Dragon Ball Daima Easter Egg Calls Out One of Vegeta's Greatest Memes

For many years, Dragon Ball fans have been known to find memes in almost every iteration of the franchise. From Yamcha’s iconic death pose to Vegeta’s memorable line when reading Goku’s power level, Akira Toriyama’s masterpiece has no lack of quotable and hilarious moments. Sometimes, these jokes become so popular that even the writers of the series become aware of their existence.

Such is the case of a subtle but comedic event included in episode #13 of the Dragon Ball DAIMA anime series. While fighting against the gigantic beings of Planet Mega, a group of ticks attacks the Z Warriors, prompting Piccolo to question their origin. This moment is a reference to an old but extremely well-liked meme among Japanese fans, started by Vegeta during the 8th installment in the long list of Dragon Ball movies.

Dragon Ball Daima Included One of Vegeta’s Most Popular Memes

Ticks Have Often Been Associated With the Prince in Japan

The 8th movie of the Dragon Ball franchise, Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, is among the most beloved in the series. The film was the first introduction to the original version of Broly, a character that quickly became one of the most popular. It is also the origin of an old Japanese meme, born from Vegeta’s voice actor mispronouncing a word. During the initial scenes of the film, as Paragus explains to the prince that they have found a new planet for the Saiyan race, Vegeta is supposed to say nani, a Japanese word that translates to "What?"

Ryo Horikawa, the iconic voice actor behind Goku’s rival, pronounced the word in a specific way that made it sound like dani, the Japanese word for ticks. This moment quickly became a popular meme among fans, who found the idea of Vegeta being shocked by the existence of ticks hilarious. This meme has been used repeatedly in the Japanese Dragon Ball community since 2003, when the movie was first released. DAIMA gave fans a pleasant surprise when Vegeta’s legendary joke was referenced in episode #13.

As the Z Fighters battle against the gigantic hamsters of Planet Mega, an enormous tick attacks Piccolo. The Namekian shockingly repeats Vegeta’s meme, wondering how such large insects may exist on the planet. For international audiences, this moment did not cause much interest, as it seemed to be just Piccolo surprised by the gigantic ticks of planet Mega. Nevertheless, Japanese fans immediately took to social media to share their excitement about Vegeta’s popular meme becoming canon.

Dragon Ball Had Already Canonized Memes

Yamcha’s Iconic Pose Was Reused in Super

Despite Yamcha often being underappreciated, as he has plenty of moments in which he proved to be a total badass, there is no doubt that his first death is quite humorous. For many decades, the pose Goku’s first rival died in was used as a meme by fans all around the globe. This joke became so popular that it was referenced once again in episode #70 of Dragon Ball Super. To ensure victory for Universe 7’s baseball team, Yamcha threw himself at home base. The warrior managed to win the game, but not without being forced into his death pose.

Dragon Ball is a franchise best known for its epic fights and spectacular transformations, but it is also an amazing comedy. Seeing the team behind the series acknowledging and laughing along with fans about the various memes that surround the series is a truly heartwarming event.