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This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

Following

Nightmare Fuel / Dragon Ball Z Abridged
aka: Dragon Ball Abridged

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap_2016_05_07_01h39m42s830.png
Hiiiiiiii...

Vegeta: It's like every nightmare I've ever had fused into one, cloned itself, f***ed the clone, and then made THOSE!
Piccolo: That is... terrifyingly accurate!
—Episode 60, the typical response to these moments... or the Cell Jrs, whatever comes first.

TFS never fails at amusing the fans of Dragon Ball... and scaring them as well.

For the canon series, go here.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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     Freeza 
  • LittleKuriboh puts on a legitimately terrifying performance as Freeza.
    • Freeza learns that Zarbon left Vegeta, the only one who knows where the last Dragon Ball is, for dead.
      Zarbon: Now that he's dead, we have very little left to worry about.
      Freeza: ...Zarbon, about an hour ago, a scout informed me that an entire village was completely destroyed. Do you possibly know who could have done that?
      Zarbon: V-Vegeta?
      Freeza: And, unlike the villages we visited so far, there was no Dragon Ball there. Do you know who could have possibly taken it?
      Zarbon: Vegeta.
      Freeza: Verrry good. Now, use your brain for this one, Zarbon: if somebody were to know where that Dragon Ball was... who would it be?
      Zarbon: Vegeta—
      Freeza: Vegeta, yes. (slowly) And you said you killed him...?
      Zarbon: Wait, sir! It is possible I just left him unconscious.
      Freeza: Oh, good. And where did you leave him?
      Zarbon: At the bottom of a lake...
      Freeza: (Death Glare) ...Minion forty-three, could you come in here for a second? I need an example.
      "Minion forty-three:" Private Namole reporting. An example of what, Lord Freez- (screams as he is obliterated by Freeza)
      Freeza: You see that, Zarbon? That's YOU if Vegeta is not in front of me in the next ten minutes.
      Zarbon: (Stammers in complete fear)
      Freeza: Bye.
      Zarbon: (flies out) AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!
    • Freeza's introduction to the heroes in 24. To give some extra context, the main writers, Lanipator, Kaiser Neko and Takahata101 have all admitted to being creeped out by Little Kuriboh's performance:
      Vegeta: That doesn't matter! Don't you understand?! If it didn't grant me my wish, then I'm not immortal! And Freeza's going to... g-going to... (Begins stuttering in terror followed by a justified Mass "Oh, Crap!" by all parties present.)
      Freeza: Ohohoho, no, don't mind me! By all means... GIVE ME SOME IDEAS.
    • During his fight with Nail, he asks if Nail's ever heard of Planet Vegeta. When Nail says he hasn't:
    Freeza: Funny, because I expect to hear the same from the next person when I ask them about Namek.
    • His mood swings during Episode 25:
      I'm sorry. I'm usually far more composed. I'm just a little bit ABSOLUTELY LIVID.
    • His rendition of "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things", accompanied by a slow piano tune. The cover has some dissonant notes, making the sound even creepier.
      Freeza: Peaceful young races with fire on their houses, millions of voices all silenced like mouses, watching the cowards bow to their new king, these are a few of my favorite things.
    • During the second half of the rendition, he keeps his gaze fixed on Krillin. Guess what's about to happen next?
    • In Episode 27, the first 20 seconds are dead serious after Freeza kills Dende:
      Freeza: It's been so long since I've had to use this form. It feels like an old suit I never have an occasion to wear. Unfortunately, whenever I put it on... [glances at Dende, complete with a sizzling sound effect which is definitely not comedic] someone dies.
      Gohan: Dende... no...
      Freeza: Oh, don't cry for the poor thing. I've saved him the fate of seeing what I'm about to do to you.
    • Although Freeza beating up Vegeta to a bloody pulp is peppered with jokes it's still no less brutal than it was in the original with Vegeta's pride and will to fight being crushed and Vegeta realizing how much in deep shit he got himself into. Freeza is sadistically relishing every blow dealt to Vegeta and taunting others when they even think about trying to help him knowing very well they can do nothing and they are at his (nonexistent) mercy just waiting for their time to die by his hands.
    • What he says to Vegeta is just mean:
      Freeza: It seems our game is over, Vegeta. Now that we're done here, it's time to send you crying home to mommy.
      Vegeta: My mother's dead.
      Freeza: I know.
    • He even manages to scare Goku a number of times:
      Freeza: Sending your friends away to fight me all on your own... how gutless...
      Goku: What... how is that gutless?
      Freeza: Because... suicide is the coward's way out...
    • Playing 20 Questions with Goku in Episode 29:
      Freeza: Are you about to die?
      Goku: No...
      Freeza: Ah, Ah, Ah! [takes aim at Goku's forehead] No lying.
    • After Freeza is tired of playing:
      Freeza: You know? I think I have an insta-fix for this situation! [generates a Death Ball] I'm going to blow you and this entire planet into NOTHING! ISN'T THAT FUN!? [Laughing Mad]
      Piccolo: G-Goku, just throw the damn thing!
    • Freeza completely losing his mind in Episode 30.
      "SMASH MONKEY! SMASH MONKEY!!"
  • Returning in his new, cybernetic form, Freeza's new name for Earth is "Vacant Lot".
    • This quote, not helped by the sheer amount of barely contained rage that he exhibits.
      Freeza: But I won't lie Daddy, I am absolutely ecstatic. When that filthy monkey arrives back on the planet, he'll return not to the smiling faces of his dear friends and family, but a total, unadulterated, genocide.
    • And then there's this little bit as he sends his soldiers to hunt for the Z-Warriors:
    Soldiers! The scavenger hunt will proceed as such. Normal human heads are worth one point. Namekian heads are worth twenty. Filthy half-Saiyan brats? Fifty. And if you find any miserable, odious, insubordinate, full-blooded monkey garbage... you win. Well, off you go!
  • And in Episode 33, during his Villainous Breakdown, he boils over and screws up his programming again, causing him to start shrieking EXTERMINATE!!!!! EXTERMINATE!!!!! as he tries to kill Trunks, all while the New Series Dalek theme plays.
  • Freeza's crowning moment is this:
    Freeza: If I'm really as bad as you say, then let God strike me down where I stand.
    [gets struck by a bolt of lightning]
    Freeza: Ha! Nice try, jackass! Next time, give it your A-Game!
  • He manages to be absolutely terrifying in DBZ Kai Abridged Episode 2 as well, especially when beating up Vegeta.
    Vegeta: ...wait am I immortal?
    Freeza: I don't know! Let's see...
    Krillin: Hohoho, he's pissed!
  • Almost all of the Just Give Up! song (a parody of the song You'll Be Back from Hamilton) consists of him boasting of his conquests and genocides, demanding his listeners to give up and submit to his rule.
  • In the Cell in a Hell special, Cell is trying to break his HFIL security anklet with a rock, and Freeza points out that it won't work. He then says a rock was his second try, the first being Goz and Mez's heads. He seems friendly enough while giving Cell advice to play nice, do his time, and try to convince the higher powers that he's "not a total piece of shit." When Cell sassily asks why, if it's that easy, Freeza hasn't gotten out yet, he replies thusly:
    "Aha, you see, Perfect Cell, it's because- (lashes out with tail to choke and lift Cell) I know who I f**king am. I'm a child-killing, people-enslaving galactic tyrant. And I'd rather die a million more times before I ever pretend otherwise."
    • He then breaks Cell's neck before the bio-android comes to in the same spot, Freeza disdainfully remarking, "Welcome to the Home For Infinite Losers, loser," implying that he knew Cell would come back and had murdered others in HFIL before. Just because his ki is suppressed doesn't make him any less dangerous.
    • The next episode confirms that souls are basically indestructible, as Cell attempts to cut his own leg off with thinning shears (since he can just grow a new one), but to no avail. Now with that in mind, remember: Freeza managed to break a soul's neck.

