10 Best Unexpected Anime & Manga Crossovers

Crossovers in anime and manga are relatively rare--or at least, those that make it outside Japan are. However, both anime and manga are actually quite prone to crossovers for all the usual reasons, like marketing and hype, or just because two creators really like each other's work. The legal rights on crossovers can be quite complicated, hence why many never see release internationally. Still, there are a lot of crossovers out there worth checking out, from the predictable to the utterly insane.

To count as a crossover, the series should normally have separate continuities; two series simply being set in the same universe isn't enough to qualify, typically. Crossovers are often non-canonical, so as not to worry about the implications of the two series coexisting, but that doesn't have to be the case. Crossovers can also vary from a full TV special or movie to a few pages of manga.

10 Dragon Ball x Doctor Slump

Doctor Slump is an earlier manga by Akira Toriyama and his first real breakthrough series. Doctor Slump characters have actually appeared in Dragon Ball a few times now, most recently in a gag episode of Dragon Ball Super, but the first crossover was back in the Dragon Ball days. Goku had to make his way to Penguin Village, the setting of Doctor Slump, in search of a Dragon Ball stolen by General Blue. Arale, the android girl from Dr. Slump, then makes friends with Goku and even helps to fight General Blue, sending him blasting off into the distance like Team Rocket. The crossover lasted for three whole episodes, but what may be more surprising is that this crossover was in the manga, too, making it 100% canon.

9 Cyborg 009 x Devilman

Similarly, Cyborg 009 and Devilman are two series created by the legendary Go Nagai, who similarly enjoyed having his own works crossover with each other. This culminated in Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman, a three-episode OVA series that saw the two renowned characters go head-to-head in a classic "misunderstanding fight" before figuring out who the real enemy is and agreeing to work together. The crossover was released in 2015 and surprisingly did get picked up for international distribution by Netflix. Fans of either series should definitely check it out.

8 Assassination Classroom x The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

The first manga entry on the list, the wildly different works of Assassination Classroom and The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. crossed over in a manga entitled Korosensei vs. Saiki Kusuo: Showdown in Iruma. Iruma happens to be the hometown of both Assassination Classroom creator Ysuei Matsui and Saiki K. creator Shuichi Aso, a fact that seems to have been the impetus for the crossover. The manga, published back in 2012, is considered a bonus chapter of Assassination Classroom and sees Koro-sensei and Saiki battling it out for an irumanju, a specialty dessert that Iruma is known for. After pulling one over on each other a few times, the two agree to share the snack, realizing that they have a little more in common than they expected.

7 Food Wars x Shonen Jump

Food Wars is a series that's almost dedicated to absurdity, so wild crossovers are hardly out of the question for it. The crossover known as "A Magnificent Banquet" saw Food Wars' Erina Nakiri asked to host a banquet for some special guests, who turn out to be major female characters from the Shonen Jump series running at the time. This list includes Nami from One Piece, Irina Jelavic from Assassination Classroom, Kiyoko Shimizu from Haikyuu, Kagura from Gintama, Chika Amatori from World Trigger, and Chitoge Kirisaki from Nisekoi. Koro-sensei also gets to sneak in a cameo. The girls immediately become suspicious, and as they learn about the clothes-defying effects of food in Food Wars, hilarity ensues.

6 My Next Life as a Villainess x Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro x My Senpai is Annoying

A bizarre and unlikely three-way crossover took place between the hit new romantic comedy series Don't Toy with Me, MIss Nagatoro, the isekai My Next Life as a Villainess, and the lesser-known My Senpai is Annoying. The crossover primarily takes a 4-koma (four-panel gag comic) approach but also featured the voice actors from the anime adaptations as well, voicing each other's ads. Amusingly, this crossover actually took place before the My Senpai is Annoying anime began airing in October 2021, making it the actress's first appearance as the character publicly.

5 Inuyasha x Ranma 1/2 x Urusei Yatsura

A series of special OVAs was commissioned to honor the 50th anniversary of manga magazine Shonen Sunday in 2009, featuring some of the most popular series to have run in the outlet. All three happened to be series by the manga legend and recently knighted Rumiko Takahashi: Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2, and Urusei Yatsura. Each show got one OVA and then had a crossover OVA, "Rumic World," featuring the heroes of all three meeting up. Inuyasha mistakes Lum for a demon, and all sorts of other misunderstandings ensue. While there's not much substance to the crossover, it's absolutely worth watching if only for the novelty value to anyone who's a dedicated fan of Takahashi's work.

4 One Piece x Dragon Ball Super x Toriko

One of the better-known crossovers, originally from 2013 but debuting on American television only in 2023, is known as "Dream 9," and features the cast of Dragon Ball Super, One Piece, and Toriko meeting up in a strange, alternate continuity land for a big meal together. It's loosely inspired by the Dragon Ball/One Piece crossover manga "Cross Epoch," but adds Toriko characters to the mix due to the three shows airing together at the time. Fans who've longed to see Luffy and Goku fight together will finally get their wish, and while the whole thing feels rather silly, it's all in good fun.

3 Fairy Tail x Seven Deadly Sins

Fantasy series Fairy Tail and The Seven Deadly Sins featured together in a manga crossover themed around, of all things, Christmas. The mangaka each worked on half--Fairy Tail's Hiro Mashima drew the parts which focused on Seven Deadly Sins characters in his own style, while Seven Deadly Sins' Suzuki Nakaba did the opposite. The crossover is pretty short and fairly typical, seeing characters from both series meet and interact, with the Christmas theme tying it all together.

2 Gundam x Hello Kitty

Yes, that's right. Gundam and Hello Kitty. Inexplicably created to celebrate Gundam's 40th anniversary and Hello Kitty's 45th, the crossover is made up of three short episodes (about 3 minutes in length) and sees Hello Kitty preparing for a tea party when she receives a distress call on her TV, accompanied by Gundam footage, asking her to save Amuro. Hello Kitty then materializes in space in giant form and begins pleading for an end to the fighting. Hello Kitty is able to repel Gundam blasts when the enemy attacks, turning the unit into a chibi version of itself that's now more friendly. She's then able to convince a (rightfully terrified) Amuro that this is for the best, and he agrees if it will stop the war. The pair then set off to turn everyone in Gundam into friendly chibis, thus ending war in the Gundam universe forever.

1 Lupin III x Case Closed

One of the greatest crossovers ever pitted the infamous thief Lupin the Third against famed "child" detective Conan Edogawa. Lupin III was actually said to be one of the inspirations for Case Closed, so this felt like a particularly destined crossover. The two have actually run into each other on two different occasions: once in 2009, for a crossover special centered on the palace of the fictional nation of Vespania, where Lupin wound up changing his mind in order to stop a schemer in the palace, and once in 2013 in full-blown movie form, where the two have a battle of wits that eventually ends in a mutual desire to stop a precious treasure from being used for evil. The two shows fit together very well, with a similar tone and style.

Whether they're good stories or not, crossovers offer a novel sort of fun that can only come from seeing two of one's favorite things interacting. That's especially true for anime and manga, where these crossovers are rarely taken too seriously. There are plenty more wild crossovers like these out there, although fans may have to spend a fair bit of time tracking them down.