Mexico Loves Dragon Ball

2012catchphraseclassic

Published August 10, 2026

Mexico Loves Dragon Ball is an axiom shared across the internet that people from Mexico and much of Latin America hold an unusually strong attachment to the Dragon Ball anime franchise, expressed through Goku murals, taqueria signage, public plaza screenings, and viral posts around Akira Toriyama's 2024 death.

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Overview

Mexico Loves Dragon Ball is an observation shared across the internet that people from Mexico and much of Latin America hold a deeper attachment to the Dragon Ball anime franchise than fans in most other regions1. Posts about the axiom point to public art, taqueria signage, and street murals depicting Goku, sometimes rendered with the reverence usually reserved for Catholic saints1. The idea is often summed up by images like the Taqueria Goku in Oaxaca, which counts as the earliest viral example online4.

The love is real enough that it filters into real-world events, from municipal governments hosting stadium-style screenings of new Dragon Ball episodes to memes joking that Mexican cartels pause their activity when a new chapter drops5. It is treated as both a cultural fact and a punchline, with the running gag being that Goku matters more in Guadalajara than in Tokyo2. Fans on X, Reddit and Facebook trade photos of hand-painted murals, low-rider decals and bootleg toys that place Dragon Ball characters into distinctly Mexican settings4.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (early posts) / X (viral spread)
Date
2012

The roots go back to 1996, when the original Dragon Ball received its Spanish dub and quickly took off across Mexico, Central and South America2. By 1997, Mexican TV was already airing Dragon Ball Z, putting Latin American audiences years ahead of most English-speaking countries where early attempts at a dub had underperformed3. Writers at CBR have argued that importing Japanese animation was cheaper for Mexican broadcasters than producing local kids' content, which helped Toriyama's series lock in a generation of viewers early2.

The meme framing of that fandom, that Mexico's love for the series is unusual and worth pointing out, formed on Reddit in the early 2010s. On September 2nd, 2012, Redditor PuroMichoacan posted an Imgur photo of Taqueria Goku in Oaxaca to /r/mexico, which is treated as the earliest viral post feeding the axiom4. From there, /r/dbz picked up similar photos, including a February 2013 post titled 'Dragon Ball Z in Mexico' from user Richiewyler that pulled in more than 270 upvotes4.

How It Spread

Through the mid-2010s, /r/dbz kept absorbing Mexico-flavored Dragon Ball photos, from mural walls to birthday cakes, hardening the idea that Goku was practically a folk saint in parts of Latin America4. LA Times writer JP Brammer, describing a 2023 trip to Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, wrote about spotting a polyresin Goku figure sitting next to a chibi Frida Kahlo purse in a market and joking that Goku was his favorite saint1. Brammer and other commentators have pointed to the tempo of telenovelas as a possible reason Dragon Ball's long, drama-heavy arcs fit so easily into Latin American living rooms1.

Things escalated in March 2018, when local governments across Mexico set up outdoor screenings of the final chapters of Dragon Ball Super in public squares, drawing crowds big enough that the Japanese Embassy sent Mexican official Sonia Villarreal a letter noting the screenings violated Toei Animation's rights4. YouTube filled up with recordings, including one ZETA-117 upload from March 18th, 2018 that pulled in over 250,000 views4. The screenings inspired a running joke that Mexican cartels themselves called a ceasefire during Dragon Ball events, a bit that a viral X post later dressed up as a fake news announcement5.

The catchphrase form of the meme took over X in the early 2020s. On October 15th, 2022, user @Stick_AA reposted an older iFunny caption reading 'Mexicans when Goku tells them to get the vaccine,' collecting more than 52,000 likes4. The next day @WingedKoro quote-tweeted it with 'You guys have no idea the influence and power that Dragon Ball has here in Mexico,' which pulled in more than 127,000 likes and turned the line itself into a template4. When Akira Toriyama's death was announced in March 2024, X user @weeabob posted 'all flags in mexico are at half-mast' and picked up more than 116,000 likes in a day4.

How to Use This Meme

The meme is typically used in two flavors. The first is a photograph, often a taqueria sign, mural, tattoo or piece of religious-style folk art depicting Goku or another Dragon Ball character, shared with a caption about Mexico or Latin America's fandom4. The second is the catchphrase, some variation on 'You have no idea the influence Dragon Ball has in Mexico,' commonly used as a quote-tweet or standalone reply whenever a new Dragon Ball trailer, chapter or Toriyama-related headline drops4. Posters often stack the joke onto real events, from vaccination campaigns to cartel news, treating Goku as a stand-in for national feeling.

Cultural Impact

The idea moved beyond memes when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero opened in 2022 and pulled in nearly $4 million from Latin American box offices in its opening weekend, sitting alongside its number one U.S. finish3. LA Times ran a feature framing Goku as a Latino icon in 2023, giving the axiom mainstream coverage outside anime blogs1. Sports Grail covered a viral 2024 rumor that Mexican cartels had declared a temporary ceasefire to honor Toriyama, which they traced to a troll account with no supporting source5. Mexican culture blogs have picked up the same thread, framing Dragon Ball as a shared reference point for a whole generation of Mexican kids raised on the Spanish dubs6.

Fun Facts

Dragon Ball received a Spanish dub in 1996, and Mexico was already airing Dragon Ball Z by 1997, well before the North American dub took off2.

Municipal governments in Mexico organized public plaza screenings of the Dragon Ball Super finale in March 2018, prompting a formal letter from Japan's embassy citing Toei Animation's copyright4.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero made roughly $4 million from Latin American box offices in its opening weekend in 20223.

The claim that cartels called a ceasefire for Akira Toriyama in 2024 was traced back to a troll account and had no basis in fact5.

LA Times writer JP Brammer spotted a polyresin Goku figurine being sold alongside Día de Muertos crafts in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán1.

Derivatives & Variations

Cartel Loves Dragon Ball, a spinoff joke that Mexican cartels reduce activity during new Dragon Ball releases, which spawned a fake 2024 ceasefire tweet after Toriyama's death[5].

Taqueria Goku, the Oaxaca restaurant whose signage became the earliest viral image behind the axiom[4].

The March 2018 Dragon Ball Super public plaza screenings, which produced their own meme cycle after the Japanese Embassy pushback[4].

Frequently Asked Questions