     Mr. Popo 
  • Mr. Popo's introduction.
    • Mr. Popo is Nightmare Fuel incarnate in the abridged series. He can appear inside dreams, single-handedly fended off Garlic Jr. (whereas it took both Goku and Piccolo to do so originally), has the Guardian of Earth answer to him, may be the monster from Cloverfield, can assimilate other beings to become like him, appear inside your computer in real-life, and even invade other abridged series. Just ask Hol Horse.
  • In Episode 31, Kami tells Piccolo that Popo kicked him out of the watchtower for a booty call:
    Kami: Last time he did this, I found five corpses. He laughed when I said "five".
  • And now, since Kami fused with Piccolo, there's a good chance he's losing his mind. Even Goku catches on.
  • It's not clear what Goku's training with him was, but Goku is traumatized from it.
    Goku: Dontbreakpoposstuffdontbreakpoposstuff...
    Gohan: Dad, what are you muttering?
    Goku: SIXTH RULE OF POPO'S TRAINING!
  • Even Vegeta gets creeped out by Mr. Popo. During Episode 55, Vegeta tries to ponder what Popo even is. When Vegeta presses his buttons, Popo quickly reminds him of the Pecking Order by ejecting him from the Lookout at terminal velocity.
  • One can only wonder what the relationship Popo and Earth's new vengeful God Dende will be like.
    Popo: ...I'm going to call you Little Green.
    Dende: Your funeral.
    Popo: (Popo's frown contorts into a smile with a hellish cracking sound) I like you.
  • Ladies and gentlemen, behold the sheer DISTURBANCE that is Popo the Genie.
  • There's the stinger to the YouTube version of The World's Strongest Abridged:
    Two million subscribers, bitches! Hahahahahaha! (Beat) SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

     Chi-Chi 
  • Episode 3:
    Krillin: So, Chi-Chi, hypothetically, what would you do if you were told your husband was dead, and your son were kidnapped by his worst enemy?
    Chi-Chi: I'd castrate the messenger in his sleep with a rusty carving knife.
    • You can hear Chi-Chi sharpening a knife right before Krillin escapes at night.
  • WHERE'S MY BABY?!
  • Episode 39 shows that Chi Chi doesn't care that much about the pain that Goku is in, she's actually happy that he's home instead. Justify it however you want, her reactions to all of this come across as utterly disturbing especially if she knows what's going on. This marks her (to some) change into either a completely unstable person or a completely uncaring bitch.
  • Chi-Chi displays a healthy dose of Tranquil Fury in Episode 55. She even gets background music normally reserved for Cell and Freeza, which even makes her getting ready to have sex with Goku sound scary (and actually had a few people mistake it for rape. KaiserNeko had to clarify it wasn't.)
  • Even if it isn't rape, the fact still stands that this is a woman who can tire out Super Saiyan Goku, who is both into the challenge and scared out of his goddamn mind at how much stamina Chi-Chi has. Any normal person in a relationship with her might end up going Out with a Bang.
  • So Chi-Chi finds out her husband is making Gohan (her son) to fight Cell, a.k.a the one person she forbade the Z-Fighters to let him fight, and her reaction is to swear in front of the TV (while lifting and swinging both it and her father at the same time by the way) that she will castrate Goku with a butter knife and gag him with a radish.

