Netflix Just Dropped the Ultimate Anime Crossover: One Piece Meets Dragon Ball Z and Toriko!
Toei Animation announced that Netflix has added One Piece episode 590, a unique crossover episode featuring characters from three major anime: One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and Toriko. This crossover, originally aired in Japan in April 2013, combines One Piece’s 590th episode with Toriko’s 99th episode, forming a one-hour special event that anime fans have long anticipated seeing on streaming platforms. Netflix has made the episode accessible in North America and Latin America, with new dubs available in Spanish and Portuguese, alongside English.
For fans in these regions, this addition marks a notable opportunity to view a crossover that hasn’t been widely accessible. Neither Crunchyroll nor Funimation ever streamed episode 590, limiting it to viewers who were able to access it through other sources. While both platforms did previously stream episode 492, a separate crossover between One Piece and Toriko (without Dragon Ball Z), they have never offered access to Toriko’s 99th episode. Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block, which airs One Piece episodes in the U.S., initially skipped this crossover when it resumed One Piece broadcasts in 2022, skipping from episode 589 to 591. However, Toonami eventually aired the crossover in March 2023, offering an English dub but still excluding Toriko, which has never been aired on the block.
The crossover serves as a celebration of One Piece’s long-running legacy, with the anime adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s manga first airing in 1999. The series initially debuted on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block in 2005, then later returned in 2013 as part of Adult Swim’s Toonami schedule, where it aired intermittently before returning again in 2022. Alongside One Piece, Toriko, which ran from 2011 to 2014 with 147 episodes, brings a unique culinary adventure and battles, with Viz Media publishing the manga in North America and Crunchyroll previously streaming the anime.
For Dragon Ball fans, the recent release of Dragon Ball Daima on Fuji TV and streaming services like Crunchyroll and Netflix has reinvigorated interest in the series. The latest installment of the Dragon Ball franchise premiered on October 11 in Japan and was made available on Netflix in Asia and globally later in October.
Overall, Netflix’s addition of this crossover episode creates a rare opportunity for anime fans in North America and Latin America to enjoy an iconic anime crossover, providing a blend of action, comedy, and character interactions between beloved series that might otherwise be difficult to access.