The disclaimer as seen in Season 1.
A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship. It is used a way of avoiding copyright claims and to acknowledge the original source.
In Dragon Ball Z Abridged[]
In every episode, Team Four Star puts a disclaimer stating that Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is a (non-profit) fan-based parody, while acknowledging that Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama. They end it by asking the viewers to support the official release.
From Episode 57 onward, the disclaimer was updated to include Dragon Ball Super along with the removal of Fuji TV (TV broadcast right owner) and the adding with Shueisha (manga edition right owners). It reads as follows:
"The Following is a fan-based PARODY.
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, Shueisha and Akira Toriyama.
Please support the official release."
In Hellsing Ultimate Abridged[]
Starting in Episode 2, Team Four Star puts a disclaimer stating that Hellsing Ultimate Abridged is a fan-based parody, while acknowledging that Hellsing Ultimate is owned by Kouta Hirano and Studio Madhouse, and licensed by Geneon, Madman Entertainment, Manga Entertainment and FUNimation. They end it by asking the viewers to support the official release. Subsequent episodes usually have a character from a previous episode read the disclaimer along with some form of in-character quote.
Characters Reading[]
Dragon Ball Z Abridged[]
Starting with episode 17, a character will read the disclaimer. As a running gag, whoever reads the disclaimer either dies, suffers some other unfortunate fate, or have some spotlight, either in the episode where they read the disclaimer, or the disclaimer foreshadows their death in a future episode. It can also be read by a featured character, as quirky as it can be.
Season 2[]
| Episode | Featured Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A Lovely Bunch of Dragonballs | Zarbon | N/A |
| It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Saiyan | Vegeta | |
| 到着を恐怖!! 敬礼, ギニュー特戦隊!! | Guldo | |
| Namekimania 2011 | Recoome | |
| Stop! Celebrate and Witness, Goku's Back From 100X Fitness! | Burter | Reads it really fast, and then ends by saying, "Yes! Best time!" |
| The Good, the Bad, and the Purple | Jeice | N/A |
| Grand Theft Goku | Ginyu | |
| The Best Laid Plans of Saiyans and Nameks | Super Kami Guru | Falls asleep before finishing "Akira", and says "release" as "RELEEEEEEEEEASE!" |
| Nail is Piccolo, and so can you! | Nail | N/A |
| Alien VS. Piccolo | Dende | Doesn't say "non-profit" |
| The Saiyan Formerly Known As Prince | Vegeta | N/A |
| Leave It To Freezer | Vegeta | Reads the disclaimer while hacking up blood, dying from the hole in his chest after Freeza shot him at the end of the previous episode |
| Freeza Burn | Krillin | After reading, he asks the behind the scenes crew how well he did and is unnerved when he's told the paycheck will be sent to his "next of kin.") |
| Freeza: The Final Cut | Freeza | Reads the disclaimer in all three parts |
Season 3[]
| Episode | Featured Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| There's Something About Maron | Turtle | N/A |
| Battlefield Ee-arth | Bulma | |
| Cold Cuts | Mecha Freeza & King Cold | Freeza malfunctions at "Dragon Ball GT", repeating the last two letters and forcing King Cold to finish the disclaimer. Freeza manages to get back to working order, blurting out "Absalon", the name of a fan series. |
| News of Future Past | Yamcha | Background music does not play |
| The Island of Dr. Gero | Stops at the beginning, clearly recognizing the running joke, and thus reads the disclaimer very nervously, ending with "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" He is impaled by Dr. Gero during the episode, barely surviving. | |
| Super Saiyan Swagger | Android 19 | N/A |
| Catch Me If You Can-droid | Yajirobe | |
