In one special anime episode, the Z-Fighters met the Straw Hat Pirates in an event that had plenty to offer both Dragon Ball and One Piece fans alike. Following the tragic passing of creator Akira Toriyama earlier this year, Eiichiro Oda was more than willing to share his thoughts on the mangaka that he looked up to throughout his career. With the start of the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project, numerous manga artists had the chance to lend their talents to the shonen universe that remains one of the most legendary to date. It is fitting that Oda bring this project to a close by offering his own heart wrenching take on Son Goku.
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If you haven’t had the chance to watch this legendary crossover take place in an anime adaptation, the meeting of the Straw Hats and the Saiyans took place in the 590th episode of One Piece. Titled “History’s Strongest Collaboration Vs. Glutton of The Sea”, the installment imagines that Goku and Luffy’s worlds have somehow co-existed, refraining from introducing a multiverse meeting of these universes. Luckily, you can watch this episode on Netflix in both the original Japanese iteration and the English Dub to see one of the biggest anime crossovers of all time.
[RELATED: Netflix Is Now Streaming Anime’s Biggest Crossover Ever]
The Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project Ends
The Dragon Ball Super Gallery project began as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the shonen franchise but spent years in creating some amazing tributes to Goku and company. With Eiichiro Oda bringing the project to a close with his touching tribute, there are still quite a few covers to check out from some of the biggest names in the anime business. The creators of such hits as Naruto, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Bleach, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, Black Clover, and Jujutsu Kaisen were only a handful of the overall artists involved. Ultimately, it seems fitting that One Piece’s creator would be the one to give us our final tribute to Toriyama here.
Oda’s Dragon Ball Tribute
Earlier this year, when Akira Toriyama passed, not only were anime artists and fans in mourning, but entire countries took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Dragon Ball creator. It was no secret that Oda himself was influenced by the story of Son Goku when it came to creating his own manga and was sure to share a touching statement on Akira’s passing. Here’s what Eiichiro had to say earlier this year,
““It’s too early. The hole is too big. The thought of never seeing you again fills me with sadness. I’ve admired you so much since I was a child, and I even remember the day when you called me by name for the first time. He is one of the people who took the baton from the era when reading manga would make you stupid and created an era where both adults and children read and enjoy manga. He showed us the dream that manga can do things like this and that we can go to the world. He gave it to me.”
Oda’s tribute continued, “It was like watching a hero push forward. The excitement and excitement he experienced when he serialized Dragon Ball is probably rooted in the childhoods of creators who are active in all industries, not just manga artists. That existence is a great tree. For manga artists of my generation who have stood on the same stage, the closer I got to Toriyama’s works, the more I realized that they had a greater presence. So scary. But I’m just happy to see the easy-going man himself again. Because we love Toriyama-sensei on a blood level. I would like to express my respect and gratitude to the world of creativity left behind by Professor Toriyama, and pray for his repose in peace. I hope that heaven will be a pleasant world just as you envisioned it.”
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