     Cell 
  • It only took a cameo and a single appearance for Cell to get his own folder, but now that he's here, he is this, full. fucking, STOP. First off, Episode 40. Piccolo arrives to demand Kami fuse with him due to how insanely powerful the Androids are, only for Kami to reveal that something far, far worse has arisen, and the grimness of the situation is played completely straight with even Nail noticing how dark the tone of the conversation is getting. Immediately the scene cuts to the lower levels of Gero's lab, and the episode ends on a close-up of a tiny embryonic creature and a terrifying and inhuman yet raspy Evil Laugh. The Cell Saga has now begun.
    • Kami's last line cements the gravity of the situation:
      Kami: The Androids are a threat, yes. But they are paltry to what I fear comes next.
      Mr. Popo: Well that's f***ing ominous!
    • The above quote is made both scary and awesome when thought about: Cell scares Mr. Popo!
    • Coincidentally, the episode prior to Piccolo fusing with Kami and meeting Cell in Gingertown, Mr. Popo decides to trip a lot of acid.
    • Granted, he was high on a gallon of LSD at the time, but Mr. Popo sounded somewhat worried when he said that. While Mr. Popo has yet to express his actual opinion on Cell himself, the fact remains that this is the first time he has ever even appeared even slightly worried.
  • Cell's official introduction is in Episode 42. He's dragging around a still-living victim through a shadowy back alley, nonchalantly approaching Piccolo while singing an off-key version of "Mr. Sandman" in a rasping voice.
    Cell: Mr. Sandman... bring me a dream... make him the cutest that I've ever seen... Give him two lips... like roses and clover... Then tell him that his lonesome nights are... over.
    [drops body at Piccolo's feet]
    Cell: Hello... friend.
    • Making it worse is that the usual episode outro is absent, leaving only the logo over Cell's breathing.
    • The set-up is pretty frightening too. While Piccolo is exploring the empty city, Nail, Kami, and Piccolo are all snarking at each other, and there's some ambient noise/music. It takes a moment to realize that there's another voice there, especially since it starts out very quietly.
  • Earlier, a cameraman is reporting on all the disappearances in town. A Cell-shaped shadow falls over him, visual cuts to static - and audio to screams - and when the static clears there's nothing but clothes.
  • Following that, Piccolo is visibly unnerved as he asks what Cell is doing. Cell replies, that he'll answer a question with a question in the most unnerving manner possible, to say nothing of the question itself.
    Piccolo: What the hell is going on here?
    Cell: Ohhhhh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh. Let's answer your question, with another question.
    Piccolo: Yeah? And what's tha-
    Cell: WANNA SEE ME DRINK THIS GUY?!?!?!
    [stab, scream, cue title theme]
  • When Piccolo, aghast, asks Cell why he would exterminate an entire city, Cell gives three reasons. The first - that he was hungry - and the third - that their power fuels his own horrifying strength - are unsettling enough, but it's the second reason that gets Piccolo to react with a look of unbridled horror.
    "There's nothing more satisfying than the rush I get from watching a person disappear."
    • To add to the nightmare fuel, he suddenly goes from being dissonantly casual and chipper to being dark and threatening, and then snaps back like nothing happened at all.
      • Freeza was (mostly) calm and rational. Not only is Cell way stronger, he actively seeks Nightmare Fuel for his own amusement.
  • If that wasn't bad enough, he spits out a baby's pacifier. By that moment, there's no chance of redemption for him.
    Cell: Oh, that is just EMBARRASSING! It's not even the right hole...
  • The comment he makes while absorbing Piccolo's arm is unbelievably creepy.
    Cell: Oh, it must be your first time, because YOU ARE TIGHT! And unfortunately for you, it's also your last.
  • When Piccolo asks Cell about his backstory. Cell is geniunely caught off-guard and is even a bit flattered:
    Cell: It's just... (chuckles) You're the first person to ask me "Who?" or "What?" Normally they just ask... (close-up on Cell's mouth) "Why?"
  • Cell's flashback as how he came from the future, which shows him brutally murdering the Trunks of his timeline, which is depicted simply as brutal and not humorous.
    Piccolo: This timeline?... So you're from the future. But how?!
    Cell: Oh... (shot of Cell brutally murdering Future Trunks as he screams in terror and pain) I found a way...
  • Cell brutally murdering TJ and The Wombat after requesting "Video Killed the Radio Star"
    ...pictures came and broke your heart...
  • Sure, it's all just a dream, but despite all the satire and humor in the 2014 Halloween special, he still makes every kill count. The effect of soundtrack dissonance even comes into play for a brief moment.
  • As Cell "drinks" his victims, the pitch of their screams gradually becomes lower, and lower, and lower...until only silence remains, as if a balloon is gradually being deflated.
  • In the 45th episode, he's attacked an amusement park. Despite the quotes from Piccolo and Tien, it's just as terrifying as the original.
    • In a thing somewhat related to him in that episode, Dr. Briefs is doing something almost just like Cell's creation: creating clones of his wife, possibly to pleasure him. He's really starting to act like an even more demented version of Dr. Gero....
  • Cell's sole appearance in Episode 46: "Hello boys. Room for one more?"
  • Episode 47 has Cell creepily lick his lips upon seeing Android 18. Bear in mind this immediately follows him referring to her as his "beeeeaUT-iful sister...".
    Android 18: Oh, F*CK no!
  • The original Semi-Perfect Cell was considered Nightmare Retardant due to his appearance and voice. With his new voice, and mannerisms, he's just terrifying.
  • In episode 48, just as he's about to kill Tien, Cell starts channelling his inner-Freeza with his Pre-Mortem One-Liner.
    Semi-Perfect Cell: You know, if you want my personal opinion, Kikoho is a pretty sad choice of last words. But to be fair, it's far from the worst decision you've made today.
    Tien: Kiko-f**k yourself.
    Semi-Perfect Cell: Aww, see? That's the spirit.
  • Semi-Perfect Cell spends the entirety of Episode 50 freaking out due to getting kicked around and insulted by Vegeta. But when Vegeta shows a weakness in his ego, Cell instantly calms down, smiles and talks very slowly and confidently. He plays to Vegeta's overconfidence and starts tricking him into doing exactly what Cell wants. It's really creepy to see how quickly he can regain control of a situation where he was throwing a tantrum seconds before.
  • Episode 51:
    • Cell cheerily humming his theme tune from Bruce Falconers' Funimation soundtrack while advancing on 18, tail rising up, makes it that much worse. Coupled with his facial expression...
    • Cell's unsubtle rape allusions regarding absorption become far more blatant and nauseating in this episode, with him openly gloating how 18 is "asking to be absorbed" with her outfit. The climax of this is his declaration that he's been so close for so long and now he's "coming".
      Cell: Now... for the climax.
    • The noise 18 makes as she's absorbed.
      • Somehow, removing the already nightmaretastic and long scene of 18 being pulled through Cell's tail towards her doom and replacing it with a pan-up as 18 dashes towards Cell in a suicidal final charge and a soul-chilling scream lasting only a couple seconds made the scene even worse than canon.
    • Cell's power increases so much that even Bulma, a regular human who admits to being unable to sense power levels, is able to feel his new power. After asking if that means anything, Piccolo sums it up perfectly:
      Piccolo: WE'RE F*CKED!
      • The sound design can't be understated here: as Semi-Perfect Cell's form begins to glow, we hear a crackling sound unlike any transformation effect before, which quickly gives way to a nightmarish howling as the metamorphosis reaches its climax, underscoring the utterly monstrous nature of what's about to be unleashed onto the Dragon World.
    • Perfect Cell's subdued yet heroically triumphant intro song, as it's also a sort of Call-Back to Freeza's iteration of "My Favourite Things" before impaling Krillin.
      P is for priceless, the look upon your faces.
      E is for Extinction, all your puny races.
      R for Revolution, which will be televised.
      F is for how F*CKED you are, now allow me to reprise.
      E is for Eccentric, just listen to my song.
      C is for completion, that I've waited for so long!
      T is for the terror, upon you I'll bestow...
      My name is Perfect Cell, and I'd like to say... Hello.
      • For added fun, much like Cell's introduction, the usual outro's replaced by the series logo on a black screen, giving the audience time to let what just happened sink in.
      • The start of the song, where we first see Perfect Cell before he sings, may remind some of End of Evangelion. Namely the uplifting music signifying the End of the World...
  • Where to begin with Episode 52:
    • When Vegeta was shocked to see how his attack didn't faze Cell in the slightest, Cell's response is one of the most chilling Call Backs EVER:
      Cell: Because, prince, like a soon-to-be broken man once said: "You're either perfect, or you're not me."
    • Cell completely wiping the floor with Vegeta, shrugging off his most ultimate attack like it was nothing. And before dealing the finishing blow, he broke more than just Vegeta's back, he destroyed his pride.
      Cell: Some advice, Prince. For the future; Next time, why don't you remember your place like the rest of them? And wait for Goku.
  • This exchange between 16 and Cell:
    Cell: So are we cool?
    Android 16: You ate my family!
    Cell: Hey, don't lose your head. They were my family too.
  • When Cell regenerates from Vegeta's final flash, Vegeta goes berserk and unloads a Beam Spam... which Cell just walks through. From the tone of Vegeta's voice, he sounds afraid.
    Vegeta: WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?
    Cell: (Gradually walks towards Vegeta before appearing amidst the smoke) Prince. Has this ever worked? (PUNCH)
  • There's the tone in Krillin's voice when he demands that Trunks fight Cell at full power. The resident Chew Toy of the series—second to Yamcha, of course—is aggressively spelling out how serious the situation is.
    Krillin: Okay, Trunks, you're out of excuses now. He's gonna kill your dad.
    Trunks: Y-You don't know that! He could just knock him unconscious, and then I'll—
    Krillin: WE DON'T HAVE DRAGON BALLS, TRUNKS!
  • Trunks' attempt at a boast against Cell in Episode 53 is met with this chilling yet somehow awesome response.
    Cell: I'm Impressed! Behind all that angst and ridiculous hair, there's a real fighter!
    Trunks: And behind all that insufferable smarm is a dead man!!
    Cell: Trunks... you couldn't FATHOM the amount of dead men behind me...
    • Earlier is this exchange after Krillin flies off with the unconscious Vegeta, in which Cell shows just how adept he is at attacking the emotional scars of his opponents.
      Cell: (talking about his brutal beatdown of Vegeta) Oh don't lie, Boy Scout. That MUST have been catharsis by proxy. He's gonna be waking up for the next five years in a cold sweat remembering today.
      Trunks: I'm not a psychopath like...
      Cell: Kinda like you.
      Trunks: Like me?
      Cell: Does Gohan know, by the way?
      Trunks: Does he know what?
      Cell: That you let him die.
      • During the Creator Commentary video for their episode, the moment Taka delivers this line again, he has a truly malicious Slasher Smile on his face, showing just how damn good he is at getting into character.
      • This blow is softened later in Episode 55 when Gohan deduces that he was killed and acts with indifference towards it.
    • We get to see Cell's backstory of him killing an alternate Trunks to use his time machine, apparently by squeezing his head off with his tail. Though given how wet the sound was he might have just crushed it like an over-ripe melon.
      Cell: But you made one. Fatal. Mistake. You took away what was mine.
  • During the whole episode, Cell is clearly enjoying himself while tormenting Trunks, reminding him of his failure in saving Gohan, revealing to him how he died (and how, even if in that timeline he actually managed to save both the past and the present, he still failed since he gave Cell the opportunity to achieve perfection), playing him by pretending he actually had a chance and then rubbing his lack of experience and daddy's issues in his face. So far, the other villains in the show have been either mooks or just power-hungry, Cell is (with Freeza) the only one who loves making his victims suffer, and he is also quite good at it. Indeed, unlike Freeza, who's more into physical torture with a cruel comment from time to time, Cell is a whole different level, utilizing psychological torture far more and being much better at yanking the dog's chain.
