The Dragon Ball manga series was very much a product of its time. There is a lot of material in it that would be considered objectionable by modern standards, such as the weird scenes (like when Android 20 encounters a citizen) and depictions of things that would normally incite a higher rating if it was a movie or something.

The Dragon Ball anime cleaned up some of the more interesting scenes from the manga, with the international versions censoring the series, even more, to make it palatable to a younger audience. This means that there are lots of aspects to the story of Dragon Ball that have been white-washed by the creators, due to the series becoming a massive hit across the world.

There are also some fear inducing aspects to the story of Dragon Ball that were never resolved within the boundaries of what we saw on the screen. It seems like the world of Dragon Ball is a far scarier place than we originally thought.

We are here today to look at the most strange aspects of the Dragon Ball franchise that have slipped under the radar over the years. From the truth about General Blue, to the revelations concerning the future version of Bulma.

Here are Twenty Secrets You Never Found In Dragon Ball Z!

18 The Strange General Blue

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Akira Toriyama was always fond of the manga series he created before Dragon Ball, which was called Dr. Slump. He was so fond of it that he actually crossed over the two series and made Penguin Village a part of the Dragon Ball universe. It's odd, then, that Toriyama would choose to have one of the Dr. Slump characters experience some stranger danger at the hands of General Blue.

General Blue's behavior has been censored in almost every dub of Dragon Ball.

There was a scene in the original Dragon Ball manga where General Blue was shown as being attracted to Obotchaman, who looks like a young boy. General Blue keeps trying to arrange a date with Obotchaman, who is oblivious to Blue's affections.

17 I'm Just A Sweet Metamorans

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Akira Toriyama is an unusual man. He has made some peculiar comments in the interviews that he has given over the years, such as when he said that he wanted to pretend to be senile in his old age, so that he could spy on his daughter while she took a bath... even though he didn't have any daughters at the time.

One of the most unusual comments made by Akira Toriyama occurred in Dragon Ball Full Color #4, where he claimed that the result of a man and woman performing the Fusion Dance would result in a drag queen... an incredibly powerful drag queen. Toriyama showed regret that he never actually included such a character in the Dragon Ball manga.

16 Nappa's Program

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The Saiyan race had all but ended by the time that Dragon Ball Z had begun. The destruction of the Saiyan homeworld at the hands of Frieza meant that the Saiyans were reduced to a few stragglers who were away at the time.

The fact that Goku was able to conceive a half-Saiyan child with a human girl was of paramount interest to Nappa when he first came to Earth. Nappa originally asked Vegeta if they could enslave the female population of Earth once they had gathered the Dragon Balls so that they could repopulate the Saiyan species.

Nappa had some weird plans for the people of Earth.

Vegeta refused Nappa's request, as he was concerned over the idea that their progeny would one day overthrow them. The scene where Nappa discusses his plans for the women of Earth has been censored in almost every dub of Dragon Ball Z. 

15 Forgetting About The Heart Virus

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The world of Dragon Ball Z was forever changed by the arrival of the unnamed heart virus that was responsible for taking Goku's life. This virus was somehow strong enough to fell the mighty Saiyan warrior, and no amount of Senzu Beans or wishes were able to fix it.

Future Trunks would eventually return to the past and pass on the cure for the heart virus to Goku and his friends. It seems that they thought the heart virus was a non-issue, as Goku never took the cure until it had almost claimed his life.

The heart virus is never mentioned again after Goku is cured of its effects. So what happened to the rest of the world? Was the heart virus a true epidemic that claimed lots of lives because the Z-Fighters were too dumb to make sure the cure was made public?

14 Frieza's Mystery Clients

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It might not seem like it to a casual viewer of Dragon Ball Z, but Frieza and his army aren't simply some intergalactic empire that is trying to take over the universe. They actually have a higher purpose that guides their actions, which involves making lots of money by selling worlds.

Who exactly has enough money & power to have Frieza working for them?

The purpose of the Galactic Frieza Army was to take over worlds, enslave or remove any indigenous species, and then sell the planet to the highest bidder.We still have yet to learn the identity of Frieza's clients? Who is it out there that has enough cash to pay for planets but is also strong enough to prevent Frieza and his family from just taking the money by force?

