History NightmareFuel / DragonBallZ

* Goku's heart virus. At one point he states that it feels like he's dying. Remember this is coming from a man who has not only had a literal death experience, but when he died it was from having his entire abdomen blasted out. That should give you a clue as to how painful the virus is, and to a ''Super Saiyan'' no less.

* Bardock and his team. From what little we see of them they are TrueCompanions, the kind of guys who you would want as your friends and protectors... And they conquer planets and wipe out the inhabitants.
* The very existence of the Saiyans. They're monsters with enough strength to murder an entire planet in weeks or months, assuming they don't just blow it up. They only love fighting, and with the full moon they become giant apes that have ten times their normal strength. They have an enormous appetite, and will gladly feast on the fallen enemies to sate it. When they invade planets inhabited by weak and technologically primitive people they send their children, who have a long childhood during which they look cute and can train without being disturbed until they have a sudden growth spurt and obtain a body perfect for fighting, at which point they turn on the locals and wipe them out. [[Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman The galactic government has tried to deal with them with their Extinction Bombs, bioweapons capable of killing off an entire species, but found they were immune to any virus they could create and has taken to sending their agents to planets targeted by Saiyan to either]] [[WouldHurtAChild kill the children]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo before they can grow and murder the locals]] or [[MercyKill use an Extinction Bomb on the locals so they would at least die quickly and with much less terror]]. No wonder even [[WorldsStrongestMan Frieza]] ultimately grew scared and decided to destroy them.

* 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 voiced by Creator/RyuseiNakao, who voiced [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Mayuri Kurotsuchi]].
** His transformations, unlike the other transformations that were either weird, NightmareFuel or heroic, are in a category of his own. His first transformation into his 2nd form is BodyHorror at its finest, first his chest and arms enlarge giving the appearance of an upper torso way too big for Frieza's small frame until his legs bulk out starting from the thighs to his ankles, also [[{{Satan}} his horns turn upwards as seen through a shadow]], then we see from his point of view of Vegeta gradually getting smaller, then stretching out his neck, a pink aura surrounds him as his facial features become more adult and his shoulder pads enlarge. In fact the sheer weight of the form causes him to fall to his knees as power is straining his being. In the anime, he then stands up and turns around to show his satanic new form, while in the manga, he gives a SlasherSmile knowing that the heroes are now screwed. Everyone including Vegeta are scared of this new form [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice which is completely justified as Frieza goes to impale Krillin with his horns and prolongs it with sadistic pleasure]].

-->'''Frieza:''' *After blasting a (at most) [[spoiler:''ten-year-old child'']] [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath into a smoldering corpse]]* "[[IGaveMyWord I promised you]], didn't I? To show you a nightmare beyond the horrors of Hell? But it seems [[spoiler:[[DeathOfAChild the little one won't be joining us]]]]. Such a shame, don't you think? When you see him in the next world I suppose you'll have to tell him what he missed."

** Of course, Kai makes this part scarier and also ends up making a reference to Fist of the North Star while doing so.

---->'''King Kai:''' Poor Vegeta. At last he understands the true nature of the monster he faces. For the first time ever, he's genuinely trembling. All of the fear and frustration he must be feeling. I can only imagine. His eyes don't lie, those tears are real. This is the first time the proud Saiyan prince has ever known what it is to feel helpless.

** And of course, the line in the Z dub after he [[spoiler: kills Krillin]], Frieza tells a joke which should be [[{{Narm}} so bad]] [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny it's funny]] but it goes right past that and makes Frieza seem as evil as possible.

* Recoome [[WouldHurtAChild brutally beating Gohan bloody]] is ''incredibly'' difficult and painful to watch. Seeing other main characters [[{{Determinator}} getting thrashed around and getting back up for more despite the odds being against them]] is usually awesome; not so much when it's a little kid who has a miniscule amount of combat experience under his belt. The beating he gets is so bad that Krillin, usually always cheering Gohan on, ''is begging for him to stop fighting.''

** Recoome's sinister laughter as he breaks Gohan's neck, complete with him spurting blood from his mouth and ''twitching,'' truly sends shivers down one's spine. For God's sake, even '''[[{{Jerkass}} Vegeta]]''' [[EvenEvilHasStandards looked horrified.]]

