Voice actress Yoko Kawanami of Armored Trooper Votoms and Dragon Ball fame died at the age of 67. Her agency announced on March 27, 2025 that the actress ed away on March 18, 2025 due to peritoneal metastasis. [Thanks, Excite.]

Kawanami was born on Yokohama, Kanagawa on April 22, 1957. In accordance to the wishes of her family, her wake and funeral was only available to close family . Kawanami was a prolific voice actress that started her career in the late 1970s, and was best known for her role as Coconna Vartla in Armored Trooper Votoms.

Additionally, Yoko Kawakami had several voices roles in some Akira Toriyama media, such as her role as Midori Norimaki in some of the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan anime movies, Ranfan in the original Dragon Ball anime, as well as Bulma's Mother in the Dragon Ball Z and DBZ Kai anime series.

Other recent major deaths in the Japanese anime and manga industry include Nobita's voice actress in the Doraemon anime, Noriko Ohara, who ed away on July 12, 2024, as well as the original Doraemon voice actress Nobuyo Oyama on September 29, 2024.

Yoko Kawanami died on March 18, 2025 from peritoneal metastasis.

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Plex has revealed a new figure set featuring Yajirobe and Karin from the Dragon Ball franchise. The company has also opened pre-orders for the figures, which will be part of the Dragon Ball Arise lineup, on the Japanese Bandai website. [Thanks, Dengeki Hobby Web!]

The package will contain two separate PVC figures that have also been pre-painted. Karin's figure will have an overall height of around 8 cm (~3.15 in), while the bigger Yajirobe's figure will stand at around 23 cm (~9.05 in) tall. The latter will also have a one-star Dragon Ball hanging around his neck.

The figure set will be available in May 2025 with an MSRP of 27,500 yen (~$183.55). Even though the Bandai website has been infamous for its regional blocks, the Japanese press release has indicated that there is a possibility for the set to be formally sold outside Japan as well.

There has been a variety of new Dragon Ball merchandise appearing in Japan. On the 2024 Christmas Day, Banpresto released an ultra-long plush of Shenron from Dragon Ball Super in crane games across Japan's amusement centers.

The Dragon Ball Arise figure set featuring Yajirobe and Karin will be available in Japan in May 2025. Plex will close the pre-order window for the figures on Bandai on March 6, 2025.

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Bandai Spirits has revealed that it will release a new version of Dragon Ball's Broly SH Figuarts in 2025. This new release will be known as the "40th Anniversary Celebration Resale Edition."

The company had previously released Broly's action figure in the SH Figuarts line in 2014. The original release already included his signature Eraser Cannon sphere. The new release will come with an additional pedestal with a logo marking the Dragon Ball franchise's 40th anniversary.

Here are some of the sample images of the new Broly SH Figuarts, along with a comprehensive parts list of the package.

The new action figure release will have a tax-inclusive price tag of 9,900 yen (~$63.25) in Japan. People residing in the country will be able to order the package on the Japanese Bandai website. However, Bandai Spirits has also promised that the action figure will be available in the rest of Asia and the U.S. as well.

The Dragon Ball 40th Anniversary Celebration Resale Edition of the Broly SH Figuarts will be available in the US and Asia including Japan in November 2025. Pre-orders for the action figure will be available on January 24, 2025.

The post Dragon Ball Broly SH Figuarts Will Return in Late 2025 appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco announced that the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2025 is canceled due to the fires in Los Angeles, California. There is no new date set for the events planned to happen during the events. It was originally going to be held at the Shrine Auditorium between January 18-19, 2025. 

In the statement regarding the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2025 cancellation, the Bandai Namco cited the decision as a safety measure due to the Los Angeles fires. It noted a desire to ensure everyone stayed safe, while also offering consideration to those affected by the disaster.

Here’s the full message shared on social media. 

