Danica Davidson
February 21, 2023 
Creed III will be in theaters on March 3, and Michael B. Jordan, who is both the lead actor and the director, recently discussed how anime is a big influence on the film.
“Without nerding out too much…You’ve seen so many fights throughout the Rocky and Creed franchise, and I really wanted to put my spin on it, you know?” Jordan said at IGN Fan Fest. “How to make these fights different, and you know, from Hajime no Ippo, to Megalobox, to Naruto, to My Hero Academia, all of those different anime that I watched growing up, there’s an inherent spirit to them in how they fight.”
He also specifically talked about Dragon Ball Z’s influence. “I would say from the Dragon Ball Z universe, there’s a punch…[in] me and [character] Damian’s fight, where there’s a Dragon Ball Z punch that’s in there.”
Michael B. Jordan drops his anime influences for Creed III and hints at a DBZ punch referenced in the film. #IGNFanFest pic.twitter.com/2FPdYqhsfh
— IGN (@IGN) February 17, 2023
Jordan has previously spoken about his love of anime. “I just grew up on it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter about anime in a 2019 interview. “Then, of course, once the internet really got going, I was able to find animation from Japan. My passion just grew over the years, and I found myself being an avid anime fan.”
Asked by Hollywood Reporter if it were the action sequences of anime that drew him in, he replied, “Action sequences? Yeah, for sure. I think the action and the story. A lot of the stories and the character development on these anime series are incredible. They are so underrated. I really dove into a lot of the emotional beats of these characters. I remember dropping a tear or two. I’ve definitely cried little man tears over anime before.”
The interviewer responded with, “Dragon Ball Z‘s Goku can do that to you.”
“Not just Goku, though,” Jordan said. “I think I dropped a tear or two toward the end of the series. I can admit that.”
Source: Yahoo! News
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
