Dragon Ball International

Category: India

  • Cartoon Network India continues to promote original Dragon Ball

    As of today a new promo has been uploaded to Cartoon Network India’s YouTube account, promising much for viewers to look forward to as the channel continues their long awaited rebroadcast of original Dragon Ball with new dubs.

    The channel initially marketed the 1986 Dragon Ball anime as “the adventure that started it all”, and going by this promo it appears in addition to challenges they also lean in to the adventurous aspect, and of course as the show is a martial arts series battles is thrown in as a selling point.

    The promo showcases scenes from several fights (namely Goku vs Giran, Yamcha vs Jackie Chun and Goku vs Namu) in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc, which should be broadcast very soon.

    Cartoon Network began airing Dragon Ball with 5 episodes, but the number has fluctuated and with the timeslot moving from 2pm to 1:30pm there is a possibility of up to 6 episodes being aired every week. Episodes 1-5 aired August 25th and episodes 6-9 were broadcast on September 1st, so 10-13 can be expected this Sunday.

    It is worth noting while then original marketing for Dragon Ball has been misleading labelling it as a “new show” at a certain point Cartoon Network India may in actuality be airing new episodes for the first time as it is unclear how many episodes were broadcast back in 2010, although it has been said only 49 episodes were dubbed.

    Last Sunday Bardock: The Father of Goku premiered before original Dragon Ball, although this week there is no TV special or movie scheduled at the earlier 1pm timeslot.

    Should there be any changes to the exiting schedule or anything, which has not been aired in India yet or rerun it will be of course covered here.

    For now, may Indian fans continue to enjoy the journey of original Dragon Ball.

  • Cartoon Network India crops nudity in Bardock: The Father of Goku

    On its first day premiering in India, a number of cuts and edits have been noticed by fans who caught Bardock: The Father of Goku on its 1pm broadcast today (on September 1st) on the native Cartoon Network.

    The scenes in particular, which cover up any cases of nudity are simply cropped out of the picture instead of applying simple pant edits.

    The source I spoke to provided these screenshots to confirm these crops did take place. I n any case it is very likely that original Dragon Ball.

  • Original Dragon Ball returns to India

    Last time we reported on the status of original Dragon Ball on Cartoon Network India there seemed to be hints it would be returning to the channel alongside the debut of Bardock: The Father of Goku.

    If current schedules are to be believed however the channel has stuck the landing of the previously announced August 25th date.

    Cartoon Network is available to Indian audiences through satellite provider Dish TV (channel 176) and content distribution platform TATA Play (channel 667).

    And if these listings weren’t enough, TV Wish’s general episode summary can only point to the original Dragon Ball series.

    This is wonderful news, as it’s been a long time since original Dragon Ball was shown on the channel, and today Cartoon Network dubs more Dragon Ball content than ever and in more languages than in the past with the addition of Malayalam and Kannada dubs. Kai, Super as well as various movies have

    Only a Hindi dub of original Dragon Ball was known to exist before the announcement the show was returning, which means in addition to the redub the Tamil and Telugu dubs are probably new audios as well.

    Super Android 13 preceded the airing of original Dragon Ball at 1pm, Bardock: The Father of Goku will follow this day next week at the same timeslot, and original Dragon Ball has been announced to air on Cartoon Network India at 2pm every Sunday with multiple episodes, so expect more movies and specials as well.

    In promos Cartoon Network continues to pull all the punches describing this “legendary story” as being “of a boy who became” the “mightiest warrior Goku”. Its this kind of promise other broadcasters should have considered given original Dragon Ball to allow it to perform to the best of its ability.

    Stay tuned for further updates on “the adventure that started it all” as Cartoon Network markets the original series as. The 2009/2010 broadcast didn’t cover the whole series, so it would be truly amazing for Indian audiences to finally receive the entire series.

    As Kai and Super were dubbed in full within less than a year this could very much become a reality for original Dragon Ball, and who knows what else that will follow. GT? Daima of course should come eventually, but there’s so much content that Indian Dragon Ball fans would be spoiled for choice if their local Cartoon Network continues dubbing in five languages as it has been doing for the last two years.

  • New promos may hint at Bardock the Father of Goku and original Dragon Ball premiering together on Cartoon Network India

    Two new promos have aired on Cartoon Network India, one for original Dragon Ball, another for Bardock: The Father of Goku.

    As we reported previously, current TV schedules seem to indicate Dragon Ball Super will air in original Dragon Ball’s place this Sunday at 2pm on the channel, although equally its possible these listings are just using Dragon Ball Super as a placeholder.

    Nonetheless, while rumours have suggested original Dragon Ball performed poorly when it first aired in India back in 2009 Cartoon Network has been demonstrating confidence in its promos. In the aforementioned promo we see the series being advertised as “a legendary story”:

    In the promo fans are also treated to various shots from the early arcs:

    Of course the marketing train doesn’t stop with original Dragon Ball, it keeps going for the Bardock special:

    What is even more interesting about the Bardock promo is not the hype terminology Cartoon Network uses, but the fact it showcases some shots from the Piccolo Diamao and 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arcs, it is as if the channel wishes for viewers to stay tuned for September 1st when they will be able to witness both the TV special and the original Dragon Ball series return to India on the same day.

    Indeed the promo goes on to point to either the Bardock special by itself or the Bardock special and original Dragon Ball as being the beginning of something:

    It may be because of the subject matter of the special, Goku is sent to Earth as his father fights against the forces of Freeza’s empire. Original Dragon Ball takes viewers to where Goku’s story begins on Earth. As such premiering both on the same day seems like a clever business move, but this remains to be seen.

