List of influences on popular culture

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The following is a list of influences on popular culture.

Animation

Arale and Akane playing a Dragon Ball Z video game in Dr. Slump.

Goku and Gohan as they appear in Robot Chicken.

• The Dr. Slump remake from 1997 has several references to Dragon Ball. In one episode, Arale Norimaki and Akane Kimidori are seen playing a Dragon Ball Z video game with Akane playing as Son Goku and Arale playing as Vegeta. Akane ends up winning the game. Another time, Arale puts the last volume of Dragon Ball into the Real Machine and a black and white Goku comes out and fights a black and white Kid Boo. There is also a four episode story arc where the young Goku ends up in Penguin Village with appearances from Murasaki, General Blue, and even Shen Long.
• Goku has been cited as an inspiration for such protagonists as Monkey D. Luffy, Naruto Uzumaki, and Zatch Bell of the One Piece, Naruto, and Zatch Bell series, respectively.
• In South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, to deal with Eric Cartman's swearing problem, they attach an electrical device to him that shocks him whenever he swears. It breaks, however, and whenever he swears other people get zapped. Cartman of course abuses this power. During the climax where Satan and Saddam Hussein appear to rule over the world, Cartman uses his powers to defeat Saddam Hussein. The battle is a parody of Dragon Ball Z.
• Koji Murasaki, the founder of the Shuriken School from the anime Shuriken School, looks very similar to Ninja Murasaki.
• The character Omi from the show Xiaolin Showdown resembles the Orin Temple monks (especially Kuririn due to the lack of nose, as he had his own design based on Kuririn).
• Goku and Son Gohan are clay-mated in the "A Very Dragon Ball Z Christmas" skit featured in the Robot Chicken episode "Easter Basket". In the sketch, Goku and Gohan help Santa Claus fight the evil forces which want to take over Christmas. After defeating Mrs. Claus, Goku and Gohan state that the Tenkaichi Budokai is complete while Santa, who is puzzled as to what they're talking about, and also angered by the death of his wife, decides never to deliver presents to Japan again.
• In an episode of Codename: Kids Next Door named "Operation R.E.P.O.R.T.", when Number Four tells a story it is a parody of Dragon Ball Z including the Delightful Children from Down the Lane resembling Freeza, Number 4 going Super Saiyan, and a parody of the Kamehameha using a gumball.
• In the Fairly Odd Parents TV movie Channel Chasers, a show called "Maho Mushi" is featured, which is a parody of Dragon Ball]].
• In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, there is an episode (Called "Grim for a Day / Chicken Ball Z / Halls of Time") which is a parody of Dragon Ball Z.
• In the TV movie special Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, the troopers wear helmets almost identical to the Great Saiyaman, Gohan's super hero alter ego.
• In an episode of the 2003 Duck Dodgers series, Porky Pig mentions watching reruns of Dragon Ball.
• An episode of Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes is called "The Shell Games" much like the Cell Games.
• In the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D anime, the Dark Signer Roman Goodwin (Rudger in the Japanese version) has a similar hair style and red facial markings to Vegeta Baby.
• In the manga series To Love-Ru, the main female, Lala, makes a reference to Dragon Ball when she shows the protagonist Rito that she has a tail, which freaks him out. She tells him that he does not have to worry and says that she does not transform when she looks at the full moon. Another time, she is shown trying several odd outfits to look for a normal one. Two of the odd outfits she is seen wearing are Goku's uniform and the Bunny Costume Bulma wore. Additionally, it is revealed that when her tail is pulled, she is weakened, much like Goku.
• In the Latin American dub of "Cow and Chicken", when Cow asked Cousin Black Sheep why he is so bad, he answers that he is bad because he watched Dragon Ball Z.
• In the Latin American dub of "The Simpsons", when the Simpson family gets stuck in Japan and Homer is working in a Eel Farm, he uses an Eel like a whip to change the TV channel saying, "I wanna watch Dragon Ball Z."
• In the popular Western cartoon Chowder, there is a episode where a character named Schnitzel powers up and becomes similar to a Super Saiyan, including a yell and growing golden hair.
• In the Cartoon Network series MAD, in the skit "Grey's in anime", the nurse tells the doctor, "His heartrate is over 9000!" with the doctor replying, "What? Over 9000! Then I must go Super Surgeon!". Also in one episode, "Money Ball Z" referenced Vegeta's rivalry towards Goku and Goku's long Super Saiyan 3 transformation. Also in that segment, Goten and Trunks are seen along with their mothers and Krilin.
• A character in the anime series "MM!" transforms into a Super Saiyan in the 5th episode.
• In Episode 9 of School Rumble, one of the main characters, Harima, transforms into a Super Saiyan (in his manga) during his fight with Kurasama (who is ironically voiced by Eric Vale, the FUNimation voice actor for Trunks). Additionally, Harima has clothes similar to Vegeta's GT outfit. In the episode, he fights Kurasama for Tenma's love. They both shoot energy blasts and reenact the fight between Majin Vegeta and Goku when they clash their energies in a sphere.
• In episode 3 of Bakemonogatari, Senjougahara Hitagi tells Araragi Koyomi that she will give him anything he wants in return for the favor he assisted her in. She lists numerous ways, including the sarcastic reference "Whether it's world conquest, or eternal life, or to deafeat the Saiyajins that are coming to Earth." Araragi replies with "Are you saying you're more powerful than Shenlong (Shenron)?!"
• The anime Gintama has numerous episodes with references to Dragon Ball. The most Dragon Ball dense of which is episode 119 "Within Each Box of Cigarettes, Are One or Two Cigarettes That Smell Like Horse Dung" in which the majority of the episode is a Dragon Ball Z parody focused primarily around the Freeza Saga but also including references and parodies to the rest of Dragon Ball Z.

