Top 10 Best Dragon Ball Z Characters

Vegeta is absolutely my favorite character. With a strong, sturdy, and gruff attitude, he is a tough opponent to beat and a worthy, although questionable, ally. His romance with Bulma is perhaps the mark of how he began to grow softer, and she worked wonders on his heart!

He has goodness deep inside of him, as shown by his noble sacrifice during the Majin Buu Saga. He is a seasoned and powerful warrior with an extreme (and highly amusing) ego, as well as the soft side we all know exists.

Vegeta's dedication is undeniably far above anyone else's. Kakarot achieved his Super Saiyan transformation while training under 100x gravity for, what, six days? Vegeta relentlessly trained under 300x gravity, exceeding 400x gravity over four or more years, and then traveled through space, far and wide, training with meteors for so long to find the mother of all meteors. He mustered his remaining strength to destroy it. Only then, through his passionate anger, did he achieve his Super Saiyan transformation.

Kakarot was practically born with indefinite potential that's always easily obtained, while Vegeta struggled his entire life alone only to be on par with him. He has transcended his limits like no other. A sentiment as deep as this, "What has more meaning than your own strength?" can only be fully understood by Vegeta.

With this comes his pride, not just arrogance for vanity's sake, no, it's much more noble than that. Deep within Vegeta's core is his self-respect, his pride. This is what drives him. This is what sets him apart from the rest and grants him his entitlement to the best of the best, as is his right as the Prince of Saiyans. A title he did more than enough to earn through his blood, sweat, and tears. No other could even imagine matching his absolute and resolute state of mind. He may have softened in his heart and lost his cold blood down the line, but his mind was and is as hard as ever.

Vegeta is the Ultimate Being of Greatness.

Many people may think that Goku is a boring character, considering his character to be unchanged throughout DBZ, but I disagree. I can see him mature from an innocent little boy to a great hero, protecting the ones he loves. He strives to get better and be the strongest, continuously fighting for what he believes is right.

Still, his character development is shallow compared to his son's, Vegeta's, or Piccolo's, but what makes Goku great is the influence he has on the anime industry, as well as his meanings to little children all around the world. He truly motivated me and countless children to be better, work harder, and never give up. He helped us overcome our fears and fight for loved ones as well as justice. Therefore, Goku has become an anime icon that will last forever in people's hearts, and in my humble opinion, is the greatest anime character of all time. He is the most inspiring character I've ever seen.

Piccolo had the entire Vegeta redemption arc in a way far cleaner and more subtle than the spiky-haired Saiyan. He went from being pure evil, literally all bad, and more monstrous in heart than Frieza could dream to be, to becoming one of the Earth's three greatest protectors.

Think about that. He went from existing as the incarnation of evil with the sole purpose of avenging his father, the Demon King Piccolo Daimo, to babysitting and helping to raise the son of the one he was born to kill. He gave up his identity to ensure that which he cared for would be safe and threw away his life to save Gohan without hesitation. When he came to Namek, he could've left. He could've gone anywhere else and been rid of them all.

But he stayed. He went and fought Frieza. He was the redeemed monster before Vegeta ever was.

Gohan's power level constantly increases the more he's pushed. If Toriyama had gone with his original idea of making him the main character after the Cell saga, you bet he would be number one on each of these power lists. His powers are grounded in his emotions, so they increase rather than decrease during the course of a battle. In other words... He's a BADASS.

- Constantly growing hidden powers.
- Took out Garlic Jr. at, like, 3 or 4.
- Alternate counterpart defended Earth against the androids until age 23.
- First juvenile Super Saiyan.
- First half-breed to achieve SSJ.
- Only unfused demi-Saiyan to achieve SSJ2.
- KILLED CELL. (In your face, Hercule!)
- Two words: One-handed Kamehameha.
- Went head-to-head with Broly at 18.
- Killed Frieza in less than 5 seconds.
- Stronger than Super Buu before the absorption of Gotenks and Piccolo.
- With his Mystic form, Gohan is officially the strongest unfused fighter at the end of DBZ.

