History YMMV / DragonBall

* FandomSpecificPlot: [[NeverLiveItDown/DragonBall Has its own page]].

!Tropes with their own pages

!General subjective tropes

!!Franchise

!!Original Anime and Manga

** Funimation didn't dub the original ''Dragon Ball'' until production of the Buu arc of ''DBZ'', and slipped in a few lines foreshadowing what was to come in the sequel series. In episode 2, Bulma looks at Goku and says "I don't know where this kid came from, but it's not earth!"

** Goku, despite being one of the most popular anime characters out there, isn't really liked by everyone. Some see him as an unlikable moron who dooms the people around him for the sake of a fair fight, and [[LackOfEmpathy thinks nothing of it]], and his dopey attitude can even come off as [[SmugSuper callous at times]]. The fact that he's constantly touted online as the most powerful, unbeatable fighter in all of fiction can also make some people just sick of him and the arguments that he could beat anyone. There's also the fact that he's not meant to be a character you can root for and someone who outright refuses to change from the NominalHero status, and yet he's the ''main focus'' and always the one to save the day, which can make for a very frustrating experience.

** Similar to Oolong is Master Roshi. He frequently tells Bulma that he'll only help her out if she gives him a peek or fondle, which in after the [=#MeToo=] era would be considered coercion and when Bulma doesn't need a favour from him, he just helps himself to her. He also told Goku and Krillin that he'd only train them if they brought him a woman, making them complicit in his attempt to get a sex slave. Keep in mind this guy has enough physical strength to take on martial artists in their prime.

** Beerus proved a popular antagonist on his introduction in ''Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods'' for providing a wildly different and [[LaughablyEvil fun villain]], but he was also criticized by those who found less him interesting than previous villains, annoying, and to be a KarmaHoudini given he does whatever he feels like while getting no commupance for it. This continued with his later appearances, with some fans liking his fun antics and CharacterDevelopment in Anime/DragonBallSuper. Beerus' critics dislike him for his presence killing tension [[note]]''Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F'' for example suffered from Frieza's threat diminished given that the movie made it clear Beerus could kill him at any moment[[/note]] on top of appearing when his presence doesn't add anything besides comic relief. Not helping things is that the best received plots since Beerus' introduction have been the ones where his involvement is kept to a minimum.

** Beerus proved a popular antagonist on his introduction in ''Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods'' for providing a wildly different and [[LaughablyEvil fun villain]], but he was also criticized by those who found less him interesting than previous villains, annoying, and to be a KarmaHoudini given he does whatever he feels like while getting no commupance for it. This continued with his later appearances, with some fans liking his fun antics and CharacterDevelopment in Anime/DragonBallSuper. Beerus' critics dislike him for his presence killing tension [[note]]''Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F'' for example suffered from Frieza's threat diminished given that the movie made it clear Beerus could kill him at any moment[[/note]] on top of appearing when his presence doesn't add anything besides comic relief. Not helping things is that the best received plots since Beerus' introduction have been the ones where his involvement is kept to a minimum.

* BadassDecay: While many of these characters don't complete theirs until ''DBZ'', they do have a noticeable decline in effectiveness as the series goes on:
** Master Roshi: At the start of the series, he is stronger than Goku. He even beats Goku during the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. By the Piccolo Jr. Saga, he is DemotedToExtra, and he stays that way through ''DBZ''. [[PassingTheTorch This was intentional to show how his students were steadily surpassing him]].
** These days, Yamcha's mostly known for getting his ass kicked a lot. Most fans forget that when he was first introduced in the series he gave Goku his first real fight and defeated him when Goku ran out of energy from hunger near the tail end of the fight.[[note]]The guide ''DAIZENSHUU 2'' directly lists him as the winner in the battle records section.[[/note]] The only thing that prevented him from finishing the fight was that Bulma happened to wake up and Yamcha ran away because of his crippling fear of pretty girls. He was also the first person to use a ki technique and ended up saving everyone from Goku's Great Ape form at the end of the story arc.

** Gotenks. A BadassAdorable who brings good humor to the series, or the worst parts of Goten and Trunks amplified? Toriyama admitted he simply created Gotenks as a means to create [[PluckyComicRelief comic relief]]. Still, Gotenks' personality got a lot of negative feedback in contrast to how a child Gohan took fights very seriously to fit the atmosphere. A third camp argues that Gotenks' personality flaws at least make sense given that Goten and Trunks are more like typical bratty little boys in comparison to the polite, studious kid Gohan was at that age.

** Majin Buu is easily the most divisive of the main villains in ''Dragon Ball Z'', with each of his three forms qualifying for this status.

** Majin Buu is easily the most divisive of the main villains in ''Dragon Ball Z'', with each of his three incarnations qualifying for this status.

** Majin Buu is easily the most divisive of the main villains in ''Dragon Ball Z'', with each of his three incarnations qualifying for this status, even if this mostly [[AmericansHateTingle only applies to him in the West]].

