“Who is stronger? Goku or Luffy?”- this debate is so fatal that it has claimed the mental peace of otakus for years. But as a diehard fan of Dragon Ball and One Piece, did you know that Goku and Luffy are actually on friendly terms?
If you had no idea then welcome to the collaboration special episode of Toriko where the main protagonists of One Piece and Dragon Ball were invited to join in the fun. In this hilarious episode, the heroes participated in an invigorating event to determine the strongest.
However, fans pointed out some anomalies in the collaboration project, which hugely impacted Goku’s stats.
One Piece x Dragon Ball x Toriko Special Episode
If you have seen clips of Luffy, Goku, and Toriko flying around on social media platforms, don’t assume they are edited deepfakes. Instead, these are clips from a collaboration special between the Toriko anime, One Piece, and Dragon Ball.
In one of the parts, the three heroes battle a Deep-Sea Glutton creature called Akami. This creature resembles a round fish in its basic form, but if fed, it can transform into a tentacled monster. Much like Luffy, it has five forms. In its fifth and final form, it gains a serpentine body with fangs, huge tentacles, and multiple heads.
One Piece one of the best collaboration in the anime history.#ONEPIECE X #DragonBall X #Toriko pic.twitter.com/WDKPkTUzM7
— 鞣|•Luffy (@not_chris2) April 26, 2024
In the special episode, Luffy, Goku, and Toriko are made to fight this beast. Now you might be thinking, why is Goku fighting a fish monster when he can blow up universes in a snap? This is where the controversy comes in.
Was Goku nerfed to fit into the collab episode?
The answer to the question is yes, Goku’s power was indeed scaled down to make this collaboration successful. With Goku’s never-exhausting powers, he can blow up a sea monster from another planet altogether. He has no need to be fighting alongside Luffy and Toriko.
They had to nerf Goku so bad in this collaboration https://t.co/KvXDQ1xW7D
— 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐚 ☢ (@King_Sukunaaa) April 26, 2024
However, if Goku had exhibited his enormous power, a collaboration would never have happened. So, the creators have taken some liberties to show Goku in his pre-God-level era to match the power levels of Luffy and Toriko.
While some fans might assume that leveling down Goku is disrespectful to the original Dragon Ball, it is anything but so. In fact, the collaboration is a result of the massive respect that every mangaka and anime staff holds for Goku.
If you examine the enemy and its power properly, you might notice that it’s not just Goku who has been powered down for the episode. Both Luffy and Toriko have been scaled down for the collaboration. There is no way that it takes three superheroes just to defeat a single tentacled, overgrown fish.
So now you have your answer. Not only Goku, but Luffy and Toriko were also powered down to spend a day together on Earth. This step was probably taken so that the Earth itself (as well as the budget) wouldn’t be damaged by the blows of these superheroes.
You can watch One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Toriko on Crunchyroll.