** Recoome's sinister laughter as he breaks Gohan's neck, complete with him spurting blood from his mouth and ''twitching,'' truly sends shivers down one's spine. For God's sake, even '''[[{{Jerkass}} Vegeta]]''' [[EvenEvilHasStandards looked shocked.]]

* Recoome [[WouldHurtAChild brutally beating Gohan bloody]] is ''incredibly'' difficult and painful to watch. Seeing other main characters [[{{Determinator}} getting thrashed around and getting back up for more despite the odds being against them]] is usually awesome; not so much when it's a little kid who has a miniscule amount of combat experience. The beating he gets is so bad that Krillin, usually always cheering Gohan on, ''is begging for him to stop fighting.''

** When Gohan pounds Super Buu into the dirt, Buu begins screaming and ranting like a madman, suddenly going from a snarling rage to a wide-eyed NightmateFace complete with a SlasherSmile over how he'll make Gohan pay. Despite the flashy display of generating a large aura of Ki [[BodyHorror while being covered in protruding veins]], Gohan doesn't sense much of a power boost from him and says as much. Buu's only response is to look at him, head cocked to the side, baring a manic grin, and mutter. "You're missing the point." That point being that Buu just set his body up to self destruct to take out the area for miles around, knowing that he can just reassemble himself. Buu is ''not'' someone you want to make angry.

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

*** the original Funimation dub made this more nightmarish. The moment that he goes from angry mad to insane mad is punctuated by his [[EvilSoundsDeep low voice]] briefly [[CreepyHighPitchedVoice going extremely higher in pitch.]]

** When Gohan pounds Super Buu into the dirt, Buu begins screaming and ranting like a madman over how he'll make Gohan pay. Despite the flashy display, Gohan doesn't sense much of a power boost from him and says as much. Buu's only response is to look at him, head cocked to the side, baring a manic grin, and mutter. "You're missing the point." That point being that Buu just set his body up to self destruct to take out the area for miles around, knowing that he can just reassemble himself. Buu is ''not'' someone you want to make angry.

* [[MadScientist Doctor Gero]], the mastermind behind the Red Ribbon Army, definitely deserves mention. His methods for creating Androids 17 and 18 involved ''kidnapping teenage siblings and wiping them of their memories''. [[FromBadToWorse And that's not the worst he does either.]] It is implied the reason he created Cell, if he had any idea what kind of sadism his creation would obtain, was to ''enact revenge against humanity for his Red Ribbon Army's destruction''. The worst part is that like General Tao, he's human and not created to be evil like Buu or an alien like Frieza so he's perfectly aware of the suffering he's causing people and he loves every minute of it.

** And of course, the line in the Z dub after he [[spoiler: kills Krillin]], Frieza tells a joke which should be {{so bad|ItsGood}} [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny it's funny]] but it goes right past that and makes Frieza seem as evil as possible.

* 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. [[FromBadToWorse But it's not]]. In fact, Cell regenerates with his cell core and manages to resurrect himself into a more powerful state called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Super Perfect Cell"]]. Cue MassOhCrap from what’s left of the Z gang at that point on.

* While it's easy to overlook thanks to it being an incredibly [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome moment]] for Gohan, Cell's death is pretty gruesome if you overlook that. Saying that he didn't deserve it would be a ''[[AssholeVictim massive]]'' [[AssholeVictim understatement]], but slowly disintegrating and screaming all the while had to have ''hurt''. Even as he breaks apart into millions of pieces and then into microscopic cells, take into consideration that this is ''Cell'' we're talking about here, so he likely [[AndIMustScream felt every last bit of it]] until he was erased for good. That ''had'' to have been utter hell to go through.

** In the anime, the Ginyu Force are dancing idiots whose true threat level doesn't become apparent until well into their fights. In the manga it's almost immediately apparent when they show up with scouters, greet Freeza and then immediately cross Namek, a planet three times larger than the Earth, right to Gohan, Kuririn and Vegeta. A few chapters ago there was some drama over Goku having to cross Snake Way and arrive on Earth due to Kaio losing track of time but these guys made a comparable trip in no time at all.

