If people thought that Adidas only designed their shoes based on superstar athletes, they couldn't be more wrong.
The athletic brand and legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama joined forces to create limited edition footwear based on Toriyama's worldwide hit series "Dragon Ball Z." The collaboration rumors started floating around late December 2017 and was confirmed in a twitter post by user Yizzy Mafia.
adidas Originals x DRAGON BALL Z
7 DRAGON BALLS 7 SHOES
Fall 2018
Merry Christmas" data-caption="Twitter post confirming the Adidas/Dragon Ball collaboration" data-credit="Twitter/Yeezy Mafia">
The partnership came after Dragon Balls' successful pairing with "Dickies" which produced a number of shirts and hoodies, all with graphic designs based on the characters of the show.
The limited series will be called "Adidas Originals X Dragon Ball Z 7," with the number seven corresponding to the seven mystical Dragon Balls, which the series revolves around. It also refers to the number of designs that is set to be released this year.
The first two designs of the shoe line were revealed recently: The first was modelled after the villain Frieza, which was given the name "Yung-1 Frieza." It adopts a cloud white and purple/lilac palette which gives it a rather flamboyant appearance quite similar to how the character looks in the anime.
The second design is called "Prophere Cell" which, as the name suggests, takes after another Dragon Ball antagonist — The evil android Cell. The footwear follows Adidas' original Prophere "modern day sneaker" design with the three stripes on its side, symbolizing the brand's alternate striped logo. What ties it to the anime, however, is the dark green and speckled color of the shoe that imitates Cell's exterior.
Details regarding the remaining five shoes are scarce, and it is yet to be revealed which characters the other shoes will be designed after. Of course it wouldn't quite be Dragon Ball without the saiyans, so fans can expect that a Son Goku and Vegeta edition isn't too far off.
There are even rumors that an imitation dragon ball will be included along with the purchase of every shoe, which makes getting the DBZ7 even sweeter.
The release details for the limited edition shoes are expected to be released any time soon.
