'Dragon Ball' Gets an 'Akira' Makeover
The Dragon Ball franchise has been taking over the world in the last year, and part of that brand [...]
The Dragon Ball franchise has been taking over the world in the last year, and part of that brand expansion has included an awesome slew of mashups, with Dragon Ball being compared to everything from Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War, to animated sitcoms like The Simpsons. Well, some of the most fun mashups come from examples of the anime genre being compared to itself - and such is the case with this simple yet iconic image, which brings anime's flagship TV series (Dragon Ball) together with its flagship movie, Akira!
This image was created by fan artist liaartemisa over at DeviantART, and is one of many great geek mashups that she has created. The image is a clear reference to the iconic Akira teaser poster, featuring Shotaro Kaneda walking up to his iconic motorcycle. It's also a rare Dragon Ball throwback to see Bulma getting such a big spotlight, as this version of the Capsule Corp genius is definitely drawn from her time in the original Dragon Ball series.
There's been a live-action Hollywood version of Akira in the works for years now, and last we heard, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is still working on it. While the thought of Hollywood taking on Akira has been a major worry of fans for years (and for good reason, based on some of the script drafts that have leaked), but Waititi is a name that will probably inspire a lot confidence in anime fans.
Meanwhile, Dragon Ball Super is done, and fans are waiting on the highly-anticipated Dragon Ball Super movie to be released late this year, while news of a new series based on the Dragon Ball Heroes Japanese video game has fans curious, if not excited. Based on what happens with that Dragon Ball Heroes anime, the franchise could see a major brand expansion - one that could even see fun mashup references like the one above featured as part of the fun!
Dragon Ball Legends mobile game is expected to be released sometime this summer. Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.