Tropes D to K / DBZ Abridged

This page covers tropes in Dragon Ball Z Abridged.

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Dangerous Forbidden Technique:
- Nail informs Piccolo that he knows a dangerous technique, forbidden to ever be used.
  Piccolo: And we're just going to abuse it?
  Nail: Oh, maliciously.
  Piccolo: Bitchin'! How we do?
  - Kami reminds him that said technique is forbidden after finding out about their fusion, making this a rare case in which this kind of technique is actually acknowledged as being forbidden after its first use.
- As in the original series, Tien's Shin Kikōhō, which he uses against first Nappa, which leads to his death when it takes too much energy from him, and then Semi-perfect Cell, where he spams it to hold Cell off, and uses almost all of his energy, and would have been killed again if Goku didn't bring him to the lookout and give him a senzu.
Darker and Edgier:
- Season 2 compared to Season 1, owing to the source material.
- Season 3 maintains the series' goofiness, yet its tone is much more serious than the first two seasons.
- The History of Trunks Abridged, remains fairly comedic but uses heaps of Black Comedy instead of the show's normal humor. But Future Gohan's death is completely respected, just being music and silence as Trunks screams without any attempt to lead into a joke.
Dark Reprise:
- Freeza sings a rather dark and creepy version of "My Favorite Things".
  Peaceful young races with fires on their houses
  Millions of voices all silenced like mouses
  Watching the cowards bow towards their new king
  These are a few of my favorite things
- Cell sings a horribly creepy version of "Mr. Sandman" at the end of episode 42 (replacing the usual comedic stinger)
- Well, darker, but in Episode 60, after Cell returns from self-destructing he sings his "P is for Perfection" song from Episode 51, halting off after F to blast Trunks through the chest.
Daydream Surprise: Used to cut out some filler; after being crushed by Vegeta, Goku merely imagines that he's still able to move.
Deadpan Snarker: Being an Abridged Series, there are many.
- Vegeta when he's not too pissed to form coherent sentences.
- Piccolo's snarkiness often stems from how Genre Savvy he is, especially in the movies.
- Dende snarks to deal with losing his family.
- Also Androids 17 and 18 have an appropriate attitude considering they are freshly born teenagers.
- Points for Freeza who uses snark to deal with basically everything good or bad that happens to him.
- Krillin occasionally, when not being a Butt Monkey.
- Being the only serious character on the show^noteThat's the joke, this is the only way for Tien to be humorous.
- And of course, being composed of genetic material from many of the above people, Cell has his moments.
Death by Adaptation:
- The spaceship full of orphans in episode 12 all take suicide pills because they refuse to listen to Krillin when he says he doesn't even know who Freeza is.
- Captain Ginyu. Vegeta was about to let Ginyu go, seeing as he already killed seven of Freeza's elite warriors.
  Vegeta: Psyche! Eight for eight! [SQUISH]
- Remember that planet with the cute critters Goku used to gather energy for his spirit bomb? He later deflects one of Freeza's attacks into that planet.
- Likely also the Namekian child who gets squished by one of the now-inactive Namekian Dragon Balls in part 2 of episode 30... right after Guru states the same child is the only Namekian he actually cares about...
  Guru: Ha!
- Icarus, Gohan's pet dragon from the movies/filler, dies almost every time he appeared, and the one other time it is still deemed non-canon. The two times that he appeared in the flesh, he wound up getting eaten. He also appeared early on in the flashback of episode 10, part 3, where he exploded.
- In the source material, the Garlic Jr. Saga ends with him being imprisoned in the Dead Zone for eternity. In DBZA, he makes the mistake of crossing Mr. Popo, and the Garlic Jr. Saga lasts all of twenty seconds before Popo apparently absorbs his soul.
- Piiza, Caroni, and Piroshki get blown up by Cell before even landing their helicopter. For good measure, what is probably Caroni's charred corpse lands right in front of Mr. Satan when he tries to dismiss the helicopter as a "cargo robot" (a nod to the original series' infamous early Bowdlerisations). They're presumably revived by Shenron along with everyone else Cell killed.
- In Plan to Eradicate Christmas, Vegeta mentions that he destroyed his kid brother Tarble's space pod while trying to shoot down Santa's sleigh, but they Never Found the Body.
- Episode 60's epilogue has an old man attempt to kill Future Android 17 with a gun, who obviously fails. In the original anime, Trunks arrives in the nick of time to save him. In this adaptation (as in the manga), Trunks gets there a little too late for that...
  Trunks: Ooooh... probably should have microwaved that tea...
- Because of the show being cancelled after the Cell Saga, this means that Goku stays dead after his Heroic Sacrifice and in the process, Bojack is also killed by Cell's explosion. This would be subverted later on, with Bojack surviving Cell's kamikaze attack, and would go to try and conquer Earth, though ends up dying in the same way as his original counterpart, according to HFIL. Goku ends up being revived during the Buu Saga thanks to the Buu Bits series of videos.
A Death in the Limelight:
- A sort of common pattern in the Namek Saga; whenever a character is going to die in the episode, they read the disclaimer. Otherwise, it's a character that gets the focus (usually Vegeta). Made painfully obvious in episode 29.
  Krillin: "The following is a non-profit, fan-based parody. Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT are all owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji Tv and Akira Toriyama. Please support the official release." Phew. Alright, how was that?
  Voice Director: That was perfect Krillin. Eh... don't worry about your check. We'll send it to your next of kin.
  Krillin: ...what?
- Continues after the Namek Saga if there is a death; Cyborg Freeza/King Cold and Android 17 read the disclaimers for episodes 33 and 47, respectively.
- Yamcha does this again Episode 35, which he notices:
  Yamcha: The following is a— oh wait, ah, I- I did this last time, didn't I? What- what's going on? [...] I have a bad feeling about this...^note
- Played with in the Cell Saga. In any episode where Cell transforms, the form he's leaving (which can be said to be dying, as his personality changes somewhat in each form) reads the disclaimer.
Death Is Cheap:
- Discussed in episode 30:
  Yamcha: You make it sound like death has no consequence!
  Tien: It really doesn't. We're literally waiting to go back. Hell, this is Chiaotzu's second time.
  Chiaotzu: Next time, I get a free sundae!
- In episode 34, Trunks points out that, had he not killed Freeza, all of Goku's friends would have been killed.
  Goku: The dragon wouldn't be happy 'bout that one!
- Bulma combines this with Unusual Euphemism in episode 38:
  Bulma: Pretty sure I was about to be a wish there.
- Comes back around in episode 45, with the realization that since Piccolo and Kami fused, that means there are no more dragon balls, and thus, death suddenly isn't so cheap anymore.
  Tien: Holy shit.
- When Broly threatens to kill Gohan, Goku is only irritated about having to spend a day finding the Dragon Balls and (briefly) excited about Gohan getting to meet King Kai.
- Episode 60, where Gohan scoffs at the idea of a Cell Jr. killing Krillin.
  Gohan: Really? You're using Krillin as a hostage? His death is a day trip for us and an ice cream sundae for him, go ahead.
  - Comes back around later in the episode after Goku's sacrifice, where Krillin simply mentions "Dragon Balls" to snap Gohan out of his self loathing over the situation.
  - In the third part, Yamcha downplays this trope, explaining that while resurrection is available and the afterlife isn't that bad, the actual process of dying is nightmarish. And, according to Krilin, it gets worse the second time around.
Defeat Equals Explosion: The use of this trope in Dragon Ball itself is lampshaded.
[Vegeta hits the ground causing large explosion. Later, he crawls out.]
Vegeta: [gasping] Why did I explode?
Defeat Means Friendship:
- Goku thinks this is the case with Vegeta. In reality, not so much.
  Goku: We're friends now, right?
  Vegeta: F*ck off.
  Goku: The best!
- Vegeta finally gets to admit he's Goku's "best buddy" right before executing his Final Explosion attack in Buu Bits^note.
- Generally played straight though - If the gang leaves an enemy alive after a fight there's a fifty-fifty chance they'll become a friend or ally later. Mentioned as early as Episode 1 with Goku and Piccolo, and demonstrated as early as the first season where Goku is late to fight Nappa and Vegeta because he's having lunch with Princess Snake, after she tried to eat him.
- Lampshaded by Krillin, while befriending Android 16, it's pointed out that 16 wanted to kill Goku. Krillin just responds that most of his friends did, at one point or another.
Delayed "Oh, Crap!":
Dr. Gero: Please, if you wouldn't mind waiting for a moment, uh, Tien, I have something I'd like to show you.
Krillin: Okay! [hums happily] Ah crap, it's the androids...
Delegation Relay:
- Freeza tells Zarbon to give the command. Zarbon tells Dodoria to give the command. Dodoria gives the command to nameless mooks. Nameless mooks follow said command and die like flies as the above three stand around looking bored.
- Plus the Dragon Balls being used for the Unspoken Plan from King Kai.
  Shenron: How can I be of service, Lord Popo?
  Popo: Good question. Kami, the f**k am I doing?
  Kami: Good question. King Kai, the f**k is he doing?
Delicious Distraction:
- Goku has this in spades. Anytime anything with reference to any food is mentioned around Goku, he plays this trope straight. He does it when his ribs are being crushed by his brother...
  Raditz: [stomps on Goku's ribs] STOP IGNORING ME!
  Goku: AH! MY RIBS! I THINK YOU BROKE MY- Mmmm... Ribs...
- And twice while fighting Vegeta, enough to get the latter enraged enough to destroy Earth.
- In episode 4, during the Shout-Out to Pac-Man, Goku stops in the maze to eat a steak just laying there, while being chased by Princess Snake's head.
Demoted to Extra: Fortuneteller Baba just barely averts being Adapted Out by having a brief appearance in Episode 10, albeit with no dialogue. Her lack of appearances in Abridged has been lampshaded by Word of God at least once.
Denser and Wackier: The Dragon Ball Z Kai Abridged episodes, due to being a Compressed Adaptation of an already shortened version of a long-running anime, are generally more comedic in tone compared to the standard abridged series. The biggest example is episode 3: while the Cell Saga in this version is easily the most serious the series has gotten, the Kai version of these events has more jokes per second and a lot more instances of Refuge in Audacity.
Department of Redundancy Department:
- A couple of times due to scripting issues:
  Piccolo: And now to redeem myself, through one final act of redemption!
  Krillin: On the plus side, I no longer have to pee anymore.
- And one time parodied with Cooler 2: The Return of Cooler's Revenge — The Reckoning.
Despair Event Horizon: Vegeta, upon realizing Goku is the last remaining Saiyan. His eyes say it all.
Description Cut:
- When Goku wonders where Bulma is in episode 22, Krillin assumes she's doing "something girly". Cut to her fighting a Giant Enemy Crab underwater in a Mini-Mecha.
- In episode 15, when Zarbon and Freeza's discussion of Dodoria's abilities are inter-cut with her failing at every instance.
- In episode 39, Trunks refers to the Androids as humanity's greatest threat during an internal monologue. Cut to Vegeta and Android 18 fighting on a highway, with Vegeta causing tons of collateral damage trying to catch Android 18, who is causing none. The cherry on top though, is:
  Vegeta: I will kill as many people as I have to as long as you are one of them!
Destructo-Nookie:
- It seems Saiyans can't have sex without blasting their signature attacks through the roof of whatever building they're in. Vegeta and Goku do this in episode 34 and 55, respectively. A scene from History of Trunks would have had Gohan doing the same had TFS not decided against including it.
- It turns out it's not limited to Saiyans. Krillin does the same when he has sex with 18 at the end of episode 60.
Deus ex Machina:
- Pulled off with Yajirobe in episode 10, if only because he hadn't even been mentioned at all in the Abridged Series up until he cut off Oozaru Vegeta's tail, though he does appear during the training with Popo.
- Then there's this exchange:
  Goku: I brought some senzu beans.
  Krillin: Whoo-hoo! Legume Ex Machina!
- The fact that the Muffin Button saves Goku's life when Namek explodes.
Diagonal Cut: Trunks lampshades this when he explains that he spent a month practicing the move so the bodies would fall just right.
Didn't Think This Through:
- Garlic Jr.'s plan in Dead Zone Abridged. He attempted to kill Piccolo, and then use the Dragon Balls.^note When this is pointed out, Garlic Jr. acknowledges that he dodged a bullet thanks to the incompetence of his minions. As do the minions themselves.
- Future Trunks lies about what flavor the medicine he gives to Goku is to ensure he'll take it. It never occurred to him that Goku would still be able to taste the difference, despite his lie, and would refuse to take it.
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?:
- Freeza calls God a jackass after He tries and fails to strike him down.
- After Dende tricks Krillin into thinking he's immortal, Krillin cuts off Freeza's tail, taunts him into chasing him, & flies away yelling "Suuuck my diiick!"
- Dende pulls off a magnificent one against Freeza by stealing his wish out from under him, then taunting him about it. He even goads Freeza into attacking him, only to be teleported to Earth before the attack can hit.
- Tien in Season 3 does this all the time to Vegeta, and later to Cell.
  Krillin: Why do you keep antagonizing him? You know he can kill us, right?
  Tien: At this point, it's a game. If he gives in, I win. And he knows that.
Die or Fly:
- Completely Averted. When Gohan is thrown towards the cliff, he flies face first into it, complete with whining.
- Goku pulls it off by throwing a giant energy ball at Gohan, forcing him to either dodge or go Super Saiyan.
Digital Destruction: The show uses the Orange Brick boxsets for the first season, which are notorious for being cropped, oversaturated, and suffering from an overuse of DVNR. Combined with the 2008-era video production and compression, this causes the season to look very ugly. Season 2 onwards uses the Dragon Box sets, which leads to a very noticeable upgrade in video quality.
