Well, this was quite the curveball. Toonami has just announced that they will be airing the legendary crossover special that saw the Straw Hat Pirates of One Piece meeting the Z-Fighters of the Dragon Ball franchise in a special that had never found its way to North America. Titled “Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special”, the Cartoon Network programming block revealed that it is planning to bring this to North American airwaves for the first time.
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This special installment actually arrived as an episode of One Piece, with the warriors from the big two Shonen franchises, and the lesser known Toriko, meeting on the battlefield as a part of a special tournament that would grant the winner a special type of meat. Considering how big foodies both Goku and Luffy are, it should come as no surprise that the two brawlers are willing to fight their way toward winning this prize. The special doesn’t only feature Goku and Luffy facing off, it also sees encounters such as Zoro and Vegeta facing off, along with roles for the likes of Usopp, Gohan, Piccolo, Gotenks, Franky, and Sanji to name a few. The special itself has never been given an English dub so this would make for quite the event.
Dragon Ball x One Piece
Toei Animation, the production company behind this crossover, shared the big news that the crossover special would be airing on Cartoon Network’s Toonami on March 4th, making for the first time that the crossover has hit North America and pitting the Z-Fighters against the Straw Hats:
While no future crossovers have been confirmed between the two Shonen casts at present, we’ve seen the Z-Fighters and the Straw Hats share the stage several times in the past via different projects. Though the clock might be ticking for another crossover as Eiichiro Oda is currently working on the Final Arc of the long-running One Piece series as we speak. Needless to say, seeing Luffy’s Gear Fifth facing down Goku’s Ultra Instinct might make for quite the Shonen battle should it ever actually come to pass.
Are you hyped for this Dragon Ball/One Piece crossover? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of these two beloved Shonen series.