You've got to be really cool to pull off a name like Trunks and still be remembered for being awesome. Plus, you have to give him a lot of credit for never giving up hope, even when the poor kid's entire timeline got ruined. His present timeline version is nice too, but pales in comparison to Future Trunks.

Oh, and the fight against Frieza and King Cold? He accomplished in a single episode what Goku and the rest couldn't do in an entire season. He doesn't let his ego or thirst for good fights affect him. He actually gets it done, and for a series as amazing, albeit long-drawn, as DBZ tends to be, that's something we can appreciate.

Frieza is the best as he is a galactic overlord space tyrant. He is practically the most cruel and popular villain in the entire Dragon Ball franchise. Not just that, he gives Goku the longest fight in the entire anime history.

If only Frieza had killed Goku instead of Krillin, then no force in the entire universe could stop him from total destruction as he would probably destroy the entire planet Earth. So Cell and Majin Buu wouldn't even get a chance to be introduced. And if Cell and Majin Buu are not even introduced, then who can defeat Frieza in the entire universe?

It was amazing watching Bulma grow up. She's always badass on her own terms. She might not throw a punch or a kick to the villains, but unlike other warriors, she never becomes useless thanks to her brain and engineering skills. Kudos to the lady who invented time travel, created some of the first interplanetary spaceships, was an awesome single mom, hacked scouters, and domesticated Vegeta. Go deus ex Bulma!

She's the most important character in the entire series. Without her, everyone on Earth would've been dead ten times over. Yes, Goku and all the other fighters were needed so she could survive, and did all the fighting, but without her, Goku wouldn't have left the forest. Without her, there would be no dragon radar, no time machine, no Trunks, no spaceship, and no money for all their escapades.

She is the most pivotal character through her personality as well as her ingenuity. By far the most important and well-rounded character I've seen in a long time. She is the perfect example of a support character that I've seen in any series, and she also doesn't let the men around her push her around or take advantage of her. Her progress and development through the whole series allowed her to achieve feats that, in my opinion, are greater than just saving the world, which wouldn't even be possible without her, unless you're paying attention.

Plus, she fell for the Saiyan that had the most character development, so she obviously knows what's up. Honestly, if you don't understand Bulma's purpose as much as I do, you should probably stop watching Dragon Ball.

Frieza was ruthless and evil, Buu was unimaginably powerful, but Cell, on the other hand, was perfect. His powers were cooler as well. He could do anything Frieza could but better. The same applies to most Z fighters. His offspring were at least as strong as Vegeta, and he could produce them without trouble. Lastly, the gap between Buu and Cell is much less than the gap between Frieza and Cell.

Cell is the best character because he is strong, has great techniques, and is fast as hell. He is always confident about himself, and that is important in a match. He is also the best and strongest android in Dragonball Z. I give him credit for being the best villain in the entire show.

Everyone says that Bardock is overrated, but that is completely wrong. Preferring Krillin over Bardock is ridiculous. Bardock was a low-class soldier but he had the most heart. After his crew was destroyed, he deliberately took Frieza's crew down by himself, which was very hard, or nearly impossible, to do back in those days. He was the first person to stand up to Frieza, and he was all by himself.

He wears the red headband, which many people don't know is stained with the blood of his former comrade. He wears it in honor of his deceased partner.

She was such a player. To be honest, I thought she was annoying but funny at the same time.

When it comes to Broly, he is probably one of the strongest Saiyans ever. In fact, he is the legendary Super Saiyan. The first movie featuring Broly was very popular, and it is also the third most amazing movie of Dragon Ball. This character has the potential to be the strongest because he has unlimited Ki and is always striving to improve his techniques.

In the first movie, Goku's Super Kamehameha was like nothing to him. Broly also took up the whole South Galaxy! On the other hand, villains like Buu and Cell have the potential to destroy only the Earth. So, for me, Broly is the best villain ever.

