Dragon Ball Z's English Dub performed by FUNimation's cast is one of the most iconic anime dubs ever. It has its fair share of clever and original quotes that helped deepen the story. However, the anime is also full of cringe-worthy quotes that give fans secondhand embarrassment.
There are so many of these that they have become memes among the Dragon Ball community. There are other quotes that are equally bad solely because of how they completely miss the point of a scene or a character. While Dragon Ball Z's dub will forever be loved by many fans, it will forever be noted for some of its worse and goofy dialogue.
10 "That's Right Boys, Mondo Cool."
Season 2, Episode 60
After defeating Captain Ginyu, Goku is brutally injured and close to death. Because of this, Vegeta has him brought into Frieza's spaceship and has him placed in a Medical Machine to heal his wounds. After explaining what it does, fans get Krillin commenting "Mondo cool" — to which Vegeta replies in his head, "That's right boys, mondo cool."
This "mondo cool" quote comes off as incredibly goofy and weird. It's not something Vegeta is likely to say or even really understand. It is a prime example of the many quotes in the Frieza Saga that simply make no sense. However, because of how random and funny they are at times, the fans have grown to adore these quotes and even turn them into memes.
9 "That's One Whopper Of A Lizard!"
Season 3, Episode 61
While Vegeta is sleeping, Gohan and Krillin take the Dragon Balls away to summon Porunga without his knowledge. Vegeta's whole reaction to Porunga is completely comedic because of how terrible the scene is. Upon witnessing the creature, he famously yells "That's one whopper of a lizard!"
The line delivered is just unnecessarily goofy and unfitting to how Vegeta was supposed to actually be reacting at the time. He then proceeds to say "I'm not going to let this shake my composure" and then instantly screams. While this is a hilarious and ironic turn of events it makes no sense and was definitely added on Christopher Sabat's part to be funny rather than serious.
8 "I Can Win! I Feel Great! I Can Do This!"
Season 3, Episode 63
TeamFourStar played up many of the bad quotes in Dragon Ball Z by both reusing them and making fun of them. Piccolo's iconic line after he fuses with Nail "I can win! I feel great! I can do this!!!" is completely painful to listen to and followed by and proceeded by several other awkwardly delivered lines.
There's no doubt that Piccolo would be impressed and even overwhelmed by his sudden burst of strength. However, for him to overreact in such a giddy way was out of character for him. This is why so many fans have gone so far as to make fun of the English dub's quotes and this scene is often used as an argument against fans that say that the FUNimation dub is good.
7 "Ride 'Em, Cowboy!"
Season 3, Episode 67
Frieza stabbing Krillin was a painful, horrific, and even awkward scene to watch. No one wanted to see one of the main characters so horribly impaled and for so long. Unfortunately, this scene was made even worse by the terrible quote by Frieza, "Yee-haw! That's it, buckaroo! Ride 'em, cowboy!"
This quote does lean into Frieza's sadism and pure vileness. However, it's incredibly odd to come up with and made many fans laugh simply by how random it seemed. It makes the whole scene one of the most painful to watch.
6 "Nice Move, But Your Shoe Came Untied."
Season 3, Episode 77
Goku versus Frieza was a fight that changed Dragon Ball forever. However, it, unfortunately, possesses a few weird quotes throughout it. FUNimation loved throwing in these random quotes to add a bit of comedy to the show here and there.
However, this one makes both Goku and Frieza look stupid. The quote itself is pretty bad as Frieza says, "Nice move, but your shoe came untied." To which Goku responds that he doesn't even have shoelaces. While Frieza was joking in this made-up scene, Goku does technically have laces on his boots. This makes the quote even more unnecessary and both characters look stupid.
5 "I Am The Hope Of The Universe. . ."
Season 3, Episode 81
Goku's extremely long quote beginning with "I am the hope of the universe" is perhaps the most well-known quote in the English dub. Many fans have long adored and celebrated this quote. However, it's never really made much sense and doesn't fit into Goku's character at all.
Goku has never been a representative of the innocent or even fought foes to keep them from harming people. Goku's goals have first and foremost always been about himself and honing and testing his skills as a warrior. Giving Goku this exaggeratedly long quote was unnecessary, and it tried to make Goku into some superhero character that he's never been.
4 "I'm Gonna. . . Slap Some Sense Into You!"
Season 3, Episode 89
Goku slapping Frieza was already a terrible scene on its own added by Toei. This scene was not in the manga, which isn't surprising with how much was already added to Goku and Frieza's fight.
However, the animation of this scene was painful to watch and Goku's yell before slapping Frieza "I'm gonna. . . Slap some sense into you!" was so bad that it'd make most people watching it cry. This quote only amplified an already terrible scene, which is odd because of how amazing the rest of the episode actually is as it leads to the conclusion of one of the greatest final battles in anime.
3 "Yeah. More Like Burnt Toast."
Season 4, Episode 115
It does seem that most of the peculiar quotes in Dragon Ball are delivered by Christopher Sabat. After Android 19 is killed by Vegeta, Krillin comments, "Man, that Androids toast!" This itself was nothing bad and felt fitting for Krillin.
However, Piccolo then says, "Yeah. More like burnt toast." This line just felt purposely comedic and unnecessary. It's delivered so seriously but the quote itself is hilarious. It's another example of a Piccolo quote that feels entirely out of character. This is also a serious and jarring scene, so realistically no one would've said anything remotely comical, least of all Piccolo.
2 "Sad For You!!!"
Season 4, Episode 120
Vegeta's battle against Android 18 was brutal. As usual, Dragon Ball Z tends to humble Vegeta and give him several beatdowns. However, FUNimation couldn't help but make his downfall even more brutal by giving him such an awful line. His quote "Sad for you!!!" follows Android 18 telling him how sad it is for him to work for so little.
Vegeta's line doesn't even make sense, and it feels extra silly with the awkward animation. The line is intended to be an insult thrown her way but somehow ends up bouncing back on himself. While there are many unnecessary quotes in Dragon Ball Z added by FUNimation, this is one that just doesn't even make sense to have ever had.
1 "I Do A Lot Of Push-Ups And Sit-Ups. . . And I Drink Plenty Of Juice."
Season 5, Episode 141
Vegeta's battle against Cell is definitely one of Vegeta's best in the series. At last, Vegeta surpasses Goku in Dragon Ball again and completely makes a fool out of Cell. While Vegeta's "I am Super Vegeta" quote hasn't aged the best either, this isn't actually a dub original quote.
However, his response to Cell on how he got so strong is a dub original: "I do a lot of push-ups and sit-ups. . . And I drink plenty of juice." While this is far from one of the more awkward quotes, it just sounds very unlike Vegeta. He's no doubt a cocky and overconfident warrior, but he doesn't have such a sense of humor in this way.