Dragon Ball International

Category: Broadcasts

  • Dragon Ball Z : Battle of Gods finally coming to India on Cartoon Network

    Toons Anime India has just shared a promo from Cartoon Network India, which confirms that in less than a month, the first Dragon Ball movie of the revival era – Battle of Gods (or The Battle of Gods as it will seemingly be referred to natively) will be coming.

    The last Dragon Ball movie to premier on the channel was Wrath of the Dragon, which premiered on September 3rd last year and was rerun two weeks later.

    The channel has however broadcast additional features (albeit not movies) with the recent airings of Bardock : The Father of Goku and History of Trunks.

    As was the case with the TV specials Battle of Gods will be marketed as a “blockbuster” to generate hype.

    The channel is currently airing original Dragon Ball at 2pm on Sundays. Episodes 13-18 aired yesterday and episodes 19-24 are set to air this week just after the premier of History of Trunks.

    As is now standard with all Dragon Ball content aired on Cartoon Network India, Battle of Gods will receive five dubs in different languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

    Uttam Pal Singh, the head of the kids cluster in South Asia for Warner Brothers Discovery (the owner of Cartoon Network India) said he wishes for the channel to be the place for the movies of the season, so it is possible after Battle of Gods the channel will dub the other revival era movies Resurrection ‘F’, Broly and Super Hero.

    In any case watch this space for further updates on all things Dragon Ball in India and elsewhere.

  • Startimes Kungfu to air the Dragon Ball Super episodes that crashed streaming sites in South Africa

    Startimes Kungfu, the South African channel focused on Chinese culture has been airing Dragon Ball Super.

    The run, which began on July 16th is currently covering the Tournament of Power, and based on current schedules the series airs weekends at 5pm and weekdays with a double bill from 4:30pm-5:30pm.

    On Tuesday the channel will air episodes 109 and 110, which is when Goku’s fight with Jiren begins and he attains the Ultra Instinct transformation.

    These two episodes, which were reported to have crashed many streaming sites like Crunchyroll and VRV when they were originally released will no doubt be a huge hit among South African viewers who may have not seen them yet.

    Startimes Kungfu previously aired original Dragon Ball with the mainland Chinese dub (although later promos feature clips from the Funimation dub), as well as Dragon Ball Z was broadcast in English.

    It is not widely known what language Dragon Ball Super is being broadcast in, although I have reached out to South Africa for comment, but as most Dragon Ball series have aired in English that is likely what it is being shown in. For example Dragon Ball Super was shown with Funimation’s dub on Cartoon Network, and Dragon Ball Z used to air in English on SABC2.

    As Dragon Ball has a long history of success on South African TV it is likely to remain on the air for years to come.

  • History of Trunks to debut in India on September 22nd

    Cartoon Network India has announced that on September 22nd History of Trunks will be broadcast at 1pm, marking the TV special’s first time airing in India.

    The channel previously aired Bardock : The Father of Goku at the same timeslo, as well as various movies, starting with Cooler’s Revenge the day Kai premiered last year.

    Currently original Dragon Ball is airing on Sundays, originally from 2pm but now starting at 1:30pm, episodes 13-18 debut this week and episodes 19-24 should be premiering on the day History of Trunks debuts.

    Despite the dark subject matter of History of Trunks Cartoon Network is promoting it with an uplifting messages about Gohan and Trunks being tasked with saving mankind from the artificial humans.

    It’s possible, perhaps even likely History of Trunks will receive an edited airing, as Bardock: The Father of Goku was broadcast with edits.

    As expected History of Trunks will get five dubs in regional languages Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, as was the case for Super, Kai, Dragon Ball Z movies 5-9, 12-13, Bardock : The Father of Goku and original Dragon Ball as of now.

    The special’s debut will also mean all three TV specials that TOEI license out internationally have aired on Cartoon Network India, as the Dragon Ball GT special was broadcast at the end of 2017, although it has been said this was an airing of Funimation’s dub.

    At any rate, this is great news for Indian fans that would like a convenient, legal means of watching History of Trunks and the future looks bright for Dragon Ball content on the regional Cartoon Network.

