Dragon Ball/YMMV


 * Dragon Ball GT
 * Dragon Ball Kai

"(Upon hearing Freeza's true gender) Krillin:"
 * Alas, Poor Villain:
 * Americans Don't Adore Mr. Satan: In Japanese polls Mr. Satan typically scores really high; in the Dragon Ball Forever's poll he even beat Roshi, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Bulma, and Yajirobe in that order. In American polls, he ranks considerably lower.
 * Angst? What Angst?: It's impressive how quickly all of the characters get used to the fact that Goku had come back from the dead after seven years in the Buu saga, especially for Goten who until that point had never even met him.
 * Arc Fatigue: Z's sagas in general, though Freeza and Buu were the longest. Buu moreso in the anime, since in the manga, it went by quicker since at that point it was more like Series Fatigue for Toriyama.
 * Artistic License: Biology: Even if you ignore Cell, most hybrids aren't capable of reaching sexual maturity, so Pan, technically, should not exist. That or Saiyan and humans are genetically similar enough to be the same species, so... probably best not to think about it too much.
 * Though exceptions are not strictly impossible, just very rare.
 * You're watching a series where power levels continually escalate, mythology and aliens get rolled up into an insane mishmash and people treat the afterlife like it has a revolving door and your biggest complaint about the scientific hardness is that Gohan isn't sterile?!
 * But, but... jaywalking is a crime!
 * Awesome Music: The three intro songs used by the Ocean Dub, Funimation Dub, and the original all have the distinction of being equally awesome.
 * Only a Chilling Elegy, Freeza's Leitmotif in Kai. Ominous Latin Chanting mixed with Metal. Fits him to a T.
 * Three words: GINYU FORCE RULES!
 * On that note, we've got their Bragging Theme Tune here.
 * Practically any of the insert songs from DBZ, such as Battle Point Unlimited and Solid State Scouter
 * The first Z movie, Return My Gohan! / Dead Zone: when Goku and Piccolo attack Garlic Jr. together, you get this - a mix of Goku's and Piccolo's themes.
 * Perfect Cell's Themealso deserves a mention. It sounds like an evil techno/metal fusion. How perfect.....If only they actually played this version in the show. That said, the version they do have in the show that loops over and over IS an Ear Worm.
 * Hironobu Kageyama's "Unmei no Hi: Tamashii tai Tamashii" (Translated as "Day of Destiny ~Spirit vs Spirit") was played during Gohan SSJ2 Transformation, and even amongst those who are more familiar and/or prefer the dub appreciate its value.
 * Really just another example Broken Base, the various DBZ composers are considered this by their respective fanbases, the original composer Shunsuke Kikuchi, the Funimation Falconer Productions composer team, and even Kenji Yamamoto who composed Kai, most of the video games, and several insert songs for the original Z.
 * Badass Decay: Vegeta, arguably. Even he gets sick of being relegated to a second-string hero, and eventually attempts a short-lived Face Heel Turn to reclaim his badass status.
 * Gohan also suffers from this early in the Buu Saga due to the fact that he more or less gave up fighting and focused on academics after defeating Cell (seven years prior). After watching Gohan struggle against Dabura, Vegeta points out that he had actually gotten WEAKER than he was seven years ago. Though he gets a powerup later on in the saga.
 * Base Breaker: The Saiyans can be this. Some say the Saiyans were good and the original cast was boring. Others say Saiyans stole screen time from other characters, and generally were unskilled and one-dimensional fighters compared to the rest of the Z-Fighters. There's also a middle ground where Saiyans are good characters but the series should not have shafted the original Earthling cast.
 * Broken Base: Never ask a group of DBZ fans which English language dub they prefer: FUNimation or The Ocean Group.
 * While you're at it, ask if the Orange Boxsets are worth buying.
 * Just mention dubs in general, really. Subs vs. Dubs will never, ever end.
 * Heck, entire flame wars can erupt just on how a name should be spelled! It doesn't help that there are fans who insist on spelling every name with their literal Romanized Japanese transliterations (Bejiita, Pikkoro, Buruma, Bebi, etc.), despite the fact that most of the Japanese products already have official romanized spellings (i.e. Saiyan, Vegeta, Piccolo).
 * Z vs Kai is another issue with base-breaking potential.
 * Never say you like the anime more than the manga because of the Adaptation Expansion elements it created. Nine times out of ten, you'll get somebody calling you out for having bad tastes.