As usual, the event was going to provide a chance for the company to make announcements about video game and TCGs based on the Dragon Ball series, as well as hold finals tournaments for other titles. As a result, the Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World, and Dragon Ball Super Card Game Masters tournaments will be rescheduled and held at a different time. The event was also going to include promotional opportunities, such as a booth promoting the new Dragon Ball Daima anime running on Crunchyroll and a chance to take on a Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle challenge.

Bandai Namco isn’t the only company changing plans as a result of the fires in Los Angeles. Square Enix also halted automatic housing demolition in Final Fantasy XIV. This was only done on North American Data Centers’ worlds, out of consideration for victims of the fire who would be unable to play due to evacuations or other tragedies related to the fires. 

There’s no word yet on when the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2025 events will be held now that it is canceled. Dragon Ball FighterZ can be found on the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is available on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

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Shueisha will release a box set of the Dragon Ball manga that includes all 42 volumes and features the special Super Gallery illustrations, all of them drawn by famous mangaka who are guest illustrators, as optional covers. This is to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the series.

The trailer for the collection is available on the official website. This video first appeared at Jump Festa 2025. Each volume will have two covers. One is the original by Akira Toriyama. The second one is from a guest illustrator. In the trailer, we can see art from Sui Ishida (Tokyo Ghoul), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk), and Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man). Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) is also confirmed as one of the artists.

The Super Gallery project started in 2021, with a new redesigned cover coming out every month. Each artist who contributed also left a comment talking about Toriyama, or their own memories with Dragon Ball. In general, the redesigned cover uses the same characters, composition, or motifs as the original ones.

Shueisha has not announced when it’ll release the Dragon Ball Super Gallery box set, nor did it reveal the price. The Super Gallery will be complete in January 2025 though. So there’s a high chance that when it’ll have an early 2025 release window.

The Dragon Ball Super Gallery manga box set is in production, with more information on it to appear later. Dragon Ball Super, the current series, is still on hiatus.

The post Dragon Ball Super Gallery Box Set Manga Covers Drawn by Famous Mangaka appeared first on Siliconera.

Tomica has revealed that it will release new crossover toys based on the Dragon Ball series. The company best known for its vehicle toys will produce new toys modeled after vehicles and other rides from the famous manga series.

The first two products in the lineup will be Bulma's Capsule No.9 bike and Goku's Kintoun cloud. Both items will be available separately at 1,320 yen (~$8.60) in Spring 2025. While Bulma's bike will be movable like most other vehicle toys, Tomica has yet to divulge whether Goku's Kintoun will also be movable or not.

Tomica also revealed on the project's webpage that it will produce even more crossover vehicle toys besides the above two. The silhouettes shown tease the additions of Frieza's hover pod, the Red Ribbon Army's small jet-copter, The Ox-King's tank, and Master Roshi's wagon.

The Dragon Ball Dream Tomica toys featuring Goku's Kintoun cloud and Bulma's Capsule No. 9 bike will be available in Spring 2025. Tomica will showcase samples of the first two crossover toys at its booth in the Jump Festa 2025 event at Makuhari Messe on December 21-22, 2024. The company also has plans to produce more vehicle toys from the same franchise. The anime series airs on Crunchyroll, and the manga is handled by Viz Media outside Japan.

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Weekly Shonen Jump is the renowned shonen manga magazine that appears every single week in Japan. It is through Shonen Jump that we get some of the most impressive, ground-breaking, and popular manga of all time. Many of these manga series have turned into equally popular anime series. Here are the most influential anime series to come from Shonen Jump manga.

Most Influential Shonen Jump Anime: One Piece 555h2c

Look anywhere in the anime industry and you see the influence of One Piece. Whether you think it’s too long or not, there is no denying the nigh-endless reach of this pirate series. One Piece still influences new shonen anime series to this day in of tropes, characterizations, and fights. And even beyond shonen, this series even contributes to the ion and desire in new manga and anime creators every day.

Naruto 91511

Naruto isn’t too far behind One Piece in of influence. It set the standard for a character coming from nothing to become something. It also influenced the idea of teams of main characters that fight together, a dynamic we see even today in other influential series like Jujutsu Kaisen and its core cast.

