If you do not find an answer to your question after reading this section, then feel free to contact me. Any question that can be answered with this page will be ignored.

General Questions

• Where can I find DRAGON BALL fansubs?
  The Anime Web Turnpike has an extensive listing of fansubbing groups. Check there. To find out which groups to contact, visit Dragon Ball Blast's Fansub Index. It lists which groups have subbed what. Excellent resource. One last page to check is Capsule Corp. Trading Post, which claims to hold a significant amount of Dragon Ball Z subbed and unsubbed.

• Where can I find DRAGON BALL merchandise?
  Again, try the Anime Web Turnpike. Check in the Commercial Pages section. Two stores that specialize in DRAGON BALL merchandise are the Dragon Ball Z Specialty Store and the Saiya-jin Cel Shop. If you are looking for DRAGON BALL merchandise in a particular location, try browsing through shopping guides tailored to your specific geographic location.

• Can you sell me some of your DRAGON BALL merchandise?
  Sorry, but no. I'm not a store, so please look elsewhere.

• How did you make the graphics for your pages?
  Suushinchuu is powered by the award-winning Adobe Photoshop 4.0 and the Microtek Scanmaker E3 (an incredible bargain for the quality it delivers). I usually scan images at the standard web resolution, 72 dpi, and manipulate them accordingly in Photoshop. I use layers extensively to serve as a check against mistakes and to create outstanding visual effects (the above graphic of Perfect Cell would be nearly impossible to produce without layers). I get ideas for the designs of my pages through magazines, and sometimes, through mistakes I make while working in Photoshop.

• Where did you learn HTML?
  Believe it or not, I learned HTML through Geocities. Back in the day, when neighborhoods were only up to the 1500 mark, I experimented with HTML and learned the basics of web page creation from a tutorial program on their server. The quick downloading which characterized my old site was in part due to the knowledge I had gained from reading HTML style guides, which stressed that "less is more". The renovation of my site (what you see now) was heavily influenced by the HTML-terrorism tactics of David Siegel, who wrote the book Creating Killer Websites. It's a good read, and chances are, after reading it, you'll want to create third-generation sites just like the ones mentioned in the publication. I constantly try to improve my HTML expertise by any means possible, and visit well-designed pages to give myself a goal to strive for.

• Which HTML Editor do you use?
  Allaire's Homesite (specifically version 2.5a). It's a HTML editor with wizards and other special features that make writing pages quick and painless. I would suggest using something like Homesite instead of a WYSIWYG type of editor (Frontpage 98) because of the flexibility it allows.

• What does "Suushinchuu" mean, and why did you change your website's name from "Wuken's Homepage" to "Suushinchuu"?
  Suushinchuu is the Japanese pronunciation for the name of the Four-Star Dragon Ball. The kanji for it is Žl¯‹…, and it literally means "Four Star Ball". The Four-Star Dragon Ball has a lot of significance in DRAGON BALL; those who are familiar with the story will understand why I chose this one Dragon Ball over the rest.

  It was purely a matter of personal preference as to why I changed the name of my website. I wanted to convey to my visitors that this was a DRAGON BALL only website, and furthermore, one that focused primarily on the Japanese version of the popular series. I played around with different names for the site, but none seemed to fit until one day I was reading the manga from the start again, and realized just how important Suushinchuu really was. Because if it wasn't for this one Dragon Ball, Bulma and Son Gokuh would never have met, and DRAGON BALL would have never turned out the way it did.

• When are you going to update your page again?
  When I feel like it. :)

Image Album Questions

• May I use your images for my own homepage?
  Sure! All I ask is that you provide a link leading back to me, and credit for scanning the images. Doing both would be very much appreciated.

• Can you give me images of so-and-so?
  Sorry, I don't do requests. I also don't send images via e-mail attachments, so please don't ask.

• I have an image you don't have. Here, let me attach it with this e-mail...
  No, no, no, a thousand times no! Please do not send me anything via e-mail attachment without contacting me first. I'm more than willing to accept anything that you may have, but please tell me about it first so that I can set aside some time to download it.