 * There are many who love Vegeta and his Character Development and there are also those who think of him as a Complete Monster who gets off too easy.
 * Crazy Awesome: Gotenks. All the dumb ideas that Goten and Trunks can come up with, without the other one discouraging them.
 * Complete Monster: Freeza was such a long lasting villain and so irredeemable that pretty much dying twice and his spectacular final death at the hands of Trunks is quite frankly not painful or humiliating enough. His sickening attack on the Namek village attains a level of chilling brutality that few anime have matched since.
 * The worst part? He wasn't created to be a monster like Majin Buu and Cell, he did all that on his own free will... for planetary real-estate and money. Genocide and planet-blasting is Nothing Personal to him; It's just Good Business. It also runs in the family; his father King Cold and brother Cooler are no slouches either.
 * Of course, the fact that Cell was created to be a monster doesn't really excuse the despicable things he does. He terrorizes entire villages and towns, often by essentially eating people with his tail. His Moral Event Horizon is probably when he . Also, he wants to destroy the world. It's highly doubtful that Dr. Gero intended that when he designed him. Then again, going by Cell's statements while monologuing, it's possible that this is indeed what Gero wanted.
 * The wizard Babidi killed off his own loyal servants simply because they outlived their usefulness and systematically killed whole cities of people just to lure out the people that injured him. Not to mention the fact that he enjoyed every minute of it.
 * Evil Majin Buu, in both his Super and Kid forms. Flashbacks in the anime reveal that his creator Bibidi could barely control him in his original form and upon his return to this state, he gives Goku a nasty knowing little smirk after hearing his desperate pleads not to blow up the Earth and then does just that.
 * To really hammer this one in, Buu turned back into Kid Buu after Goku and Vegeta messed with Buu from the inside. Evil Buu/Super Buu had been a really nasty SOB himself this whole time... and even he didn't want to revert back to being Kid Buu!
 * Tao Pai Pai is the earliest example in the series, being a Psycho for Hire Serial Killer with no empathy or regard for life, only interested in profit and thrills.
 * Dr. Gero could be called one for being responsible for everything that goes down in the Cell Saga purely out of hatred. Cell also implies that he may have intended for Cell to destroy existence. In Dragon Ball GT, Gero apparently wanted to replace all life with artificial beings. And why does he do all this? Pure blind hatred for pretty much everything.
 * Broly. In his first movie, we see that he blew up planets as a kid, cackling maniacally, and punching out his father's eye when he was trying to calm him down. Flash forward years later, Broly shoots an energy blast at a group of alien slaves, only to redirect it to their home planet and blows it up, all the while laughing, and he even remarks, Oops, did I just blow it up?. Gohan then sums it up with "He's...pure evil!"
 * On the other hand, it's heavily implied that the reason for his actions is because he was emotionally and mentally broken from various threatening elements from his birth (being stuck in a room having to endure baby Goku's crying, which becomes a trigger for him, being nearly executed by being stabbed in the chest just because King Vegeta was paranoid that a baby of his power level would overthrow the royal family, Freeza blowing up Planet Vegeta [and his narrow escape from it with his father]), not to mention being placed under mind control by his father (a process that's shown to be unwilling on Broly's part.) So, Complete Monster or not, he can also be viewed as a tragic.
 * In some ways, Broly is like Michael Myers: pure evil in his first movie, but less so in subsequent appearances.
 * Demon god Demigra of Dragonball Xenoverse was imprisoned in a crack in time by the Supreme Kai of time. To free himself, he sends out an image capable of acting on the physical plane to cause chaos and distort time. One of the timelines has him brainwashing Piccolo into trying to kill Goten and Trunks. Another has him trying to brainwash Beerus into destroying Earth. After his release, he plans to destroy the universe and reshape it so everything revolves around him.
 * Draco in Leather Pants: Vegeta.
 * Bardock, with added help from Dub Text.
 * Broly.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: There's Janemba, Cooler, and Tapion, but oh dear god Broly.
 * The Saiyans, there's a reason they became the Spotlight-Stealing Squad, so much that Dragon Ball cannot be imagined without them, by fans. Go to any fandom site, it's so easy to ignore all human/other characters.
 * Future Trunks and Teen Gohan in particular.
 * And of course, Vegeta, who followed Piccolo's lead in becoming a Breakout Character Anti-Hero.