Dragon Ball 724o1b

Before there was any other series on this list, there was Dragon Ball. The story of Goku from a young age to becoming a father to saving the world and the universe time and time again is a tale as old as time. The late and great Akira Toriyama is one of the most influential legends in the manga and anime scene, and his legacy will continue to influence new shonen series for many decades to come.

Hunter x Hunter t1o5a

While I can’t answer the question of whether or not Hunter x Hunter will ever finish as a series, what I can say is the influence it has on the industry is undeniable. The action and fight sequences in this series is so unlike any other on this list, and the core characters of Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Hisoka might arguably be my favorite of the four series here. It has some darker edges to it unlike the three above that I would say feels more apparent in its influence of some of the newer shonen series in recent memory.

Other Influential Shonen Jump Series 52f2o

In addition to the above four Shonen Jump series, there are other influential series worth mentioning. The following are more anime series that adapted various Shonen Jump manga to terrific success and popularity:

• Slam Dunk
• Attack on Titan
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
• Jujutsu Kaisen
• Bleach
• My Hero Academia

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Shueisha and Bandai Namco have opened a new official website to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball. The site is available in Japanese and English. In an official tweet, Shueisha noted that it will launch numerous projects throughout the 40th-anniversary year.

One of the articles it posted on the anniversary day featured a look back on Dragon Ball milestone covers in several Weekly Shonen Jump editions from around the early 1990s. The same article also included Akira Toriyama's illustration for the franchise's 20th anniversary in 2004 and a message for the 30th anniversary in 2014. Unfortunately, there will be no new messages from the Dragon Ball creator for the 40th anniversary, since Akira Toriyama died due to an acute subdural hematoma on March 1, 2024.

Besides the manga series, the website also contains a section dedicated to updates on Dragon Ball games Bandai Namco has released. When the website was just published, it featured a free trial of Dragon Ball Daima's Mini Goku in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. People who have the game on the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, or Switch can try playing with the character even without purchasing the "Future Saga Chapter 2" DLC on November 20-27, 2024.

The publication of the website on November 20, 2024, coincided exactly with the debut of the manga series in the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on November 20, 1984.

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The Dragon Ball series has been going strong for many years. After the tragic ing of Akira Toriyama, there is still more content to enjoy in the near future. As we look back at the massive, monumental anime and manga series, it is now time to figure out the best Dragon Ball character of all time.

Some of the Siliconera staff have come together to give our thoughts on the best Dragon Ball character. We picked our favorite character based on a number of factors. It could be how strong the person is, their design, personality, or even story arc. Regardless, these are our favorites. We are including characters from every series from the original Dragon Ball all the way to GT.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Best Dragon Ball Character Ever 6j442s

I cannot state more how much I love Krillin. He may not be the strongest warrior of all time, he may not be as important as the story gets universal in Dragon Ball Super, but he's always had a tremendous heart. His friendship with Goku from the earliest days was always funny and sweet and we cannot deny how good his outfits were all throughout the Dragon Ball series to date. -- John

Across all Dragon Ball series and arcs, Gohan will always be my guy. He was a role model growing up, seeing so much of myself in him as a kid myself watching the series. I even saw similarities in our personalities in how we care more about studying and learning than fighting or training. We are both a little nerdy and awkward. While I was saddened when his presence in the series took a step back after the Cell Saga, I am still a huge fan of Goku’s first son. -- Cody

Be sure to let us know in the comments below your favorite character!

The post Who’s the Best Dragon Ball Character of All Time? appeared first on Siliconera.

Uniqlo has revealed a new lineup of shirts inspired by the original Dragon Ball and its latest entry Dragon Ball Daima that will appear worldwide in 2025. The brand will gradually sell these products in numerous countries, starting in Japan in January 2025.

There will be a total of ten shirt designs available. Uniqlo will further split the designs into three different categories.

