Crossover in cartoon And story relatively rare – or at least, things that do that outside of Japan. However, both anime and manga are actually quite prone to switching for all the usual reasons, like marketing and hype, or just because two creators really like each other’s work. Legal rights to crossovers can be quite complicated, hence why many are never released worldwide. However, there are still plenty of crossovers out there worth trying, from the predictable to the completely insane.
To be considered a crossover, the series usually must have separate sequels; Normally, two series that are simply set in the same universe do not qualify. Crossovers are often non-canonical, so as not to worry about the impact of two series co-existing, but it doesn’t have to be. Crossovers can also vary from a TV special or a full movie to a few pages of comic books.
10 Dragon Balls x Doctor Slump
Doctor Slump is an earlier manga by Akira Toriyama and his first real breakout series. The Doctor Slump characters have actually appeared in Dragon Ball a few times, most recently in a comedy episode of Dragon Ball Super, but the first crossover was back in the days of Dragon Ball. Goku must make his way to the Penguin Village, the setting of Doctor Slump, in search of the Dragon Ball stolen by General Blue. Slump’s android girl Arale later befriends Goku and even helps fight General Blue, sending him flying as far as Team Rocket. The crossover lasts for three volumes, but what’s more surprising is that this crossover is also present in the manga, making it 100% typical.
9 Robots 009 x Demons
Similarly, Cyborg 009 and Devilman are two series created by the legendary Go Nagai, who also enjoyed having his own works intersect. This culminates in Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman, a three-episode OVA series that sees two famous characters go head-to-head in a classic “war of misunderstandings” before finding out who the real enemy is and agreeing to work together. The crossover movie was released in 2015 and surprisingly it was picked up by Netflix for international distribution. Fans of either series should definitely check it out.
8 Assassination Classroom x The Unfortunate Life of Saiki K.
The first manga entry on the list, the wildly disparate works of Assassination Classroom and Saiki K.’s Unfortunate Life were adapted into a manga titled Korosensei vs. Saiki Kusuo: Showdown in Iruma. Iruma happens to be home to both Assassination Classroom creator Ysuei Matsui and Saiki K. Shuichi Aso creator Shuichi Aso, a fact that seems to be the driving force for the crossover. The manga, published back in 2012, was billed as an additional chapter of Assassination Classroom and saw Koro-sensei and Saiki fight for irumanju, a specialty dessert that Iruma is famous for. After pulling together a few times, the two agree to share a snack, realizing they have more in common than they expected.
7 Food Wars x Shonen Jump
Food Wars is a series almost exclusively devoted to the absurd, so wild crossovers are hardly out of the question for it. The crossover known as “A Magnificent Banquet” saw Food Wars’ Erina Nakiri being asked to throw a party for some special guests who turned out to be the main female characters in the series. Shonen Jump movies were running at the time. This list includes Nami from One Piece, Irina Jelavic from Assassination Classroom, Kiyoko Shimizu from Haikyuu, Kagura from Gintama, Chika Amatori from World Trigger and Chitoge Kirisaki from Nisekoi. Koro-sensei was also given a cameo role. The girls immediately become suspicious, and when they learn about the food wars’ damaging effects on clothes, the hilarity begins.
6 My Afterlife as a Villain x Don’t Play With Me, My Miss Nagatoro x Senpai is annoying
A strange and unlikely triangle has taken place between the hit new romantic comedy series Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, isekai My Next Life as a Villainess, and the little-known My Senpai is Annoying come over. The crossover primarily adopts a 4-koma (four-panel comic) approach but also features voice actors from anime adaptations, voicing each other’s commercials. Interestingly, this crossover actually took place before the My Senpai is Annoying anime began airing in October 2021, which was the actress’ first public appearance as the character.
5 Inuyasha x Ranma 1/2 x Urusei Yatsura
A special OVA series was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the manga magazine Shonen Sunday in 2009, showcasing some of the most popular series that have been released. All three happened to be featured in the legendary manga series and were recently knighted Rumiko Takahashi: Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2, and Urusei Yatsura. Each show has an OVA and then there’s a crossover OVA, “Rumic World,” which follows the meeting of the heroes of all three. Inuyasha mistook Lum for a demon, and all sorts of other misunderstandings ensued. While there’s not much content for the crossover, it’s totally worth a look if only for novel value to anyone who’s a huge fan of Takahashi’s work.
4 One Piece x Dragon Ball Super x Toriko
One of the more popular crossovers, originally from 2013 but only coming to US television in 2023, is called “Dream 9” and features the cast of Dragon Ball Super, One Piece and Toriko meet in an alternate continuum, strangely land for a large meal together. It was loosely inspired by the Dragon Ball/One Piece crossover manga “Cross Epoch,” but added Toriko characters to the mix due to the three series airing together at the time. Fans who have been longing to see Luffy and Goku fight together will finally get their wish granted, and while the whole thing may seem rather silly, it’s all a lot of fun.
3 Fairy Tail x Seven Deadly Sins
The fantasy series Fairy Tail and the Seven Deadly Sins appear together in a Christmas-themed crossover manga. Each mangaka has worked on half—Fairy Tail’s Hiro Mashima drew the Seven Deadly Sins-focused characters in his own style, while Suzuki Nakaba of the Seven Deadly Sins did the opposite. . The crossover is rather short and fairly typical, seeing characters from both films meet and interact with each other, with the Christmas theme tying it all together.
2 Gundam x Hello Kitty
Yes, that’s right. Gundam and Hello Kitty. Confusingly created to celebrate Gundam’s 40th and Hello Kitty’s 45th, the combo consists of three short episodes (about 3 minutes long) and shows Hello Kitty getting ready for a meal. tea party when she receives an emergency call on her TV, along with Gundam footage, asking her to save Amuro. Hello Kitty then materializes in space in a giant form and begins begging for an end to the war. Hello Kitty can repel Gundam explosions when enemies attack, turning the unit into a now more friendly chibi version of itself. She is then able to convince Amuro (very scared) that this is for the best, and he agrees if it will prevent the war. The pair then began turning everyone in Gundam into friendly chibi, thus ending the war in the Gundam universe forever.
1 Lupine III x Boxed
One of the greatest skirmishes ever pitted the notorious thief Lupine the Third against the famous “child” detective Conan Edogawa. Lupine III is actually said to be one of the inspirations for Case Closed, so this sounds like a particularly fateful crossover. The two had actually run into each other on two different occasions: once in 2009, during a teleportation film specifically focusing on the palace of the fictional nation Vespania, where Lupine decided to change his mind to stop a palace conspirator, and once in 2013 in the form of a full-length feature film, in which the two have a wits battle that ultimately ends with the shared desire to prevent precious treasures from being stolen. used for malicious purposes. The two shows fit well together, with a similar tone and style.
Whether they’re great stories or not, crossover movies offer a novel kind of fun that can only come from seeing two of one’s favorite things interact with each other. That is especially true for cartoon And story, where these intersections are rarely taken seriously. There are a lot of wild crossovers like this out there, though fans may have to take a moment to track them down.