Line #33 YMMV/DragonBall


1	%%
2	%%
3	%%Examples related to Dragon Ball Z, GT, or Super belong to their respective YMMV tabs, not here.
4	%%
5	%%
6	!For the other YMMV subpages:
7	* ''YMMV/DragonBallZ''
8	* ''YMMV/DragonBallGT''
9	* ''YMMV/DragonBallZKai''
10	* ''YMMV/DragonBallSuper''
11	[[foldercontrol]]
12	----
13	[[folder:Sub-pages]]
14	[[index]]
15	* [[Adorkable/DragonBall Adorkable]]
16	* [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/DragonBall Alternative Character Interpretation]]
17	* [[AndTheFandomRejoiced/DragonBall And the Fandom Rejoiced]]
18	* [[Anvilicious/DragonBall Anvilicious]]
19	* [[AssPull/DragonBall Ass Pull]]
20	* [[CommonKnowledge/DragonBall Common Knowledge]]
21	* [[Monster/DragonBall Complete Monster]] %%Complete Monster entries are only allowed if they are approved by the CM cleanup thread. If you want to add an entry, put your draft into the thread.%%
22	* [[DracoInLeatherPants/DragonBall Draco In Leather Pants]]
23	* [[EnsembleDarkhorse/DragonBall Ensemble Darkhorse]]
24	* [[Fanon/DragonBall Fanon]]
25	* [[FranchiseOriginalSin/DragonBall Franchise Original Sin]]
26	* [[Fridge/DragonBall Fridge]]
27	* [[HarsherInHindsight/DragonBall Harsher In Hindsight]]
28	* [[HilariousInHindsight/DragonBall Hilarious In Hindsight]]
29	* [[HoYay/DragonBall Ho Yay]]
30	* [[MagnificentBastard/DragonBall Magnificent Bastard]] %%Just like with the Complete Monster page, only Magnificent Bastard entries that have been approved by the MB thread are allowed.%%
31	* [[MemeticLoser/DragonBall Memetic Loser]]
32	* [[Memes/DragonBall Memetic Mutation]]
33	* [[MoralEventHorizon/DragonBall Moral Event Horizon]]
34	* [[NeverLiveItDown/DragonBall Never Live It Down]]
35	* [[NightmareFuel/DragonBall Nightmare Fuel]]
36	* [[SignatureScene/DragonBall Signature Scene]]
37	* [[TearJerker/DragonBall Tear Jerker]]
38	* [[Woobie/DragonBall The Woobie]]
39	[[/index]]
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Franchise]]
43	* {{Adorkable}}:
44	** Yamcha was adorkable during his teenage years but he grew out of it a little as he got older. Yamcha was afraid of girls and super awkward around them when he was a teenager, even though his dream was to fall in love and get married. He even wanted to use the Dragon Balls to make it so he would not have panic attacks around girls anymore.
45	** Kid/Teen Chi-Chi (the former moreso), because of her massive crush on Goku and her constant blushing and crying. You can't help finding her Adorkable.
46	** Goku. Huge goofball with a high voice. Having to grow up by himself, isolated from a lot of the world, he was very childish and adorably curious and oblivious to a lot of things as a child, such as love, or even what girls were like. And even though he wisened up as an adult, he still retained a lot of his adorably goofiness and childishness.
47	* AmericansHateTingle:
48	** Well, "hate" is too strong of a word, but in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates, while ''DBZ'' is a cultural icon, the original series is far more obscure and mostly known only by fans of the franchise. In parts of Asia and Europe, it's ''Dragon Ball'' that's the better known of the two.
49	** Goten and Kid Trunks are both quite popular in Japan, with Goten placing in sixth on two different popularity polls. In international territories, opinions range from tepid to outright negative. The two characters are meant as intentional throwbacks to the ''Dragon Ball'' days, and a way for the series to [[KidAppealCharacter appeal to a younger audience]], being the only kids at the time in an increasingly aging cast (not coincidentally, Gohan's popularity declined heavily after he grew up). However, ''Z'' underwent heavy SequelDisplacement and so most international fans are used to the idea of ''Dragon Ball'' being fairly serious, and the audience as a whole trends somewhat older--to them, Goten and Trunks just come off as annoying, weirdly overpowered, and uncool.
50	* AngstWhatAngst: Goku. Over the course of his fighting career, he's been beaten up, tortured, killed, had every bone in his body broken, almost drowned, had literal holes punched through his body on several occasions, and has had to experience the pain of losing many of his friends and family to various villains over the years. Despite all this, Goku still loves to fight, and relishes the thrill of battling a strong opponent, regardless of how much damage that opponent could do to his home and loved ones if he loses.