The first ones will be adult unisex sweatshirts priced at ¥2,990 (~$19.85) each. These are unisex items that can be worn by anyone. Here's how they will look:

The following Dragon Ball designs will be intended for adult unisex shirts that cost ¥1,500 (~$9.95) apiece:

The last three will be designs for kids' T-shirts with the lowest price tag of ¥990 (~$6.57):

As with prior crossover shirts like Monster Hunter and One Piece, the adult shirts will be available in sizes from XS to 4XL. However, Uniqlo's physical outlets will mostly only stock shirt sizes from S to XL. People who are interested in getting the super small or large sizes will have the best chance to order the shirts online via Uniqlo's web store.

The new Dragon Ball and Daima Uniqlo shirts will be available first in Japan in early January 2025.

The post New Dragon Ball Uniqlo Shirts in 2025 Will Include Daima appeared first on Siliconera.

A new line of Dragon Ball merchandise and apparel includes a beanie that look like Goku’s hair, as well as Puar and Oolong's ears. The new collection also includes a backpack with Master Roshi's turtle shell motifs, manga t-shirts, posters, and a bedsheet set. [Thanks, Inside!]

Bandai will start accepting pre-orders for the items in the new Dragon Ball collection from October 13, 2024, and they are expected to release in December 2024. This new merchandise collection is being released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the original Dragon Ball manga series in November 20, 2024.

Here is the full lineup of goods in the new Dragon Ball apparel line as well as their prices:

• Dragon Ball Son Goku Beanie – 9,350 yen (~$63.08)
• Dragon Ball Oolong/Puar Beanie – 8,800 yen (~$59.37)
• Dragon Ball Backpack – 6,050 yen (~$40.82)
• Dragon Ball t-shirts (8 available) – 5,500 yen (~$37.11)
• Dragon Ball Pillow and bedsheet set – 27,500 yen (~$185.54)
• Dragon Ball Poster (3 available) – 2,200 yen (~$14.84)

And you can take a look at the items here as well:

The new Dragon Ball clothing and apparel collection will go on pre-order on October 13, 2024. The items are expected to release in Japan in December 2024.

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Toei Animation announced there will be a new Dragon Ball balloon at the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, though it will once again be of Goku.

This year’s Goku balloon at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will wear his traditional orange gi with blue accents. It will also have the Goku’s Kanji symbol on it. He’ll be in his standard form and not going Super Saiyan. The concept art pose shows he’ll also be saluting attendees. In past appearances at the event, he’s shown up in forms like Super Saiyan Blue form.

Goku Dragon Ball balloons are a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade staple at this point. In 2023, one based on his Dragon Ball Super appearance appeared. He showed up in 2021 as well. 

The official site for the event hasn’t updated yet. As such, we don’t know what other balloons based on anime or video game characters could appear during the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2023, Toei Animation announced a One Piece Balloon of Monkey D. Luffy using Gum-Gum Pistol would appear for the first time at the event. There are also often Pokemon balloons, which are typically of Pikachu. 

The 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held on November 28, 2024. It will be streaming on services like Peacock. The Dragon Ball is streaming on Crunchyroll, with Dragon Ball Daima debuting on the service in October 2024. Viz Media handles the manga outside Japan.

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With the release of the new Dragon Ball Daima anime series approaching, Shueisha and Toei Animation announced that Tooru Furuya, the Japanese voice actor for Yamcha, will step down from his role. Ryota Suzuki will replace the veteran voice actor as the new voice for Yamcha.

Ryota Suzuki is a young Japanese voice actor known for his role as Yu Ishigami in the original Japanese dub of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Asclepius in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, Junichi and Keisuke Wanima in the blue Blue Lock anime adaptation, and most recently as Prince Moriyoshi in The Elusive Samurai.

While no reason was given for the change in voice actor for Yamcha in Dragon Ball Daima, it is likely linked to Tooru Furuya’s recent adultery, assault, and forced abortion scandal. The veteran actor already had to be recast in the Metaphor: ReFantazio for an undisclosed role, and Miyu Irino recently took over as Sabo in One Piece, a role previously held by Furuya.