 * Don't forget Bardock. He only had one panel in the manga and a TV special, but he is still a popular character in the fan base. he just finished his own What If manga Spin-Off.
 * Piccolo, for his complex character, and his fatherly love towards Gohan. Toriyama stated that the good Demon King is his favorite Character.
 * Future Gohan.
 * The Ginyu Force, Recoome especially.
 * Don't forget Jeice! He has the most fanart by a long shot.
 * a japanese poll asking manga fans which characters they'd like to see spinoff stories about, Krillin was the only dragonball/Z character to make the list. Despite being relatively weak compared to the saiyans, Krillin's bravery and heart in the bleakest of situations have earned him his fair share of fans, and believe it or not, he isn't as worthless as DBZ abridged might lead one to believe. (Up until the end of the Frieza arc, at least.)
 * Fan Dumb: Some people who had started going on the 'net when Dragonball Z aired were inexperienced IRC users, similar to how Naruto is that, now.
 * Freud Was Right: As a child, Goku thinks girls don't have tails and guys do. Then he sees Bulma naked and thinks she's been castrated!
 * Fridge Logic: Has its own page.
 * Funny Moments: Have their own page.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Vegeta is much more popular with Western audiences.
 * Dragon Ball (especially Z) in general is even more popular internationally than it was in Japan. For example, in the week of September 16-22 2002, Dragon Ball Z was once the highest rated show on cable and one of the top three shows in all television (cable or broadcast) for preteen/younger teenaged boys (9-14) in America.
 * It was still the most popular series in Japan when it was new, and Kai consistently made the top ten in ratings during broadcast.
 * God Mode Sue: Goku arguably became this in GT, especially following the advent of Super Saiyan 4. Without him around, no Big Bad or Disc One Final Boss could even be presented with a serious challenge anymore.
 * Growing the Beard: With regards to the manga, this could be placed around the time Goku goes to train with Roshi - at this point, Toriyama dropped a lot of the Journey to the West stuff, stopped breaking the fourth wall, cut down on the truly lame gags, and refined the action sequences. Even though the earlier parts were entertaining, this is where the series really came into its own, and began its move towards that as which Dragon Ball is really known - a lengthy, fighting-based shounen saga.
 * For the Funimation dub of DBZ, many would say that it was during the Cell Saga that is when most of the cast were able to settle in to their performances, Chris Sabat stopped trying to impersonate Brian Drummond's Vegeta and several stand-out perforances that were step-up from the season 3 dub (Eric Vale as Trunks, Chuck Huber as #17, Dameon Clarke as Cell, and Chris Rager as Hercule) were introduced.
 * Heartwarming Moments: Have their own page.
 * Hate Dumb: Dragonball Z is often used as a synonym for bad anime pacing, often by people who have never actually seen it or came in through a different Gateway Series. There are also people who hate Akira Toriyama himself over stuff he didn't actually have much control over and have refused to touch other stuff like Blue Dragon, Dragon Quest, or even Chrono Trigger in the worst cases because Akira Toriyama did the art. Chrono Trigger at least escapes the "It's Toriyama therefore It Sucks" because it's protected by the Nostalgia Filter, but sadly, Blue Dragon is not protected by such, or most Dragon Quest games.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: Before FUNimation started dubbing and editing the series in-house, the first two seasons of DBZ were handled by Ocean Group and Saban, who edited the living crap out of the show for syndication by merging episodes, speeding up the fight sequences, and cutting out most of the expositional dialogue. Gee, doesn't that sound familiar...?
 * Also, the concept of FUNi changing (or in this case, getting the rights to) a Cut and Paste Translation dub and rescuing it from obscurity and/or ridicule would be revisited 10 years later.
 * Funimation got a lot of flack for their Orange Brick releases, especially for the cropping to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio. Then Kai's TV broadcast and Japanese DVD release did the same thing. Dragon Ball Kai is basically the dub in Japanese.
 * In plot events, Sergeant Major Purple is basically a parody of Naruto.
 * Commander Red is voiced by Kenji Utsumi in the Japanese version, and desires to become taller. Kenji Utsumi later voices a Stalinist rogue GRU Colonel, yet later ends up defeated by someone who looks a heck of a lot like a tall version of Commander Red in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
 * Holy Shit Quotient: DBZ starts like this: Goku has a son. Goku has a brother. Goku is an alien. Goku dies. Though, it's only a HSQ if you've seen Dragon Ball first.