Film and television

Gohan (left) and a Big Citrus commercial character (right)

• In the movie, Fight Club, box sets of Dragon Ball Z are seen being trashed along with hundreds of other movies.
• In the movie Agent Cody Banks, posters of the Z Warriors and one of just Son Goku are seen on Cody's bedroom walls.
• In the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the character Andrew Wells claims his life is like Vegeta's from Dragon Ball Z, who originates as a villain but eventually changes his ways and joins Goku to fight for the side of good (Andrew claims this in the episode Potential).
• On the popular comedy show Two and a Half Men, in the episode 'Squab,Squab,Squab,Squab,Squab' when Alan asks Jake whats it gonna take to get him to spend time with his Grandma, one of the things that Jake says he wants is the new Dragon Ball Z game.
• A Big Citrus advertisement uses an altered image of Gohan for a commercial.
• In the movie The Matrix Reloaded, the car chase scene appears to be very similar to the car chase scene in the Android Saga.
• In the movie, The Matrix: Revolutions, the final fight between Neo and Smith appears to be very similar to fights in DBZ.
• The final fight scenes in 2000s superhero movies, such as The Avengers, Man of Steel, and Krrish 3, also resemble the fight scenes in Dragon Ball Z.
• In the movie documentary Super Size Me, Dragon Ball Z toys are seen at a shop.
• In the movie Birth, Sean has a backpack featuring Super Saiyan Goku.
• In the movie Are We There Yet?, a boy asks Nick if his store carries Dragon Ball GT.
• In the movie War of the Worlds, Dakota has figurines of Pilaf and Mister Satan's car.
• In the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin, a Goku action figure is seen on Andy's bed.
• In the movie American Gun, the show is discussed.
• In the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a bartender mentions the show by name.
• In the movie The Glass House, Ruby wakes up her brother by telling him "They're giving away free Dragon Ball Z tapes at Blockbuster. If we hurry, we can beat the rush."
• In the television series Criminal Minds, the computer hacker has figures of Super Saiyan Goku and Super Boo (Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, and Gohan absorbed).
• In the television show Heroes the character Ando fires his red lightning in a similar way to the way Goku fires his Kamehameha.
• In the television series According to Jim, during a marriage counseling session Jim states that his weekends are spent "watching Dragon Ball Z with his kids". He then goes on to say "there are 7 of them".
• In the movie, The Tooth Fairy, in the background of the kid's room you can see a Goku statue/figurine.
• In the movie, Friends with Money, Frances McDormand discusses the responsibilities of caring for friends' children in her home, with friends at a dinner outing, and says: "This kid played at my house all day, and his parents don't know who I am. I see them at school, they don't even say thank you. I've kissed their kids' boo-boos, cleaned his pee." Friends say they would want to know everything their kid was doing. One of them asks McDormand: "Where's yours?", and she replies with "Sitting in front of Dragon Ball Z where I left him." One of the friends says: "I think it's too violent.", then his wife says "You think SpongeBob is too violent.", and he responds with: "No. I think it's ugly."
