MAPPA studio pays homage to Dragon Ball in Oblivion Battery

Mappa dragon ball😭😭😭😭💀💀#忘却バッテリー pic.twitter.com/Rn0bU3YRZa

— Lizリズ (@Nakayasee) April 23, 2024

Have you ever imagined what a Super Saiyan transformation would be like? Son Goku in Dragon Ball if this was animated by the studio MAPPA (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, The God of High School, Dororo, Dorohedoro)? Well, that’s exactly what just happened in episode 3 of Oblivion Batterythe anime series adaptation of the baseball manga Boukyaku Battery in Eko Mikawa.

For those curious about this honor, it comes courtesy of Shun Sawai. The animator was invited by the director of Oblivion Battery to animate a Super Saiyan cameo after the production received official approval.

On twitter Shun Sawai confirmed the author of the tribute:

I did the original drawing for the parody of episode 3. Thanks for inviting me!

The animation is from the studio MAPPA (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, The God of High School, Dororo, Dorohedoro), directed by Makoto Nakazono (direction of episodes of Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, SSSS.Gridman), the script is Michiko Yokote (The Dreaming Boy Is a Realist, Handa-kun), Takeshi Iida (animation director for Flip Flappers, Triage X) is the assistant director and character design is by Hitomi Hasegawa (Dance Dance Danseur).

Boukyaku Battery began to be published in Shonen Jump+ in April 2018 and its 17th volume was released on January 4, 2024.

In the description of Boukyaku Battery we can read:

The baseball manga follows Haruka, a strong pitcher praised as perfect, and Kei, a skilled catcher known as the “General” who has lost his memory due to amnesia. The talented duo were tough to beat in junior high and shattered other players’ dreams. The two enroll at Kotesashi High School in Tokyo, where they meet other baseball players who dropped out after losing to Haruka and Kei.