Real recognizes real, and One Piece had an adorable reference to Dragon Ball Z in episode 1066. During the eyecatchers, fans noticed something afoot, and made a connection between two of the best anime series.
In the bumpers, Kozuki Oden and his daughter Kozuki Hiyori playfully looking into the screen. If you know your Dragon Ball Z characters, you might think you’ve seen this before – that’s because you have, with Goku and Gohan.
A side-by-side comparison of the shounen anime below makes the nod incredibly obvious. Clearly Eiichiro Oda’s had Akira Toriyama’s iconic work on his mind of late!
Dragon Ball precedes One Piece by over a decade, kicking off in the mid ’80s. Though there are plenty of animated series that follow similar ideas, Dragon Ball, and its sequels, became a massive hit, setting standards in many ways.
One Piece has had a very different kind of success to Dragon Ball, going for over 1,000 episodes and such, but they’re both pillars of anime for fans around the world. Honestly, it’s lovely to see one giving such respect to the other, and what a treat for viewers of both.
British and American fans can catch One Piece on Crunchyroll. If you want to know what’s next for Goku and company, our Dragon Ball Super season 2 release date guide will do just that. We have lists of the best horror anime, best Netflix anime, best romance anime, and best anime movies for more great viewing options.