An Animal Crossing: New Horizons player recently showcased their Dragon-Ball-themed island in an entertaining montage, which combines scenes from both the Nintendo game and classic anime. Although Dragon Ball is best known for its status as one of the best-selling manga and anime series of all time, the popular franchise also extended its influence to the gaming world through a handful of video games - the most newest of which, Dragon Ball: The Breakers, arrives sometime next year.
Although Dragon Ball and other media franchises have stakes in the gaming industry, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' creative gameplay allows for nearly any example of popular culture to appear in-game. An Animal Crossing player recently recreated the movie poster for the early-2000s comedy Mean Girls, accurately evoking the pressures and social dynamics of the film's high school with the help of anthropomorphic animal villagers Fiona, Ione, Sasha and Shino. Another Animal Crossing player recently took advantage of the creative freedom in the game's new Happy Home Paradise DLC and recreated the set from the hit sitcom, The Office.
Much like these previous examples, Reddit user Drabaz recently combined the classic anime Dragon Ball with their Animal Crossing: New Horizons island design. In a video that splices scenes from various Dragon Ball episodes with scenes of their playable character running throughout their Animal Crossing island, Drabaz cheekily shows-off which scenes from the anime series inspired certain design decisions. Drabaz introduces their island with a Dragon Ball scene showing protagonist Goku competing with Krillin in a digging contest, and then cuts to an area of their Animal Crossing island that has a still of this scene etched into the ground. Another part of Drabaz's Animal Crossing island is crafted to look like Dragon Ball's World Martial Arts Tournament arena - so accurately, in fact, that one user commented that this part is "easily the star of the island."
These two areas are not the only Dragon-Ball-inspired parts of Drabaz's island, with a variety of other locations taking visual cues from various episodes. Although not explicitly stated, Drabaz's post appears to imply that other parts of the island might not embody Dragon Ball elements. Other Animal Crossing players have combined various pop culture references throughout their islands, with some taking on characteristics from multiple franchises at once. That said, Animal Crossing island design ideas often appear uniform for aesthetic purposes - and the media franchises that inspire these islands are often big enough to take up all of the space within. One New Horizons player transformed their island into Kanto, the region that serves as the central setting in various Pokémon games.
While Animal Crossing island designs frequently impress, Drabaz's video is certainly unique in its entertainment value. Animal Crossing players frequently upload screenshots of their creations, or basic videos simply panning across their islands. Drabaz's comparison between real scenes from the Dragon Ball anime and their loose recreations in Animal Crossing is a delight, and makes viewers laugh, too.
Source: Drabaz/Reddit