# It's Over 9000 > It's Over 9000 is a 2006 video-remix meme from YouTuber Kajetokun's viral Dragon Ball Z clip of Vegeta screaming about Goku's power level, which became internet slang for any huge quantity. "It's Over 9000!" is a catchphrase meme from Dragon Ball Z that took off in late 2006 after a YouTuber named Kajetokun uploaded an edited clip of Vegeta screaming about Goku's power level. The line, which was actually "over 8000" in the original Japanese version, became one of the internet's go-to ways to describe absurdly large quantities of anything. It spread through 4chan, YTMND, and YouTube remixes before hitting mainstream awareness when Oprah Winfrey unknowingly read a troll post referencing "9000 penises" on her show in 2008. ## Origin The scene comes from Episode 21 of Dragon Ball Z's Saiyan Saga, titled "The Return of Goku," which first aired in the United States on April 19, 1997[3]. In it, Goku arrives on the battlefield after training in the Other World and powers up in rage upon learning that Vegeta and Nappa killed his allies Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Piccolo[3]. When Nappa asks about Goku's power level, Vegeta reads his scouter and delivers the famous line. The meme itself was born on October 17, 2006, when YouTube user Weston "Kajetokun" Durant uploaded a YouTube Poop edit of the scene, playing up how awkwardly Brian Drummond phrased the English line to match Vegeta's mouth animation[3]. Kajetokun made it as a throwaway joke for his friends. His friend Patrick then posted it on 4chan's /b/ board, and by the next morning the video had 20,000 views[1]. Shortly after, webcomic VG Cats linked it from their front page, and Kajetokun woke up to 200,000 views[1]. - **Platform:** YouTube (Kajetokun's video), 4chan's /b/ board (viral spread) - **Creator:** Weston "Kajetokun" Durant (video creator), Brian Drummond (English voice actor for Vegeta) - **Date:** 2006 ## Overview The meme centers on a scene from Dragon Ball Z where the Saiyan warrior Vegeta checks his scouter device to read the power level of the protagonist Goku and screams "It's over nine thousand!" while crushing the scouter in his fist[2]. In practice, people use the phrase as a stand-in for any ridiculously large number, swapping it into conversations about test scores, follower counts, prices, or anything else where hyperbole fits[4]. The original Japanese line actually says "over 8000," not 9000. According to the Daizenshuu 7 guidebook, the English dubbing team at Ocean Productions changed the number because saying "9000" better matched Vegeta's animated mouth movements[3]. The English dub was already known for loose translations, so this numeric bump fit right in with the show's localization quirks[3]. ## How It Spread The meme moved fast across the platforms that mattered in 2006. On 4chan, users turned the phrase into image macros and demotivational posters, while YTMND hosted parody sites built around it[2]. The first Urban Dictionary entry for "over 9000" was submitted on November 21, 2006, defining it as a reference to Vegeta's scouter reading[2]. By 2007, the phrase had become so embedded in 4chan's culture that moderators set up a word filter converting every instance of the number 7 into "over 9000"[2]. Dragon Ball fans on YouTube pumped out remix after remix of the original scene. The most-viewed version eventually crossed 15 million views[3]. The biggest mainstream moment came in September 2008, when an anonymous troll posted a message on Oprah Winfrey's official show message board claiming to represent "an organized network of over 9,000 pedophiles"[3]. Oprah read the bait on air, telling her audience about a group with "over 9,000 penises" that were "all raping children"[3]. The Anonymous community celebrated the prank, and clips of Oprah's reaction spread across YouTube before Harpo, Inc. filed copyright takedowns[2]. Remix videos of the Oprah clip kept resurfacing despite the takedowns[2]. Google Trends data showed that searches for the meme phrase "Over 9000" eventually overtook searches for "HAL 9000," the computer from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey[2]. ## How to Use The phrase works as a drop-in response whenever someone asks about a number or quantity. Common approaches: 1. **Quantity response:** Someone asks "how many hours did you study?" You answer "It's over 9000!" 2. **Image macro format:** Take the four-panel exploitable comic of Vegeta reading his scouter and label the panels with a setup question and the "over 9000" punchline[2]. 