51	* ArchivePanic: The manga ran for 42 volumes and 519 chapters for 11 years. The anime spans for 508 episodes, counting 153 episodes from ''Dragon Ball'' (covering volumes 1 to 16), 291 episodes from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' (167 episodes in the ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' recut; covering volumes 17 to 42), and 64 episodes from ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' (anime-original content). Additionally, ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' has 131 episodes as an anime and thirteen volumes as a manga. There's also the 20 theatrical films, four specials (all of which have both anime and manga versions),[[note]]The 2008 Jump special, the Trunks special/bonus chapter, the [[Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku Bardock special]]/''Minus'' chapter, and ''Anime/DragonBallEpisodeOfBardock''.[[/note]] two short films, hour-long crossover with ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''{{Manga/Toriko}}'', two-part OVA serving as a strategy guide for one of the video games, ''dozens'' of said video games (some with their own unique characters and stories), one volume of ''Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman'' (a StealthPrequel), various spin-off manga (such as ''Dragon Ball SD''), various guidebooks, and tons of other content that's still being documented.
52	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: Creator/AkiraToriyama is considered to be one of the greatest mangaka of all time for a reason - ''Dragon Ball'''s art is consistently gorgeous and brilliantly panelled.
53	* AwesomeEgo:
54	** Vegeta, who possesses almost ''legendary'' amounts of arrogance, manages to be this, rather than insufferable or annoying. From the way he mocks and belittles his foes, to the way he's always ready to fight guys much stronger than him, it all combines to make him a fan favorite.
55	** [[FusionDance Vegito]], being a fusion of Vegeta and Goku. The guy is a ShowyInvincibleHero, and he's fully aware of it and makes a point to hammer it into the head of BigBad Majin Buu.
56	** Just about all the villains (especially Frieza, Cell, and Super Buu) are mostly loved by fans and are considered downright awesome, earning their bragging rights. Just look at the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Ginyu Force]]!
57	** Goku as a kid. He had no problem bragging about how powerful he was and allow his opponents to hit him just to show that it had no effect on him. And the audience enjoyed it since he was a ShowyInvincibleHero for almost half of the original ''Manga/DragonBall''. This is downplayed as an adult, but it still pops up at times. Like after becoming a Super Saiyan, Goku taunted and mocked Frieza about losing to a monkey. He even allows Frieza to power up to his max just to show that he ''never'' had a chance. And he succeeded.
58	* BadassDecay: While many of these characters don't complete theirs until ''DBZ'', they do have a noticeable decline in effectiveness as the series goes on:
59	** Master Roshi: At the start of the series, he is stronger than Goku. He even beats Goku during the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. By the Piccolo Jr. Saga, he is DemotedToExtra, and he stays that way through ''DBZ''. [[PassingTheTorch This was intentional to show how his students were steadily surpassing him]].
60	** These days, Yamcha's mostly known for getting his ass kicked a lot. Most fans forget that when he was first introduced in the series he gave Goku his first real fight and defeated him when Goku ran out of energy from hunger near the tail end of the fight.[[note]]The guide ''DAIZENSHUU 2'' directly lists him as the winner in the battle records section.[[/note]] The only thing that prevented him from finishing the fight was that Bulma happened to wake up and Yamcha ran away because of his crippling fear of pretty girls. He was also the first person to use a ki technique and ended up saving everyone from Goku's Great Ape form at the end of the story arc.
61	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
62	** Goku, despite being one of the most popular anime characters out there, isn't really liked by everyone. Some see him as an unlikable moron who dooms the people around him for the sake of a fair fight, and [[LackOfEmpathy thinks nothing of it]], and his dopey attitude can even come off as [[SmugSuper callous at times]]. The fact that he's constantly touted online as the most powerful, unbeatable fighter in all of fiction can also make some people just sick of him and the arguments that he could beat anyone. There's also the fact that he's the ''main focus'' and always the one to save the day, which can make for a very frustrating experience. Some readers argue that Goku was more down-to-earth earlier in the story and simply fell victim to flanderization as his power grew. The precise beginning point for this is disputed, anywhere from early ''Z'' to the beginning of ''Super.''
63	** Bulma. While she has plenty of fans, many found her constant whining grating. This was especially troublesome in the Namek Saga, because unlike all the other instances of Bulma complaining, it was in an arc [[TheLoad where she was completely unnecessary]]. It got even worse in ''Super'' due to her being much more involved in that series than before while her importance to the plot of the episode often varies between her being negligible or not.
64	** Master Roshi tends to sharply divide people into two camps. Those who admire him for being an OldMaster who made Goku and the others stronger with the Turtle School, as well as having plenty of badass moments, and those who loathe him for being a DirtyOldMan who creeps on girls (some underage) any chance he gets.
65	** Mr. Satan/Hercule is this in ''spades''. He's hated by many due to his SmallNameBigEgo tendencies and his knack for taking credit for the Z Fighters' work, though some find he works fine as a humorous JokeCharacter, or take the stance that he was unlikable at first but [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap redeemed himself]] in the Buu Saga by getting Fat Buu to stop killing people, beating up the two gunmen that shot Bee the dog, and providing a ''huge'' assist in the final battle with Kid Buu. It should be noted that he's much more popular in [[AmericansHateTingle Japan than other countries]].
