One Piece, One-Punch Man and Dragon Ball Have One Surprising Thing in Common

One Piece, Dragon Ball, and One-Punch Man have one thing in common, and no, it is not the fact they’re all some of the best shonen and seinen series out there. Popular as their respective manga may be, these three series are all known for their amazing anime adaptations, made all the more popular by their memorable openings, which is precisely where they share one particular thing in common. Believe it or not, artists from one popular musical group are responsible for many of One Piece, Dragon Ball, and One-Punch Man‘s most iconic openings, including One Piece’s “We Are!” and even Dragon Ball Z’s “Cha-La Head Cha-La.”

A little-known fact about Hiroshi Kitadani, the artist behind One Piece’s very first opening theme “We Are!” and various other hits like “We Go!” “Over the Top,” and “ASSU!” is that he is actually part of a rock band known as JAM Project. Fans of One-Punch Man will likely instantly recognize this name as the artist behind both of the series’ iconic openings so far, namely “The Hero!!” in Season 1 and “Seijaku no Apostle” in Season 2. Furthermore, one of the founding members of JAM Project includes Hironobu Kageyama, who fans of Dragon Ball may best know as the voice behind one of the franchise’s most beloved opening themes, “Cha-La Head Cha-La” as well as “We Gotta Power.”

One Iconic Music Group is Responsible For Anime’s Most Memorable Openings

Formed in the 2000s by Ichirou Mizuki, JAM Project, which stands for Japan Animationsong Makers, was created with the sole purpose of creating music for Japanese anime. Dragon Ball’s Hironobu Kageyama was one of the founding members alongside Ichirou Mizuki, Masaaki Endoh, and Rica Matsumoto (the Japanese voice of Ash Ketchum) with One Piece’s Hiroshi Kitadani joining two years later to form the epic supergroup made up of many of anime’s most recognizable voices.

As a group, JAM Project, as One-Punch Man fans may already know, are best known for their hard rock and metal style influenced greatly by Western artists like Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Beatles, Queen, KISS, Ozzy Osbourne, and Bon Jovi to quote a few. The group channels this fiery spirit into every one of their anime themes, even in their individual careers, and never fails to hit the mark in terms of getting audiences excited for their favorite anime.

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JAM Project Needs to Return For Season 3 of One-Punch Man

Despite their phenomenal track record, JAM Project’s last feature in an anime was in 2021 in the opening for Bee Media and Studio A-Cat’s Getter Robo Arc series. Having said that, with One-Punch Man finally returning for Season 3 in 2025, it may not be too long till JAM Project steps into the spotlight once more. Seeing as the group has performed and nailed every One-Punch Man opening so far, it would only be fitting to bring them on board again for Season 3. It would arguably even be a little nostalgic to hear the group perform for the series again, given that it has been a decade since One-Punch Man‘s anime was first released featuring the first opening by JAM Project. Even though they featured once again for Season 2’s opening, a three-season hat trick is in high demand from the viewers at this point.

Nonetheless, it is quite interesting that one supergroup has been behind so many fans’ favorite anime opening themes over the years. For one, having this knowledge makes it even more fun to listen to One-Punch Man‘s openings and recognize Kitadani’s energetic vocals that fans have so strongly associated with One Piece for decades. It is also worth mentioning that the group and all of its members have, at this point, been active for well over two and a half decades. Still, they manage to sound just as good as when they first began their music careers, which is quite a feat in and of itself.

Lastly, though anime openings are gradually moving away from traditional J-rock to more funky pop themes like Creepy Nuts’ record-breaking single “Otonoke” from Dan Da Dan, it is safe to say JAM Project and the veteran music artists that make up the group will never go out of style. Their hand in beloved franchises like One Piece, Dragon Ball, and One-Punch Man means JAM Project will always hold a special place in fans’ hearts.