DBZ Abridged / Tropes S to Z

Tropes A to C | Tropes D to K | Tropes L to R | Tropes S To Z | YMMV | Famous Last Words | Foreshadowing | Shout-Out

This page covers tropes in Dragon Ball Z Abridged.

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S

• Sadist Teacher: Mr. Popo
  Kami: Mr. Popo, where did you send them?
  Mr. Popo: I'll tell you where they're not—safe.
• Sanity Slippage:
  • After realizing that Gohan stole one of his Dragon Balls, Vegeta starts to lose his mind, and his eyes become bloodshot. He snaps out of it when he senses Gohan getting his power unlocked by Guru.
  • Episode 56 comes back to Vegeta apparently getting even worse, and quickly, when he goes into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber on his own.
  • Gohan has a much more subtle one in History of Trunks, where living in a wasteland has clearly taken its toll on him.
    • In the same special, Chi-Chi also is suffering from this, as Gohan never visits her, losing Goku, and having no chance of being a grandmother has taken its toll on her.
• Santa Claus: The Misfit Minions in "Christmas Tree of Might" are on Santa's permanent naughty list for various reprehensible acts, while Turles is mad that Santa never visited Planet Vegeta; Santa himself appears to give Goku the motivation he needs to defeat Turles and reveals that the Saiyans always tried to shoot down his sleigh whenever he approached their planet.
  • Santa returns in The Plan To Eradicate Christmas, though this time he is the villain of the piece. He even gets his own second form.
• Say My Name:
  • Vegeta has Krillin blow a hole in his chest, banking on the Saiyan trait of growing stronger from injuries; the greater, the stronger. Dende makes Vegeta ask him by name to heal him. He doesn't know it until Dende makes him say it.
  • Used again by Dende on his return to Earth, when he finally retaliates against Krillin for calling him Little Green.
    Dende: [smacks Krillin] You will call me Dende! Dende! Say it! Say my name!
    Krillin: [panicked] Dende! Dende!
    Dende: No... [Evil Grin] Super Kami Dende.
  • Used by Broly, naturally, but is also used by Goku as a challenge to Broly after being powered up by the other Z-Fighters.
    Goku: Hey, Broly! Say my name!
    [Angelic Choir sings as Goku ends Broly with one punch]
    Broly: Ka... ka... ROOOOOOT!
• The Scapegoat: Guru pinned the Great Drought on the Albino Namekians because he drank all the water and caused it.
• Scare Chord: These are used to sell moments of extreme violence or villainy whenever it's not meant to be funny.
• Schmuck Bait: Mr. Popo does this fairly and unfairly.
  • Unfairly to Krillin when he smack Krillin off of the lookout after asking for questions.
  • Fairly to Garlic Jr. who just insulted him and has no idea what he's capable of in this universe.
    Mr. Popo: Oh please, do go on.
• The Scream:
  • Krillin in Episode 13, though he's prone to shrieking in horror anyway. Just usually not to the extent where it goes on longer than a minute and can be heard miles away.
    Vegeta: Ugh, I just got here and already this planet's annoying me.
  • Vegeta gives off the granddaddy of all screams in Episode 18. It can be heard from EVERYWHERE.
    Gohan: Krillin, do you hear that?
    Krillin: I feel that.
    Freeza: What the devil is that noise?
    Goku in his spaceship: Ahh, time for a delicious sports dri— huh? The heck is that?
    King Yemma in the afterlife: Purgatory... Hell... Denise? Denise, do you hear that? Oh God, is that my wife!? LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU ALREADY TOOK THE KIDS, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!?
    Trunks from 20 years in the future, on another planet, in another solar system: Alright, mom. Once that time machine is done, I can go back into the past to save Goku and my Fathe— ...Daddy?
  • He gives off another after his arm is broken by Android 18.
• Screaming at Squick: Bulma hits on Future Trunks. She flirts with him by saying "I'll be your mommy" in reply to finding out he's a "momma's boy". On the outside, Trunks looks calm. On the inside however his internal screaming tells a totally different story.
• Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Pretty much any character over 50 is shown to be a Jerkass of some kind.
  • Master Roshi has no time for anyone's crap if it gets in the way of his girls or drugs.
  • Guru is the eldest Namekian and is abusive to everyone he speaks with.
  • Dr. Briefs is incredibly sexist, racist (especially towards aliens), and homophobic. He doesn't bother hiding any of this.
  • Kami is the only exception, who is downright polite with his original voice. Once they change his voice he's rather snarky but still civil.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • At the end of Episode 10:
    Vegeta: Crushed and broken beneath an unconscious, naked child. Yup, I think I'm done here.
  • As Freeza and Vegeta are fighting, Freeza's scouter keeps counting higher and higher before reading, "F**k this, I'm out" and exploding.
  • In Episode 49, after Vegeta compliments Bulma's work creating new Saiyan-style armor. Then Goku chimes in...
    Goku: Hey, look Vegeta, I'm you! Paragon til death!
    Vegeta: ...You ruined it. You ruined it and I'm leaving.
  • In Episode 60 Pt. 1, Cell starts trying to gather up his children and nuke the planet when Gohan's cowardice prevents him to do anything except cry.
    • Also in Episode 60, this time Pt. 2, where Cell attempts to waste the planet with a supercharged Kamehameha and leave once he realizes that Gohan now completely outclasses him.
    • Also AGAIN in Episode 60 Pt. 2, as Cell attempts to blow himself up and take out the planet after losing his perfect form.
• Selective Obliviousness: Kami doesn't notice Mr. Popo's Alternative Character Interpretation, even when it's directed at him.
• Self-Deprecation: The final scenes of both (so far) Dragonball Z Kai Abridged episodes.
  • Episode 1:
    Yugi: This has HOW many subscribers?
  • Episode 2:
    Nappa: Aaaaand unsubscribed.
  • On Namek, Krillin comes up with the name "Team Three Star" for the group of himself, Gohan, and Vegeta, which all of them think is terrible.
  • In Android 13 Abridged, the narrator gets frustrated with the folksy The Dukes of Hazzard-style narration and eventually quits. The second narrator isn't much happier with it^note Which is even funnier if you realize that this narrator is played by Christopher Sabat, who writes, directs, and acts in the official Funimation Dragon Ball dub:
  Second Narrator: These people even give a damn anymore!? I swear they stopped tryin' after season two.
• Self-Parody: Dragonball Z Kai Abridged, which parodies the very concept of The Abridged Series by retelling the entire first season in two minutes.
• Sentai: The Ginyu Force. Vegeta lampshades this by asking Gohan if he's watched any (how he'd know of those shows on the other hand...).
  • Space Hulu.
  • Figures.
    Gohan: Vegeta, if you don't mind me asking, what are we in for?
    Vegeta: Ever watched Power Rangers?
    Gohan: No.
    Vegeta: Ninja Turtles?
    Gohan: No.
    Vegeta: Sailor Moon?
    Gohan: No.
    Vegeta: Beetleborgs?
    Gohan: No.
    Vegeta: VR Troopers?
    Gohan: No.
    Vegeta: Samurai Syber Squad?
    Gohan: No.
    Vegeta: ...Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills?
    Gohan: Oh, yeah!
    Vegeta: God dammit!
• Series Continuity Error:
  • Goes hand in hand with reusing certain clips for reaction shots, but a particularly noticeable instance happens in Episode 19. As part of the Wheel of Death TV show gag, the scene cuts to Freeza watching on the television Vegeta blew up in a previous episode and with a Dragon Ball behind him when all seven are currently being held by Ginyu.
  • Episode 28 has a clipped-in shot of Krillin flying away, dressed in his orange gi, although he had spent the last few episodes in the Saiyan armor. (To be fair, this error was present in the original source material as well.)
  • In Episode 34, Bulma snarks that Vegeta is "the Prince of All Two Saiyans" and Vegeta responds "Three and a half", with Team Four Star saying that Vegeta is including his brother Tarble in that count. In The Plan to Eradicate Christmas, Vegeta says that he accidentally killed Tarble when they were kids, though he admits they never found the body. If Vegeta is referencing Tarble and Tarble is alive, then it's still an error — by this point Vegeta knows that Nappa is alive again, which would make it four and a half.
  • In Episode 38, Gero is never shown replacing his removed arm, but some shots show him with both anyway. This one's the fault of the source material, though.
  • In Episode 43, when Piccolo and Cell are having a conversation, a frame shows a hole Cell caused before he actually powers up to cause it.
  • In World's Strongest Abridged It's established that Piccolo doesn't have a tolerance for the cold due to his unique biology not being especially compatible with extreme temperatures. However, Super Android 13 Abridged would contradict this as it's revealed near the end of the movie that Piccolo was actually looking to live in the Artic, which would make absolutely zero sense even if one was to keep in mind they are not connected.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Gohan manages to make this sound badass, who is usually treated with a Flat "What" before he tells them in layman's terms.
  Gohan: I'M GOING TO EVISCERATE YOU, AND USE YOUR GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT AS A CONDOM WHILE I FORNICATE WITH YOUR SKULL!
  Nappa: What.
  Gohan: I'M GONNA SKULL*** YOU!
• Sexy Discretion Shot: Bulma and Vegeta's sex scene. They only show the outside of Bulma's house in the night while the audio is humping... and Vegeta revealing he doesn't know what a condom is.
• She's A Man In The Original Series: Dodoria is male in the original. Here she is reimagined.
• Ship Tease: Bulma dreamed about Vegeta coming to rape her before they consensually hook up later.
• Shoot the Medic First: Directly from the source material, but Dende is nice enough to point out that he's the white mage and no-one fucks with the white mage, before being blown up.
• Shoot the Messenger:
  • Freeza in Episode 18.
    Acai: Lord Freeza, the Ginyu Force are scheduled to arrive in five minutes.
    Freeza: Thank you, Acai.
    Acai: Also, after rising concerns with our personnel...exploding, we've decided to form a union.
    Freeza: Adorable. [Acai explodes]
  • He resorts to this in the previous episode to end a rather uncomfortable discussion regarding Zarbon's sexuality.
    Minion: Lord Freeza, Vegeta's broken out of the healing taAAAAAAANK- [BOOM!]
    Freeza: Oh no, that minion died. Could you go and fix that, we'll continue this conversation never.
    Zarbon: Um, didn't he say something about Vegeta?
  • King Vegeta in Episode 25.
  • Chi-Chi threatens Krillin with this after Krillin asks what she would do if hypothetically he were to reveal the fates of Goku and Gohan after the fight with Raditz.
    Chi-Chi: I'd castrate the bastard in his sleep with a rusty carving knife.
• Shoryuken:
  • Freeza performs one on King Vegeta in a flashback. He even shouted it, with accompanying an "You win!" and "Yatta".
  • Vegeta pulls it on Cell, when he asks if he can have a second to collect himself.
    Cell: All at once! Augh... Just... can I have a minute?
    Vegeta: Sure you can.
    Cell: Well thank you, that's apprecia-
    Vegeta: [uppercut]
  • Cell uses one to knock out Ken himself in the Cell Games shorts when Ryu and Ken arrive to challenge him.
• Shout-Out: So many that they have their own page.
• Shown Their Work:
  • In a recurring example, TeamFourStar will slip obscure bits of Dragon Ball lore into their show, usually information from Japan-exclusive sourcebooks or Word of God statements Akira Toriyama made after the series had ended.
    • In Season 2's Stinger, Nappa reveals that he hired a "Mark Satan" to help him do a film. "Mark" is actually Mr. Satan's real name as revealed by Toriyama in the full color manga reprints. Nappa also mentions that the name isn't just right and considers Hercule (the Bowdlerized US dub name for Mr. Satan) as an alternative.
    • After Sauza is killed, his last words are that he'll see his cousin Jeice in Space Hell. Video game information often says that not only are Jeice and Sauza of the same race, but they apparently hate each other (nothing about them being cousins, though).
    • In Episode 44, when reading the blueprints for the Androids, Trunks says that Androids 17 and 18's names are Lapis and Lazuli, respectively, as well as Android 16 being modeled after Gero's dead son. Again, these facts come from Toriyama in the full color reprints.
    • In a particularly disgusting example, when Bulma brings baby Trunks to hide out at Kame House, Turtle starts to explain that Roshi is a sex offender, when Roshi snaps, "I've watched her poop, she knows what I'm about." This is actually something that happened in the original Dragon Ball, albeit with some discretion.
    • In Episode 55, Piccolo explains that Namekians are divided into two tribes, the Warrior Clan and the mystic Dragon Clan, who can make Dragon Balls. This information comes from one of the Japan-exclusive Daizenshuu guide books and was later referenced in Dragon Ball Online and (more obliquely) in Dragon Ball Xenoverse.
    • Vegeta makes a few references to his younger brother Tarble, a character who's fairly obscure since he only appeared in a 2009 short that never got released outside of Japan, in the video game Raging Blast 2, and getting name-dropped by Bulma in Battle of Gods (but not in the relevant arc of Dragon Ball Super.
    • In the Abridged version of Cooler's Revenge, Goku meets a bird named Toriyama, and tells Toriyama to teach a dinosaur how to ride a ball. Not only does Toriyama literally translate to Bird Mountain, the official English lyrics to Cha La Head Cha La include teaching a dinosaur to ride a ball on a "mountain of icicles."
  • Yes, DBZ Abridged fans. Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills is an actual series.
  • In Episode 19, Krillin says "I once had a crush on a little Indian boy that I thought was a girl..." This actually happened (with Upa) in Dragon Ball.
  • Toward the end of Episode 30, when Yamcha's freaking out over Bulma dumping him, King Kai has Tenshinhan break one of Yamcha's legs. Yamcha screams "My good leg!" Tien broke Yamcha's left leg during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai in Dragon Ball.
  • When Future Trunks introduces himself to Goku, his nervousness causes him to accidentally call him Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong is the name of the Monkey King from Journey to the West, which Dragonball was loosely based on.
  • When Piccolo criticizes Dr. Gero's decision to incorporate pain receptors in the androids, Dr. Gero's rebuttal is actually pretty accurate (pain may not be a pleasant sensation, but it's useful).
    Piccolo: Ya know, I never really understood why you'd bother installing pain receptors. Kinda comes off as an intentional design flaw, if you ask me.
    Dr. Gero: Don't you criticize my methods like you understand the neural system! Pain is imperative to recognizing when you are in peril, to give the human mind conte- [Piccolo breaks his arm off] -EEEEEEEXXXXXTTTT!
  • As shown repeatedly long periods of isolation are not good for your psyche. In fact the only time the heroes enter the hyperbolic time chamber and come out psychologically ok (more or less) is when they go in together. When both Piccolo and Vegeta try to go in alone they suffer from the being alone in and empty space. This is Truth in Television as long periods of isolation in real life (without TV or external stimulus) will cause visual and auditory hallucinations.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Freeza attempts this on Goku in Episode 30 when he interrupts his Badass Boast by shooting him in the face. Goku No Sells it and finishes anyways.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!:
  • Delivered to Freeza in Episode 25.
    Freeza: Well, well, well. I'm legitimately surprised that I missed one of you. But that's just fine, because I've been working on some jokes. Now tell me if you've heard this one. How many Namekians does it take to—
