List of Influences on Popular Culture

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This is a list of the notable real life topics or fictional works which have been influenced by the Dragon Ball franchise.

Anime

Arale and Akane playing a Dragon Ball Z video Game in the Dr. Slump remake

• 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 Goku and Arale playing as Vegeta. Akane ends up winning the game. Another time Arale puts the last volume of Dragon Ball into the Reality Machine and a black and white Goku comes out and fights a black and white Kid Buu. There is also a 4 episode story arc where the young Goku ends up in Penguin Village with appearances from Ninja Murasaki, General Blue and even Shenron.
• Goku has been cited as an inspiration for such protagonists as Monkey D. Luffy, Naruto Uzumaki, and Zatch Bell from the One Piece, Naruto, and Zatch Bell series respectively.
  • In episode 6 of Naruto SD, "Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals", the card Ten Ten draws out of the box says "A thrilling conclusion where seeing your best friend killed causes you to snap and awakens your latent powers?!" Shizune states that it is straight out of Dragon Ball, referencing the Frieza Saga when Krillin gets killed and Goku turns into a Super Saiyan for the first time.
• In the anime Shuriken School, the founder of Shuriken School, Koji Murasaki, is a ninja who looks very similar to Ninja Murasaki, in addition of bearing the same name.
• In the anime My Bride is a Mermaid, the Dragon Ball franchise is referenced several times, including cameos of major characters:
  • The character Saru asks the series protagonist Nagasumi whether or not he used the Dragon Balls to wish beautiful girls into his life. An image of Shenron and the seven orbs appears on the screen as he is speaking.
  • When the school's students split into two factions warring over who the school idol should be, Saru appears dressed as an elderly bearded man named Chimp-Roshi, a clear reference to Master Roshi.
  • While the cast is visiting Kyoto on a school trip, Goku is seen standing in a group of people, facing away from the screen so that his face is hidden.
  • In episode 16, younger versions of Vegeta and Trunks can be seen in the background as students sitting in a classroom.
• In the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime, the Dark Signer Roman Goodwin (Rudger in the Japanese version) has a similar hair style and red facial markings to Baby Vegeta.
• 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 was seen in were 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 9th School Rumble episode, 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.
• A character in the anime series MM! transforms into a Super Saiyan in the 5th episode.
• In an episode of Yakitate!! Ja-pan, in the Yakitate 9 Arc, when the opponent baker gave his bread called "Super Toro Aburi" up for the judge, Kuroyanagi, he transforms into "Super Kuroyanagi" (a parody of a Super Saiyan) after tasting it. Kyosuke Kawachi, who commented on his reaction to be cheap, was put in a freezer costume (a parody of Frieza) and fights him off while explaining how amazing the bread was, and then finishes him off by throwing a giant beehive pastry in the same manner as Goku releases a Kamehameha.
• The show Keroro Gunso ("Sgt Frog" in English) has many references to Dragon Ball Z.

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo characters impersonating Dragon Ball Z characters