| Dr. Gero or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Androids | Android 20/Dr. Gero | |
| Blood, Sweat, and Gears | Chi-Chi | Goku is screaming his lungs out from the heart pain while she reads it |
| 16, 17, and 18 Things I Hate About You | Korin | N/A |
| The Trouble With Time Travel | Oolong | |
| Fear and Loathing in Ginger Town | Kami | |
| Cell Service | Piccolo | |
| Cell Reception | Master Roshi | After reading, he says, "Ha! Release!" |
| Hyperbolic Plot Device | Goku | N/A |
| Percussive Maintenance | Dr. Briefs | |
| Family Reunion | Android 17 | |
| Advanced Geometry | Imperfect Cell | |
| Group Therapy | Bulma and Baby Trunks | Both take turns reading disclaimer before ending together |
| A Raging Semi | Semi-Perfect Cell | N/A |
| The "Perfect" Guy | Android 18 | |
| Flashpoint | Gohan | |
| My Body is a Temple'O'Trunks | Future Trunks | |
| Tiles and Tribulations | Chi-Chi | Says "non-profit", despite Team Four Star removing it since Cell Reception |
| It's Been A Year If It's Been A Day | Goku | N/A |
| Deities, Devils, and Doing the Dirty | Gohan | Reads it while very uncomfortably while hearing his parents have sex |
| Opening_Serumonies* | Mr. Satan | N/A |
| Cell Mates | Jimmy Firecracker | |
| The Hard Cell | Larry the Cameraman | |
| Cell-Out | Part 1: Gohan | Three different characters read the disclaimers at each part |
| Part 2: Goku | ||
| Part 3: Perfect Cell | ||
| Die, Robot | Future Trunks | N/A |
- Die, Robot: Future Trunks
Dragon Ball Z Kai Abridged[]
| Episode | Featured Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Then Who Was Monkey? | Vegeta | Says "This is a parody! Official release! Support Akira Toriyama!" |
| DragonThing Z Kai | Freeza | Says "This is a parody! BUY THE F**KING SHOW!" |
| Dragon Fool Z Kai | Garlic Jr. | Says "Don't be a dummy! Give them your money!" |
| See You Next Tenkaichi | Android 16 | Says "Physical media is forever! Buy LaserDisc!" |
| Cell Shaded | Perfect Cell | Says "Give money! Receive Dragon Ball!" |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- While the characters read the disclaimer since episode 17, KaiserNeko still reads the disclaimer for movies or specials.
- Bulma, Turtle, Yajirobe, Chi-Chi, Korin, Oolong, Dr. Briefs, Baby Trunks, Gohan, Future Trunks, Mr. Satan, Jimmy Firecracker and Larry the Cameraman are the only characters so far to read the disclaimer and not die in the same episode.
- Vegeta, Dende, Super Kami Guru, Krillin, Yamcha, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Goku and Future Trunks are the only characters so far to read the disclaimer and subsequently get revived by the Dragon Balls.
- Krillin and Master Roshi are the only ones that died and came back from the original Dragon Ball series.
- Super Kami Guru is the only person to die permanently after being revived from the Dragon Balls.
- Freeza (if one counts the three parts in episode 30) has the honor of reading the disclaimer the most at 4 times.
- Vegeta, Gohan, Goku and Cell are tied for the second best at 3 times.
- So far, Vegeta, Freeza, Bulma, Yamcha, Cell, Chi-Chi, Goku, Gohan and Future Trunks are the only people who have read the disclaimer at least twice.
- Vegeta, Freeza, and Yamcha are the only ones to read it consequently.
- Throughout the series, the disclaimer has been updated with the following:
- Characters read the disclaimer since "A Lovely Bunch of Dragonballs".
- There is background music during the disclaimer since "Battlefield Ee-arth".
- Starting in the episode "Cell Reception", Team Four Star drops the "non-profit" line out of the disclaimer. This is because their other videos such as Let's Plays, Episode Breakdowns, merchandises and their Patreon page have gained enough profit to make it irrelevant.
- In "Opening Serumonies", Dragon Ball Super is added in and Fuji TV is replaced by Shueisha.