66	** Broly, a frightening, badass [[GenericDoomsdayVillain force of nature-type]] villain or [[DumbMuscle a boring character with no personality beyond "super strong crazy guy"]] with an [[EvilIsPetty extremely flimsy motivation to kill Goku]]? The fact that even his fans tend to agree he got [[WolverinePublicity two more movies than he really should've]] does him no favors. While Creator/AkiraToriyama's reiteration of him in ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' was deemed a mass improvement and [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap redeemed him to many]], there's still debate over whether or not the original version of him was decent.
67	** Majin Buu is easily the most divisive of the main villains in ''Dragon Ball Z'', with each of his three forms qualifying for this status, [[AmericansHateTingle even if he mostly only qualifies in the West]].
68	*** Fat Buu is definitely the most polarizing form of Majin Buu. His fans see him as a goofy KindheartedSimpleton whose actions can be excused due to him having BlueAndOrangeMorality and whose friendship with Mr. Satan makes for some of the most heartwarming moments in the series, while his haters see him as a whiny, spoiled PsychopathicManchild whose voice is grating to listen to and accuse him of being too EasilyForgiven. This just worsened with ''Dragon Ball Super'', where Fat Buu is responsible for making some situations worse for the Z-Fighters, such as when he almost caused Beerus to destroy the entire Earth just because he refused to share ''pudding'' with him.
69	*** Super Buu tends to be the most well-received form of Majin Buu, with his fans viewing him as a CreepyAwesome and [[NightmareFuel genuinely scary]] villain due to his unpredictability and creative use of his powers. However, his detractors view him as a [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks blatant, boring retread of Cell]] due to his desire to [[BloodKnight find a good opponent]] to fight and destroy whatever he wants simply ForTheEvulz.
70	*** Kid Buu, being revealed to be the [[PureIsNotGood "pure" form]] of Majin Buu and the final villain fought by Goku and the Z-Fighters in ''Dragon Ball Z'' made him bound to receive some of this. His fans view him as a worthy final villain thanks to his [[AxCrazy greatly unhinged]] and [[FeralVillain feral personality]], making him [[ConfusionFu extremely unpredictable]] and all the more dangerous because of it, while his detractors view him as GenericDoomsdayVillain who only existed to [[ArcFatigue drag out the already excessively long Buu Saga]] and wished that Super Buu had just remained the main threat since he already filled the role of a [[VilerNewVillain truly malicious version of Majin Buu]]. While it can be said that Kid Buu being a GenericDoomsdayVillain was intentional, there's still debate over whether or not it was really necessary.
71	** Gotenks. A BadassAdorable who brings good humor to the series, or the worst parts of Goten and Trunks amplified? Toriyama admitted he simply created Gotenks as a means to create [[PluckyComicRelief comic relief]]. Still, Gotenks' personality got a lot of negative feedback in contrast to how a child Gohan took fights very seriously to fit the atmosphere. A third camp argues that Gotenks' personality flaws at least make sense given that Goten and Trunks are more like [[BrattyHalfPint typical bratty little boys]] in comparison to the polite, studious kid Gohan was at that age.
72	** Beerus proved a popular antagonist on his introduction in ''Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods'' for providing a wildly different and [[LaughablyEvil fun villain]], but he was also criticized by those who found him less interesting than previous villains, annoying, and to be a KarmaHoudini given he does whatever he feels like while facing no consequences. This continued with his later appearances, with some fans liking his fun antics and CharacterDevelopment in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. Beerus' critics dislike him for his presence killing tension [[note]]''Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F'' for example suffered from Frieza's diminished threat, given that the movie made it clear Beerus could kill him at any moment[[/note]] on top of appearing when his presence doesn't add anything besides comic relief. Not helping things is that the best received plots since Beerus' introduction have been the ones where his involvement is kept to a minimum.
73	* BrokenBase:
74	** ''Dragon Ball'' vs. ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a not as commonly debated over in the 21st century, but it still happens. Now, when the entire Saiyan concept and the "Z shift" first landed in Japan for the Japanese fanbase back in the [=1980s=]...
75	** A major extension of this is the debate over whether the series should be primarily serious, or primarily silly. On one end, you have people people argue that comedy has been baked into ''Dragon Ball'''s core from the beginning, that Toriyama himself has been a consistent advocate for the comedic side of the franchise, and that the comedic parts of the series could still pull off action and drama, and consider the action-heavy parts of the series to be mindless violence for its own sake. On the other end, you have people who argue that the series hit its indisputable peak of popularity when it was strictly a serious action show and the high points of the series almost all come from its serious dramatic arcs and big fight scenes, and consider the comedic parts of the series to be annoying, childish, and not particularly funny. The debate can probably best be summed up as "''Dragon Ball'' isn't just about fighting and violence" versus "yes it is."
