One of the main attractions of American superhero comics is the interconnectedness of their universes. When you read a Marvel comic, you’re not just touching Spider-Man, but also the X-Men and the Avengers. The same can be said for DC and Image Studios superhero comics.
In the manga industry, there is much less crossover between the different series. Even if most of the series share the pages of the same magazine (like Weekly Shonen Jump), we rarely see interactions between them. The rule about not letting others play in your backyard only applies to a handful of manga. One of the few exceptions is Dragon Ball Z, which is one of the most famous and influential mangas ever created. Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball Z, has since retired from the industry and has become more receptive to the idea of allowing Goku and his friends to play in other people’s backyards. Today’s essay focuses on Goku’s many adventures in the fields of his fellow mangaka. From the orange-clad ninja who stole Goku’s style, to the future king of pirates. Here are the 15 crossovers of Dragon Ball Z with other mangas, in no particular order.
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15. CROSSOVER DBZ : NARUTO
The Dragon Ball manga is the third best-selling series of all time, behind Golgo 13 and One Piece. Naruto is the fourth best-selling series. Beginning in 1997, Naruto follows the young protagonist, who was raised in a ninja village. His goal in life is to become the Hokage (the leader of the village) despite the fact that most people in the town despise him for reasons he later discovers. Naruto finally finished his series in 2014, after becoming one of the most popular manga series in the world.
In recent years, Goku has faced Naruto in several different video games. There was a more indirect connection between the two series in 2013. If you bought an early copy of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, you could use a code to put Goku’s clothes on Naruto in the game. If you got an early copy of Dragonball Z: Battle of Z, you would get a code to use Naruto’s outfits for Goku. Isn’t that a fun crossover?
14. CROSSOVER DBZ : JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE
The original name of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is Weekly Shonen Jump. It first appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1987. Jonathan Joestar is the protagonist of the story, which takes place in Victorian England. The protagonist fights against vampires in the England of the early nineteenth century. Over time, the series focused on Jonathan’s descendants, who fought various supernatural dangers around the world. In 2004, the series moved to a monthly schedule and began to be published in Ultra Jump magazine.
Stardust Crusaders is the most famous story of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. This story follows Jotaro Kujo, a Japanese high school student, as he must face one of his grandfather’s old enemies. It is this character who will make the connection with Goku.
In 1991, Bandai released a game called Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin for the Famicom. It was an action RPG that incorporated some of the most legendary characters from Weekly Shonen Jump. Goku and Jotaro team up with other Jump heroes on a Dragon Quest-like journey through a fantasy realm filled with monsters.
13. CROSSOVER DBZ: JACO THE GALACTIC PATROLLER
It is difficult to live the life of a manga artist. Every week, they have to create, write and draw about 20 pages of comics. They are often pressed for time and risk health problems due to overwork. Therefore, when an author completes a successful series, he or she usually retires. So the requirements of the job are quite rigorous.
Akira Toriyama spent ten years on the Dragon Ball manga. He retired after the project was finished. Nevertheless, he produced a few short series for Weekly Shonen Jump after he finished his work. His most recent work, under his English name, is Jaco the Galactic Patrolman. It is about an alien who comes to Earth with the intention of crashing there. Jaco is one of the protectors of the universe and was sent to fight an alien ship that was heading to Earth (which turned out to be the spaceship carrying Goku).
Since then, he is a recurring character in Dragon Ball Super. He returns to Earth to inform Bulma of Freezer’s return. Jaco is caught in the feud between Beerus and Champa after being trapped in an exploding planetoid.
12. CROSSOVER DBZ : PUZZLE & DRAGONS
Puzzle & Dragons is one of the most popular mobile game franchises in the world. It combines Bejeweled’s match-3 gameplay with the typical Pokémon creatures. Puzzle & Dragons was the first mobile game franchise to make $1 million in profits, thanks in part to in-game purchases.
Because of Puzzle & Dragons’ large audience in Japan, the creators decided to incorporate cross-overs with the country’s most popular anime and manga. Puzzle & Dragons has included characters from Final Fantasy, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Angry Birds, Monster Hunter, Suicide Squad, Justice League, Mario, Attack on Titan and Phoenix Wright in its cast. The most official crossovers between franchises can be attributed to Puzzle & Dragons.
It was only logical that the Dragon Ball Z cast would be included as opponents in Puzzle & Dragons. Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Gotenks and Perfect Cell are just a few of the characters that will be available to fight in the game.
11. CROSSOVER DBZ: KEN THE SURVIVOR
Goku is one of the most famous characters in all of anime. One of the greatest series of all time, Dragon Ball Z has had a significant impact on Western culture and has been mentioned numerous times in American video games, movies and comics.
Another manga series, perhaps even more popular than Dragon Ball Z, rivals the giant for popularity. In 1983, Weekly Shonen Jump began publishing Fist of the North Star (also known as Ken the Survivor). A deadly martial artist named Kenshiro was the main character. He travels to a post-apocalyptic world to seek revenge on his former best friend who stole his daughter’s affection.