Vegito is the strongest. People who think Gogeta would win should check their facts. They mostly say that Gogeta is stronger because he has more forms, but this is about the characters themselves. Vegito did not have enough time to increase in strength because of Buu's weird stomach. Also, Goku has to be equal to Vegeta, while Vegito had no such limitations. Also, Gogeta has a time limit depending on the strength of the fusion, while Vegito is permanent.

What's up, guys! I mean, you all like Vegeta, right? Or maybe Goku. Their power levels have met and created the warrior who:

- Played around with Majin BuuHan
- Sent Destroy Everything! Sphere into space with a kick in his base form
- Forced Buu to absorb himself so he could save Gotenks, Piccolo, Gohan, Good Buu
- Dominated everyone in battle.

I know that Vegito has only been around for five or six episodes, but he dominated everyone in a short amount of time.

Aside from Piccolo, Tien is the strongest non-Saiyan on the team. Don't forget, he was able to help stall when Nappa and Vegeta attacked Earth and had enough power to temporarily keep Semi-Perfect Cell at bay. He even was able to assist in the Buu Saga.

I liked Tien's fighting style. I just wish humans could reach Saiyan levels of power in DBZ. I would have loved to see a stronger Tien fight Vegeta or Goku later in the series.

For being a human and thus having real limitations of power, Tien did more than his fair share.

I really love Kid Trunks! I love all versions really, but Trunks is already at #3, so here I am, sticking my neck out for this kid. He is really cute, funny, strong, and mature for his age. Definitely one of my favorite DBZ characters.

Considering his father is the most badass character in anime, Trunks is following in his footsteps. He's the handsomest and most badass kid of his generation. More kids should be like him.

This is shocking. Trunks should be above Goten. He's stronger, cuter, smarter, and is the badass of the two. Goten follows Trunks like a brainless idiot. Trunks is better than him.

Sadistic, collected, and calm, she's one of the strongest characters in the DBZ universe and the strongest female, possessing the strength to destroy a timeline, an infinite energy supply, and fatal techniques like Sadistic 18. She's definitely one of the best characters in DBZ.

She's one of the few female characters who can actually fight. She also kicked Vegeta's butt and broke his arm when he was a Super Saiyan (which immediately made her one of my favorite characters).

Don't get me wrong, I like Vegeta as a character, but it was so satisfying watching him get his butt whipped and having him (not to mention his ego) knocked down a peg.

Without Gogeta, heck, everyone would be dead by the hands of Super Janemba! He had the courage to mess with Omega Shenron and would've killed him with only two energy beams! Way better than Vegito, who has too much of Vegeta's cocky side.

Gogeta has Vegeta's seriousness and Goku's playfulness. Gogeta should be #1!

Gogeta is easily the best fusion. Vegetto was cocky and full of attitude and took a total of 16:12 minutes to defeat Buuhan, while Gogeta only took 3:25 minutes to defeat Super Janemba.

Janemba, in his fat form, is easily stronger than Buuhan by a lot. Gogeta really knows how to take a punch.

You guys need to understand this is not about who is the strongest. It is about who the fans like the most. If it was about who was the strongest, Whis and Beerus would win, but it's not, so yeah...

I'm surprised Beerus is this low, considering he's easily one of the top 5 most popular characters in the entire franchise.

An awesome new villain is as funny as he is powerful. Also, he's the first to defeat Goku. That's worth something.

He's so cute and kind, yet still the most courageous and charismatic leader. A great strategist, he's powerful, funny, tough (as a result of so many years living on his own in the forest), with a caring heart that always looks out for his dear friends. He's the nicest friend, yet also the mightiest and scariest warrior. He fights like thunder with his mind as clear as the sky.

The fact that he learned legendary techniques like the Kamehameha after seeing it only once is truly remarkable, showing how bright a child he was. He's also super naive and innocent, which makes him all the more cute. Not to mention his appetite! Watching the little Monkey Boy growing up day by day among his loving friends and masters, getting stronger and stronger to become Earth's greatest savior and protector (which he is), is my greatest pleasure ever.

I'm so happy to watch him live on each day with his innocently cute smile splattered on his face like that. It always brings a tear to my eyes and reminds me of the good old days back then in the '90s when I watched Dragon Ball on Toonami. Such nostalgic, beautiful childhood memories...

