Vinyl Record Re-Releases of Dragon Ball Albums Coming
Vinyl record re-releases of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z’s opening and ending themes is coming in celebration of the anime’s 35th Anniversary.
Japanese music company Nippon Columbia is re-publishing three Dragon Ball anime vinyl records on July 28, 2021.
The first record is a 7-inch vinyl titled after Dragon Ball’s OP theme, Makafushigi Adobencha! It features the titular opening song by vocalist Hiroki Takahashi, and the ED theme, I’ll Give You Romance! by vocalist Ushio Hashimoto. One song on each side. Price: ¥2,200 (~$20 USD).
The second record is an LP titled TV Manga “Dragon Ball” Hit Song Collection. It contains the above two theme songs plus 8 rare insert songs and character songs from the anime. Five songs on each side. Price: ¥4,400 (~$40 USD).
The third record is a 7-inch vinyl titled after Dragon Ball Z’s OP theme, CHA-LA HEAD CHA-LA. It features the titular opening song by vocalist Hironobu Kageyama, and the ED theme song Dettekoi Tobikiri Zenkai Power!, by MANNA. One song on each side. Price: ¥2,200 (~$20 USD).
The first episode of Dragon Ball was broadcast on February 26, 1986. The Makafushigi Adobenchā! vinyl record and cassette album was first released on March 1, 1986, and as an 8 cm CD on March 21, 1998, alongside the ED theme, Romantikku ageru yo.
Now, this album and the two others will be re-released on July 28, 2021, with an event commemorating the 7th Anniversary of the opening of the HMV record shop in Shibuya, Tokyo. The HMV shop is operated by Lawson Entertainment, the distributor of these three records.
This re-release is a boon to Dragon Ball music purists who love to listen to vinyl records, but could not find the rare original prints. Especially for international fans, who have a chance to grab these albums that they never had before.
Their publication also shows once again the popularity of Dragon Ball’s music among fans, and their status as evergreen tracks.
So be sure to pick them up on the official Japanese HMV record store.
Update:International shipping is not available on any Japanese site I’ve found so far that carries the album. This includes the above HMV, stereo-records, and soundchannel.jp.
But I’ve contacted a Japanese importer colleague of mine whose entire business is importing rare Japanese collectibles for international fans. So if you’d like to buy these albums, then leave a comment below and I’ll see what I can do for you.
Update 2: In response to my announcement of this news, original vocalist Ushio Hashimoto replied to me on Twitter to say, “I am very pleased to know that. Over 35 years later, those songs are still being listened to and sung. #Dragonball.”
Hashimoto-san also wrote in response to the continued international demand for her song, “I’ll Give You Romance! is immortal!”
Album Details
The 10-track list for the Hit Song Collection:
Side 1
- Makafushigi Adobenchā! (魔訶不思議アドベンチャー！, Mystical Adventure!) / Hiroki Takahashi
- Mezase Tenkaichi (めざせ 天下一, Aim High Tenkaichi) / Hiroki Takahashi
- Dragon Ball Densetsu (ドラゴンボール伝説, Dragon Ball Legend) / Hiroki Takahashi
- Mr. Dorīmu o Sagase (Ｍｒ．ドリームを探せ, Find my Mr. Dream) / Ushio Hashimoto
- Aoki tabibito-tachi (青き旅人たち, Blue Travelers) / Hiroki Takahashi
Side 2
- Fushigi wandārando (不思議ワンダーランド, Mysterious Wonderland) / Wonderland Gang
- Mutenrōshi no oshie (武天老師の教え, Teachings of Muten Rōshi) / Kohei Miyauchi
- Son Gokū songu (孫悟空ソング, Son Gokū Song) / Masako Nozawa
- Urufu harikēn (ウルフ ハリケーン, Wolf Hurricane) / Toru Furuya
- Romantikku ageru yo (ロマンティックあげるよ, I’ll Give You Romance!) / Ushio Hashimoto
Exclusive Insider Interviews!
Read exclusive insider interviews with the Japanese producers, composer, arranger, lyricists, and vocalists behind Dragon Ball’s OP and ED in my upcoming book, Dragon Ball Culture Volume 7: Anime.
This includes over 50 pages of interviews and stories behind the making of these songs, their cultural inspiration, their influence on the anime industry, and their effect on the fandom.
The Early Access edition is coming out in ebook later in 2021.
Read Dragon Ball Culture Volumes 1 to 6 to get up to speed for Volume 7!
I very much would like to get my hands on a copy of the Makafushigi/Romantic vinyl. Thanks!
Please contact the owner of the Japanese export company https://mangadj.com
His name is Ryusuke Tanaka, and he is a colleague of mine. He specializes in exporting manga, anime, and other pop-culture goods. Tell him Derek sent you, so that he knows you’re one of my readers. Then he’ll hook you up when the album comes out.
I would love to as well! This is great news after seeing there’s no way of having them internationally shipped.
Please contact Ryusuke and tell him Derek sent you. He’ll give you info on how to buy it through him.