The DBZ Movie Plot Count

[Li'l Lemmy]

There are certain things about DBZ movies you can always count on to the point where they're almost endearing. Then there are those things that almost never happen. And in between, you have a hell of a lot of fighting, fighting and more fighting.


Today's DBZ Episode: Kaio-sama Is Keeping Track!! The Gods' Written Record of Extra Dragon World

Hence, I give us all the gift of The DBZ Movie Plot Count!

Admittedly, this post might fall into the Utter Nonsense category, but I took the risk because I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before . . . and for some reason I thought we might somehow get a kick out of listing as many common (or uncommon) movie threads as we can think of, because everybody knows that DBZ fans are the most obsessive, nitpicking fans in the universe. (Well, perhaps with the exception of Star Trek.)

My mind is quite foggy at this hour, so feel free to double-check what I've started with here; there's bound to be an error or two. There's even a few blanks where I just wasn't sure! Make corrections, fill in the blanks, add to the list, debate over the gray factuality of specific points (SSJ2 Gohan in Movie 10?) and just make yourself feel smart in general.

Useful Notes: This list only includes DBZ Movies 1-13, so the TV specials don't count. These figures are generally universal in that they apply to both the Japanese version and the dub, but on occasions where the dialogue is a determining factor, I have deferred to the original. The specific plot points have been broken up into five categories that I think should cover everything, but aditional categories can be added if necessary. Anything that happens more than once in a given movie need only be counted as a single instance . . . so for example, if Goku uses the Kamehameha three times in a movie, we'll count it as one movie where we see him use the attack and add it to the overall figure, rather than the specific number of times he uses it in the movie.

It sounds confusing, but I'm sure you'll catch on once you read into the list. Here we go!


If it doesn't bother anybody, I've decided to tack on the new things we discover as we go along and pass out credit. This list has now been EDITED, corrected and added to with the constant help of Steven Perry, Xyex, Mister Yummy, theoriginalbilis, Adamant, Tori-Bot, Saiyan, Mike D, Mr. Announcer and Metrite.


Fighter Appearances

# of times Goku appears: All 13 movies
# of times Gohan appears: 12 (Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13)
# of times Vegeta appears: 6 (Movies 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13) out of a possible 8
# of times Future Trunks appears: 3 (Movies 7, 8, 9) out of a possible 4
# of times Goten and Trunks appear: 4 (Movies 10, 11, 12, 13) out of a possible 4
# of times Piccolo appears: 10 (Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
# of times Tenshinhan appears: (need answer)
# of times Yamcha appears: (need answer)


Character Specific:

# of times Goku uses the Kamehameha: 10 (Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13)
# of times Goku uses the Spirit Bomb: 4 (Movies 2, 3, 4, 7)
# of times Goku uses Instantaneous Movement to escape an attack: (need answer)
# of times Goku is dead: 4 (Movies 9, 10, 11, 12)
# of times Goku removes his clothes or has them completely ripped apart during battle, revealing his chest and abs: 8 (Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
# of times Goku is naked: 3 (Movies 1, 2, 3)
# of times Goku is seen stuffing his face: (need answer)
# of times Goku rescues Vegeta and/or carries him to safety: (Movies 6, 12)
# of times Gohan is rescued by Piccolo at the last second: 6 (Movies 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9)
# of times Gohan has a tail: 3 (Movies 1, 3, 5)
# of times Gohan is naked: 1 (Movie 3)
# of times Gohan is harassed by Chi-Chi about his studies: 2 (Movies 3, 7)
# of times Gohan is accompanied by Haiya Dragon: 3 (Movies 3, 4, 5)
# of times Gohan defies Chi-Chi to join the battle: 2 (Movies 4, 7)
# of times Goten is mistaken for Goku: 2 (Movies 10, 11)
# of times Goten is hit in the head by a Dragonball or other object: 2 (Movies 10, 12)
# of times Goten and Trunks fuse into Gotenks: 2 (Movies 12, 13)
# of times Goten and/or Trunks appear dressed in something other than their usual fighting gi: 2 (Movies 10, 13)
# of times Kid Trunks moons an enemy: 2 (Movies 10, 11)
# of times Future Trunks does not use his sword: 1 (Movie 8)
# of times Piccolo is metitating/training: 2 (Movies 1, 4)
# of times Vegeta appears with the assertation that only he is allowed to kill Goku: 3 (Movies 6, 7, 12)
# of times Vegeta helps or enables Goku to deliver the final blow: 3 (Movies 6, 8, 12)
# of times Vegeta refers to himself as the Saiyan prince: (need answer)
# of times Krillin appears and gets in his one good shot: (need answer)
# of times Freeza is seen or mentioned: 5 (Movies 3, 4, 5, 8, 12)
# of times Cell is mentioned: 1 (Movie 9)
# of times Buu is mentioned: 1 (Movie 12)


