There is so much to love about Dragon Ball. It has all the ingredients that an epic saga needs, from a likable hero, fascinating side characters and awe-inspiring villains to a dazzlingly creative backdrop which encompasses everything from the literal depths of hell to the farthest reaches of the universe and beyond.

Such a staggeringly vast mythology is not built in one day. Dragon Ball’s original creator Akira Toriyama labored through many years writing the original manga. His work inspired Toei Animation to make the Dragon Ball Anime. Later on, many new writers and creators were added to the team as the Dragon BallUniverse expanded, with every new iteration spanning across comics, cartoon, video games and movies.

While the DB universe has been fairly consistent in its storyline, for the most part, some hiccups inevitably occurred along the way. It’s always interesting to view the series as a whole, and in retrospect, notice certain continuity points that contradict earlier episodes. Stories that were told in the form of a comic were found to be at cross-purposes with what was being shown in the cartoons, movies etc.

Nothing can take away from Dragon Ball’s hallowed status among Anime classics. More than any other series, it was responsible for drawing the attention of the rest of the world to the now-world-famous anime industry. But just to prove that no story is perfect, here are 25 times the rules and narrative of the Dragon Ball Universe didn’t make sense:

25 Why Can’t The Dragon Balls Be Used To Solve… Everything?

So the most powerful objects in the Dragon Ball universe were the titular Dragon Balls. Basically, the Balls act as wish-granting genies. If you managed to collect them all in one place, you get to ask the giant spirit dragon guarding them for a wish. Throughout the series, characters have used the balls to pull off many miracles, like gaining more power, bringing dead people back to life, gaining wealth, youth, and popularity etc. But not to win fights.

Wait, what?… Okay, so you want to bring back people you lost. That’s reasonable. And you want to gain power, wealth and all that other stuff. Also understandable. But why not use the balls against villains as well? Basically, every bad guy in the DB universe could have been finished off in seconds if the heroes had remembered they had a wish-granting dragon on hand.

24 Power Levels Are Pretty Pointless

Power levels are how the story tells you someone is strong. They tell you how much Ki energy a fighter possesses, which in turn tells you how much strength they possess. It’s a pretty simple comparison. A fighter with a greater power level will always beat a fighter with a lower power level. Except for those times when they can’t.

Wait, what?… So power levels indicate strength. But what about when Piccolo was struggling to fight Nappa and Vegeta, but then went toe-to-toe against Frieza, who had a much higher power level? And let’s not even get into the random power-ups that characters can get after doing some push-ups. Basically, power levels are only adhered to when convenient. If the story demands a weak character giving a fight to a stronger character, you can bet the weak character will be on the receiving end of an unexplained power boost.

23 What Exactly Do Senzu Beans Do?

Senzu beans are like the health power-ups you find in video games but set in the Dragon Ball Universe. They are shown to heal many types of injuries in an instant, getting the patient back on his feet within seconds. Then everyone forgets about them during battles.

Wait, what?… Senzu beans are used many times in Dragon Ball. But not nearly enough! Every time a fighter came close to dying, all he needed was to pop a senzu bean, and come back to the battle as strong as when he started. Sure, there aren’t an unlimited number of senzu beans to dip into, but the mere fact that Goku and the others aren’t carrying several pounds of beans calls into question their sanity. If we were going up against Perfect Cell, you bet we’d be dipping into a private bean stash every few seconds after getting Frieza-punched!

22 Cell Should Have Died In The Begining

Perfect Cell is a fearful antagonist. He comes equipped with nearly-unmatched levels of power, flight, and a regenerative factor which allows him to grow his whole body back as long as a nerve cluster in his head stays intact.

Wait, what?… So a special nerve cluster in his head is the reason Cell is able to recover from the most horrific injury? The same nerve cluster that got blown into a million pieces the first time Goku fought him? So shouldn’t The Cell Saga have ended right there? Instead, Cell comes back from the head-exploding injury stronger than ever. Then he helpfully reveals the bit of news about the nerve cluster to Goku, which must have just confused him further. Goku was probably getting ready to say, “But wait, Didn’t I explode your head bef-” moments before Cell punched him in the face.