    [gets punched and sent flying]
    Piccolo: Just one.
  • Freeza gets it again in Episode 28.
    Freeza: Oh please, everyone's always on about the children. I already tried leaving them alive, but all they do is grow up under my rule or dedicate their pathetic lives to revenge. Usually both. Really, killing them this a kindess. I can retract that kindness if you wish, but then who's the villain?
    Goku: [totally lost] Y... you.
• Sibling Rivalry: Although the two are never shown interacting with each other (just as in the actual series), Freeza and Cooler really hate each other. Freeza repeatedly calling Cooler a prick and all.
• Single-Biome Planet: Namek, which is lampshaded by Piccolo as soon as he's wished there.
  Piccolo: Ugh... Everything looks the goddamn same on this goddamn PLANET!
• Sink or Swim Mentor:
  • Piccolo does not treat Gohan with kid gloves.
  Piccolo: Anyway, I figure, in order to unleash your hidden potential, I'd have to put you in immense physical danger, so I'm gonna throw you at that mountain.
  • Cell also explicitly calls himself such to justify his refusal to save his Cell Jr. offspring from an enraged Gohan.
  Cell Jr.: Daddy, help!
  Cell: I ain't no helicopter papa! Sink or swim, bitch!
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Ginger, one of Garlic Jr.'s minions in Dead Zone Abridged, is very foul mouthed. He swears just about every sentence.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: When Vegeta is training in 400G despite being hurt, Bulma starts arguing with him over a video link. They start cussing each other out. Eventually, Bulma orders him to meet her in her bedroom in 10 minutes. And that is where Trunks comes from.
• Slasher Smile:
  • Vegeta shows a nice one, just after he gets a warm greeting by Namekian villagers who tell him where to find the next Dragon Ball. Cue the opening.
  • Ginyu has a hell of a slasher smile himself after punching a hole in his own chest, Kubrick Stare and all.
  • Freeza seems to have one all of the time.
  • Piccolo puts on a nice one after maiming Dr. Gero.
• Sliding Scale of Adaptation Modification: Arguably reaches as high as a 3.5, particularly from Season 2 onwards. The dialogue is (obviously) completely different and characters sometimes have wildly different personalities, but the plot is near-identical, and most of the tweaks either don't really affect the actual story (Nappa's revival, Yamcha committing suicide in the timeline of Future Trunks, Maron being a undercover agent and busting Krillin for insurance fraud) or are done to cut out filler. (the deaths of Captain Ginyu and Mr. Satan's students, King Kai curbstomping the Ginyu Force, Mr. Popo assimilating Garlic Jr.)
• Sliding Scale of Villain Threat: The Christmas Tree of Might falls not only under Global Threat, but is classified as "Disney Evil" when Goku learns that it's sucking all the Christmas Joy out of the planet.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Remember that tidbit about Android 16 being modeled after Dr. Gero's son? There's now a Cerebus Retcon about it: Goku killed him during his raid on the Red Ribbon Army base. Meaning Gero made the Androids out of Revenge Before Reason for his fallen son.
• Smoke Shield: Parodied
  Krillin: Did we get him?
  Gohan: Krillin, we can feel his energy, why do you even bother asking?
  Krillin: I'm an optimist.
  Vegeta: You're an idiot.
• Smug Snake: Dr Gero tries to be one. Problem is, reality refuses to live up to his confidence, resulting in many hilarious outbursts interrupting his Hannibal Lecture.
• So Last Season: Piccolo's weighted clothing.
  Piccolo: Don't think you have the upper hand. I'm still wearing weighted armor.
  Freeza: Weighted armor, hm? How quaint. How much does it weigh?
  Piccolo: Same as it always did. One hundred kilos... [Beat and Slasher Smile from Freeza] Oh. That concept kinda lost meaning after a while, didn't it?
• Something Else Also Rises: During offscreen sex scenes between Vegeta and Bulma, Goku and Chi-Chi, and Krillin and Android 18, when the guy climaxes, he also fires his signature Kamehame Hadoken.
• Something Only They Would Say: Goku passes or fails tests regarding who is in his body this way during the Captain Ginyu fight.
  Gohan: Krillin, that's not my dad!
  Krillin: Gohan, of course it's your dad! Goku, what's your favorite food?
  Goku/Ginyu: Waldorf salad.
  Krillin: See? Double Baconat- ohsh*t.
  • Later:
    Goku: [dazed] Yay, I'm me again!
    Krillin: Wait... Goku, what is your favorite food?
    Goku: [confused] ...Favorite?
    Krillin: He's him again!
• Sound-Effect Bleep: Once Vegeta realizes the Ginyu Force has caught up to him, he launches into a Cluster F-Bomb blocked out by sounds from Jeice's Scouter.
  Ginyu: Jeice, please.
  Jeice: [adjusting his scouter] Sorry, Cap'n, me scouter's act'n a bit shonky.
• Sound-Only Death: Android 18's absorbtion by Cell was turned into this, unlike the original which did show her get absorbed.
• Soundtrack Dissonance:
  • This upbeat tune plays while Nappa annihilates the Earth's military. From Nappa's perspective, though, the music is very appropriate, since he considers it to be his best day ever.
  • Freeza's "favorite things" song.
  • In Episode 27, while Freeza is terrorizing Vegeta and the others, Goku is sitting in his pod singing "Lime in the Coconut" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". King Kai and Tien actually join in on the last one.
  • Cell invokes this trope by requesting "Video Killed the Radio Star" at a radio station before killing them in Episode 44.
• So Unfunny, It's Funny: 19's retort to Vegeta's insults.
  Android 19: Registering insult... Retort: You are short and your hairline is receding.
  Vegeta: Ha! Scathing.
• Space Pirates: Bojack, who was a modern criminal type in-series (or rather, movie), but here is a traditional arrrr type, possibly to make up for the fact that he is a voice-only character.
• Space "X":
  • There are tons of examples from "space pods", "space armor", "space barns" and "space ducks", "space Twitter," "Space Skype," "Space Hulu," freakin' "Space Mexico" and "Old Space Yeller".
  • Lampshaded by Piccolo in Episode 2, providing the quote on the Space "X" page.
    Piccolo: We get it! You're from space!
  • Lampshaded once again when we learn that Jeice (who had an Unexplained Australian Accent in the original series dub) comes from Space Australia.
    Jeice: More specifically, Space Brisbane. Go, Space Broncos!
    Jeice: Gotta be careful though, Burter, or a space dingo'll eacher space baby.
    • The "Space Brisbane" part was specifically to set up a donation request to help the real Brisbane, which was being ravaged by floods at the time.
  • Episode 20 gives us space sodas, space burgers, and a restaurant called Spacey's.
    It's good food, in space
  • Episode 23 mentions Space Pickles, and Krillin mistakenly says Jeice is from Space New Zealand.
  • Planet Namek is the Space Boonies, according to Freeza.
  • Piccolo switched from Myspace to Spacebook.
  • There are even Space Eggs
  • Kai Abridged 2 gives us a new swear: Space Fuck.
  • In the Episode of Bardock Abridged special, Chilled's men temporarily play themselves off as the Space Police. ^note Ice Cube: Man, f*ck the police.
  • In the Broly movie, Roshi wants to go to Space Vegas.
  • For those who are curious, here's the complete list: Space Pods, Space Armor, Space Pirates, Space Barns, Space Ducks, Space Twitter, Space Mexico, Space Skype, Space Hulu, Space Australia^note Space Aus' for short, Space Brisbane, Space Brisbane's (presumably) space rugby team the Space Broncos, Space Dingos, Space Babies, Space Soda, Space Burger, a restaurant called Spaceys^note It's good food, in space, Space XXXX^note Space Australian Lager, Space VB^note Another Australian lager but described as piss., Space Boonies, Space Pickles, Space New Zealand, Space Cats, arguably MySpace, Spacebook, Space Eggs, Space Milk, Hot Space Potato, Space Hell, Space Frenchman, Old Space Yeller^note Krillin: How is that a thing?!, Space Christ, Space Radio Shack, Space Best Buy^note -Buy-Buy-Buy-Circuit City, Space Triple A, "What the Space Fuck?", Space Police, Space Vegas, and Spacetagram.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • As Vegeta tries to escape to Freeza Planet 419 in Episode 26, he reveals that the Kannasans managed to "miraculously repopulate", and the episode abruptly cuts to the planet to confirm it through them spouting off Spoilers for the series. They were rendered extinct in the original Bardock special (though Super has at least one survivor in the Frieza Force).
  • Nappa, he even makes it big in Hollywood.
  • Nail and Kami, in a manner of speaking, as they live on inside Piccolo's head instead of fading into his subconscious.
  • In another manner of speaking, Android 16 still dies but ends up in Heaven by the end of the series, rather than being Deader than Dead.
  • At the end of the Kai version of season 3.5, 16 waltzes on screen and remarks “By the way, I never died in this version.”
• Speak Ill of the Dead: In DBZ KAI Abridged 2.9, Mustard expresses grief at Enema's death, only to clarify they all hated him and he's more upset at losing access to Enema's HBO Go account.
• Special Edition Title: The Ginyu Force episodes use their title sequence instead of the regular.
• Special Guest:
  • Kyle Hebert (the voice of the narrator, teenage Gohan, and Ox King from the Funimation dub of the actual series) makes an appearance as the narrator at the end of the second movie, which was before the official formation of Team Four Star but contained most of the original voices of this abridged series. Hebert also provided his voice for the role of Santa Claus in the Christmas Tree of Might special.
  • Christopher Sabat, the voice of Vegeta in the Funimation dub, makes a cameo as the voice of two technicians in the Bardock Special and the second The Dukes of Hazzard-style narrator in Super Android 13 (the one who accuses TFS of "not trying anymore"). He also sings the country version of "Cat Loves Food".
  • And Christopher Robin Miller of Professor Layton fame. He gives Bubbles a classy British accent in Lord Slug Abridged.
  • David Eddings, voice of Claptrap and credited as Lee Rastus, plays a robotic organ harvester in Cooler 2,.
  • Sarah Anne Williams appears in Episode 59 as young Videl.
• Spiteful Suicide: Namekian leader Guru's canon death from the sorrow of his people being slaughtered by Freeza is changed so that he actually wills himself to die specifically to cause the Namekian Dragon Balls to be rendered inert. This isn't even the most dickish thing Abridged Guru does.
• Spoiler: Shouted constantly by the people on Freeza Planet 419 (A.K.A. Kanassa) after the native species mysteriously repopulates itself. All of these are It Was His Sled to the fandom, but the series has only adapted up to the Cell arc.
  "Bulma and Vegeta have a kid!"
  "Cell reaches Perfect form!"
  "The real Buu is a child!"
  "Goten and Trunks become a guy!"
  "Gohan is the strongest in the universe but still doesn't do craaaap!"
• Spoofed with Their Own Words:
  • Raditz's infamous line, "Excuse me, has anyone seen my arm? You can't miss it, it's green!" is quoted verbatim.
  • Then there's the handling of Vegeta's famous "It's over 9000!" line. Initially it's subverted, with him saying Goku's power level is 1006, before revealing he had the scouter upside down. He then gives the line verbatim, but with a very flat intonation, because a power of 9000 is still less than his own and he's not worried.
  • Subverted with the line "The name's Recoome. It rhymes with doom. And you're gonna be hurting all too soon." Rather than make fun of it, they turned the ham up to eleven and made it Recoome's Catchphrase for his wrestling persona.
  • Played straight with Piccolo's chant after fusing with Nail. He says exactly what he did in the original dub, only this time Nail (inside Piccolo's head) interrupts him to make fun of him for it.
  • Subverted again with Tenshinhan's "Who knows? Maybe I'll be the next Super Saiyan!" It makes perfect sense in context, since in DBZA Tien is deliberately antagonizing Vegeta for shits and giggles.
• Squee: Goku does one when King Kai warns him about Freeza.
  King Kai: He's destroyed countless planets, and slaughtered billions of people!
  Goku: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
  King Kai: Stop it! STOP-GETTING-EXCITED!
• Stating the Simple Solution:
  • Bulma suggests they find Dr. Gero before he can build the androids and "murder that son of a bitch in cold blood!"
  • This is how Mr. Satan convinces Majin Buu to stop eating people, telling him that he can just as easily turn rocks into food and eat that instead.
  • Later in Buu Bits, the people of the Earth's energy isn't enough to charge the Spirit Bomb. So Dende asks Mr. Popo to contribute, which balloons the bomb to a tremendous size.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Dr. Briefs to his wife.
• Stay Where You Are And We'll Shoot You: This change in the standard phrase is pointed out by Krillin.
  Krillin: Don't you mean "Or we'll shoot you"?
  Mook: We know what we said.
• Stealth Hi/Bye:
  • Ginyu pulls the Hi part on Vegeta twice.
    Ginyu: Hi, Vegeta.
    Vegeta: Hi, Ginyu.
  • In Episode 43, Krillin manages to appear next to Trunks without him noticing.
    Krillin: I affectionately refer to it as "stealth mode".
• Stealth Pun:
  • Recoome's leitmotif is "At Doom's Gate" from DOOM, punning on his famous "Recoome rhymes with doom" line.
  • A pretty subtle one after the intro sequence of Episode 50.
    Cell: All at once! Augh... Just... can I have a minute?
    Vegeta: Sure you can.
    Cell: Well thank you, that's apprecia-
    Vegeta: [uppercut]
• Stealth Insult:
  • When Piccolo finds Nail on Namek, Nail mutters some Namekian language. Given how he's saying it, it can be translated into "Help me, douche."
  • Kami issues one to Goku in Dead Zone Abridged.
    Goku: Stay here; don't move.
    Kami: If I didn't know you better, I'd call you a smartass.
  • Tien gives one to Yamcha during the Cell Games.
    Yamcha: I just have hope. Is that so wrong?
    Tien: The fact you have any hope left in your life is your most admirable quality.
• Stock Phrases: Freeza keeps count of how many times he hears these from would-be heroes. He keeps track of even more than we do due to his constant exposure to heroic speeches; phrases such as "We're... going to... f$#!k your face!", which we would consider unique ones, he counts as stock, having heard it twelve times so far.
  • And as for the more common ones?
    Namekian Elder: That... that wasn't part of the deal!
    Freeza: Aaaand FIVE HUNDRED! Dodoria, show 'em what they've won!
  • In the Bardock special, Freeza complains about having to hear said speeches.
  • In Episode 27, Goku finally gives one Freeza has never heard:
    Goku: "Imma deck you in the schnoz!"
• Stock Scream:
  • The Wilhelm Scream can be heard in the Bardock Special. Also, from the Bardock Special onwards, the dying screams of the characters from Team Fortress 2 are used for the deaths of almost all mooks.
  • The Wilhelm Scream is discussed by a pair of mooks in Episode 23. They're discussing it and trying (and failing) to imitate it; they get it right when Vegeta kills them.
• Stoners Are Funny: Mr. Popo after dropping a gallon^note A hit of LSD is about 44 million times smaller of LSD.
  Popo: Kami!! I need you to tell me that I can leave the Lookout if I want to!
  Kami: Popo, you may leave the Lookout if-...
  Popo: Bitch, don't tell me what to do!! [returns his attention to the Lookout's external floor tiles] All these squares make a circle...
• Straight Man:
  • The hilariously violent Vegeta does not suffer fools lightly.
    Vegeta: Nappa, what are you doing?
    Nappa: It's his turn, Vegeta; I have to wait for him.
    Vegeta: [sputters in disbelief, as his nose starts bleeding]
    Nappa: You okay, Vegeta?
    Vegeta: Yes, just... just an aneurysm from the sheer stupidity.
    Nappa: Huh. Didn't think you were that stupid, Vegeta!
    Vegeta: [screams in rage] 9 minutes, 18 seconds. 9 minutes, 18 seconds!
    Nappa: What's that, Vegeta?
    Vegeta: Happiest. Moment. Of. My life!
    
