Keep in mind that Dragon Ball is what is generally referred to as a “Trope Codifier” in many ways. It may not have come up with the initial idea behind something, but it is the franchise that popularized many aspects of the genre.
Of course, when that happens, sometimes it’s hard to look back on something without the extra 20-40+ years of hindsight and additional IPs copying it in every way imaginable. It’s easy to see a true classic as either cheesy or boring if you’re looking at it years or decades after everyone else copied it. I know a fair number of folks 30 and under that have seen the original Die Hard on my recommendation that thought it wasn’t that impressive despite the fact that it was considered groundbreaking for the action genre back in 1988. In fact, that film was so groundbreaking that it spawned at least a decade’s worth of copycats whose only selling point at the pitch meetings was “Die Hard on/in an X.”
Popular legend/rumor has it that Hollywood only became aware of how milked that particular concept was once someone pitched them the following: “So, it’s like Die Hard, but it’s in an office building!”
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DieHardOnAnX
Oh, it got mentioned once or twice. I think the key issue however is that EVERYONE knows Dragon Ball, and you’d actually be hard pressed to find even a casual anime/manga fan that hasn’t experienced it in some manner at least once. Hell, even non-anime/manga fans have played some of the games.
IMO, stuff as well known as Dragon Ball tends to get skipped in discussions like this because what more can really be said? Nearly all of us know it, and even if someone doesn’t, the odds are better than zero that anyone that grew up in the 90s and onward can at least name a character, mention some key plot device, or bring up a meme about it.
Hell, even some of the sound effects that were originally created specifically for Dragon Ball have become stock sound effects at this point. You’d actually be surprised at how many anime from the 90s and early 2000s used some of those sounds.
I previously mentioned Slayers. That anime in particular was EXTREMELY fond of using some of the various power up and Kamehameha sound effects for the Dragon Slave.
Slayers Next:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QINNMT9TWIk
Dragon Ball Kai (Gohan’s Kamehameha vs. Cell):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksA_QlZewBU
Dragon Ball Kai (Goku’s Instant Transmission Kamehameha):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQyWJD6xfjQ
Kamehameha Stock Sound Effect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or8IQlEvFk0
Obviously, it’ll get the exact pitch and timing adjusted depending on the scene, but if you’ve watched enough of Dragon Ball, there’s just no mistaking that sound when it shows up elsewhere. In fact, I actually find it MORE jarring when it DOESN’T show up in some modern DB media than I do when it shows up outside of DB!