Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball (Japanese: ドラゴンボール, Hepburn: Doragon Bōru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was initially inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. The series follows the adventures of the protagonist, Goku, from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls.

The 42 tankōbon have been adapted into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, the studio has developed nineteen animated feature films and three television specials, as well as a third anime titled Dragon Ball GT. Between 2009 and 2015, a revised, faster-paced version of Dragon Ball Z was broadcast under the title Dragon Ball Kai, in which most of the original version's footage not featured in the manga is removed. A fifth television series titled Dragon Ball Super began on July 5, 2015. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising based on the series leading to a large media franchise that includes films, both animated and live-action, collectible trading card games, numerous action figures, along with several collections of soundtracks and a large number of video games.

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

D. B. Sweeney

Daniel Bernard "D. B." Sweeney (born November 14, 1961) is an American actor.

Early life

Sweeney was born and raised in Shoreham, New York, by an educator father and a municipal government employee mother. He attended Shoreham-Wading River High School and both Tulane and New York University. Before completing his B.F.A. at NYU in 1984, he starred in the Broadway revival of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial.

Career

Sweeney guest starred on the television series like The Edge of Night and Spenser: For Hire. On films, he played a gung-ho Vietnam enlistee in Francis Ford Coppola's Gardens of Stone (1987) and Travis Walton in Fire in the Sky (1993). He also played Doug Dorsey in The Cutting Edge (1992), Shoeless Joe Jackson in Eight Men Out (1988) and Dish Boggett in Lonesome Dove (1989).

After voicing Iguanodon Aladar in the Disney CGI animated film Dinosaur, Sweeney starred in Life as We Know It as Michael Whitman (2004–2005) and C-16: FBI produced by Michael Robin.

Sweeney guest-starred on various television series, including House (2006) as Crandall, an ex-bandmate of Dr. Gregory House; Jericho as John Goetz (2006–2008); Castle as a Los Angeles detective (2011), and more. He also had recurring roles as U.S. Marshal Sam Kassmeyer, assigned to protect Haley and Jack Hotchner on Criminal Minds (2009); as Peter Emory in season 1 of Crash (2008); and as Carter in The Event (2010).

Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z (Japanese: ドラゴンボールZ(ゼット), Hepburn: Doragon Bōru Zetto, commonly abbreviated as DBZ) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Dragon Ball Z is the sequel to the Dragon Ball anime and adapts the last 325 chapters of the original 519-chapter Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama, that were published from 1988 to 1995 in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Dragon Ball Z first aired in Japan on Fuji TV from April 25, 1989 to January 31, 1996, before being dubbed in several territories around the world, including the United States, Australia, Europe, India, and Latin America.

Dragon Ball Z follows the adventures of the protagonist Goku who, along with his companions, defends the Earth against an assortment of villains ranging from intergalactic space fighters and conquerors, unnaturally powerful androids and nearly indestructible magical creatures. While the original Dragon Ball anime followed Goku from his childhood into adulthood, Dragon Ball Z is a continuation of his adult life, but at the same time parallels the maturation of his sons, Gohan and Goten, as well as the evolution of his rivals Piccolo and Vegeta from enemies into allies.

Dragon Ball XenoVerse

Dragon Ball XenoVerse (officially abbreviated as Dragon Ball XV) is a fighting role-playing video game based on the Dragon Ball media franchise developed by Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was released in February 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It was the first Dragon Ball video game released on eighth generation video game consoles.

Gameplay

The game is set almost entirely within a number of 3D battle arenas which are mostly modeled after notable locations in Dragon Ball universe, accessed from the main hub – the Toki-Toki City. Fighters can traverse the levels free-roaming in large spaces and can fight on ground, in the air and underwater. The game features spoken dialogue from a majority of main characters while in battle, and characters show facial expressions when they strike an opponent or take damage. Although limited, the players have some freedom to explore the planet Earth as it exists in the Dragon Ball universe along with a handful of other locations, including the aforementioned Toki-Toki City. XenoVerse is also the third Dragon Ball game to feature character creation, the first being Dragon Ball Online and the second being Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi. Player-created character has the option of becoming an apprentice of the original Dragon Ball characters in order to learn their special moves and access specific costume items.