The Internet Can't Unsee This Dragon Ball Z, Village People Connection

Dragon Ball Z is a paramount series in the world of anime, with more notoriety than we can possibly contemplate. The influences that DBZ has over so many other battle anime, along with movies and television in general, are sometimes so subtle that they may miss audiences completely. One fan managed to find an insane connection between the music of Dragon Ball and that of the 1970s popular band, The Village People and their hit song, "YMCA".

Internet User Daquan Gese managed to share a video that, with the proper alteration, shows how "YMCA" could easily be played over the action of a fight between Vegeta and Frieza without missing a beat. By simply changing the theme to a minor key, the soundtrack itself can sound startlingly similar to that originally created by Shunsuke Kikuchi.

DBZ's original Japanese score has always done an amazing job of setting up an atmosphere for its fights. As blows would be traded between Saiyans and aliens or androids or "what have you", the theme would instill a sense of foreboding and energy that would amp up audiences engrossed in the battle. Shunsuke himself worked on numerous projects aside from Dragon Ball Z such as Kamen Rider, Tenchi In Tokyo, and the Gamera movies.

(Photo: Funimation Productions)

Not only was the Japanese theme loved among fans, the version that was created for American audiences was no slouch either. Bruce Faulconer created the more "metal" version for the US soundtrack and fans hold the tracks in a special place in their hearts. Aside from the standard background battle music, each character was also given their own unique track that became synonymous with their personalities.

If you aren't familiar with the Village People, they were an eccentric band that was originally created in the 1970s and continued their popularity well into the '80s. The band member all wore different costumes while performing live and recording music videos, with a Native American, a police officer, a construction worker, a biker, a cowboy, and a military officer. While the original "YMCA" song was created long before Dragon Ball Z hit the airwaves, its a funny coincidence to see that a slight change in key could make it a welcome addition.

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 11:00 p.m. 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 FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media. Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

What do you think about this insane connection between the whacky band and beloved anime? Are there any other pieces of music that you feel may work well with the fights in Dragon Ball? Let us know in the comments or feel free to hit me up directly on Twitter to talk all things comics and anime.