Dirty Old Man:
- Master Roshi retains this characterization from the source material, exaggerated for comedic effect; whilst canon Roshi is a pretty bad lech, Abridged Roshi is almost definitely a registered sex offender, is banned from every Victoria's Secret worldwide, states shamelessly that watched Bulma in the toilet (referencing a filler episode from the original Dragon Ball), and even names his submarine the USS M'Dick.
- As of Episode 28, it would appear King Yemma has gotten bored, and is forcing the dead to strip down naked when he judges them. That's why Vegeta comes to Goku naked in a near-death experience.
  Vegeta: Idiot, you don't take your clothes with you when you die.
  Goku: Well, I did.
  Vegeta: What?
  Goku: Yeah. Even had my weighted clothes on, too. And I didn't even die in those. Hmmm...
  Vegeta: THAT LYING RED MOTHERF*CKER!!!
Disappeared Dad:
- Goku's familial neglect is exaggerated to the point where he, Gohan and Piccolo all accept that Piccolo is now basically Gohan's father figure. It is of course played for comedy.
  Gohan: [thinking] What would dad do?
  Imaginary Goku: Bye, son!
  Gohan: I'm beginning to think I have issues.
- Apparently it runs in the family as Bardock paid no attention to Raditz when he was growing up, and only visits a newly born Goku when it's pointed out how Raditz being a wimp might be because of that. He also forgets he has kids until Dodoria points it out to him.
  Bardock: I have one of those [a son]? OH CRAP! I have two of those!
Discontinuity Nod:
- Done by Guru as he reads the disclaimer for Episode 24. He sounds audibly surprised that Dragon Ball GT is included on the list of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball-related intellectual property.
- Freeza short-circuits in episode 33, as if unable to process that Dragon Ball GT is considered Toriyama's intellectual property, and King Cold has to finish for him.
Discriminate and Switch: Played straight, then quickly subverted when Gohan and Krillin see Freeza, Zarbon, and Dodoria for the first time.
Krillin: Jeez, these aliens are scary. Especially [Freeza]. Looks like a total FAG.
Gohan: Krillin!
Krillin: What? A Freaky Alien Genotype. [Beat] What did you think I meant?
Gohan: Oooh. I thought you were calling him a derogatory term for a homosexual.
Krillin: THAT THING'S A GUY?!
Disproportionate Retribution:
- "Hello, and welcome to the Heavenly Check-In Station. Please no cutting in line. If you are caught cutting in line, you will be sent straight to hell." Of course, cutting in line in front of the gate of heaven before your soul is judged really isn't a very smart move.
- This exchange from episode 25:
  Dende: [To Freeza] They're from Earth.
  Krillin: Little Green, why??
  Dende: Because my name is Dende.
- Dende shows the same behavior later, when he tries to convince Gohan not to resurrect Krillin, simply because Krillin is annoying.
- The Androids destroy Country Music because of Yamcha's shitty cat food commercial.
Distant Reaction Shot:
- In episode 18, when Vegeta discovers that Gohan swiped his stashed Dragon Ball, we get a string of these showing that Vegeta's yell is audible across Namek, in Goku's spaceship (still in space), in Yemma's house in the afterlife (he assumes it's his wife), and Earth 20 years in the future ("Daddy?").
- Another one when Krillin gets barfed on by Freeza in 28.
Distracted by the Sexy:
- Bulma upon seeing Zarbon. Until she sees him transform...
- When Freeza gets a closeup look at Goku's abs, his first response is, "Oh, my God, you could grind meat on it."
- A more innocent example, Goku is continually distracted by how "handsome" Perfect Cell is. Not that he would EVER cheat on Chi-Chi, of course...
  Goku: That jawline don't lie, and neither do I!
Does Not Understand Sarcasm: Goku is generally too stupid to recognize sarcasm and at one point asks what it tastes like.
Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- ...Let's just say this crops up a lot around Zarbon.
  Vegeta: Face down with another man beating your ass. Is it Wednesday already, Zarbon?
- In episode 32, Krillin explains to Gohan why he's so certain that Freeza is on his way to Earth.
  Krillin: Gohan, when you've had a man inside of you, you know when he's coming.
- In episode 44, when Cell is having a Aren't You Going to Ravish Me? fantasy with Nicky Town, his tail starts moving suggestively.
- Speaking of episode 44, Krillin and Trunks' discussion of whether to destroy the larval Cell is reminiscent of a debate over whether to get an abortion. Lampshaded when Krillin "drops the pretenses" and outright says they're aborting cell.
- When Bulma gives Krillin the self destruct button, she offers to give him space armor as well. Krillin says he doesn't need the "protection", because he's pretty good at pulling out before it's necessary. Besides, last time, he got a big hole in it.
- Cell's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Gohan in episode 60, Part 1 sounds like an abusive father berating an unfavored child.
Don't Explain the Joke: Subverted at one point. When Pavlov's effect is mentioned, the TV actually switches to a report explaining its origin. However, the TV switches back to the fight before the announcer can actually explain the joke.
- Played straight a couple episodes later:
  Vegeta: Now it's time to reveal my giant monkey... [camera over his crotch]
  Crowd: [collective gasp]
  Vegeta: ...form. [camera pans to his face]
  Crowd: [sighs of relief]
  Man in Crowd: Thank God, I thought he meant penis!
- Piccolo also does this when arriving where the Androids are supposed to show up.
  Gohan: What do these people do here?
  Krillin: Apparently, prostitution is legal.
  Everyone: Ohhhhhhh...
  Piccolo: So the prostitutes...
Do Not Call Me "Paul":
- When Vegeta mentions Goku's birth name, Kakarot, to Captain Ginyu (while the latter is broken and beaten on the ground in Goku's body), this discussion occurs...
  Vegeta: Hahaha! The best part about this? I get to kill both Ginyu and Kakarot at the same time!
  Goku!Ginyu: Wait, who's Kakarot?
  Vegeta: You're Kakarot.
  Goku!Ginyu: I thought his name was Goku.
  Krillin: His name is Goku!
  Vegeta: No, it's Kakarot!
  Goku!Ginyu: But he just said "Goku".
  Krillin: Yeah, I did!
  Vegeta: I know what he said! Bu-
  Goku!Ginyu: So what is it? Kakarot, or Goku?
  Krillin/Vegeta: It's Goku/Kakarot!
  Vegeta: NO, NO, NO! Just... Look. His Saiyan name is Kakarot, but he changed it when he landed on Earth as a baby, so they kept calling him by his Earth name, and I am calling him by his real name.
  [Beat]
  Ginyu!Goku: So does that make me Ginyu?
  Vegeta: [Screams at the top of his lungs while he flies towards Ginyu]
- This gets worse in the Broly movie as "Kakarot" is Broly's Trigger Phrase and Vegeta keeps tapdancing on it because he refuses to call him "Goku".
The Door Slams You: In Episode 41, right when Krillin is about to warn Trunks about Chi-Chi being a "total bitch," he's cut off right before he says the latter by Chi-Chi slamming the door right into his head. The Krillin Owned Count then goes up to 31.
Dope Slap: When Goku keeps mispronouncing the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Mr. Popo begins to suspect he's doing it on purpose and finally smacks him off the lookout.
Double Entendre:
- Zarbon practically lives off of these.
  - Vegeta likes to invoke this trope to mock Zarbon.
    Vegeta: Now let me put this in a way you'll understand: I'm about to blow my load all over your insides...
    Zarbon: What... the...
    Vegeta: No homo.
  - Zarbon's association with this trope is even well known to Freeza.
    Goku: [screaming due to his burning posterior] My butt is flaming!!
    Freeza: ...I miss Zarbon.
  - Another when Freeza is calling Ginyu and gets interrupted:
    Freeza: I'm coming, Zarbon! Grab my balls!
- A whole slew of these were thrown in episode 24 when Goku was explaining his situation to King Kai after he landed on Namek.
  Goku: Well, when I got down here, I ran into some really weird guys. One was really big and muscly, but he went down really easy. Then these two guys double-teamed me. One of them took it really hard in the back, but the other didn't seem that interested, so he went and brought this really horny guy.
  George Takei: Oh, my.
- Krillin gets a lot of these from episode 31 on, such as Gohan and his mother's tuna.
- Imperfect Cell loves to call people out on these, or indulge himself in them.
  Cell: Tell them about the time I took an entire Battleball team. At the same time.
  Android 18: Stop it!
Double Take: Happens on Namek:
Vegeta: The Ginyu force could be here any second and then we'll...
Ginyu: Hi, Vegeta.
Vegeta: Hi, Ginyu. And then we'll-
[Beat]
[Vegeta drops a censored out Cluster F-Bomb] (Or so it initially seems to be)
Drama Bomb: For a comedy series, seasons 2 and 3 have a lot of these. 42 is perhaps the best example of this trope, since it deals with Kami fusing with Piccolo or let the entire human race be in danger, all the while Piccolo gives him a "What the Hell, Hero?" speech. Kami fully understands what he has to do while going over how being the guardian of Earth makes him a prisoner and unable to interact with anyone else.
Dramedy: While there were some small hints of this in Season 2, with Freeza being a legitimately terrifying villain, and Goku's genuinely enraged reaction to Krillin's death, amongst other moments. The show didn't truly become this until Season 3, which blended comedy with honest character development, genuinely emotional moments, and a real sense of stakes as we got the sense that these were real characters who honestly cared for one another, not just Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonists having bad things happen to them.
Dream Tells You to Wake Up: In Celloween: A Flight out of Cell.
Cell: Well, Krillin... it seems that even in your wildest dreams, you still can't measure up.
Krillin: Wh-What are you saying?
Cell: I'm saying... wake up.
Krillin: What?
Cell: (crushes Krillin's face) I said...
Piccolo: Wake Up!
Driven to Suicide:
- An army of children and teens who thought Gohan and Krillin were Freeza's goons went this path in episode 12.
- Yamcha in the Bad Future Trunks is from.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: In Kai Abridged 2, Goku's ship kills the Ginyu Force.
Dub Name Change: In here, Super Saiyan 2 is known as "Super Duper Saiyan", courtesy of Goku.
- Vegeta intends to christen Super Saiyan 3 as "Super Dee Duper Saiyan" but the show didn't get far enough to confirm if he'd get the naming rights.
Dude, Not Funny!:
- A quickly-abandoned running joke from the first season involved Krillin making bad quips about recently-dead characters and being chastised for it:
Krillin, after Chaozu self-destructs: Holy crap! He blew into even more pieces than Yamcha!
Gohan: Krillin! Too soon!
- In-universe example. Once Vegeta called Android 18 a "smug c%#!", everyone reacts with shock, good guys and bad guys alike.
- He does this earlier during the Saiyans Saga, after transforming into an Ōzaru.
  Ōzaru!Vegeta: What's the opposite of Christopher Walken?
  Goku: What?
  Ōzaru!Vegeta: Christopher Reeves! [sic] [crushes Goku's lower body]
  Goku: [gasping in pain] That was in terrible taste!
  Ōzaru!Vegeta: Don't care! Evil!
- In the Broly movie, South Kai doesn't appreciate East Kai's attempt to console him about his galaxy being destroyed.
  South Kai: But what about the Otherworld Tournament coming up?
  King Kai: Well, now you have a lot more options.
  South Kai: ...That's f***ed up man.
Dumbass DJ: The Cell Saga introduces TJ and The Wombat, a pair of obnoxious DJs who get assimilated by Cell while on the air. History of Trunks shows that they're still alive in Trunks' timeline while reporting news of the Androids' destruction and being just as annoying about it.
- In the Epilogue of Trunks TJ is dead and the Wombat is leading a last stand against the androids and he's STILL in full DJ mode.
The Wombat: I'm coming to you live with my very special guests: the androids! I'm holed up in the bank, all my men are dead, and I'm running out of ammo. You hear that TJ? I'M COMING HOME, BROTHER!
Dumbass Has a Point: Following Cell apparently killing Piccolo
Gohan: I'll kill him, I'll f**king kill him!
Goku: You can't. Cell is too strong for you.
Gohan: Mr. Piccolo would let me go!
Goku: No, he wouldn't, and he's smarter than me.
Gohan: I... Wow, okay that's actually a good point.
Dying Declaration of Hate: Guldo gave one to Vegeta when Vegeta broke up Guldo's reflections on the afterlife by being a Jerkass to Guldo one last time.
Dying Declaration of Love:
- In Nicky Town, a local radio host declares feelings for his co-host as Cell is eating him.
- When it looks like Cell is going to kill everyone, Krillin declares his love for Android 18, and Yamcha and Tien make dying declarations of friendship.

Early-Bird Cameo:
- Each saga has a reference to the next saga:
  - Guru and Nail appear in Episode 5. It serves as an Ironic Echo for how boring Namek is, compared to Goku's observation of how boring King Kai's planet is.
    Guru: Naaaail...
    Nail: What?
    Guru: I saw a bird. It was pretty. Kick its ass.
  - Future Trunks appears in Episode 18, and reacts to Vegeta's rage, hearing his scream on the ruined Earth in his timeline 20 years later.
    Trunks: Daddy?
  - Episode 59's stinger cuts to Mr. Satan's house, where a young Videl is watching the Cell Games, and first catches sight of Gohan.
    Videl: Sweet hair.
- Vegeta and Nappa in Episode 1 before Raditz is killed.
- Subverted with Bojack: He gets a few references here and there (being literally trapped within King Kai's planet, he'll occasionally chime in during scenes that take place there), but ultimately TFS decided not to abridge Bojack Unbound because they just couldn't work with the material.
- Maron was mentioned in the Christmas Tree of Might special, having been shown in the credits sequence.
