One of the main attractions of American superhero comics is the interconnected nature of their universe. When you read a Marvel comic, there's a chance that Spider-Man's actions will affect the X-Men or the Avengers. The same goes for superhero comics produced by companies like DC and Image. On this subject, we wrote a blog article comparing the two greatest heroes of these two types of comics, namely: Goku VS Superman !
When it comes to the manga industry, there is much less crossover between different series. Even though most series share space with other comics in a single magazine (like in Weekly Shonen Jump), we rarely see interactions between them. One of the rare exceptions to this rule is Dragon Ball Z , as it is one of the most popular and influential manga of all time. Since Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama retired from the industry, he has become more open to letting Goku and his friends play in the backyard of other manga creators.
Today's article aims to discover Goku's many travels in the world of his colleagues. From the orange-clad ninja who stole Goku's style, to the future Pirate King. For this, we called on our partner Manga Zone ! It's an online store like ours, which offers products on a maddening diversity of manga. We will recommend products to you throughout this article, from this partner but also from our store.
Without further ado, here are the 15 Dragon Ball Z Crossovers with other Manga !
15. DBZ CROSSOVER: NARUTO
Dragon Ball is the 3rd best-selling manga of all time (after Golgo 13 and One Piece). The 4th best-selling series is Naruto . Debuting in 1997, Naruto followed the young protagonist, who was raised in a ninja village . His goal in life is to become the Hokage (head of the village), despite the fact that most people in the town seem to despise him, for reasons he will soon discover. Naruto finally ended its run in 2014, after becoming one of the most popular manga series worldwide.
Goku has fought Naruto in many different video games over the years. In 2013, there was a more indirect crossover between the two series. If you purchased an early copy of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 , then it would come with a code that unlocks Goku's outfit for Naruto in the game. If you managed to get an early copy of Dragonball Z: Battle of Z , then you would get a code that would unlock Naruto's outfit for Goku. A wardrobe swap, nice like Crossover right? 👕
14. CROSSOVER DBZ: JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was originally a series that took place in Weekly Shonen Jump. It began to be published in 1987. It tells the story of a teenager who became an adult, named Jonathan Joestar . The main character fought vampires in Victorian England. As the series progressed, it focused on Jonathan's descendants, facing different supernatural threats across the world. In 2004, the series moved to a monthly format and began publishing in Ultra Jump magazine.
The most popular story in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is called Stardust Crusaders . This story follows that of Jotaro Kujo , a Japanese high school student, who is forced to deal with one of his grandfather's old enemies. This is the character who would team up with Goku.
In 1991, Bandai released a game titled Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichininin for the Famicom . It was an action RPG that featured some of the greatest Weekly Shonen Jump characters in history. Goku and Jotaro teamed up with other Jump heroes, and lived a Dragon Quest-style adventure together, in a fantasy world filled with monsters. 👹
13. CROSSOVER DBZ: JACO THE GALACTIC PATROLMAN
The life of mangakas is difficult. Each week, they must write, compose and draw around 20 pages of comics. They usually have little time for themselves and are prone to health problems due to overwork. So when a creator has a successful series, they usually retire once it's finished. The job requirements are therefore extremely strict.
Akira Toriyama worked on the Dragon Ball manga for a decade. Once finished, he retired. Despite this, he occasionally worked on a few short series which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump. His most recent manga was Jaco the Galactic Patrolman , its English name. It is the adventure of an extraterrestrial who has come to crash on Earth. Jaco is one of the protectors of the universe and was sent to deal with an alien ship that was heading towards the planet (which was eventually revealed to be the ship that was carrying Goku). ☄️
Jaco has since become a recurring cast member of Dragon Ball Super . He returns to Earth to warn Bulma of Frieza's return. Jaco subsequently becomes caught up in the conflict between Beerus and Champa.
12. CROSSOVER DBZ: PUZZLE & DRAGONS
Puzzle & Dragons is one of the most successful mobile game franchises in the world. It mixes the match-3 gameplay of Bejeweled with Pokémon-type creatures. Puzzle & Dragons was the first mobile game franchise to make $1 million in profit, funded in part by in-game purchases.
Due to Puzzle & Dragons' massive audience in Japan, the developers decided to make crossovers with the country's most popular anime and manga. Puzzle & Dragons has featured characters from Final Fantasy, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Angry Birds, Monster Hunter, Suicide Squad, Justice League, Mario, Attack on Titan and Phoenix Wright. Puzzle & Dragons perhaps holds the record for the most official crossovers with other franchises.
It was only natural for the Dragon Ball Z cast to appear as enemies in Puzzle & Dragons. Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Gotenks, and Perfect Cell are just some of the characters that can be fought in the game. 👊🏻
11. CROSSOVER DBZ: KEN THE SURVIVOR
Dragon Ball Z is one of the most influential series of all time. When current manga creators are asked what inspired them to become artists, the first name that most often comes up is Akira Toriyama. DBZ has also had a major impact on Western culture and has been referenced numerous times in American video games, films and comic books.