    Vegeta: I'm surrounded by idiots.
    Goku: I thought you were surrounded by gumdrops and ice cream!
    [Vegeta screams in anguished frustration]
    
    Zarbon: Vegeta! How dare you ram into me when I'm thinking about Lord Freeza and my thong.
    Vegeta: Yeah... just going to ignore that one entirely.
  • After joining the good guys, Vegeta has become less of a straight man due to his planet-size ego. Trunks and Tenshinhan (and occassionally Cell) serve as the Straight Man to his out-of-control arrogance.
  • Tenshinhan, while ironically being labeled gay, seems like a straight guy, almost on par with how he's portrayed in the English dubs of DB and DBZ.
    Tenshinhan: I'm the only serious character in this show. That's the joke.
  • Also, Nail, especially in comparison with Butt-Monkey Krillin and his senile and Ax-Crazy master, Guru.
  • Gohan has so far been this for the heroes.
  • Piccolo (when not being an Ineffectual Loner) puts up with an awful lot of Goku's idiocy and Nail's inane small talk
• Strange Minds Think Alike:
  • After Nail makes it clear to Krillin that he doesn't appreciate the nickname Krillin tried to give him...
    Guru: Big Greeeeeen!
  • Vegeta and Zarbon in Episode 17 try to lay low and don't want to fly around like a jackass saying "I've got a Dragon Ball!"/"Come to papa, you bald bastard!". They were going to say "Come and get me, Freeza" but what they heard works too.
  • Gohan and Vegeta singing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" in Episode 18.
  • Chiaotzu (almost) correctly guesses that Freeza pulled a Taking You with Me when Goku proved to powerful to beat, since he tried the same thing. The almost comes from the fact that Freeza would have survived if he'd done it correctly, and Chiaotzu is instead guessing King Kai's line of thought.
  • Dende and King Kai thinking up the same plan to get the living people off of Namek, save Goku and Freeza.
  • In Episode of Bardock, the villagers start to sing on two different occasions. Both times they are stopped, first by Bardock and then Chilled, with both saying "No! None of that! Shame on you!"
  • Popo decides in Episode 56 that he's going to call Dende "Little Green", putting him on the same wavelength as Krillin.
  • In Dead Zone, Goku goes on about his fondness for "linner", a meal he seemingly invented between lunch and dinner. In the next scene, Nicky sarcastically responds to Garlic Jr's panic by saying "Oh yeah, we'll just go off, scour the globe, and be back before linner!"
  • In Buu Bits, Goku and Buu both agree that Babidi's suggestion of calling the Super Saiyan forms 1, 2 and 3 is boring.
• Stupid Sacrifice: Even Piccolo realizes that he could have simply grabbed Gohan rather than take the hit for him.
• Sudden Humility: Gohan quickly realizes where he is in the pecking order after Guru unlocks his potential.
  Gohan: With this powerup, I'm now as strong as you were when we fought on Earth!
  Vegeta: Congratulations! You're still weaker than the last 3 guys I killed.
  Gohan: Wow. I now know what it's like to feel like Krillin.
  Krillin: Sucks, doesn't it?
• Super-Senses:
  • Namekians have super hearing. Piccolo can hear people talking... from the other side of the planet.
    Gohan [stuck on top of a cliff] How am I supposed to get down from here?
    Piccolo [from really far away] CLIMB DOWN!
    Gohan: I can't even get any food or water! What should I do?
    Piccolo: I SAID CLIMB DOWN!!
    Gohan: If only I had some sticks or reeds lying around... I could make a makeshift ladder, or a rope...
    Piccolo: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
    • Similarly:
      Dende: He is on Namek.
      Gohan: Wait, where is he?
      Dende: On Namek.
      Piccolo: [from the other side of the planet] You dumbass!
      Krillin: Why didn't it bring him here?
      Dende: You must be specific.
      Gohan: Oh, so it's a sort of monkey's paw; you have to be careful what the hubris in your wish is.
      Piccolo: [still distant] NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!
    • And shortly after that, when Vegeta figures out Gohan and Krillin have summoned Porunga without him:
      Vegeta: Oh, you mother— [cut to Krillin and Gohan] —fuckers!
      Piccolo: [still distant] Ow, my ears!
  • -* In 34 when Piccolo overhears Trunks and Goku's conversation and laughing and taunting Vegeta:
    Piccolo: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
    Vegeta: What's so funny!?
    Piccolo: Your shirt!
  • This is not without its downsides, though. The sound of whistling hurts them. This is exploited to gain the upper hand against Lord Slug.
• Suicide as Comedy:
  • The fate of the space orphans in Episode 12.
    Cutter: Everyone! Take your cyanide pills!
  • Played darkly straight in Episode 34, where Future Trunks reveals that Yamcha kills himself upon learning that Bulma is pregnant with Vegeta's child. Even Goku is taken aback.
    [Shot of Yamcha's hanging corpse]
    Goku: Dark.
• "Super Sentai" Stance:
  • The Ginyu Force, as expected. In Episode 22, Goku tells Ginyu it's boring, and an offended Ginyu says that he makes these poses to raise morale.
  • As a sort of Call-Forward, in the Episode of Bardock movie, Lord Chilled's final, dying wish is that going forward, each of his empire's most elite warriors must be instructed in Dance Choreography so that they may "dance all over our opponent's balls."
• Surrounded by Idiots:
  • Vegeta uses these exact words when he realizes Goku's no brighter than Nappa.
  • Also Freeza, much to his chagrin. Except for Ginyu who, quirky as he might be, calms Freeza down with sensible advice.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial:
  • Planet Vegeta was blown up by falling rocks, not a Death Ball thrown by Freeza. At least, that's what its Wikipedia entry says.
    Wiki page: P.S. Freeza rules you!
  • Gohan's stupid-looking watch tells time, and nothing else...
  • When Vegeta asks Krillin to almost kill him, we get a blend of this and Exact Words.
    Krillin: And there's no repercussion for this?
    Vegeta: I will not punch you.
    Krillin: Oddly specific.
    • Krillin doesn't listen to his instructions, so Vegeta threatens to punch him anyway.
  • Mr. Popo doesn't torture. Cats.
• Sympathetic Villain, Despicable Villain: Dr. Wheelo is a fairly affable mad scientist turned disembodied brain who worked tirelessly for the benefit of mankind and just wants a new body. His assistant Kochin, however, is an Overzealous Underling who interprets his orders in villainous ways.