Story/Setting Specific:

# of times the Dragonballs are used or activated: 7 (Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13)
# of times Goku himself does not win the main battle: 4 (Movies 1, 9, 11, 12)
# of times a tournament of some sort takes place: 2 (Movies 9, 12)
# of times the main battle takes place on another planet or dimension: 3 (Movies 6, 8, 12)
# of times a planet is destroyed: 1 (Movie 8)
# of times the Z-fighters get beaten to within an inch of their lives and can't get up: 6 (Movies 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9)
# of times someone gives an enemy The Finger: 2 (Movies 11, 12)
# of times we see instances of regeneration: 2 (Movies 4, 6)
# of times the Earth is overwhelmed by darkness: 2 (Movies 3, 4)
# of times everyone stands together in a group and laughs at the end: (need answer)


Saiyan Specific:

# of times we see an Oozaru transformation: 1 (Movie 3)
# of times we see a stage higher than Super Saiyan (excluding Legendary): 4 (Movies 9, 10, 12, 13)
# of times other Saiyans who survived the homeworld's destruction are introduced: 2 (Movies 3, 8)
# of times we see instances of chibi Saiyans urinating: 2 (Movies 1, 10)


Villain Specific:

# of times henchmen (two or more) accompany the villain: 8 (Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
# of times all of the henchmen are killed/defeated by one person: 3 (Movies 2, 3, 5)
# of times previous villains appear in other movies: 4 (Movies 6, 10, 11, 12)
# of times a villain does not speak at all: 1 (Movie 13)
# of times the villain is obliterated with a special "named" attack (Dragon Fist, for example): 9 (Movies 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13)
# of times the villain arrives on Earth from outer space: 5 (Movies 3, 4, 5, 9, 10)
# of times the villain is hit with a flying punch: 3 (Movies 4, 6, 13)


. . . and so on. Well, you get the idea. Hopefully there's some fun to be had here. And hey, it's one-stop shopping if you're looking for ingredients to make another DBZ Drinking Game!

[Steven Perry]

Here's some more:

# of times Chi-Chi annoys Gohan about his studies...

# of times Goku gets his clothes torn off (revealing his ripped body)...

# of times the Z-fighters get beaten within an inch of their lives, and can't get up...

# of times Gohan is naked...

# of times Goku is stuffing his face with cakes and such...

# of times the enemy arrives from outer-space...

[Xyex]

Few things I noticed that you missed Li'l Lemmy.

# of times Goku uses the Spirit Bomb: 3 (Movies 3, 4, 7)

That should 4. Moves 2, 3, 4, and 7 (Whello, Turles, Slug, and Super 13).

# of times the Dragonballs are used or activated: 5 (Movies 1, 4, 10, 12, 13)

Missed two here, for a total of 7. Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, and 13.

[mister yummy]

It may just be in the dub, but isn't freeza mentioned in movie 3?

[theoriginalbilis]

It may just be in the dub, but isn't freeza mentioned in movie 3?

It's in the JPN dub too.