• On the radio station(s) that features Dr. Drew and "Love Line" in California, a caller requests to speak with current guest Tom Green and asks him if he has any video games in the works. The caller repeatedly asks Tom Green if he has played the Dragon Ball Z games. Dr. Drew asks Tom himself: "He wants to know if you play any of the Dragon Ball Z games?". Tom comments on the concepts involved with Dragon Ball Z, relating to "super aliens invading earth, and super warriors".
• On the "TV Funhouse" of Saturday Night Live, competitive eating champion Kobayashi is featured in KOBAYASHI The Hot Dog Eater, which parodies Dragon Ball Z In the skit, he transforms into a Super Saiyan and eats hot dogs to save people. The skit is completely in Japanese, but different variations of both original and English DBZ music is used during the skit, as well as footage of the show itself in the background. The intro also has him land and transform into a Super Saiyan, much like the actual intro to DBZ. Crude drawings of villains are made as well, these include Dr. Gero, Android 19, Cold, Ginyu, Hirudegarn, Dabura, Puipui, and Freeza.
• In the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs the World, the titular character battles a bass-playing vegan named Todd Ingram (played by Brandon Routh), who has gained psychic powers by not eating meat. When Todd powers up, his blond hair stands straight up in a process similar to that of the Super Saiyan transformation. He also uses energy-based attacks, somewhat similar to those used by characters throughout the Dragon Ball series. The fact that Todd is vegan is most likely a play on the way that all Saiyans, such as Vegeta, are named after vegetables.
• The appearance of Future Hiro in the series Heroes was inspired by Future Trunks. In an interview, actor Masi Oka compared Trunks to his Heroes character Hiro Nakamura, as both are time travelers who carry swords.

Music

Who is, This is? album (with Kuririn on the cover)

• On Emmure's album Goodbye to Gallows is a song entitled "Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle", a homage to the Dragon Ball film.
• "U Know What it Is", a song by American rapper Young Jeezy from his 2006 studio album The Inspiration, samples "Pikkon's Theme", a song recorded by Bruce Faulconer for the FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z.
• "Spell it Out", a song by American rapper Mike Shinoda (of Fort Minor/Linkin Park), samples "Cell's Theme", a song recorded by Bruce Faulconer for the FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z.
• B.o.B mentions Super Saiyan in his song autotune.
• Kuririn appears in his Saiyan armor on the cover of the album Who is, This is? by the Voodoo Glow Skulls.
• Rapper Soulja Boy has two songs that reference Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, The Ginyu Force, Korin, Master Roshi, Chi-Chi, and Super Saiyan.
• Jahred from Hed PE mentions the Kamehameha in the song "Killing Time."
• A Japanese metal band named Maximum the Hormone dedicated a song to Freeza named "Freeza."
• American RnB artist, Frank Ocean has a song called "Pink Matter", where the line "Cotton Candy, Majib Buu" is repeated.

Comic books

• The first issue of Mecha-Nation (a 3 issue miniseries) contains a profile for several characters. The profile for Marcus Brand/Blast mentions him being a geek for various mediums of entertainment (including anime) and can "rattle off Dragonball power levels on an episode-by-episode basis".
• Crayon Shin-Chan protagonist Shin-Chan uses Freeza's mask and acts like Freeza to his mother.

