1st that year.

    I vividly remember the promo for that arc, which said “Every story has an ending” and feeling a sense of loss that after Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT and now original Dragon Ball had their runs on TV the story had come full circle and was no over.

    There was no Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball Super or Dragon Ball Daima, Toonami didn’t even air the movies until the summer after. The series had finally come to an end with no more episodic content to be licensed, and at the time presumably nothing else was coming.

    It was a completely different time, as today with nostalgia being such a massive business franchises like Dragon Ball seem to keep going.

    In some ways it’s nice, in other ways some would say we receive too much.

    In any case 2024 has been a great year for original Dragon Ball now that fans have preserved Blue Water episode 71, and with that the entire series with its respective Canadian dub is now out there to enjoy for anyone that wishes to relive memories of the UK broadcast.

    Of course the Blue Water dub never had a DVD so be sure to support the official release for original Dragon Ball to ensure more home media is made for years to come.

  • Amazon Prime Day deals on UK Dragon Ball movies and some Z and Kai seasons

    Manga UK’s double feature Blu-Rays for some of the Dragon Ball Z movie and special Blu-Rays are now selling at the lowest they’ve ever been on Amazon.

    The double features for the Cooler movies, the final 2 original Dragon Ball Z movies and both TV specials can be purchased for £9.99.

    Fans can also grab the steelbook for the latest movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero for only £12.99.

    Some seasons of the TV show like Dragon Ball Z Season 2 is currently £19.99, while the first part for Dragon Ball Kai : The Final Chapters as well as seasons 1 and 3 of Kai are going for £14.99.

  • Dragon Ball Kai still unreleased in the Netherlands

    Previously it seemed the Dutch streaming services GoAnime and Videoland were going to bring Dragon Ball Kai to the Netherlands, based on what fans were told by the companies.

    This was exciting news for many fans of Dragon Ball dubs because not only would this mark the series return to the Netherlands, but it was also going to be the debut of the first ever Dutch dub of anything Dragon Ball.

    Dragon Ball has not aired on Dutch TV since its broadcast on Yorin’s Yorkiddin block, which ceased airing the show in early 2004, although the most recent movies Broly and Super Hero got theatrical releases.

    Periscoop Anime (owner of GoAnime) previously released Broly on DVD and Blu-Ray, and a tease they had licensed Dragon Ball Kai at Heroes Comic Con months ago led fans to wonder in what form would they be releasing it.

    A release on a streaming platform would certainly be a great way of testing the waters for a home release, especially in the Netherlands case where traditionally they have had English dubs of Dragon Ball, and have thusly been served since 2015 when Manga UK released Dragon Ball Kai on home media for Dutch fans that want the Funimation dub, and even the Yamamoto score for episodes 1-39 (which a separate Dutch release would almost certainly not have).

    In any case we will be keeping a close eye on any updates on this mythical Dutch dub and streaming release.

  • Did Dragon Ball ever air in Ukraine?

    It has never been confirmed one way or the other, the wiki entry remains without sources, and it is a mystery I have tried to look into.

    The one time a native has made reference to the series airing, however vaguely, I’m aware of was one case on Reddit a friend directed me to.

    Conversely, I asked one of the major Ukranian YouTubers on this video and received the following response:

    As Google translates:

    While this does not say with 100% certainty Ukraine never received Dragon Ball on TV, at the moment there aren’t any signs pointing towards it. Many promos for QTV are available online, but I have not seen any Dragon Ball footage or mentions of the show.

    The archived section from QTV’s old website mentions Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Bleach, Neon Genesis Evangelion but not Dragon Ball.

    It is worth noting there are channels like POP TV in Slovenia, which aired Dragon Ball in the late 90s to early 2000s with a voiceover but didn’t mention it on their website.

    QTV aired both voiceovers and dubs, it would be interesting to one day find a Ukranian dub of the Dragon Ball anime, although the only former Soviet Union territory to receive a traditional dub of the franchise that is known of is Russia, and that was only in 2011.

    If I do uncover any information about it I will be sure to document it. Please fill out the contact form, I’d love to hear if you remember anything at all about it.

Category: Blog