None other than Dragon Ball’s Son Goku himself will fly high above this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Toei Animation posted a picture of the Super Saiyan Blue balloon on the studio’s official Twitter account alongside the recommendation for everyone to “tune into NBC or stream on Peacock [for the parade] on November 24th at 9AM (all time zones)!” While historically many of the balloons in the parade depict icons from western animation, like Scooby-Doo, Mickey Mouse, Snoopy and Bugs Bunny, Goku isn’t the first Japanese character to feature; both Pikachu and Hello Kitty have appeared as balloons in previous years.
The Dragon Ball mega-franchise kicked off in 1984 with the publication of the first chapter of Akira Toriyama’s iconic manga in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump. The story follows battle-happy Goku from childhood to adulthood as he trains in martial arts and battles dangerous but often wacky and colorful villains. With over 300 million copies in circulation around the world, Dragon Ball stands as one of the best-selling manga in history, alongside Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece and Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan.
Dragon Ball’s Cultural Impact
Because of the series’ immense popularity, Toei Animation adapted Toriyama’s story into two anime series that would go on to become beloved classics: Dragon Ball (1986-1989), which covered the first 324 chapters of the manga, and Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996) which translated the remaining chapters to the screen. Now, the franchise includes many anime and manga sequel series, several tie-in films and a myriad of video games, collectibles, video games and theme park attractions, meaning Dragon Ball remains a pop cultural cornerstone to this day.
Fans of the franchise have more to be excited about than just Goku’s upcoming appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Notably, a new video game release is expected sometime next year. “Bardock – Alone Against Fate” is a DLC for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot that will adapt the story of the Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku special. The content will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Moreover, the Dragon Ball Super manga will return from a four-month hiatus next month. The announcement also revealed that the next story arc would focus on teenagers Goten and Trunks as they set out to become superheroes.
VIZ Media distributes Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga in North America, and Toei Animation’s anime series are available on Crunchyroll.
Source: Twitter
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