76	** PowerLevels. One side of the fandom thinks they basically ruined the series, by way of shoving increasing portions of the cast into CantCatchUp territory, removing any believable scale from the story [[LensmanArmsRace by making every significant character a planet-buster at minimum]], and turning fights into which character can output the most brute force followed by a CurbStompBattle from the winner. The other side of the fandom simply can't imagine ''Dragon Ball'' without those strict and unforgiving strength rankings, slugfests between characters of world-destroying might, and massively-hyped surges up the ladder triggered by a new transformation or TrainingFromHell followed by a cathartic stomping, and treats the whole concept as SeriousBusiness to the point of even trying to derive and calculate scouter-style numerical power levels from parts of the story after that specific means of measurement was retired. This also starts arguments over how seriously the series wanted readers to take the concept, with some fans arguing that the characters who focus most on strict numerical power levels are the Namek Saga villains, whose reliance on scouters is considered a weakness, and others claiming that the series still consistently treats a difference in power as a hard wall that can't be overcome except by closing the gap. And even all of the above isn't getting into the debates ''within'' the powerscaling community--try shouting "Kid Buu is stronger than Super Buu!" at a convention if you want to see people drawing knives. The fact that post-''Z'' portions of the series have started to play merry havoc with the whole concept, [[StrongAsTheyNeedToBe letting the supporting cast catch up through means of varying believability or having characters make showings well outside of their supposed powerscale]], doesn't help the debate--the latter side obviously hates it, while the former side views this as less power levels being done away with and more them still being around but treated inconsistently.
77	** A big one in Spain regarding the translation of the Kamehameha technique. In the manga, it was left untranslated, but in the anime it was translated as "Onda Vital" ("Vital Wave"). Some people consider it [[{{Woolseyism}} a good adaptation]], specially since the literal translation was way too ridiculous and [[LipLock impossible to make it match the characters lips otherwise]]. For others, [[BlindIdiotTranslation it's painfully cringeworthy]]. However, ever since ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'', the dub team has always used the original Japanese name, so the debate is moot outside of nostalgia. Although that hasn't stopped the {{Flame War}}s between Spaniards and Latin Americans, since some of the latter NeverLiveItDown, and in the most extreme, but not too uncommon cases, even use the term as an anti-Spain slur on social media.
78	* CantUnHearIt: As divisive as her voice may be for non-Japenese fans, Japanese fans just can't imagine Goku (nor Gohan, nor Goten, nor Bardock, nor Goku Black) with a voice that is not Creator/MasakoNozawa's. Considering she's been in the voice acting business for far longer than the vast majority of ''Dragon Ball'' fans have been alive, and that, despite her voice being so associated with Goku, she's far from being a PigeonHoledVoiceActor in Japanese media, even calling it a ''massive'' achievement would be an understatement.
79	* CreatorWorship: Fans love to make fun of Toriyama's lack of planning, forgetfulness, and his tendency to leave behind his human characters, but make no mistake that the fanbase loves him and are skeptical of any work that doesn't have his involvement. This love extends to other manga authors like Creator/EiichiroOda, who practically worships him. The worship has only increased greatly after his passing in March 2024. '''Everyone and everything''' paid tribute to him, to the point where UsefulNotes/ElSalvador [[https://twitter.com/cancilleriasv/status/1766135094446633150 made a declaration of nationwide mourning for him]]. This shows how much Toriyama's work has impacted the world.
80	* CultClassic: The series gets this treatment in the United States due to being ignored for the anime that only adapted the second half of the story, ''DBZ''.
81	* EscapistCharacter: Son Goku. He is an AllLovingHero who is TheAce and HopeBringer among his friends and the universe at large. He is considered one of the strongest beings in the universe, regularly defeats super-powered aliens, androids, demons, and even gods, and can learn about any technique by just seeing it once. The fact that he was born weak and gained his strength through good old-fashioned hard work on top of being extremely talented endears him to a lot of people, which is part of why he is seen as a better main character than his son, who is much more down to Earth. There's reason why he became the {{Expy}} to [[StockShonenHero many]] modern day {{Shonen}} protagonists and often compared to Franchise/{{Superman}}.
82	* FandomEnragingMisconception:
83	** Especially outside the U.S., and especially among people who prefer the original manga to the anime adaptation, some people really take issue whenever ''Dragon Ball Z'' is called "the sequel to ''Dragon Ball''", since that's not how the story was originally conceived. The manga never used ''DBZ'' for its title in Japan and most other countries, and it was always presented as a single series. Also, by the time the anime got its name changed, the manga was almost reaching the Frieza Saga. The fact that in Japan ''DBZ'' was marketed, not as a sequel, but as a rebranding to signal that (at the time) the show was thought to continue for only one, two seasons more, tops, doesn't help the issue.
84	** Inside the U.S., you have an, admittedly less common, but not any less enraging case with people who call the original ''Dragon Ball'' "the prequel to ''Dragon Ball Z''."
85	* FandomRivalry:
86	** With ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' fans in Latin America, particularly Brazil, where both were GatewaySeries for anime and manga, leading to discussions among both fandoms about which one was the best.
87	** ''Dragon Ball'' has a rivalry with ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' for the same reason as Superman. There have been wars over whether Saitama is stronger than Goku or vice versa. Ironically, ''One-Punch Man'' is an affectionate parody of shonen tropes with characters being [[{{Expy}} expies]] of ''Dragon Ball'' characters (e.g. Boros). Still, that doesn't stop fans from comparing who is stronger of the two.