  • Cell enjoys inflicting literal nightmares on those he fights as well, and his fighting style involves deliberately bashing his opponent's Berserk Buttons and then toying with them until he grows bored, whereupon he shows them just how outmatched they are. He has, in essence, perfected Break the Haughty as a fighting style with the sole purpose of having his opponents wake up in cold sweats from the nightmares. The result leaves Vegeta on the verge of tears, and Trunks stammering in the post-episode 53 commentary.
    • This ability isn't just limited to those he fights, either. Just ask Goku and Gohan, who are sealed in a room where the flow of times is slowed down significantly. Both of them have nightmares of their loved ones being brutally mutilated by Cell. Then things get weird, and not in a good way — Cell turns to Gohan...and suddenly has Goku's face as he tells him he loves him.
      • And Goku has apparently been having this nightmare for a week!
    • As of Episode 55, Piccolo has been hallucinating him inside the Chamber. After only being in it for 3 days (chamber time, not real time), he gets the hell out of dodge.
      Vegeta: I call dibs!
  • Cell makes his grand entrance to announce the Cell Games by popping up out of the floor and proceeding to break the newscaster's neck with one hand! Fortunately, we are spared this visual, but the others are not.
    • Cell's message to the world mixes this with funny moments, but the end is positively bone-chilling...
      Cell: The games will begin at noon one week from today. That should give you time to prepare- or for those of you not participating, time to connect with loved ones... get your affairs in order... or maybe just kill your boss! Get a purge going! Live a little! Because in one week's time... (raises hand to the picture of Earth on the wall behind him) ...well, to give you an idea...
      (Cell fires a blast from his hand, blowing out the wall of the building, devastating several city blocks, and blowing up a mountain several miles away.)
      Cell: So... keep that in mind, and I'll see you next Sunday! Also: feel free to pray to your god. But, spoilers! I won't be listening.
    • While the scene of Cell playing the names of the cities he's absorbed to jaunty music is quite funny at first, just count the number of cities he's absorbed. 10. He drank 10 cities worth of people! Including Penguin Villagenote !
    • After announcing the Cell Games, he leaves the studio with an absolutely chilling statement as a creepy music box remix of Bruce Faulconer's theme for him plays.
    • Just how little any of the atrocities he's committed phase him. It's somehow more disturbing than if he was being openly sadistic.
  • In episode 56, Cell has an unexpectedly jovial conversation with an interviewer, giving him a humorous plot summary of the original Dragon Ball series up to this point. At the end, however, Cell abruptly turns serious and kills him. Why? He didn't call him Mister Perfect Cell.
  • The Cell Games specials have a few moments as Cell fights opponents from other series:
    Ryu: The only way warriors can TRULY communicate is with their fists!
    Cell: What about our... MOUTHS?
    • When Sonic the Hedgehog challenges Cell and finds himself outmatched, he feels compelled to utilize the Chaos Emeralds... only for Cell to reveal that they're all in his possession. On top of everything else, the moment is set to the Sonic CD Boss Music USA version.
    • Cell is approached by Kenshiro, and is unimpressed, laughing off the Hokuto Hyakkuretsu-Ken. And then Cell explodes like the goons Ken normally fights before regenerating, still reeling in pain from the attack and utterly furious at the fact that he's the first one to do any actual harm. And then he explodes again, this time without Ken laying a hand on him. While completely awesome, and certainly cathartic, the scene reiterates how horrifically powerful a fighting style Hokuto Shinken is as Kenshiro, one of Cell's weakest opponents so far, did more damage then even the Final Flash. And then Fridge Horror kicks in on multiple fronts: Ken likely won't survive Cell's counter-attack, Ken really is that ruthless a fighter since his attack has a secondary effect that wouldn't normally activate against his enemies (in fact it happened only once before), and if Hokuto Shinken can work on Cell, than it can work on most of the Z-Warriors too.note  Oh, and assuming the fight is canon, Cell just got two Zenkai boosts.
  • Cell's fight with Light Yagami from Death Note includes him graphically blasting a squirrel's head off just to make a point.
    • Light writing Cell's name in the Death Note... and only stopping one of his hearts. Cell immediately figured out what Light just did, drops the silly side of his personality and vaporizes him on the spot. If Light had only thought to include a cause of death...
      Cell: Did you ... did one of my hearts just stop?
      Light: (gasps and eyes widen)
      Cell: Did you just use a magical notebook given to you by a death god to give me a heart attack?
      Light: (panicked) Ryuk?!
      (Ryuk says nothing, only smiles with Willem Dafoe's face as Light gets vaporized while screaming in terror)
  • Episode 57: Before the inevitable Curb-Stomp Battle against Mr. Satan, Cell unleashes a scathing verbal retort against him (like the others), and... well, take a look:
    Cell: You look like an extra from a budget porno flick. The kind where everyone gets tested afterwards. Even the cameraman.
    Satan: Oh. Um Yer-
    Cell: Did they find you in the subway? Were you homeless? Did you get your start in Bum Fights?
    Satan: This is getting oddly personal.
    Cell: Do you have any actual friends? Any relationships at all that aren't about your money or your position?
    Satan: (weakly) I have a daughter...
    Cell: Oh that poor orphan.
    Satan: (slightly terrified) C-Can we cut to commercial?
    And then the Curb-Stomp Battle comes to pass... but instead of a comical injury with the mountain blowing up, Mr. Satan splatters against the mountain, with blood smearing down as he descends.
  • Episode 59: When it looks as though Goku is about to destroy the planet with his Kamehameha in order to kill Cell, Cell's reaction is ecstatic to the point of insanity. He is absolutely thrilled at the prospect of the fight ending in the death of everything. Even Vegeta had enough self-restraint to see the destruction of the planet as a last resort and a mutual loss. But Cell?
    Cell: Hahahaha! I see! Yes, Goku! You're absolutely right. This is the only way it can end! This tournament, these fools, this planet; they mean nothing to men like you and I! We will go out together, in a ball of molten rock and death! YES!
    • Before that, Cell's incredibly creepy motive rant to Goku right before blowing up the ring. It honestly sounds less like he wants to fight Goku and more that he desperately wants to rape him. The disturbing music does not help at all.
  • Cell's reaction to winning via Goku forfeiting. It's the first time he reacts with legitimate rage. And he is pissed.
    Cell/Vegeta: Every word you just spoke has made me violently angry! Oh, great! NOW I'm agreeing with Vegeta/Cell! Look what you made me do!
    Goku: Cell, you knew what this was. Just a fight. Nothing more.
    Cell: You bitch...! If you seriously concede, I'll...! I'll just blow up the Earth like I said! So unless you want me to turn this whole planet into an asteroid field, Kakarot, GET BACK UP HERE, AND PUNCH ME IN MY PERFECT JAWLINE!
  • His reaction to Gohan talking about his potential to snap in rage? Morbid curiosity. Then sexual lust. Keep in mind that Gohan is 11 years old!
  • Cell giving birth to his children is played for all the Squick value it's worth. Then he proceeds to sic them on Gohan's friends and family to purposefully push him over the edge.
    • Vegeta even sums it up as literal Nightmare Fuel with this line.
      Vegeta: It's like every nightmare I've ever had fused into one, cloned itself, f***ed the clone and made those!
      Piccolo: That is... terrifyingly accurate!
  • When Gohan continues to fruitlessly and pitifully attempt to get angry, Cell's short speech albeit almost all of the lines are lyrics to Linkin Park- a band that was used prominently in Amvs for Dbz, combined with the background music starting to warp creepily while he says, implies that Cell was about to kill Gohan out of sheer frustration if he said another word- being pushed beyond the breaking point of his tolerance for the seemingly inept fighter not capable of bringing out his full potential had #16 not intervened with some harsh but necessary words to spark the resolve in Gohan.
Cell: Everything you say to me, is pissing me off. You had your chance and in the end, it didn't even matter.
  • Just like in the source material, after 16 gives his final speech to Gohan, Cell steps on his head. This time, however, he makes an even worse insult after killing him. Rather than call him a failure (as in the original Japanese and Kai) or taunt Gohan about failing to save him (as in the English dub), Cell muses to himself in front of everyone present that robots don't have souls, callously calling 16 a "mere machine" that isn't capable of feeling emotions such as love, and that there is no afterlife for him.
    • He also tells his Cell Jrs. to Draw and Quarter Mr. Satan once they finish up with the Z-Fighters for his role in aiding #16.
  • In the second part of episode 60, Cell sings a darker reprise of P.E.R.F.E.C.T Song after coming back from his self-destruct and killing Trunks. It's quite horrifying and nerve-wracking up to the end, and just as creepy as when he sang Mr. Sandman as Imperfect Cell. Much like the first time he sang it, as well as the end to the first part, there's no stinger for this, letting what just happened to sink in once again.
    Cell: "P" is for "Priceless", the look upon your faces. "E" is for "Extinction", all your puny races. "R" is for "Revolution", which has been televised. "F" is for "how F*cked you are", now allow me to reprise...
    • Listen to how he sings the song. When he first sings it after attaining his Perfect Form, he's absolutely eccentric at the thought after having waited for so long. Now notice how those two parts are the only things he omitted from the reprise. And also notice just how dead inside he sounds. He's lost any drive for having fun; all he wants is to destroy the planet and everyone on it. He's no longer entertained; he's just pissed the fuck off.
    • Cell didn't intend to kill Trunks. He was aiming for Tenshinhan. Cell is so powerful that the gap of power between Tien and Trunks (which is huge, by the way) didn't make a difference to Cell at all.
  • Cell’s Villainous Breakdown throughout the episode, thanks in large part to Takahata101’s bone-chilling performance as the once proud and cocky “Perfect Being” proceeds to completely lose his shit over Gohan overpowering and humiliating him. After reverting to his Semi-Perfect form thanks to Gohan literally kicking #18 out from him, whatever is left of Cell’s sanity goes bye-bye as he attempts to self-destruct and take the Z Fighters and the entire planet with him.
    Cell: (thinking) "Kill me?!! Nonononono, I can’t die to this! He’s a middle schooler throwing a tantrum! And I am the perfect being...! I was. And he took it away... HE TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME!” (speaking) So I’ll take everything away from YOU!!!!! (Begins to self-destruct)
  • Cell's speech to Gohan as he starts to overcome Gohan's Heroic Second Wind, mocking him for his weakness and how he'll end everything he loves regardless. At least until Vegeta distracts him long enough for Gohan to power through.
    Cell: So, what's this brat, your second wind or your dying gasp?! Either way it doesn't matter. Behold the power of TWO HANDS! (...) Take solace, Gohan! Though you have fought alone, you will not die alone. That is my last gift to you. A PERFECT DEATH!!!
    • Before that, he gives a pretty chilling line right before firing his Solar Kamehameha:
    Cell: Give me what your daddy couldn't, before I send you home to him!
  • His future counterpart, while appearing for 5 minutes only, is no small deal. During Bulma and Trunks's Bad "Bad Acting" to throw Cell off-guard, Bulma notices how creepy this version of Cell is, while overhearing all of their conversation. Bulma actually dropped her acting for a little bit to emphasize how much danger they were in. And main timeline Cell actually did the very same thing to capture Trunks, kill him and take his time machine.
  • Dragon Ball Z Kai Abridged Episode 3 proves that he can make All Star frightening as fuck.
  • In Kai Episode 3.5, he coughs out and then absorbs a baby. And then there's him referring to Piccolo as "daddy" and himself as 17 and 18's "onii-chan", firing the Solar Flare from his crotch, and his epic Rage Against the Author near the end.

