The recent release of Tite Kubo’s Burn the Witch #0.8 anime adaptation has caught the attention of eagle-eyed Dragon Ball Z fans.
The recent release of Burn the Witch #0.8 by Tite Kubo has caught the attention of anime fans. The reason is not only because this is an adaptation by the author who created the famous Bleach, but also because of the film’s brief mention of Dragon Ball Z.
Studio Colorido’s anime adaptation of The Burn the Witch #0.8, titled “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover”, was released on December 29, 2023. This prequel film takes place in-universe Bleach and follows two witches named Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole.
In the newly released anime episode, Noel Niihashi receives a phone call, with the ringtone shown as the Dragon Ball Z recap music. Meanwhile, Ninny Spangcole continues the banter between the two characters, saying “You Completely Japanese acting!” referring to Noel’s Japanese style despite never having been to this country.
With just this small detail, it is impossible to underestimate Dragon Ball’s inspiration for most modern shounen anime titles. What’s interesting is that author Tite Kubo was said to have received a letter from Dragon Ball author Akira Toriyama during his early career days.
In addition, fans also noted Noel’s special ringtone when Ninny called her, the ringtone being the Sailor Moon theme song.
Previously, Sailor Moon’s influences on Bleach and other anime in general were mentioned in “10 Anime That Reference Sailor Moon”. An unofficial reference to Sailor Moon appears in Bleach episode 50, when Ichigo’s sister Yuzu Kurosaki makes a Sailor Moon costume for Kon.
Burn the Witch #0.8 will adapt the original prequel one-shot manga chapter titled Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover. This one-shot chapter consists of 64 pages that establish the plot of the series and introduce the main characters.
It is still unclear what the future of Burn the Witch will be after #0.8 is released. #0.8 is Kubo’s original one-shot manga published in 2018 and serves as a prequel to the Burn the Witch manga released in 2020. Unfortunately no further information has been released since then .