Video games

• The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise by Sega has borrowed elements of the Dragon Ball series. Most notably, Sonic's Super Sonic form is a homage to Super Saiyan.
• In the game Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, the famous "Over 9000" meme from the Ocean dub is referenced after the "Triple Wave Armor" is unlocked.
• The Over 9000 meme is also featured in the Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts. If you write "It's over nine thousand" then you get a scouter.
• Another Nintendo DS game, Ninjatown, also features the infamous meme.
• In the DS game Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth|Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, when you talk to a character named Sal Manella he'll say "IT'S OVER 9000!".
• The popular MMO-RPG World of Warcraft also features the "Over 9000!" meme as a Feat of Strength.
• One of the achievements in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero 5 is titled "Over 9000!" in reference to the Internet meme.
• A house in Fable II that has dozens of plants in it is titled "The House of Might" which is a reference to the third Dragon Ball Z film The Tree of Might.
• In the game Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Lucario (voiced by Sean Schemmel) has a final smash which is quite similar to a Kamehameha wave.
• It is generally understood that Silver the Hedgehog from SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is based on Future Trunks, due to that both came from a ruined future to fix something in the past, both lose someone they care about deeply in their futures (Gohan for Trunks and Blaze for Silver), both have super forms (Super Silver and Trunks' Super Saiyan), and both gain something from their experiences in the past that helps them defeat their disaster (strength and knowledge of the Android's weaknesses for Trunks and knowledge of how to defeat Iblis for Silver). His entry in the game script reveals that even his creators compared the two.
• In the popular video game Red Dead Redemption there is an achievement called Over 9001 which is unlocked by gaining over 9001 points in a Free Roam session. The name is obviously a reference to It's Over 9000!.
• In the downloadable add-on for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony, an in-game television show called "Princess Robot Bubblegum" (which parodies many stereotypical anime elements), contains a scene where a male character suddenly flies down and mugs an old woman, powering up into a Super Saiyan while doing so.
• In the game Crash:Mind over Mutant, the cutscene's before and after the endbattle are animated in a similiar style to Dragon Ball.
• In the downloadable game Jet-pack Joyride, there is two pieces of clothing for the Main Character, "Powered Up Hair" which looks similar to Goku's SSJ hair(Its price and description are a reference to Over-9001), The second piece is called "Super Suit" and is based off Goku's orange Gi.

Internet

Cell Shoop Da Whoop, the picture most commonly associating with Shoop Da Whoop.

• Team Four Star created a parody series called Dragon Ball Z: Abridged. The entire Saiyan Saga was adapted and at the end of the series it said a second one would be made. Characters such as Nappa, Son Goku, Mister Popo, and a lot of other characters had different personalities for comical reasons. Recuring jokes usually involved Raditz and Kuririn. The series got in legal trouble from Toei Animation and were removed from YouTube eventually, but have since returned with the beginning of the second season. They also made a special site for their workings.
• It's Over 9000! and many other scenes have become common popular memes on the Internet today.
• It has become somewhat of a meme to showcase on YouTube mock videos of the farmer's shotgun blast, originally used to retaliate against Raditz, killing many significant Dragon Ball villains.
• Cell commonly appears in the Shoop Da Woop!/Imma Firin' Mah Lazah meme and appears at the end of each episode of the Lazer Collection.
• Kid Goku is seen riding the Flying Nimbus in the Ultimate Showdown video.
• Three sprite series are based on Dragon Ball Z, '"Dragon Ball GT, and Dragonball AF. These are Super Mario Bros. Z, Nintegaball GT, and Mega Sonic Bros. AF. Some contain similar story arcs such as the conformation of Mecha Sonic holding a tournament after reaching his perfect form.
• Dozens of Dragon Ball characters have been made and are available for the customizable fighting game M.U.G.E.N. Most of which are used with sprites from Dragon Ball Z Arcade Games, the Super Butōden series and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.