     Gohan 
  • Gohan... don't piss him off.
    Gohan: (To Nappa) I'M GONNA SKULL F*CK YOU!!!
    • Gohan excitedly asking if Krillin used his Kienzan to bisect Freeza when he blinded him. While it makes perfect sense, there's something really creepy about a five year old asking his friend if he gorily killed someone.
  • Gohan and Piccolo's relationship turns into this with a little thought. Gohan's constantly mad at Goku for never being around and considers Piccolo to be a better dad in everything but name. Trouble is, Goku's never around because he's usually either dead, dying, or in mortal peril. In fact, the reason Goku was absent for so long when Gohan was four? Piccolo murdered him in cold blood.
    • Where this gets creepy is Gohan didn't see that, he heard about it second hand, and the only person who could have told him with the timeframe being what it is is Piccolo. Which means, whether he realizes it or not, Piccolo's been indoctrinating Gohan since he was four and it's only gotten worse with time.
    • Ironically, that's what Piccolo wanted to do back when he was evil. His Heel–Face Turn made him care so much for Gohan now that even he hasn't realized what he's done.
  • The end of Episode 60 Part 1, while undoubtedly awesome, right before the last shot of Gohan, has a slow zooming shot of Goku looking at his son in Stunned Silence. In a continuation of his My God, What Have I Done? moment earlier when it finally got through to him that Gohan doesn't like fighting and he'd forced him into this situation, Goku just appears to be silently horrified at what he's done to his son to deliberately try and push him past his Rage Breaking Point.
  • "The murder of one's own child or children."
    Cell: Uhh—
    Gohan: You wanted me to define filicide for you.

