Highlights

  • Episode 590 of One Piece, titled History's Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea, is a lost episode that was difficult to find and watch for many fans.
  • This episode is unique because it features a crossover with not one, but two hit anime series: Toriko and Dragon Ball Z.
  • Due to rights issues and complications with royalties, the episode was not officially streamed, skipped on DVD releases, and had parts cut when it finally aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami.

When One Piece notoriously bombed on 4Kids TV in the early 2000's, many felt it was doubtful if the show would even continue beyond the (heavily edited) 104 episodes we got (which was a pretty impressive run for a series the company didn't really want in the first place). When the rights lapsed and Funimation picked up the series and continued with it themselves, there was always a worry that the series would not gain enough traction to have a second life. These days though, One Piece is more popular than ever, with simulcasts typically being some of the most streamed episodes on Crunchyroll and Netflix's live-action series recently getting renewed for a second season.

That said, there is one unique episode of One Piece's anime that could (from a certain point of view) be considered lost media for many fans of the franchise. It didn't make its way over to America (or many other countries) and finding a legal place to watch it was near impossible for many fans. When it finally came to America, it was aired only one time, and there are no current plans to make it available on DVD or streaming anytime soon. What is this episode and why is viewing it such a difficult task?

What is Episode 590 of One Piece About?

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The One Piece episode in question is the 590th episode of the series and is titled History's Strongest Collaboration vs. Glutton of the Sea, which originally aired in Japan on April 13, 2013. In this episode, Luffy and some of his friends enter The International Gourmet Organization (IGO), which hosts a Food Tournament. The tournament itself is a mixture of martial arts and eating competition, with the winner taking home rare meat that is highly coveted by big eaters (which is why Luffy is interested in getting a hold of this particular prize).

While you may have noticed there seems to be a lack of involvement in anything major, it doesn't sound like a terrible episode. It doesn't sound like anything special, but it doesn't sound like the worst episode of the series ever (we're sure there are viewers who have their own favorites and non-favorites). However, this episode had something that most episodes don't have: a crossover. It crossed over with not only one hit show, but TWO hit shows! That raised the uniqueness of this episode and makes it all the more intriguing as a watch.

What Are the Two Shows that Episode 590 Crosses Over with?

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While the above description could sound like any number of One Piece side episodes, what made this episode special is that it featured a special crossover with two other anime series: Toriko and Dragon Ball Z. Referred to as Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special!! by fans (and unofficially by Toei themselves), various characters from both these shows appeared including:

  • Mr. Satan
  • Rin
  • Setsuno
  • Gohan
  • Goten
  • Trunks
  • Master Roshi
  • Piccolo
  • Krillin
  • Android 18
  • Tenshinhan
  • Videl

The highlight, though, was seeing Luffy team up with Toriko and Goku, the stars of Toriko and Dragon Ball themselves! If you were a fan of all three of these series, then this was a dream team-up for sure! Sadly, for many fans, it was this exact team-up that created some legal headaches when distributing the episode locally and in America.

How Did it Air (And Why Can't it Re-Air)?

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Due to the fact that the show is a crossover between three unrelated anime series, rights issues inevitably got in the way of distribution. This episode was never streamed through any official simulcast. On the DVD release, the episode was skipped due to the complicated nature of royalties and rights. When it finally did air on Cartoon Network's Toonami (now run by Adult Swim), the first half of the episode that featured Toriko characters was cut because Funimation gave up the rights to the series in 2015 due to low sales, so Crunchyroll (who acquired them) didn't have the rights to those characters.

Since the DVD of the season this episode aired in had been released long ago, it was not reissued with the episode. The episode also is not available on Crunchyrolls website. In truth, the fact that Toonami was able to negotiate a deal that got the episode dubbed and aired this one time is a bit of a miracle in itself. As for fans of all these series, it should be noted the episode is nothing more than a filler episode and is easily skipped without affecting events in any of the three series. This was likely by design, since Toei probably anticipated legal issues would be an issue in airing this episode overseas. Still, Americans should be thankful we got one airing at all, and (since it was a recent airing in February 2023) maybe it will arrive on DVD and/or streaming in the future?