‘My Hero Academia’ Creator Gives ‘Dragon Ball’ a Go

There’s nothing better than seeing the biggest franchises in the anime genre crossing over in fun ways. As Anime Expo 2018 comes to an end, we’d like to share this piece of artwork from My Hero Academia creator Kōhei Horikoshi, which imagines the world of Dragon Ball!

This piece by Horikoshi was done in celebration of Dragon Ball‘s 30th anniversary. It clearly invokes the style of My Hero Academia in some pretty direct ways — as both fans and critics point out in the comments.

As you can see, fans are clearly split in opinion over this particular depiction of Goku. For some, Goku looking like Izuku Midoriya is too far off the mark; for other fans, the spirit of Deku in Goku’s face is a perfect match. There is something nice about seeing Goku as chipper and smiley as he was back in the original Dragon Ball series – back when he still rocked that cute little tail. To be fair though, there is a world of difference between Izuku and Goku in terms of character: the former is young hero who can’t help but throw himself in the face of danger to save others; the other is always looking for a good fight, to get himself stronger.

As the anime genre continues to expand into a worldwide cultural crossover hit, Dragon Ball is proving to be the O.G. of that game. Not only has the series earned record profits for itself in 2018, but its pop-culture influence continues to be felt, in everything from video games to music, to celebrity endorsement, to tribute art from both fans and other major creators in the anime genre, alike.

If you haven’t seen it, check out some Dragon Ball artwork from One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda or this My Hero Academia manga art that invokes Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball style. Just proof positive of how deeply the godfather of mainstream anime series has influenced the genre.

What did you think of My Hero Academia‘s take on Dragon Ball? Let us know in the comments!

My Hero Academia streams new episodes Saturdays on Funimation and Hulu. Dragon Ball Heroes is the new promotional anime series now streaming online in Japan. My Hero Academia will release its first movie on August 3rd; Dragon Ball Super: The Movie will be released in December. Both series air their English Dubs Saturday nights on Cartoon Network’s Toonami.