 * Iron Woobie: Future Trunks and Tapion from the 13th movie.
 * It's Popular, Now It Sucks: There was once a time where fans of Dragon Ball could express their interest in the franchise in the open. However, the unspeakable happened...it achieved popularity inside and outside Japan. It may be different in South and Latin America as well as latino-based boards, but if you say you like any series (Except for maybe the original Dragon Ball) on English boards or in anime clubs? You'll be asked why or told how bad it is, if not flat-out insulted.
 * It should be noted that most of hate for the series which was at it's hight in the early to mid 2000s has passed and that Dragon Ball Kai and Dragon Ball Abridged have managed to rehabilitate Dragon Ball's image in the eyes of quite a few anime fans.
 * Magnificent Bastard: Played with and subverted with Cell. In his imperfect form, Cell runs rings around the Z fighters as he masterfully evades their attempts to ambush him while draining countless cities of their population's bio extract. Upon finding himself sorely outclassed by Vegeta later in the series, Cell tricks the Saiyan prince into allowing him to absorb Android 18 by promising to provide him with an opportunity to test the full extent of his newfound power. In the ensuing rematch, he succeeds in reaping vengeance upon Vegeta by breaking him down physically and psychologically. When facing Trunks, he shows how savvy he is about how raising his strength and muscles only slow him down. And then, rather than kill Trunks and everyone else, Cell instead opts to hold a martial arts tournament where all of Earth's greatest fighters can challenge him and be defeated....and he announces this to the entire planet on TV just so he can see them panicking and living in fear. During the Cell Games, however, Cell becomes increasingly reckless and overconfident in his actions until he ultimately loses control when Gohan became a Super Saiyan 2. And said state was precisely what he was seeking; the problem was that he never really calculated that Gohan's power increase would be far greater than his. However, he still manages to rebound from this Villainous Breakdown inducing defeat, though by that time he's in full Ax Crazy Omnicidal Maniac mode.
 * Also, Demon King Piccolo in the original Dragon Ball qualifies, and Vegeta shows some flashes of this in the Namek Saga where he does several meticulously villainous and underhanded things, but we enjoy seeing him do them anyway.
 * Super Buu as well, due to being so Dangerously Genre Savvy on top of being uncompromisingly malicious.
 * To contrast these above four Big Bads are Emperor Pilaf, Commander Red, Master Shen (as well as his brother Tao Pai Pai), and Freeza, who all lie firmly in Smug Snake territory.
 * Marty Stu: In his early appearances, Trunks showed several signs of being this. He's the result of essentially a Crack Pairing of two established characters(one of whom had been with another since the beginning of the series), looks completely different than anyone else of his species even allowing for the fact that he's a Half-Human Hybrid, is a pretty big "generic Badass" stereotype, has a tragic past, and makes his entrance via Worfing an established villain and said villain's even stronger father. However as the arcs progressed, his Fatal Flaw came to light: father issues, and trust us, this ends up costing him big, to the point where.
 * Memetic Badass: Broly. His power is maximum.
 * Mr. Popo, due to a fight scene he has in the anime where he fights Super Saiyan Goten and Trunks, and hell if it doesn't look like he's holding back. Dragon Ball Abridged plays this up, making him an absolutely terrifying force that nobody fucks around with.
 * Memetic Hair: Super Saiyan hair.
 * Memetic Molester: Cell. If his habit of sticking his tail in people and sucking them dry wasn't creepy enough, the way he advances on 18 before absorbing her...
 * Memetic Mutation: "It's OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND!" And many more.
 * Mis Blamed: No, Akira Toriyama didn't write the anime - He wrote the manga it was adapted from. (The pacing of the anime was actually out of his hands; they intentionally made filler arcs with his mild supervision, and padded the episodes so they wouldn't overtake the manga.
 * However, he did contribute to the designs and some general plot points to some filler. He also contributed the designs for many of the movie villains.
 * He also did not have much involvement with Dragon Ball GT outside of the basic designs for Goku, Trunks, Pan and various mechanical designs.
 * While Toriyama originally planneded to end the manga as early as the first volume-or-so, he kept going due to the popularity it achieved. He also has admitted in interviews that he did not plan anything out ahead of time. Thus, there is no concrete proof that the story was supposed to end at the Saiyan, Freeza or Cell arcs, contrary to internet rumors.
