Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, the action-RPG retelling of theDragon Ball Zanime, is a love letter to original series through and through. It’s only appropriate then that the game’s opening cinematic channel the energy of the anime’s opening cinematic. And fans of theDragon Ball Zanime know exactly what that requires. Luckily, it seems that Bandai Namco has pulled off a licensing miracle. With the release ofDragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s opening cinematic, it’s now confirmed that the “Cha-La Head Cha-La” song is part of the game.
For those unfamiliar with the originalDragon Ball Zanime and its opening, it featured a song named “Cha-La Head Cha-La” that has become legendary among fans. It’s from Japanese singer Hironobu Kageyama, who took the job because he was a fan of theWeekly Shonen Jump magazinein whichDragon Ballwas published. The lyrics are about exploration, freedom, and chasing your dreams with a smile. The words “Cha-La Head Cha-La” are complete nonsense, though, but are still great fun to sing along with.
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TheDragon Ball Z: Kakarotopening is ultimately quite a bit different from theDragon Ball ZTV show’s opening, which is understandable. It would be a significant amount of work to recreate the opening and it wouldn’t necessarily be representative of what’s in the game. As such, Bandai Namco did what was probably the right thing and focused more on showing locations details from the game itself.
There are still a lot ofDragon Ball Zanime referencesin the game’s opening cinematic, though. From the title flying over the open water to the various scenes showing Goku and friends together. Even the scene with Gohan running away from a dinosaur was included. Also fun is the final scene from the video where the Z-Fighters are standing in front of a red background and Goku drops suddenly between them all with a stern look on his face.
The opening cinematic forDragon Ball Z: Kakarotcontinues to deliver the message that Bandai Namco has focused on since the game’s announcement. This is a game forfans ofDragon Ball Z. It’s authentic to the anime to an impressive degree. And perhaps more importantly, it understands why and how fans loveDragon Ball Zand tries to deliver that. Or, at the very least, the marketing leading up to launch tries to deliver that. Hopefully,Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotdelivers on fans' expectations, too.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotreleases July 15, 2025, on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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