'Dragon Ball Super' Breaks Fourth Wall With 'Dragon Ball' Nod

Dragon Ball Super has done tons of things since its debut, and the anime just keeps on giving. [...]

By Megan Peters

Dragon Ball Super has done tons of things since its debut, and the anime just keeps on giving. Nowadays, fans are tuning into its English dub as Toonami moves into its final arc, but the show had one last filler gift to give.

So, if you caught on to the reference dropped in the dub's latest episode, you can call yourself a true Dragon Ball OG.

Over the weekend, Toonami aired episode 76 of Dragon Ball Super, and it saw Goku get up to some real funny business. After the Saiyan took some herbal medicine (?!) with Krillin, the duo took a trippy journey where they faced off with their biggest foes such as Freeza and 'Saiyan Saga' Vegeta.

As their adventure went on, Goku experienced a few big throwbacks, but none was bigger than the Flying Nimbus. Out of nowhere, the iconic golden cloud showed up before Goku, and the guy was quick to jump on his old friend.

If you listened closely to the dub, you heard Goku singing a little chant as he jumped on Nimbus. The Saiyan was saying, "Cha-La Head-Cha-La," and the tune was a direct reference to the original Dragon Ball Z theme song.

Way back in May 1989, the anime put out its first theme song, and it was titled "Cha-La Head-Cha-La". The track was done by Hironobu Kageyama and opened the first 199 episodes of Dragon Ball Z as well as its first films. To this day, the opening is known as one of anime's most iconic, so it is only fitting Goku would break the fourth wall to sing the tune after seeing his old friend again.

So, did you catch this clever little reference? Does Goku need to release an entire mixtape of him singing Dragon Ball openings? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

If you are interested in the anime series, Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings and Adult Swim on weeknights. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV and Crunchyroll.

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