It’s hard to beat a good dinosaur. Though the real-life animals were annihilated by the impact of an asteroid 66 million years ago, they’ve since thrived in pop culture. Jurassic World: Rebirth , the latest in a franchise devoted to the idea that resurrecting these prehistoric creatures is a violently terrible idea, is only one example. Dinosaurs also pop up from time to time in video games and, in the case of this feature, anime, and their presence makes for an interesting look into their fantasy potential and how we’ve grown attached to the sheer idea of them. Dinosaurs as Part of the World In some cases, dinosaurs exist in the modern world. This is no new thing. For centuries, mankind has obsessed over the idea of “lost worlds” and unchecked places on the map that possibly teem with giant reptiles. In Dragon Ball , they’re part of the local fauna. The first thing to menace Goku and Bulma during their travels together is a flying creature modeled after the dinosaur-adjacent Pteranodon. From there, we run into all manner of tyrannosaurs and ceratopsians. In One Piece , the Straw Hats stop at an island called “Little Garden,” which is also full of dinosaurs. There, Roronoa Zoro takes on another warrior with “three swords,” the Triceratops. And that’s not even the biggest role dinosaurs take in the series. Later on, we’re given a crash course in the potential of the “Ancient Zoan” Devil Fruits, which allow powerful pirates to turn into prehistoric monsters. Kaido’s Beast Pirates are full of them, from a Spinosaurus to a Triceratops to a Brachiosaurus to other ancient animals like the Woolly Mammoth. Yes, they take a few creative liberties with the fossil record, and to date, paleontologists have yet to find the skeleton of something half cyborg and half sauropod. But it wouldn’t be One Piece if it didn’t go at least a little wild with it. Friends, Foes, and Digimon But are dinosaurs friend or foe? Pet or predator? Sometimes, they’re the former, like in the comedy anime series Gal & Dino. After a night out drinking, Kaede discovers that she’s brought home a new roommate in the form of a bizarre dinosaur. If one had a nickel for every time, right? On the opposite spectrum are the dinosaurs in BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS , because yes, even ninjas have to face them. In the case of BORUTO , they’re revived by Zansuru and Jiji to be a part of an army. It’s great for everyone who got their fill of watching Sasuke battle his internal demons in Naruto Shippuden and now needs to see him battle some very external dinosaurs. Much of our fascination with dinosaurs begins in childhood, where the creatures serve as both an outsized figurehead of the natural world and an endlessly imaginative product of daydreams. So it makes sense that Doraemon , the long-running franchise about a 10-year-old boy and his robotic time-travelling cat, would feature them. They’re even a part of the inaugural Doraemon movie, Nobita’s Dinosaur , which at first includes the egg of a Plesiosaur found in the earth and eventually, after some time travel efforts, a wide array of the scaly giants. RELATED: Paleontologist Names New Species of Dinosaur After Nobita from Doraemon Speaking of childhood fascination, we can’t discuss dinosaur anime without Digimon . Dinosaurs make for great artistic inspiration, which explains why there’s a whole subgenre of Digimon modeled after them. Tyranomon! Triceramon! Parasaurmon! Monochromon! From their names to their art style, there’s a Jurassic Park’s worth of Dinosaur-type Digimon out there. Luckily, when they appear, they’re more likely to become metaphorical symbols of emotional growth for kids than try and devour them. Anime (And Rex Raptor) Loves Dinosaurs Anime has been a home for not just dinosaurs, but dinosaur fanatics who you wouldn’t want to be in a “which is the best dinosaur” debate with. Yu-Gi-Oh! duelists tend to have certain obsessions (bugs, robots, zombies, cartoons, friendship, etc.), and one of the most famous ones, “Dinosaur” Ryuzaki aka Rex Raptor, has filled his deck with dragons and dinosaur cards. Ryuzaki can be found summoning the horned Megazowler, the abominable Two-Headed King Rex, the sharp-toothed Uraby and Trakodon, and his trademark Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Sure, his overconfidence means that he’s ripe for the picking for the anime protagonists that believe in the “heart of the cards,” but one can’t deny that Ryuzaki stays on brand regarding his favorite monsters. Dinosaurs deserve nothing less. From there, it’s a grab bag. Want fighting dinosaurs? Try out Dinosaur King ! Want transforming dinosaurs? Watch Dinozaurs (spelled with a “Z” because it was created in 1998)! Want more pet dinos? Watch Muka Muka Paradise ! Want to read about a particularly rambunctious dinosaur trying to survive in a rough n’ tumble world? Check out the manga Gon ! Want a good-natured manga about trying to run a dinosaur zoo while also ensuring that these wonderful creatures are both well-taken care of and appreciated by the public? If so, Dinosaur Sanctuary is for you! RELATED: Re:ZERO Creator Tappei Nagatsuki Was Inspired by Jurassic Park for Subaru's Greatest Death Scene The Jurassic films might give dinosaurs the biggest blockbuster spectacle, but they’re far from the only way to enjoy the majesty of some of the most interesting animals to ever walk the earth. For the roughly 165 million years that they dominated the planet, they came in a variety of sizes and an even wider variety of forms, which means anime has only scratched the surface in terms of recreating them in animation. Hopefully, that will be fixed with time. For now, though, check out these anime for some of the Mesozoic era’s finest.
