If you’re like me, your head may still be spinning from the E3 announcement of Dragon Ball FighterZ. It’s always fun to play fighting games based on your favorite animated TV action shows, but getting to choose between players like Super Saiyan Goku and the villainous Frieza?! Now that levels up the fun.
One eagle-eyed Twitter user by the name of Mizumaki_7 (H/T Kotaku) noticed that the screenshots from the gameplay footage looked eerily similar to artwork from Akira Toriyama‘s original Dragon Ball manga. What follows is a side-by-shot comparison of scenes from the video game to panels from the manga.
原作の動きがなんぼでも見つかるわ
見てるだけで楽しすぎる pic.twitter.com/XRzhc4oDjD— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 14, 2017
The translated tweet reads, “Original movement found how much is still done by just watching, too much fun.” The first image from Dragon Ball FighterZ shows Goku delivering a vicious uppercut kick to Cell from Dragonball Z‘s “Cell Saga.” Next, we see almost an identical black-and-white shot from inside the comic. A similar sequence is also shown between villain-turned-good-guy Vegeta and Cell:
ドラゴンボールファイターズ原作モーション発見報告その3
投げ技は有名どころを突いてきていいね! pic.twitter.com/sTIZCTuOY7
— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 14, 2017
If that wasn’t enough accuracy for you, we’ve got you covered with even more striking imagery between fighters. We’re sticking with the “Cell Saga” and Cell putting a massive bearhug on Goku. However, you’ll notice the scene in the manga has Cell administering this maneuver on the young Gohan. Still, the scenes line up perfectly.
This slight change of scenery happens again with Majin Buu choking the life out of Frieza in the game, and Babidi in the manga. Other iconic scenes find Goku firing an energy blast into the air, Frieza delivering a brutal elbow shot, and a montage of many eye-catching battles from various points in the Dragonball Z saga.
ベジータの渾身の気弾を跳ね返した蹴りがラッシュ技らしきものの〆に使われてるってことは、超武闘伝みたく必殺技を弾いたりできないってことか pic.twitter.com/LHvI2HpARr
— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 14, 2017
ドラゴンボールファイターズのモーション元ネタ考察に誤りがあることに気づきました
このモーションは界王星でミニ元気玉を打った時のものです pic.twitter.com/vWrtAxKOpK— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 15, 2017
この攻撃めっちゃ好きだから嬉しい pic.twitter.com/PQ0tW1eraD
— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 14, 2017
ドラゴンボールファイターズのモーションと元ネタ考察まとめてみたぞ!
他にも沢山あるが、続きはキミ自身の目で確かめてくれ!(昭和の攻略本並) pic.twitter.com/4SzAj4E8H9— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 14, 2017
モーション元ネタ考察集第2弾完成しました!
発売が待ちきれないですね!#ドラゴンボールファイターズ #DragonBallFighterZ pic.twitter.com/HtRkqNLd2x— みずまき (@mizumaki_7) June 15, 2017
What do you think of Dragon Ball FighterZ borrowing images from the manga? Let your voice be heard in the comments below!
Image Credit: Bandai Namco/Shueisha
Tim Adams is a freelance writer who loves comics and the TV and movies that feature them. Follow him on Twitter!