The Dragon Ball series has always been one that's filled to the brim with great references to other media. It's clear that the series' creator, Akira Toriyama, is quite a fan of many different series, be they Western films or other anime, and absolutely loves throwing in "blink and you'll miss it" Easter eggs to them.
This trend continues in a great way all throughout the Dragon Ball Super series. One thing that fans may have not noticed at all during the action-packed "Tournament of Power" arc is that it also was home to many of these awesome Easter eggs which referenced not only the series' past but also other great Japanese series.
10 Piccolo's Sacrifice
One moment that no Dragon Ball fan will ever forget is the fateful moment Piccolo made his face-turn more obvious than ever. After he took that hit from Nappa to save Gohan, there was no question on if the Demon King was trustworthy or not.
During Dragon Ball Super, Gohan made sure he returned the favor to his teacher and took a hit for him as well. This time around, however, thankfully the beam wasn't fatal and Gohan stayed standing by Piccolo's side.
9 Recoome's Wakeup Call
There seems to be no end to new opponents underestimating Goku and making a fool of themselves in the end. This was the case with Goku's confrontation with Recoome and came back around with his battle against Kefla.
Much like Recoome, not only did Kefla underestimate the great Saiyan's ability to power-up, but she underestimated his speed as well. This resulted in a moment and a frame that resembled Recoome's big mistake that led to his downfall.
8 A Shout Out To Attack On Titan
One of the great anime that run side-by-side with Dragon Ball Super is the well-known and heavily-loved series, Attack on Titan. Of course, Dragon Ball had to shout out the series during the Tournament of Power.
During the big battle for each fighters' universe, the monstrous being, Agnilasa, appears fighting for Team Universe Three. This fusion of multiple fighters demonstrated the ability to grow titan size and almost gave 18 the titan treatment.
7 Gomu Gomu No~
Maji-Kayo is another monstrous fighter from Universe Three. Along with his partner, Agnilasa, he is the host to many different references to Dragon Ball's past and other series as well, including One Piece.
One of Maji-Kayo's abilities is to shapeshift, meaning he is able to not only modify his body but also take on three different forms. He's not only morphed his body to reference the T-1000 from Terminator 2, but also showed he wasn't scared to take a page from Luffy's book.
6 Sailor Moon Transformation
One series that no one can ignore — if their goal is to reference the most iconic anime and manga of all time — is the mother of all modern magical girl anime: Sailor Moon. This, of course, was also the case with Dragon Ball Super.
Ribrianne was the host for this reference to the iconic reference. One thing that many love about some of these little Easter eggs is how they get thrown on their head. This was seen with Brianne's transformation into Ribranne.
5 Henshin!
With characters around like the Ginyu Force, it's obvious that Akira Toriyama is a big fan of series like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. This is why it's no surprise that a reference to these tokusatsu series was thrown into Super.
The "Envoy of Justice" and warrior from Universe Three, Catopesra, is a huge reference to series like these. He's most likely closer to Kamen Rider due to being a solo hero instead of a part of the team.
4 Another Super Sentai Reference
Again, Toriyama is no stranger to throwing tokusatsu references into the Dragon Ball series. While he's referenced the Super Sentai teams before with the Ginyu Force, that was taken to the next level with the Pride Troopers.
Not only was the team given the iconic colored smoke explosions for their entrances but they are also given the skin-tight suits many Sentai teams of the past have donned. This and the poses might make them even cooler than the Ginyu Force.
3 A Robotic Reference To Old Foes
Koiceareta is a robotic being that is created via the fusion of a technique called Plan X. This entails the fusion of Borareta, Koitsukai, and Pancea into a super machine that resembles a few Dragon Ball villains of the past.
Not only does the build of this mechanical menace resemble Pilaf's Pilaf Machine, but it also looks similar to Dragon Ball GT's Super Mega Cannon Sigma.
2 A Fusion Resulting In Some Non-Canon References
Agnilasa is a big reference to plenty of different anime and Dragon Ball villains of the past. It's easy to see that his design is a huge throwback to many non-canon OVA and film characters.
Not only does his design, speech patterns, and artificial nature resemble Hatchiyack's, but it is also similar to Hirudegarn in its ability to grow wings and can attack through portals much like Janemba.
1 Throwback To Slug
Pilina is one character introduced in the Tournament of Power that immediately turned the heads of many simply because he was another Namekian, but he came with a look that was familiar.
Pilina has a build and face that is very similar to that of the classic Dragon Ball movie character, Lord Slug, from the film, Dragon Ball: Z Lord Slug.