- Cooler and an infant Broly in Bardock Abridged.
- South Kai is introduced telepathically in Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan.
Early-Installment Weirdness:
- In the first Dead Zone abridged movie (made before the official formation of Team Four Star and not on the channel), Gohan was portrayed as mentally handicapped ("I know how many toes a fish has!"). In the regular series, he's probably the most intelligent character of the bunch.
- Additionally, in the pre-TFS abridged movies, most notably The World's Strongest, Goku was portrayed as The Trickster, being able to outwit his opponents. He was also portrayed as mean-spirited, especially towards Krillin, and swore often. These traits carried over into the first two DBZ Abridged episodes, after which Abridged Goku became the food-obsessed Idiot Hero that is Too Dumb to Live that we all know now. The intense beatings and resulting brain damage seem to be the primary cause.
- A lot of the characters formerly played by Vegeta3986 can be seen as invoking this, particularly Kami, who started out as a typical wheezing old man when Vegeta voiced him (akin to his voice for the Hokage in Naruto: The Abridged Series) and transformed into a Deadpan Snarker on Piccolo's level once Remix took over.
- The first season had more wacky humor, and characters would occasionally break the fourth wall. Once season two began and the show found its style, the characters stopped interacting with the fourth wall and things got a bit more serious.
- The voices in the first episode weren't quite refined yet. Krillin's voice hadn't yet settled into that consistent high-pitched goofy tone, Vegeta's voice was a dead-on Christopher Sabat impression, and Master Roshi was voiced by MasakoX instead of Lanipator.
- The narrator (voiced by LittleKuriboh) only jumped in a couple of episodes of season one and two. By Season 3, he's practically absent in both Android and Cell sagas.
- As revealed in the breakdown for Episode 49, Season 1 was presented in widescreen, using footage from Funimation's Orange Brick DVD sets (which were cropped to make the footage fit in a 16:9 aspect ratio). All subsequent seasons are presented in the show's original 4:3 aspect ratio, using footage from the Japanese Dragon Box sets, which, according to KaiserNeko, are "the closest you're going to get to the original masters".
- In the first Bardock special, Dodoria refers to himself as a guy. Season two establishes that Dodoria is a woman.
- Season 1 episodes cut a lot of exposition and what's there is usually played more for comedy. There are also a lot more jokes that require familiarity with the source material. While later seasons would still be ripe with mythology gags, the show is now as much a fan dub as it is a parody.
- Seasons 1 adapts, alongside most of the manga material, much of the filler from Z, with some episodes even covering them in full (Most notably Episodes 4 and 5, which adapts Goku's misadventures on Snake Way, and Vegeta and Nappa's detour to Arlia, respectively). Starting mid-Season 2, filler is usually ignored altogether in favor of following the manga.
- Aside from the intro, outro and a few gags, season one has almost no music, not even during the climax.
- Even Kai isn't immune to this. Dragon Ball Kai Abridged episode 1 is a pretty straight super tight version, speeding through the plot and simplifying the jokes with only a couple meta jokes. 2 and 3 are much more focused on meta humor (both of the original cartoon and of the production of the abridged series)
- "Shit" is bleeped in season one, but uncensored after it.
- Though officially non-canon to Team Four Star now, the early episodes initially acknowledged the Neighborhood Cluck versions of Dead Zone and World's Strongest as canon, with Goku being more of a jerk, Gohan being less intelligent, and the first movie being Abridged as Team Four Star was Tree Of Might. After the Neighborhood Cluck movies were no longer canon, TFS re-Abridged the first two movies.
Ear Worm: Yamcha's cat food song is heard sung by Tien in his head when Piccolo contacts him telepathically. The one with it in his head is not amused by this.
Eccentric Mentor: Guru is Nail's mentor but Nail is a long-suffering recipient to Guru's abuse and nonsensical ramblings.
Guru: I'm about to misuse my hand upside your head!
Elite Mooks: The Arlian elite guards get wiped out in a second.
Embarrassing Ad Gig: During a Time Skip perpetual Butt-Monkey Yamcha apparently recorded a song for a cat food commercial that became wildly popular, much to his chagrin. His reaction to hearing it playing is to groan and hang his head, and when asked about it he simply says "I was desperate and needed the money... and no, it wasn't worth it."
Epileptic Flashing Lights: Jeice and Burter's combo attack "SEIZURE PROCEDURE!" It gives Krillin unlucky number 13 on his Owned Count.
Especially Zoidberg: When Goku finds his allies dead.
Goku: Hey, guys, what'd I miss? Oh... are they all? Tenshinhan... Piccolo... Yamcha... Oh wow, especially Yamcha.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
- Guldo aside, the Ginyu force are all very close and supportive, and care deeply about each other.
- As seen in episode 45, Mr. Popo actually misses Kami.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- Mr. Popo does not torture... cats...
- Killing and maiming is one thing, but televising it for the enjoyment of others? Even Vegeta finds that tasteless.
  Vegeta: And-is that a camera? What kind of sadistic retard watches this crap?!?
  Freeza: [watching this on his TV] Love this show.
"Everybody Laughs" Ending: Goku, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo have one after Goku's Bond One-Liner, then subverted when Freeza reveals the Spirit Bomb didn't kill him.
Everyone Can See It: Gohan and Krillin guess immediately upon meeting him that the father of Bulma's baby was Vegeta. Goku and Piccolo don't count cause they had prior knowledge.
Evil Brit: Freeza, Cooler, and Android 20 have British accents but are either aliens or an android and therefore aren't actually British.
Evil Counterpart: Inverted with Blue Popo, who is the good counterpart to Mr. Popo. Things don't end well for him.
Mr. Popo: Prepare to be assimilated.
Evil Laugh:
- Mr. Popo has a loud, punctuated laugh that gets really creepy when combined with a close-up of his round, beady eyes.
- Piccolo has an evil laugh that sounds like he's trying to make it evil since he's trying so hard to be a bad guy.
- Cell has a casual evil laugh that drips with confidence.
Evil Learns of Outside Context: Goku comes to Cell investigating the destruction of South Galaxy, accidentally letting Cell know that there are other galaxies.
Goku: "Ceeeeeeell, did you destroy South Galaxy?"
Cell: "There's a South Galaxy?"
Goku: "Forget you heard that."
Cell: "No."
Evil Twin: In the end of the Lord Slug movie special, Slug is implied to be this to Guru. It's the other way around.
Evil Sounds Deep:
- Freeza in Episode 24 when he gets really pissed.
  Freeza: Oh no, don't mind me. By all means... [voice drops two octaves] Give me some ideas.
- Android 19's voice synthesizer drops a few octaves when it finally initializes its murder.exe program.
Evolving Credits: The credits are updated occasionally to reflect the arc in question. Spoofed for the Garlic Jr. "arc", which gets a whole new set of credits to make it seem important only to have Popo unceremoniously kill him off in the same episode.
Exact Words:
- King Kai said "Yeah, all of you can go straight to Hell" right before sending the Ginyu Force to Hell.
- Piccolo is wished back to life then wished to be brought to Namek. He's brought to a random spot on the planet hundreds of miles away from the others.
- Android 16 is programmed to kill Goku. It is a simple repetitive thought in his head. So when he finds Cell composed between 10% and 11% of Son Goku it is justification enough to fight.
  Android 16: ''These parameters... are acceptable.''
- When Yamcha uses the Dragonballs to revive all of Cell's victims, he specifies "everyone on Earth," leaving King Kai and his friends dead, as opposed to the original where King Kai decided not to accept the resurrection.
Exactly What I Aimed At:
- Goku spends several seconds arguing with Freeza about having missed until Freeza just decides to let the eventual volcanic eruption speak for itself.
- In Revenge of Cooler, Piccolo fires a blast at Neiz, who dodges it by retracting his head. Sauza immediately points out that it was aimed at Doore, who gets vaporized.
- Piccolo against Android 17 in Episode 46 has him miss Android 17 with all the energy bolts he fires. Android 17 even asks if he's aiming for him. Piccolo replies no, and then Android 17 realizes he is now surrounded by the energy balls and they attack simultaneously.
  Android 17: Oh. Oh. Oh shit!
  Piccolo: HELLZONE GRENADE!
  Android 17: Aw, man! It's even got a cool name- [boom]
Exactly What I Meant to Say:
- Two of Freeza's mooks spot Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma not long after they get to Namek.
  Mook: All right, stay where you are and we'll shoot you.
  Krillin: Don't you mean "or we'll shoot you"?
  Mook: We know what we said.
- Cooler gets in on it in his second movie.
  Goku: So, you return once again, Freezer.
  Gohan: Cooler.
  Goku: Cooler.
  Cooler: Yes, I have returned, dumbass.
  Goku: Goku.
  Cooler: Dumbass.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Space Australia.
Krillin: So it's like Australia...
Jeice: ...In space.
Executive Meddling: invoked It has the power to turn Bardock into a Super Saiyan apparently.
Bardock: OF ALL THE STUPID... ASININE... SHARK-JUMPING BULLSHIT!!!
External Retcon: Episode 6 hangs a lampshade on King Kai's explanation for Planet Vegeta's destruction, which is completely at odds with series canon. Turns out that Freeza's a Wiki Vandal:
Wiki page: Stupid monkeys hit by falling rocks (not deathball thrown by Freeza). Hahahahahahaha! P.S. Freeza rules you.
Extra-Long Episode: Most episodes are 7 to 10 minutes long, whereas the season finales are around 30 minutes. The first of which was cut into thirds to save bandwidth.
Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Goku incapacitates Nappa in less than ten seconds, and proceeds to break his arm and throw him across the field.
Nappa: Not that way. My arm doesn't bend that way! [crack] AWW, NOW IT DOES!
Eye Scream:
- Vegeta's at the receiving end of three of these in the Season 1 finale.
  Vegeta: GAH! My eye! Why is it always the goddamn eye!?
- Made into somewhat of a Brick Joke in episode 18. When Vegeta pops a blood vessel in his eye, it pops in his right eye. The same eye that was both elbowed by Gohan and blasted by Goku in the aforementioned episode.
- Again in Lord Slug Abriged when Gohan defeats a mook by shattering the glass visor of his helmet.
  Mook: OH, GOD, ALL I SEE IS GLASS AND BLOOD!

Fake-Out Opening: Episode 31's opening credits show scenes from the filler Garlic Jr. saga, making you think the entire arc will be adapted. Mr. Popo however resolves the plot rather quickly.
Fake Static: Goku somehow manages to trick King Kai into thinking he hung up... during a telepathic conversation. This is immediately lampshaded by King Kai himself:
King Kai: He hung up on me! How the hell did he even do that?!
False Reassurance: To reassure Krillin he won't retaliate for wounding him so Vegeta can get a power boost, Vegeta says the following:
Vegeta: I will not punch you.
- And when Krillin does shoot him, Vegeta mutters:
  Vegeta: You are so punched!
Fan Dub: Par for the course in regards to an abridged series, but DBZA is somewhat well-regarded for slowly turning into a legitimate dub of the original Dragon Ball Z. While the first few episodes are relatively irreverent, the series begins to align itself more and more with the original show as it goes along. This includes examples of foreshadowing and certain elements being Played for Drama instead of for comedy. Come the time of Season 3, things are pretty much going exactly the same as the manga, but with way more humor.
Fantastic Racism:
- Complete with Fantastic Genocide. The Namekians keep referring to a race of Albino Namekians that were "purged" and that they all view as hideous.
- And of course, Freeza, though as he puts it, he can't be racist against a race that doesn't exist. Like the clorfors. They tried to clorf him out of his money, so he blew them up.
- The various deities introduced in ''Buu Bits' don't hesitate to voice their displeasure of mortals, or "mortys," as they call the heroes. Shin isn't as quick to be prejudiced, but still drops the M-word after Goku and Vegeta detail his plan to stop Babidi.
Faster Than They Look: When Vegeta transforms into a Great Ape, Goku assumes that the other Saiyan will be much slower due to his increased size and bulk. Vegeta shows that speed is far from an issue for him.
Fate Worse than Death: Vegeta being haunted by Ghost Nappa, whatever Mr. Popo did to Garlic Jr. and alluded to when Gohan tells Goku to head for the hills for accidentally knocking Chi-Chi through a wall mid rant.
Gohan: DAD, RUN!
Goku: What?
Gohan: THE WORST SHE CAN DO IS GROUND ME, NOW RUN!
Faux Action Girl: Chi-Chi gets to beat up two Mooks during the Lord Slug movie with the "Housewife Style! Kick of a thousand menstrual cycles"
Chi-Chi: See? Just because I'm a woman... [gets instantly knocked out by another henchman]
Bulma: That actually lasted longer than I expected.
Fear-Induced Idiocy: A Running Gag during the Freeza arc is Krillin openly saying things he shouldn't to or within earshot of the enemies, which he does because of how scared he is. This includes telling Vegeta about Guru giving Gohan a power boost and telling the Ginyu Force the location of the Dragon Balls. Piccolo and Gohan have to stop him from spilling anything to Freeza.
Feel No Pain: Krillin receives a kick from Recoome that throws his nervous system out of whack and leaves him unable to feel the pain from the kick... for a few seconds.
Female Alien Surprise: The most accurate description we've got for Dodoria being female.
Fiction 500: Turns out, Uub's financial problems in the End of Z could have easily been quanched by the fact that one of Goku's friends is Bulma, one of the richest people on Earth.
Fight for the Last Bite:
- After starting to live on Earth, Vegeta quickly develops an obsession with a drink called Hetap. Taking the last one while he's around is a good way to inspire the wrath of someone who used to regularly destroy planets.
  Vegeta: Did someone take the last Hetap?! I'll kill you!
