The plot centers around Mr. Satan's party in honor of all those who helped defeat Majin Buu and the emergence of some mysterious figures from Vegeta's past.
Production Credits:
- Original Author: Akira Toriyama
- Original Draft: Akira Toriyama
- Script: Takao Koyama
- Character Design: Tadayoshi Yamamuro
- Art Director: Takashi Kurahashi
- Animation Supervisor: Tadayoshi Yamamuro
- Director: Yoshihiro Ueda
- Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi
- Color Design: Kunio Tsujita
- Production Manager: Kazumi Fujioka
This work contains examples of:
- 24-Hour Armor: Vegeta is called out on wearing combat armor at a party rather than formal wear, and replies that armor is Saiyan formal wear. And of course, both Tarble, Abo and Kado wear armor.
- Action Survivor: Despite having what his brother called an embarrassing power level, Tarble was able to survive a fight with two Ginyu force level fighters. He needs a real Action Hero to get rid of them, though, especially as they go on to become two Frieza level fighters.
- All There in the Manual: Aka's name isn't given in the OVA itself; Gotenks just calls him "Abokado", combining the brothers' names.
- Bash Brothers: Abo and Kado, Goten and Trunks.
- Big Brother Worship: Despite not having seen Vegeta in over 20 years, Tarble has a very high opinion of him and even believes he defeated Frieza.
- Breath Weapon: Aka's "Wahaha no…Ha!!", a ball of energy similar to those used by Frieza, expelled from Aka's mouth.
- Call to Agriculture: Even though they are financially set thanks to Mr. Satan, Chichi still makes Goku get that job she promised back during the Cell saga and makes him farm with tools instead of his usual training, to teach him the value of hard work. This is actually the first appearance of Goku's job, which will appear again in Dragon Ball Super.
- Can't Catch Up: Here two villains remembered to level grind, but simply were not as good at it as the main cast was.
- Combat Compliment: Abo, Kado, Goten and Trunks acknowledge the skills of the others. This continues on with Aka but not with Gotenks.
- Continuity Cameo: Mr. Popo, Yajirobe, Dende, Korin, Good!Launch, Kibitokai, Elder Kaioshin, Puar, Fortune Teller Baba, North Kaio, Bubbles The Monkey and even the filler character Gregory The Cricket are seen among the guests at Mr. Satan's party.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Abo and Kado are the quickest example of this in Dragon Ball history.
- Doppelgänger Attack: Abo and Kado use this kind of attack against Trunks and Goten, who just happen to be the only two fighters besides perhaps the Fat Majin Buu too inexperienced with ki sensing to tell which ones are real.
- Evil Laugh: Aka has this weaponized with the "Wahaha no Ha!!"
- Fantastic Fruits and Vegetables: Chi-Chi's quick growing radishes, which are also incredibly hard to pull after the seeds germinate(for the humans anyway) and can extend their roots to mesmerizing lengths.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Morally, Tarble's the responsible to Vegeta's foolish.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Originally Abo and Kado were dismissed in favor of the Ginyu Force by Frieza, but after he died, they became just as strong and dangerous as their boss.
- Fusion Dance: Abo and Kado into Aka. Goten and Trunks follow suit with Gotenks.
- Happily Married: Gure looking nothing like a human or a Saiyan certainly doesn't discourage Tarble from proudly introducing her as his beloved to Vegeta.
- I Work Alone: Vegeta stopped training Trunks after the Buu saga and also refuses to train Bulma, or work together with Kakarot.
- Informed Attribute: According to Krillin, Goten "has grown up quite a bit". Goten has the same design as the last series, only changing some clothes.
- Interspecies Romance: While there's plenty of this in Dragon Ball, Tarble and Gure really stand out.
- Karma Houdini: As much of a nice guy Tarble is, he is still responsible for some collateral damage on a city before his arrival to the party, which includes the destruction of some vehicles, and some explosions. He is never called on this.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: 18 has learned to sense ki and thus is the one to announce what everyone else suddenly stops partying for.
- Odd Couple: Tarble and Gure, to the point that it's really hard to see what he saw in her... Or, provided she's indicative of what her species look like, what she saw in him.
- Older Than They Look: Despite looking younger than even teenage Gohan, Tarble can only be, at most, 5 years younger than Vegeta. Which means he is in his 30s.
- One Head Taller: Tarble is quite taller than his lover, Gure.
- Out of Focus: Tien and Choatzu are about the only recurring characters friendly to Goku not to recur here. Tien is at least mentioned.
- Pet the Dog: Aka waiting out the failed fusion of Goten and Trunks so he can see them get it right.
- Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: Aka is polite, Gotenks is rude. Aka is also on Earth to kill people who defied Abo and Kado's reign of terror and doesn't really care who gets caught in the crossfire while Gotenks is outraged when Aka's attacks almost killed non combatants.
- Punny Name: Avocado, which in a Dragon Ball first, isn't actually his name.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Gotenks combines Yamucha's wolf wind attack with Tien's volleyball fist
- Retcon: Vegeta made sure he, Goku, Raditz and Nappa were the last surviving Saiyans (ch.334, Dragon Ball), meaning him knowing his brother was alive is a change in the continuity of the series.
- Scenery Gorn: Tarble and Gure are terrible pilots and attack balls are designed for high impact collisions after reentry, you can guess the outcome. Abo and Kado care little for bystanders or their hotels.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Tarble is far more pacifistic than Vegeta and Saiyans in general.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Abo and Kado were roughly as powerful as Vegeta and The Ginyu Force during the Saiyan and Namek sagas and are roughly as powerful as Frieza by the time of the OVA. However, since the OVA takes place after Buu has been defeated, that means they're barely a threat to the protagonists, something which the narrator comments on at the end.
- Spikes of Villainy: Villain Aka has spikes on his face, shoulders, and arms.
- Stealth Pun: Goku's family has a radish garden. It's probably an homage to Goku's evil brother, Raditz, whose name is derived from radish.
- Terrible Artist: Mr. Satan's hotel is a fine work of art. The artwork on it, not so much.
- The Glasses Come Off: Abo and Kado throw away their scouters for their "secret" move.
- The Snack Is More Interesting: Majin Buu is the only serious fighter who doesn't stop eating when the aliens arrive.
- The Strategist: Gohan 'coaches' his brother and Trunks to victory before Aka appears.
- The Unfavorite / White Sheep: Tarble was exiled for being too weak and kind. However, Vegeta, who would have killed him on the spot for being a weakling (like Nappa) 11 years ago, has become "nice" enough by the time they reunited to merely find him extremely annoying.
- The Voiceless: Tien doesn't speak in this special. This is due to the death of his original voice actor.
- Theme Naming: Vegetable. Get it?
- Token Good Teammate: Tarble is, among the Saiyans, being an Actual Pacifist instead of a Blood Knight.
- Wham Line: When Vegeta asks Tarble who his companion is, he reveals it's actually his wife, Gure. Vegeta looked completely shocked that the strange creature is his brother's significant other.
- What the Hell, Hero?: After Gotenks (along with Piccolo) accidentally destroys the top of Mr. Satan's hotel, we get this exchange:Gotenks: [giggles in shame] Oops!Piccolo, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Oolong and Puar: "Oops", our asses!