13 The Off-Screen Apocalypse

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The power of the Dragon Balls means that most of the damage caused during any story arc can be undone with one of Shenron's wishes. This usually manifests in all of the innocent civilians and jobber side characters who passed away being brought back to life.

There have been a few occasions where a villain has caused law and order to break down across the world, yet we never see the repercussions of these actions. King Piccolo made crime legal, while Garlic Jr.'s mist turned most of the population evil. This is to say nothing of the breaking down of society caused by Majin Buu's rampage. These actions likely couldn't be undone by one of Shenron's general "bring everyone back to life" wishes.

12 Snake Way Roulette

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Goku spent several episodes of the Dragon Ball Z anime traveling across the Snake Way and getting into scrapes with various supernatural beings. This was all filler content created by the anime staff, as Goku found King Kai's planet pretty quickly in the Dragon Ball manga. The anime staff was trying to give Akira Toriyama more time to complete the manga and the Snake Way seemed like the perfect place to add more content.

One of the most unusual scenes involving the Snake Way filler episodes happened during Goku's encounter with Princess Snake. There was a scene where one of Princess Snake's handmaidens played Russian Roulette and actually did it. This scene was removed in the original English dub of Dragon Ball Z. 

11 Ranfan's Grave

via: Dragon Ball Wiki

When King Piccolo was freed from imprisonment, he created a powerful servant, named Tambourine, who was dispatched to deal with any powerful martial artists that may cause a threat. Tambourine quickly disposed of Krillin, as well as several other participants of the World Martial Arts Tournament.

Ranfan may have suffered a grisly fate due to the Dragon Balls

One of the names/faces seen on Tambourine's list included Ranfan, who was a woman who had competed in the tournament of the previous year. Ranfan wasn't much stronger than a regular woman and relied on her feminine wiles to win matches. It's likely that Tambourine disposed of her as well. If Ranfan was buried and then brought back with the Dragon Balls, does that mean she was buried alive? We never see her again after her match with Jackie Chun, so it's possible.

10 The Majin Buu Amnesia Problem

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The final wish that was granted in the Dragon Ball Z part of the series' timeline was one made by Goku to Shenron. He asked for all memories of Majin Buu's rampage to be wiped from the minds of the citizens of Earth, save for the Z-Fighters and their allies. This meant that Buu was given a clean slate, where he could act as a hero alongside Hercule.

Goku pulled a Men in Black on the population of Earth

The problem with this plan is that Goku waited several months until he performed this wish. This means that there must be countless recorded and written accounts of Majin Buu's rampage which would still exist, which means that Goku's conspiracy would have been undone pretty quickly.

9 The Problems Of Piccolo's Purgatory

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The demonic children created by King Piccolo were technically Namekians. These beings are referred to as Mutant Namekians, due to the fact that some of them have unique traits, like Tambourine's wings.

One of the most unusual traits that belongs to the Mutant Namekians (and King Piccolo) was their ability to affect the souls of the deceased. It is said that those slain by King Piccolo/his kin will not be allowed to pass on to the afterlife and will remain in purgatory.

King Piccolo and his children are the only mortal beings shown to possess the ability to affect the souls of living creatures. Does this mean that countless innocent souls were trapped in the years before King Piccolo was sealed away for the first time? Did they remain trapped until Goku finally dealt with him?

8 The Mystery Of Master Shen's Assassin

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The last time we see Master Shen and Mercenary Tao in the Dragon Ball manga happens at the conclusion of Tao's battle with Tien at the World Martial Arts Tournament. Master Shen carries his unconscious brother away while swearing revenge against Tien and his friends. Mercenary Tao would reappear in the filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z, but neither of them canonically returned to the story.

Who is strong enough to defeat Master Shen and his brother?

According to Akira Toriyama, the reason why Master Shen and Mercenary Tao never reappeared was due to the fact that they were slain during a business deal gone wrong. The question we now have to ask is - who is strong enough to take out Master Shen and Mercenary Tao that we don't know of?

7 The Floating Fate Of The Rabbit Gang

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The Rabbit Gang appeared during one of the comedic segments of the early parts of Dragon Ball. These were a gang of miscreants led by Monster Carrot, who was a rabbit man that possessed the ability to turn people into carrots with a single touch. Goku later disposed of the Rabbit Gang by using his Power Pole to trap them on the moon.