• I remember you having more images in your image section before. What happened to them?
  I deleted them. They were mostly scans of cards, which I didn't particularly like. I enjoy looking at group shots and nice solo pictures, without any sorts of words or borders on them. Cards usually have both.

• These images are great! Where did you scan them from?
  They were scanned from various artbooks, posters, laminates, pencil boards, trading cards, magazines, CD covers, and whatnot. You can pick up any of this merchandise from your local anime or Japanese toy importer. If you don't live by such a resource, check the Anime Web Turnpike for a list of online-stores that you can buy DRAGON BALL merchandise from. See related questions in the "General Questions" section on this page.

Links Questions

• May I put a hyperlink on my page leading to your page?
  Definitely! Feel free to add a hyperlink to this site, and if you like, tell your friends about it!

• Can you add a hyperlink to my page?
  Due to the enormous number of link requests each week, I have developed a somewhat strict links policy. It is as follows. First and foremost, your page will be added if it has a lot of original material, and/or excellent design (the first is pretty much a requisite; the second is not, but it helps a lot). More specifically, I look for the following when considering to add pages: solid, original content; a good web-browsing experience; user-friendly navigation; outstanding design; and quick downloads. A well-made page has most, if not all, of those characteristics. Things that turn me off when visiting pages are: text and files swiped from other pages; excessively slow download times; unnecessary Java applets or Javascript pop-ups; the feeling that the page has no direction or purpose; clashing backgrounds; odd choice of text size; broken links and images; too many animated GIFs, and noticeable halos around images. If your page contains any of the characteristics just mentioned, chances are, I won't add it. I do this because I'd like to see better DRAGON BALL pages out there. People learn from example; if they're given examples of what makes a good page, then chances are, they'll create a good page, don't you agree?

• If you do or do not decide to add a hyperlink to my site, can you let me know via e-mail?
  No. You can check for yourself if a link to your page has been added, which should be within a week of your submission.
  

• Okay, so you won't link to my site. Can you still look at it and give me hints on how to improve it?
  Sorry, but no. I have just enough spare time to maintain my own site and answer a few e-mails. If you would like some assistance with your page, or advice, seek out other DRAGON BALL web sites which specialize in reviews, like Dr. Gero's Laboratory. Read HTML style guides and buy books on the subject. Visit sites like High Five for inspiration.

  If you're just starting a DRAGON BALL page of your own, then here's some advice I learned from all my years of web-publishing. Give your page a purpose or goal, and make sure it meets it. Strive to make the best page you possibly can, and when you think you've reached that point, make it even better. Never stop trying to improve yourself. Also, take as much time as you need to in order to make your page perfect when you release it to the public. First impressions are very important.

• What happened to all the reviews?
  I trashed them. No point in putting up a review of a site when you're going to visit it anyway and decide for yourself whether you enjoy it or not.

Listening Booth Questions

• Can you put up that song from such-and-such movie/television episode?
  Sorry, I don't do requests. Although I have more or less every vocal song/background music track available on CD, I don't intend to put up my entire collection. The purpose of the Listening Booth is to generate interest in the CDs, in the hopes that you will go out and search for them on your own. I only put up tracks from the CDs that I believe will spark up that interest. Which leads to the next question...

• Where can I buy DRAGON BALL CDs?
  Good question. For those interested in buying the original Japanese CDs (i.e. Nippon Columbia, Forte Music Entertainment, ZAIN Records, etc.), I recommend the following places. Laser Perceptions, located in San Francisco, has an excellent stock of DRAGON BALL CDs. The prices are as cheap, and the service the employees provide is fantastic. Two other noteworthy places to grab the original CDs are alt.ant (the UCI Anime Bookstore) and Mangaya. I personally special order my DRAGON BALL CDs through Books Nippan. I've never run into a problem with this company in my dealings with them.

  For those interested in the counterfeit versions of DRAGON BALL CDs, try visiting Game Music Online. They sell Son May (SM) CDs for "reasonable" prices. I highly suggest that you don't go this route, as SM CDs and all other types of counterfeit CDs are usually of poor quality (when I say that, I am talking about the quality of the overall package).