T

• Take That!:
  • The AWA special is an affectionate Take That! to the crew at Daizenshuu EX... at least, we hope it's affectionate, considering they interviewed TFS on their podcast and played the video at their panel...
  • Another one is directed at Dragon Ball Evolution:
    Goku: Man, this is worse than that time I was in high school, and all the guys called me "Geeko", and I was Piccolo's slave, I couldn't get Chi-Chi to like me, and... Oh wow, I hit that rock harder'n I thought.
    • And then there's this:
      Nappa: Wait, Vegeta! Does that mean we've offended EVERYONE?!
      Vegeta: Hold on a minute, let me think... DRAGONBALL: THE MOVIE!
      Nappa: Haha... aha! Aaaaah, high school!
  • And then this jab at a certain dub.
    Krillin: I know! I'm gonna call you Big Green!
    Nail: CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I WILL SNAP YOUR NECK!
  • There are several in the Bardock special, aimed at the later villians and the GT saga, when Bardock sees into the future as he is dying.
    Bardock: But wait...wait, there's more. He fights...a giant green bug...man. And then a giant...pink...manchild. Oh no, it's dark again... where is...
    Para Para Brothers: [rapping and dancing]
    Bardock: And I now welcome the sweet embrace of death...
  • Speaking of GT, in Episode 20, when Vegeta introduces himself, the "Step into the Grand Tour!" rap from Funimation's GT dub (prior to the season boxsets) plays. He quickly says "Oh the f$#!k with this!" and attacks Recoome.
  • Also from Episode 20...
    Vegeta: Wrestling's fake.
    Crowd: [boos him]
  • In the Lord Slug special
    Dr Briefs: Quick, get me Bruce Willis, Steve Buscemi, and Aerosmith!
    Oolong: What about Ben Affleck?
    Dr Briefs: [sharply] What about bacon?
  • In the Episode of Bardock special, Bardock himself utters this towards his own plot line!
    Bardock: I'm in the f*cking past. Of all the stupid asinine shark-jumping bullshit!
  • Also in the Episode of Bardock, Lord Chilled and his minions, disguised as the Space Police, say they are there to catch evil space criminals and other ne'er do wells. What does Dre say?
    Dre: I can assure you we have already exiled Chris of the clan Brown from our planet.
  • When Android 19 dies he says "Your 30-Day Free Trial has expired. Would you like to purchase WinRAR?"
  • As Vegeta and Nappa land on earth, one of the buildings they hit on the way down reads "Saban Capital Group."
  • In Episode 18:
    Gohan: Mr. Guru, sir, my friend Krillin told me that you could help us by... touching me.
    Guru: Do I look Catholic to you?
  • In the Episode 60 Epilogue, the Cell from Future Trunks' timeline says that he was going to name himself "Jiren", but decided against it when he realized how boring it sounded.
  • Dragonball Z Kai Abridged 3 has Goku dreaming he's Deku. Then Vegeta dressed as Bakugou shows up.
    Vegeta: F**K YOU, DEKUROT! KILL YOURSELF! WRYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
    Goku: God, you're such a deep character!
  • DBZ Abridged Kai 3.5 offers a 2-in-1 Take That to yaoi fangirls who read incest manga, and Porn Hub, which had been flooded with incest porn at the time.
    Android 17: Cyborg Jesus, what is that thing?
    Imperfect Cell: I'm your onii-chan.
    Android 17: (pinned on the ground) W-What are we going to do on the ground onii-chan?
    [Cell's tail opens into a maw with an anime "wow!" sound cue]
    Android 17: Wait, you can't do this, we're related!
    Imperfect Cell: Not by blood.
    Android 17: Oh cool, that's fine then.
    [Cue Cell absorbing 17 to sexual music and framed in one of Porn Hub's video screens, complete with a step-sibling incest title]
  • In Buu Bits, Goku explicitly states that GT is going to ruin Pan after the gang discusses the events of Super.
    • Just before that, when the characters recap the events of Super, Vegeta explicitly refers to the Canon Immigrant version of Broly from Dragon Ball Super: Broly as "the good one" in comparison to his original Non-Serial Movie incarnation. This is followed by Goku asking if anyone remembers Jiren, a question which is met with dead silence.
• Take That, Audience!: When Recoome's introduction turns into a send-up of pro wrestling, this is Vegeta's response: "What kind of sadistic retard watches this crap?"
  • At which point the scene quickly cuts to Freeza watching them...
    Freeza: Love this show.
• Take Off Your Clothes:
  • Vegeta to Krillin and Gohan in Episode 24.
    Vegeta: Now both of you... strip.
    Krillin: Uuuuuhh...
    Vegeta: I've got body armor for you.
    Krillin: Less awkward.
  • Apparently, King Yemma has been having newly dead arrivals remove their clothes for laughs. In Episode 28:
    King Yemma: Next! Strip. [stamp] Next! Strip. [stamp] Next! Strip. [zipping sound, King Yemma leans forward] Nice!
    Recoome: Recoome thanks you.
    • He's still doing it. When Trunks comes back, one of the first things he says is "Good. I got my clothes back."
• Take Your Time: Parodied in the Season 3 Epilogue, where Trunks and Bulma are having tea when they hear a radio report about Androids 17 and 18 attacking. Instead of immediately rushing off, Trunks takes the time to discuss with Bulma what they're going to do with the tea. By the time he arrives at the scene, 17 has just killed an old man (who survived in the original anime).
• Taking You with Me:
  • Lord Slug to Goku in Lord Slug Abridged.
  • Chiaotzu attempts this with Nappa, but fails to accomplish anything except killing himself.
  • In Deadzone Abridged Kami threatens Garlic Jr. with this, but is talked out of it by Piccolo.
  • Cell in Episode 60, attempting to blow himself up to take out Gohan. Also the entire planet.
• Talking Is a Free Action:
  • Generally averted, unlike the source material. Any character who goes on too long is likely to get blindsided, especially if they're giving a heartfelt speech. Depending on the victim, this can also count as a Shut Up, Hannibal!, Shut Up, Kirk!, or Killed Mid-Sentence if they're a mook (or Yamcha).
  • Jeice found out the hard way. Several times.
  • Also averted by Freeza, who is more than happy to power up while the Z fighters are busy talking. He even lampshades how easy it is to get away with it around them.
  • And also averted with Piccolo's Senseless Sacrifice, except it was his own thoughts that were interrupted by a wave of deadly energy.
    Piccolo: [thinking] Yeah, that's it! I'll just grab him, and move out of the - AAAAARRGH!!
• Talk Like a Pirate: On King Kai's planet, Bojack is given a pirate accent. In the sequel series, HFIL, it's retained, with Bojack even having a .
• Talk to the Fist: Jeice repeatedly gets interrupted by being punched by Goku in Episode 21.
• Technology Levels:
  • Unknown where Earth is, but Freeza is seen using Wikipedia, SpaceTwitter, and Space Skype.
  • Vegeta insults Gohan on Namek by calling him Moe Howard. When Gohan asks Vegeta how he knows about Three Stooges, an Earth TV program, he says that he watches Space Hulu.
• Teleportation Rescue: The take on Goku rescuing Tien and Piccolo adds Goku forgetting that he could teleport.
  Gohan: No! We CAN'T just let him die like this! You gotta save him!
  Goku: But I can't get him in time! There's no way I could move fast enough to grab him, get out, and-
  [Beat]
  [Goku teleports]
  Gohan: Did- did he just remember he can do that?
  Mr. Popo: Your father's an idiot.
• Temporal Paradox: When Trunks asks Goku to keep his birth a secret from his parents or else he might not exist in the future. Goku who's an Idiot Hero, points out the Temporal Paradox.
  Goku: Wait, but if you don't exist; then you don't come back in time. But then you could never tell me. Which means I never know. You'd still be born and... Why does everything smell like copper?
• Tempting Fate:
  • Krillin does this when he assumed Vegeta has been killed.
    Krillin: It's been tough, but now we'll never have to see that rotten Saiyan ever again! [Vegeta crashes to Earth] ...Alive again. We'll never have to see him alive again. That's what I meant.
    Vegeta: They've broken my body... I've failed in my mission to find the Dragon Balls... I even lost my tail... but at least it can't get any worse... from here...
    Ghost Nappa: Vegeeeeta...
  • Earlier:
    Krillin: Ow! This can't possibly get any worse.
    Popo: Hi!
    Krillin: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! [Krillin Owned Count: 4]
  • Then later:
    Goku: Oh well, we won't need [all four senzu beans] on Namek!
  • Still later:
    Ginyu: This is RIDICULOUS! But at least I'm not trapped in some useless body.
    [Vegeta warps behind him]
    Vegeta: Give me a minute.
    [Beatdown ensues]
  • And then...
    Dende: I'm your white mage. And nobody f$#!ks with the white mage. [Gets blown up by Freeza]
  • Freeza tests his limits as well.
    Freeza: If I'm so evil, then let God strike me where I stand. [cue bolt of lightning... which doesn't harm Freeza at all] Ha, nice try, jackass! Next time, give it your A-game!
  • Earlier, Freeza does it three times in a row while talking about Dodoria with Zarbon without even realizing it until being informed of Dodoria's death at the end of the episode.
    Freeza: We're talking about one of my finest soldiers. There's no way they'll escape Dodoria's Grasp.
    [Cut to Krillin escaping from Dodoria's grasp]
    Zarbon: But what if they have any tricks up their sleeves?
    Freeza: Come now, Zarbon! We both know Dodoria would never let them out of sight.
    [Cut to Krillin blinding Dodoria with a Solar Flare]
    Zarbon: Still, sir, we have to remember that Vegeta is on the plane
    Freeza: Oh, please! Like Vegeta could even lay a hand on Dodoria.
    [Cut to Vegeta punching Dodoria into the water]
  • On Namek, Nail mentions that he wants something exciting to happen and doesn't care what it is. It cannot be denied that an invasion from Freeza does make things less boring.
  • In Episode 32, Bulma and Vegeta both seem rather good at this.
    Bulma: He's probably running out of fuel soon so God knows if he'll ever make it back here!
    Vegeta: [Crashes to Earth] I'M BACK, BITCHES!
    Then later...
    Vegeta: The only thing I hate more than weaklings is the color pink! [Sees the pink shirt Bulma set out for him] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
  • During Piccolo and Android 17's fight, Android 18 groans that it couldn't get any dumber than the two in a deadlock, screaming at the top of their lungs. Next time we see them, they're punching each other in the gut and Android 18 corrects herself.
• Terms of Endangerment: After it becomes clear to both parties that "Semi-Perfect" Cell doesn't have much of a chance in a fight with Vegeta (And when Cell realizes this, he's all set to kill him), Vegeta takes an interest in his talk of what it would've taken to truly see him at his best. That said, when his explanation starts with "You see, my dear prince," he snaps at him not to push it.
• Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: You wouldn't even think about it until after the reveal, but Dodoria is pink.
  • And looks like she has lipstick and eyeshadow on. Not to mention her going nuts whenever someone calls her fat.
• Tethercat Principle:
  • Invoked. During Piccolo's fight with Freeza, Freeza starts blasting him repeatedly. The scene switches to other characters and when it returns to them Piccolo is still getting blasted, painfully asking "Why is this still happening?"
  • When Krillin dies, he's screaming. Four months later, he's revived, still screaming.
  • In the second Kai episode, Guru launches into an exceptionally long introduction, and Nail just talks over him, telling Krillin to take the Dragonball and go because he'll be at this for awhile. The scene cuts out, and some scenes later cuts back in to Guru finally finishing up.
    Guru: — Bigger, Longer, And Uncut Guru. [notices Gohan] Oh, hello.
    Gohan: Why am I here?
• That Came Out Wrong:
  • From Episode 23:
    Ginyu: First off, we have to touch on Freeza's balls.
    Jeice: Uhhh, sir...
    Ginyu: Yes, yes, realized the moment I said it...
  • In the Episode 60 Epilogue, said word for word from a frustrated Future Cell to Future Trunks when he keeps getting interrupted before he can get through his evil monologue about how he'll travel into the past:
    Cell: So I'm going to need that time machine so I can—
    Trunks: Go back in the past and absorb the cyborgs.
    Cell: —to achieve my—
    Trunks: Perfect form.
    Cell: (nettled) Okay, you suck. You are sucking all of the fun out of this. I'm the only one who sucks here, boy — That came out wrong.
    Trunks: No, sounds right to me.
• That's What She Said: Krillin's response to Burter's remark about being "the fastest in the universe."
• Theme Music Power-Up:
  • Subverted in Episode 29:
    Gohan: That last attack drained all of his energy! We've got to help him!
    ["Chou ★ Super Dragon Soul" starts playing]
    Krillin: You're right, Gohan! It's time to get in there and throw down!
    [The song abruptly stops]
    Gohan: Really, Krillin?
    Krillin: Ha ha! F**k no!
  • In Episode 30, the moment where Goku goes Super Saiyan for the first time on Namek uses the exact same haunting theme from Shunsuke Kikuchi's original score from the Japanese soundtrack.
  • In Episode 52, when Cell gives Vegeta One Free Hit, Vegeta powers up to a Faux-orchestral remix of his theme from Bruce Faulconer's dub score before firing the Final Flash. While the attack does significant damage to Cell that required him to move out of the way, he is able to regenerate his lost body fairly easily.
  • In Episode 53, Trunks powers up to a Faux-orchestral remix of "Hikari No Willpower" (Trunks' theme from Dragon Ball GT) right before he battles Cell, managing to put the bugman android on the backfoot. However, while Trunks giving Cell a tough time is mostly played straight, it's ultimately subverted as Cell was just playing him the whole time as Trunks' new form doesn't help him win.
  • Episode 60 Part 1 ends with Gohan ascending to Super Saiyan 2, scored with an English cover of "Unmei no Hi (Tamashii vs Tamashii)" (titled "Day of Fate" on TFS' channel), giving him the anger and power to defeat Cell and his Cell Jrs. in the next part.
  • The Buu Bits has Goku transforming into Super Saiyan 3, which is scored to a custom medley based on other music tracks that have been used for this moment, including the original Japanese score, the Bruce Faulconer dub score, and Sumitomo's score from DBZ Kai.
• Theme Naming: Parodied in Episode 25. In DBZ canon, most characters from a certain family, race or faction are all theme-named. In particular, the Saiyan race are all named after vegetables (which "Vegeta" itself is short for), so the "smartass" Saiyan who informs King Vegeta of Freeza's plans is named "Butaraga"^note Rutabaga.
  • The primitive Saiyans in Episode of Bardock are all named after rappers.
    • In the same special, Chilled decides all his minions will be named after fruits, causing some confusion when he randomly starts issuing orders to their "new" names.
  • The cities in History of Trunks are all named after spices - Paprikaburg and Cuminopolis.
  • The cities in the Cell Saga are all named after directions, but not the directions they're in.
• This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!:
  • Happens often, but a memorable moment is after Popo knocks Krillin off Kami's lookout (Krillin Owned Count: 3)
    Mr. Popo: Enjoy the climb back up, bitch!
  • Vegeta seems to be fond of this trope:
    Vegeta: [after stealing Freeza's Dragon Balls] Later, bitches.
    Vegeta: [after stealing a Capsule Corp. spaceship] Sayonara, bitches!