• The manga and anime Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo makes regular parodies of Dragon Ball Z. Various fusions between the main character and other members of his team are common. Also, the character Don Patch can become Professional Patch (Don "Ikarin" Patch in Japanese), turning gold and gaining an upward curve to his body spikes, similar to a the Super Saiyan transformation.
• Many references to Dragon Ball Z are made in the anime version of Gin Tama; the first is a scene that starts with Kagura teleporting onto Shinpachi's head, resembling how Goku did the same in his fight against Nappa. Additionally, Kagura comments "Too slow, Nappa". Gintoki is then seen as Yamcha, mimicking Vegeta's line "He's fast", except substituting the female pronoun for the male one. The second scene would be Gintoki comedically practicing a Kamehameha, to no avail as his friends look at him with a loss of respect for him. Finally, the third scene would be the main cast participating in an amalgamated show of Dragon Ball, One Piece and Bleach, called DragonBleaPiece. Gin Tama also parodies the opening of Dragon Ball Z Kai, "Dragon Soul", replacing the cast with their own main characters.
• In the online manga/anime series Hetalia, several references to Dragon Ball Z are made. In the Axis Powers special "Paint It, White", during a conference in a makeshift headquarters, the countries were attempting to come up with a solution on how to defeat the Pictorians. America suggested a superhero, and Italy said that Japan should do it (because of all the animes in his country). China then butts in saying he can do anime, and a blurred image is shown yelling "Kame-Kame-Ha!!!" Italy then says he has heard the phrase before, but better. Also, in Hetalia: World Series episode 2, Greece shows Japan what Japanese words he knows, and says "sushi-paki-Dragon Ball Z-nani".
• There are many similarities to the Dragon Ball franchise in the anime Scan2go. First, the robots that assist characters like Kaz and Shiro look a lot like Giru, and in one episode Kaz's robot says "Danger, danger!" like Giru would. One of the antagonists, Ryu, has facial markings resembling Baby's. Shiro can transform into a Great Ape-like monster.
• The 2000s Pokémon series, like Black & White, include attacks resembling techniques from the Dragon Ball franchise. For instance, in Black & White, Pansage's Solar Beam resembles a Kamehameha. In the Adventures in Unova episode "A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team!", the two trainers Soren (ソラン, Soran) and Rocko (リーク, Rīku)  both resemble Gotenks.
• In the gag manga and anime Good Luck Girl! (Binbougami Ga!) references are constantly made to several other Shonen Jump series, particularly the Dragon Ball franchise:
  • Super Saiyan Goku appears in a montage of people described to have good fortune with his eyes censored out and an alternate color uniform. A similar picture of Vegeta is likewise seen in a montage of those said to have negative energy.
  • The poverty god Momiji and her familiar are seen dressed as Goku and King Kai with a backdrop of the latter's home planet behind them.

  • 

    Binbougami ga! Dragon Ball reference.

    The characters are seen cosplaying as Vegeta and Nappa.
  • When the Dog God Momo'o transforms into his canine form, his hair turns golden and his body is engulfed in a bright aura like that of a Super Saiyan. Bobby and Momiji look on while dressed as Krillin and Master Roshi.
  • When Bobby is show being blasted away by a wave of energy, he shouts Vegeta's name, the scene's animation parodying Nappa's demise.

Tomoko parodying Yamcha's death

• The anime Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui! includes a scene where the main character, Tomoko, is put into a similar pose as Yamcha after being killed by a Saibaman, complete with a crater and a broken Saibaman arm. 
• In the opening theme for The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan, the Kamehameha is mentioned.
• In the anime and manga series Bakuman, there are several references to Dragon Ball like:
  • The character Akito Takagi's favorite manga being Dragon Ball.
  • The main characters Moritaka and Takagi doing the Fusion Dance pose.
  • Eiji Niizuma drawing a Super Saiyan Goku's eye along several other Shonen Jump heroes.
  • The sillouette of one of the 5 heroes who appear in the background when Ashirogi Muto (Takagi and Mashiro's pen name) are thinking about creating their battle manga Reversi, includes Super Saiyan Goku.

Super Saiyan Akari in Yuru Yuri

• The anime Yuru Yuri includes a scene where the main character, Akari, turns into a Super Saiyan in a dream sequence.
• In the episode 49 of the anime Beelzebub (which is a parody of Journey to the West), Takayuki Furuichi wears the Son Goku's band and he pictures himself with a wig of Super Saiyan Goku.
• In the episode 10-C of Dotto Koni-Chan, Koni and his friends are reading several mangas with Koni being the lead character, and one of them is Dragon Ball Z.

Sensei doing a Kamehameha

• In the episode 5 of the anime Denki-gai no Honya-san, Sensei uses a red gi similar to Goku's, and Umio uses clothes similar to Master Roshi's.
• In the episode 3 of the anime Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru, Yukihira calls Kanade "a piece of trash with a power level of 5".