21 Everyone Just Kind Of Forgets About The Hyperbolic Time Chamber

Competing with the Dragon Balls for the Title of ‘Most Overpowered Plot Device’ is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It came into focus during a time when Goku and his friends were preparing over the next few days to face the fearsome antagonist Cell. Time was running very short, and the team needed to train harder than ever. That was when Kami unveiled the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, a room where time moved 1 year forward for every hour in the real world. Stepping into the chamber gave Goku enough time to become stronger before the big battle.

Wait, what?… So ever since the beginning of Dragon Ball, with every fighter constantly fretting about there not being enough time to train before a fight, they could have just been using the time chamber to train for several years and reach any level of strength they wanted?

20 Goku Didn’t Escape From Namek, And Then He Did

The Frieza saga ended in an epic deathmatch between Goku and Frieza on a planet that is moments away from destruction. After Goku wins, he has only seconds to escape the world. The episode ends with Goku desperately looking for a means of escape, only to be swallowed up by the explosions after the only remaining escape pod drops into the lava. A tragic end to a noble hero. The next episode begins with Goku returning to Earth.

Wait, what?… What happened? One minute Goku is dying a Hero’s Death, the next he’s strolling back to Earth with a merry smile on his lips and his hair still all pointy. Goku later explains to Trunks that he managed to find an escape pod after all. I guess the audience was stupid for believing what the earlier episode showed them…

19 What Was Up With Buu’s Abilities?

One of Buu’s most prominent abilities, other than being able to strike fear into people’s hearts in spite of being called Buu, is that he can turn people into candy and ingest them to gain power. Why candy specifically? Because the animators couldn’t show people who were eaten turning into poop, which is what happens in real life. The point is, we are shown that Buu’s victims get converted into candy used to power Buu, and their spirit moves on to the afterlife.

Wait, what?… So how come Goku and Vegeta discover Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo inside sealed pods in Buu’s body? Why were they not killed and sent to the afterlife? Were the pods actually refrigerators that Buu was using to store bodies in case he awoke in the middle of the night and felt hungry?

18 Super Saiyan Transformation Is Hard… Then It Isn’t

Saying someone is a Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball is how you know that person is the being-of-power to end all beings-of-power. Not every Saiyan can be ‘Super’. Most have to be content with being described as merely ‘Passable’. Goku manages to become a Super Saiyan, but he needed to undergo massive trauma, got beaten almost to death, and accessed his last, most desperate level of survival instinct to trigger the transformation. Later, Vegeta and Trunks become Super Saiyans by working out a lot.

Wait, what?… Apparently, there was no need for Goku to be inches away from death to become Super. Whereas once a Super Saiyan transformation was viewed as a once-in-a-lifetime achievement, pretty much any current Saiyan can do it if they are willing to work out hard enough. Maybe all the new Saiyans just decided to secretly switch to steroids.

17 Oolong’s One Primary Rule That He Completely Ignored

Oolong is a shapeshifter. That’s his thing. Another thing he has is that he can’t transition immediately from one shape to the next. After taking on one form, he needs to have a cool-down period of one minute before he can switch over to another. It’s a cool little detail that helps set Oolong apart from other shapeshifters, and ties into Dragon Ball’s theme of having limitations on powerful abilities that force characters to come up with more creative solutions. Or just ignore the rule for the sake of the plot.