    Vegeta: [after returning to Earth] I'm back, bitches!
  • In Episode 33, one of Freeza's soldiers is more eager to fight Trunks than the rest:
    Man, move yo' bitchin' bitch-ass over, bitch.
  • Even Android 16 gets one, after Cell pushes his Berserk Button by saying that after absorbing the other Androids, he'll kill Goku. "Would you care to repeat that, YOU SON OF A BITCH?"
• This Is Gonna Suck: Yamcha, from the moment he realizes he's the closest one to the androids' rampage to the moment he gets a fist through his chest, is entirely (and correctly) convinced that he's walking into one of the worst experiences of his life. To his credit, he goes anyway. Also, there's this:
  Gohan: We have about 10 minutes before Vegeta finds out I stole this. [holds out a Dragonball]
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself:
  • Played with as Piccolo insists this while Tenshinhan fights Nappa... despite the former's desperate pleas for help.
  • Vegeta claims Goku's fight with Cell is one of these as well, right before Goku surrenders.
• Throw the Dog a Bone:
  • Even while Nappa and Vegeta mock Krillin, Nappa points out that, "at least you've proven that your Raditz is still stronger than our Raditz."
  • After learning that in Future Trunks' timeline, Yamcha commits suicide due to learning that Bulma was pregnant with Vegeta's child, Goku tells Yamcha that he's his friend. Trunks is also trying to be nice to Yamcha, and attempts to avoid saying the word "hanging."
  • After the credits of Episode 60 Part 3, #18 and Krillin have sex at Kame House, causing the Krillin Owned Counter to actually decrease, culminating in Krillin’s climax-induced Scatter Bullet destroying it completely. Way to go, little guy!
• Time Travel:
  • In "Episode of Bardock", Bardock gets sent back to planet Vegeta, extremely far in the past, though he takes a while to figure this out.
  • Future Trunks and Cell of course. His ship even makes the TARDIS noises.
• Title Drop:
  • Lampshaded and called out in the Christmas Tree of Might.
  • Episode 29's title, "Freezer Burn", gets dropped as well.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • Freeza's honest view of Goku and all the nonsensical stuff he spouts out.
    Freeza: N-no, that was a rhetorical question.
    Goku: And I gave you a rhetorical answer.
    Freeza: Good Lord, I traded Vegeta for this.
  • And then:
    Goku: Wow, that was a close one. I was almost out of the frying pan and into the...lava.
    Freeza: How do you function?
  • Later still:
    Freeza: I just love how easy it is to get away with this s*** with you people. I mean I want to transform and you sit there and let me; I want to blow up the planet and you sit there and let me; I want to reach 100% power and YOU JUST SIT THERE AND LET ME!.
  • This is Bardock's assessment of the Kannasans. Just because they're psychic doesn't mean they're smart, a theory which turns out to hold water. Though they managed to repopulate later, so maybe they weren't as dumb as they appeared.
  • Let's not forget about Nappa.
    Nappa: [after Krillin throws a Destructo Disk at him] Ooh, a Frisbee, Vegeta!
    Vegeta: Nappa, no! It's a trick!
    Nappa: But Vegeta, tricks are for kids.
    Vegeta: [Beat] You know what, on second thought, catch it. Catch it with your teeth.
  • Garlic Jr.'s minions in the remade Dead Zone. Upon realizing that the kid his minions kidnapped is the son of Son Goku, strongest man on Earth:
    Garlic: Oh god, your father's Goku. Oh my GOD, you morons stole Goku's kid?! How? How did you steal Goku's kid?!
    Cinnamon: Well, first we beat up his wife...
    Garlic: Oh, my shit.
  • There's also them trying to kill Piccolo, and by extension, Kami, and THEN try to use the Dragon Balls. They both realize it. Hell, even GOKU figured it out before them.
    Kami: Wait so you tried to have me killed, then use the Dragon Balls.
    Garlic: What? Yow, what? Oh, shit. Wow, I dodged a bullet on that one! Thank god my minions are so incompetent!
  • Then not long after, when the minions realize Piccolo is alive...
    Goku: Well of course he's alive, Kami's alive. I mean, you guys have used the Dragon Balls, right?
    [Beat]
    Ginger: Oh wow, yeah, thank God we're incompetent.
• Too Funny to Be Evil: Nappa has way too many good lines to get the fan base to hate him.
• Too Much Information: In the Season 3 Epilogue, future Bulma tells Trunks about the circumstances of his conception despite him really not wanting to know.
  Bulma: Unfortunately, [Vegeta] didn't know what protection meant.
  Trunks: Mom, I really don't need to know this.
  Bulma: But after that first time, I just thought, "Well, in for a penny, in for a pounding."
  Trunks: Uuuuhhhh....
  Bulma: And I really was.
  Trunks: (Screaming Externally)
• Too Smart for Strangers: Parodied in the Namek saga with Gohan three times, the first with Vegeta then Krillin and then Super Kami Guru and each time getting more sexual innuendos. The line itself was parodied later with Goku:
  Gohan: (sighs in resignation) I need an adult...
  Goku: I am an a—
  Gohan: No! No, you are not!
• Took a Level in Badass: Played straight and lampshaded with Goku, Gohan and the "Z Warriors" in season 1. And then subverted in season 2:
  Guru: [about Krillin] I see something within this young man: [places his hand on Krillin's head] strength yet untapped, power yet unleashed. Now hold still, as I unleash the valley of strength hidden deep within! [nimbus of lights surround Krillin] There! [pulls his hand back] I have unlocked your potential.
  Krillin: ...I don't feel that different.
  Guru: It wasn't that much.
  Krillin: Huh. So, this is my full potential?
  Guru: Yes.
  Krillin: So, then it's...
  Guru: All downhill from here.
  Krillin: (disheartened) ...Like Yamcha.
  Guru: I do not know what this Yamcha is, but it sounds disappointing.
• Took a Level in Dumbass: Goku gets more stupid with every episode. And it's hilarious.
• Took A Level In Jerk Ass:
  • Krillin in season 2. He never bothers to learn Dende's name and berates him for going on about his family's death (though since he was resurrected before and naturally knows anyone can be brought back but its still pretty cruel). He also keeps being more cowardly and refusing to fight. Possibly that this may just be a result of everyone being a dick to him but its hard to feel bad for him compared to season 1.
  • Dende, progressively throughout Season 2 and especially when he returns for Season 3 - it's downright jarring to see him act so hesitant and polite in his initial appearances. Justified, as he had a pretty traumatic experience on Namek, made no better by the fact that he spent a LOT of time with both Krillin and Guru.
• Took a Level in Kindness: At the start of the series, most of the cast are Dirty Cowards and borderline Heroic Comedic Sociopaths, seeming to barely tolerate each other and showing next to no empathy. By the time of Season Three, they've become far more empathetic and are shown to genuinely care about each other's well-being. It's notable that by episode 60, Gohan's casual indifference to the potential death of Krillin is used to show just how cruel his Superpowered Evil Side has made him, whereas this attitude would have been par for the course back in Season One.
• Totally Radical: Cell tries to get Android 18 to let him absorb her by projecting an image of her brother trying to convince her to "get all up in Cell" by telling her "it's downright tubular in here." However, considering Cell's version of Android 17 sounded as stereotypically 90's as you can get, she's not fooled at all.
  Android 18: Wow, you really know nothing about us.
  Cell: Well, to be fair, I did just meet you.
• Training from Hell:
  • Played straight (though hilariously) with Piccolo. Subverted with King Kai. And then there's the Training Montage. Taken to its literal extreme with Mr. Popo. Check out 2:45 for a sample.
    Gohan: So, how was your training, Krillin?
    [Krillin freezes as he hears Popo's mocking laughter in his head]
    Krillin: [weeping] First rule of Popo's training! Do not talk about Popo's training!
    Gohan: Why are you crying?
    Krillin: SECOND RULE OF POPO'S TRAINING!
  • Both Gohan and Dr. Briefs try to deconstruct the idea of Training from Hell by pointing out the long term downsides, like horrible muscle degeneration, but both are ignored by their listeners, Piccolo and Goku.
  • A quick flashback to Gohan's training shows him on the run from a Tyrannosaur!
• Training Montage: This AMV sums up the training leading up to Vegeta and Nappa's landing. And it is awesome.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • How Vegeta responds to having his tail cut off.
    Vegeta: [Calmly] You know... I thought I'd be angrier, what with the utter humiliation and loss of my tail... Or maybe I'm just so unbelievably enraged that I've come full circle. Oh well! Either way it's time to put an end to this.
  • Then he calmly unburdens his shame of his defeat on Earth to Cui before blowing him straight to hell. It's starting to look like the only thing scarier than a raging Vegeta is a mellow one. And, of course, Mr. Popo.
    Vegeta: God, I love therapy.
  • And used twice when his attempt to explain his superiority fall flat due to stupid remarks from Goku.
    Vegeta: I'm going to start beating you now. I don't know when I'll stop.
  • Later, as he's about to crush Goku's body like a grape.
    Vegeta: I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should.
  • Also Bulma's answer to Krillin's "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
  • And Freeza can do it too, though the tranquility isn't always stable.
    Freeza: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm usually more composed. I'm just a little bit absolutely livid.
  • In Episode 30, it actually makes (Super Saiyan) Goku temporarily smarter.
    Goku: Gohan, take Piccolo, find Bulma, get back to the ship.
    Gohan: But what about you?
    Goku: If Piccolo dies then all of this was pointless! Take him, get to the ship, and get out of here!
    Gohan: This is surprisingly well thought-out for you.
    Goku: ...Gohan? Where should you be right now?
    Gohan: The ship?
    Goku: THE SHIP!!!
    Gohan: Okay..!!
  • King Cold had a rather jovial tone of voice after Freeza was killed. When Trunks says he thought Cold would be more pissed, Cold cheerfully replies "Oh, blindingly so."
  • In episode 48, after Goku saves Piccolo and Tien, he transitions from his normal self to giving Cell a Death Glare and coldly announcing he will die.
    Goku: Oh, and uh, by the way, Cell? You're gonna die.
  • True to canon, after Gohan transforms into Super Saiyan 2, his voice is low and clear, but his every syllable drips with murderous intent.
    Gohan (with deadly calm): The murder of one’s own child or children.
    Cell (taken aback): Uhh..
    (Gohan quickly snatches back the Senzu Beans from Cell, teleports in front of a Cell Jr.)
    Gohan: You wanted me to define “filicide”.
    (The Cell Jr. charges at Gohan, who instantly kills it in one strike.)
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Played with throughout the series.
  • Vegeta's transformation into a Great Ape and Freeza's first transformations happen in seconds, with our heroes too shocked to react. Nail distracts Piccolo during Freeza's second one. He only gets away with his third one because Krillin used up too much power shooting Vegeta to make a Kienzan when Gohan asks him why he doesn't do just that. Gloriously lampshaded by Freeza when fighting Super Saiyan Goku.
  • Goku himself lampshades this in Revenge of Cooler, wondering why he allows the villains to do this at all. Although, like Freeza's first transformation, Cooler's transformation does happen pretty fast as well.
  • Played straight again with Super Android 13, whose transformation involves the remains of his allies flying towards him and being absorbed.
    Piccolo: I feel like...we should be stopping this.
    Goku: Aw, I want a good fight!
  • In the Buu Bits, when Goku shows off Super Saiyan 3, Majin Buu and Babidi allow Goku the time to transform, with no interruptions. Buu however gets bored once Goku's done, asking if they're gonna fight now, which they quickly do.
• Trapped in Villainy: It gives us a fairly strong hint that Zarbon and at least some of Freeza's other men are this.
  Freeza: You know, Zarbon, I'm starting to think my people don't understand what I pay them for.
  Zarbon: You don't pay us—
  Freeza: —allow them to live for.
• [Trope Name]: It's a good way to abridge some dialogue in Dragonball Z Kai Abridged.
  Nappa: Hilariously derailing one-liner.
• True Companions:
  • The Z-Warriors minus Vegeta by the Android Saga. Trunks, believing he was one of them, asked how the group could be friends with his Jerkass father. Tien notes he was assuming a bit too much there.
  • The Ginyu Force, minus Guldo, serve as a villainous example. It also runs especially deep between Jeice and Burter.
• Truer to the Text: Even though it's exaggerated for comedy the series will often go out of its way to be more in line with the original manga adaptation especially once season 3 hits.
  • Gohan's pacifism is very similar to how he acted in the manga, where he was reluctant to fight and only wanted to train with his father and Piccolo rather than train on his own to get stronger.
  • While it takes until season 3 for his characterisation to fully solidify, by that point Goku's personality is pretty similar to the original manga's, a Blood Knight who can be selfish and isn't exactly the best parent but genuinely cares for his family and friends, rather than the neglectful father figure he was at the start of the series.
  • The series also often goes out of its way to resemble the manga by Adapting Out various filler shots or characters even if it is a time-consuming process. For example:
    • While Ginyu being killed by Vegeta was unique for this adaptation, its inclusion removed the subplot in the original anime of Bulma being tricked by the Ginyu frog to switch bodies with her, and almost doing the same with Picoolo, before being trapped in his frog body again.
    • During the battle with Freeza on Namek there was an episode in the original anime where it appeared that Goku had died, and Gohan returned to avenge him. The episode was ultimately a pointless bit of filler in the anime so instead that entire subplot is removed and Goku returns after being buried in lava and dropkicks Freeza in the head.
    • During the climax of the Cell Games, during Gohan and Cell's iconic Beam-O-War, the scene of all the other Z-Fighters futilely attacking Cell in order to help Gohan is removed and only Vegeta's last-minute strike to distract Cell, which was in the manga, was kept.
    • Mr. Satan's pupils, who were all Canon Foreigners in the anime, are just some random challengers from a rival entertainment company who have no relation to Satan and barely even appear in the show before Cell blows up their helicopter and kills them. Aside from some distance shots during the Cell Games, the three are removed entirely. KaiserNeko even freely admits that he would rather make the effort to remove them from all of the shots from the anime then write jokes for them.
• Try Not to Die: When Krillin goes out to get the Namekian Dragon Balls' password, Vegeta offers him this encouragement.
  Vegeta: Try not to get yourself killed out there, God forbid you make me happy.
• Twist Ending:
  • In Lord Slug Abridged, Guru is Lord Slug's Evil Twin, instead of the other way around like in the original canon.
  • During an FAQ special, Bubbles answered the question of how the episodes were scheduled. Yes, the monkey. And no, they didn't have subtitles this time.