Western animation

Goku and Gohan as they appear in Robot Chicken

• Goku and 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 World Martial Arts Tournament 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.
• The character Omi from the show Xiaolin Showdown resembles the Orin Temple monks (especially Krillin due to the lack of nose, as he had his own design based on Krillin).
• 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 Frieza, Number 4 going Super Saiyan, and a parody of the Kamehameha using a gumball.

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A parody of Vegeta as he appears in Fairly Oddparents

• In the Fairly OddParents TV movie Channel Chasers, a show called "Maho Mushi" is featured that is a parody of Dragon Ball Z. It features characters similar to Goku/Piccolo, Vegeta, and the World Tournament Announcer (and even characters that parody the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
• In the show called 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 the World Martial Arts Tournament. When Billy and Mandy fight each other, they both power up with golden auras that resemble Super Saiyan auras.
• In the South Park movie Bigger, Longer and Uncut, when Cartman is singing a song, he mentions the "Kamehameha".

Robin with Goku's hair

• In the show Teen Titans GO!, after Starfire destroys Robin's hair gel, Robin tries to fix his messed-up hairdo but it results with it turning into other hairs, including Goku's.
• 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", which is much like the Cell Games.
• In the Latin American dub of Cow and Chicken, when Cow asked Cousin Black Sheep why he is so bad, he answer her that he is bad because he watched Dragon Ball Z.
• In the Latin American dub of The Simpsons, when the Simpsons family gets stuck in Japan and Homer was working in an Eel Farm, he used an Eel like a whip, changing the TV Channel saying: "Can't we watch Dragon Ball Z?".
• In the popular Western cartoon Chowder, there is an episode where a character named Schnitzel powers up and becomes similar to a Super Saiyan, including a yell and growing golden hair.

Goku in MAD

• In the Cartoon Network series MAD, in the skit "Grey's in Anime", the nurse tells the doctor "His heart rate is over 9000!" with the doctor replying "What? Over 9000?! That's impossible! I'm gonna have to power up to Super Surgeon! Upon saying this, the doctor's hair becomes that of a Super Saiyan, and his shirt disappears. This episode also makes reference to other manga series, like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon.
  • In another episode of MAD, called "Money Ball Z", Goku and other Z Fighters become baseball players.
  • In another episode of MAD, called "Go, Dragon Ball, Go", Diego searches for seven Dragon Balls so he could save all of the animals.
  • In commercial for MAD, there is a parody of World War Z and Dragon Ball Z called World War DBZ: this commercial shows people turning Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, or fusing.

A character in MAD transforms into a Super Saiyan

• In the Johnny Bravo episode "20,000 Leagues Over My Head", Johnny's new obsession is a television show called "Clam League 9000", a parody of Pokémon where the trainer bears a resemblance to Goku while wearing a similar outfit like Ash Ketchum and his rival looks like a green skinned Vegeta wearing an outfit similar to the Team Rocket uniform.
• The Reboot episode "My Two Bobs" involves Enzo and one of the Bobs entering a world reminiscent of Pokémon crossed with Dragon Ball Z, Enzo's reboot form resembles between Vegeta, Yamcha, and Ash Ketchum they face off against a trainer who resembles Super Saiyan Goku wearing Tien's outfit.
• In Adventure Time, in the episode "Jake The Dog", the royal gems spreading out in Ooo after Jake's wish was granted might be a reference to the Dragon Balls. In another episode, "Frost & Fire", the attack Flame Princess uses in the last fight looks similar to a Kamehameha, Ice Kings' attack looks similar to a Big Bang Attack, Ice King and Flame Princess look like Super Saiyans, and they have a beam struggle which might be a reference to the Kamehameha vs. Galick Gun beam struggle in the Vegeta Saga.
• There are Dragon Ball references through many episodes of the French Short-Animated series Podcats: One of the characters, Mimo uses the Kamehameha, Dragon Ball mangas are shown in several episodes (such as "SunBall Z"), and three Dragon Balls standing on a chest are shown at the end of one episode (this might refer to the video games Dragon Ball Online and Dragon Ball Heroes, because they are able to go into video game and bring stuff from it).
• In the Latin American dub of Regular Show, when Mitsuru Shinehara is about to attack Mordecai, Rigby, and Benson, Benson says "Look, it is Pan, Goku's granddaughter."

