A couple decades ago, who could ever guess that Japan's cartoon and manga franchises would take over the Western world so feverishly, and with such market saturation? While we might never see a Pokemon MMO in the near future, it's virtual cousin—Dragon Ball—is in development. It's called Dragon Ball Online, and we're getting closer to an official release (in Japan and Korea, at least).

Developed by NTL, Dragon Ball Online is an MMO rendition of the popular Dragon Ball franchise, which has appeared in comics, cartoons, trading cards, video games and even movies. It's being simultaneously developed in Japan and South Korea by NTL. Originally slated for release within the past year or two, the production was delayed, and current estimates put the Korean launch date to be sometime later this year.

Although we might not see a North American and European port for a bit longer, MMOSite.com just published a great media article featuring gameplay and walkthrough videos of the upcoming MMO. If you're a fan of the series, you'll definitely want to check it out. The in-game text in the videos appear to be in Korean, but you'll still be able to get a good look at what to expect from this hotly-anticipated MMO, as far as its gameplay, visual styles and theme.