History NightmareFuel / DragonBallZ

-->'''Frieza:''' Stay with it. Yee-haw! That's it buck-a-roo. Ride 'em cowboy!

** After becoming a Super Saiyan, Goku tells Gohan to take Piccolo and Bulma to the ship, then says "DO AS I TELL YOU, RIGHT NOW, BEFORE I LOSE WHAT LITTLE SENSE OF REASON I HAVE LEFT!" It is at this point, he doesn't even trust himself to not hurt his own son as a Super Saiyan.

** After becoming a Super Saiyan, Goku tells Gohan to take Piccolo and Bulma to the ship, then says "DO AS I TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, BEFORE I LOSE WHAT LITTLE SENSE OF REASON I HAVE LEFT!" It is at this point, he doesn't even trust himself to not hurt his own son as a Super Saiyan.

--> '''Frieza:''' I think the brat should go next.

* And for anyone who thinks a Super Saiyan is cool/beautiful and ''not'' terrifying; [[https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1459963_625376047526829_1759268554_n.jpg THIS ghastly apparition]] is what you would be seeing if you met one for ''real.'' No wonder Freeza was quaking in terror...

**** However, it is quite reasonable to sympathize with Gohan, even in Super Saiyan 2. He has lived through traumatic experiences since he was 4 years old, so it is logical to assume that sooner or later would explode with anger. Remember the Nappa's fight? Namek's battle? And how he saw Namekians being killed by the Frieza's army ''since he was 5 years old''? and bullied by Vegeta in the end of the Namek saga?

** Rattled is one thing, but she quickly reaches manipulative, abusive levels once Goku comes back and has stayed that way ever since, with her character only [[{{Flanderization}} getting worse and worse]] as time passes. Legitimate points Chi-Chi may have, but it doesn't excuse away her raging insanity.

--> '''Frieza:''' Pop goes the weasel(original)/I think the brat should go next(Kai uncut).

--> '''Frieza:''' Pop goes the weasel.

* Vegeta himself, for that matter. When he becomes Oozaru to stomp Goku, he does a damn good job of it. Made worse that unlike Goku and Gohan when they became Oozaru, he retained his conscious, amplifying the already scary transformation.

* In a filler episode, the human z-fighters are sent in a special room to prepare for the saiyans. While there, they are all defeated with little to no effort. But what really made it scary was how Kami confirmed that they did well considering how strong saiyans are known to be, and that Vegeta and Nappa are far stronger than the illusion saiyans that the human z-fighters had to take on.

*** There's also the fact that, aside from being the strongest of the Buus, he's also the ''smartest''. He can tear you down more psychologically and physically; and don't try to outwit him, as he already planned for that. Just ask [[spoiler: Gohan.]]
*** The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Human Extinction Attack]]. [[spoiler:He launches a continuous stream of energy beams that decimates the entire human population. [[ApocalypseHow Class 3a Apocalypse]]. [[ForTheEvulz For no other reason except the fact that he could.]] ]] Worse, he is LaughingMad.

**** FromBadToWorse - remember, the earth's dragon can't revive people more than once, and as far as they knew, the Namekian dragon could only revive three people every 130 days. That means he was knowingly sacrificing everyone killed by Cell or Vegeta permanently.
**** Despite all of the BodyHorror he can do, he for the most part was essentially a [[TheBrute thug]] who's only thought was "opponent" and "food" and could only hurt you physically. However, once he absorbed Piccolo and Gotenks; he became much more dangerous. Dangerous, not in physical power (admittedly which did grow tremendously with the Super Saiyan 3 power), but [[DumbassNoMore more importantly intelligence]], something the other forms lacked for the most part. This was because Piccolo, while a strong fighter, had his greatest strength in wisdom. Imagine if you gave the most powerful being in the universe with the smartest mind in the series? The result is a ruder version of [[CompositeCharacter Ce]][[ManipulativeBastard ll]], whose ego is boosted even further after absorbing Gohan himself, who [[GeniusBruiser can back his power with wit]], as he stats playing mindgames and [[BreakThemByTalking emotional torment]] on his opponent, Gohan, made worse since he was [[IronicEcho repeating things that his teacher taught him to mess him up]] and it works. Resulting in Gohan being [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown helpless by the brutal]] [[MindRape and mental assault of his empowered enemy]]. In fact, it got so bad, that at one point it had to be not shown, no not censored, [[TakeOurWordForIt but not shown at all]], meaning [[FridgeHorror it was as bad, if not worse than Frieza's beatdown on Vegeta]]

* Cell's desperate attempt after he takes too much heavy damage from Gohan who was in Super Saiyan 2 form manages to beat Android 18 out of him. Reverting back into his second form, Cell goes ballistic knowing he is outmatched and starts bloating up like a [[BodyHorror grotesque]] [[HavingABlast balloon]]. Before the inevitable EarthShatteringKaboom, Goku intervenes and manages to transport him onto King Kai's planet until he finally detonates taking King Kai, Gregory, Bubbles and Goku and the ENTIRE little planet with him. You would think with Goku's HeroicSacrifice that it would be the end. But it's not. [[FromBadToWorst In fact]], Cell regenrates with his cell core and manages to resurrect himself into a more powerful state called [[NamesToRunAwayFrom "Super Perfect Cell"]]. Cue MassOhCrap from whats left of the Z gang at that point on.