Television and film

• 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 Fighters and one of just 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.

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

• In the television series Pearlie, there is an episode called "Dragonball Run".
• 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 its sequel, The Matrix Revolutions, the final fight between Neo and Smith appears to be very similar to fights in Dragon Ball Z.
• 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 Emperor Pilaf and Mr. Satan's car.
• In the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin, a Goku action figure is seen on Andy's bed and a boxed figure of Kibito is seen on one of Andy's shelves.
• 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 Gohan Buu.
• 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.

Jackie Chan says he likes Dragon Ball

• In the movie Friends with Money starring Jennifer Aniston, 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 videogames in the works. The caller repeatedly asks Tom Green if he's 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".
• In the movie Kindergarten Cop, in the famous "You belong to me now!" scene, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger is yelling at the children, drawings of the seven Dragon Balls can clearly be seen in the background.
• 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, King Cold, Captain Ginyu, Hirudegarn, Dabura, Pui Pui, and Frieza.

Future Hiro in the series Heroes

• 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 that carry swords.
• In the crime drama series Criminal Minds the character Penelope Garcia has a Gotenks figurine on her desk.
• In the comedy series Grounded for Life, Sean mentions a conversation with his son about Dragon Ball Z.
• The Disney Channel comedy series So Random! includes a bit called "Anime Brothers" where Scott resembles Goku, having the same spiky hair and same style of outfit. His brother Elliot resembles Naruto. They mention Dragon Ball Z as "Marudo Ball D."
• The season 4 finale of the TV series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic features a battle between the character Twilight Sparkle and the episode's main villain, Lord Tirek. Their battle has been favorably compared to Dragon Ball Z. There have been numerous reasons for this comparison:
  • Tirek destroying Twilight's library and Twilight erupting in a fit of rage in the same way Goku turned into a Super Sayian for the first time after Frieza killed Krillin.
  • Twilight firing magic blasts from her horn in the same manner Goku uses the Kamehameha.
  • Twilight and Tirek's magic blasts colliding in a manner similar to how Goku's Kamehameha wave collides with Vegeta's Galick Gun, and Gohan's Kamehameha colliding with Cell's own Kamehameha, and similar attack collisions.
  • Twilight and her friends using their rainbow powers to unleash a powerful beam attack to defeat Tirek.

Music

The Who is, This is album (with Krillin on the cover)

