Summary

• Rick and Morty has subtle anime references that require eagle-eyed re-watching to catch, showing the show's creative debt to the medium.
• The show has referenced popular anime titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, and Attack on Titan.
• Rick and Morty has featured nods to iconic anime tropes and series like giant robots, kaiju battles, and transformation sequences, highlighting the show's self-referential and meta nature.

While Rick and Morty features a lot of references to popular anime franchises, some of the Easter eggs are easier to spot than others. Rick and Morty has always been full of references to sci-fi movies, horror media, and classic TV shows. As a result, it is no surprise that the series also features a plethora of references to popular anime franchises. However, some of Rick and Morty’s anime references are surprisingly well-hidden. Even though Rick and Morty has never made a secret of its creative debt to the medium, it takes an eagle-eyed re-watch to catch the show’s subtlest nods to anime.

While Rick and Morty’s worst episode wore its references to ‘90s action cinema and ‘80s cult horror movies on its sleeve, the show’s nods to anime date back a lot earlier than that divisive season 5 outing. Rick and Morty’s first anime references were a pair of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it visual nods to Dragon Ball Z and Attack on Titan back in season 3. Since then, Rick and Morty’s love of anime has been a little more overt, with the season 4 finale repeatedly referencing an iconic 1988 film by name. After that, Rick and Morty seasons 5 and 6 ramped the homages up even further, name-dropping everything from Naruto to Voltron.

8 Rick and Morty Referenced Neon Genesis Evangelion In Season 5

Perhaps the most obvious anime reference in the history of the series came in the title of Rick and Morty season 5, episode 7, “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion.” This is clearly a riff on the legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion, an influential anime that reshaped the mecha genre in recent decades. While the immersive story of Neon Genesis Evangelion follows a teenager whose father is recruited to build mecha to fight gigantic, monstrous “Angels,” the plot of "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion” sees the Smith family link mecha-suits to fight giant bugs and other kaiju. Thus, while Rick and Morty’s season 5 Kaiju plot is fun, the episode doesn’t feature many similarities to Neon Genesis Evangelion beyond its basic premise.

7 Summer Names Her Baby "Naruto" In Rick & Morty Season 5

Naruto’s dream of becoming the Hokage made him an iconic anime protagonist, and the titular hero’s adventures are among the medium’s most well-known stories. However, it is unlikely that Naruto would be happy with the character named after him in Rick and Morty. When Summer and Morty accidentally created a Giant Incest Baby in Rick and Morty season 5, episode 4, “Rickdependence Spray,” it was widely assumed that the character was quietly killed offscreen thanks to the episode’s disastrous reception. However, “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion” revealed that Summer named the Giant Incest Baby "Naruto" while she was secretly helping him survive in a twist that was just as gross as it was funny.

6 Rick and Morty Parodied Pokemon in Season 6

While Rick and Morty’s most divisive episode spawned the show’s Naruto nod, its reference to Pokemon was marginally less gross. In Rick and Morty season 6, episode 5, “Final DeSmithation,” Rick promised to help Jerry avoid a grotesque fate when a fortune cookie told him he would soon sleep with his own mother. Rick then vowed to “Pokemon this [expletive deleted],” a playful reference to the phenomenally popular anime that helped the medium enter the mainstream in the late 1990s. Credit to Rick, he does achieve this goal and Jerry manages to avoid an even worse fate than the one that befell Summer and Morty in an earlier outing.

5 Rick and Morty Referenced Dragon Ball Z in Season 3

In Rick and Morty season 3, episode 8, “Morty’s Mind Blowers,” Rick showed Morty a stream of repressed memories that gave viewers a glimpse into many of the pair’s unseen adventures. One of the episode’s more mundane “mind blowers” saw Rick and Morty discussing the phrase “taken for granted/granite,” a common saying that Rick misunderstood. During this brief vignette, the pair were seen wearing Dragon Ball Z battle armor. While Rick and Morty season 7 might explain this reference, the show has not yet given any further context for the momentary amine nod in the years since.

4 The "Akira" Incident In Rick & Morty Season 4

In Rick and Morty season 4, episode 1, “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat,” Morty used a Death Crystal to foresee the future and predict his potential missteps. In typical Rick and Morty fashion, his attempts to use his new knowledge to woo a classmate soon devolved into a gruesome parody of Akira as Morty fused with his bio-mechanical suit and became a threat to the entire town. Unlike earlier anime references in Rick and Morty, this plot line saw the characters explicitly name-drop Akira. The extended reference eventually resulted in a stellar punchline where an enraged, protective Jerry couldn't pronounce "Akira" or "anime."

3 Rick and Morty Season 5 References Voltron and Beast King GoLion

While “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion” clearly referenced Neon Genesis Evangelion, the episode itself also borrowed from two other anime properties. Both the Japanese series Beast King GoLion and Voltron saw their heroes combine a set of mechanical suits into giant robots that fought kaiju, with “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion” further underlining this comparison when Morty came across a group of anime-inspired characters parodying these two shows. Rick and Morty’s anime characters were an affectionate parody of the medium’s most famous tropes, complete with oversize eyes and lip movements that didn't quite align with their dialogue.

2 Rick and Morty Season 3 Referenced Attack on Titan

One of Rick and Morty’s earliest anime references was a nod to the infamously grisly series Attack on Titan. In Rick and Morty season 3, episode 5, “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy,” Summer turned herself into an inside-out monster to see if her boyfriend was unfaithful. The towering monstrosity that she became looked extremely similar to the Female Titan from Attack on Titan, a gigantic antagonist who could mimic other Titans. Summer’s monster form had little screen time, possibly because of how gruesome and unsettling it looked. However, the resemblance to this iconic anime character was still hard to miss.

1 Rick and Morty Season 6 Spoofed Sailor Moon

Rick’s reference to Pokemon wasn't his only nod to anime in “Final DeSmithation,”. Rick also referred to his money-saving transformation sequence with a Sailor Moon nod, claiming that he had a Sailor Moon transition that would save the show’s animators time and money. Like a lot of the show’s self-referential moments, the gag worked well at the time. However, when Rick and Morty season 7 replaces Rick’s voice actor, the meta moments of the show will have a hard time hiding this change. After all, gags like the Sailor Moon anime reference mean that viewers have become accustomed to Rick and Morty acknowledging itself as a TV show.