     Movies 
  • That misfit minion who raped Rudolph, yeah? Listen really carefully to the background sound after he says that. Word of God states his Evil Laugh at that moment isn't about the act but about his power in that situation. *Shudder* Merry Christmas.
    Tien: Dibs on not fighting that guy.
  • 4 words: "I AM CHAMPION CHRISTMAS!!!" Goku's first words as he gets the golden pseudo-Super Saiyan power up in Lord Slug, not helped by his complete lack of pupils making him look like a victim of Demonic Possession.
  • Cooler's delivery of this line after beating Goku to a pulp in the Revenge of Cooler special is absolutely chilling.
    Cooler: Look at you... wasted and gasping for air... but you don't get to go yet. When your planet is in ashes... then you have my permission to die.
  • There is something mildly creepy about Dream!Goku's casual mention of nothing being real in Gohan's dream at the end of Episode of Bardock Abridged.
    • Keep in mind, that scene was taken from the same episode Chichi hired a sadistic teacher for Gohan. Long story short, he dreams about his dad coming back, but that Goku turns out to be Freeza trying to kill young Gohan.
  • The Dead Zone movie had a Disney Acid Sequence starting right at the 5:54 mark, that is a mix of Surreal Horror and Soundtrack Dissonance with it starting off with a Nightmare-inducing Freeze-Frame Bonus with scary sounds happening the exact same time. Perhaps the freakiest one is the cuckoo clock — Except the third time it comes out, the cuckoo is replaced by Icarus' severed head, eyes gouged out. Oh yeah, and the entire thing is set the background of Mozart's Eine Kleiner Nacht and Gohan Giggling.
  • Before that was the beginning of the movie. All you see is a black screen, followed by someone apparently growling in the background. The sound progressively gets louder and louder until we are immediately treated with Piccolo's screaming face and the growling becomes a full-blown roar. Piccolo's face shows his wide open eyes, tiny irises, and his gaping maw open wide with fangs and some green substance akin to saliva. Anyone not prepared will be treated to a Jump Scare.
  • Goku, in the Revenge of Cooler special. While his hunger is usually played for humor, it takes some disturbing levels in this movie. When he sees Cooler's henchmen, he tell them to get away from "[his] food, [his] friend, [his] two emergency foods (Icarus and Oolong), and [his] son". So, not only does Gohan, in his mind, have a lower priority than simple food, he is willing to kill and eat not just his son's pet, Icarus, but one of his friends, Oolong, just because he gets hungry! And considering that he ate Icarus in the end, it's amazing Oolong is still alive. At this point, Goku's just Buu-lite.
  • KaiserNeko can be really scary when he's angry, as shown in the Episode Breakdown of Cooler 2. Especially when raging "F*** this movie".
  • In the Trunks special, seeing Gohan's body lying lifeless and pupiless in the rain.
  • History of Trunks shows that Chichi finally cracked in the future, as her husband is dead and her only son is on a suicide mission against the Androids. The only way she can cope is by living in denial and knitting clothes for a grandchild she'll never have.
    • Future Gohan didn't fare much better even before he died, as it seems to be implied that the Piccolo he hears in his head was never actually there.
    • And as a bit of Fridge Horror, Bulma casually remarks "Don't ask me where I get the protein".
    • Towards the end when the Androids have beat down Trunks, this dialogue really brings home just how hopeless the Bad Future is:
      Trunks: Why? Why are you doing this?!
      17: The question isn't "why" kid, it's "why not?"
      18: I mean, who's going to stop us?
      17: Not those guys 17 years ago.
      18: Not ol' One Arm...
      17: And certainly not YOU.
  • Christmas Tree of Might starts with a forest burning down, and when Gohan, Krillin and Bulma gather the Dragon Balls to wish for its restoration, Shenron's not happy to see them again so soon, though his mood improves when he thinks they called him to restore the forest... Then Krillin manages to make it worse. It gets so much worse.
    Shenron: So you want me to restore life to this desolated forest?
    Krillin: Hell, no! I want a Christmas tree!
    Shenron: (disbelieving) You want... a tree.
    Krillin: Not just any tree! The perfect Christmas tree!
    [Shenron's eyes narrow as he gets an idea.]
    Shenron: ...Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll give you your tree. I'll give you the best damn tree you've ever SEEN! [laughs a truly scary Evil Laugh as he apparently grants the wish]
    Krillin: Thank you!
    Shenron: Oh, don't thank me. 'tis the season of giving.
    • What's worse? Shenron actually sounded impressed that the gang finally called him for something noble.
  • Super Android 13 punches Goku so hard in the dick that he temporarily erases Goten from existence.
    • Thankfully a handful of senzu beans "fixed his nuts up good" and Chi-Chi gets pregnant with Goten in episode 58.
  • The last thing Super Android 13 sees is Super Saiyan Goku, with a skull briefly flashing before his death.
    Dr. Gero: JESUS CHRIST!
  • The World's Strongest has quite a few moments to share.
    • It opens with Oolong and Gohan out on an outing for the Dragon Balls. Oolong wants to steal a wish (like he did back in Dragon Ball when Pilaf tried to wish for world dominance), but while he tells Gohan that he wants to wish for panties (again, like he did back in Dragon Ball) his thoughts before that show otherwise.
      Oolong: Justice...
      Gohan: What?
      Oolong: Panties. I'm going to wish for panties.
      Gohan: Oh Oolong, you're incorrigible.
    • Piccolo's surprisingly (or not) ill-fated battle against the Saiba- I mean, the Biomen. He's screaming pretty loudly and for quite a time, but how can you not when there's a laser searing you after you've been through the torture of being 90% water in an artic environment?
      • Even though it's Played for Laughs, right before that Yamcha shows up to help, only to get suicide-bombed by a Bioman almost as fast as the Saibaman did him back in the Saiyan Saga. He survives this time, but it's still a pretty painful experience.
        Yamcha: WHY?!
      • And right before that was when Oolong bailing after Kochin frees Dr. Wheelo's evil lair (laboratory) only to get stopped by a Bioman. Gohan runs over to the pig to help out but then the four Biomen that deep fry Piccolo later suddenly burst out from the snow and proceed to waste the kid.
    • When Gohan gets home and works on his homework, he begins to wonder if Piccolo is okay and dozes off. There's a colorful image of Gohan globe-trotting and Piccolo standing on a large pillar, but then Piccolo tries talking to the boy telepathically in a noticeably and increasingly panicked tone (a rarity from Piccolo). Said image starts to shift from weird but lighthearted to pretty disturbing with occasional freeze frame shots of Piccolo either in torment or mind-controlled.
      Piccolo: Gohan, Gohan! I'm trying to reach you telepathically. God, Gohan, they've captured me! Gohan, they're torturing me! They're forcing things inside my brain, Gohan!! GOHAN, MY VEINS!! GOOHAAN, MYYYY VEEEEIIIIIIINNNNSSS!!
    • The simple threat of tearing Bulma apart limb from limb may not be as impactful if the one saying it wasn't the ridiculously evil Kochin (laughably evil but still really damn evil). And the ones holding her limbs down? The Biomen (a.k.a the same li'l buggers that captured Piccolo of all people).
    • When Wheelo finally loses all patience he remotely had, the revelation of his body is both grandiose and chilling.
      Dr. Wheelo: Fifty years, I was alone... And when I am finally saved from that loneliness, all I find is horror. In this form, I am powerless; doomed to witness these atrocities. I need a body. I WILL HAVE A BODY!!!
    • If Gohan hadn't yelled at the last minute Goku would have killed an innocent man and Krillin would have condoned it.
  • Broly's transformation, naturally. Once everyone but Vegeta realises that he'll go berserk if he hears the name "Kararot" they beg Vegeta to stop, but he just says it over and over to be a dick. Then Broly starts screaming and turns into the Legendary Super Saiyan. What's more, the animation is slowed down so we can see his skin shredding in more detail. All set to the same music as when Beerus destroyed Zamasu.
    • Not helped by how Broly beforehand had been a soft-spoken Adorkable guy, but as Vegeta keeps not just pressing his Berserk Button but smashing it with as much force as humanly possible, all the while Broly is getting more agitated until he snaps into the Ax-Crazy monster he's known as. The change is incredibly jarring.
      Vegeta: So if you're done wasting everyone's time... Grab your friends, grab your shit, and GO HOME, KAKAROT!
      Broly: Nngh...!
      Paragus: Please do not say that again...
      Goku: It was "friends", wasn't it?
      Vegeta: I said shut it, Kakarot!
      Broly: Gah...!!!
      Paragus: Please stop saying that name!
      Trunks: (realizing what's happening) Father, just call him Goku!
      Vegeta: And disrespect MY heritage!? I will address him with the name given to him by the glorious Saiyan race! KAKAROT, KAKAROT-
      Broly: KAKAROOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!
      Vegeta: See? He's slow, and he gets it.
      Paragus: I suggest we all run.
  • Broly brutalizing Goku, Gohan, Trunks, and Piccolo all at once.
  • Just how bad a father Goku is here really shines when Broly threatens to kill Gohan. Piccolo travels all the way to New Vegeta from Earth and shows immediate concern the second Gohan called his name. Goku's main concern was it would take an entire day to revive him with the Dragon Balls while also being excited to introduce him to King Kai.
  • Broly devolves into only being able to say "Kakarot", and crushes Paragus' space pod with Paragus still inside.
  • In the Movie canon, Santa Claus has finally snapped. He's turned into a genocidal maniac who attempts to kill the whole world by suffocating them with coal dust. This is in sharp contrast to what we see of Santa in Christmas Tree Of Might... looks like the years have not been kind to old St. Nick.
  • A deleted scene for Broly is revealed in their Creator Commentary that reveals that Goku, ever the simpleton, sees Pilaf as his ultimate Arch-Enemy due to being his Starter Villain and framing to him what a bad guy is from the very start of his journey... despite being a Laughably Evil buffoon who pales in comparison to every single villain he's faced after the fact, and thus treats him with an uncharacteristic level of malice. What follows is, while a darkly humorous scene in context, is a deeply unsettlingly moment of Goku showing up in the middle of Pilaf's house and interacting him with such contempt that he comes off as more of a schoolyard bully pushing Pilaf around who reveals that Goku doing this for years has left him a PTSD-riddled mess that just wants to be left alone inside his own house and is taking medication to actively treat his anxiety and fear of him, which is entirely justified given how powerful Goku is by that point... and Goku doesn't care given his almost sadistic level of glee tormenting Pilaf like this, which is a massive contrast to the normally carefree fighter he is both in canon and Abridged.