• On Emmure's album Goodbye to Gallows is a song entitled "Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle", in homage to the second Dragon Ball movie. On Emmure's album Speaker of the Dead is a song entitled "Solar Flare Homicide", in a homage to the Solar Flare technique; the songtext trades of the fact that someone can not find his opponent in cause of a "fire in the sky" (the fire stands for the Solar Flare).
• "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 Scott Morgan for the FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z.
• B.o.B mentions Super Saiyan in his song autotune.
• Spanish rapper Porta has an entire rap song dedicated to Dragon Ball and mentions Zarbon, Dodoria, Recoome, Raditz, Nappa, Dr. Gero, Dabura, Babidi, Great Saiyaman, Goten, Krillin, Pan, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Trunks, Gohan, Goku, Vegeta, Videl, Cell, Mr. Satan, Broly, Majin Buu, Frieza, Hirudegarn, Tapion, Mercenary Tao, Yajirobe, Garlic Junior, Supreme Kai, Vegito, Janemba, Pikkon, Gogeta, Gotenks, Oolong, Puar, Bulma, Cooler, Baby, Bardock, and the Shadow Dragons. The "Dragon Ball Rap" original lyrics are all in Spanish and pertain to all three Dragon Ball eras.
• Krillin appears in his Saiyan armor on the cover of the album Who is, This is (by Voodoo Glow Skulls)
• Rapper Soulja Boy has two songs that reference Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, the Ginyu Force, Korin, Master Roshi, Chi-Chi, and Super Saiyan.
• Jahred from Hed PE mentions the Kamehameha in the song "Killing Time."
• The Japanese punk metal band "Maximum the Hormone" has a song called "F" which pays homage and is a tribute to Frieza and mentions Frieza's primary military commanders and mercenaries, including Zarbon, Dodoria, Cui, Jeice, Burter, Recoome, Guldo, and Captain Ginyu in the song lyrics.
• Waka Flocka Flame references Dragon Ball Z in the song "Wild Boy" by Machine Gun Kelly, stating "Suck my Dragon Balls bitch, call me Goku."
• In Frank Ocean's debut album, channel ORANGE, the song "Pink Matter" (feat. Andre 3000) references Majin Buu.
• Dragon Ball Z is mentioned in the song "Dansplaat" from the Dutch rapgroup Brainpower.
• In Thrice's debut album Identity Crisis, on the song "T & C", the lyrics references Dragon Ball Z, stating "For like a Saiyan I won't grow, unless I'm battered in the fray." The demo version of the song from "First Impressions" has a sample of Vegeta in the intro from the original Ocean dub, "No way! How? It can't be! Kakkorot a Super Saiyan? But he's a low-class soldier, it doesn't make any sense!"
• Rap icon Snoop Dogg (Snoop Lion) revealed via the news website Reddit that he is a fan of Gogeta, stating "Gogeta is a g".
• RZA of the popular rap group Wu-Tang Clan is an avid fan of Dragon Ball Z, calling it "one the deepest cartoons in history". In his book "The Tao of Wu", he even states that he believes the Saiyans can represent the "journey of the black man in America".
• Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar's song "Hood Gone Love It" features a line in the third verse that states "Whip like a fireball, call it Goku".
• Linkin Park vocalist and rapper Mike Shinoda has a rap song called "Spell It Out" that samples Bruce Faulconer's Perfect Cell Theme.
• In Christina Aguilera's music video "What a girl wants", a picture of Goku and Super Saiyan 4 Goku is seen in the background.
• Rapper Domo Genesis has a song title "SS4" dedicated to the Dragon Ball series; the cover art features Super Saiyan 4 Goku.

Manga and comics

• In MAD Kids magazine, issue 2, there is a make your own SpongeBob story, and after a Spongebob character is chosen, one of the options of who they visit is Goku.

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Shin-Chan uses a Frieza mask

• The first issue of Mecha-Nation (a 3 issue miniseries) contains a profile for several characters. The profile for Marcus Brand/Blast mentions him to be geek for various mediums of entertainment (including anime) and can "rattle off Dragon Ball power levels on an episode-by-episode basis".
• Crayon Shin-Chan protagonist Shin-Chan uses Frieza's mask and acts like Frieza.
• In the manga Mahou Sensei Negima, Goku, Piccolo, and the fat Majin Buu can be seen in the background in one scene. In addition, a minor character claims he knows how to use the Kamehameha. Later on, one character makes a reference to Muscle Tower.
• King Piccolo can be seen being sucked in by a black hole in Chapter 338 of Gin Tama.
• A spoof of Goku appears in Bongo's Simpsons comics Issue 45. He is seen fighting Mr. Sparkle and using an attack called the 'Krakatoa Attack".
• In Yomeiro Choice volume 2, chapter 6, there are many parodies of things from Dragon Ball, like scouters, and the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. In this chapter they had YP or wife/yome points, in fact Karin's starting yome level was 5 and her mom's yome level was 530,000 and she even states it in a similar way as Frieza did.

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A reference to the opening of Dragon Ball

• In the volume 7 of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan segment "Autumn of Leaves," Yuki Nagato describes the changing colors of the leaves as a Mystical Adventure, a reference to the opening theme of Dragon Ball.