- Years later in another episode, an In-Universe Hetap commercial involves someone being shot by a friend for taking the last Hetap. The commercial closes with a narrator saying "Come on, you've killed for less."
  Vegeta: [thinking] That's not untrue...
Filler: While it does move the plot forward a bit, most of the scenes in Episode 44 serve only to show off how horrifying Cell is. Especially considering that Episode 44 covered the events of a single episode from the source material, whereas almost every other episode covers multiple episodes from DBZ.
Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Used as a Running Gag in one episode.
- The first time:
  Vegeta: All I have to do now is stay under the radar and not fly around like a jackass saying—
  Krillin: I've got a Dragon Ball!
  Vegeta: I was gonna say, "come and get me, Freeza", but that works too!
- Not long after that:
  Zarbon: Maybe Lord Freeza won't find me if I just stay low and don't fly around like a jackass saying—
  Vegeta: Come to papa, you bald bastard!
  Zarbon: I was going to say, "come and get me, Freeza", but that works too!
- Played with a few moments later:
  Bulma: Oh, my god, [Zarbon's] so hot! I just want to grab him and...
  Goku: (doing training) ...sixty-nine, seventy, seventy-...
  Vegeta: ...One time you defeated me, Zarbon, and that's one time too many!
Fish out of Water
- Vegeta is not used to a domestic Earth life style.
  Vegeta: The hell is soap?
  Bulma: It's that yellow block made of animal fat.
  Vegeta: That sounds awesome! [chomp] Blah! This tastes nothing like what you just said!
- And he doesn't know what a condom is either, which results in Trunks being born.
Fix Fic: The abridgement of "Episode of Bardock" appears to be this, as the creators have gone on record as calling it the worst (non-live-action or GT) film or special in the franchise, for having a really dumb plot that makes no sense and trying to develop Bardock into a standard hero when his lack of heroic qualities were what made him appealing. Their version of the special refuses to have Bardock grow attached to the annoying Saiyans, instead remaining a Villain Protagonist throughout, while revealing the nonsense plot to be the result of it being a story told to Gohan by Goku inside of two dreams.
Flame War: For quite a popular series, these are prevalent in the forums and on Youtube. Also mentioned in the FAQ Specials.
- In the TFS FAQ Special, Vegeta says that somebody who asks who to voice for will be flamed. Along with that, in the 2nd TFS FAQ Special, Chiaotzu insults people who want to audition, saying that "they have no talent" and that "they suck".
- NEVER... EVER... EVER... speculate about a future appearance of Ghost Nappa.
- There are also debates of how Guru is either a great and hilarious character or a horrible and predictable character.
- Nappa himself. Some people just plain hated him.
- Surprisingly, Popo hasn't received any negative criticism... yet.
  - They just know better.
  - _O O_
Flat "What":
- This exchange:
  Vegeta: Look at you, Dodoria, you're always so damn proud. And now here you are, crying like a woman!
  Dodoria: I AM A WOMAN!
  Vegeta: What.
- Also this:
  Nappa: Good effort, but I'm the Patty Cake Champion!
  [Beat]
  Piccolo: What.
- After Piccolo's death.
  Gohan: I'm going to eviscerate you and use your gushing intestinal tract as a condom while I fornicate with your skull!
  Nappa: What.
  Gohan: I'm gonna skull-f*beep* you!
- And again while trying to save Goku:
  Gohan: Law of Mass dictates that the mass of an object dramatically increases the force of impact when said object collides with the ground! And with your size, you'll make an extensive impact upon your inevitable defeat!
  Oozaru!Vegeta & Goku: What?
  Gohan: The bigger they are, the harder they fall!
  [Beat]
  Goku: What?
- Two in rapid succession in episode 16. When Yamcha complains about waxing off all of Piccolo's belongings, Piccolo acknowledges that he's now paying attention with a "What." After Yamcha asks when they're going to learn the Kaio-Ken but pronounces it "Kay-o-Ken", King Kai (who invented said technique) says "What".
- In episode 24, after Freeza delivers an Offhand Backhand to Nail:
  Freeza: I've had a worse time, you know. It's not often I dirty my hands with this sort of grunt work. There's always a certain amount of satisfaction I get out of doing it myself.
  [Freeza begins laughing - and after a few seconds so does Nail]
  Freeza: Ah... it is kind of funny, isn't it?
  Nail: [still laughing] I'm laughing at something else, actually.
  Freeza: [still laughing] What?
  Nail: [still laughing] The Earthlings have the password.
  [Beat]
  Freeza: What.
- And this exchange:
  Zarbon: Too bad... and that Bardock was such a dashing rogue...
  [Beat]
  Dodoria: ...What.
Foil:
- Goku is the perfect counterpart to Freeza. Not only do Freeza's attempts at intimidating Goku fall flat, but Goku is literally too dumb to insult.
- Cell also makes a great foil as he is still more intelligent than Goku, but unlike Freeza, he actually replies smartly to his idiocy.
Food and Body Comparison: Krillin talks to Master Roshi, Yamcha, and Oolong about the Androids, with him fawning over Android 18's personality. Master Roshi however straight up asks about how buxom she is, with the actual comparison to fruit coming up after Turtle informs them that Goku might have consumed some grapes.
Master Roshi: That [Goku] can't handle his grapes... Speaking of fruit, what are we talking here: apples, oranges, melons!?
Krillin: Is that really important?
Master Roshi: Yes!
Food as Bribe: Freeza offers to give Goku a pizza if Goku will let Freeza power up to 100%. Goku's having none of it. Then Freeza offers two pizzas. Goku still isn't interested, and charges at Freeza. Then Freeza offers two pizzas with stuffed crust...
Forbidden Holiday: It's established in "Christmas Tree Of Might" that Freeza abolished Christmas and replaced it with his own made up holiday called Freeza Day.
Foreign Cuss Word: In Episode 27, the Jamaican crab describes Freeza as a "bumboclaat," referring to him as toilet paper, considered an extreme form of insult in Jamaica.
- To be clear, the crab literally called Freeza an "ass-wipe".
Foreshadowing: Has it's Own Page.
Forgot About His Powers: Done frequently.
- From the Android 15 movie.
  Vegeta: Hey, wanna see something cool?
  Android 15: Yeah, O.K.
  [Vegeta turns Super Saiyan]
  Trunks: Oh right, Super Saiyan. [Trunks turns Super Saiyan]
  Goku: Oh right, Super Saiyan. [Goku turns Super Saiyan]
  Dr. Gero: Oh shit, Super Saiyan. GAAAAHHHHHHH
  Gohan: Why did it take them so long to do that?
  Krillin: You know, I stopped asking that question a long time ago.
- Krillin's one to talk...
  Gohan: And then you used your Kienzan and cut him in half?
  Krillin: ...Umm...
  Freeza: [appears] I will mount your head where my tail used to be!!!
  Krillin: ...to answer your question, Gohan... no. I did not do that.
- And again with Krillin:
  Gohan: Krillin, why aren't you using your Kienzan?
  Krillin: Yeah, you know, I keep forgetting to do that.
  Gohan: ...And?
Forgot I Could Fly: Played for Laughs literally when Goku jumped out of a hospital in Episode 13 hoping to be caught by Nimbus. He could've just flown out of the hospital room.
- Nappa forgets he could fly... while he was flying.
- From Episode 48:
  Goku: It's not like I can just jump down there, grab him, jump back up and... wait. [Goku uses instant transmission]
  Gohan: Did he seriously just remember he could do that?
  Mr. Popo: Your father's an idiot.
Forgotten Phlebotinum: Gohan wonders why Krillin never follows up his Solar Flare (which blinds and incapacitates stronger enemies for a while) with his Destructo Disk (which is slow but can cut even much stronger opponents).
Foul Medicine: Downplayed. When Goku is in danger from the heart virus that Trunks warned kills him in his timeline, he reveals that he stopped taking the medicine that was supposed to prevent it because it was grape flavored.
Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- There is a special frame inserted whenever a Solar Flare is used.
  - There is one in episode 15. It's Freeza naked in the Shower.
  - Happens again in episode 25. It's Dodoria in lingerie.
  - And again in Kai Abridged 2, this time being a picture of Lanipator dressed as Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
  - Yet again in Episode 43, with a picture of what appears to be two cicadas mating.
  - Another in episode 51 at 12:01 with a (cropped) picture of Cell raping Android 18.
  - Once again in Episode 60 during Cell's final musical number flashback, with Imperfect Cell ripping off a tank top.
- In Episode 7, when Piccolo says the Saiyans are looking for the one with the strongest power level. After Gohan agrees with Piccolo's claim of being the strongest living person, Mr. Popo is seen laughing in the background standing on top of a mountain. Can you find it? (It's at 1:57)
- When Goku's ship lands on the Ginyu Force in Dragon Ball Z Kai Abridged 2, you can actually see the interior of the ship.
- In the Super Android 13 movie, if you look closely during 13's big Groin Attack against Goku, you can see a small explosion. Two of them, actually.
- One of the Running Gags in Episode 54 is Cell building the Arena for the Cell games... only for one tile to end up green. If you pause the video while the tiles were flying though the the air the first time, indeed one of them is green.
- An audio example with Naiz's death. Rather then the usual unintelligible gibberish, he actually screams "IAMBEINGELECTROCUTED!"
- During Cell's flashback montage to his Goodbye Song, there's a split second shot of Imperfect Cell in a thong.
Freudian Excuse:
- Turles hates Christmas because Santa Claus never visited Planet Vegeta, and they only got Freeza's Day (when he blew up the planet). It's actually revealed that Santa tried to visit the planet several times, but they always tried to blow up his sled.
- Videl invokes this, claiming that her mother was lost to criminals. She actually died to cancer, but she doesn't think that strikes enough fear into the hearts of her enemies.
Freudian Excuse Denial: When Vegeta tells about how he's always lived under Freeza's rule and has lost his entire race, Goku thinks that means that without Freeza he wouldn't have been evil. Vegeta quickly sets the record straight.
Vegeta: Oh no! I'd definitely still be evil! If this situation was reversed, this conversation would never have happened. You'd be dead, and I'd be laughing.
Freudian Slip:
- Krillin does this with Bulma by calling her "Boobs" in the first episode. It is also a reference to Naruto: The Abridged Series.
- Krillin slips again when Bulma starts asking about Future Trunks in the episode 33 stinger.
  Bulma: So... do you think the carpet matches the drapes?
  Krillin: I 'unno, do yours?
  Bulma: Krillin!
  Krillin: What? It was a le-gina-mate question - I mean a legitimate ques - whatever.
- By Krillin once more, when talking about andriods.
  Krillin: Thanks for picking me up, guys. I was getting the android's blue-gina. I mean their vag-prints. I mean thanks for picking me up, guys.
Freudian Slippery Slope: When Goku telepathically reports on his fight with the Ginyu force to King Kai:
Goku: I ran into these really weird guys. The first one was big and muscly, but he went down real easy. Then these two guys double-teamed me. One of them took it really hard in the back, but the other didn't seem that interested, so he brought this really horny guy.
George Takei: Oh my!
Goku: Who's that, King Kai?
King Kai: That's George Takei. Somehow he made this into a three-way.
George Takei: Oh my!
King Kai: Call! Three-way-call!
Freudian Trio: Piccolo, Nail, and Kami form this, as three beings Sharing a Body. As the former benevolent God of the planet, Kami is the Superego. The laid-back Nail is the Id. Piccolo, the one in control of the body, is the Ego.
Friendship Moment: Goku and Piccolo have a couple of these in Episode 34, in which one of them suggests going out to drive cars, with the other enthusiastically agreeing.
- More humorously his agreeing to lie to Chi-Chi about training Gohan (and prevent Goku from being murdered)
  Piccolo: What are you talking about we're just studying. [beat] Let's go drive cars again.
- Krillin and Future Trunks start bonding over making laser noises when using ki attacks.
  Krillin: That was fun. We should hang out more.
Frothy Mugs of Water: Mercilessly parodied, with DBZ inspiring the Trope Name.
- During the episode:
  Master Roshi: I'm drinking OJ!
  [Roshi's drink changes color]
  Master Roshi: Now it's apple juice.
  [The drink changes color again]
  Master Roshi: Now it's beer. YAY BEER!
- During that episode's stinger:
  Master Roshi: Now it's a Nestlé Crunch bar! Now it's a gummi bear! Now it's Nappa!
  Nappa: Wait, what the hell?
Full-Name Basis: The Androids (including Gero) usually refer to Goku as Son Goku.
Funny Background Event
- While Vegeta's trying to figure out what's going on with his scouter, you can hear Goku mercilessly beating the crap out of Nappa.
  Nappa: My arm doesn't bend that way! MY ARM DOESN'T BEND THAT WAY! (*snap*) Ha, now it does!
- Also used when Freeza is beating Piccolo as Goku charges the spirit bomb
  Piccolo: No! No! No! ARG, MY GLUBOCK!
- At various moments in episodes 40, 41, and 46, we have Yajirobe and Dr. Briefs fighting (offscreen) over the former's raiding of the pantry. In episode 40, Yajirobe lays claim to it, with Dr. Briefs responding that he has a gun. In episode 41, we hear Dr. Briefs shooting at Yajirobe, who is apparently carrying the fridge. And finally in episode 46, it seems Yajirobe has come out victorious, and has gone on to raid the fridge in the basement lab...which doesn't actually contain any food.
- Early on in The World's Strongest, when Gohan is worrying about Piccolo, it cuts to an image of Piccolo. There's an off-screen flash and we hear Yamcha's scream
Fun with Acronyms:
- According to Krillin, Freeza is a F.A.G., a Freaky Alien Genotype.
- Vegeta calls Zarbon a Freaky Alien Genotype in episode 17.
