Dragon Ballis closer to a cultural phenomenonthan an anime or a manga. It’s inspired tons of series that have come after it, showing that as long as a hero is willing to dig deep and try, they can overcome anything. While it’s a series based on fighting, there are a ton of great meme-able moments that happen throughout the franchise. With a running time since 1984, it’s easy to see how a series that’s been around for so long can haveso many relatable moments.
While some of the best memes inDragon Ballstay within the series, some of the most popular have made their way to other series. Memes like “It’s Over 9,000” can be found in other popular anime series, and are so beloved, they can even be found outside the anime medium entirely.
10The Spirit Bomb Doesn’t Work
Goku’s Strongest Attack Isn’t His Most Reliable
Goku has a couple of attacks that he’s synonymous with. His Kaio-ken is an early power boost, his Kamehameha is his bread and butter, and hisSpirit Bomb is the strongest attack he has in his arsenal.By thrusting his palms into the sky, Goku can centralize the ki from all the sources of life around him. He creates a massive ball of pure energy that’s nearly the size of the moon before sending it straight at his opponents.
While it’s Goku’s strongest attack, it’s nowhere near his most reliable.He’s used it on Vegeta, Frieza, and Jiren, and it worked on none of them. While the Spirit Bomb has worked before (namely on Kid Buu), it’s hilarious that Goku’s strongest attack sometimes just doesn’t work. It takes him several minutes to charge up the attack, and sometimes, it’s all for nothing.
9Vegeta’s the Ultimate Tsundere
Kakarot’s Rival Has a Softer Side
Vegeta is a tough character on the surface. He started the series as the gruff Prince of all Saiyans before slowlyturning into a loving husband and a decent dad as well.He’s shown holding Bulma’s hand inDragon Ball: Superand is even willing to fight the God of Destruction for hurting his wife. Vegeta is known as the ultimate tsundere because, underneath it all, he’s really just a nice guy. Sure,all Vegeta wants to do is fightand get stronger, but once training is over, it’s time to be a family man again.
Nobody would have believed Vegeta to be a tsundere when he was first introduced to the series, but now he’s one of the best examples. When he dies to Frieza in a vicious fight,he finally opens up to Goku, letting him know why he is the way he is. It’s a bittersweet moment that shows a softer side of Vegeta, only for him to die moments after.
8Namek Exploding Takes… a While
The Longest Five Minutes in Anime
During Goku’s first fight against Frieza on Namek, the pair end up destroying the planet. Their battle is outrageous and is taking the entire environment with them. When Goku finds out the planet is going to explode, he estimates that he has five minutes to figure something out.Namek takesmuchlonger than 5 minutes to explode though.Goku is on the dying planet for what feels like hours, fighting Frieza before flying around Namek looking for a way off.
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It’s a hilariously simple meme that can be found throughout anime.Saying the planet only has 5 minutes before it explodes is a great way to create tension, and it’s even funnier that they didn’t respect that time frame at all. Goku eventually defeats Frieza with an angry Kamehameha before escaping Namek in, what must have been, much more than five minutes.
7Goku Isn’t The Best Dad
Earth’s Strongest Warrior Isn’t Seen as a Great Dad
Goku being a bad dad is the most controversial meme fromDragon Ball.There’s a huge portion of fans who think that Goku is a bad father, and honestly, it’s a compelling argument. While there are certainly worse dads in anime, Goku probably isn’tone of the best dads in anime history. He spends most of the series dead, which isn’t entirely his fault, and when he is around he’s trying to turn his kids into the warrior that he is. While another dad might play catch with his son or ask him about his schoolwork, Goku’s busy defending the Earth.
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AsDragon Ball Z’s strongest warrior, Goku doesn’t have the luxury of being a normal dad. He knows that Gohan wants to be a scholar, but he also knows that his son is one of the planet’s mightiest defenders.Goku does the best job he can as a dad,but if there’s anyone saying that he isn’t great at it, it’s not entirely hard to see why.
6Krillin Getting Wrecked
Krillin Is Usually on the Wrong Side of a Beat Down
Krillin is a solid character inDragon Ball.He’s a loyal friend to Goku and Gohan, a great husband to Android 18, and even humble enough to pursue life as a police officer when he’s one of the strongest humans on the planet. Unfortunately for the Destructo Disc user, Krillin is almost always the oneon the end of the worst beatdowns in the series.
If a character is getting absolutely wrecked inDragon Ball, there’s a decent chance it’s Krillin.
