The Super Limit-Breaking NEO DLC for DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO will be available July 30th! That's not all! The DLC's theme song "ZERO" that was composed by Hironobu Kageyama will also be released at the same time!
*The Nintendo Switch™/Nintendo Switch™ 2 version is scheduled for release at a later date.

Starting with the first theme song for the Dragon Ball Z anime, "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA", Hironobu Kageyama is one of the main people behind numerous theme songs for the Dragon Ball series, including "Super Survivor" for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Hironobu Kageyama not only composed the music for this latest song, but he also wrote the lyrics and even performed the vocals himself! This marks the first time in about 18 years since he created a theme song for the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series.

To celebrate the release of this new track, we spoke to Hironobu Kageyama about his thoughts on Dragon Ball as a whole and asked him about his ideas behind this latest track!

—"CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" was released in 1989, and I believe you've been involved with the Dragon Ball series since then, but could you talk about your memories of and feelings about the Dragon Ball series?

Hironobu Kageyama (Hereafter Kageyama): At the time, albums were being released continuously under the Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection series, so I was constantly working on songs for Dragon Ball. I worked on the anime, of course, but also movies, games, everything from theme songs to insert songs. During that period, I probably made around fifty songs for Dragon Ball. It was like I was completely immersed in Dragon Ball for a decade back then.
And, thanks to Dragon Ball becoming a worldwide hit, it even led to a lot of opportunities outside of Japan. I was often the first choice when it came time to send people to overseas events (laughs). When I think back on it, I feel that my life became much richer and more fulfilling thanks to Dragon Ball.



—Now, 18 years later, you were asked to work on "ZERO", and this time you worked on both the music and lyrics. Could you give us some details on your creative process?

Kageyama: They approached me and asked me to write the music and lyrics outright, which made me very happy. I had never done that for any of the previous Dragon Ball songs I worked on. I told them, "If you're okay with me doing it, then I'll give it my best shot!" and set my mind on doing the best job possible.



—Right off the bat, the lyrics sound like they're hyping up the players. It really works perfectly as a battle song.

Kageyama: I think so, too. I knew I needed the opening to have as much impact as possible. When I first performed the song live at Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri, it had an intro, but the release version starts straight off the bat with the lyrics. I also went out of my way to try and never drop the level of intensity throughout the song, keeping it energetic throughout, so anyone listening to it could stay hyped up from beginning to end.

Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri
A Dragon Ball 40th Anniversary event that was held on January 25th.
Kageyama performed "ZERO" live during the event

—The lyrics do a great job of capturing the essence of Dragon Ball!

Kageyama: Dragon Ball is filled with characters like Goku who are incredibly powerful, but time and time again they come up against opponents that they seem to have no chance against. Then they have to go through training or team up with other characters. I think those elements are the strength of the series. I looked back over the Dragon Ball songs that Yukinojo Mori had written the lyrics for and noticed that the combination of strength and cuteness is what defines that Dragon Ball feeling. That's why I focused on that nuance for my new song and tried to put in phrases to imply that maybe relying on power alone isn't enough when facing a strong enemy.



—A theme song has to resonate with the emotions of the players, and your track pulls that off perfectly! I'm sure all the gamers out there are eager to listen to it themselves. On a final note, could we get a few words for all the Dragon Ball fans reading this?

Kageyama: It's been 18 years since I made any music for Dragon Ball, and I'm honored to be able to provide the main theme for this game! With my previous tracks, I was only responsible for the vocals, but this time I was trusted with writing the music and lyrics as well, so I put my absolute all into making it, and I personally feel very satisfied with the result! Of course, I'd love for all Dragon Ball fans to listen to it, but it would also be great if as many other people as possible could listen to this track and say, "Wow, Kageyama's still got it!"



—Thank you!


Watch Hironobu Kageyama's video message here!

Check out the related articles for more info on DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO's new Super Limit-breaking NEO DLC!
There's even an article all about our hands-on demo with the new Limit Breaker Journey mode that's jam-packed with system details!
Make sure to give it a read before trying the game out yourself!