Other

•  In the manga Dragon Boy, Dragon Balls are small balls that appear very similar to the balls in the Dragon Ball series. However, instead of granting wishes, they can be opened using ki energy to release a small baby dragon that does not grant wishes.
•  In the video game series Worms there is an attack called "Dragon Ball", being very similar to the Kamehameha. However, said attack is likely based on the Hadouken/Fireball from the Street Fighter series, as there is another attack called 'Fire punch', which resembles the Shoryuken/Dragon Punch from the same series. Worms will occasionally shout 'Shoryuken' when performing the fire punch, as well as donning a red head band in the style of the main character Ryu when doing both attacks. One should also note: Fireball and Dragon Punch in the Street Fighter series, and Fire Punch and Dragon Ball in Worms.
• In the anime, Puni Puni Poemi, the main character makes an appearance with a collection of three Dragon Balls.
•  The Dragon Balls are mentioned in the manga, Yu-Gi-Oh!.
•  In a non-anime show Duck Dodgers (Looney Tunes franchise series), Space Cadet told The Masked Xorro (a parody of Zorro) that the villagers returned to see the Dragon Balls.
•  In the anime, Excel Saga, Nabeshinlll teaches Pedro and Sandora to reach a certain powerful afro level, similar to the level of Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. They also must use a technique called the Nabehameha, a direct parody of Muten-Rôshi's Kamehameha.
•  In the manga, Eyeshield 21, Yukimitsu performs the Taiyô-ken while dressed as Tenshinhan.
•  In the OVA, Puni Puni Poemy, Poemi is shown with a collection of Dragon Balls.
•  In the manga, YuGiOh, the main character, Yugi Mutou, relates the Millenium Puzzle's power with wishes granted by the Dragonballs. Also, in the anime version, there is a Dragonball shown on a poster.
•  In the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sonic must collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds, similar to the Dragonballs. Once collected, Sonic turns into Super Sonic, a transformation similar to that of a Super Saiyan.
•  In the manga "Bastard!!", their is a part of the series where Angels evolving/powering up was a tribute to the wacky Fusion Dance of Dragon Ball's Gotenks.
•  In an episode of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Sasshi fights in a martial arts match while dressed as Bruce Lee, and near the end, transforms to a Super Saiyan and performs a yellow version of the Kamehameha Wave.
•  In Masakazu Katsura's manga DNA², the main character can turn into a Super Saiyan-like state, gaining golden hair and the ability to use special abilities. Many people consider this to be a plagiarism of DBZ but it was actually suggested to Katsura by Toriyama himself.
•  In The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Cartoon Network Series, Mandy is shown to eat a Chicken-Ball which makes her transform into a Super-Saiyan.
•  In Mystical Ninja, Starring Goemon the Hero, Goemon, after finishing a certain Training, goes to the "Sudden Impact" state, in which his hair grows bigger and its color becomes yellow
• The manga series Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo had many references to Dragonball and a one-off chapter making a parody of it. It had Tokoro Tennosuke and Don Patch recreating the first battle between Son Goku and Vegeta respectively, but the order and development is messed up.
• The anime & Manga series "Yu Yu Hakusho" has various characteristics similar to Dragon Ball Z Such as the fighting and abilities.
•  Masashi Kishimoto states in his manga Naruto that he was influenced by Toriyama. Kishimoto included a picture of Arale he drew in elementary school.
•  Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, stated in an interview that he was a big fan of Dragon Ball. He stated that it was Toriyama that influenced him and that he holds Dragon Ball in high-esteem. Toriyama is a self-professed fan of One Piece, which he was introduced to by his children.
• In an episode of the Kids Next Door series on Cartoon Network, Number 4 relates his fight with the Delightful Children From Down The Lane to Goku's fight with Frieza in a flashback.
•  In the manga "Black Cat", the character Sven has a cell phone charm of Frieza's head.
• In the anime "School Rumble",there is a scene in which Harima Kenji transforms into a Super Saiyan-like form and fights with Karasuma Ooji.
•  Masashi Kishimoto, who is wellknown for creating the Naruto series, has always admired the work of Toriyama, and has named him the most influencing manga artist in his life. For this reason, small references to dragonball are occasionally made (such as manga episode 150 "Start of the training". At page 7 chaozu's "mask" can be found between other masks for sale in a store)
•   In Journey to the West ,Xuanzang and his company search for the legendary Buddhist scriptures in the West(like in Dragonball, Bulma and her company search for the legendary Dragon Balls. )