3. **Video remix:** Edit the original Kajetokun clip or the raw anime footage into new contexts, typically layering it over footage where someone is measuring, counting, or powering up. 4. **Trolling bait:** Drop the number 9000 into serious discussions to derail them, following in the tradition of the Oprah prank. ## Cultural Impact The meme crossed from internet subculture to mainstream pop culture through several notable moments. Oprah Winfrey's on-air reading of the troll post in 2008 brought the phrase to a television audience of millions, though she clearly didn't understand the reference[3]. In professional wrestling, Xavier Woods disclosed in 2013 that "It's Over 9000" is printed on his attire, and Ronda Rousey's WrestleMania 31 appearance featured a Vegeta-themed tank top with the phrase[3]. Video game developers have included it as easter eggs: Doom Eternal (2020) and DuckTales Season 2 both worked in references[3]. The meme's influence on Dragon Ball's own English-language identity is significant. Funimation retained the "9000" number in all subsequent dubs and games rather than correcting it to the original "8000," effectively letting the meme rewrite the franchise's canon for English-speaking audiences[3]. The meme's absence from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (2020) was treated as a notable omission by gaming press[3]. Google search data confirmed the meme's reach: the phrase "Over 9000" outpaced searches for "HAL 9000" from 2001: A Space Odyssey, a far older and more established cultural reference[2]. ## Fun Facts - Goku's power level is actually "over 8000" in the original Japanese manga and anime. The English dub changed it to 9000 because the word better matched Vegeta's animated lip movements[3]. - The highest power level ever read from a scouter in Dragon Ball Z is Captain Ginyu's reading of 180,000 for Goku. The highest mentioned number is Frieza's self-reported 530,000[2]. - Kajetokun said his video editing process is unplanned: "The rest of the ideas for the movie really come about as I'm making the movie"[1]. - Kajetokun's college counselor knew about the meme before Kajetokun mentioned it, which surprised him enough to cite it as proof of the meme's reach[1]. - The Dragon Ball publisher V-Jump listed the highest power level ever as 2,500,000,000 for Super Saiyan Gogeta[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "It's Over 9000"? It's a catchphrase meme from Dragon Ball Z where the character Vegeta screams about Goku's power level being "over nine thousand." It's used online as a humorous way to describe any large number[2]. ### Where did "It's Over 9000" come from? The line is from Episode 21 of Dragon Ball Z's English dub, which aired April 19, 1997. The meme version started when YouTuber Kajetokun uploaded an edited clip on October 17, 2006, which then spread through 4chan's /b/ board[3]. ### What does "It's Over 9000" mean? It's used as an exaggerated way to say "a lot" or "an extremely high number," functioning as hyperbole in any context where quantity is discussed[4]. ### How do you use "It's Over 9000"? Drop it as a response whenever someone asks about a number, score, or quantity. It works as text, as an image macro using the four-panel Vegeta comic, or as a video remix of the original scene[2]. ### Is "It's Over 9000" still popular? The meme peaked between 2006 and 2008 and saw major cultural crossover through the Oprah incident. It's still recognized and referenced, particularly within Dragon Ball and gaming communities, though it's no longer at peak usage[3]. ### Why does Vegeta say 9000 instead of 8000? The original Japanese line says "over 8000," but the Ocean Productions English dub changed it to 9000 because the word better fit Vegeta's animated mouth movements. The Daizenshuu 7 guidebook confirmed this reasoning[3]. ### Who is Kajetokun? Kajetokun is the online handle of Weston Durant, the YouTuber who created the original "It's Over 9000" video edit on October 17, 2006. He made it as an inside joke for friends before it went viral on 4chan[1]. ### What happened with Oprah and "Over 9000"? In September 2008, an anonymous troll posted on Oprah's show message board claiming to represent a network of "over 9,000 pedophiles." Oprah read the message on air, mangling it into "over 9,000 penises," which became its own meme[3]. ### Was "It's Over 9000" the first Dragon Ball Z meme? While Dragon Ball Z had been referenced in internet humor before, Kajetokun's 2006 video was the breakout moment that turned a specific scene into a widely recognized internet catchphrase[2]. ### Did the meme change Dragon Ball Z's English dub? Yes. When Funimation re-dubbed the series with Christopher Sabat as Vegeta, they kept the "over 9000" line rather than correcting it to the original "over 8000," and most English-language Dragon Ball games have followed suit[3]. ## References 1. [ytmnd - you're the man now dog! | search]() 2. [Japanator interview: Kajetokun, the Over 9000 guy - Japanator]() 3. [It's Over 9000! - Know Your Meme]() 4. [It's Over 9000!]() 5. [It's Over 9000! - Urban Dictionary]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/its-over-9000 Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library