  • Telefuturo airing the Boo arc of Dragon Ball Z in Paraguay

    Telefuturo has just aired a promo for the Boo arc of Dragon Ball Z informing viewers a double bill from 1:30-2:30pm.

    The channel typically airs 3 or 4 episodes starting around 1pm or 1:30pm.

    Back in 2017 Dragon Ball Z returned to airing weekends on the channel with this same timeslot, suggesting it has been popular with viewers. The same year the channel aired Dragon Ball Super as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.

    Regarding the current run, it has been said that Telefuturo started airing Dragon Ball Z again from the first episode around Christmas time last year.

    As reported by Cure Dragon 255 on the Kanzenshuu forums Dragon Ball Z attracted 380,000 viewers out of 2 million, which are great ratings for the Paraguayan channel.

    Fans have identified the video tracks used in Telefuturo’s Dragon Ball Z broadcasts as being from Funimation’s 2013/14 Blu-Rays whereas original Dragon Ball was shown with the old Cloverway masters with the exception of one episode, which is based on the Dragon Boxes.

    It has been known the Latin American dub audio has been sourced from fan recordings because Cloverway discarded the masters they had rather than handing them back to TOEI when the latter began operating within the region during the mid-2000s.

    As Telefuturo reruns Dragon Ball Z it is not out of the question the series could be shown in full again after the current run, or they may be preparing for Dragon Ball Daima if a dub has been in production since based on various reports it is set after the battle with Kid Boo but prior to Dragon Ball Super.

    In any case watch this space for further developments on Dragon Ball in Paraguay.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Panda Kids to air the “Future Trunks” arc of Dragon Ball Super in Portugal

    Then Portuguese channel that began airing Dragon Ball Super on July 29th1 every weekday at 10pm.

    From a source I’ve spoken to, fans that have been keeping up with the broadcast said 2 new episodes were aired every weekday with no breaks, meaning episodes 39-40 aired yesterday and 41-42 will follow on Monday.

    As such on Thursday, August 29th Panda Kids will begin airing the Future Trunks arc with episode 47.

    Dragon Ball Super has been a huge success with Portuguese audiences, having aired on SIC, SIC K, SIC Radical, Biggs and now Panda Kids.

    No doubt the success of these continued airings will bode well for Daima reaching the country in the not too distant future.

    1. The premier date was announced to be August 1st, but listings for Super appeared on Panda Kids’ website the weekend before, confirming it would be on July 29th ↩︎

  • 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.

  • POP UK responds to fan enquiry about airing Dragon Ball Kai

    The former Sony Pictures Television broadcaster, which is now owned by Narrative Entertainment has responded to a fan enquiry about them airing Dragon Ball Kai.

    POP previously aired Dragon Ball Super, which premiered in the UK and Ireland in July 2019, has been in reruns since and only in the last few months been removed from POP’s schedule, although many promotional videos can still be found on their website suggesting they have not lost the rights yet.

    Dragon Ball Kai previously aired in the UK and Ireland on the now defunct channel Kix (owned by another one of POP’s previous owners CSC Media), but despite a lot of rumours at the time the channel ended up airing the Funimation dub, allegedly because TOEI gave them no other option. This may have been because Manga UK’s season DVDs of Dragon Ball Z, which contained the Funimation dub were being released at the time as a means of avoiding marketing confusion, or Funimation might have pulled some strings, but unfortunately clarity was never given on this.

    It is worth noting both WOW Unlimited and Toon-A-Vision negotiated with TOEI to acquire the rights to Ocean Productions’ English dub of Dragon Ball Kai, and the company’s long standing producer Diana Gage has previously said fans should make their voices heard if they wish for this dub to see the light of day.

    It would inevitably be a great opportunity for POP if they were to air Dragon Ball Kai with an English dub that is not widely available or seen, and has a built-in fanbase with actors like Brian Drummond and Scott McNeil, but until then the best that can be hoped for is enough fans reach out to them advising they seek out the Ocean dub.

  • 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.

Category: Broadcasts