There was recently an airing of an anime crossover of Toriko, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z. This special, also known as Dream 9, was featured on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block on March 3. However, there was something incomplete about this special.
Only the second half of Dream 9 was presented in English. The other half is still only available in Japanese and unaired in the US. This might sound disappointing for those looking forward to hearing the full special dubbed, but there’s a reason why things turned out like this.
Why Can’t Part 1 Be Dubbed?
The incomplete dubbing is the result of the format in which Dream 9 was presented back in 2013. Each half of the special was an episode from a different anime; Part 1 was Episode 99 of Toriko while Part 2 was Episode 590 of One Piece. This format worked since the two series had been airing back-to-back on Fuji TV at the time; these two anime had even done two similar collaborations in the past. This unique format for the special is what makes it so difficult to air in English.
While the One Piece dub is where it needs to be and beyond, the Toriko dub isn’t. The latter dub was canceled and ended abruptly at Episode 52. Since Episode 99 exists within the unfinished, unlicensed part of Toriko, it can’t receive a proper dub.
The only way for Episode 99 of Toriko to be dubbed again is if the rest of the anime is dubbed. Currently, the rights to dub Toriko should have been transferred to Crunchyroll along with the rest of Funimation’s assets; at the very least, they should have most of their voice actors working for them now. If they were to continue the dub at least up to Episode 99, then English speakers could finally get the full experience of Dream 9.
Unfortunately, a continuation of the Toriko dub seems unlikely. It ended back in 2013 and there has been no news of a revival since. Unless this anime experiences a spike in popularity and sales, which is unlikely so long after its initial run, Episode 53 onward will likely remain in Japanese.
That said, perhaps the airing of this crossover could spark a change. Seeing Toriko and his friends revisited in Dream 9 could give the series the attention stateside that it’s long been deprived of. If enough people show an interest in Toriko and call for more of it, then perhaps the right people at Crunchyroll will get the message and pick up the dub where it left off. At the very least, it could mean eventually getting the first half of this collaboration dubbed.