 * Funimation is usually blamed for having a female voice actor for Freeza, but the Ocean dub had already done so before the recast (Though whether or not it was Funimation's choice is still unconfirmed).
 * Moment of Awesome: Has its own page.
 * Moral Event Horizon: An often-forgotten fact (possibly because it was anime-only filler) is that early on in DBZ, Vegeta and Nappa stop on the planet Arlia, home to a race of insectoid aliens. After overthrowing an evil tyrant and freeing his grateful subjects from his oppressive reign, Vegeta destroys the entire planet on a whim out of sheer sadism! Yes, he was still an unrepentant villain at that point and this was basically a Kick the Dog moment to show the power and cruelty of the Saiyans before they arrived on Earth, but it's still quite a lot to swallow in light of his future characterization.
 * In terms of non-filler, Vegeta's most repugnant act would be his slaughter of a Namekian village in order to take their Dragon Ball. He doesn't go any further over the Horizon afterwards.
 * His partner Nappa crossed it when he decided the first thing he wanted to do on Earth was blow up a populated city For the Evulz, reducing it to rubble. Not even Vegeta approved of this, since he's a firm believer in Pragmatic Villainy and believed Nappa's reckless action might risk them their claim of the Dragon Balls.
 * Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta (home of the Saiyans, who had done nothing but serve him faithfully) certainly qualifies, to the extent that Dragon Ball Kai, an anime series designed to be strictly a filler-free adaptation of Dragon Ball Z, even used this as the beginning of the series.
 * Of course, that's all in backstory. He's already far over the Horizon when we see his and his men's attack on a Namekian village.
 * Cell crosses the line the moment we meet him, when he consumes an injured man who is begging for his life, draining the life right out of him. He later goes on to terrorize more innocent people and do the same to them. When he and Piccolo meet again, Cell shows him the power he's gained from all this life energy and then claims that he did those worthless people a service by making them part of something better!
 * Babidi crosses it when he terrorizes Earth by having Buu turn the population of cities into candy to eat, sometimes even after they'd given him the information he demanded!
 * In the original DB, Tao crossed it when he murdered Upa's father.
 * Broly's moment is when he blows up the alien slaves' home planet for absolutely NO REASON AT ALL.
 * Four words for Super Buu's one: his Genocide Blast attack
 * Kid Buu crosses it not only by destroying the Earth but destroying whole planets full of innocents just to "play with Goku and Vegeta
 * My Real Daddy: Akira Toriyama, as this renders GT and all anime-exclusive filler non-canocial.
 * Nausea Fuel: Perfect Cell literally vomiting out 18 after how much of a beating SSJ2 Gohan gave him, made worse in the uncut where she's actually seen sliding out his mouth.
 * Nightmare Fuel: Has its own page.
 * Older Than They Think: Once Dragon Ball's plot became more space oriented, it became increasingly similar to the Superman mythos. You can't deny it.
 * Akira Toriyama sure as hell doesn't.
 * This was lampshaded in the Dragon Ball Abridged Bardock special when Granpa Gohan considers naming Kakarot as Clark.
 * The Problem with Licensed Games: Both subverted and played horribly straight. Some of the video game adaptations such as Budokai 3, the Budokai Tenkaichi series, Legends, Legendary Super Warriors, Origins & Origins 2, Attack of the Saiyans, Legacy of Goku II, and others are considered both great adaptations of the series and solid games. Others, such as Sagas, the first Budokai, Taiketsu, Ultimate Battle 22, Final Bout and the NES game released in the US as "Dragon Power", range from mediocre to almost unplayable. About the only redeeming quality in some of the latter games is their music.
 * Recycled Script: The Dragon Ball movies are all very loose adaptations of story arcs from the original manga and TV series. While the DBZ movies are more unique, they can be matched up to certain fights from the TV series as well.
 * "Curse of the Blood Rubies" adapts the first Dragon Ball hunt, with the original character King Gurume substituting Emperor Pilaf as the ultimate antagonist.
 * "Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle" starts off with a sub-plot involving Goku and Krillen being sent to find the titular Princess for Master Roshi, just like when they were sent to find a cute girl for Roshi in the manga.
 * "Mystical Adventure" combines the Red Ribbon Army and 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arcs and puts them in an entirely different context.
 * "Dead Zone" mirrors the battle with Raditz. Common elements are the introduction of Gohan, Piccolo and Goku teaming up to rescue the kidnapped Gohan. Garlic Jr. even has Raditz' voice in the Japanese version.