Jellal's death at the hand's of Zero

• In the 368th chapter of Fairy Tail, Jellal Fernandes "dies" in a manner similar to how Goku and Raditz are killed when hit by the Special Beam Cannon.
• In the manga Medaka Box, Ajimu Najimu (a character who frequently breaks the fourth wall) talks to Zenkichi Hitoyoshi about the characteristics from different manga's lead characters, and one of them is Goku with "the strength like the Saiyan raised on Earth, Goku".
• In the manga Change 123, the male protagonist Teruharu is told by his friend Kannami that HiFuMi can not desappear from Motoko but have a fusion, and Teruharu is then shown doing the Fusion Dance with a reflection of himself in a window.

Goku and Krillin's training in Beelzebub

• There are several references to the series in the manga Beelzebub:
  • Teimo's Shadow Force, who are four bald fighters, are described by the lead character Tatsumi Oga as the "Four Krillin Brothers".
  • When Oga and the Shadow Force are commanded to seek stones to train, Oga tells them that they could be throwing the stones to a jungle to look for them like Master Roshi did with Goku and Krillin (also that scenes appeared in the background).
  • After Oga and Baby Beel finished the training with Zenjuuro Saotome, he tries to give them a shirt which looks like the Turtle School uniform with the Zen symbol (like ZENjuuro) instead the Kame symbol on it.
  • In several cover arts, Oga, Furuichi and Baby Beel are shown doing the Kamehameha pose.
  • In the New Year Special (Chapter 138.5), it is revealed that Oga respected a man in the past, and that person was Goku. An artwork of him appears in the background during this part.
  • In the final battle of the series with Fuji and Satan, Oga uses the full power of baby Beel which gives him a Super Saiyan appearance. He then flies around and jokes "I finally did it! I'm a Super Saiyan".
  • In the end, when people on TV are heard commenting about the fight between Oga and Fuji, one of the comment is "ahahahaha Kamehameha".
  • In the dual match between Saiten-Saotome vs. Oga-Hilda, both team jump very high and the commentator says "Up Above!! It's something you'd see in Dragon Ball!!!"
  • After the return to the Ishiyama High building, two thugs are fighting because they call Nam and Yamcha (and they looks like them).