    Nonetheless, as mentioned the promo offers brief glimpses into where Goku’s journey takes him in original Dragon Ball:

    The special is being marketed as a “blockbuster”, which may suggest Cartoon Network has had major success with the movies (Dragon Ball Z movies 5-9, 12 and 13) it aired in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada last year.

    Original Dragon Ball and Bardock: The Father of Goku will receive the same treatment, which should allow both to reach audiences far and wide in India.

    So will original Dragon Ball grace Indian audiences within the next two days or will it be another week? Only time will tell, but for sure, exciting times are ahead for all Dragon Ball fans in India.

  • Original Dragon Ball’s return to Cartoon Network India seems to be postponed

    The previously announced return of original Dragon Ball to Cartoon Network India appears to have been postponed based on two sources.

    In its place Dragon Ball Super appears to be airing from 2pm-3:45pm following another airing of Dragon Ball Z movie 7 Super Android 13 at 1pm. The movie was previously shown on May 7th last year, and Dragon Ball Super has been airing at the same timeslot since June of this year.

    If episode descriptions are anything to go by it seems Cartoon Network India will be rerunning the series from episode 1, as this listing from TVWish suggests the Battle of Gods arc is being aired, although this arc began its most recent rerun at the beginning of July.

    This may be a placeholder, as this has happened before. Alternatively, as another fan I’ve spoke to suggested it is possible Cartoon Network India plans to air original Dragon Ball after the Bardock special, which debuts on September 1st and follow it up with a rerun of Kai.

    In any case watch this space for further updates on India and the original series return after almost 15 years.

  • Bardock: The Father of Goku to debut in India on September 1st

    As we previously reported Bardock: The Father of Goku, the Takao Koyama and Katsuyuki Sumisawa-penned TV special is set to air for the first time ever in India on the native Cartoon Network, which has had massive success with the Dragon Ball over the past two years with Super, Kai and various movies.

    The special, which has commonly been mistaken for a movie, possibly because it had the same runtime as any of the 17 original movies is in fact a TV special, and during its first ever release on October 17, 1990 it aired on Fuji Television, like the rest of the series between Dragon Ball Z episodes 63 and 64, so it is in fact every bit as much a part of the TV anime as the 291-episode series that aired during the same timeslot.

    Now Cartoon Network India, which is set to air the first Dragon Ball Z TV special, and for the first time in nearly 15 years broadcast the original Dragon Ball series has announced a premier date.

    September 1, 2024, the special will air on Cartoon Network with five dubs in different languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada at 1pm. This will be a week after original Dragon Ball returns to Cartoon Network.

    Similarly when Dragon Ball Kai premiered last year with episodes 1-7 on its debut date, Dragon Ball Z movie 5 followed a week later before episodes 8-14 of Kai, so presumably the Bardock special will follow a similar pattern.

    There may be more or less episodes of original Dragon Ball premiering the week before, although the Bardock special is airing later than Dragon Ball Z movie 5 did so Cartoon Network India may be taking their time with dubbing it more so than they did with Kai, which all 167 episodes of were aired between April 16th and November 12th last year.

    When I find an upcoming Sunday schedule for Cartoon Network India I will be sure to update this.

    In any case it is great that Indian audiences finally have a way of legally watching and supporting the much loved TV special, and hopefully History of Trunks will follow, and more of TOEI’s Dragon Ball catalogue if ratings are good.

  • Bardock : The Father of Goku expected to premier on Cartoon Network India around the same time as original Dragon Ball with five new dubs

    In a recent Instagram post second Hindi Vegeta voice actor Prasad Barve said “Young vegeta something new coming up soon”, leading his followers to believe the Bardock : The Father of Goku TV special was coming to Cartoon Network India.

    It has just been confirmed by Senpai Network that the special Toriyama famously loved but said he would never write himself will indeed be dubbed and airing on Cartoon Network India.

    In what has become the expected standard the much revered special will be broadcast in five native languages, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. No Indian dubs are known to exist or have aired.

    Often mislabelled as a movie, Bardock : The Father of Goku is a special that aired on Fuji TV alongside the Dragon Ball Z anime, and in India it is expected to air alongside original Dragon Ball, just as Cooler’s Revenge was shown the same day episodes 1-7 of Kai premiered back in 2023.

    It is always great to see older content being dubbed, Uttam Pal Singh, head of Cartoon Network India has said to fans privately the channel was looking into more Dragon Ball licenses, Dragon Ball GT was expected after Dragon Ball Kai, although One Piece was aired instead.

    It will be certainly interesting to see what else Cartoon Network India sets their eyes on, only time will tell when they will receive Dragon Ball Daima.

  • After almost 15 years original Dragon Ball is returning to Cartoon Network in India

    Recently Cartoon Network India have teased a new series as “the adventure that started it all”, on the same day local online news reporter Senpai Networks confirmed the show coming to national TV was indeed the original Dragon Ball, and just announced is the premier date and timeslot.

    Sundays at 2pm starting August 25th

    And there’s more. As was the case with Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Kai and Dragon Ball Z movies 5-9 and 12-13, which were all shown since 2022 five dubs were produced in different languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

    This is great news, original Dragon Ball did once air on Cartoon Network with a Hindi dub, and from what one fan has said it was a massive flop with only the first 49 episodes being dubbed and the channel suffering a loss.

    As was the case with Kai, original Dragon Ball will be getting a new Hindi dub and not a rerun of the older dub, but Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada will be new audios.

    Still wonderful, not only to see original Dragon Ball getting more exposure, but the massive amount of dubbing will mean it appeals to a wider variety of Indian fans.

    Watch this space for updates on these dubs.

Category: India