Wait, what?… The problem with Oolong’s one-minute rule is that he is shown to blatantly ignore it the first time he makes an appearance. In Oolong The Terrible, he goes from man to bull to samurai in seconds. Maybe he just lied about the one-minute rule to get out of helping the heroes…

16 Chi Chi Only Drives When The Story Needs Her To

Fighters are not the only interesting characters in Dragon Ball. Goku’s wife Chi Chi is a real firecracker and shows as much spirit as any warrior. She’s not afraid to express her opinions or complain about things. One of the things she complains about is being unable to drive. She makes the remark in the episode Goku’s Ordeal and again in A New Guardian. Chi Chi is a smart, capable woman, so the fact that she can’t drive is a bit surprising. It becomes even more surprising when you clearly remember watching her drive in other episodes.

Wait, what?… Seriously, Chi Chi is actually a really good driver. She is shown to be able to drive a hovercraft as well as an aircraft. Even her wedding flashback shows her driving. Our conclusion? She just doesn’t want to run errands.

15 Characters Really Hate The Idea Of Using Telepathy

Punching things can only get you so far. Sometimes you have to be more subtle. Like using telepathy to communicate with your friends and formulate an attack plan without warning the enemy of your intentions. Master Roshi was the first person to use telepathy, making it a canonical part of the universe. Over the course of the series, we see many other characters using telepathy for communicating across vast distances and to read thoughts. Even Goku learns to use it, and it is revealed that anyone can learn to use telepathy if they’re taught.

Wait, what?… So anyone can learn telepathy? Then why haven’t they? Every battle in the series would have gone much better if the fighters had been using telepathy to coordinate their attacks and read their enemy’s minds. Are the characters just too lazy to learn this rules-of-warfare-altering technique?

14 What Exactly Is The Afterlife?

Is the afterlife depicted in the series the actual heaven/hell, or just some kind of extra-dimensional hotel where characters can check in between dying and getting resurrected? Because if you happen to be important to the plot of Dragon Ball, trust me, you will get resurrected. Cell and Frieza were killed by Goku, and come back to the land of the living. Baby was a machine, and it was stated that machines can enter the afterlife, but he didn’t, because: reasons. it is stated that evil beings lose their bodies in hell. But then plenty of evil characters were shown retaining their bodies.

Wait, what?… Really, the internal logic of how the afterlife operates in Dragon Ball is so murky the creators should just declare the concept of death as irrelevant. You die. You wander around briefly in another dimension. Then you get resurrected.

13 Is Space Filled With Pockets Of Secret Air?

Sometimes, Dragon Ball characters take their brawls away from planets and into outer space. In many scenes, we see Saiyans holding their breath underwater, and then having to come up for air. But then we see Goku’s father Bardock somehow being able to breathe in space. We also hear Frieza declare that Goku would die from a lack of oxygen in space if the planet they were fighting on was to explode. Also, Freiza stated he can breathe in space. Also, Vegeta and Goku have been shown to be able to survive for long durations in space.

Wait, what?… Is space a different thing in the Dragon Ball Universe? Are there like random pockets of oxygen dotted throughout space that can be used to survive when the plot calls for it? So many possible reasons, each more preposterous than the last…

12 Krillin’s Confuses Us All With His Random Clothes Changes

There’s not a lot of room for fashion in the DB world. Most heroes sport a basic gi that is usually torn stylishly during battle to reveal their super muscular physiques. Characters also usually have a single color code that they follow throughout the series. It helps immediately identify characters in large group shots and also makes the job of the animators easier. So if you see a photo of a short, bald dude wearing an orange gi, you can be sure that character is Krillin. Unless he happens to be wearing a Saiyan battle armor in the next scene because that is still Krillin.

Wait, what?… Look, animators are only people. It’s hard to keep track of all the notes provided to create a piece of animation. Sometimes mistakes happen, which in this instance gave Krillin two uniforms for the same sequence.

11 Raditz Can’t Keep His Story Straight

Raditz was a pretty big deal when he first appeared. He was strong and cruel, and a member of the same Saiyan race like Goku and Vegeta. Later, much more powerful villains may have made him lose some of his street cred, but his biological connection to Goku still made him an interesting villain. He told Goku about how their home planet had exploded 3 years ago. It was later established that Frieza had destroyed the Saiyan homeworld 24 years prior to Raditz’s arrival on Earth.