- Episode of Bardock Abridged has the Super Polymorphic Unleashing Gel, or "SPUG" (Pronounced "spooge").
- In Christmas Tree of Might, S.N.O.W. Man, AKA Sentient Non-Organic Work Manager.
Fur and Loathing: Spoofed. Princess Snake says, "I love this fur coat. Especially since I killed all the animals myself."
Furry Fandom: Brief joke in the first FAQ Special when Nappa mentions editor/writer Kaiser Neko.
Nappa: Well, it's edited by the TIGER KITTY!
Vegeta: Kaiser Neko, Nappa.
Nappa: Kaiser-cat!
Vegeta: Neko...
Nappa: Meow! [materializes cat ears on his head]
Vegeta: Oh, Goddamn it, Nappa!

Gagging on Your Words: Vegeta doesn't like what he has to do when he learns the Ginyu force is coming.
Vegeta: Every fiber of my being wants to puke at once when I say this, but I need your hahh... I need your hahhaahhah...
Gohan: You need our help?
Vegeta: That, yes.
Gag Penis:
- Recoome, allegedly.
  Burter: I've got his right leg.
  Jeice: I've got his left.
  Guldo: I've got his middle.
- There's also a stinger scene with King Yemma:
  Yemma: Next. Strip. Next. Strip. Next. Strip. [Beat] Nice!
  Unseen Voice: Recoome thanks you!
- Krillin. Really. Undressing at 18's insistence, he nervously says he's a "grower", there's a thump after his pants drop, and 18 replies with disbelief and an insistence he get in bed. And the Owned count rolls backwards.
Genius Ditz: Nappa. Come on, the guy at least graduated from Saiyan University with a degree in Child Psychology.
Nappa: With a minor in pain!
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: When Vegeta is freaking out about the Ginyu Force Guru tells Nail to slap him. And Nail slaps Krillin. Still seems to snap Vegeta out of it.
Giant Enemy Crab: Bulma had an encounter with one and she was KILLING CRAAAAAABS! IN THE OCEAN!
Bulma: I FOUGHT A GIANT CRAB!
Krillin: ...They make a special shampoo for that, I hear— [Bulma slaps Krillin] OW!
Gift of the Magi Plot: "Christmas Tree of Might" has Yamcha receive a lifetime supply of gasoline at the end, after the car he spent his life savings on was destroyed.
Gilligan Cut:
- When Goku asks where Bulma is, he figures she's just doing her hair or something. Cut to:
  Killing crabs! In the ocean! Kill it fast! Pain explosion! Yeah!
- Spoofed when Vegeta works out that Gohan and Krillin have summoned Porunga.
  Vegeta: Oh you MOTHERFU-
  [cuts to Krillin Gohan and Dende]
  Vegeta: [off screen] CCCKKKKEEEERRRRSSSSS
  Piccolo: [also off screen] Ow my ears!
- At the start of episode 27, Goku reflects that he's sure everybody is just fine. Cut to:
  Vegeta: Healer's down!
  Krillin: Need a rez!
  Gohan: Out of mana!
  [Vegeta starts screaming and they all follow suit]
  - The worst of it is they are in front of Freeza's perfect form.
- And when the Ginyus insult King Kai:
  King Kai: Yeah, all of you can just go straight to hell.
  Recoome: Oh, yeah? And who's gonna make Recoome?
  [Cut to a distant punch sound, followed by all four Ginyu's crash-landing into hell]
- In episode 38, Gohan wants to check up on Goku, who was taken away by Yamcha to give him his heart medicine. Piccolo assures Gohan that Goku's fine. Cut to Goku thrashing around in pain.
- In episode 39, Trunks laments how the Androids are "humanity's biggest threat". Cut to Vegeta and Android 18 with Vegeta killing countless people shouting about how he'll kill as many people as he needs to in order to kill her.
Giving Up on Logic: In Christmas Tree of Might, Goku starts trying to talk to the titular tree to get it to leave Earth. Yamcha tries to explain that trees can't talk only to be cut off by Slay's voice which appears to answer for the tree since Slay is offscreen. Yamcha gives up in exasperation. The whole exchange is the page quote.
Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Android 18's "promise" to Krillin, if they both get out of the Cell arc alive. They do, and they do.
- Also, the response one city full of civilians (the capital?) has to learning that Cell is dead and the world is not going to be destroyed, is to start an orgy.
Go into the Light: Parodied in Episode 47. Android 16 is powering up his arm cannons above Cell and this conversation occurs:
Cell: I think I see a light.
Android 16: Walk towards it!]]
[blasts Cell with his arm cannons]
A God Am I:
- Kami in the Garlic Jr. (Aborted) Arc.
  Kami: Oh my ME!
- Then there is this exchange between King Kai and Kami:
  King Kai: Are you questioning God?
  Kami: Are YOU?
  King Kai: Not in the mood, Kami!
- And, not to be outdone, Guru does this upon hearing that Kami is referring to himself as God.
  Guru: I shall henceforth be known as Super Kami. No wait... Super Kami Guru.
- It's subtle, but in Revenge of Cooler, he gives this line:
  Piccolo: Oh yeah? Who's he?
  Cooler: That's "He" with a capital "H", by the way.^note
- Garlic Jr. acts this way when he achieves immortality in the Dead Zone movie.
  Garlic Jr.: Now you can pray to your God, and just like everybody who ever prayed to you [Kami], I'll ignore it.
- Vegeta thinks of himself in this way after he became a Super Saiyan, his ego swollen to gargantuan size. When he learns that Piccolo has fused with Kami, he doesn't take it well.
  Vegeta: YOU! NAMEKIAN! TOO STRONG! EXPLAIN NOW!
  Future Trunks: He fused with Kami to become stronger.
  Vegeta: The f***'s a Kami?
  Krillin: Basically, God.
  Vegeta: BUT I'M STILL HERE!
  Trunks: Do you really believe your own hype that much?
  Vegeta: I AM THE HYPE!
- From episode 46, when Android 17 and Piccolo fight for the second time:
  Android 16: [regarding Piccolo] He has fused with Kami!
  Android 17: Kami? Seriously, what the hell's a Kami?
  Piccolo: It means God. Now bow.
- Cell later begins thinking the same way after he achieves his Perfect form.
  Cell: Also, make sure you pray to your god. But, spoilers, I won't be listening.
Golden Snitch: Freeza's scavenger hunt:
Freeza: Normal human heads are worth one point. Namekian heads are worth twenty. Filthy half-Saiyan brats, fifty. And if you find any miserable, odious, insubordinate, full-blooded monkey garbage... you win.
A Good Name for a Rock Band: From Episode 21: Seizure Procedure
Go Mad from the Isolation: Tends to happen in the Hypberbolic Time Chamber, which is why it's standard to enter in pairs. When Vegeta goes in by himself, he ends up making a Companion Cube with Nappa's face so he has something to talk to.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Vegeta is often the one to have a realization and either go catatonic or into a berserker rage due to it.
Gory Discretion Shot: Guru's death of being eaten alive by the Namekians who were infuriated that he had them slaughter thousands of innocent Albino Namekians during the Great Drought. Bulma, Gohan, and Piccolo are absolutely horrified by the brutality, and even Vegeta looks a little appalled.
Gosh Dang It to Heck!:
- Vegeta's monologue at the end of episode 19.
  Vegeta: Son of a gum-chewing funk monster! Why the fruit does all this funny stuff happen to me? For-get my life! Always surrounded by miserable failing clods. Like this whole world just likes to bend me over, AND FIND ME IN THE ALPS! Like I'm some sort of schlock receptacle. Well, as far as I care, these miserable cows can have a fancy barbecue, WITH A GODDAMNED PIG!!
- Goku also delivers one of these as a Pre-Mortem One-Liner in Christmas Tree of Might and Lord Slug Abridged, the latter's line referencing this this trope's use in the official dub.
- Goku referencing the "kid-friendly" name for Hell.
  Goku: Guess they want a Goku fanny whoopin'!
  Bulma: "Fanny"?
  Goku: Chi-Chi doesn't like us to swear.
  Bulma: "Butt" isn't a swear.
  Goku: The H.F.I.L. you talkin' about?
Grand Finale: The three-part Episode 60, which caps off not only the Cell Saga, but DBZA as a whole. Interestingly, this wasn't the original plan for the series; TFS initially announced that the show would continue into the Buu Saga, and included a stinger indicating such at the end of the last episode. However, various extenuating circumstances forced the team to walk back these plans, and as a result Episode 60 was rendered the official endpoint of DBZA, with the stinger being removed in post as a result. Also interestingly is that the series ended up concluding at a point that most English-speaking fans felt worked better as an endpoint for the original comics than the actual ending in the Buu Saga, resulting in an odd bit of serendipity on TFS' part.
Gratuitous Japanese:
- The title of episode 19, plus the Ginyu Force theme. It's meant as a parody of the sentai shows that inspired the Ginyu Force, though the episode title itself comes off as a bit wonky if you speak Japanese.^note
- In episode 25:
  Freeza: [after killing King Vegeta, without the usual exuberance associated with the phrase] Yatta.^note
- Botched by Piccolo when he tried to say his attack's Japanese name (Makankosappo), finally he just decides to go with Special Beam Cannon. The Japanese name is pronounced correctly by Cell.
- When grabbed by Freeza in Kai Abridged Episode 2, both Goku and Vegeta blurt out "No Freeza-dono, yamete!" with "Yamete" meaning "stop!" in Japanese and "dono" being an honorific for someone of high status.
- In Kai Abridged 3.5, Vegeta and Cell both shout "NANI?!?" at different points, replacing a "What?!?" or similar response.
- Also in Kai Abridged 3.5, Cell introduces himself to his "brother" in this exchange:
  Android 17: Cyborg Jesus, what is that thing?
  Cell: I'm your oni-chan!
  (slams 17 to the ground with a "Pomf")
  Android 17: What are we going to do on the ground, Oni-Chan?
Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: Vegeta ask to Dr. Briefs for a ship with an artificial gravity of 500 times earth's gravity. Lampshaded by him and Bulma how insane the request is.
Bulma: How exactly you gonna work when your body collapses?
Vegeta: Please, the prince of all Saiyans does not colla- [collapses]
Bulma: Oh look, the prince of all two Saiyans on the ground!
Greater-Scope Villain: While Vegeta was the Big Bad of Season 1, Team Four Star made it pretty clear that Freeza was lurking around the corner. And during the Ginyu Saga of Season 2, Cooler and King Cold's names were thrown around.
Greek Chorus: Piccolo and Tenshinhan have taken on this role in the latter half of the Cell Saga, commenting and lampshading the events of the plot.
Groin Attack:
- Krillin is consistently worried about the harm Chi-Chi will inflict on his genitals, first for Goku's death and Piccolo taking Gohan, then later for any harm that might befall Gohan.
  Krillin: I like my penis where it is.
- Happens to Vegeta in episode 10.
  Vegeta: [kicking Goku] You still haven't hurt my pride!
  [Gohan attacks Vegeta]
  Vegeta:Ow, my pride!
- Freeza does this to Goku in episode 30.
  Goku: Ow, my Gotens!
- Vegeta is repeatedly subjected to this by Cooler and his metal clones in Cooler 2: The Return of Cooler's Revenge - The Reckoning. The first time it happens, it is accompanied by a Sickening "Crunch!" while Ave Maria briefly plays in the background.
  Vegeta: He keeps kicking me in the dick... Why does he keep kicking me in the dick!?
- Implied to happen repeatedly off-screen when Goku and Vegeta fight a huge army of Cooler clones as well.
  Goku: I can't believe every single one of them kicked you in the dick!
- Super Android 13 land a blow to Goku's dick as the camera abruptly shifts to the future. The blow was so hard it wiped Goten from existence. You can literally see Goku's testicles break like eggs when the punch hits. It took a lot of Senzu beans to fix it. A lot.
  Vegeta: Not so funny now, is it, Kakarot?
Guns Are Worthless: This being Dragonball, it was a given... but it's taken even further in the abridged series, where bullets or almost any ranged attacks other than ki blasts either have no effect or bounce off harmlessly. Lampshaded in the World's Strongest episode.
Krillin: [No Selling machine gun fire to the face, Beat] Whatever happened to Launch?
Gut Punch: A fairly meta example: Late into the Android arc, Cell's arrival. He enters singing a gravelly rendition of "Mr. Sandman" in a scene that quickly dispenses all of the humor of the show, and greets Piccolo with an ominous "Hello... friend." before the episode cuts. Literally. For the first time in the series, there is no ending song or stinger, just his creepy breathing.

Hands-Off Parenting:
- When Gohan tells Goku to hang Freeza by his entrails, Goku realizes something is up with his son... and thinks Piccolo should sit him down and have a talk with him.
  Goku: Besides, I'm not his role model. Piccolo is.
  Chi-Chi: And that is a conversation we desperately need to have.
- Also, when one of the Cell Juniors asks his "father" for help, he responds with, "I ain't no helicopter papa. Sink or swim, bitch."
Hand Wave:
- Spoofed in the Bardock special episode. How does Chilled know about the healing spooge?
  Chilled: Because of Raisins!^note [Beat] Raisins is my intel-guy.
- In the original series, Mr. Popo was visibly distraught at Kami's impeding fusion with Piccolo. Since that would be horribly out of character for the Abridged version, a Handwave is given that he had just dropped a gallon of LSD and is in the middle of a drug induced Freak Out. (Though later on it's implied that Mr. Popo actually did like Kami and misses him, which would make his gallon-of-LSD binge a different trope altogether.)
  Popo: Kami!! I need to hear you say that I can leave the lookout if I want to!!
  Kami: Mr. Popo, you can leave—
  Popo: BITCH, DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!
