Shopping Guide
On March 30, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, the first Dragon Ball movie in 17 years, was released in Japan. A promo poster for the movie containing the phrase “The best, begins” caught the attention of the staff of Niigata’s soccer team, Albirex Niigata. The team shares a similarity with Son Goku in that their team color is the same orange as Goku’s outfit. Aiming to “this year become the ‘strongest’ in the J-league just like Goku!” the team reached out to Toei Animation and a collaboration between the team and Goku was implemented.
As part of the collaboration, the promo poster featuring Goku and the gang was replaced with a version that looked identical but instead featured players from Albirex Niigata. When the two posters are compared, the high quality and similarities between the catchphrase, design, and layout are apparent.
Furthermore, at Albirex Niigata’s opening home game on March 9, Son Goku made an appearance, and Nozawa Masako, the voice of Son Goku, made a special announcement that had the whole stadium cheering. There is no mistaking that this unique collaboration made soccer fans and Dragon Ball fans alike come alive with a power on par with Goku’s Kaioken! What’s more, Albirex Niigata also received a giant Spirit Bomb from Goku. Could this be the eye of the hurricane for this soccer season!?
© Bird Studio/Shueisha Inc.
© 2013 Dragon Ball Z Production Committee