** Majin Buu is easily the most divisive of the main villains in ''Dragon Ball Z''. His fans view him as a CreepyAwesome and [[NightmareFuel genuinely scary]] villain due to his unpredictability and bizarre powers, while his detractors view him as a [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks blatant retread of other villains]] such as Frieza and Cell and cite his various forms as causing the Buu Saga's ArcFatigue. However, it should be noted that this status mostly [[AmericansHateTingle only applies to him in the West]].
** Fat Buu is definitely the most polarizing form of Majin Buu. His fans see him as a goofy KindheartedSimpleton whose actions can be excused due to him having BlueAndOrangeMorality and whose friendship with Mr. Satan makes for some of the most heartwarming moments in the series, while his haters see him as a whiny, spoiled PsychopathicManchild whose voice is grating to listen to and accuse him of being too EasilyForgiven. This just worsened with ''Dragon Ball Super'', where Fat Buu is responsible for making some situations worse for the Z fighters, such as when he almost caused Beerus to destroy the entire Earth just because he refused to share ''pudding'' with him.

** Bulma. While she has plenty of fans, many found her constant whining grating. This was especially troublesome in the Namek Saga, because unlike all the other instances of Bulma complaining, it was in an arc [[TheLoad where she was completely unnecessary]]. It got even worse in ''Super'' due to her being much more involved in that series than before while her importance to the plot of the episode often varies between her being negligible or not

** Fat Buu is definitely the most polarizing form of Majin Buu. His fans see him as a goofy KindheartedSimpleton whose actions can be excused due to him having BlueAndOrangeMorality and whose friendship with Mr. Satan makes for some of the most heartwarming moments in the series, while his haters see him as a whiny, spoiled PsychopathicManchild whose voice is grating to listen to and accuse him of being way too EasilyForgiven. This just worsened with ''Dragon Ball Super'', where Fat Buu is responsible for making some situations worse for the Z fighters, such as when he almost caused Beerus to destroy the entire Earth just because he refused to share ''pudding'' with him.

*** Fat Buu is definitely the most polarizing form of Majin Buu. His fans see him as a goofy KindheartedSimpleton whose actions can be excused due to him having BlueAndOrangeMorality and whose friendship with Mr. Satan makes for some of the most heartwarming moments in the series, while his haters see him as a whiny, spoiled PsychopathicManchild whose voice is grating to listen to and accuse him of being way too EasilyForgiven. This just worsened with ''Dragon Ball Super'', where Fat Buu is responsible for making some situations worse for the Z fighters, such as when he almost caused Beerus to destroy the entire Earth just because he refused to share ''pudding'' with him.

*** Fat Buu is definitely the most polarizing form of Majin Buu. His fans see him as a goofy KindheartedSimpleton whose actions can be excused due to him having BlueAndOrangeMorality and whose friendship with Mr. Satan makes for some of the most heartwarming moments in the series, while his haters see him as a whiny, spoiled PsychopathicManchild whose voice is grating to listen to and accuse him of being way too EasilyForgiven. This just worsened with ''Dragon Ball Super'', where Fat Buu is responsible for making some situations worse for the Z fighters, such as when he almost caused Beerus to destroy the entire Earth just because he refused to share pudding with him.

** Yamcha. A cool badass who just has bad luck, or someone who can't win a fight?
** Krillin. A similar argument is made against him as the one against Yamcha. Is he a good fighter who tries his best, or a fighter who is too though others find him a humorous JokeCharacter?

** Krillin. A similar argument is made against him as the one against Yamcha. Is he a good fighter who tries his best, or a fighter who is too though others find him a humorous JokeCharacter.

** Oolong's wish is "For the panties of a hot girl", but the English dub changes it to "The world's most comfortable pair of underwear!" which many fans thought was actually ''funnier''.

** Funimation didn't dub the original ''Dragon Ball'' until during production of the Buu arc of ''DBZ'', and slipped in a few lines foreshadowing what was to come in the sequel series. In episode 2, Bulma looks at Goku and says "I don't know where this kid came from, but it's not earth!"

** Funimation dubbed the original ''Dragon Ball'' during production of the Buu arc of ''DBZ'', and slipped in a few lines foreshadowing what was to come. In episode 2, Bulma says "I don't know where this kid came from, but it's not earth!"

** In the Japanese version, the announcer mispronounces Goku's name by reading the kanji for Son Goku as Mago Gosora. In the English dub, where AlternateCharacterReading isn't exactly a thing, it's localized as him mispronouncing Goku as gah-kay-ah. Viz's translation of the manga, meanwhile, takes a slightly different path by having the announcer misread "Son Goku" as "Song Oku".

* [[MemeticLoser/DragonBall Memetic Loser]]

** Inside the U.S., you have an, admitedly less common, but not any less enraging case with people who call the original ''Dragon Ball'' "the prequel to ''Dragon Ball Z''.