When it comes to manga involving martial arts, another series, perhaps even more influential than Dragon Ball Z, comes to compete with the giant. In 1983, Fist of the North Star (aka Ken the Boy Who Lived ) began publication in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The series followed a deadly martial artist, named Kenshiro . He travels to a post-nuclear war world to seek revenge on his former best friend, who stole the love of his life. 🥰
The very first Shonen Jump crossover video game was Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden . It was an action RPG that was released for the Famicom in 1989. You had the option to choose between 16 different Jump Heroes, visiting each of their worlds. Goku and Kenshiro form the ultimate martial arts team in this game. Together, they will face the Red Ribbon Army and King Piccolo.
10. CROSSOVER DBZ: DR. SLUMP
Akira Toriyama is best known for creating Dragon Ball. Although he will most likely always be associated with Goku's adventures, he also had a long career as a manga artist before the debut of the popular series. In addition to numerous one-shots and short series, Toriyama created a successful manga called Dr. Slump , which ran for four years in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Dr. Slump talks about a young robot named Arale . It is created by an inventor who is trying to develop the perfect robot. Dr. Slump was primarily a comedy series about Arale's misadventures in his hometown of Penguin Village .
Akira Toriyama really likes the Dr. Slump characters, as they will play an important role in Dragon Ball. Goku visited the Penguin Village and Dr. Slump's Troop during the Red Ribbon Army Saga. He will team up with Arale to defeat General Blue. As such, Arale and several of the Dr. Slump characters recently made an appearance in Dragon Ball Super.
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9. CROSSOVER DBZ: TORIKO
Toriko was a popular manga that appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 2008 to 2016. Unlike other major Shonen Jump series (like Naruto or One Piece), Toriko never received much attention outside of the Japan. This is despite the fact that the series has been hugely popular in its home country. The reason why Toriko is not so widely regarded in the West is most likely the criminal history of its creator, Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro .
In 2013, a special broadcast was made to commemorate the third anniversary of the Toriko anime series. It was called Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special , and it featured a crossover between the three different series mentioned in its title. Toriko intends to participate in an eating competition, where he will have to, among other things, face Monkey D. Luffy and Goku. The three must ultimately team up to defeat Akami, the Deep Sea Glutton monster. 🌊
8. CROSSOVER DBZ: DONKEY KONG
Anyone used to watching Dragon Ball Z on Toonami (or Cartoon Network) will instantly recognize the iconic opening of the saga. This is not a difficult task, since most of the lyrics are the same. Although not as memorable as the original Pokémon theme song, the song is still loved by Dragon Ball Z fans.
However, the opening was different in Japan, but just as remarkable as the French melody. " Cha-La Head Cha-La " has since found fans in the West, due to its appearance in many Dragon Ball Z video games, as well as the Abridged series.
At that time, Nintendo was making games in the Donkey Kong series, which appeared on the GameCube. These were rhythm games using a set of bongo drums as a controller. There was a third edition of the series which unfortunately never left Japan. Donkey Kong 3 nevertheless presented "Cha-La Head Cha-La" as being a song in the game! 🎶
7. CROSSOVER DBZ: NEKO MAJIN
When a series becomes as iconic as Dragon Ball Z, it's natural that it becomes a target for parody . Many anime and manga series have included scenes parodying the Super Saiyan transformation, the Kamehameha and the screams of the fighters while charging. This has spread across the web, notably with numerous memes and jokes. 😂 It seems Akira Toriyama doesn't care about all the Dragon Ball Z parodies, considering he's done some himself!
After the Dragon Ball manga ended, Akira Toriyama did a few chapters of a series called Neko Majin . The series featured a magical cat who resembled Majin Buu. It didn't take long for the series to evolve into Neko Majin Z, with Neko Majin fighting with the Super Saiyans visiting Earth. Over time, characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza appear in the series. Neko Majin has also appeared in several Dragon Ball Z video games.
6. CROSSOVER DBZ: GAMERA
Gamera: The Giant Monster was a film intended to stem the success of the first Godzilla film. Gamera would go on to star in his own series of films, which would gain notoriety in America after being featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000.
In Dragon Ball Z, Master Roshi does not have the strength to fly alone. When he needs to go somewhere, he needs to be taken by one of the other characters who has mastered this ability. Roshi's heart is also filled with lust and perversion, so he cannot ascend the Magic Cloud. ☁️
When Goku needs to put out the flames on Fire Mountain in order to find a Crystal Ball, he is sent to find Master Roshi. To get to the Mountain, Master Roshi calls on a baby version of Gamera to serve as his mount. Gamera has nothing against transporting people, since most of them feel uncomfortable during the journey anyway! 🤢
5. DBZ CROSSOVER: DRAGON QUEST
Although Akira Toriyama is primarily known as a manga creator, he has also done a lot of character design work for video games. He designed all the protagonists and monsters in Chrono Trigger and the Blue Dragon series. While Toriyama was still working on the original Dragon Ball manga, he was also creating designs for the Dragon Quest game series. He still continues to work on this series of games today.