88	* FanNickname:
89	** "Mystic Gohan" for his Buu Saga power-up, which was never given a name.[[note]]Although, the video games refer to him as "Ultimate Gohan."[[/note]]
90	** "Mirai Trunks" to Future Trunks, just plain "Mirai", "Mirai Briefs" in some fanfiction when he returns to the normal timeline and lives with the "other" Trunks. Crosses with GratuitousJapanese. Became AscendedFanon in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', with Beerus calling him "Mirai" in the Japanese dub.
91	** "Kushami" (Japanese for "sneeze") for Lunch's blonde form, "Ranchi" (the Japanese approximation of "Lunch") for her blue-haired form. The first was coined in early manga summaries before the series was translated, and they are/were ''very'' common {{Fanon}}.
92	** Majin Buu has several, depending on the people he's absorbed (the main ones being "Buutenks"/"Super Buu 2", "Buuccolo"/"Super Buu 1.5" and "Buuhan"/"Super Buu 3"). Also, Ultra Buu for the briefly-seen muscular form he gained from absorbing South Supreme Kai.
93	** Frieza, his family, and his race as a whole, have been given the name "Icejins." They have also been called "Changelings". In the fan comic ''Webcomic/DragonBallMultiverse'', they're called "Frost Demons", and this name is used by Cell in the English translation of ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse''. Another common name is "Arcosian," picked up from the name used in the Funimation dub for the race that gave the Saiyans their battle armor tech, thanks to both giving the Saiyans better technology and the "Arc" part fitting their ice theme naming.
94	** For nearly all of the male Son family and other characters, it's possible for those who are indulgent enough in the Chinese dubs to make use of the Chinese-to-Japanese BilingualBonus to name them via their Chinese/pinyin names respectively: Son Goku -> "Sun Wukong", Son Gohan -> "Sun Wufan", Son Goten -> "Sun Wutian", Tenshinhan -> "Tianjinfan", and Muten Roshi -> "Wutian Laoshi".
95	** Attributive nouns are regularly used to distinguish the same character at different arcs/ages. Thus, the adolescent Goku is ''always'' "Kid Goku", and the pure, original form of Majin Buu becomes "Kid Buu".
96	* FriendlyFandoms:
97	** In general, ''Dragon Ball'' and pretty much all of its successors in the Battle Shonen genre: ''Franchise/OnePiece'', ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'', ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', ''Manga/FairyTail'', ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', etc, etc. Albeit friction isn't unheard of, and friendliness between said successors isn't nearly as common, ''Dragon Ball'' fans tend to gladly follow the later generations in the genre, and are happy to see Toriyama's legacy continuing on and even evolving. Fans of these later entries tend to also enjoy ''Dragon Ball'' and express a profound respect for it as the series that started it all and still use it as the gold standard in many respects.
98	** Quite the overlap has formed between fans of the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise and those of the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise. A major part of this is that both series' [[WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged abridged]] [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries series]] are in close collaboration with each other, but on the official side of things, the mid-2010s saw both franchises get new anime installments in the form of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' and ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', both seen as ''[[WinBackTheCrowd major]]'' [[WinBackTheCrowd returns to form]] for their respective series. It also helps that they aired concurrently for a good chunk of their runs, broadcasting new episodes within hours of each other each week.
99	** ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' and ''Dragon Ball'' have a wide shared or at least friendly fanbases in the Americas and Europe, one often seen as something of a DistaffCounterpart to the other. It was probably spurred by the two airing on many of the same channels and blocks, sometimes right after each other. It helps that both have enough similarities for the fanbases to find common ground, but different enough they aren't seen as competition. The fact that several seiyuu worked on both shows (and counting dubs, quite a few English [=VAs=] worked on both ''Kai''[=/=]''Super'' and ''Sailor Moon's'' 2014 re-dub) doesn't hurt either. To a lesser extent, fans of ''Dragon Ball'' have also enjoyed ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' and ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' (and vice versa).
100	** Has one with the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse ever since the release of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' due to both franchises having similar time travel rules. Comments on a video regarding one of the two's time travel rules referencing the other are quite common to find in Website/YouTube.
101	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Special mention to Europe (especially France, Spain, United Kingdom and Italy) and several countries in Latin America, where the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise is not only probably ''the'' most popular anime in history, but also a full-blown pop culture classic. The fact that it became popular in those territories ''way earlier'' than in the U.S., definitely helped.[[note]]Although the anime was released in the U.S. in 1989, around the same time as Europe, it took a whole decade and several re-releases for it to really catch up in the early 2000s. By that time, ''Dragon Ball'' had been a ''massive'' juggernaut in Europe and many Latin American countries for years.[[/note]]
102	* HoYay: [[HoYay/DragonBall Has its own page]]..