U

• Uncovering Relationship Status: Krillin admits beforehand that it's probably an inappropiate time for this, but he still asks Android 18 if she's "seeing anyone right now" while they're desperately trying to run away from Cell in Episode 51.
• Unexpectedly Dark Episode: "The History of Trunks" in Dragon Ball Z Abridged is one of the darker episodes, with the Androids' sociopathic behavior and the deaths of the majority of the cast in Trunks' timeline played relatively seriously, especially Gohan.
• Unexplained Recovery:
  • The entire Kanassian species miraculously repopulated after being exterminated and eaten by giant monkeys.
  • In the opening to Episode 45, Chi-Chi gets accidentally thrown by Goku up into space, where she burns up in the atmosphere. She is shown to be fine afterwards with no acknowledgement of this.
• Unfortunate Character Design: Acknowledged In-Universe in Episode 60 Part 2. Piccolo gets his first look at Semi-Perfect Cell and asks if it's weird that he finds the shape of Cell's lips offensive. Krillin asks if Mr. Popo offends him and an incredulous/worried Piccolo asks if they can even talk about that.
• The Unintelligible: Lord Slug, prior to the granting of his wish. Also Neiz (the red guy who's part of Cooler's Quirky Miniboss Squad), goes from being able to speak normally in the original movie to this.
• Unnecessary Combat Roll: Piccolo does a series of backflips to gain some distance from Android 17. Nail and Kami immediately lampshade how impractical this is, considering he could just fly.
• The Unpronouncable:
  • Nobody seems to be able to pronounce the Japanese name for Piccolo's "Special Beam Cannon^*(Makankosappo)", including Piccolo himself.
    Piccolo: Makansa... Makakasappa... Mekasappaaah, Oh to hell with it. Special Beam Cannon!
  • In Kai Abridged:
    Piccolo: Makansappalappaka!!
  • Goku to Freeza during their final battle on Namek:
    Goku: So are you just stealing Krillin's attacks now or should I look out for the Tri-Beam... or the Garlic Gun... or the Makankapotamus?
  • Cell manages to pronounce it properly, much to Kami's interest. When Cell tries using it against Goku during their fight in the Cell Games, Piccolo is unable to pronounce it properly, but both Nail and Kami (in Piccolo's mind) can.
• Unsettling Gender-Reveal:
  • Krillin initially assumes Freeza is a woman.
    Krillin: That thing's a GUY!?
  • And then in Episode 15, we get an inversion from Dodoria.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Zig-zagged. In episode 60 we learn that Goku had set things up so that Vegeta would screw up and allow Cell to reach his full power, and then Goku manipulated Cell so that he'd create the tournament, all so that Goku could get Gohan to take over as the planet's defender in case Goku ever permanently died. Unfortunately, because it was unspoken, no one was able to point out that Goku's plan had the massive flaw of Gohan not wanting to fight until the moment Goku revealed his plan.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • Vegeta in Episode 18. It even drives him temporarily insane, until Gohan powering up snaps him out of it.
  • Also, just like in the show, Gohan is known for these in general — only now they're even more exaggerated. This then gets deconstructed in Episode 60, which ends up with Gohan taking on the same traits that he hates about his dad and Vegeta.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: The entire cast, though they grow out of it during Season Three.
• Unusual Euphemism:
  • Goku was clearly traumatized at some point.
    Goku: Holy black on a Popo!
  • Also "What the H.F.I.L.?" in reference to the Bowdlerisation of "Hell" from the original American import. Similarly, there's an episode where Goku is driving (badly) while singing "I'm on the highway to H.F.I.L." (also badly).
  • Bulma nearly dies, which she refers to as being "a wish".
  • Vegeta has a meltdown in one episode, his words being bleeped by Jeice's malfunctioning scouter. The stinger of that episode shows his unbleeped rant, which is a string of unusual euphemisms.
    • One of those euphemisms, "Find me in the Alps," is repeated by Dr. Gero a few episodes later.
  • If you've been killed or horribly maimed in a rather throwaway style, you've been "Yamcha'd".
    • In Episode 34, when Goku exits his space pod:
      Goku: I can't believe you guys are all...still alive. I mean, I swore Freeza was going to Yamcha at least one or two of you...
    • And in Episode 35, after Yamcha is impaled by Android 20:
      Goku: Oh no! Yamcha's been Yamcha'd!
• Unwanted Assistance: invoked In Episode 22, Super Kami Guru talks up Nail to Freeza something fierce...
  Guru: Please. Nail isn't afraid of you. He is the strongest of our race!
  Freeza: Oh really?
  Nail: ...uhhh, sir?
  Guru: Yeah, Nail's gonna destroy your sorry ass! They wouldn't be able to air it on the news because it'll be so BRUUUTAL!
  Nail: Sir, seriously!
  Guru: Hush, Nail! I'm speaking for you.
• Useless Superpowers: The ability to see the future is often less than productive.
  Bardock: Useless-ass psychic powers! [takes giant energy beam to the face]

