Eiichiro Oda’s little pirate manga has gone on to become one of Shonen Jump’s biggest franchises, if not THE biggest one. The Western response to One Piece was cooler than in its native Japan, but Monkey D.Luffy and his crew are still a familiar sight. It’s hard for an anime/manga fan to be into their hobby without being somewhat aware of the Strawhat Pirates and their quest.
They're so ubiquitous that they’ve appeared in crossovers with other series. Some have teamed up with Luffy and co more than others, and others were just quick one-offs for fun. But they’ve all left an impact in one way or another. So, here are 6 of the more significant series to cross over with One Piece.
6 Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma
Food Wars’ creator Shun Saeki is no stranger to One Piece, having penned a side story to it that follows the Strawhats' cook Sanji. He’s also no stranger to fanservice, as Food Wars is keen on showcasing more than rump roast and chicken breast dishes. So, when manga readers discovered Food Wars’ Extra Chapter, entitled ‘A Magnificent Banquet,’ its premise probably didn’t surprise them.
Senzaemon Nakiri tasks his granddaughter Erina to host a special banquet for some of Shonen Jump’s top women. Nisekoi’s Chitoge Kirisaki, Assassination Classroom’s Irina Jelavić, Kagura from Gintama, Chika Amatori from World Trigger, Kyoko Shimizu from Haikyuu!! Then, of course, Nami from One Piece. The food ends up so good it can knock the eater out from pure ecstasy, leading Kagura to realize the Extra Chapter is just an excuse for Shun Saeki to draw naughty pinups of the girls (bar Chika). To which Nami demands a 100,000 Beli fee as compensation. The chapter ends with Nami telling everyone to check out their respective anime shows as well as they’re getting good reviews.
5 KochiKame
The Kyutai Panic Adventure shorts were made to commemorate the 45th Anniversary of Fuji TV across 2003 and 2004. They basically brought some of their biggest cartoon spinners together for a quick adventure where they have to protect Fuji TV Studio’s big Orb from getting destroyed. Neither has been rerun since their original broadcast. Both shorts brought One Piece and Dragonball characters together, followed by a third surprise partner.
The second one, Kyutai Panic Adventure Returns, is perhaps the oddest of the two, as Luffy, Goku, and their respective crews have to fight off One Piece villain Enel with the help of KochiKame’s Ryotsu Kankichi, a bumbling cop from downtown Tokyo. KochiKame was one of Fuji TV’s top animated shows, and its manga was rated the 8th biggest bestseller of all time in 2016. Oda even produced tribute art to the series when it finally ended after 40 years of serialization. Nowadays, it's probably better known as Uncle Kōsuke's favorite manga in Uncle from Another World.
4 Astro Boy
Still, the first short is perhaps more appealing, as its third guest was more popular within and outside of Japan. In it, Frieza gets into a fight with Goku after he wrecks the Fuji TV Orb, with the Saiyan seeking amends. Luffy and the Strawhats turn up to help, only to get distracted by the Arlong Pirates.
That’s when Astro Boy leaps into the scene, avoids the Arlongs’ attacks, retrieves the Orb, and fixes it back into place. It makes for a neat generational crossover, as the 50s manga star steps up with his 80s and 90s successors. Still, if only they had more than 8 minutes to work with. Then it could've been a little more special.
3 Toriko
One of Eiichiro Oda’s friends in the industry is Toriko creator Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, which has led to the two crossing their series over a few times. Like in the fittingly named manga One Piece X Toriko: The True Food! Devil Fruit!! Where Toriko and Komatsu seek to create a tasty dish with the notoriously awful-tasting Devil Fruit, despite Luffy’s warning.
Then the two series met up in animated form. In Episode 492 of One Piece, Luffy and Toriko had to join forces to save Nami and Komatsu from the Cocoalas, with help from Toriko’s friends Coco and Sunny. The shonen chef came back for episode 542, where he helped Luffy track down the Seafood Fruit to help cure Chopper from an illness. It’s notable for a scene where Luffy appears by bursting out of a shark Toriko and Komatsu just caught.
2 Dragonball
With how big One Piece has gotten, it’s no surprise it would cross over with Shonen Jump’s other iconic series about a monkey person. In fact, it’s perhaps the one series One Piece has crossed over with the most. They’ve clashed in merchandise, those aforementioned Fuji TV shorts, video games, manga, and anime.
Cross Epoch stood out as Oda, and Dragonball creator Akira Toriyama worked together on it. Though it wasn't exactly an epic saga, it brought both the One Piece and Dragonball gang together in a series of skits as they attended a party hosted by Mr. Satan and Shenron. The most significant crossover was perhaps Episode 590, where Luffy, Toriko, Goku, and their friends take part in a tournament to win the Carat Fruit. Only for it to be a ploy to lure in a giant fish monster that the heroes have to defeat together.
1 Everyone
Sure, it’s nice seeing One Piece cross over with just Dragonball, or just Toriko, or the two together. But what if they clashed with everyone in Weekly Shonen Jump at once? That’s where the video games come in. The Nintendo DS game was rated as one of the best Smash Bros-style games for the console, along with its sequel Jump Ultimate Stars. One Piece characters were available, as were ones from Dragonball, Naruto, Bleach, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hunter X Hunter, and more.
Sadly, these games were Japan-only. The West would have to wait until its bigger console entries to get a similar experience. J-Star Victory Vs wasn’t as hot gameplay-wise, but its presentation topped its blander successor, Jump Force. Notably with its special intros, where Luffy, Portgas D.Ace, Boa Hancock, and Akainu snark on each other and to other Jump comic characters like Saint Seiya, Joseph Joestar, and of course, Goku and Toriko.