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Original Anime and Manga]]
106	* AdaptationDisplacement: A lot of the pop culture references in ''Dragon Ball'' go unnoticed by the overseas fandom, so expies and parodies of old Chinese or Japanese film or TV characters became more famous because of this series than their original incarnations:
107	** Goku was originally conceived as [[MonkeyKingLite a parody of Sun Wukong]] of the classic Chinese fantasy novel ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', and his name is in fact identical to the Japanese approximation of Sun Wukong. Note that Goku being more well-known is only the case overseas; in China and Japan, Wukong is a widely-known mythical figure who has ''dozens'' of shows and big-budget films based on his adventures.
108	** Many other characters in the first arc were meant as parodies of ''Journey to the West'' characters too, most notably Yamcha, Oolong, and the Ox-King.
109	** Tao Pai Pai is nigh-identical in appearance and personality to [[https://i.imgur.com/ZHAEpxB.jpg Sheng Kuan]], the main villain of the martial arts action film ''Film/SnakeInTheEaglesShadow''.
110	** Chaozu is, in design at least, a {{Jiangshi}}, a type of undead Chinese vampire. Toriyama probably threw him in there because Jiangshi films were ''huge'' in China, Japan, and Korea at the time, and throwing one into your story offered it an automatic bump in popularity. This doesn't really translate to modern North American, South American, or European viewers.
111	* AccidentalInnuendo: Not technically in the series itself, but in the [=FUNimation=] theme song: "Rising, rising, mesmerizing, unbridled ecstasy!"
112	* AmericansHateTingle: A very odd case of this trope, considering the original Dragon Ball manga was what started the franchise. While the original manga and anime is loved in Japan, in the US it's often met with much more derision. This is partially because America [[SequelFirst got Dragon Ball Z first]], with the original Dragon Ball anime being marketed in a SpinOffBabies approach. Combined with the original anime and manga having a much more gag comedy approach compared to the more serious high stakes action of Z, and the tonal whiplash can be quite off putting for American audiences.
113	* AngstWhatAngst: At the start of the series, Goku is alone in the mountains, never seeing another person until Bulma ran him over. His grandfather, the only family he has ever known, died years before the main story, crushed to death by a giant monster. And as far as Goku knows his biological parents abandoned him in the woods. Yet, Goku shows no distress about any of this, even smiling when explaining being found in the mountains. Even saying his grandpa is dead provoke little emotional response, except when talking about how he died. Bulma even ask how can he be so cheerful. Justified in early ''Dragon Ball'' by the fact that it started off as a pure comedy.
114	* AntiClimaxBoss: In the anime, when General White describes Murasaki, we see a scene of him being absolutely badass and destroying several opponents without getting hit. But when he actually does meet Goku, he can't even hurt him in a significant way. Also consider that he's sandwiched in-between two opponents who actually ''do'' provide a challenge for Goku.
115	* ArcFatigue: While not as bad as the ''DBZ'' arcs, the Red Ribbon Army Saga is the longest pre-''DBZ'' arc and can take quite some time to sit through, particularly in the anime where there is a plethora of filler to drag it out even longer.
116	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Penguin Village episodes. The segment is actually a crossover with one of Toriyama's other works, ''Manga/DoctorSlump''. However, to fans who don't get the reference, it comes off as being simply bizarre.
117	* BreatherBoss: Pilaf and his gang play this role at the end of the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, which is also the only time they're directly fought against. Goku at this point has gone through the Red Ribbon Army, Tao Pai Pai, and Baba's fighters, so the trio is a cakewalk in comparison, and the only thing they succeed in accomplishing during the whole fight is burning off the lower half of his gi.
118	* CatharsisFactor: After seeing Tambourine kill Krillin and so many other heroes ruthlessly, it was ''immensely'' satisfying to see Goku give Tambourine a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, with Tambourine getting killed by Goku thereafter. In fact, Goku ''himself'' felt he hadn’t suffered ''enough'' and prolong the beating as much as he can.
119	* CrazyIsCool:
120	** Goku, when he wasn't defeating armies on his own armed with only a magic pole and a flying cloud, he was transforming into a giant Ape and destroying anything in his path, using air to one shot his opponents, kicking peoples asses with rock-paper-scissors, using his tail to fly like a helicopter, flying into the air and punching holes through demon aliens with only one arm and ''using his power pole to sodomize a ninja''. And this stuff happened when he was a ''child''. As an adult, he reeked of awesomeness, so much so that him just powering up ''nearly destroyed the planet.''
121	** Tao Pai Pai killed General Blue ''with his tongue'' and he did this ''during his debut in the series''. His crazy awesomenes then goes to a whole new level when he taps a pillar and breaks it out, while leaving the building completely intact then throws the pillar and jumps onto it while it's moving. Tao Pai Pai's only comment on that matter is, "Who needs a jet when when we've got a perfectly good pillar."
122	* CultClassic: While ''Dragon Ball Z'' was a mainstream success in the United States, this series had to settle more for this status. It took three tries to successfully import and market it. Even there, it only found a home on Cartoon Network to ride on the success of ''DBZ'', and its ratings and home video sales were never comparable. Still, the fans that did watch it often preferred it, and it remains well-loved among more dedicated US ''Dragon Ball'' fans.