Many monsters from the Dragon Quest series have had brief appearances in Dragon Ball . It was during the first fights of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, after the debut of Ten Shin Han and Chaozu, that the demonstrations were clearer. The monsters Killer Tiger, Orc, Shaman, Cyclops, and Archdemon all appear in crowd shots during this arc.
Most recently, Cureslime monsters made an appearance in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods . They can be seen swimming in the water behind Beerus .
4. CROSSOVER DBZ: DEATH NOTE
The vast majority of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine's video game crossovers tended to occur in the 8-bit gaming era. These games became increasingly difficult to create as time passed, more series became popular, and the rights for various games were divided between different companies.
That changed in 2005 when a Super Smash Bros-style fighting game appeared on Nintendo DS. Jump Super Stars brought together many of the main characters from different Shonen Jump series into one game. Dragon Ball Z was the most represented series in gaming, as many of its characters could be played or used as support.
One of the series that was included in Jump Super Stars was Death Note . It is a series about a Japanese teenager, named Light Yagami , who finds a book that can kill anyone whose name is written on one of its pages. With this "Death Notebook" in hand, Light decides to try to purge the world of evil, by killing criminals and warlords across the world. Once the murders begin, the World's Greatest Detective , named L , is put on the case. In Jump Super Stars, you could summon Light and his Death Note into battle. 📓
The only thing we know is that Goku could be killed by the Death Note. We know that Goku from the Future Trunk arc was killed by a heart attack , something a Death Note can inflict.
3. DBZ CROSSOVER: YU-GI-OH!
While Death Note characters may seem a bit overkill to add in a fighting game that includes characters like Goku and Vegeta, they at least had one Death Note, who could kill any Dragon Ball Z character in moments . For some reason, the creators of Jump Super Stars (and its sequel) also decided to include a character who has even less fighting ability than Light Yagami. This is Yugi Muto , the protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh ! 🃏
Yugi Muto is the champion of the card game Duel Monsters . Throughout the series, Yugi and his friends play a card game that they took way too seriously. In Jump Super Stars, Yugi fights by summoning his monsters using cards in reality and using them to attack. If you ever wanted to know if Goku could stand up to the Dark Magician or the Egyptian God Cards, then this game has the answer.
2. CROSSOVER DBZ: BLEACH
When the Dragon Ball manga series ended, Weekly Shonen Jump lost its most popular series. It won't be long before other titles comfortably fill its void. After the end of Dragon Ball, the era of the "Big Three" began. The big three were One Piece, Naruto and Bleach. These three manga series have been some of the most popular in the world for a very long time.
Bleach was a manga and anime about a teenager, named Ichigo Kurosaki , who is brought into the world of the Shinigami. These are spirits who act as sinister reapers, in order to deal with the restless ghosts of the dead who might harm the living. Ichigo is forced to temporarily assume the duties of a Shinigami and is drawn into the politics of the afterlife. ⚰️
Ichigo has fought Goku and his friends in many different games over the years, the most recent of which was in J-Stars Victory Vs , which was released on the PlayStation 3/4/Vita. Bleach has been accused of being Dragon Ball Z with swords on numerous occasions, so conflict between the two series was inevitable.
If this manga is one of your favorites, then these Bleach T-Shirts are sure to please you!
1. CROSSOVER DBZ: ONE PIECE
One Piece is undoubtedly the best-selling manga and anime in the world . In Japan, it is a cultural phenomenon, with One Piece being adapted into almost every media available. Although it has yet to find the same level of success in the West, the One Piece video games and anime will obviously be released outside of Japan. ☠️
If you've read the One Piece manga, you've probably noticed that the aesthetic of the series is clearly inspired by Dragon Ball. One Piece creator, Eiichiro Oda , has freely admitted that Akira Toriyama's works have been his greatest influence. Oda has sung the praises of Dragon Ball in numerous interviews, so much so that he and Toriyama have become close friends in real life.
The worlds of One Piece and Dragon Ball Z finally merged in 2006, when a manga called Cross Epoch , appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump. In Cross Epoch, Mr. Satan asked Shenron to make him a king and give him a castle. King Satan decides to organize a big tea party and invites all the characters from One Piece and Dragon Ball to attend. We see all the protagonists having fun together, which ends with Goku and Luffy arriving at the tea party .
Since Luffy cannot fly, Goku allows him to use his Magic Cloud as a vehicle. For some fans, this is a passing of the torch, as One Piece has managed to fill the void left by Dragon Ball's departure in the manga industry. To finish this article, we would like to recommend the superb One Piece Goodies from our partner, a must-have in your daily life if you hold the series in your heart!