Krillin gets beat down and killed more than any other character in the series.He’s been impaled, had his neck snapped, and even been imploded.He’s died a total of five times throughoutDragon Ball, and even if he isn’t dying, he’s probably suffering a pretty severe beating. Krillin’s status as the series’s punching bag is dark and funny at the same time.
5Goku’s Naïveté
He Isn’t Entirely Sure About Most Things
Goku is easily the strongest fighter Earth has to offer, and that’s about it. He doesn’t know much about anything outside of battle, and he doesn’t really care to. His wife Chi-Chi has to tell him to do something if she wants it done, because if it isn’t related to training, Goku won’t care at all. Goku is so naive that he asks Trunks if he put his lips up to another person,implying that he doesn’t even know what kissing is.While the context is that Goku asks if Trunks fed Mai a Senzu Bean by bird-feeding it to her, it doesn’t do him any favors.
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Goku is constantly running away from his responsibilities so he can train. He doesn’t want to focus on the serious, only saying “I love you” to his wife one. Now, that doesn’t mean Goku doesn’t love his wife, buthe’s probably not thinking about it as often as other characters might be.
4Piccolo the Babysitter
The Demon King Is an Excellent Mentor
Piccolo is a surprisingly good mentorinDragon Ball ZandDragon Ball: Super.He’s not a good mentor in the originalDragon Ballbecause he’s not a mentor at all - he’s the villain. His transformation into a patient, compassionate, and all-around thoughtful teacher is one of the best in the series. But Piccolo isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, which makes his status as a great teacher pretty funny and a solid meme. He’ll have the sourest look on his face while patiently helping Pan learn how to fly at the same time.
Piccolo has been a mentor to generations of Saiyans, including Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and, eventually, Gohan’s daughter, Pan. He becomes a bit more social as the series progresses, but he never loses his trademark scowl or uncrosses his hands from his chest.
3Goku and Piccolo Driving
The Best Filler Episode inDragon Ball
Most filler episodes aren’t worth watching, but that couldn’t be further from the case when Goku and Piccolo get their driving licenses inone ofDragon Ball’sbest filler episodes. Chi-Chi threatens to stop cooking for the two of them if they don’t learn to drive, so they begrudgingly head to driving school. People learn how to drive much differently in the world ofDragon Ball,as Goku and Piccolo’s instructors tell them to race if they want to pass. While they fail their first test,they’re allowed to take a second, which they also fail.
It’s a hilarious episode because it doesn’t make sense.Why should two of Earth’s strongest warriors, who canfly,learn how to drive? When the instructors see that the pair can in fact fly, they applaud them, saying they’d trade their licenses for the ability to fly any day. While the driving instructors weren’t upset, Chi-Chi hears of their failure and passes out, leaving Piccolo and Goku to cook their own meals for once.
2It’s Over 9,000
A Meme So Popular it Has Its Own Wikipedia Page
When Nappa and Vegeta first get to Earth, they’re not expecting to face someone at their level. They use scanners to determine their opponent’s power level and haven’t found anyone worth worrying about. That changes when Goku finally arrives to the battlefield. Nappa asks Vegeta to use the scanner to determine his power level, and Vegeta answers by taking his scanner off, crushing is in his hand,and yelling out the iconic “It’s Over 9,000!”.
The meme is iconic for a couple of different reasons. In some versions of the show, Vegeta yells that Goku’s power is “Over 8,000”. It’s also incredibly dramatic in a pretty serious scene. Goku is just standing there, staring at the two Saiyans menacingly while they gossip about what his ‘power level’ is. Goku was probably just wonderingwhy his two enemies were bringing up numbersin the middle of a fight.
Yamcha’s Death Pose Is Found Throughout Anime
Yamcha’s death pose after he’s killed by the Saibamen is the best meme inDragon Balland one of the most iconic in anime. It’s a pose so popular,tons of other anime pay tribute toDragon Ballby adding it to their series.To replicate Yamcha’s death pose, a character needs to be in the fetal position on the ground, usually in a crater, after being exploded. Sometimes there isn’t a crater, others the character doesn’t explode, but the pose means the same.
Tons of anime have added Yamcha’s death pose to their series, includingTower of God, Bocchi the Rock!, Naruto,and more. Contextually, it usually means the character got beaten pretty embarrassingly, or was so outclassed, all they could do was lie in a crater.It’s a great meme that’s so easy to replicate, it’ll probably be repeated for longer than Yamcha really wants.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