* Speaking of bad ways to go, the way Broly bites it (in the original movies) isn't fun. He's ridden off the planet by an insanely strong Triple Kamehameha and even this doesn't kill him - what finally does him in is that he gets blown straight through the ''center of the sun'' - at which point we're treated to a clear shot of his heart ''exploding'' because of the extreme heat. Oof.

* Frieza destroying Planet Vegeta. Not just simply the planets demise itself, but how he acts throughout. Frieza flies out of his ship, completely emotionless and unresponsive to Bardock confronting him. He just slowly raises his finger while glaring at him, charging a [[SphereOfDestruction death ball]] no bigger than the tip of his finger while the lone Saiyan is verbally spitting in his face. When Bardock's speech cultivates in him throwing an energy blast at him, Frieza finally breaks his composure and starts LaughingMad, expanding the death ball to the point where Bardock’s attack is engulfed in it. Then he throws it at Bardock, ''[[BadBoss his own army who just happened to be in the same path]],'' and the planet Vegeta, where we get to see flames erupting from beneath the populace as Vegeta is disintegrated. ''Frieza's still laughing at all of this.'' Even [[TheDragon Zarbon and Dodoria]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards are deeply disturbed by the sight]]...

*** The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Human Extinction Attack]]: [[spoiler:a now-LaughingMad Buu launches a continuous stream of energy beams that exterminates the entire human population within minutes. He pulls off a [[ApocalypseHow Class 3a Apocalypse]] [[ForTheEvulz for no reason other than "I can actually do this".]] As Creator/TeamFourStar put it, "This is the first time in the series where the civilian casualty number isn't just high -- ''[[http://teamfourstar.com/video/dbcember-iconic-moments-dragonball-24/ it's complete]]''."]]

* Aside from being blown up or vaporized by energy blasts, Toriyama seems to like large chest wounds as indicators of fatal[=/=]near fatal injuries. Happens to Goku (literally in the second episode), Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Future Trunks at different points, among others.

* The Goku we all know and love was born with a power level of 2. Broly? Broly was born with a power level of ''[[GoogooGodlike 10,000]]''. If that's how powerful he was when he was a baby, it's horrifying to think how strong Broly is as an adult.

* 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 sadistic murderer]] that would make Frieza or Broly run for their lives. 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. Cell even called him "a ''monster''": as in 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. 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.

* Goku's first [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASv-74L0b48&t=2m32s Super Saiyan transformation]], in the original Japanese version. Other versions have scored the scene to look like something dramatic and awesome is happening, but in the original version (and the ''Kai'' episode rerun post-2011), the music gives the impression that not only is there no ''clue'' as to what the hell Goku turned into, but no indication that it's something good, shocking even Frieza. Imagine what the kids who first saw this scene, to see their hero Goku go through that...

** It isn't enough to say how his strongest form puts him above everyone else. Frieza, in his ''weakest'' form, is already at least 4 times stronger than Ginyu. At his ''weakest'', he was considered the strongest and most feared being in the universe. Not even his own men had any idea that he was actually even stronger than that, or just how much stronger he actually was. If one does the math, Frieza is all of this to the universe when he's not even using '''''1%''''' of his power, ''or even half of that.''
* All of this becomes far worse in hindsight with ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' and its adaptation in the second arc of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', as they reveal that [[spoiler:''[[UnskilledButStrong Frieza had never trained a single day in his life]]''. Everyone else, save for Majin Buu, was an artificial creature or had trained hard to become so strong, but he was just born with that strength, ''and could become much stronger with training''. If he had dropped his self-sure personality for even a ''week'', even Super Saiyan might not have been enough]].

* All of this becomes far worse in hindsight with ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' and its adaptation in the second arc of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', as they reveal that [[spoiler:''[[UnskilledButStrong Frieza had never trained a single day in his life]]''. Everyone else, save for Majin Buu, was an artificial creature or had trained hard to become so strong, but he was just born with that strength, ''and could become much stronger with training'']].