 * The general weirdness in "The World's Strongest" brings to mind the various fillers in the Saiyan saga.
 * "The Tree of Might" matches up to the battle with Nappa and Vegeta. The lesser characters fight the minions and lose, while Goku stops them easy, a parallel to the Nappa fight. Tullece is an evil Saiyan who has come to Earth to take advantage of a precious resource (mirroring Vegeta's quest for the Dragon Balls). Goku has the upperhand over Turles, until he eats the fruit of might and becomes incredibly strong (Vegeta transformed in the main timeline) and is defeated only by a group effort (Spirit Bomb in the movie, and over the course of the fight with Vegeta everyone takes a bite out of him). Also, Gohan turns into a Great Ape.
 * The "Lord Slug" movie matches the plot of the King Piccolo arc. An evil Namekian wishes for his youth and power. This one is painfully obvious.
 * "Cooler's Revenge" is a very obvious duplicate of the Frieza arc, both ending with Goku turning Super Saiyan. Cooler is even Freeza's older brother.
 * "The Return of Cooler" plays off of Frieza's transformation into a cyborg by having Cooler return as a rebuilt robot.
 * "Super Android 13" is based off the Android Saga. Featuring the three main Super Saiyans battling three androids who attack a city. Also plays with a bit of Cell, as Android 13 absorbs his allies, 14 and 15.
 * "Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan" is based off the battle with Cell's second form and Goku's fight at the Cell games. Broly is somewhat weak (kind-of, his actual power was hinted to be much stronger than initially led to believe, but a large bulk of it was forcibly suppressed by his father via a Slave Crown) until he transforms into his ultimate form, leaving the characters powerless against him. In the anime, Cell was easily defeated by a powered up Vegeta, but when he got an upgrade he was unstoppable. He fought Goku in the Cell games and it ended with Goku quitting. The movie ends with Goku getting thrashed, but at the last second wins. One of the more original movies.
 * "Bojack Unbound" is a very obvious spin on Gohan's fight with Cell. Goku is already dead and Gohan becomes Super Saiyan and fights Bojack, loses, then comes back as Super Saiyan 2 and wins with the help of his father. Mr Satan ends up taking the credit. Also, Bojack's minions represent the Cell Jr's, who fight the other characters.
 * Then in the very next movie, "Broly: Second Coming", Gohan and Goku's father/son Kamehameha is used, except this time, it's Gohan and Goten who are assisted by their fathers spirit. Also, Broly, is frozen in ice for an extended period of time, just like how Buu was sealed in a magical ball for millenia.
 * The main characters of "Bio Broly" are Goten, Trunks, Android 18, and Mr. Satan...the very same characters who fought in the final round of the Budokai tournament toward the start of the Buu saga. Also, there is a Quirky Miniboss Squad fighting for a very weak Big Bad, and the main villain is discovered in a chamber a la Cell, or even Buu if you accept the fact he is technically sealed and about to be released.
 * "Fusion Reborn" is based off the Buu Saga. A large, fat and jovial enemy is beaten on by Super Saiyan 3 Goku, only to transform into a smaller and sleeker form, who is ruthless. It takes a Fusion to beat him. Parallels the Buu Saga, where the main villain is a fat clown who takes a slimmer and more diabolical form and it takes a fusion of Goku and Vegeta to stop him (Vegito in the manga, Gogeta in the movie).
 * "Wrath of the Dragon" is based on Super Buu and Kid Buu. Hirudegarn is a monster (Super Buu with a few absorptions) that can beat even Gohan, and when it looks to be defeated it grows into an even deadlier form. It takes Goku and his ultimate move to destroy the villain. Very obvious.
 * And the tenth anniversary movie "Path to Power" retells the first arc of the original Dragon Ball, but with the Red Ribbon Army as the main antagonists.
 * Subverted with "The Legazy of Goku", the GT movie. That's just a telling of the story of Goku Jr. set just before the final scene of the series.
 * Replacement Scrappy: Trunks, the one in the main timeline to be specific. This was a case of Tough Act to Follow since Future Trunks ended up becoming a Ensemble Darkhorse. Goten managed to avoid this however.
 * Saved by the Fans: Vegeta, three times, in fact.
 * Also Goku. Goku was meant to stay dead after the Cell Saga, with Gohan becoming the new protagonist. There was even specific buildup for the Take Up My Sword moment. Turned out in the end, Goku was just too liked by the masses.