Happily Married:
- Deconstructed with Goku and Chi-Chi's marriage. Unlike the anime version, where the entire Son family is one big happy family despite the dangers of the multiverse, the Abridged version has painfully fallen apart - Goku has absolutely no idea how to be a father and would really not give two shits about it and his relationship with Chi-Chi is so strained that it finally snaps in the first Broly movie with Chi-Chi demanding a divorce.
- Reconstructed to a degree during the latter half of the Cell arc, where Chi-chi and Goku actually enjoy each other's company... and have a lot of sex.
Happy Dance: In addition to Dragon Ball Z's Dance of Joy (which he is contractually obligated to perform by King Cold), Ginyu also does the "Daddy's Little Princess Dance" (commanded by Cooler), the "Dance of Cheering You Up", and the "Dance of Solitude".
Harmless Villain: Garlic Jr. He's actually set up to be a pretty serious threat, he just has the incredible misfortune of running afoul of Mr. Popo straight out of the gate.
Has Two Thumbs and...: Does a spoof on it, combined with a Pre-emptive Declaration.
Android 18: So, who has two broken arms and is a total bitch?
Vegeta: You... stupid... bitch... You only broke one of my- [CRACK] AAAAAAAAAAIIII!
Android 18: This guy.
Head Desk: Done in episode 21 when Nail, tired of Guru's orders, goes outside for twenty minutes and does this.
Height Insult:
- Vegeta and Broly insult each other's height when they first meet.
  Vegeta: And who's this scrawny puke.
  Broly: I'm a foot and a half taller than you, but, whatever...
  Vegeta: What was that?!
  Broly: I said I can't hear you from down there...
  Vegeta: Speak up, boy, I can't hear you from up there!
- Other characters have also mocked Vegeta for his short stature. Namely, Nail, Android 19 and Android 18.
"The Hero Sucks" Song: "Yamcha the Scarfaced Bandit" does not speak highly of Yamcha.
Heel–Face Door-Slam: Episode 47 features Android 16 saying that he's come to appreciate the planet Earth and its beauty, ending by asking to not destroy the planet. Androids 17 and 18 seem to agree, even including a Call-Back to Android 17 wanting to be a park ranger. Then Cell returns and absorbs Android 17, cutting that short.
Heel–Face Turn:
- Subverted: Freeza, when he asks for and receives energy from Goku, he actually contemplates the second chance he has been given and considers changing his ways for a second...then decides against it.
- Downplayed with Vegeta. He's technically on the good guys side, but he's very clearly the Token Evil Teammate.
- Android 16 joins the good guys, but he would still like to kill Son Goku.
Her Codename Was Mary Sue: The Dead Zone Abridged remake turned out to actually be Krillin's pitch for a movie, mostly inverting this trope: although the narrator starts calling Krillin awesome at the end, his actual role in the movie is as humiliating as the "real" Krillin's life and so irrelevant Nappa questions why he's there at all (and why he wrote a scene where Gohan pees on him).
Heroic RRoD: After his rage-induced scream in Episode 18, when Vegeta is next seen his eyes are bloodshot and he is driven insane, talking in Angrish and hallucinating Ghost Nappa (possibly, or Ghost Nappa is actually haunting him. This is unclear). He later proceeds to pop the blood vessels in his eyes right as he is about to utterly erase Krillin from existence, but he instantly recovers upon sensing Gohan's power level and has no recollection of what just happened. His eyes bleeding looks similar to his nosebleed in Episode 9.
Hesitation Equals Dishonesty: On the part of the Narrator, after Goku becomes a Super Saiyan for the first time.
King Kai: At last, Goku... has become... the ONE...and ONLY... SUPER SAIYAN! ...Right?
Narrator: Um... y- yeah.
King Kai: You hesitated there for a second... what?
Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- Lampshaded with Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu. Subverted with Yamcha and Pu'er.
  Tenshinhan: Chiaotzu! My partner!
  Yamcha: Gay.
  Tenshinhan: Hey! At least I don't spend all my free time living alone with a cat!
  Yamcha: Hey! At least I get some puss— ...wow, that did not come out right.
- Goku and Krillin. He ranks Krillin above Gohan in importance on Namek, and refuses to hear Trunks out about the future until he confirms that Krillin is okay.
  - Also in 'Revenge of Cooler' he tells the henchmen to put down Krillin after his food and before his 'two emergency foods' (Oolong and Icarus). Coming from Goku, that says a lot.
- After Chaiaotzu's Senseless Sacrifice:
  Tenshinhan: Krillin! He was my closest friend... I... I loved him.
  Krillin: As a memorial to Yamcha: gay.
- Burter & Jeice have plenty of banter in their fight against Goku and constantly build each other up.
  - In Episode 25, Guldo says that Burter is gay.
High-Five Left Hanging: In the Abridged version of the Lord Slug movie, after Piccolo dishes out a Curb-Stomp Battle on Doradabo, (Lord Slug's Brute) Doradabo tries to instead befriend Piccolo and offers a high five. Piccolo briefly acts like he's going for it and then turns it into a finishing blow that kills Doradabo.
Doradabo: Look, all right. I know we both said some things, but I bet if we just talk to each other a little, we can become friends. Whattaya say, high five? [extends arm slightly]
Piccolo: [also extends hand slightly, but high up and beyond Doradabo's reach] Down low.
Doradabo: [confused] Uh...
Piccolo: Too slow. [Does an energy blast to Doradabo's face]
Hilariously Abusive Childhood: While not a complete childhood, Piccolo's mentorship of Gohan can be summed up in one word: DODGE!
Hiroshima as a Unit of Measure: Raditz gets used as a unit a lot.
- Vegeta and Nappa measure themselves and the heroes' power levels in "Raditz" (who had a power level of 1200).
- Ginyu had a standing bet with Burter over whether or not Guldo would die, with the wager being "50 Raditz". Context indicates that a Raditz is worth about a dollar.
- The ad for "Spacey's" promotes the chain's Raditz Menu, made up of items that cost only a Raditz.
- The Raditz currency is referenced again in Episode 28: "New Game 1/2 Raditz"
Homage Derailment: The series milks a lot of humor out of subverting classic moments from DBZ.
- Vegeta's famous scouter scene^note"IT'S OVER 9000!!!" plays straight up until he drops the line about Goku's power level, mistaking Goku as a much weaker opponent, which makes the whole moment an anticlimax to the original. Nappa then hilariously gets his handed to him rushing Goku, only for Vegeta to realize the reading on his scouter was wrong.
  Vegeta: "Wait a minute! Nappa!!"
  Nappa (beaten): "WHAT?!!..."
  Vegeta: "My scouter was upside down; it's over nine thousand! (crushes scouter nonchalantly) Rah..."
- The series makes a Running Gag out of shutting down filler arcs before they can happen, often by killing the characters involved. For example: Garlic Jr. shows up briefly to signify the beginning of his arc, only for him and his goons to be horrifically consumed by Mr. Popo, thus letting the showrunners skip the arc entirely.
Horrible Judge of Character:
- Krillin, in the FAKE Namek episode. Bonus because the FAKE Namekians are inspired by the Plutonians from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
- Councillor Nappa believes that Freeza can be dealt with by looking him dead in the eye and saying "Don't blow up my planet".
  King Vegeta: And you think that'll work?
  Nappa: He'd have to be awfully evil if it didn't. And I'm not gonna lie... I like the cut of his jib!
Holding Back the Phlebotinum:
- Used to explain why Mr. Popo was absent during the battle with Vegeta.
  Goku: Mr. Popo! I need your carpet to get to my friends as quickly as possible!
  Mr. Popo: [from inside Kami's house] Makin' toast!
- Happens in the original too, but made much funnier here.
  Vegeta: You... Green thing... Heal me...
  Dende: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you over the smell of my people's blood on your hands.
Hold Your Hippogriffs: Used often for comedic purposes.
Gohan: Back the HFIL up. What in Dende's name are you doing?
Hollywood Atheist: Every doctor and scientist is staunchly against the idea of God and spiritualism.
Trunks: Mom, do you believe in fate?
Bulma: Well, I'm a scientist, so no.
Hope Spot:
- This is attempted during Piccolo's fight against Freeza.
  Gohan: Piccolo's actually standing up to him, Krillin!
  Krillin: I don't believe it! We may actually win!
  Vegeta: Yeah, that's just... great... if you'll excuse me, though, I gotta... bye!
- In Episode 56, it looks like a reporter is actually going to make it through a surprisingly pleasant interview running up to the Cell Games, right until he slips and fails to address his subject, as he probably mentioned at least half an hour ago, as Mr. Perfect Cell.
How Would You Like to Die?: Freeza's closing line in Episode 24:
Vegeta: Don't you understand? If I didn't get my wish, then I'm not immortal, and Freeza is going to... going to... [stammers upon seeing Freeza]
Freeza: Oh don't mind me, by all means... Give me some ideas.
Hulk Speak: An enraged Gohan starts speaking this while beating on Freeza for stabbing Krillin.
- And yet he still has shades of Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness.
  Gohan: Gohan smash effeminate alien! Gohan strongest there is!
Humanoid Abomination: Mr. Popo is still shaped like a humanoid genie but his true form is probably creepily incomprehensible.
Humiliation Conga:
- Vegeta. After having his tail cut off, being blasted by a Spirit Bomb, getting crushed by a naked child, and almost killed by Krillin of all people, he escapes to his pod, only to be greeted by... GHOST NAPPA!
  Vegeta: Crushed and broken beneath a naked unconscious child... yep, I think I'm done here.
- Yamcha is subjected to one in episode 35: having to deal with Bulma having Vegeta's child, hearing his "cat loves food" song from Yajirobe's car (he did it for money and it wasn't worth it to him), getting attacked and nearly killed by the Androids (with a truck showing up playing his song no less), to Krillin's bad puns.
Hurl It into the Sun: How Cooler goes out. The first time, anyway.
Hurricane of Puns:
- Goku in Episode 30, part 3, unleashes a slew of puns based around Freeza slicing himself in half. It gets to the point that you can't tell if he's groaning because of the injury or the jokes.
- Krillin does this after Yamcha gets impaled in a city where prostitution is legal.
- Done throughout the final battle in Plan to Eradicate Christmas
Hypocritical Humor:
- Guru calls Kami a pretentious prick for calling himself God^*. Immediately after that, Guru tells Nail to call him Super Kami Guru.
  Nail: Can't I just call you Guru for short?
  Guru: Super Kami Guru allows this.
- In the Christmas Special:
  Tien: [after he is revealed to be Jewish] I'm just trying to be culturally sensitive... you Buddhist ass!
  Krillin: [a little offended] Well, happy holidays to you, too.
- Vegeta displayed this when attacked for the second time by Yajirobe.
  Vegeta: You... you cut through my armor! This was a gift from my father!
  Yajirobe: I'm sorry! I'm sure your father was a great man!
  Vegeta: I hated my father!
  Yajirobe: Oh, well then I'm sure he was a total prick.
  Vegeta: [attacks Yajirobe] How dare you talk about my father like that!
- Whenever someone announced the name of their special attack with grandeur, Piccolo is quick to insult it (an early example being his "Laaaaame!" response to Krillin's Destructo Disk). Then there are Nail's reactions to Piccolo's own current (Special Beam Cannon) and proposed (Hellzone Grenade) attack names.
  - He also comments that Cell's name is boring, despite being himself named after an instrument (Cell calls him out on it.)
- Krillin laughs at how little Gohan has grown in the 3 years preparing for the androids. Goku points this out in his usual fashion.
- In Revenge of Cooler Cooler will stand around and talk about how he's better than Freeza, who would stand around and talk.

I Am Not Left-Handed:
- When, appropriately enough, Cell's right arm and shoulder were blown off by Vegeta, who's laughing maniacally about it:
  Cell: [pained voice] You... think this is funny? YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY!?! It's not... as funny... [normal voice] as your face. [instantly regrows arm]
- And from the Broly movie, after the titular character opens with a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
  Goku: Listen Broly. I don't wanna tell you how to be the legendary Super Sayan, but you're not supposed to start all out. You're supposed to start small and then work up to it.
  Broly: I am starting small.
  Goku: Oh... Good for you... Holy crap...
I Am Not Weasel: Poor Chiaotzu.
Nappa: Vegeta! Look! A Pokémon.
Chiaotzu: I'm not a Pokémon, I'm Chiaotzu! Chiaotzu!
Nappa: Hear that, Vegeta? It's a Chiaotzu! [generates PokéBall from his hand] I'm gonna catch it!
Chiaotzu: I told you, I'm not a- [gets PokéBall in the forehead] Ow!
Nappa: Aww! It didn't work, Vegeta!
Vegeta: That's because you have to damage it first.
Nappa: Alright! I'll see if I can get a critical.
I Am the Noun:
- Vegeta in Episode 44:
  Vegeta: YOU! NAMEKIAN! TOO STRONG! EXPLAIN NOW!
  Future Trunks: He fused with Kami to become stronger.
  Vegeta: WHAT THE F***'S A KAMI?!?
  Krillin: Basically God.
  Vegeta: BUT I'M STILL HERE!
  Future Trunks: Do you really believe your own hype that much?!?
  Vegeta: I AM THE HYPE!!!
- Later done again When Mr. Satan prepares to fight Cell, angering Vegeta.
  Cell: Wait. You were serious? You're actually gonna fight? I just thought you were someone's hypeman.
  Mr. Satan: I AM THE HYPE!!!
  Vegeta: KILL HIM!!!
I Die Free: Suggested by Androids 17 and 18's comments in episode 47. They acknowledge Android 16's point that fighting Cell and even sticking around to see the fight is a bad choice, but it's theirs to make.