[Li'l Lemmy]

Here's some more:

# of times Chi-Chi annoys Gohan about his studies...

# of times Goku gets his clothes torn off (revealing his ripped body)...

# of times the Z-fighters get beaten within an inch of their lives, and can't get up...

# of times Gohan is naked...

# of times Goku is stuffing his face with cakes and such...

# of times the enemy arrives from outer-space...

That's what I'm talkin' about. Now fill them in! Isn't it fun to point out how derivative DBZ movie plots are of other DBZ movie plots?

Few things I noticed that you missed Li'l Lemmy.

# of times Goku uses the Spirit Bomb: 3 (Movies 3, 4, 7)

That should 4. Moves 2, 3, 4, and 7 (Whello, Tullece, Slug, and Super 13).

# of times the Dragonballs are used or activated: 5 (Movies 1, 4, 10, 12, 13)

Missed two here, for a total of 7. Movies 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, and 13.

God, forgive me. My brain was so fried by the time I finished counting all that stuff in my head that I was sure I'd left a mistake or two behind. Hooray for Xyex!

It may just be in the dub, but isn't freeza mentioned in movie 3?

Wasn't sure. I've never seen the original version of Movie 3, so I was skittish about counting that Freeza reference. (Is FUNi ever going to get on with releasing Movies 2 & 3?) But hey, if Mr. Bilis says so, then who are we to question his mighty brain?

[Adamant]

# of times a planet is destroyed: 1 (Movie

Planet Vegeta is seen exploding in movie 5.

[The Tori-bot]

# of times Gohan has a tail: 3

Movie 1, Movie 3, and, for some inexplicible reason, Movie 5.

I doubt you need to check if he had it in Movie 3 (him being an Oozaru and all...).

[Saiyan]

If I remember correctly, in Movie 10, Trunks doesn't wear a gi, but a green sweatjacket and a pair of shorts.

[Mike D]

# of times Goku removes his clothes or has them inadvertently ripped apart during battle, revealing his chest and abs: (need answer)

Movies 2 - 8 and that's it.

# of times Gohan is rescued by Piccolo at the last second

Don't forget movie 2.

# of times previous villains appear in other movies

Movie 12 when Hell opened up you can spot some of Cooler's henchmen and even Bojack and Zangya. I know there were more but I can't think of any at the moment.

[The Tori-bot]

# of times the Z-fighters get beaten to within an inch of their lives and can't get up: 6

Movie 3, Movie 4, Movie 5, Movie 7, Movie 8 and Movie 9

Mike D gets 1/6 of the credit.

[Mike D]

# of times the Z-fighters get beaten to within an inch of their lives and can't get up: 5

Movie 3, Movie 4, Movie 5, Movie 7 and Movie 8.

And Movie 9, which included Yamcha and Tenshinhan (two guys we never see in movies anymore).

[The Tori-bot]

# of times the Z-fighters get beaten to within an inch of their lives and can't get up: 5

Movie 3, Movie 4, Movie 5, Movie 7 and Movie 8.

And Movie 9, which included Yamcha and Tenshinhan (two guys we never see in movies anymore).

Okay, much appreciated. Edited answer. Gave due credit. Big smiles. Yay. The end.

[Li'l Lemmy]

If I remember correctly, in Movie 10, Trunks doesn't wear a gi, but a green sweatjacket and a pair of shorts.

Ah, damn. And could you believe that Movie 10 is one of my favorites? Thanks for the kick in the ass, Saiyan!

# of times Goku removes his clothes or has them inadvertently ripped apart during battle, revealing his chest and abs: (need answer)

Movies 2 - 8 and that's it.

Hmm. Now that I'm thinking of it, I think he removes his weighted clothes in Movie 1, and that he loses them in Movies 4 and 5. I do remember that it happened in Movie 8, as well, and I think that was the last time.

# of times Gohan is rescued by Piccolo at the last second

Don't forget movie 2.

My stupidity quotient is running high today. I'm such a moron.