* When Son Gohan achieves the Messianic powers of a Super Saiyan 2, he turns from a [[NiceGuy sensitive and kind-hearted little boy]] into a [[SuperpoweredEvilSide cold blooded and sadistic murderer]] that would make Frieza or Broly terrified. Watching the once kind-hearted boy coldly sneer ''"Kill him now? Hmph, not yet Dad. He deserves to suffer much longer!!"'' is really uncommon in his personality. This is the same Cell that is ''fueled'' on the lives of thousands, if not millions of people and laughed with glee as he absorbed the two teenagers his creator turned into cyborgs as they screamed for their lives. He also stated he loves seeing the twisted faces of terror in people, and said to Goku that if it wasn't for the tournament he created, [[EarthShatteringKaboom he'd wipe out the earth in one shot]] without batting an eye. Cell even called him "a ''monster''". When Goku called out to Gohan that he should end the fight since Cell, while cornered could become more unpredictable than before, Gohan's response was to glare at him and give his most [[PsychoticSmirk sadistic smirk]] he's ever shown, before giving the line that he'd like to carry on what was effectively '''torture'''. That kid was clearly NotHimself.

* When Son Gohan achieves the Messianic powers of a Super Saiyan 2, he turns from a [[NiceGuy sensitive and kind-hearted little boy]] into a [[SuperpoweredEvilSide cold blooded and sadistic murderer]] that would make Frieza or Broly proud. Watching the once kind-hearted boy coldly sneer ''"Kill him now? Hmph, not yet Dad. He deserves to suffer much longer!!"'' is really uncommon in his personality. This is the same Cell that is ''fueled'' on the lives of thousands, if not millions of people and laughed with glee as he absorbed the two teenagers his creator turned into cyborgs as they screamed for their lives. He also stated he loves seeing the twisted faces of terror in people, and said to Goku that if it wasn't for the tournament he created, [[EarthShatteringKaboom he'd wipe out the earth in one shot]] without batting an eye. Cell even called him "a ''monster''". When Goku called out to Gohan that he should end the fight since Cell, while cornered could become more unpredictable than before, Gohan's response was to glare at him and give his most [[PsychoticSmirk sadistic smirk]] he's ever shown, before giving the line that he'd like to carry on what was effectively '''torture'''. That kid was clearly NotHimself.

** Just... [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhbYY62Kvpo&feature=related this]]...

* The reveal that Goku was actually an alien is quite the shocker [[ItWasHisSled at the time]], but what's really horrifying is how strong Raditz, Goku's older brother is. He has no problem dealing with both him and Piccolo. Goku was knowing what it was like for the first time to feel utterly hopeless.
** For extra damage, he then tells both that the two other saiyans are '''FAR''' stronger than he is. [[FridgeHorror Let that sink in for a bit]]

* WordOfGod says that Frieza was inspired by Akira Toriyama's worst nightmares. And no wonder, considering many of its transformations and actions in the series. And for a bonus, Frieza is [[HeyItsThatVoice voiced by]] RyuseiNakao, who voiced [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Mayuri Kurotsuchi]].

* The look into Trunks's nightmarish future, coupled with "Mind, Power, KI" gives an idea of how bleak things are under the Androids reign. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewzi45xuuzU

!! Trunks Past

** Gohan's death in Trunks' future. (Already mentioned; deserves a second mention) But not only the death, but the fact that he had already lost his arm. You begin to realize how hopeless the situation was, even though it seemed Gohan was holding his own. When Trunks faced his own beatdown at the hands of the Androids, for some reason, they made the incredibly intelligent decision to use the creepiest Gregorian-chant BGM as a backdrop. NightmareFuel much???

Anime/DragonBallZ isn't the DarkerAndEdgier version of Manga/DragonBall for nothing. It has some of the vilest villains in anime, and that's not even getting into the traumatic past of Trunks, the excessive violence or even some traits of the good guys. This may be a series where DeathIsCheap, but that doesn't diminish how scary it can get.

For Nightmare Fuel in the original series, go [[NightmareFuel/DragonBall here]], and for the Abriged Series, go [[NightmareFuel/DragonBallZAbridged here]].

!! Goku Super Saiyan

* And for anyone who thinks a Super Saiyajin is cool/beautiful and ''not'' terrifying; [[https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1459963_625376047526829_1759268554_n.jpg THIS ghastly apparition]] is what you would be seeing if you met one for ''real.'' No wonder Freeza was quaking in terror...

** Think you're safe from Super Buu? [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpNR9d-2Ed4 think]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cInBEmiyIA again!]]