* Think about the power levels in this saga; after some months of training, Goku is at 180,000 and absolutely trashes the Ginyu force, with Ginyu standing at the max power level of 120,000. Frieza at max power? ''120 FUCKING MILLION''. Frieza at his strongest is a thousand times stronger than his most powerful henchman. How the hell is someone that powerful anyway? Answer; [[spoiler:''he was just born that way'']]. Makes you wonder why the universe choose to give that much power to someone born in an evil family.
** It isn't enough to say how his strongest form puts him above everyone else. Frieza, in his ''weakest'' form, is already at least 4 times stronger than Ginyu. At his weakest, he was considered the strongest and most feared being in the universe. Not even his own men had any idea that he was actually even stronger than that, or just how much stronger he actually was. If one does the math, Frieza is all of this to the universe when he's not even using '''''1%''''' of his power, ''or even half of that.''
* And all of that becomes much scarier with ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' and its adaptation in the second arc of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', as they reveal that [[spoiler:''Frieza had never trained a single day in his life''. Everyone else, save for Majin Buu, was an artificial creature or had trained hard to become so strong, but he was just born with that strength, ''and could become much stronger with training'']].

** At the last part of the transformation, if you watch closely, it looks like Broly's power ''tore his skin open'' before resetting into the finished product.
* That`s not even close to the scariest part of him. Frieza, Cell, Bojack, Buu... every villain in that series when being fought has taken hits and bled. They always... ALWAYS get a beating here and there. Broly [[NighInvulnerability doesn't get hurt]]... in fact, he only took one hit [[AttackItsWeakPoint that affected him in any way]] and that's at the end of each movie. [[ImplacableMan He can take everything that you can throw at him]] [[UpToEleven and not notice]]. On top of that, he's insane. You can't bargain with him or surrender. You can't scare him, you can't team up on him and all he wants to do is kill you... as slowly and painfully as he can. And unlike the other villains, he's not doing it because you're in his way or for profit... it's because he loves it. He'll hunt you down and go after your children if he has to... or wants to...

** The most chilling in Broly is the fact that in this state he is completely irrational and insane, yes, on par with Kid Buu. Gohan in Super Saiyan 2 is nothing compared to Broly. In this state, he can't be reasoned with, and he will not stop beating and torturing his opponent until he's dead, of course, with his maniac laughter. NightmareFuel at its finest.
*** This goes even further in that, for most of the series, the use of 'empty eyes' signifies that a character is either enraged or releasing stupidly high amounts of energy. In this case, it's [[UnstoppableRage very cle]][[PhysicalGod arly both.]]
* Just the way Broly killed Paragus. Paragus was hoping to use the only space pod left to escape the planet, but Broly grabs it and slowly crushes the pod with Paragus still inside, savouring his father's terror that his only means of survival have been cut off right before he himself is killed.

* 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. [[FromBadToWorse But it's not]]. In fact, Cell regenerates with his cell core and manages to resurrect himself into a more powerful state called [[NamesToRunAwayFrom "Super Perfect Cell"]]. Cue MassOhCrap from what’s left of the Z gang at that point on.

* What makes Cell so scary is the fact that he isn't some alien or some eternal mass of chaos like Buu. He is a creature created on Earth by an ordinary, vengeful human. A human, the people that Goku and the others spent their lives protecting, created an absolute monster that ''feeds'' off of other humans in the slowest, painful way possible. How morally bankrupt and cruel does a person have to be to create such a creature?

As the DarkerAndEdgier SequelSeries of Manga/DragonBall, Anime/DragonBallZ 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.

* Goku's first [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBaM9vp0J_w Super Saiyan transformation]], in the original Japanese version. Other versions have scored the scene to look like something dramatic and awesome is happening, but in the original version (and the ''Kai'' episode rerun post-2011), the music gives the impression that not only is there no ''clue'' as to what the hell Goku turned into, but no indication that it's something good, shocking even Frieza. Imagine what the kids who first saw this scene, to see their hero Goku go through that...

** Also remember that the color gold can symbolize [[http://symbolism.wikia.com/wiki/Gold perfection]]. While this means Goku had achieved an ultimate form, it also meant he's the perfect ''Saiyan'' warrior. The first thing he does is order Gohan to leave, meaning he's on the verge of being [[AxCrazy overwhelmed b]][[UnstoppableRage y bloodlust]] and [[AdultFear can't trust himself]] with his son.

* The fact that during and after the Cell Saga, anyone with enough power is capable to nearly destroy a planet only elevating his Ki. During the Buu Saga, we see how Goku provokes earthquakes and destruction across Earth only with his transformation into Super Saiyajin 3.