Throughout the history of anime, there has been a conflict between the Z-Fighters of Dragon Ball fame and the Straw Hat Pirates of One Piece lore. While the two shonen franchises did meet during crossover episodes and countless video games, there has yet to be an official answer regarding who would win in a fight between Son Goku and Monkey D. Luffy. Recently, Toei has confirmed which of the two anime universes was able to succeed in the financial department. The anime industry has been booming, and the shonen legends are capitalizing on the roller coaster ride.
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For Toei’s fiscal year ending in March 2026, One Piece defeated Dragon Ball when it came to overall profits. Specifically, One Piece pulled in around $179.6 million overall, while Dragon Ball trailed behind with around $134.2 million. The third-place contender for these two shonen legends is Digimon, which only pulled in around $20.1 million. Perhaps most surprisingly, One Piece defeated Dragon Ball when it came to the three biggest categories for Toei: Domestic Licensing, Overseas Film, and Overseas Licensing. While an official reason behind why the Straw Hats overtook the Z-Fighters in the finance department, there are more than a few factors we can examine to learn why Luffy and his crew got the upper hand.
One Piece’s Big Year
The past twelve months have been big for the Grand Line, thanks in part to Netflix releasing One Piece’s second season of its live-action adaptation. With the manga and its anime adaptation also exploring the final saga of Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece, it’s easy to see why the Straw Hats are beating out the Z-Fighters. On top of One Piece’s rocketing success, Dragon Ball has been somewhat missing in action when it comes to the manga and anime. While Son Goku and his allies have been absent, this is about to change later this year.
This fall, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, a remake mini-series that recreates the events of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, will arrive on the small screen. With this upcoming remake, Toei is using its latest animation to slap a fresh coat of paint onto the Z-Fighters, with the production house also working on a remake of Dragon Ball Super: Resurrection of F. This isn’t all when it comes to the Dragon Ball universe, however.
Dragon Ball Super is planning a major comeback in the future with the long-awaited next chapter of the series following the Tournament of Power. The Galactic Patrol Arc will focus on the introduction of Moro, an energy-absorbing villain who is the strongest being that the anime Z-Fighters have encountered so far. While not confirmed for 2027, the arrival of this new anime chapter might be the shot in the arm that Dragon Ball needs to overtake One Piece once again, as it has for several years in the past.
Year Over Year
For the previous fiscal year before this one, Dragon Ball managed to overtake One Piece, scoring a tally of around $167 million USD for that year, with the Straw Hats tailing close behind with around $158 million USD. One major reason for this was thanks to Dragon Ball Daima, the return of the anime universe that took place following the events of Dragon Ball Z but prior to Dragon Ball Super. While a sequel series wasn’t announced, the spin-off helped the shonen franchise to overtake the Straw Hats.
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Via Toei Animation
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