The first Shonen Jump crossover video game was Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden, which was released on the Famicom in 1989. This action RPG allows you to choose from 16 different Jump heroes and explore each of their kingdoms. In this game, Goku and Kenshiro are the best martial arts combination. Together they will face the Red Ribbon Army and King Piccolo.
10. CROSSOVER DBZ : DR. SLUMP
Akira Toriyama is best known for his work on Dragon Ball. Although he is linked to Goku’s escapades for the rest of his life, he had a long career as a manga creator before the famous series began. Toriyama also created Dr. Slump, a successful manga that ran for four years in Weekly Shonen Jump and included several one-shots and short series.
Dr. Slump is about a young robot named Arale. She is the creation of an inventor who seeks to build the ideal robot. Dr. Slump was mostly a comic series about Arale’s misadventures in the penguin village, Dr. Slump’s hometown.
Akira Toriyama finds the characters of Dr. Slump quite wonderful, as they will have an important role in Dragon Ball. During the Red Ribbon Army saga, Goku visited the penguin village and Dr. Slump’s team. He will work with Arale to bring down General Blue. Arale and several of Dr. Slump’s characters have thus recently appeared in Dragon Ball Super.
9. CROSSOVER DBZ : TORIKO
Toriko is a manga that appears in the Weekly Shonen Jump, published by Shueisha, since 2008. Toriko differs from other major Shonen Jump series (like Naruto or One Piece) in that it has not received much international attention. Although the series has been quite popular in its home country, this could be due to the criminal past of its creator.
In 2013, a dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special was produced to commemorate the third anniversary of the Toriko anime series. It included a mix of the three series mentioned in its name and was called Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special. torickendentates to participate in a culinary competition against Luffy, Goku and others. The three must eventually combine forces to defeat Akami, the monster of the deep sea gobblers.
8. CROSSOVER DBZ : DONKEY KONG
The opening sequence of the series is immediately recognizable to anyone who has watched Dragon Ball Z on Toonami (or Cartoon Network). Since most of the lyrics are the same, it is not a difficult task. Despite its lack of memorability compared to the original Pokémon theme, fans still enjoy it.
Contrary to what was long believed in Europe, “Cha-La Head Cha-La” was not written in an ancient language. It was composed in simplified Japanese and has a distinctive opening similar to the French melody. In recent years, it has been popularized by its use in many Dragon Ball Z video games, as well as in the Abridged series.
At the time, the GameCube hosted games in the Donkey Kong series, which is still offered today. These were bongomuzic rhythm games using a battery of bongos as a controller. A third edition of the series was never released in Japan. The song “Cha-La Head Cha-La” was included in Donkey Kong 3 for the first time!
7. CROSSOVER DBZ : NEKO MAJIN
When a franchise is as popular as Dragon Ball Z, it is normal that it is parodied. The Super Saiyan transformation, the Kamehameha and the screams of the fighters when they charge are all mocked in many anime series and manga. This has spread on the Internet, especially through memes and jokes. It seems that Akira Toriyama is making fun of all these Dragon Ball Z parodies as he has created some himself!
Akira Toriyama produced a number of chapters for a series called Neko Majin after the conclusion of the Dragon Ball manga. A magic cat identical to Buu appears in the series. As the Super Saiyans visited Earth, the series was soon renamed “Neko Majin Z”, Neko Majin fighting the Super Saiyans on Earth. Characters like Goku, Vegeta and Freezer appear in the story over time. The character of Neko Majin has been seen in several Dragon Ball Z video games.
6. CROSSOVER DBZ : GAMERA
Gamera: The Giant Monster was a film planned to compete with the success of Godzilla I. The Gamera movie series would become famous in America after being featured in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 series.
In Dragon Ball Z, Master Roshi is unable to fly alone. When he needs to go somewhere, he must be carried by one of the other characters who have mastered this skill. Because Roshi’s heart is filled with lust and perversion, he cannot ride the magic cloud.
Master Roshi is sent to help Goku when he must extinguish the flames of the fire mountain in order to locate a crystal ball. Master Roshi uses a baby version of Gamera as a mount to reach the mountain. Although Gamera is used as a mount, most people are uncomfortable during the trip, which he doesn’t mind!
5. CROSSOVER DBZ : DRAGON QUEST
Akira Toriyama is best known as a manga artist, but he has also designed many video game characters. In particular, he developed all the protagonists and monsters for Chrono Trigger and the Blue Dragon series. While working on the original Dragon Ball manga, Toriyama was creating ideas for the Dragon Quest games. He continues to work on this game series today.
In the Dragon Ball series, many of the monsters from the Dragon Quest franchise made small appearances. The manifestations became more apparent during the first fights of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, shortly after the debut of Ten Shin Han and Chaozu. The Killer Tiger, Orc, Shaman, Cyclops and Archdemon all appear in crowd shots throughout this arc. More recently, the Cureslime creatures made an appearance in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. They can be seen swimming in the sea behind Beerus.