• Can you post "Rock the Dragon" (the North American DRAGON BALL Z Opening Theme)?
  Sorry, but the Listening Booth is meant to generate interest in the original Japanese CDs only. I have little interest in the North American DRAGON BALL [Z] background music and vocals. Sorry, but they just pale in comparison with the original work. You can, however, find a MPEG Layer II Audio file of "Rock the Dragon" (not its official name) at Minosha's World. If you really like the song, buy the domestic CD from places like the Dragon Ball Z Specialty Store.

• Why don't you use MPEG Layer 3? It has better audio quality than MPEG Layer II...
  This is a common misconception. MPEG Layer 3's advantage over Layer II is better compression at lower bitrates, not sound quality. You can get the same audio quality with MPEG Layer II files as you would with a MPEG Layer 3 file, if encoded at the same settings. MPEG Layer II was chosen over Layer 3 because of my visitors using lower-end machines -- many of them just cannot play MPEG Layer 3 files because the system demands are too much. The inability to stream MPEG Layer II Audio over the Net and my lack of concern for CD-quality audio files sums up the rest. Encoding the songs at CD-quality would defeat the purpose of the Listening Booth, and that's why all of the songs in the archive are of very low (AM radio) quality.

• I can't seem to download the entire song. It freezes at *** K when I attempt to get it.
  Keep trying. If I can download the song in its entirety, so can you. Investigate the possibility of a faulty net connection on your end.

• I still can't get it. Can you send the file via e-mail?
  Sorry, no. I don't send out files over e-mail. My suggestion is to just keep trying.

• I can't understand a thing that Hironobu Kageyama is saying in the English versions of the popular DRAGON BALL Z songs. Can you give me the lyrics?
  Sure. You can now download a text file of the lyrics to the English versions in the Listening Booth, under the DRAGON BALL Z section.

• What's your favorite DRAGON BALL song? What is your least favorite song?
  My favorite DRAGON BALL song would probably have to be a tie between Bokutachi wa tenshi datta and Eien no yakusoku. The former is the best medium-paced song; the latter is the best ballad in the series. Close runner-ups include the following: DAN DAN Kokoro Hikareteku, Unmei no hi ~Tamashii tai tamashii~, Hitorijanai, Don't You See!, and Hikari no Will Power. My favorite instrumental track is a three-way tie between Okore Gohan!! (Son Gohan's theme from Super Butouden 2, remixed), Solid State Scouter (Bardock's Theme), and Piccolo's Theme (from Super Butouden 2). My least favorite song is (you guessed it) Rock the Dragon, the North American DRAGON BALL Z opening theme. Talk about monotonous (and ambiguous) lyrics. I think Kokoro kara nureta futari, an image song that has a drunk Chi-Chi and Son Gohan singing karaoke, comes a close second.

• Is there a site on the Internet that I can find information about which CDs have which songs?
  There sure is. Check the Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z FAQ for a partial (remember, there are around 60 CDs in the collection!) track listing compiled by Steph Graves. I'm also still working on the Dragon Ball Discography. In case you don't know what that is, it's a small project I've been working on for the past half-year, which will attempt to compile as much information on Dragon Ball CDs as possible. I've currently got track listings for approximately 70% of the collection, but haven't done much more than that. I hope I'll be able to finish this; if I can't finish it, I hear Steph Graves is undertaking a similar project, so visit the "Ultimate DBZ CD Site" when it pops up in February 1998.

Final Bout FAQ Questions

• Where can I find your FAQ?
  Various places, including gamefaqs.com. A copy of the FAQ will always be kept here at the following address:
  
  http://wuken.tierranet.com/files/DBFB_FAQ.txt

• Where can I buy Dragon Ball [GT] Final Bout?
  Your best bet now would be import stores, such as The Rage. Bandai of America has discontinued the North American version of Dragon Ball Final Bout, called "Dragon Ball GT Final Bout", which means you'll have an easier time finding the Japanese import version than a domestic copy.

• How do you get the 18th character in Dragon Ball [GT] Final Bout (or how do you play as Super Baby)?
  As far as I'm concerned, you can't. I've been following V-Jump for several months now, and they haven't mentioned any sort of code that will allow you to play as Super Baby.

• When are you going to update your FAQ?
  See above answer about when I'll update my page. :)