If I Wanted X, I Would Y: If Vegeta wanted to watch over a hundred episodes of filler, he'd watch Inuyasha.
Ignorant About Fire: Son Goku. In one scene in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he lectures Gohan while his hair is literally on fire, and makes no attempt to put it out at first, even as Gohan points out the fire.
Ignored Epiphany:
- Subverts the original Funimation dub of Vegeta's dying words to Goku, where he suggested that Freeza was responsible for what he became, and pretty much ignored that after being revived; in DBZA, Goku attempts to suggest that Freeza made Vegeta evil, but Vegeta insists that he'd definitely be evil if Freeza hadn't been there.
- Played straight with Freeza in the final part of episode 30, when, after being thoroughly defeated, he ponders if he should turn over a new leaf. Of course, he decides "Naaaaaaaah!" and tries to blast Goku one more time. It doesn't end well.
I Just Want to Be Special: Burter's reason for claiming to be the fastest in the universe.
I'm a Humanitarian:
- Yajirobe eats whatever's lying around, which often includes dead fighters (this is true to the original work, where he actually did eat one of Piccolo's children).
  Yajirobe: You gonna eat that Saiyan?
  Krillin: What?
  Yajirobe: Dibs.
  - And in the second blooper special, along with trying to eat Tien's arm:
    Krillin: Yajirobe, what were you doing here to begin with, anyways?
    Yajirobe: Well, I thought I smelled something cooking, but then it just turned out to be Yamcha's body.
    Krillin: ...Wait, you didn-
    Yajirobe: Almost.
  - A couple of allusions to this are made in the Cell saga. In the Stinger of Episode 38, Bulma fears having baby Trunks held by Yajirobe because she suspects he might eat him (or drop him) out of spite.
    Yajirobe: I am pissed and hungry. She is right to fear me.
  - And in Episode 46, Yajirobe finds the fridge in Dr. Briefs' basement containing the clones of Panchi.
    Yajirobe: Why are you so mad?! They weren't even that good!
    Dr. Briefs: Most of those weren't even meant to be eaten that way!
- This is a cultural trait among Saiyans:
  - One of Bardock's teammates asks an unconscious Bardock for permission to eat a dead alien.
  - Vegeta is eating dead Arlians in a commercial. Nappa decides to eat a Butterfinger instead.
  - Goku wants to ask Freeza if he can eat his severed legs, but assumes Freeza will want to eat them instead.
- After Guru admits that he lied about the albino Namekians stealing the planet's water, thus causing a genocide for no reason, his kin tear him to shreds and the elder eats his heart to gain his power.
- Cell of course, although he devours them by draining them like a vampire.
- In the Cell Games skits, Kenshiro comments that he'll eat "man meat" but prefers not to (he doesn't like the taste). When he blows Cell up, he asks Cell if he can eat his severed arm.
The Immodest Orgasm: Bulma has this when she and Vegeta have sex in episode 34. Vegeta also has this, and has one so hard he blows a hole in the wall with the Gallick Gun.
- Goku has one in the stinger of Episode 55. Enough of one that he blows a hole in the roof of his house with a Kamehameha.
- And now Android 18 and Krillin in the credits to Episode 60, Part 3. Krillin so much that not only does he blow a hole in the roof of Kame House with a Scatter Bullet, but also completely negates his Owned Count!
- A deleted/alternate scene in History of Trunks had Future Gohan and Future Bulma do this, with Future Gohan firing off a Masenko.
Immune to Bullets:
- Raditz is unfazed by Farmer's shotgun.
- Krillin is afraid of being surrounded by gunmen in the cold open to episode 12. Turns out he was scared for no reason.
- In "The World's Strongest" Kochin tries to shoot Krillin with his Arm Cannon gatling gun. Krillin just lets the bullets bounce off of him as he wonders what happened to Launch.^note
- In Cooler 2, one of Cooler's robot minions shoots Piccolo in the face with a machine gun. Piccolo's reaction implies it stings, but doesn't do any lasting damage.
  Nail: They're just bullets, they're hardly even-
  [several robots deploy larger guns]
  Nail: Oh, cool; cannons! Those will hurt!
  Piccolo: They doooo!
- Lampshaded on Namek:
  Vegeta: Don't go too far. I like my meat shields within bullet-blocking distance.
  Gohan: I didn't think bullets could hurt you.
  Vegeta: Shut up, I'm sleepy.
Implied Death Threat:
- When Bulma bitches out Gohan while they're escaping the doomed Namek, Gohan calmly asks what height a person would have to fall from to reach terminal velocity. Bulma promptly shuts up.
- In Kai Abridged episode 2, Vegeta wonders if he's immortal after Porunga disappears. Freeza suggests they find out.
- A mild version comes from Vegeta on Namek.
  Vegeta: I find Cui, I kill Cui. I find Dodoria, I kill Dodoria. ... Let's see what else I can find.
- Goku manages one in his own way after Freeza loses his chance to become immortal.
  Goku: Are you mad I'm gonna outlive you now?
- 17 gives one to Dr. Gero, having previously mentioned something must've been wrong with his ears because whenever Gero talked, all 17 heard was "Please kill me."
  17: Could you repeat that doc? I think the ear thing is back.
Incendiary Exponent: Vegeta voices this as an option upon sensing Gohan's power level on Namek.
Vegeta: Hey! Show yourself before I turn this place into a barren wasteland! So basically the same, only on fire.
Incest Subtext: Played for comedy. A drunk Bulma hits on Future!Trunks and when she realizes he's a mommy's boy, she offers to be his "mommy". Cue internal scream and him changing subjects at light speed. Only later does she realize what happened (and Krillin thinks it's hilarious). Later, when Trunks gets back to the future and explains to Future Bulma that her past self made a pass at him, he's disgusted by her non-chalant reaction.
Future Bulma: Well, no duh!
Trunks: MOM!
I Need to Go Iron My Dog: After learning that Zarbon is actually straight Freeza kills a random henchman as an excuse to leave so he doesn't have to admit that he thought Zarbon was gay.
Freeza: Oh no, that minion died. Could you go fix that? We'll continue this conversation never.
Inelegant Blubbering:
- Vegeta finally snaps in Episode 27 when he completely fails to do anything to Freeza.
  Freeza: See? It's like I told you, Vegeta - like a bitch.
  Vegeta: [voice cracking] SHUTTUP!
  Freeza: Oh my god, You actually are crying!
  Vegeta: [hoarsely] 'M NOT CRYING! 'M NOOOT!
- Also his tantrum when he tries to become a Super Saiyan.
- Future Trunks did this when he met Gohan in the ruins of a recently destroyed city.
- Vegeta's tantrum is echoed by Cell when Vegeta gains the upper hand in the fight.
I Never Said It Was Poison: Played with in Broly The Legendary Super Saiyan, Goku says he's looking for the person who blew up a galaxy, and Paragus responds with "But who would blow up South Galaxy?". But since he's Surrounded by Idiots, this goes unnoticed.
Infallible Narrator: Lampshaded when the narrator tries to get in on King Kai's betting pool over Vegeta and Goku's battle.
King Kai: Don't you already know the outcome of the fight?
Narrator: ...No...
Infinite 1-Ups: In Episode 25, when Freeza impales Krillin, he starts to do it repeatedly. Eventually, the stabs start turning into 1 UPs.
Informed Ability: Jeice eventually calls out Burter on his claim of being "the fastest in the universe." Especially since Guldo can stop time.
Burter: NO! NO! NO! I AM NOT SLOWER THAN &^%$ING GULDO!
Inherently Funny Words:
- King Yemma is so enraptured by his description of his mahogany desk that he repeats the word "mahogany" without being prompted.
- Raditz is used as a measure of weakness enough that it becomes a running gag amongst the characters.
In-Joke: "DO AS I SAY FOR I AM THE HEAVENLY BUDDHA!!!" Keep in mind, Krillin was noted as a former Shaolin monk-in-training before seeking Master Roshi's training.
Injured Self-Drag: The adaptation of the anime's History of Trunks special has Future Gohan trying to drag himself over to Future Trunks, though laments that the loss of his arm makes the process much more difficult.
Inner Monologue: Freeza has a casual danger inner one in episode 27. It starts with him hating how many of his men had died on this mission and ending with him thinking on what to send to the Ginyu Force's families, such as a nice wine, a gift basket, or maybe a gift basket with wine.
Innocent Innuendo:
- From episode 17:
  Freeza: Zarbon really screwed the pooch on this one!
  Zarbon: Lord Freeza, Vegeta's really giving us a pounding!
  Freeza: I'm coming, Zarbon! Quick, grab my balls!
  Ginyu Force: [laughter]
- Krillin, Vegeta and especially Super Kami Guru to Gohan.
  Relevant Person: I am an adult!
- And this moment from episode 31:
  Chi-Chi: Alright, I demand to know who's been spreading rumours that I've been forcing Gohan to, and I quote, "POUND MY TUNA"!
  Krillin: Look Chi-Chi, if it upsets you that much, we'll ALL take turns pounding your tuna okay? But, only if we get to eat it together.
  Roshi: [Hysterical laughter in the background]
Insistent Terminology:
- According to Dr. Brief, cappucino isn't coffee.
- Guru is to be addressed as Super Kami Guru... except by Nail, who is allowed to call him Guru for short.
- As of Episode 56, Dende is to be called Super Kami Dende... except by Gohan, who is allowed to call him anything he likes.
- Also in Episode 56, Perfect Cell insists on being referred to as Mr. Perfect Cell (despite wanting to drop the formalities) when the TV interviewer drops in. He is deadly serious about this at the end of the interview.
  TV Interviewer: Oh, well thank you for your time, Perfect Cell.
  [Cell instantly vaporizes him with a finger beam]
  Perfect Cell: Mister Perfect Cell.
- Whenever someone pronounces Freeza's name wrong (as either Freezer and Frieza^noteProunounced as Fry-za), he corrects them by calling himself Lord Freeza.
- Defied with the Androids, despite both Trunks and Cell pointing out that they're cyborgs. Funnily enough, Dr. Gero himself uses the term anyway for his cyborgs, but this is probably less of an indicator of his intelligence and instead a demonstration of his lack of empathy towards his creations, due to the 'dehumanizing' implications of his use of terminology. However, it turns out the terminology is entirely correct with one particular case, as Cell is quick to find out...
  Cell: What're you made of, pure metal!?
  Android 16: [smirks] Affirmative. I am ANDROID 16.
  Cell: Oh. Errors have been made.
  [Android 16 grabs Cell's tail and smashes him into the ground]
Instant Wristwatch: Offhandedly mentioned by Cell in episode 53.
Cell: You know, if I had a watch I'd be looking at my wrist really condescendingly right now.
Innocent Plant Children: Even more than his canon example, this is subverted with Dende who is sassy, snarky, and not above using profanity on purpose. He also hates Krillin because the latter keeps calling him "Little Green" which he despises. He also has clear romantic feelings for Gohan which contrasts any innocence he might have.
Insulting from Behind the Language Barrier: During the Frieza-saga, after Dende, Gohan and Krillin summoned Porunga, he and Dende talk about earthlings in their native language. Specifically, they call them "ugly" and "annoying". Krillin and Gohan, of course not being able to understand Namekian, are none the wiser.
Insurance Fraud: Krillin manages to get a huge amount of money by taking out a life insurance policy on himself before going to Namek (he even got triple payout for dying while off-planet), then pretending to be his own Backup Twin named Juan Sanchez when he's brought back to life. Too bad the government was on to him.
Internal Homage: TFS' first DBCember countdown of Top 10 Dragon Ball moments had Goku and Bulma's first meeting listed as their 4th-best moment, while citing it as beginning "as many stories often do: with one boy and one girl". Cell would go on to repeat this line to a reporter when beginning to regale him with the series' history in episode 56, even using the same musical cue, but instead swaps the second half for "with a young girl shooting a little boy in the face".
Interplay of Sex and Violence: Cell uses a lot of sexual innuendo with regards to "drinking" people and seems to enjoy the act a little too much, which serves to make him even creepier.
Intimate Lotion Application: In episode 59, Dende can't concentrate enough to see the fight. When Popo asks him what's "clouding his mind" we get an audio only Imagine Spot of Dende fantasizing that Gohan is asking Dende to rub lotion on him:
Dende: Me-dammit, I wanna watch this stupid fight!
Popo: Tell me — what thoughts are clouding your mind?
Gohan: [in Dende's thoughts] Hey Dende. Could you put this lotion on my back and/or butt?
Dende: ...God stuff.
Ironic Echo:
- Piccolo telling Gohan to "Dooodge!" gets returned to him in Kai Abridged 2.
- Piccolo vs. Nappa:
  Piccolo: I'm back.
  [Blasts Nappa in the back]
  Nappa: Ooooh, I see what you did there...
- And this exchange:
  Freeza: So, did you eliminate everyone on the planet?
  Dodoria: Complete Annihilation.
  Zarbon: ...Where are all your men?
  Dodoria: Complete Annihilation.
  Zarbon: [later, as Bardock's pod passes Freeza's ship] So, "Complete Annihilation", huh?
- In the same special, Freeza debates giving his brother Cooler a call because it's Cooler's birthday, but decides against it because he's a prick. At the end of the special, Goku's pod is detected by Cooler's ship. He orders his men not to fire on it. When asked why he replies "Because I'm a prick."
- "My mother's dead." "I know."
- Goku and Piccolo's dialogue in Episode 29 when Goku needs to finish up the Spirit Bomb is a slight variation of a similar scene in Episode 2, complete with "Mahnah Mahnah" song. Piccolo even lampshades it given the role reversal ("Did you just hold a grudge?")
