shows its age at times in some truly cringeworthy moments.

Not every moment is directly due to age, either. Even at the time of release, Dragon Ball included a few truly questionable scenes. Some feature distasteful portrayals of racial stereotypes, while others play into certain characters' perverted behaviors for the sake of getting a few laughs. The series' occasional scenes of brutal violence against helpless characters can also be tough to sit through. Dragon Ball is still incredible to this day, but many of its biggest fans can't help but cringe at times.

7 Videl's Fight With Spopovich Is Difficult to Watch

Videl Is Brutally Beaten in a One-Sided Tournament Match

Violence isn't exactly rare within Dragon Ball, especially during its original adaptations of Akira Toriyama's manga series. The series has thrived on its desperate, all-out battles for decades, and though some might feel inclined to argue, fights are Dragon Ball's main selling point. In some rare instances, however, the series has taken it a bit too far. Videl's match against Spopovich during the Majin Buu Saga's World Martial Arts Tournament is brutal and lasts far longer than it needs to, at least in the anime's version of events.

In the original manga, Videl also takes quite a beating, though the entire ordeal is far shorter than it is in the anime, which stretches the sequence significantly in order to sell Gohan's building anger. It's a bit of a different viewing experience when the strongest heroes have the tides of a battle turned against them. In the case of Videl, who was likely one of the strongest humans on Earth at the time of the match, she was entirely outmatched against Spopovich, who beat her to the brink of death in what should have been a friendly tournament exhibition.

Rather than a fight between two warriors, Videl's match became a brutal assault on a helpless fighter. It was necessary to draw Gohan out into the ring, but the severity of punishment Videl received is difficult to watch, and certainly didn't need to take up nearly an entire episode's runtime.

6 Goku Finds Out What Girls Are

Young Goku Didn't Have Much Worldly Experience, But the Moment Is Still Cringeworthy

Since the very beginning, Bulma has been one of Dragon Ball's most important cast . Without her, Goku might have remained a strange, tailed boy living in the mountains. Her inventions, like the Dragon Radar and Trunks' time machine, have also led to some of the biggest developments within the series. However, Dragon Ball didn't always treat her kindly. The 1986 anime series, which covered Goku's youth, featured a much heavier focus on comedy, and, unfortunately, many of its gags centered on the fact that Bulma was the only main female cast member.

Though he didn't know any better, Goku taking off Bulma's underwear while she slept was one of the more cringeworthy moments in early Dragon Ball, and directly led to another rather uncomfortable scene in which Roshi is given a peek under her dress. Many of Dragon Ball's gags at Bulma's expense have not aged well, and they all began with Goku non-maliciously taking her underwear off. Fortunately, the series largely left Bulma alone as it adopted a more serious tone in its later stages.

5 Roshi's Countless Inappropriate Advances

A Large Portion of Master Roshi's Screen Time Is Cringeworthy

Master Roshi is likely best known for his perverted behavior and unwelcome advances towards of the opposite sex, which is a shame because there's a well-written character underneath the hundreds of examples of the Turtle Hermit acting inappropriately. His mantra, to work hard, study well, and eat and sleep plenty, lies at the very heart of Dragon Ball. However, Roshi would likely have been better off focusing on his own code rather than making more than half of his screen time uncomfortable to watch.

Master Roshi's time, especially during the adventure, comedy-driven narrative of early Dragon Ball, is defined by his perversion, and the series often attempts to use it for humorous effect. Like other aspects of Dragon Ball's earlier sections, many of these gags haven't aged all too well, and the anime adaptations' overuse of Roshi's cringeworthy behavior becomes difficult to sit through over time. Dragon Ball's more recent endeavors have scaled back on Turtle Hermit humor, though it remains central to the character even today.

4 Gohan Gets Badly Beaten by Recoome

A Young Gohan Is Nearly Killed on Namek

Gohan's time throughout most of Dragon Ball is somewhat tragic. Forced into countless battles as a child, the gentle son of Goku never really enjoyed fighting, but did so anyway for the sake of others and his own survival. As a result, the young fighter sustained countless terrible injuries in battle, but none worse than what he endured on Namek. Awaiting Goku's arrival, the trio of Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta were forced to confront the Ginyu Force, and while fighting Recoome, Gohan received a kick so hard that it broke his neck and left him motionless.

Several characters throughout Dragon Ball have nearly been beaten to death, but at the time of the events on Namek, Gohan was only a five-year-old child. The shot of the young warrior lying, head tilted to the side with lifeless eyes is haunting. Much of Gohan's treatment up until the Cell Saga is a bit disturbing to look back on, but this moment is near impossible to sit through without cringing.

3 Officer Black Was a Racial Stereotype, Made Even Worse in the Anime

Toriyama Often Depicted POC Characters With Racial Stereotypes

Dragon Ball doesn't exactly boast a diverse cast of characters, and Akira Toriyama often designed characters like Mr. Popo and, most famously, Officer Black, based on exaggerated racial stereotypes. Often, fans of the series will try to argue away questionable character designs by excusing them as non-human entities, but the problematic portrayal of Officer Black cannot be denied, and it's made only worse in the anime adaptation of the series.

Many likely know Officer Black from the English dub of Dragon Ball, but it's less well-known that his name was actually changed from what it was in Toriyama's manga for the original Japanese audio version of the series. In the manga, his name translates to "Adjutant Black", changed to "Staff Officer Black" for the anime, which is pronounced "burakku sanbo".

The pronunciation is suspiciously close to a controversial children's book from the early 20th century, The Story of Little Sambo, which has been banned in the United States on several occasions for featuring heavy racial stereotypes, but remains popular in Japan even today. It's never been confirmed whether the connection was intentional, but given the popularity of the children's book in Japan, the similarities make viewing the original Dragon Ball anime a bit uncomfortable.

2 Oolong Kidnaps Girls and Forces Them Into Marriage

Another Instance of Dragon Ball's Comedy Not Aging Well

Fans likely Oolong for wishing for panties after Shenron was summoned early on in Dragon Ball, but the character's introduction was actually far worse than his most famous moment. When Goku and Bulma stumbled into a seemingly empty town in search of the Dragon Balls, they learned that its residents had all hidden themselves away in fear. As it turned out, Oolong was kidnapping girls in the town and forcing them to marry him.

Their eventual rescue was meant to be comedic, but the entire premise of the gag has not aged well in the slightest. Oolong's characterization has changed drastically in the time since his introduction, though it cannot be denied that he got off to a rough start in the series. Many of Dragon Ball's more questionable moments occurred during its earliest arcs, and distasteful gags became less prominent as the series shifted into a more serious tone.

1 Gotenks Fights the Strangest Battle in Dragon Ball History

Dragon Ball Has Some Weird Villains, But None Compare to One in Particular

Some Dragon Ball villains are strange, but none come even close to perhaps the most unexpected villain in anime history. Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn is ed fondly for introducing Gogeta into the series, though many seem to ignore or have forgotten the appearance of a character called The Dictator, who was released from Hell while Goku and Vegeta were fighting Janemba.

The villain is an obvious parody of Hitler, and he randomly appears in the final leg of the film, and is eventually done away with by Gotenks. The entire existence of the villain is strange and unnecessary, and if there was some attempt at humor during the scene, it certainly does not come across very well. Of all the uncomfortable moments that take place during Dragon Ball, The Dictator's screen time is by far the most cringeworthy.