 * Seinfeld Is Unfunny: Not as severe as most that suffer from this effect, but seeing the massive influence it had, has, and will probably continue to have on Shonen manga - its somewhat unavoidable. The degree of the effect has generally ranged from "it's kinda boring compared to stuff now" to "it flat out sucks."
 * Tear Jerker: Has its own page.
 * Too Cool to Stay Fused: Vegito is widely regarded as the strongest fighter in the entire Dragon Ball continuity, so strong that he toys with Super Buu (+ Gohan) and easily has the capability to destroy him. He only lasts for four episodes before getting swallowed by Buu and reverting back to Goku and Vegeta. Goku and Vegeta crush their Potara earrings, and Vegito is never shown again.
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Gohan's development as a hero and as his father Goku's eventual replacement as protector of the Earth certainly counts as this. During the Buu Saga a lot of focus is placed on Gohan's hidden powers and despite becoming the strongest (non-fused) character in the series he is not the one to defeat Buu. Goku defeats Buu and reclaims his role as the main protagonist. There were mixed reactions in the fanbase about this.
 * which is why Dragon Ball Kai ended with the Cell Saga making this canon at least in their universe.
 * Trapped by Mountain Lions: Bulma, in the anime's Freeza saga.
 * Uncanny Valley: The Androids were an attempt at this for having facial features radically different from the series' norm. It didn't quite work, as both 17 and 18 are often considered adorable (even in-universe by Krillin about 18), and Chiaotzu predated the bleach-white 19 by several years.
 * Semi -Perfect Cell and 4th form Frieza play this straight though
 * Unfortunate Implications: The design of Mr. Popo and Officer Black and their large red lips.
 * It doesn't help, though, that when Bulma first meets Mr. Popo she blurts out "Doesn't he look a little dangerous?" Of course, it might just have been culture shock from the fact that he arrived on a magic carpet, but still...Officer Black, despite the design, fares better, as he's portrayed as actually far more competant than his boss, Commander Red.
 * Officer Black was "corrected" in The Path to Power, giving him a lighter complexion without differentiated lips. In fact, he looks more Hispanic than Black.
 * Also in the Red Ribbon Army is General Blue, a Camp Gay villain with pedophilic implications and a deep fear of even seeing a woman.
 * What about how the Super Saiyan form, which is superior in every way, has pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes? Are the Super Saiyans supposed to be Aryan Ubermensch Warriors? (Yes, I know they're aliens, but still). A lampshade was hung in Dragon Ball Movie 12 when Goten and Trunks turned Super Saiyan against the resurrected Adolf Hitler and his Nazi army.
 * The many shots of baby/child penis glimpsed throughout all three series, and tons and tons of people raising their hands in the air for, giving their energy to, and loudly shouting the name of their hero: (Mr.) SATAN.
 * And then there's Killa, a minor character who looks and acts like a walking stereotype of black people. Even in the dub Funimation has him talking like a Jive Turkey, which leads one to wonder what the hell were they thinking?
 * Values Dissonance: In many of the nude scenes, Americans see Ho Yay or even Shotacon that no Japanese viewer would see.
 * The clueless racial stereotyping can be cringe-inducing.
 * Viewer Gender Confusion: Puar's supposed to be male via Word of God, but ended up female in the anime dub.
 * It took quite some time for a lot of viewers of the English dub to realize Freeza wasn't, in fact, a little old lady who smoked 12 packs a day.
 * Lampshaded in Dragon Ball Z Abridged


 * The polite manners, large lips, pink and purple, and sexual innuendo didn't help much, either.
 * Villain Decay/Villain Forgot to Level Grind: One, the other, or sometimes even both, happen to most of the villains after they been defeated the first time around.
 * Many of these fights conveniently happen after they're causing trouble in Hell.You'd think they'd be Genre Savvy enough to start training there.
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: This is a series for ten year old boys that can bring cheesy grins and Manly Tears to high schoolers, college students, and young adults around the world.
 * The Woobie: Gohan, Future Trunks
 * Yamcha is five times the Butt Monkey Krillin is, and unlike him never got thrown a single bone in Z.
 * Woolseyism: Quite a few, but the most obvious is Mr. Satan being renamed Hercule.
 * Changing Oolong's wish from "The panties off a hot babe" to "The world's most comfortable underwear" just makes the first wish in the series even funnier.