‘Dragon Ball’ Fans Pay Tribute To Z-Fighters On Goku, Piccolo Holiday

The day may be coming to an end, but fans of Dragon Ball have yet to stop their partying. May 9 might just be a regular day for some, but the date marks two important (and confusing) holidays for the anime fandom. And, if you head over to social media, you can find tributes of all kind lined up for Goku and Piccolo to celebrate.

If you didn’t know, May 9 is a big deal within the Dragon Ball community. The special date marks Goku Day and Piccolo Day, a fact that has long confused many, and it is easy to see why when you peel back their history.

Goku Day originally started all thanks to a pun. In the Japanese language, there are two number systems which use different phonetics. Native speakers have used the two systems to make number puns, so dates like 5/9 are said like “Go” + “Ku” — and there you have it. A holiday was born!

As for Piccolo Day, his big day dates back to the first Dragon Ball anime. In one of its later episodes, the Demon King makes a pronouncement that May 9 will be known as Piccolo Day from there after, so you can imagine the kind of rivalry that popped up once Piccolo Jr. became a main player in the franchise.

As you can see below, fans are taking time to celebrate their favorite of the two heroes with some hilarious fan-art. Others are fine with shouting out both fighters at the same time, and the two men are big enough to handle the shared spotlight. But, if it were Vegeta — well, you can probably guess how this whole ordeal would go.

Have you shown your love to these legendary fighters on their big day? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

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 Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.

If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 52 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and available to purchase on Amazon Video as well. The 52 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the “Battle of Gods” arc, “Revival of F” arc, the “Universe 6” arc, and bringing the series right up to the current TV airings of the “Future Trunks” arc.

msdanifernandez

So, who else has gotten ink to prove they’ve devout celebrators of Goku Day?

Niallcolas_Cage

King Piccolo may have set the holiday in motion, but fans are carrying it on for Piccolo Jr.!

_girltype

Well, if you are reading this, then I guess King Piccolo chose to spare you?

ForneverWorld

Who would have thought this cloud-flying boy would become the Super Saiyan fans know today?!

eccentricmarion

Alright, so who does facial expressions better in Dragon Ball… Well, barring Yamcha…

GokuTheBlack

Honestly, what else would Piccolo and Goku want to do on their special day??

RosauraGerissen

Well, Piccolo better be watching his back these days….

strongest_human

Hey, I am sure Piccolo would have something to say about this!