Dragon Ball is more than just an anime and manga series; it's now a franchise that has spanned over thirty years of movies, video games, and more. Its popularity cannot be overstated, and it is without a doubt one of the most iconic anime series in the world.
As a result of its popularity, Dragon Ball has been involved with a lot of crossovers over the years. Whether it be other anime or video games, Dragon Ball has often been featured due to its enduring popularity and classic legacy. Here are some of the best crossovers that Dragon Ball has been involved with.
7 Puzzle & Dragons
Puzzle & Dragons is an extremely popular mobile game in Japan that has been running since 2012. The game involves matching gems in a puzzle in order to fight waves of enemies. The game is one of the highest-grossing mobile apps of all time, and its popularity has even spawned an anime series that ran from 2016 to 2018.
As a popular mobile game, Puzzle & Dragonshas had the opportunity to participate in a number of crossover events. One of those events includes a massive collaboration with Dragon Ball, adding dungeons, enemies, and characters from the legendary anime series. Unfortunately, the event was limited to only Japan even though the game is available internationally, but it was still quite a robust crossover.
6 Fortnite
Fortnite is one of the most popular video games of the last ten years, being a battle-royale shooter with building elements. Released in early access in 2017, the game is universally known, even by those outside of gaming communities, and is constantly being updated.
Fortnite has frequently collaborated with many franchises, and Dragon Ball is its newest partner. Players can get characters like Goku as skins, and even use the Kamehameha in matches. The crossover is quite intensive, and even those who aren't fans of Fortnite might find the crossover appealing enough to check out. While it may not be the same as actually using the character like in other games, many people jumped at the chance to play Goku in Fortnite.
5 Battle Stadium D.O.N
The crossing over of multiple hit manga titles is always a fan favorite, and Shueisha, the company behind the manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump, knows it very well. That's why there are occasional attempts to have the many Jump manga series cross over, usually in video games.
One of these attempts was Battle Stadium D.O.N, which is a platform fighter featuring characters from Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto. The game plays similarly to the Super Smash Bros. series, and 20 characters from the three franchises are available to play. While the roster and scope pale in comparison to later Jump crossovers, this is still a fun game to play, though it was never released outside of Japan.
4 Dream 9 Super Collaboration Special
Another crossover between Jump titles, this animated special features characters from Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Toriko. These three series had collaborated before in duos, but never together all at once. The plot of the special generally involves one of the many Food Tournaments held in Toriko as the many characters of One Piece, Toriko, and Dragon Ball compete to obtain a rare monster's meat.
This special was split into two parts, for a total runtime of 43 minutes. The special was a rare occasion, especially since animated crossovers of this scope are exceedingly rare. Although the special is only available in Japanese, it is certainly a landmark crossover for not only Dragon Ball, but the other two series as well.
3 J-Stars Victory VS
Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jumphas launched many hit manga and anime titles, including Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, My Hero Academia, and many more. Jump is a brand in itself, and the many heroes and warriors associated with the magazine are renowned around the world.
Several games have been made to allow the many heroes of Shonen Jump to cross over, such as J-Stars Victory VS, a game released in 2014. This is the first attempt to create a 3D crossover arena fighter with Jump characters, and it was relatively successful, with 52 characters from over thirty Jump series. While J-Stars Victory VS isn't the best arena fighter, it's still a great option for Jump fans who want to play with their favorite characters.
2 Cross Epoch
Collaborative one-shots in manga are fairly common, but not many of them feature such juggernauts as Dragon Ball or One Piece. Cross Epoch is a very unique circumstance in that it brings both series together for a very short moment, with mangaka Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda working together on the one-shot.
Cross Epoch doesn't have a lot of story, so the main draw of this particular crossover is the art and the interactions between characters. The crossover pairs up a Dragon Ball character with a One Piece character, so fans can see Zoro argue with Piccolo or Bulma hunt treasures with Nami. Fans of both series are sure to be satisfied with this short but excellent crossover.
1 Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars is a sequel to Jump Super Stars, a massive Shonen Jump crossover game featuring characters from the manga anthology. The game features not only a large cast of playable characters but an even larger number of support and help characters that can be set into a loadout designed very much like a manga page.
Jump Ultimate Stars is one of the biggest Jump crossover games available, with 56 playable characters and hundreds of support and help characters. All in all, over forty different Jump titles from across the decades are represented in this game. Unfortunately, the game is only available in Japanese, but it can still be enjoyed even without knowledge of the language.