Wait, what?…Which is it, Raditz? 24 or 3 years? How can you possibly confuse the timeline of your home planet’s destruction? Do you not know how numbers work? Or are you just hazy about the concept of years?

No, wait, turns out it wasn’t Raditz’s fault. He, Nappa and Vegeta had been lied to by Frieza about their planet’s demise.

10 No One Is Aware of Frieza’s Family

Dragon Ball sets up a long intro for Freiza, talking him up as the ultimate big bad who was the impossibly powerful ruler of the universe and responsible for destroying Goku’s homeworld. He has a massive empire and is the unquestioned boss. That is why Goku finally managing to beat him is a big deal, and makes his transformation into a Super Saiyan in mid-battle all the more thrilling. Then later we find out Frieza has a father and brother who outrank him in terms of power and authority.

Wait, what?… So all this time, Frieza had an entire family that apparently no one had heard of or bothered to tell Goku about? Seems like the fact that there is an entire race of beings with the same power level as Freiza would be worth at least a single conversation.

9 Five Minutes That Just Go On And On

In the final battle with Goku, Frieza reveals that he had started a chain reaction on the planet they were fighting on which would result in the planet’s destruction in five minutes. This adds a sense of urgency to the battle. In the next five minutes, we see Goku having a very, very long battle with Frieza. And Gohan takes Piccolo to Goku’s ship. And then searches for Bulma and also takes her to the ship. Kami wishes the Namekians back to life. Dende wishes everyone but Goku and Frieza off the planet.

Wait, what?… That’s a hell of a lot of activity to squeeze into just five minutes. What exactly do five minutes mean to Frieza? Or was he just really bad at math? Did he grow increasingly embarrassed when the five minutes were up and the planet still hadn’t exploded?

8 Why Didn’t They All Learn Each Other’s Techniques?

All the main fighters have special techniques they use in battles. Goku has the Kamehameha. Piccolo has the special beam cannon. Vegeta has hair so straight and pointy it could poke someone’s eye out. In many battles, it comes down to a character making use of his special technique to win. All the techniques that Goku and his friends acquire are learned by them over years of practice. So every fighter brings something unique to a battle that helps turn the tide of war.

Wait, what?… So, why exactly do the fighters only use their own techniques, and not each others’? It’s specifically stated that any technique can be learned over time. Why can’t the characters teach each other their most powerful moves, so instead of one guy using the Kamehameha, all of them could use it at once.

7 Do Saiyans Need Tails Or Not?

So a pretty big part of the Saiyan lore dealt with how Saiyan children are born with tails that allow them to transform into great apes. Goku had one as a kid, and every time it got cut off, another one grew in its place. The tail is both an important part of Saiyan identity, and a source of strength without which a Saiyan can never reach full power. Except for all those times that Saiyans lost their tails and just forgot about them.

Wait, what?… Turns out the tails may have been nothing more than fashion accessories. When Goku and Vegeta’s tails are lopped off, they don’t grow back. But it doesn’t lower their power levels in any way. Same thing happens with Gohan. Younger Saiyans like Goten, Trunks, Bulla, and Pan are never even shown to have tails in the first place.

6 Dreams Which Contain Impossible Information

So there’s Goku, running across the Snake Way on another heroic adventure. Then suddenly he begins to feel tired and decides to take a nap. His dreams are disturbed by visions of the Saiyan villains, Vegeta and Nappa, who are attacking his family. A little later in the series, during the Android saga, Goku has another vision, this time of Androids 17 and 18. He watches in helpless horror as the two robots reveal their terrible might. Gohan has a nightmare about Cell in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. All these visions manifested despite Goku not having seen Vegeta, Nappa or the Androids at the time of dreaming them. Neither had Gohan seen Cell before.

Wait, what?… So are Goku and Gohan psychic or something? How come they keep seeing dreams containing information they had not yet received? And why don’t they use this ability all the time?