V

• Verbal Salt in the Wound:
  • During their confrontation in season 3, Tien Shinhan is able to hammer Semi-Perfect Cell into the ground with the Kikoho technique, and though it nearly costs Tien his life, it nets Cell his first real defeat and delays him long enough for Android 18 to escape. As such, Tien is careful to rub this fact in Cell's face when next they meet by cheerily remarking "Kikohow you doing?"
  • Vegeta and Yamcha both end exchanging this type of insult - though in this case, neither of them were responsible for the injuries: the former needles Yamcha over being punched through the chest by Professor Gero, who was a threat to almost nobody else on the team... only for the latter to achieve a rare win by mockingly reminding Vegeta that he's still fresh from getting his spine snapped at the end of a humiliating defeat at the hands of Cell.
    Vegeta: Hello, Earthing! How's that gaping chest wound?
    Yamcha: Just fine! How's your spine?
    [Stunned Silence]
    Vegeta: [seething with rage] I'm giving you a five minute head-start.
    Yamcha: [without changing tone] Thank you! I'm going to need it. You're very fast.
• Victory Sex: On seeing Krillin's determination to save her, Android 18 thinks to herself that if they make it out alive, she's going to rock his four-foot-world. At the end of the arc, she does just that... and on seeing his Gag Penis, bangs him for so long it destroys the "Krillin Owned" counter.
• Viewers Are Geniuses: Some of the jokes are quite subtle and you'd really have to be in the know to get them.
  • The obscurity of some jokes was actually lampshaded at one point.
    Vegeta: Oh, God damn it, Nappa, nobody's going to get that.
    Tien: As a matter of fact, I did.
    • Which is itself a reference to Phelous' infamous Dragon Ball edit.
• Villainous Breakdown: In Episode 24, Freeza finally hit his breaking point when Nail tells him that while he spent an hour flying to the middle of nowhere and then spent a further fifteen minutes ripping his arm off, Dende has given the earthlings the password to the Dragon Balls, shattering his polite and mocking facade for good.
  Freeza: I WILL F***ING MURDER YOU!
  Nail: Whatever.
  • He gets a second one immediately after when he realizes that his entire army, including his most elite fighting force, have been bested by a 26-year-old dwarf, a five year old half-breed (not present: his Saiyan father, who wiped four of the five) and a Saiyan prince (the last of which actually killed them all) he had written off as beneath his notice. Made for a bitchin' day.
  • Freeza lampshades this in Episode 25:
    Freeza: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm usually far more composed. I'm just a little bit absolutely livid.
  • Then there's his entire fight with Goku. That seriously took a toll on Freeza's patience.
    Freeza: That's stupid! You're stupid! Stop being stupid!
  • And it just keeps going downhill after Goku becomes Super Saiyan:
    Freeza: You think now that you're this... so-called Super Saiyan that you're better than me—Lord Freeza?! WELL YOU'RE NOT!! I own you! I own your planet! I own this planet! In fact... F*CK THIS PLANET!!!
    • Dragon Ball Z Kai Abridged's version turns it into this gem:
    Freeza: You f*cked me... YOU F*CKED ME, YOU MONKEY F*CK!
  • And even later:
    Freeza: SMASH MONKEY! SMASH MONKEY!!
  • Freeza goes through another breakdown when he sees Future Trunks go Super Saiyan.
    Mecha-Freeza: No. No! NO! KILL! MURDER! DESTROY! EXTERMINATE! ''EXTERMINATE!''
  • In episode 60 part 2, Cell goes through two big ones once Super Saiyan 2 Gohan starts to tear through him with ease. The first where Gohan says he's starting to get bored, instantly derailling Cell's attempt to compose himself.
    Gohan: Y'done getting your shit together up there? Because I'm starting to get bored.
    Cell: WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, YOU HAPLESS LITTLE SHIT!?
    Gohan: I said I'm bored. You're boring me.
  • The second is when Cell loses his perfect form once Gohan hits him hard enough that he throws up Android 18, with Cell unleashing a Cluster Bleep-Bomb as he reverts back to his Semi-Perfect form.
• Villainous BSoD:
  • Freeza literally has one when Future Trunks cuts him in half, showing an actual Windows BSOD, then the screen itself splits as he does.
  • #19 suffers a similar issue when murder.exe suffers a fatal error and his eyes change to red circles with a white X (akin to the picture on error messages)
• Villain Protagonist: Let's not kid ourselves, Vegeta is pretty much the protagonist for the first half of season 2. And he's most definitely a villain before his eventual Heel–Face Turn later in life.
• Villain Song: Cell introduces his Perfect Form with one.
• Villainy Discretion Shot: Vegeta slaughters an entire Namekian village while the opening credits play.
• Visual Pun: In the Spaceys advert, the dessert shown when advertising the Raditz menu is a double sundae.
• Vocal Dissonance: Princess Snake in her humanoid form looks like a pretty young woman, but sounds like Solid Snake.
• Vocal Evolution: Quite a few.
  • Vegeta's voice is still very raspy, though not as low, growly, and Christopher Sabatty as it used to be.
  • Krillin's voice is also much higher and goofier than in the first season.
  • Goku's voice now sounds a bit more nasally, going for its own direction instead of being based off of Peter Kelamis.
  • Megami33's performance as Bulma and Chiaotzu has improved, giving them both slightly deeper voices. Helping her is the fact that she is using a much better microphone than at the beginning of the episode.
  • Master Roshi between the first two seasons and the third season, where he went from being voiced by MasakoX to Lanipator, sounding more bombastic and closer to Roshi's voice in the Funimation dub.
• Voice of the Legion:
  • Goku when he powers up during Lord Slug Abridged.
    Goku: I AM CHAMPION CHRISTMAS!!!
  • Chi-Chi gets scary when she wants to protect Gohan.
    Chi-Chi: "WHERE'S MY BABY?"
• Voices Are Not Mental: Goku and Ginyu, rather than keeping their own voices as they do in the original when they switch bodies, are stuck with each other's voices, but still talk like themselves, including one another's accents. Other users of this trope should learn from them.
  • Goku still thinks in his own voice though, which also makes sense. As does Ginyu.
• Volleying Insults:
  • Nail and Vegeta do this to each other in Episode 18.
  • A little between Freeza and Vegeta in Episode 25:
    Freeza: I'm impressed, Vegeta. When did you graduate from Pull-Ups?
    Vegeta: About the same time you got off the rag.
  • Goku and Freeza do this in Episode 30:
    Freeza: You're nothing but an overgrown monkey!
    Goku: And you're nothing but an overgrown that thing Chi-Chi keeps in her drawer!
  • Bulma and Vegeta in Episode 34, as part of their Belligerent Sexual Tension. They even jumped straight to do the deed after almost 5 minutes of bickering. To put a short part:
    Bulma: Don't you call me stupid!
    Vegeta: Well, then how about bitch!?
    Bulma: Arrogant dick!
    Vegeta: Spoiled sow!
    Bulma: F*ck you!
    Vegeta: F*ck you!
    Bulma: F*ck you!!
    Vegeta: F*CK! YOU!
    (beat)
    Bulma: My room, ten minutes.
• Vomit Discretion Shot:
  • Played straight, then immediately averted in Episode 28. When Goku spins Freeza around holding him by his tail, Freeza doesn't make it a secret that he's going to puke. We don't get to see the actual moment... but we get to see, seconds later, Krillin getting hit by, well, the unavoidable byproduct, projected at high speed across Namek. It's just a couple frames, before it zooms out to the whole planet and we get an update to the Krillin Owned Count.
  • Zig-zagged in Episode 60 Part 2, where Gohan's kick into Cell's stomach causes him to vomit violently. The first time it happens, it cuts away to the Z-Fighters watching the fight, where the bile appears on a nearby rock. It then cuts back to Android 18 lying on the floor after being puked up by Cell, where he then pukes again just a little bit off to the side, but only being shown for a few seconds.
• Voodoo Shark:
  • When Bulma asks her mother why she never seems to age, she answers that it's because Dr. Briefs won't let her.^note Episode 45 revealed Dr. Briefs vat-grows clones of his wife in his sub-lab
  • When Lord Slug somehow misses Goku with a giant energy blast despite being at point blank range, the only explanation we get is Goku's "lucky wristbands".

