| “ | It's over 9000! | ” |
| quote by Vegeta on an episode of Dragon Ball Z in English dub | ||
Description[]
It's Over 9000! or simply known as "Over 9000!", is a popular internet meme originating from the popular Japanese anime TV series "Dragon Ball Z", typically used as an innumerable quantifier to describe a large number of measurement such as "several", "lots", "buttloads" and even the metric "ass ton".
Origin[]
In the original Japanese version, Vegeta's line was "It's over 8000!". This was changed in the dub to match Vegeta's lip movement during this bit of dialogue, making Vegeta saying "It's over 9000!" instead. The meme originally became popular in 2006. The meme originated from the episode "The Return Of Goku."
Web usage[]
The line has been used in various forms of media, to show when there is a large amount of something or it could just be used for fun.
According to Kajetokun, the video was originally shared with his friends as an inside joke, but it was posted to 4chan's /b/ (random) board by his friend Patrick shortly thereafter. In the following weeks of October 2006, YouTuber Kajetokun's video quickly drew attention from the fans of Dragon Ball, inspiring a series of remix videos on YouTube, various image macros and demotivational posters on 4chan, as well as parody sites dedicated to the phrase on YTMND. The first Urban Dictionary entry for "over 9000" was submitted on November 21st, 2006, defined as:
| “ | What the scouter says about Goku's power level. Over Nine thousand "Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power?" "It's over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAND!" (Over 9000) "WHAT?! NINE THOUSAND?! |
” |
| Urban Dictionary | ||
The phrase continued to take hold on YTMND and 4chan, where the number 9000 soon became adapted as a slang term to describe something or someone of impressive strength. The meme's notoriety reached its first peak in 2007, when 4chan moderators implemented a word filter that would turn any mentions of the number 7 into "over 9000." In addition to its conversational usage, the original scene from Dragon Ball Z has been also revamped into a four-pane exploitable comic.
In April 2008, Kajetokun was interviewed by Cybernetic Tigerz of Japanator, in which he explained that he had not expected the video to become so popular and that he had originally edited it as an inside joke for his friends.
J: When you made the Dragon Ball cutup, did you have any idea it would go on to become such a huge phenomenon over the Internet? Or was it just something that you made for a small group of friends?
K: I had no idea it was going to get this big. Really it was just a small little something I made as an inside joke for my friends. My friend Patrick posted it on /b/ and then I ended up having like 20,000 views the next day.Then Scott from VGcats front page linked my video and I woke up to 200,000 views.
In the visual novel game "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney", the character Sal Manella uses the phrase.
4chan trolling Oprah[]
The phrase "over 9000" once again resurged in September 2008, when an anonymous troll from 4chan left an alarming message on the official message board of American journalist and businesswoman Oprah Winfrey's talk show, in which he claimed to represent an organized network of over "9,000 pedophiles." Oprah took the bait and read the post before her audience in an episode of the show, which was met by ecstatic responses from the Anonymous community praising the prank as an epic win.
A video clip of Oprah's message to her audience was promptly uploaded to YouTube, however it was quickly removed due to a copyright claim by Harpo, Inc. Despite the takedown, numerous remix videos featuring Oprah's mention of "9000 penises" surfaced on YouTube.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Google searches for the "Over 9000" managed to surpassed all searches for the well known "HAL9000" from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Over 9000 is also referenced as a badge as OVER NINE TH-- Well, Almost. for Teh Meme Wiki users where it is earned upon reaching 500 article edits.
External references[]
- Know Your Meme - It's Over 9000!