     The Rest 
  • Dodoria, as Freeza's Bastard Understudy, is pretty creepy insofar as to how dissonantly polite she acts when doing terrible things to people. A special mention goes to a short but effective one-liner from Episode 14:
    Dodoria: I really do love kids - they don't leave much of a mess.
  • Vegeta has completely lost it after Gohan stole his Dragon Balls.
    • It's his eyes... and after Krillin tells him that he doesn't have the Dragon Ball? He bursts a capillary and starts to drift towards him uttering "Nooo..."
    • It's lucky that Vegeta's power level was around 30,000 at this point. If this happened when he were stronger, say after Dende healed him, he might've gone Super Saiyan.
  • Way back in episode 20, when Recoome kicks Gohan in the neck. The snap was way too real sounding and if Gohan didn't get that senzu bean, he would have been dead... Try explaining that to Chi-Chi. Even Jeice seems genuinely disturbed by it.
    • Burter, on the other hand, wasn't. In fact, he called it incredible.
    • And in episode 21, where Goku tries talking to Gohan just after being left for dead. The fact that he was nonchalant while trying to wake him up, oblivious to his own son's injured state, is eerily creepy to say the least. It didn't help that Gohan himself looked like a lifeless doll.
  • Dende's death. He's a Creepy Child already, but this scene takes the cake.
    Dende: I'm your White Mage, and nobody f***s with the White Mage!
    Explosion
  • Super Kami Guru's slightly offscreen Karmic Death. Even Vegeta looked shocked when he saw it.
    • "CHOKE ON THEM! OH GOD WHY!?"
    • Those words indicated the Namekians were cannibalizing him. Which is how Moori became the Namekian leader and how the Dragon Balls still work.
    • A bit of Fridge Horror before this, when Super Kami Guru reveals that he was the one who caused the horrible drought on Namek, and blamed it on the Albino Namekians. The other Namekians unknowingly slaughtered innocent Albino Namekians thanks to Guru's lie.
  • King Kai has no problem with the fact that Dende left Goku on Namek with Freeza. Remember, in the original story, King Kai wanted everyone, but Freeza evacuated to Earth until Goku demanded that he stay and finish his fight. The kid left Goku there. Granted he likely doesn't know who Goku is of course, especially his relation to Gohan, but the implication that Dende has no qualms about this is a bit chilling still...
  • Goku's demeanor during the course of his final battle with Freeza is about as unnerving as he can get. He's generally been the sweet, oafish dumbass who can't learn from his mistakes because he's just so damn-near indestructible that he barely realizes he's made them... but then Krillin dies. When Goku turns Super Saiyan as a result, it's clear something is wrong. His determined but cheery smiles are replaced by a stone-faced gaze that looks like one part laser-focused furious scowl, and one part Thousand-Yard Stare.
  • While on Namek, Bulma has a truly chilling nightmare where Vegeta comes to her, with glowing red eyes.
    Vegeta: Hello, Earth woman. (Bulma is shaking with fear) You know what I want. Now give it to me.
    Bulma: The Dragon Ball is right here...
    Vegeta: Oh, I'm not here for the Dragon Ball.
    Bulma: Wh... What?
    Vegeta: Spread 'em.
  • Trunks' Stepford Smile (and the internal scream) after Bulma jokingly told him she'd be his mommy in Episode 33 can be somewhat creepy...
  • In Episode 34, we get a very bleak and dark look at what happens to Yamcha in Trunks' timeline.
    Goku: Wait, you didn't mention Yamcha!
    Trunks: Oh, um... I mean, he dies, but... See, after he found out that my mother was pregnant with Vegeta's child, he sort of...
    Cut to Yamcha's body swinging in darkness
    Goku: Dark.
    • An alternate take had Puar being the rope, inferred by his voice chiming in, asking if he could stop.
  • Android 17 is already shaping up to be a good source of this, considering his sociopathic, Faux Affably Evil personality and the fact that, if left unchecked, he will turn the future into a dystopian hellhole.
    • He's just so… gleeful about the whole thing that the fact that we already know what's about to happen only serves to build the tension rather than nullify it.
  • Back in episode 11, Chichi while telling her son why he should stay in bed and that she worries about him; says this line which makes Goku very scary to be around while you're pregnant.
    Chi-Chi: Did you carry around a baby in you for nine months... WITH A MAN WHO LITERALLY THOUGHT YOU HAD CINNA-BUNS HIDDEN IN YOUR SHIRT?!
  • Android 18 completing her utter curb-stomping of Super Saiyan Vegeta in episodes 39 and 40 may be played for laughs, it's but still unsettling.
    Android 18: How quickly bravado goes out the window when your flat on your ass. That's pretty sad.
    Vegeta: SAD FOR YOU-!
    [18 kicks Vegeta in the arm so hard that it goes limp. Vegeta wheezes and kneels down.]
    Vegeta: FUUUUUUUUUUUU-