Let's be honest, Vegeta is my favorite too, but since Whis' character has been introduced, he has become another favorite character. As of October 2015, he is the strongest among all of them and wiser, yet he is so calm and silent about it. He has this...

He is the strongest character in Dragon Ball history. He could take out Beerus with just one hit if he needs to.

Powerful yet coolest character of DBZ. He was introduced later. Maybe that's the reason he is in number 26.

Android 17 is the best. He kicks ass. He has enough arrogance to rival some Saiyans. He is hot, and he is so independent. He actually has feelings and doesn't like slaughtering innocent people. He is the best.

In my opinion, he's cooler than 18, but due to the lack of screen time and him being male, he isn't as popular. However, he is an awesome character who is underappreciated and misused.

Android 17 is the best character because he effortlessly took out almost everybody, and he wasn't even using half his strength. Then there's the fact that he seems to have more depth and personality than the other characters. Not to mention the way he maneuvered that van, LOL! Seriously, nobody can do that but him.

Kid Buu is not only the strongest of Buu's forms, but he is also random and unpredictable, to the point of even falling asleep in battle. Additionally, he's pure... Pure evil maybe, but still pure, as he was able to deflect the spirit bomb. He did not use another attack to stop it. He actually deflected it right back at Goku.

Another thing is, not only is he pure evil, he's so powerful that Goku openly hopes that one day Kid Buu will return as a good person so that they may have a rematch. In the Other World, King Yemma hears Goku's request and makes it come true by having Kid Buu reincarnated as a human named Uub. That just proves how overall badass he is.

Roshi was a great teacher, even with his perverted old mind. He's not as strong as the Z fighters (even Krillin at the start of Z is stronger than him), nor was he the one who taught Goku the spirit bomb, fighting with aura, instant transmission, etc. However, there's a reason Goku and Krillin still wear the uniform of the old turtle hermit.

I love that Roshi didn't just teach Goku and Krillin the correct way to fight, but also the reason WHY. Not to mention, he's the creator of the most popular technique in Dragonball Z history and the one who taught the Kamehameha to Goku.

I have commented on Raditz before, but it's just because I love him so much! He's drop-dead sexy, and I love him to death! And he's not weak because, when fighting Goku and Piccolo, he did have the upper hand for most of the fight. He even blew Piccolo's arm off.

I don't care what anyone says, Raditz rules, and I really don't think that anyone is a bigger Raditz fan than me! I love you Raditz!

Ever since I started reading Dragon Ball Z, Raditz definitely stood out to me. He's cool, definitely not that weak, and he was killed off way too early! He needs more screen time. I really hope he's brought back.

Raditz is the best, and he doesn't deserve the hate he's getting! Heck, he has a bigger role than Nappa, Vegeta, Gohan, and Goku! Please bring Raditz back! He is important!

The reason the show began. Goku would still be living in the jungle if Shenron didn't exist because Bulma brought him along to look for the Dragon Balls so she could get a wish from him.

Without him, Goku, Piccolo, Krillin, etc., would not even be alive! Most people don't see him as a main character, but consider how many episodes/movies Shenron has been in? Enough said.

I think the earth would be doomed without him. Plus, dragons rule anyway. He is without a doubt the most important character in the show.

Is it too much to ask to at least put Yamcha in Dragon Ball Super more often and have him experience an awesome moment, if not more? After all, nobody has to be a Saiyan to be awesome. I find it unfair that Goku and Vegeta are too overpowered in Super to the point that they have to fool around in order to bring some "conflict."

I wish everyone who is not Goku or Vegeta, especially Yamcha, could do more. I don't see why some people treat him like a weakling when he is among the most powerful humans. It's not Yamcha's fault that during the Saiyan Arc and beyond, he became "useless." It's just that the Saiyans are hogging everything. Say what you want about me, but not having transformations or the "Saiyan gets stronger after a near-death experience" and still being able to win is more impressive than being overpowered.