123	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
124	** The announcer for the World Martial Arts Tournament, so much so that when he ''didn't'' appear in the Cell Games Saga, some fans got quite irate. Fortunately, he makes his return in the Buu Saga.
125	** General Blue, for being pretty much the only competent member of the Red Ribbon Army - starting at the point where he strangles an electric eel to death ''while it's still electrocuting him''. There is also the fact that he is the first villain to almost kill Goku in a straight fight.
126	** The villain who follows Blue, Tao Pai Pai, who kills Blue ''with his tongue'' and is the first villain to flat-out ''defeat'' Goku, not to mention the first legitimate KnightOfCerebus the series has ever had, before even Piccolo.
127	** Akkuman/Devilman for having what could be considered the most powerful attack in all of ''Dragon Ball''/''DBZ''. Hell, he was even a playable character in ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi 3'' (where he even gets his own what-if story), ''VideoGame/DragonBallAdvancedAdventure'' and ''Dragon Ball: The Revenge of King Piccolo''.
128	* EvilIsCool: Piccolo, both the original King Piccolo and the reincarnated Piccolo Jr. They're just both completely badass. King Piccolo is [[KnightOfCerebus one of the first villains to be competent]], as he's a HeroKiller several times over, and Piccolo Jr. almost defeated Goku in the 23rd Budokai.
129	* FairForItsDay: General Blue is a cringeworthy CampGay stereotype, but he was also ''Dragon Ball'''s first serious and nuanced villain. Most of his cringey moments are also exclusive to {{filler}}.
130	* FirstInstallmentWins: There's a substantial amount of fans who prefer the first part of the manga (adapted as ''Dragon Ball'') to what came after (adapted as ''Dragon Ball Z''), due to the greater focus on martial arts and a supporting cast that wasn't [[CantCatchUp sorely outclassed]] by Goku like they would be later on.
131	* HarsherInHindsight:
132	** Early in the manga, Bulma asks Goku about his parents, and Goku answers that he doesn't remember. Depending which media of his OriginStory you preferred, Goku was sent to Earth out of pure luck (''[[Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku Bardock the Father of Goku]]'') or his parents sent him to Earth for his protection, but the end result that he loses his memories of them (''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''). The latter is even harsher with his mother Gine's last words to him were "Don't forget us, Kakarot!".
133	** Given what Dr. Gero did to avenge the fall of the Red Ribbon Army it makes Commander Red's real goal even more disturbing.
134	** Oolong's off-comment about Bulma not having a pretty death does happen later on as she ends up one of the victims of Super Buu, being turned into chocolate and eaten alive.
135	** Master Roshi's destruction of the moon to reverse Goku's Great Ape transformation becomes horrifying when one remembers that's where Goku dropped off Boss Rabbit and his goons, though supposedly Toriyama said in an interview that Boss Rabbit and his goons got off the moon somehow.
136	** A lot of the manga's gags having Kid Goku often run around [[NakedPeopleAreFunny stark naked]] as well as the early RunningGag involving him patting other characters in the crotch because he couldn't tell their gender otherwise can be unsettling with the knowledge that Gerard Jones, who wrote the English adaptation of the manga for Viz, was arrested for possessing child pornography in 2016.
137	** The first thing Bulma does upon meeting Goku is shoot at him. Come ''Dragon Ball Super'', the Bulma of the alternate future was [[spoiler:killed by a villain in Goku's body]].
138	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Kami allowing Goku's friends to use the Dragon Balls to wish back those killed by King Piccolo and his men despite the fact that it's only a few days since the balls have been used is already courteous enough of him but what makes it even more heartwarming is that in ''Dragon Ball Z'', it is revealed that the Dragon Balls cannot wish back multiple people if over a year had passed. In other words, Kami willingly broke the rules specifically so that the heroes can undo the horrors the King Piccolo had done as a way of atoning his own actions for inadvertently creating his evil half in the first place.
139	* RetroactiveRecognition: The short-lived Harmony Gold English Dub from the late 1980s (predating the [=FUNimation=] dub) has Creator/BarbaraGoodson and Cheryl Chase providing the English voices of Goku and Puar respectively. A few years later, Barbara Goodson would become best-known as [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Rita Repulsa]] in the Franchise/PowerRangers series, while Cheryl Chase would become best-known as the voice of Angelica Pickles in Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''.
140	* InferredHolocaust: While the Dragon Balls are used after the King Piccolo Saga to revive everyone he killed, including those killed by his offspring, during his reign Piccolo abolished all laws and released all prisoners, encouraging the people to sow chaos and mayhem. There's no telling how many were killed or otherwise victimized during this period of terror.
141	* JerkassWoobie:
142	** Mai and Shu, especially when they're being verbally and/or physically abused by Pilaf. Their status as {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s also helps.
143	** The Crane Hermit. He is an evil and bitter old man, but he's like that thanks to King Piccolo's cruelty. He watched his fellow students and friends be slaughtered by Piccolo's children and was then forced to watch his master humiliated by Piccolo himself. After witnessing the futility of being good and the failure of justice, he turned away from his master's teachings.