# of times previous villains appear in other movies

Movie 12 when Hell opened up you can spot some of Cooler's henchmen and even Bojack and Zangya. I know there were more but I can't think of any at the moment.

Huh. I was only thinking of villains who return as the main enemy of a second movie, but seeing Bojack probably counts as something worthy of mention. Let's include Movie 12 after all! (Open for debate, though, I suppose. Any comments?)

# of times the Z-fighters get beaten to within an inch of their lives and can't get up: 6

Movie 3, Movie 4, Movie 5, Movie 7, Movie 8 and Movie 9

Mike D gets 1/6 of the credit.

Okay, then. Tori-bot, I appreciate you thiiiiiis much! (*widens arms*) And Mike D, I appreciate you this much. (*closes arms and brings hands to within three inches of each other*) That's about 1/6, right?

Seriously, this is all great. Keep it coming, everybody!

[The Tori-bot]

# of times Gohan is naked: 1

Movie 3.

# of times Goku is naked: 2

Movie 2 (taking a bath) and Movie 8 (as a baby).

Hmmm... I know that these two subjects have something in common, but I just don't know what it is...

[Castor Troy]

Count how many movies Goku has thrown a kick in.

That's not even a hard one to guess.

[Mike D]

Count how many movies Goku has thrown a kick in.

That's not even a hard one to guess.

Or a kamehameha, at that.



But, what about:

# of times all of the henchmen are killed/defeated by one person

Movie 1, 2, 3, 5.

[Li'l Lemmy]

# of times Gohan is naked: 1

Movie 3.

Really? Just the one time. Huh. Dang. Somehow I had the feeling we saw it more than once, but it really was just Movie 3 . . . aww. I guess I was remembering the series episodes, too. See, the idea I had in mind when I put that one up was that he'd been running around naked in a few movies; it doesn't feel as funny if he did it just once.

I could take # of times Goku is naked and # of times Gohan is naked and lump them together under # of times we see a naked Saiyan or some such thing, and then it's at least a respectable number. What do you think, Tori-bot?

# of times Goku is naked: 2

Movie 2 (taking a bath) and Movie 8 (as a baby).

Hmmm... I know that these two subjects have something in common, but I just don't know what it is...

Hmm. Okay, here's something else to consider . . . do we include flashback sequences as incidents? Which reminds me . . .

# of times a planet is destroyed: 1 (Movie 8 )

Planet Vegeta is seen exploding in movie 5.

Same thing. Naked baby Goku and exploding Planet Vegeta were definitely shown, but didn't actually "happen" during the actual plot. Do we count them? I just want to be sure what you all think, because it potentially opens up a whole other can of worms. I don't really have a huge problem either way, so what do you guys wanna do?


EDIT: Additional stuff!

Count how many movies Goku has thrown a kick in.

That's not even a hard one to guess.

Holy @$&%ing shit. Did it ever happen? Can I put up a ZERO category?! . . . oh, wait. Now I get it.

# of times all of the henchmen are killed/defeated by one person

Movie 1, 2, 3, 5.

Hey, wow. That's an excellent suggestion. Works for me! Any objections?

(Hey, wait a minute. Movie 1? I thought Piccolo killed one of Garlic Jr.'s henchmen, and Goku took on the other two. Movie 5, though, right on the money: All Piccolo.)

[The Tori-bot]

# of times the villain is obliterated with a special "named" attack (Dragon Fist, for example):9

You forgot to count Movie 2 (Genki-Dama), Movie 7 (Genki-Dama) and Movie 11 (Kamehameha).

[Li'l Lemmy]

Though I dropped the ball on Movie 2, I simply wasn't sure whether to include Movie 7 or not, since the Spirit Bomb wasn't used in the traditional sense. I had a similar problem with Movie 11; the Goten/Trunks/Krillin Kamehameha wasn't quite enough to get the job done . . . but then again, I think those are Kamehamehas the kids are using when they obliterate the giant Broly, aren't they? They just don't shout out the name. Still, what do you think?

Ah, to hell with it. Changes applied.