W

• Warrior Therapist:
  • Nappa claims that he majored in Child Psychology (WITH A MINOR IN PAIN!) and goes on about the values of healthy communication... right before pounding the crap out of the guy he was talking about (Tenshinhan) because they had interrupted him while he was talking to Vegeta.
  • On a less literal note, Vegeta becomes something like this, though only to himself. During his finale of Episode 10 he remarks about the possible reason behind his Tranquil Fury, and later on, after revealing the depths of his humiliation to Cui and then blowing him up to ensure that he would never tell anyone of it, Vegeta says that he loves therapy, and later on deliberately represses the memory of Dodoria's revelations. Considering that his anger seemed to have broke in Episode 18, his self-therapy doesn't really seem to be working very well.
• Waxing Lyrical:
  • In earlier episodes, Vegeta occasionally quotes lyrics from "You're the Best Around".
  • The show also occasionally quoted from the song "Anime" by Soulja Boy.
    Piccolo: [to Turles] Bitch, you look like Goku!
    Vegeta: Bitch, you're just jealous of my Super Saiyan Swagger.
  • "Broly Abridged" has Broly and Vegeta quote "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West.
    Broly: What's a king to a god?
    Vegeta: What's a god to a nonbeliever?
  • Episode 60 had Cell and Gohan briefly quote Linkin Park songs in their dialogue (a reference to the multiple Linkin Park AMVs set to the fight between Gohan and Cell.)
    Gohan: H-Hold on, I'm just one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to...
    Cell: Everything you say to me is pissing me off. You had your chance kid, and in the end… it didn't even matter.
• We Can Rule Together:
  • Dodoria attempts this to get out of being killed.
    Dodoria: You and I, we can team up against Freeza! Rule the universe...as husband and wife.
    Vegeta: Repressing in 5! ...4! ...3! ...2! ...1! [BAM] ...And repressed.
  • Zarbon later tries this (minus the proposal). Vegeta tells him he's already heard it.
• We Have Reserves:
  • Freeza keeps a pretty callous HR department.
    [whilst watching the Namekian warriors destroy Freeza's forces]
    Dodoria: ...Kinda killing our guys.
    Freeza: Oh, we have more of those things back at the ship. It's not like we're losing anything valuable.
  • Lord Slug goes through soldiers like copy paper.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Trunks to Vegeta. Calling the Old Man Out via a Call-Back and an energy blast to the face almost worked.
  Vegeta: Huh, this is a new feeling. Pride in someone else. Unfortunately it's overshadowed by all the UNYIELDING RAGE!!!
• Well, This Is Not That Trope: Played straight at the beginning of the Bardock special:
  Narrator: Long ago, on a planet long forgotten by time, a young hero was born; a righteous Saiyan warrior who would bring peace to the galaxy. This... is not his story.
• Wham Episode:
  • Also Episode 31. In short summary, Marron is actually an agent of the States' Fraud Bureau who put on an act to get Krillin to reveal his insurance fraud. Also, Popo kills Garlic Jr. before he got to do anything along with his minions. Looks like we're headed straight into the Androids Saga earlier than expected.
  • Episode 40. The tone of the episode shifts greatly at the end as the threat of the Androids is played completely seriously. And then Kami reveals that something worse is coming. Cut to an underground lab...
    Cell: [evil cackle]
    Popo: Well that's f**king ominous.
  • Episode 56. Bulma has discovered a video message hidden in Android 16's memory, that had been previously inaccessible — a video message from Dr. Gero's own son, the basis for Android 16. Now, in official canon, it's said that Gero's son died from a stray bullet. TFS gives a different reason why, and it gives Gero's obsession a whole new depth.^note The revelation is in line with Toriyama's latest Retcon, though The date of this message, by the way? May 12, Age 750.
    Gero's Son: Well, uh— just wanted you to know that I, uh... miss you, dad. What the—?
    Soldier: Hey, get your ass moving! Some thing is tearing its way through the compound!
    Kid Goku: Ka... me... HA... ME...!
• Wham Line:
  • Zarbon makes an unexpected revelation known in Episode 17:
    Zarbon: Well, I need to call my girlfriend.
  • Episode 30, not so much because of the line itself, but because of who said it:
    Nappa: Hey, it's me. Don't ask me how I got this number, I've got people.
  • Episode 40:
    Kami: The Androids are a threat, yes. But they are paltry compared to what I fear comes next...
  • Episode 53:
    Cell: That's right, keep it coming, boy! I want a real fight this time!
    Trunks: Don't you worry! I'll show you just how much stronger I am than my father!
    Cell: Your fathe—? Oh, no, I'm sorry, I wasn't being specific. I'm referring to the last time we met.
  • In light of the two-season "Senzu bean!" running gag:
    Goku: (to Perfect Cell) SENZU BEAN!
  • The line that reveals Goku's Batman Gambit:
    Goku: Why do you think Gohan and I went into the time chamber after Vegeta and Trunks?
  • The first stinger in Episode 60.
    Krillin Owned Counter: 39
    Krillin Owned Counter: 38
• What Does This Button Do?: Goku launching his ship by pressing the exact same button Dr. Briefs told him not to press.
  Dr. Briefs: Just don't press the start button. [slowly] The start button. Don't press... the start button.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Unlike canon, in this continuity Raditz escapes Yemma's judgement and wreaks havoc across the afterlife. We don't hear of his whereabouts or activities after season one.
  • Minor one: Since in this version Vegeta does kill off Captain Ginyu, why doesn't he show up at King Kai's planet with the other Ginyus? Unless he's still a frog in the afterlife of course.
    • HFIL explains the above two. Raditz escaped, but fell off of Snake Way back into HFIL. Ginyu was indeed still a frog and the Frog-In-Ginyu was sent to HFIL instead.
  • A lampshaded case is the wish to bring back everyone killed by Freeza and his men. Vegeta gleefully points out that this leaves out the villagers he killed.
  • Another minor one: At the start of the World's Strongest movie, Yamcha gets blown up by a bio-man. As Yamcha is not present in the original version of the movie, this is never brought up again, the last time viewers see him is in a crater in the Arctic.
• What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: "We could use whales! WHAAAALES!" 3 episodes later, Nappa kills them.
  Nappa: I sank their battleship! And their whales.
  Aquaman: Nooooooooooooo!
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Yamcha gets chewed out for not warning the others that 19 and 20 can absorb energy until after Goku fires a Kamehameha. Reflects his Butt-Monkey status since Krillin also knew this but never warned them either.
  • Trunks quotes this almost word for word when he realized Krillin crushed the remote Bulma made to destroy 18.
    Trunks: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
  • Piccolo chews Kami out for stalling so long in fusing with Piccolo despite a major in running loose on earth, and for trying to give his job over to Goku, whose kid Piccolo has watched more then he has.
  • Almost all the heroes, Piccolo in particular, are outraged when Goku forfeits his fight with Cell and sends Gohan in to fight.
  • Doubling as a "The Reason You Suck" Speech, both Cell AND #16 call out Gohan for standing by and watching his friends and family get slaughtered, and for his constant wangst about his life when every other Z-Fighter present at the Cell Games has had crummier experiences than he ever did.
• What Would X Do?:
  • Goku contemplates what Yamcha would do while fighting with Vegeta. Cut to a flashback of his unceremonious death. He moves up to Tien and uses the solar flare.
  • Gohan tries to use his father as such an example. Cut to a flashback of "Bye, son!"
  • When Goku is repeatedly punching him in the face, Jeice tries to remember what Captain Ginyu told him. Just as Jeice is remembering Ginyu's advice, Goku punches him again.
  • In episode 60, Piccolo invokes this by pointing out that Goku wouldn't give up, and neither should he.
• What You Are in the Dark: In episode 35, The Z fighters split up in search of the androids that are supposedly going to attack the city they're in. Yamcha of all people is the first one to actually come into contact with them. He's alone and busy searching for the androids when he hears a cry for help, and spends a few moments contemplating. He knows he's outmatched, and he's trying to convince himself that maybe another one of his friends could have heard the cry also. He ultimately decides to go after the androids, despite being extremely scared.
• Who's Laughing Now?: Guldo, a few minutes before he's brutally murdered.
• Who Writes This Crap?!: Bardock gets so angry over the bad writing in his second special, it makes him go Super-Sayan.
  Bardock: I'm in the f*cking past. [Beat] OF ALL THE STUPID! ASSININE! SHARK-JUMPING! BULLSHIT!
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?:
  • As in the original series, Bulma makes this suggestion when Goku tells the group about the androids. Only Vegeta just shoots it down instantly, wanting the challenge. Though he does find it hot that Bulma specifically refers to her solution as murder.
  • When wishing back Goku, Shenlong suggests just wishing Vegeta and Nappa dead^note by sabotaging the pods they're traveling in or sending them the wrong way, while Roshi ignores his advice.
• Worf Barrage:
  • After a spiriting pep talk from Vegeta's ghost, Goku fires up his Kaioken and unleashes a devastating Kamehameha beam against Freeza, culminating in a massive explosion. Up to this point whenever Goku yelled "Kaioken!" to power up, it resulted in him beating down his opponent thoroughly. However this time when the dust settles, Freeza is shown to have withstood the attack with some effort, but is mostly unscathed.
    Freeza: Kaio- what?
    Goku: Kaio-crap.
  • Every character's Beam Spam attacks (as opposed to a single powerful blast, which occasionally work). Gets lampshaded
    Vegeta: Why Won't You Die??
    Cell: Prince, has this ever worked? [Punches Vegeta] Don't need to answer that.
• The Worf Effect: Like, every Z warrior except Goku and Gohan. Then again, justified due to the series it's based on.
• Would Hurt a Child: Somewhat Played for Laughs in episode 53 when Piccolo tells Bulma that Trunks is going to fight Perfect Cell.
  Bulma: What?! But he's just a baby!^note Obviously thinking about the present baby Trunks, who she's currently holding.
  Beat
  Bulma: Oh-hoh right... the future one... But he's just a baby!
• Wrong Genre Savvy:
  • Gohan proposes such scientific strategies as knocking down Ape Vegeta due to his weight ratio and escaping Dodoria due to his size and mass when it should be clear he is in the fantasy world of Dragon Ball Z.
  • Even Goku thought Vegeta's Oozaru form would be slowed down due to the increased mass, and was in for a rude awakening when that wasn't the case.
  • This changes later on when a bulky Super Saiyan form used by Trunks inexplicably does become slower from increased mass, despite it being far less of a gain than the Oozaru form or even the mass gained by his opponent's, Cell's, transformations. This time, Goku's observation of the effect comes across as him being a genius when it comes to fighting.
  • In the Lord Slug movie, the onlookers clearly think they're in a pastiche of The Day the Earth Stood Still, hailing the alien invaders as Jesus... and his death army. It ends badly for them...
  • Mr. Satan believes he's in a world that runs on Professional Wrestling tropes, where he's the Face and Cell's supernatural powers are mere special effects. He stubbornly holds on to this misapprehension in defiance of the increasingly mounting proof against it. As it turns out, however, Mr. Satan doesn't actually believe this, as it's a means to uphold his character and not cause anyone to panic. When Jimmy Firecracker asks Mr. Satan what's happening in the battle between Super Saiyan 2 Gohan and Cell, Mr. Satan checks to see if the camera's busted and then replies with "I have no f**kin' idea".
  • In Kai Abridged 3.5, Perfect Cell throws a hissy fit at the fact that all of his cool scenes were skipped over as well as the fact that he was ranked fourth-best Dragon Ball villain, below King Piccolo. He demands that they all come over and let him kick their asses as is his proper way of things. He doesn't get it as the Kai Abridged rules immediately kick in and he's killed.

Y

• Yank the Dog's Chain:
  • Team Four Star's fake Episode 2.
    Vegeta: You got Vegetowned!
  • Also, the end of Christmas Tree of Might. Krillin gets a girlfriend, Maron from the filler arc, but doesn't get to keep her as she's not canon.
  • Gohan got books. He also got Icarus, but lost him for the same reason. Then he got him back for the Lord Slug movie. Then Icarus gets eaten. And Icarus is back again for the upcoming Revenge of Cooler movie. Goku calls him emergency food (probably doubles as a Shout-Out to Excel♡Saga). Then Icarus gets eaten AGAIN at the end of the movie. Somehow.
• Yet Another Christmas Carol: Parodied at the end of the Christmas Tree of Might special. Ghost Nappa warns Vegeta that he will be visited by three ghosts. They're all Ghost Nappa.
• You Didn't See That: In Broly Abridged:
  Goku: Cell...
  Cell: Hmm?
  Goku: Did you destroy South Galaxy?
  Cell: There's a South Galaxy?
  Goku: Forget you heard that.
  Cell: No.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!:
  • Said by Vegeta when his explosive technique didn't kill the heroes.
  • Vegeta(also) says this when he realizes Goku's "Super Saiyan" form is what he thinks it is (until Goku's mention about his gravity training).
  • Pretty much invoked by Piccolo when Cell reveals his origin.
    Cell: I'm sure, by now, you're more than familiar with my father — Dr. Gero!
    Piccolo: Oh, god damn it.
    Cell: But Wait, There's More!
  • Vegeta (again) with a variant when he realizes he didn't kill Santa Claus.
    Vegeta: Yippie-kai-yay... [beat]... MOTHER FUCKER!
• You Keep Using That Word:
  • Invoked by Goku of all people against Freeza.
    Goku: Do you know what a minute is?
    Freeza: What? Of course I do.
    Goku: I don't think you do.
  • Trunks says that the androids are actually cyborgs, as they are part human and part machine. It doesn't stop everyone else from calling them androids. This is then subverted when Cell tries to absorb Android 16, who is indeed an android.
    Cell: What are you made of? Pure metal?
    Android 16: Affirmative. I am Android 16.
    Cell: Oh... Errors have been made.
• You Killed My Father: Dende gets a little of this when he refuses to heal a dying Vegeta because Vegeta helped annihilate Dende's entire species.
  Dende: Oh, I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the blood of my people on your hands.
  Vegeta: Oh no, do not be that guy right now.
  Dende: Oh, I'm going to be that guy right now.
  • Subverted, though, in that Dende is in fact convinced to do it, if only because Freeza is busy transforming into his most powerful form and Vegeta needed the power boost from almost dying to even have a hope of matching him.
    Piccolo: Now go heal Vegeta.
    Dende: Why would I do that?
    [Freeza shown mid transformation]
    Piccolo: Because that.
    Dende: Oh yeah, that's happening right now.
  • Android 16 gets one off once Cell absorbs 17 and 18 and reaches his perfect form.
    Perfect Cell: So, we cool?
    Android 16: You ate my family.
• Your Mom:
  • An offscreen extra does one toward Bardock when he tries to warn everyone that Freeza's going to blow up the planet.
    Bardock: We need to raise an army!
    Random Female Saiyan: Your Mom's an army!
  • Vegeta to Cui:
    Cui: Where are you off to in such a hurry?
    Vegeta: Off to plow your mother.
    Cui: Hah! Shows what you know, Vegeta! We reproduce asexually.
    Vegeta: Gross. Out of my way.
  • Then appears as a Call-Back in the next episode:
    Cui: I could have got here sooner, but I stopped on the way to plow your mother!
    Vegeta: ...My mother's dead.
    Cui: I know.
  • A similar exchange happens between Vegeta and Final Form Freeza in Episode 27. It's much less funny this time.
    Freeza: Now that we're done here, its time to send you crying home to mommy.
    Vegeta: [Badly wounded] My mother's... dead...
    Freeza: I know.
  • From the same episode as the second Cui/Vegeta exchange:
    Freeza Goon A: Damn man, you couldn't hit the broad side of a space-barn!
    Freeza Goon B: Yeah well that's only because I'm too busy hitting the broad side of your mom! [gets punched by Gohan and Krillin]
  • Then Cell gets in on the act when announcing the Cell Games:
    Cell: And much like Vegeta's mother, I will accept all comers.
    Vegeta: [inexplicably shirtless] How dare...
    Krillin: Why'd you take off your shirt?
• You Will Be Assimilated:
  • What Mr. Popo did to Blue Popo.
    • Add Garlic Jr. and presumably, his minions to the tally.
  • As per canon, Cell absorbs a lot of bystanders for a power up, and then Androids 17 and 18 to upgrade his form.

Z

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