144	* MagnificentBastard: [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]] formed after the Nameless Namekian who would become Kami expelled his evil became Earth's most dangerous threat yet. His previous reign thwarted when the martial artist Mutaito performed a HeroicSacrifice to seal him away. Released centuries later, he showed he had learned from his prior defeat sending his children to hunt down and dispose of every martial artist in the world as a precaution. When [[Characters/DragonBallSonGoku Goku]] kills his children, rather than shrug off their deaths Piccolo confronts the problem directly, beating Goku so thoroughly that his heart stops. Coming into conflict with Master Roshi, Piccolo lets Roshi hide his Dragon Balls and swallows his own, then summons Shenron to restore his youth, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killing the eternal dragon after his wish has been fulfilled]]. Continuing his dark reign over the Earth, King Piccolo [[NearVillainVictory all but wins]]. Even after his death the demon king spits out an egg that carries his reincarnation to finish where he left off. As cool as he was evil, [[KnightOfCerebus King Piccolo was fondly remembered for being one of the first truly threatening adversaries]].
145	* MemeticBadass: Monster Carrot's StoryBreakerPower is often brought up by fans to point out that he could theoretically defeat any opponent[[labelnote:note]]Pity nearly everyone uses ki blasts and knows how to fly.[[/labelnote]]. Nevermind that he's a spineless coward, if he can so much as touch an opponent he instantly wins.
146	* ValuesDissonance: Several of the jokes in the early parts of the manga when it was still largely a comedy have not aged well:
147	** One very early chapter features Oolong [[SlippingAMickey drugging Bulma]] and trying to molest her in her sleep, which is PlayedForLaughs. Though Oolong wasn't fully reformed at this point, the fact that Bulma was fully aware that Oolong might try something like that makes her eventual acceptance of him feel unearned.
148	** Similar to Oolong is Master Roshi. He frequently tells Bulma that he'll only help her out if she gives him a peek or fondle, which in after the [=#MeToo=] era would be considered coercion and when Bulma doesn't need a favour from him, he just helps himself to her. The fact that Bulma was canonically 15 years old when this occurs makes it significantly worse. He also told Goku and Krillin that he'd only train them if they brought him a woman, making them complicit in his attempt to get a sex slave. Keep in mind this guy has enough physical strength to take on martial artists in their prime.
149	** General Blue being a DepravedHomosexual is played absolutely straight, which would've been [[FairForItsDay considered more acceptable for publication in the mid '80s]]. The anime makes Blue even ''worse'' by implying him to be a pedophile on top of being gay.
150	** The manga's explicit depictions of nudity and sexuality in its early years fail to resonate well with Western audiences, particularly in America, due to the fact that most of the characters who are shown naked or involved in sexual activities are below the legal age of consent in much of the country.[[note]]Bulma, being 15 at the start of the series, is below the age of consent to begin with, and even when she turns 16, nineteen states, including movie and TV hub California, define the legal age of consent at 17 or 18.[[/note]] The fact that 11-year-old Goku's genitals are shown more than anyone else's doesn't help, nor does the fact that Bulma once attempted to seduce him in exchange for his Dragon Ball.
151	** While not really jokes, the original series uses the word "midget", mostly used to refer to Krillin, being one of the shorter characters despite his age. At the time, "midget" was a common term to refer to people with dwarfism, but nowadays, it's a derogatory slur. Funnily enough, even Chiaotzu used the word when he first met Krillin, despite the two being roughly the same height at the time.
152	** Though he's most likely meant to resemble a {{Djinn}}, Mr. Popo's appearance is a point of contention for Western fans, since his pitch-black skin and red lips make him look uncomfortably similar to a [[{{Blackface}} minstrel character]]. The actual black characters in the series aren't much better, since Toriyama tends to draw them with cartoonishly large pink lips.
153	* ViewerGenderConfusion: Upa was initially believed to be a girl, even by other characters.
154	* {{Woolseyism}}:
155	** Oolong's wish is "For the panties of a hot girl", but the English dub changes it to "The world's most comfortable pair of underwear!" which many fans thought was actually ''funnier'', especially after the underwear granted by the dragon is women's.
156	** In the Japanese version, the announcer mispronounces Goku's name by reading the kanji for Son Goku as Mago Gosora. In the English dub, where AlternateCharacterReading isn't exactly a thing, it's localized as him mispronouncing Goku as gah-kay-ah. Viz's translation of the manga, meanwhile, takes a slightly different path by having the announcer misread "Son Goku" as "Song Oku".
157	** Most of the sexist jokes are toned down in the English dub, even in the uncut version (without altering the video), or replaced with double-entendres. For instance, instead of wanting to touch Bulma and Launch's breasts, Roshi only says he wants to take them for walks around his island.
158	** General Blue's implied pedophilia is also absent from the dub.
159	** Funimation didn't dub the original ''Dragon Ball'' until production of the Buu arc of ''DBZ'', and slipped in a few lines foreshadowing what was to come in the sequel series. In episode 2, Bulma looks at Goku and says "I don't know where this kid came from, but it's not earth!"

Context YMMV / DragonBall