Dragon Ball Daima will begin airing in Japan on October 11, 2024, and it will be streaming on Crunchyroll. Other Dragon Ball anime adaptations and movies are available on Crunchyroll, and Viz Media handles the manga outside Japan.

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In celebration of 40 years of Dragon Ball, Secretlab will release a brained new gaming chair themed after Goku himself. A Secretlab Titan Evo Dragon Ball Z Goku version is on the way.

This new chair is patterned after Goku's classic orange and blue gi, emblazoned with the kanji for "Kame" on the front of the chair, and "Kai Oh" on the back, showing the emblems of Goku's two great teachers: Master Roshi and King Kai. In addition, the orange and blue patterns of the chair are done in a speckle pattern, calling back to Goku's iconic outfit. There are also some other neat details, like the seven Dragon Balls on the back and front of the chair.

You can take a look at the gaming chair below.

The chair is currently retailing at $644 and comes in a Small size, for people under 5' 6", a Regular size, for between 5' 7" and 6' 2", and the Extra Large size, for people between 5' 11" and 6' 9". The Small and Regular retail for the same price, but the Extra Large will retail at $694.

This is just one of the many things in the pipeline to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball. The new series, Dragon Ball Daima will be premiering on the anniversary. In addition, fans commemorated the series by voting on which of Goku's famous fights they thought were the coolest in the entire 40-year run of Dragon Ball.

Pre-orders for the Titan Evo Dragon Ball Z Goku Edition chair are open now on the Secretlab site.

The post Secretlab Reveals New Goku-Themed Titan Evo Gaming Chair appeared first on Siliconera.

On Goku Day 2024, May 9th, the Official Dragon Ball Site held a poll, asking fans to vote on what they thought their favorite one of Goku's many battles, from Dragon Ball through Dragon Ball Super, was. The votes have been tallied and the top 100 out of the countless battles Goku has fought have been revealed.

The top 10 fights got their own special Dragon Ball Weekly Update video, where Victory Uchida, the editor for Dragon Ball Super, and Toyotarou, Dragon Ball Super's lead illustrator discussed the list and what their favorite fights were. Toyotarou's was the final battle with Kid Buu at the end of the original run of Dragon Ball Z.

You can take a look at the top 10 list and Toyotarou and Uchida's comments on it here:

The criteria for the list were, according to the original Dragon Ball site, the following:

• Verbal sparring and rock-paper-scissors count
• As long as Goku enters the contest with the spirit of battle, battles against inorganic foes also count! However, rocks and such whose destruction is merely a casualty of another fight do not count!
• The start of a fight until the fighting stops counts as one battle. Characters who Goku fights more than once are included in the lineup as many times as they fought Goku!

The top ten battles according to the fan vote are as follows:

10. Ultra Instinct Goku vs Jiren, Dragon Ball Super
11. Kid Goku vs Grandpa Gohan, Dragon Ball
12. Goku and Gohan vs Perfect Cell, Dragon Ball Z
13. Goku vs Majin Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z
14. Goku sparring with Gohan, Dragon Ball Super
15. First Battle between Goku and Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z
16. Final Battle with Moro, Dragon Ball Super
17. Kid Goku vs Full Powered Great Demon King Piccolo, Dragon Ball
18. Goku vs Frieza, Dragon Ball Z
19. Goku vs Jackie Chun, Dragon Ball

Some notable entries that cracked the top 50 included Goku firing a Kamehameha at Yamcha's Car from the original Dragon Ball, the first duel with Piccolo, Goku and Vegeta kart racing against one another in Dragon Ball Super, and Goku catching the Giant Fish, the first fight he ever had in Dragon Ball.

With this year being the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball and after the ing of series creator Akira Toriyama, fans all over the world have been expressing their fondness for the creator and his seminal work, Dragon Ball, including his co-workers.

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super are available to watch on Crunchyroll and Hulu.

The post Results of Goku Day Poll Reveal Goku’s Best Fights appeared first on Siliconera.