    Android 18: Hey, so, who's got two broken arms and is a total bitch?
    Vegeta: You stupid bint... you only broke one of my-
    [Android 18 proceeds to step on Vegeta's good arm, breaking it as well.]
    Vegeta: *Sharply gasps in pain*.
    Android 18: This guy.
  • Bulma and Vegeta's angry sex in Episode 34. That's pretty much what happened off-screen in the original series, but watching it play out can make you feel pretty bad for Trunks.
  • For being a Big Bad Wannabe, Dr. Gero is still given some horrendous credit in episode 46. Bulma's looking over his notes and discovers that he only gives model numbers to his successful Androids. He's kidnapped and experimented on dozens of orphans for who knows how many years with only presumably two survivors.
    • Made even worse by their schematics in Episode 44 listing them as attempt 253. Given they don’t have different attempt numbers, this implies the previous attempts were composed of 504 orphans who died horrible deaths.
  • How did Goku learn the instant transmission on Yardrat?
    Goku: Once I was there, they nursed me back to health. They even built me a spaceship! They also kept feeding me their sick, so now I can teleport!
  • Goku's cold "You're gonna die." to Cell in Episode 48. It's unsettling coming from a man who's spent the first 47 episodes extremely happy-go-lucky and naive.
    • It also didn't help that Goku of all people is The Chessmaster of the Cell arc. He deliberately sets up everything (the fact that Vegeta and Trunks went first in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and that Vegeta would make Cell stronger, the above line to prevent Perfect Cell from immediately destroying Earth, giving Perfect Cell a Senzu bean, etc.) to set up Gohan as his successor.
  • Goku's nonchalant "You can't kidnap your own kid". When that was exactly what he did.
  • You've got to wonder what Goku's brand of training is doing to Gohan's psyche. At the start of episode 51 he wakes up Ax-Crazy before realizing where he is. And Goku's planning to push him even further.
  • When Vegeta offers Semi-Perfect Cell a free shot to prove his strength, with the latter punching him mid-conversation, Vegeta wipes the blood off of his mouth and proceeds to continue the sentence with a far deeper, sinister and more serious tone than he would for the entire show, full of intent to kill. Had Cell kept his mouth shut about being still imperfect, Vegeta would've resolved to finish the job right there and then given how much he outclassed him.
    Vegeta: But if it makes you feel any better, I'll give you a free shot. But I warn you if you waste it—
    (Cell punches him mid-sentence, only for Vegeta to casually wipe the blood off his lip)
    Vegeta: ...you're gonna regret it.
  • While fixing 16, Dr. Briefs resets his original programming, a constant loop of a demonic-voiced Gero ordering him to kill Goku with the word "kill" written three times in fire. He understandably decides cluttering up the program with a bird obsession is the better option. Oh and did we mention the background tune for said demonic loop is "My Heaven?"
    • Scarier still? That was what was running through 16's head on loop until he picked up his bird hobby!
    • It can easily remind some people of the "KILL YOUR FAMILY" show.
    • This same message was most likely blaring through 17 and 18's heads as well, showing how hungry for revenge Dr. Gero was.
  • Dende started as a Nice Guy, only to Take A Level In Jerkass over the course of the Namek saga, especially after coming into contact with Super Kami Guru. He returns in Episode 56 to become Earth's guardian, and while he's initially reluctant, he quickly embraces the power and authority, so by the end of the episode he's ordering Krillin to call him Super Kami Dende.
  • Black Goku in the Super shorts evokes this with how similar yet different he sounds to his counterpart. Particularly in this bit...
    Vegeta: How?! HOW ARE YOU SO MUCH STRONGER THAN ME?!
    SSJ Rose!Black: Because, Vegeta... A rose by any other name... *stabs Vegeta* Is still Goku.
  • Goku of all people gets one in Episode 56. During a video recording of Gero's son, an alarm suddenly blares. Gero's son hears one of his comrades say that some thing is attacking the compound and that they need to get out of there while in the distance, the sounds of Goku's attack can be heard. Gero's son attempts to close off his message to his father only to be cut off when he along with the base is destroyed by a Kamehameha. To make things worse is the canon reason Goku fired the Kamehameha: to take out some aircar troopers that were shooting at him, by blowing up the building behind them. It's not hard to imagine Dr. Gero seeing his son's unintended death as an act of murder.
    • Fridge Horror kicks in when you realize that, aside from the whole "terrorizing the populace and taking over the world" thing, the soldiers of the Red Ribbon Army were just normal people who were unlucky enough to get caught up in Goku's affairs one too many times. A hired assassin, a dead Indian, and some training from a talking cat later, and the entire army is decimated, just like that. Imagine their point of view: just ordinary folk, doing their jobs, and then suddenly they get word of an intruder who's known for defeating some of their highest ranking members breaking in. Then, silence. And to think, all this happened because one man wanted to grow taller.
  • Just think about the amount of sheer horror Chi-Chi is going through right now. She has to sit there and watch her own son fight a monster that even Goku couldn't defeat, and what's worse is that it was Goku who initiated the confrontation to begin with. Some Fuel goes to Goku as well, as he didn't clearly Didn't Think This Through while planning Gohan to be his successor.
    I AM GONNA CASTRATE HIM!!
    • Some wonder if Goku intentionally stayed dead to avoid Chi-Chi's wrath, which is definitely not empty as we see with Krillin and Yamcha.
  • In Episode 60 Part 3, Yamcha gives a brief description of what you experience when you die, clarifying exactly why even in a universe where Death Is Cheap, it's still something serious and traumatic that is to be avoided whenever possible. And subsequent deaths feel even worse than this, according to Krillin.
    Yamcha: Been there, too, I guess. Although, honestly, the afterlife part isn't too bad. But the whole dying part of it is... haunting. Everything just kind of slows down and you feel yourself slip the mortal coil. To this day, I... still wonder if I've ever been brought back, or if I'm still in the process of dying, you know?'
    Krillin: Oh my god, someone FINALLY put it into words!
    • This is further emphasized by having Yamcha explain all of this during Vegeta's Papa Wolf Sanity Slippage over the realization that Trunks, his own flesh and blood, just got killed by Cell before his very eyes.
    • Trunks' last moments are harrowing: despite the gaping hole in his chest, he's clearly trying to call for help, and then he coughs up a puddle of blood. By the time Yamcha goes to him, literally seconds later, he's dead.
    • The Z Fighters aren't happy Trunks is dead, but with the exception of Vegeta they're pretty calm about it. Because for them, getting your lungs shot out by something so much stronger than you is just... another day on the job. Even though they never get used to it, they get used to it.
    • Speaking of which, Yamcha tries to figure out if it's better the second time since you already know what it feels like and you already know what the afterlife is. In Krillin's words, believe it or not, It's Worse.
  • There's one moments in the Episode 60 epilogue where Future Android 17 gets one. When an old man starts shooting at Android 17 in a last ditch effort to try and stop him, Android 17 starts calmly gloating about the old man's methods being ineffective. Just as he's about to kill the old man, his voice takes on a disturbing effect that never gets adequately explained.
    Android 17: Not a bad shot, pops. (as the old man continues shooting) Must be popular down at the shooting range. I on the other hand, have terrible aim. I gotta get real close, see? So do me a favor. Sit still.
  • Buu Bitsnote :

Alternative Title(s): Dragon Ball Abridged

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