- Unintentionally done by Goku. He spams the Kidney Punch tactic on Freeza much like how Freeza did to Vegeta.
- Freeza tried to crack jokes about the Namek race to Nail to no response. When he attempts it with the same sort of setup while fighting the Z-Warriors, he gets interrupted (read: punched to the wayside) by Piccolo who simply answers, "Just one."
- When Gohan said "I need an adult" the first three times in Episode 18, he said it as a reaction to potentially...squeamish situations. When he said it again in Episode 49, after being locked in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with his dad, it was because he felt Goku wasn't mature enough to train him.
  Gohan: I need an adult.
  Goku: I am an adult-
  Gohan: No. No, you are not.
- Vegeta questions the idea of "semi-perfect" Cell by saying that "You're either perfect or you're not me". After the tables turn...
  Perfect Cell: Like a soon-to-be-broken man once said, you're either perfect, or you're not me.
- An unusual case. During Namek, Gohan asks what his dad would do, which cuts to an Imagine Spot of Gohan saying "Good-bye, son!" When Goku sacrifices himself to stop Cell, his final words are "Good-bye, son."
- Done by Trunks to Future Cell in the Cell Saga epilogue, calling back to what Perfect Cell told him just before their fight.
  Future Cell: How?! How do you know all this?!
  Trunks: Because, as someone once told me: Multiverse theory's a bitch.
  Future Cell: Okay, I feel like you're referencing something, and I don't get it, and that's not fair.
Irony:
- Bardock averts it.
  [About to be killed by Freeza's death-ball]
  Bardock: Well, I'd say 'I should have seen this coming,' but that would be ironic.^*
- Kami notes to Piccolo he is basically a prisoner to his position. High on his outlook for 300 years he has been forced to watch as wars, famine, disease, and vicious villains slaughter thousands, lacking the power to stop any of it. And when he finally gets a chance to help protect his planet, he must surrender his free will to Piccolo, becoming a prisoner inside him. Piccolo is stunned for a few seconds.
- Goku's "Freeza was Cooler and Cooler was Freeza" is a callback to Cooler claiming he was cooler at the end of Cooler's Revenge.
- Trunks declares the Androids the greatest threat humanity faces, followed by a cut of Vegeta murdering random civilians in order to kill Android 18. Add in the fact that Vegeta only didn't exterminate humanity due to Goku's intervention, and personally carried out countless other planetary genocides, and they don't seem so bad in comparison.
- At the beginning of the Android saga, Chi-Chi looks forward to Gohan studying cellular biology, to which he replies "But cells are boring". Not a whole episode later, they first find traces of a "cell" who is anything but.
- Though they love him dearly, it's shown throughout the series that Gohan and Chi-Chi both have a lot of deep-seated resentment towards Goku for never being around due to him constantly training and/or being dead. Come "All Uub'd Up And Ready To Go", they're perfectly fine with him going off to train Uub for years, as Goku being a constant presence in their lives for a decade is "a bit much" according to Gohan.
Is It Something You Eat?:
- Goku doesn't get sarcasm:
  Piccolo: I'm not a Goddamn Yoshi!
  Goku: But you said you were.
  Piccolo: It's called sarcasm.
  Goku: What's that taste like?
  Piccolo: Dammit, Goku!
- Later subverted:
  Trunks: Wait, you mean you two never got married?
  Vegeta: What is that, some kind of food?
  Trunks: No. Just listen: When two people love each other-
  Vegeta: Oh wow. I'm just f*cking with you. My God. Who doesn't know what marriage is?
- Goku still doesn't understand things and he can't wait to eat a "divorce" when a frustrated Chi-Chi groans she wants to get one.
Is This Thing On?: Nappa does this while trying to get through to a comatose Vegeta.
Ghost Nappa: [tap tap] Is this thing on? Is it on?
[Vegeta groans]
Ghost Nappa: Okay, there we go! [clears his throat] YOU ARE NOW THINKING ABOUT WHAT ZARBON DID TO YOU WHILE YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS. Have fun with that.
It's Snowing Cocaine: Mr. Popo supposedly consumes a gallon of LSD, which is enough to get 37 billion people tripping. It's a lethal dose by so many orders of magnitude it would probably kill anyone but Popo. Even the Z-warriors and exceptionally powerful villians.
It Was His Sled:
- In-universe example - Vegeta already knew that Freeza blew up his home planet. Freeza really needs to stay off the (Space)Twitter.
- Also, from episode 18, the fact that Vegeta is Trunks' father.
- Thanks to a conversation with Guldo, Vegeta already knows Freeza can transform.

Jackass Genie:
- Shenron is really tired of people who ask for simple wishes or don't see the big picture. Especially since he sees the same heroes using his power over and over again.
  - Shenron, in the Christmas Tree of Might Abridged:
    Shenron: Yeah... yeah, OK. I'll give you your tree. I'll give you the best damn tree you've ever seen! WAHAHAHA-AHAHAHA!
    Krillin: Thank you!
    Shenron: Oh, don't thank me. 'Tis the season of giving.
  - Though he tones it down in front of the actual Genie who doesn't grant wishes but certainly has the Jackass part down.
    Shenron: I am the eternal dragon. Speak your wish and I shall... Oh, it's you, my master. Is it time to lay waste to this world?
    Mr. Popo: Eh, not yet. Give em a couple hundred years. See if they can clean the place up.
- Slay in Christmas Tree of Might Abridged also qualifies. A kid wants a fire truck? He drops a real one on the kid's head. Another kid wants his cancer gone? He blows the kid up - no more cancer!
- Mr. Popo himself is also a humanoid genie who is just a jackass.
Jacob Marley Apparel: Many of the dead seem to follow this, except for Vegeta. But that's because Yemma told him he couldn't take his clothes with him. Vegeta was not amused when he learned Goku kept his clothes.
- Played with in that Goku mentions he got to keep clothes he WASN'T wearing at the time.
Jaw Drop: Krillin gives a rather over the top one when Maron reveals she's actually a government agent and has evidence of him committing insurance fraud.
Jerkass:
- Piccolo. One example includes deliberately telling Gohan to let Tenshinhan fight Nappa alone to avenge Chiaotzu, despite Ten's constant desperate pleas for help. He eventually elevates to Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  - Another example:
    Gohan: Where's my daddy?
    Piccolo: I hate to tell you kid but your dad's dead. Actually, no, I love saying that. HAHAHA your dad's dead!
    Gohan: [cries]
    Piccolo: Aw, dammit. This is why I hang out in the wastelands.
- Cooler is a prick.
- Guru to the point that even Freeza seems nicer.
  Super Kami Guru: I feel they've finally summoned the dragon... it would be a real dick move to die right now... hurk.
- Mr. Popo:
  Mr. Popo: [after having explained his pecking order] Any questions?
  Krillin: Yeah, how... [gets kicked off the lookout, adding another tally to his "owned" count]
  Mr. Popo: Enjoy the climb back up, bitch! [to Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu] Any more questions?
- Dende goes through this as a phase during the latter half of the Freeza Saga.
  - His hatred for Krillin is so intense he gives up the location to Earth as payback for being called "Little Green".
  - When Krillin is stabbed by Freeza, Dende revives him, but also tells him he's immortal in the hopes he'll get himself Killed Off for Real.
  - He holds out on healing Vegeta as some justified payback for killing many of his people.
  - Averted with relation to Gohan:
    Dende: You are the only one I respect.
- Dr. Briefs seems to treat his wife poorly and called Dende a fag.
- Even with his new ally status, Vegeta is still cocky, arrogant, egotistical, petulant, stubborn, selfish, abusive, violent and downright rude.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- In episode 39, while pissed at Trunks' continual pleas to wait for Goku, Vegeta screams that Goku is rarely ever present to fight the bad guys. Piccolo notes he is right.
- He also points out that if Trunks wanted the heroes of Earth to be more prepared for the Androids, he should have given the group a photograph of what the androids looked like.
- In response to Goku pleading for SSJ2 Gohan to kill Cell immediately, Gohan responds that since he’s been beaten into his second form, pretty much any Saiyan present is capable of stepping in and curbstomping him if they really want him dead.
Jumping the Shark: In-Universe. Upon learning that he has been sent back into the past, Bardock declares it "shark-jumping bullshit".
Just a Stupid Accent:
- Jeice's Australian accent from the Ocean dub is exaggerated to the point he spits out Australian slang every chance he gets.
  Jeice: What the bleedin' 'ell?! We were havin' a right rip snorter 'ere, and then this piker shows up, and just like that, it's Goodnight Irene!
  Krillin: We get it! You're from Space Australia!
  - The phrase "Good Night Irene" is a reference to Australian MMA commentator Mike "The Voice" Schiavello, who is referencing wrestling commentator Gorilla Monsoon, who said it when wrestler Adrian Adonis performed a sleeper hold.
- One of Cooler's henchman has an over-the-top French accent and in his dying breath reveals that he is related to Jeice.
Just Between You and Me:
- Vegeta tells Cui how he got his ass kicked by Goku & Co., after explaining the Saiyans' ability to gain power from being beaten to near-death. Cui still thinks their Power Levels are the same (18,000), and doesn't get it.
  Cui: Why are you telling me this?! You'd never tell anyone this!
  Vegeta: Easy - because I know you'll never tell anybody, Cui.
  Cui: But, but I hate you! Why would I—
  [Vegeta obliterates Cui]
  Vegeta: God, I love therapy!
- As in canon, Piccolo tricks Cell into talking this way.
Just Eat Gilligan: The Namekians could have avoided "The Purge" if they had noticed that Guru's massive weight gain coincided with the Great Drought. Of course, once Guru reveals this, they really do eat him.
Just You, Me, and My GUARDS!: Attempted by Turles in the Christmas Tree of Might special.

Karma Houdini:
- Despite being Played for Laughs, Nappa has this going for him. He gleefully attempted to or successfully killed Goku's friends and son, and he also killed an untold number of humans while he was waiting for the heroes to show up (who note were implied to not be revived by the wish that brought he himself back, due to Exact Words). Goku beat him to a pulp and revealed that Piccolo's death destroyed the dragon, but Nappa took it in stride. Vegeta killed him, but Nappa almost immediately started haunting him. To top it off, he even gets revived by Mr. Popo's wish, and goes on to become a Hollywood producer.
- Guru attempted to be this until his revelation to others caused his death.
- Vegeta, as per canon, is never called to task for the misery and death he has spread.
Karmic Death:
- Guru confessed in Episode 30 (part 2) that HE was the cause of a massive water shortage on planet Namek and lied about it, shifting the blame onto the Albino Namekians, which led to the Purge. He revealed it was all his fault... right before he thought he was going to die, but he didn't, so the Namekians finished him off.
- Dr. Gero suffers this twice. First being beheaded and crushed by the Android he created and then being blasted to pieces, while his mind was uploaded to a super computer, by Krillin who he had grievously wounded.
Karmic Reform Hell: The eponymous Home for Infinite Losers is one, being a cul-de-sac meant to help the "morally-compromised malefactors" with high power levels rehabilitate after Raditz broke the soul scrubber.
Keet: Goku can't wait to fight someone as strong as Freeza!
Goku: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Kidnapped for Experimentation: Revealed by Bulma as to how Dr. Gero got his test subjects, including Androids 17 and 18. Gero's notes stating that he only numbered his successful projects implies that there a lot of kidnapped orphans that he killed in the process. Her mad scientist father thinks it's an ingenious move on the doctor's part.
Bulma: Did you look at Dr. Gero's notes? As it turns out, he only attributes model numbers to his successful projects. The crazy bastard was kidnapping dozens of orphaned teenagers and experimenting on them!
Dr. Briefs: Oh, come now, you can't kidnap an orphan; they weren't wanted in the first place. As an aside, that's kind of brilliant.
Kill It with Fire: Bulma's exact words when she sees Zarbon transform.
Bulma: And we're going to make love every single KILL IT WITH FIRE!
Killed Mid-Sentence: Several examples:
- King Vegeta meeting his end because of Freeza:
  King Vegeta: Freeza, can I sit down and have a word with—
  Freeza: Shouryuken!
- Also happens to Vegeta
  Freeza: No seriously, you have no idea how old that got.
- Dr. Gero gets hit with it in Episode 38.
  Dr. Gero: So... could one of you possibly spare one of those Senzu b— [Android 17 crushes his head].
Killed Offscreen: In Buu Bits, Ghost Nappa returns via Gotenks' Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack, explaining that he died from a "stroke" and shouldn't have made an extra notch to his belt that he was using.
Killer Bear Hug: Perfect Cell gets Gohan in a long crushing hug while trying to get him to "snap" and fight him at his full potential. During the squeeze, Gohan squeaks like a chew toy just like his father.
Perfect Cell: Listen to those bones crackling and popping... So where's the snap, kiddo?!
Know When to Fold 'Em:
- Vegeta knows it's over after Gohan crushes him.
- Episode 43: Cell recognizes that he's in trouble when he realizes that Piccolo has absorbed Kami, and decided to make a tactical retreat once Trunks and Krillin show up.
- Word for word in Episode 48 :
  Master Roshi: Listen, sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. And, right now, it's foldin' time. PIG, GRAB M'DICK!
  Oolong: Please tell me you mean the submarine.
- In a special short, Yusuke Urameshi and Kuwabara wisely leave the Cell Games ring when they come to realize their powers are just way too weak to deal with Cell.
Knuckle Cracking: Spoofed with the neck version. Inspired by Piccolo's satisfying neck cracking, Krillin tries it, only to get a meaty crunch and hurt himself.
The Krampus: In a Running Gag in the Christmas Special, various characters wonder if Jinga and Beru are the Krampus.

DBZ Abridged / Tropes D to K

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