There’s nothing better than seeingan anime reference outside its original series. Some shows or moments are so popular, other series can’t help but incorporate some of their elements within their own shows. Major staples of the anime medium, likeNaruto, Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon,and more can be found not only throughout anime, but even with western TV and movies as well. It doesn’t take much to include an anime cameo within a series.
Sometimes, cameos are so quick, it might take another watch to catch them. Anime cameos don’t have to derail a show or dedicate an entire episode as a homage. Instead, a good anime referencepops up on the screen for just a few frames, perfect for the anime fanatic who can catch a Scout Uniform fromAttack on Titanin the background of their favorite series.
Akira Toriyama is one of the most well-known names in anime because of theDragon Ballfranchise, but most fans don’t know that Goku and his pals weren’t Toriyama’s first creation. Akira Toriyama has written a few series outside theDragon Balluniverse, including a lesser-known series namedDr. Slump.Dr. Slump’sprotagonist, Arale,is similar to Goku in more ways than one. Both characters are nearly indestructible, are always willing to laugh at themselves or the situation around them, and are rarely seen without a smile.
When Arale made an appearance inDragon Ball Super,she almost broke the series. There weren’t many characters stronger than Arale. As a gag character, theDragon Ballfighters didn’t know how to contend with her.Arale gave Goku a great fightfor an episode or twobefore heading back to her respective series, serving as a great call back to Toriyama’s other body of work.
Studio Ghibli might very well bethe best animation studio in all of Japanfor its movies. Movies likeMy Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Spirited Away,and more from the famed studio are some of the highest-rated and most beloved ever.The Simpsonsis another titan of entertainment, having more seasons by itself than dozens of other popular shows combined. In ‘Married to the Blob’,The Simpsonsmake plenty of easy-to-spot references to Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli bodies of work.
The long-running series has referenced many anime, including an extendedDeath Notereference for aSimpsonsHalloween special.
References toMy Neighbor Totoroare easy to spot with the bus driver, Otto Mann, taking the role of the cat bus from the amazing movie. While Homer runs around the city, he can’t help but spot cameos fromSpirited Awayand other movies by Miyazaki.The Simpsonsdid a great job of paying tribute to one of the most popular animation studios of all time in this episode, giving cameos to plenty of its films through their own characters in their own unique art style and setting.
Attack on Titantook the world by storm when it came out over a decade ago. It tells the tale of Eren Yeager and his friends as they look to survive the Titan threat and discover more about the world they were trapped in. Because ofAttack on Titan’soverwhelming success,references to the amazing seriescan be found throughout anime, including in the popular comedy seriesOsomatsu San.Osomatsu Sanwastes no time in referring to the titanic series, givingAttack on Titana cameo in their first episode.
The characters take the form of Survey Corps members as they look to defend their walls from another character in the series who is currently acting as the Colossal Titan. It’sa quick, hilarious cameothat perfectly recreates the Colossal Titan’s size and power as it destroyed Wall Maria in the original series.Osomatsu Sanisone of the best anime comedies out there, so it’s only natural its references to other anime would be hilarious.
Food Wars!isan over-the-top seriesthat couldn’t have picked a better show to give a cameo too.Food Wars!is known for unnecessarily high stakes, eccentric characters, and jaw-dropping moments. Early in the second season, the series gave a cameo to the belovedJoJo’s Bizarre Adventureseries, referring to the Stand Battles the characters have in the third season and beyond. Nothing is more spectacular than seeing two Stand-Users face off in battle, making flamboyant poses and fighting with style and panache.
The characters featured in the second episode of the second season ofFood Wars!reenactthe characters fromJoJoby adopting Standsof their own, cooking as if they were truly in a life-or-death battle. It’s a funny moment in a series known for its humor, and choosing to giveJoJo’sof all anime a cameo was a great choice byFood Wars!.
Jujutsu Kaisenis one of the best shōnen seriesof the last few years. It’sfunny, heartbreaking, and thrillingall at once. The main character Itadori Yuji started the series as a powerless young man before becoming one of the strongest Jujutsu characters in the series. When he’s undergoing his first bout of serious training under the tutelage of the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern age, Satoru Gojo, he’s excited by the idea of using the moves from previous characters from other popular shōnen series.
When he’s thinking of the new abilities he’s going to acquire, he talks about using theRasengan fromNaruto,the Kamehameha fromDragon Ball Z,and more. It’s a quick cameo to a few well-known shōnen series, and unfortunately for Yuji, he isn’t able to copy their abilities. While Yuji might be disappointed after coming to this realization, it’s a funny moment for the view that humanizes Yuji and makes him even more relatable than he already was.
Assassination Classroomisa fun series that doesn’t take itself too seriously.There are serious themes found throughout the show, but nothing that takes away from the show’s roots as a great comedy series. One of the funniest moments in the show happens early when Koro-sensei is trying to help his students study. Koro-sensei is so fast that he can help each of the students with their studies at the same time, flying back and forth between them at Mach speed.
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He dons a headband while he’s helping students, and even has so much time while helping them that he switches headbands for each student. For one specific student, he switches to the headband from the Hidden Leaf Village inNaruto.It’s a moment that doesn’t last for more than a few seconds, but that’s all the time Koro-sensei needs toget a good laugh and giveNarutoa cameoat the exact same time.
Neon Genesis Evangelionisone of the deepest anime series ever.It’s spawned a cult following in the nearly three decades since its release, making viewers around the world look at the very fabric of reality differently since they’ve seen the series. It’s also one of the most complicated series around, and most peopleneed to watch it twiceto get a good understanding of everything they’ve seen.Neon Genesismakes an incredibly surprising cameo in the Robin Williams movieOne Hour Photo,when a child says that he wants to buy a toy from the series.
Both the child and Robin Williams' character don’t seem to know much of anything aboutEvangelion, which only makes the reference even funnier. The kid, Jake, refers to the Mass Production Eva action figure as a good guy, which fans of the series would know is patently false. It’s an interesting cameothat deserves a lot of attentionbecauseNeon Genesisisn’t the most popular series for those who don’t know a lot about anime. But apparently, Robin Williams does.
Yamcha’s death pose fromDragon Ball Zis easily onethe most popular anime cameosof all time. It’s found in a ton of other series, including hits likeBocchi the Rock!, Tower of God,and maybe evenNaruto.It’s a simple pose that consists of a character usually being exploded by something, sent flying into the ground, and leaving a small crater around their limp body. Their body is facing to the left with their left leg over their right. Their left arm is usually curled towards their head while their right arm juts out just beneath it.
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Yamcha’s death pose is the Wilhelm Scream of the anime world. It’s sofun, iconic, and recognizable,that it’s featured much more often than any other death pose or meme similar to it. TheYamcha image was even recently referenced inSuperman’s newtrailer. It’s simple, easy to recreate, and a great laugh every time it’s done.
Akirais one of the best and most iconic anime films of all time. The 1988 cyberpunk masterpiece adapted from Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal manga is a true masterpiece strictly in terms of its animation. Though there are definitely more impressive scenes in the film, the most iconic is undeniably the bike slide Kaneda does early in the movie. While anime references have become common even in Western media, no anime scene has been as referenced as theAkirabikeslide.
Adventure Time,One Piece,Pokémon,Star Wars: The Clone Wars,andBatman: The Animated Serieshave all referenced the iconic scene, and that’s just scratching the surface. While the references may have started in animation as animators wanting to reference such a recognizable scene, the bike slide has grown beyond that with references in big-budget movies likeNopeandSonic the Hedgehog3. Few images have resonated and stuck with anime fans through the years quite likeAkira’sepic bike slide.
