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Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball, passed away on March 1, 2024. To honor the legend, "Rock the Dragon" animation project was created. It was a fan-animated project in which 20 animators united and created their own version of the only English-dubbed opening song of the DBZ series.
It is still one of the most beloved anime songs across the globe due to its edgy music and catchy lyrics. The fan project was no doubt one of the best ways to pay tribute to the legend for the amazing series he created.
As always, fans appreciated this tribute to the manga legend on social media. While some fans flagged their favorite moment from the anime opening song, others were hit with a wave of nostalgia and applauded the artists who made this fan project.
Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author.
About "Rock The Dragon" opening fan-project from Dragon Ball
Rock the Dragon or Main Title, is an original English opening song of the Dragon Ball Z anime series. The song was composed by two singers, namely Shuki Levy and Haim Saban, and performed by Jeremy Sweet.
A fan project for this theme song was uploaded on YouTube on May 9, 2024, by a channel famous for creating animations. The project consisted of the same visuals from the Rock the Dragon anime's opening song, but they were created in a somewhat funny way. It also combined 3D animation with its cartoonish style later on in the video, thus making a complete symphony.
From the start of the song featuring Tien opening his mouth wide like a cartoon to Goku slipping on ice just like the original anime opening, the video was a tribute to the late author of the Dragon Ball series, Akira Toriyama.
The video was made by 20 animators, namely Arin Hanson, KC Green, Parker Simmons, Charlie Bryant, David Liu, Nas Pasha, SmallBu, Tom Barkel w/Sarah Harper, and Ashley Nichols.
Other animators include Louie Zong, Paul Robertson, Brianne Drouhard, Worthikids, Aaron Long, RubberRoss w/Giwi, Quinn Taketa, and Abby Memedokies. These are famous solo and group artists who became popular for their unique art styles.
Netizens react to the fan-animated opening song of Dragon Ball
The majority of the fandom showered their praise on this amazing fan animation. Some of the fans enjoyed the part of the opening where Tien used a Solar Flare. Although the slip started pretty normally, it progressed into a really funny visual of the character.
Moreover, fans' love for this opening was also revived as they couldn't help but declare this song the best one from the English dub format, even though there aren't many anime opening tracks that are English-original.
"This clip has my WHOLE heart. F*ck," a fan pointed out.
"Favorite part," another fan wrote.
"The ONLY good American OP of a anime," another user commented.
While some fans lived the moment and enjoyed the animation, one fan was surprised to see this fan project and remembered the time when he first heard the Dragon Ball Z opening. He didn't stop there and penned the whole story of how he was introduced to this amazing anime track.
Some artists also expressed their disappointment over how they weren't able to take part in such an amazing project.
"After some years of seeing folks clown on this song, seeing this be a thing brings a tear to my eye. My first exposure to DB was its debut on Cartoon Network in 1998, and it (alongside Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, and Pokémon on The WB) ended up being my intro to anime," a fan wrote.
"Man I wish I could be a part of something like this," another comment read.
"Wish I could’ve participated," another one sighed.
All-in-all, this fan-project was a good reminder of a classic opening song that most fans enjoyed when they were young.
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