Video games

• The 1988 Taito arcade game Kuri Kinton draws much inspiration from Dragon Ball and other fictions in style, themes, and characters who resemble the likes of Goku and Master Roshi. The hero uses a technique similar to the Kamehameha, Chinese dragon backgrounds are seen during boss battles, and the title itself mentions the Flying Nimbus.
• In the Street Fighter series, the characters Ryu and Ken use an energy ball technique called the Hadoken. Though not a beam of energy (with some exceptions), the position of both character's hands is identical to that of the hand positions to form a Kamehameha. It is also blue like the Kamehameha is.
• There is a reference in the game World of Warcraft. A player who gains 9000 achievement points gains the achievement "It's Over Nine Thousand!"
• In the game Monday Night Combat, there is an unlockable Highlight ProTag called "Over 9000." It reveals an icon of a bag that has an obvious resemblance of the four-star ball. This can be gained by receiving over $9000 in lifetime earnings in the game.
• 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 description for this is "Surprisingly, funneled Electroshock capacitor energy at the right frequency through both Wildfire and Sludge Mk. 9 armor parts created a recursive feedback loop that dramatically increased the potential peak power output, nearly into the Petagigawatt range. As one Gadgetron research scientist famously reported, "It's over nine thousaaand!!!"
• Yet another PlayStation 3 game inFamous 2 makes a reference to the "Over 9000" meme when one of the posters in the city says "Over 9000 clubs".
• The "Over 9000" meme is also featured in the Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts and its Wii U/ PC counterpart Scribblenauts Unlimited. If "Over nine thousand" is written, then a monocle is given.
• In the Nintendo DS game Ninjatown, also features the infamous meme.
• In the Nintendo DS game Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, when you talk to a character named Sal Manella he'll say "IT'S OVER 9000!".
• In the Nintendo DS game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, there is a mission called Dragon Haul Z, obviously a pun on Dragon Ball Z, in which you have to pick up a dragon costume that looks like Shenron and do a special dance in this costume.
• The PC game Magicka also has a reference to the "Over 9000" meme: once a Wizard does over 9000 points of damage to enemy, they earn the "It's over nine thousand!" achievement, with an icon of a Wizard powering up in the manner as Goku.
• The popular MMO-RPG World of Warcraft also features the "Over 9000!" meme as a Feat of Strength.
• Another MMORPG (RuneScape) has a monster named the "Ferret of Doom" with a combat level of 9001.
• One of the achievements in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero 5 (and a trophy on the PlayStation 3 version) 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 film Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might.
• In the game Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Lucario (who was at one point voiced by Sean Schemmel) has a final smash, called "Aura Storm," which is quite similar to a Kamehameha.
• In the Wii game Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the Kreate-a-Fighter mode includes Goku's hairstyle listed as "Anime 2" and exactly the right clothes for Goku, which means a character with Goku's appearance can be created and played by the player. It is possible to create a character similar to Adult Gohan as well.
• Yuji Naka, one of the founders of the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise by SEGA, has revealed that he is a fan of the Dragon Ball series, and includes such homages as Sonic going "Super".
  • 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 (Future Gohan for Future Trunks and Blaze for Silver), said deaths lead a motion of events (Future Gohan's death leads to Future Trunks's first (anime) Super Saiyan transformation and Blaze's sacrifice leads Silver to go back in time to destroy Iblis and save Blaze), both have super forms (Super Silver and Future 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 Future 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 downloadable Liars and Cheats pack of Red Dead Redemption, one of the achievements is titled "Over 9001," another reference to the internet meme.
• In the fighting game series Power Stone, the character Wang-Tang has a martial arts fighting style reminiscent of Goku's, and upon transforming with 3 powerstones, has his hair stick up and become blonde like a Super Saiyan. In this stage, he has several ki-themed attacks, as well as an ultimate attack identical to Goku's Spirit Bomb.
• In Addictinggames.com's popular game Potty Racers, if one flies high enough into space, a stick figure Super Saiyan appears.
• In the flash game Super Karoshi when the character goes super, he grows hair identical to Super Saiyan Goku, and gains an ability to fly, and gets a cape.
• The popular iOS game Jetpack Joyride has four striking DBZ references:
  • A clothing item called "Super Suit" is identical to the famous Turtle School uniform, its description says "Be ready for the Martial Arts Tournament in this bright orange super suit. It costs 8000 coins."
  • Another clothing item called "Powered Up Hair" contains a head with green eyes and a hairstyle that reminds Super Saiyan adult Gohan and supposed to be a Super Saiyan version of the main character BARRY. Its description says "We are not really sure what the power level of this hair is. It's probably a lot". It costs 9001 coins as an obvious reference to the popular meme "It's over 9000!"
  • One of the vehicles in the game called "Mr. Cuddles" resembles a robotic version of Shenron that can breathe fire while the character rides on it. After upgrading it into gold, it will resemble a robotic version of Goku's Dragon Fist.
  • The gadget called "X-Ray Specs" looks exactly similar to a scouter. It works as an identifier to vehicles.
• Goriath, a boss in the Wii game Kirby's Return to Dream Land, is heavily influenced by the Dragon Ball universe. At half health, his hair turns gold and emits a fiery glow, similar to that of a Super Saiyan. He also begins to use attacks that are similar to the Kamehameha. In addition to the transformation, Goriath EX uses an attack that resembles the Spirit Bomb. Also, their gorilla-esque appearance is a reference to the Great Ape forms that Saiyans can turn into.
• In Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, case 3, some people are seen wearing items identical to scouters.

