Overview:
Hot off the heels of the International Gourmet Organization’s Food Tournament, Luffy is joined by shonen series heavyweights, Goku and Toriko, to take on the diabolical sea creature that their competitive behavior has conjured. This mysterious monster proves to be as dangerous as it is delicious and the heroes of One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Toriko must work together to calm these troubled waters and satiate their appetites.
Our Take:
Crossovers are a common occurrence in anime, especially when it comes to shonen series, and Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Toriko have all featured IP extravaganzas that playfully blend together worlds. Dragon Ball has indulged with Dr. Slump and One Piece has had its own crossover experiments, but this skipped over installment from the middle of One Piece’s run throws together the casts of One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Toriko for a fun change of pace. The logistics behind this crossover and Toriko’s lack of popularity outside of Japan left many to think that this crossover would never air in North America, let alone dubbed on Adult Swim’s Toonami anime block. Well, it’s taken more than a decade to happen, but audiences can finally experience this silly shonen spectacle where Luffy pigs out and kicks ass alongside Dragon Ball’s Goku and Toriko’s Toriko.
“History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea,” also known as “Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special,” as well as the “One Piece Crossover Special,” is a two-part celebration of some of Toei’s biggest shonen series during the 2010s. The first-half of this special, “Run, Strongest Team! Toriko, Luffy, and Goku!”, is actually an episode of Toriko that hasn’t been included here. It’s unfortunate to not get the full-hour presentation considering that they tell a connected story, but it’s still a miracle that One Piece’s half is airing at all. There’s no catch-up prologue that covers the events of the Toriko installment, but it’s not that difficult to ascertain what’s going on once One Piece throws the audience into this playful party. All of these characters are ready to celebrate and chow down on the ultimate feast, which is a decent enough entry point.
“History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea” gets a lot of mileage out of the whole “isn’t it fun to see these two together?” mechanic that frequently fuels crossovers. This special highlights what these diverse characters share in common, but without ever making these anime feel derivative of each other. There are many moments that highlight the similarities between the casts of these series and there are certain chaotic interactions that the special can’t help but indulge in, like Master Roshi perving over Nami’s buxom physique. There’s some really fun material where Helmeppo, Piccolo, and Toriko’s Sunny get to work together. This special is strangely light on Vegeta content (who’s mostly locked in an offscreen battle between Zoro and Zebra) and he’s used more as an explosive punchline. It’s a smart decision since Dragon Ball’s unofficial deuteragonist doesn’t mesh as well with the lighter-hearted shonen leads of One Piece and Toriko.
The majority of “History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea” is taken up with these heroes’ collective attack on a tentacled sea creature, Akami, who feels a lot like a Frank Herbeet creation. One Piece’s Chopper is paired together with Goten and Trunks, who quickly fuse together into Gotenks, which makes for an effective match. Gotenks’ sheer delight over getting to fight a giant robot like he’s fallen into a Sentai series is one of the best parts of the whole special. This culminates in his patented Super Kamikaze Ghost Attack, which pits spectral spirits against a mechanical menace. There should really be more ghost versus robot showdowns in anime. On that note, every character in this special should be rising to Gotenks’ gleeful gag series level of energy.
The fun story in “History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea” is complemented by strong animation. The visuals don’t go above and beyond, but they’re still on par with any of the steady animation that One Piece and Dragon Ball were putting out circa 2013 when this special was first released. Akami’s defeat is really when the animation gets to shine the most. And while it may have been a foregone conclusion for many, it’s appreciated that “History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea” assembles consistent casting that pays respect to Dragon Ball and Toriko’s dubs, which means that Sean Schemmel’s Goku and Ian Sinclair’s Toriko–along with many other familiar voices–are present instead of a team of auditory doppelgangers. It’s a small detail, but one that really does go a long way for these series’ dub communities.
It cannot be stressed enough how unusual and exciting it is that this overlooked special is finally airing in English for the biggest audience possible, on the block that helped Dragon Ball Z and One Piece initially find popularity in North America. “History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea” doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s an above-average surprise that’s a welcome treat at this point in time. North American audiences have just as much of a reason to celebrate this shonen crossover as anyone else and it properly captures the action, humor, and heart of these respective series. It’s not the best that One Piece, Dragon Ball, or Toriko has to offer, but it should still satisfy fans of the first two and hopefully push some audiences to seek out the third and for some new Toriko fans to be born in the process. More than anything else, “History’s Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea” just wants to celebrate fandom and so many decades of shonen storytelling and it’s hard to hate that. Here’s to even more crossover mayhem and a proper English dub for Toriko.