Master Roshi would later blow up the moon in an effort to stop Goku from transforming into his Oozaru form again. He did this while the Rabbit Gang was still up there. Akira Toriyama was once asked about this situation during an interview and his response was that the Rabbit Gang is probably just floating in space somewhere.

6 Frieza's Financial Crisis

Frieza Zarbon
Dragon Ball Wiki

Frieza might be the evilest individual in the world of Dragon Ball Z. Perfect Cell and Majin Buu at least had excuses as for why they performed evil deeds, yet Frieza did them out of sheer joy and a lack of care for lesser life forms. What most fans don't realize about Frieza is that he was based on a certain kind of person that was despised in Japan at the time: Land Speculators.

Frieza was based on a real-life financial crisis that was destroying Japan at the time

Japan went through a financial crisis in the '80s which was brought about by people buying as much land as possible, which shot up the prices of land. When it became obvious that the land was now worthless (due to so many people owning pieces of it) it caused a financial crisis. The reason why the Galactic Frieza Army takes planets and sells them off is due to how Toriyama was mad at the damage caused by the speculator bubble bursting.

5 Artifical Life Isn't Fair

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One of the unanswered questions concerning Dragon Ball Z is whether mechanical beings can be brought back to life through wishes. Android 8 was brought back to life by Shenron, but this happened in a non-canon movie. We also don't know if Arale was brought back to life when the Earth was destroyed by Buu.

This brings up the question of why Android 16 wasn't restored to life following the Cell Games. Andoird 16 sacrificed his life to save the world, yet he did not return once Perfect Cell was defeated. By the same token: Perfect Cell was allowed to have a soul in the afterlife and even managed to escape, yet he was an artificial creature that only performed evil deeds during its short lifespan.

4 No One Cares About Trunks

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Piccolo was one of the first people disposed of by the Androids in Future Trunks' timeline. This made the Dragon Balls inert and prevented anyone from being wished back to life. Gohan was the only surviving member of the Z-Fighters, yet he never became strong enough to deal with the Androids.

The one question that is never answered is why Gohan didn't return to Namek and use their Dragon Balls? The Namekians still owed the Z-Fighters a debt due to how they stopped Frieza, yet no one thinks to go looking for them.

The people of Namek don't about what happens on Earth

King Kai could also have messaged the Namekians using his telepathy, yet they didn't seem to want to lift a finger to prevent the massacre happening on Earth.

3 The Apocalypse Caused By Goku & Vegeta

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Dragon Ball Online was an MMO that acted as an Akira Toriyama approved sequel to his original Dragon Ball manga. Dragon Ball Online was set in the far future of the Dragon Ball timeline, with the original characters only sticking around due to time travel. Dragon Ball Online is no longer active, but the storyline of the game was reworked into Dragon Ball Xenoverse. 

According to the lore of Dragon Ball Online: Goku and Vegeta both perished during a final duel. Goku sensed that his time was coming, so he invited Vegeta to a distant galaxy, where they had their final battle. We don't know the outcome of this fight, but we do know that it caused a supernova to ignite... which probably wiped out hundreds of planets filled with life.

2 Emperor Furry

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Oolong's wish for a pair of underwear was the first request made of Shenron for centuries. The Dragon Balls had long since descended into the realms of myth, to the point where most people were unaware of their existence. It is said that the first wish ever made of the Dragon Balls was to become a king. We later find out that the Earth is ruled by a single monarch, named King Furry, who was briefly deposed by King Piccolo.

A single family has ruled Earth for centuries due to a single wish

The power of Shenron's wish has meant that Earth was ruled by a single family for generations. This means that King Furry's ancestor was no different than Emperor Pilaf.

1 Bulma Almost Broke Reality

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Dragon Ball Xenoverse revealed that there is a Supreme Kai of Time, who exists to prevent people from destroying the timeline, which would lead to the end of all existence. All of recorded history takes the form of Time Scrolls, which are then locked in the Time Storage Vault. It is the duty of the Time Patrol to make sure that no events affect what happens in the Time Scrolls.

If the Time Storage Vault ever overflows with events, then existence would cease to exist. This is why the Supreme Kai of Time has the authority to destroy alternate timelines, should they post a threat to the universe. This means that the Future version of Bulma accidentally risked the destruction of the entire universe, due to her desire to stop the Androids.