Naruto Uzumaki wearing Goku's uniform

• In Team Fortress 2, the description of the vintage ban hammer (which is Gabe Newell's special joke item) says "level 9001 mallet of banishment" in reference to the internet meme. Also, the playable character Pyro has a taunt move that throws a Hadoken fireball in a pose similar to the Kamehameha technique.
• In the game Street Fighter X Tekken, Bryan Fury has JACK-X scan Guy and Cody to determine if they are tough. JACK-X reveals that each of them have battle power levels over 9,000.
• In the game Worms World Party, there is an attack called "Dragon Ball".
• In Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion, Billy and Mandy's super move shows them powering up to what appear to be Super Saiyans (this might be a reference Cartoon Network's airing of Dragon Ball).
• In video game Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Naruto wears Goku's suit and his Rasengan looks similar to Kamehameha.
• In many sandbox free-roam games, there is an alternate character costume based on Goku's orange gi and his Super Saiyan form. 
• In Pokémon X and Y, after defeating Psychic Robert, he says "Wow your Pokemon's powerlevels are incredible! They're over 9,000 for sure!"
• In the indie game Minecraft, there are several Dragon Ball Z mods and one of them features all the notable Dragon Ball characters except Shenron and the Pilaf Gang.
• Kurisu Makise from Steins;Gate uses the online alias of "KuriGohan and Kamehameha".
• The character Zidane from Final Fantasy IX shares a similar backstory, personality, and appearance (specifically, a humanoid with a monkey-tail) with Goku. Similarly, the main antagonist, Kuja, also bore a similar appearance and role to Raditz. The trance transformations also resembled to some degree the Super Saiyan 4 transformations.

• In Umineko: When They Cry, there's a comedic scene in which Krauss Ushiromiya is fighting one of the goat-heads. They mention power levels, saying Krauss' power is 6 and the goat has a power of 1000. After a serie of multipliers (pulled from nowhere), Krauss' power rises to 11520, which would "easily win the very first Tenkaichi Budokai".

Internet

• Team Four Star created a parody series called DragonBall Z: Abridged. The entire Saiyan Saga, Frieza Saga, Androids Saga, and first part of the Cell Saga have been adapted. Characters such as Nappa, Goku and Mr. Popo, and a lot of other characters have different personalities for comical reasons. Recurring jokes usually involved Raditz, Krillin and Yamcha. The series got in legal trouble from Toei Animation and were removed from YouTube eventually, but have since returned with the end of the second season. They also made a special site for their workings. Team Four Star also has a partnership of sorts with Little Kuriboh, who sometimes features crossovers between DragonBall Z: Abridged and his own Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged.
• It's Over 9000! and many other scenes have become common popular memes on the Internet today.

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

• 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.
• Ryoku, an NPC and monster in Adventure Quest Worlds and the last of the seven opponents in the Dragon Koi Tournament, is heavily based on both Goku from Dragon Ball and Ryu from the Street Fighter series. His Soul Nuke technique is based on the Spirit Bomb, even though it takes him a long time (weeks, even) to fully charge it. He is almost finished charging it by the time the AQW hero defeats Chaos Shogun Kitsune, one of the 13 Lords of Chaos (the secondary antagonists of Adventure Quest Worlds), only to be punched and knocked out by him/her, forcing the charging to stop entirely.
  • The description for one of the Sandsea quest items in this game is influenced by the "It's Over 9000!" meme.
• In the Annoying Orange episode "Kitchen-mon! (Pokemon Spoof)", Pear and Midget Apple are dressed similar to Goku and Vegeta. Also, Grampa lemon, Orange, and Grapefruit are respectively dressed similar to Naruto from Naruto, Ash, and Brock from Pokémon.

Sports

• Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal is a fan of the Dragon Ball series.
• American UFC fighter Marcus Brimage is an avid fan of Dragon Ball Z, even citing the series as one of his inspirations for taking up mixed-martial arts. He notes the first battle between Goku and Vegeta, Gohan vs. Cell, and Piccolo vs. Android 17 as his favorite battles in the series.
• In one NXT episode, American wrestler Xavier Woods was wrestling in a Dragon Ball Z-inspired attire.
• Former UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Newton has dubbed his personal fighting style as "Dragon Ball Jiu-Jitsu" in tribute to Dragon Ball.