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The Dragon Ball manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama, shown compete in tournaments sdfusing various superhuman abilities. The series' storyline follows the adventures of martial artist Goku as he searches for the seven spheres known as the Dragon Balls, used to summon a wish-granting dragon. During the course of the story, he encounters Tien Shinhan; Piccolo; Vegeta; and Frieza; and allies such as Trunks; Yamcha; Yajirobe; Bulma; and Krillin.

Creation and conception

Akira Toriyama initially based most of the characters on those of the Chinese novel Journey to the West, ^{[1] [2]} and redeveloped one of his earlier one-shot manga series, Dragon Boy. To be creative with the character, Toriyama stated that he designed Goku not as a monkey like the Journey to the West character, but as a human-looking boy with a monkey's tail. ^[3]

During this period of the series, Toriyama placed less emphasis on the imagery, simplifying the lines and sometimes making things "too square"; found problems determining the colors; and sometimes altered them mid-story. ^[4] For the female characters, Toriyama created women he deemed "beautiful and sexy", but also "strong". ^[5] Going against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, he designed many of Dragon Ball's most powerful characters with small statures. ^[5]

Additional characters (such as Master Roshi and Krillin) and martial arts tournaments were added to give the manga a greater emphasis on fighting. Knowing readers would expect Goku to win the tournaments, Toriyama had him lose the first two while continuing to plan an eventual victory. ^[6] When having fights in the manga, Toriyama had the characters go to a place where nobody lived to avoid difficulties in drawing destroyed buildings. In order to advance the story quickly, he also gave most fighters the ability to fly, and later granted Goku Teleportation. ^[7]

Main characters

Goku

Protagonist of the Dragon Ball series, in that Goku, full name Son Goku, is immensely strong, pure of heart, and extremely competitive, but dedicated to defending the Earth from evil. Though he appears human, Goku is descended from an alien warrior race known as the Saiyans, who sent him, originally named Kakarot, to the planet to prepare it for conquest. His wife is Chi-Chi, and he has two sons, Gohan and Goten, equal or greater to him in ability.

His alien heritage gives him superhuman strength, speed, resilience, and advantage in focusing his chi to develop unusual offenses including his famous Kamehameha blast and the ability to assume greater degrees of kinetic power.

Goku was originally conceived by creator Akira Toriyama as a variation of Sun Wukong, protagonist of the Chinese novel Journey to the West; wherefore Goku also sported a prehensile tail until later in the series.

Bulma

Bulma (ブルマ, Buruma) is a character appearing early in the series in the first chapter Bulma and Son Goku (ブルマと孫悟空, Buruma to Son Gokū) first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 3, 1984. ^[8] She is most credited for inventing the Dragon Radar, a fictional device designed to detect the energy signal emitted by a Dragon Ball; but Bulma's role as inventor becomes important at other junctures, as in the creations of a microband that could make her shrink, the time machine that brought her son Trunks to the past during Dragon Ball Z, and the generator that allowed her husband Vegeta to achieve the abilities of a "Super Saiyan 4" in Dragon Ball GT. Bulma is a direct parody of the character Xuanzang of the Chinese novel Journey to the West; ^[9] but her Japanese name "Buruma" is a slur of " bloomer", a popular type of women's underwear. As with most characters in the Dragon Ball series, Bulma's name is consistent with those of her family, in that all are named after underclothing: Her father's name is "Dr. Briefs", while her son and daughter are named "Trunks" and "Bra" ("Bulla" in the anime adaptation, which is "bra" in Japanese) respectively.

Bulma is voiced by Hiromi Tsuru in all of the Japanese media. In Funimation's dub, she was voiced by Maggie Blue O'Hara in the first Dragon Ball film; Lalainia Lindbjerg in the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball and the 64 episodes and first three movies of Dragon Ball Z; Leslie Alexander in the film Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle; Tiffany Vollmer in all other Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT dubs including re-dubs of previously dubbed works; and Monica Rial in Dragon Ball Z Kai. In Westwood Media's dub, Maggie Blue O'Hara returned to voice Bulma in Dragon Ball Z; Leda Davies was cast for Dragon Ball; and Kristin Nowosad in Dragon Ball GT. In the Japanese dub of the live-action Dragonball Evolution, she is voiced by Aya Hirano.

Bulma has a cameo in the Dragon Ball/ One Piece cross-over Cross Epoch, wherein she appears with the character Nami as a pair of space pirates. Bulma has been portrayed by Jeannie Tse in the unofficial live-action Dragon Ball movie The Magic Begins. She was also featured in the 1990 unofficial Korean adaptation where she was played by Lee Ju Hee. Bulma appeared in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution, portrayed by Emmy Rossum. ^[10] Rossum describes her portrayal of Bulma as "She’s pretty bad-ass, but still quirky and fun, and kind of ridiculous in the way she is in the anime." ^[11]

Master Roshi

Master Roshi, known in the English manga and the Japanese versions as Kame Sen'nin (亀仙人, Kame Sennin, "turtle hermit") and Muten Rōshi (武天老師), is a martial arts instructor that lives on a small island and the inventor of the Kamehameha technique. Though he seems frail, he is a mighty warrior, having trained Grandpa Gohan, the Ox King, Goku, Krillin and a few others. He is an dirty old man. Despite his lechery and occasional whimsy or foolishness he is often depicted as wise, cantankerous, and perceptive. He is often accompanied by his talking turtle companion who often tries point out his faulty ways. He is bald, sports a thick van dyke beard, and wears sunglasses, beach clothes, or martial arts suits and, in early appearances, a turtle's shell on his back. He usually wields a walking stick. When wishing to appear anonymously in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Roshi uses the name "Jackie Chun (ジャッキー・チュン) while he wears a wig and discards his sunglasses. It is revealed that he is over 300 years old at near the beginning of the series and he cannot die of old age as he drank from an elixir of immortality.

Roshi's character design was inspired by the character of Kami-sama of Toriyama's previous manga Dr. Slump (unrelated to the Kami-sama of Dragon Ball), and ^[12] accordingly was originally voiced by Kōhei Miyauchi, who also voiced Kami-sama in the original anime version of Dr. Slump. Miyauchi's final acting session before he died was for episode 260 of Dragon Ball Z, which he recorded only 3 months before his death. Since episode 288 of Dragon Ball Z, Roshi is voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka, who voices him throughout Dragon Ball GT and in the recent video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. He is voiced by Kinya Aikawa in the 10th anniversary special and by Masaharu Satō in the thirteenth Dragon Ball Z movie and Dragon Ball Kai. In the Ocean dub, he was voiced by Ian James Corlett, Peter Kelamis, Dave Ward, Don Brown, and Terry Klassen at various points. In the Funimation dub, Roshi has been voiced consistently by Mike McFarland. He is portrayed by Chow Yun-fat in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Tsutomu Isobe in the Japanese dub of the film.

Yamcha

Yamcha (ヤムチャ, Yamucha), known as Zedaki in the Harmony Gold dub, is introduced as an outlaw and a bandit. He starts out as an antagonist of Goku's in order to steal his Dragon Ball and wish not to feel nervous when near women. He eventually becomes Goku's ally and one of Bulma's suitors; and later becomes the pupil of Master Roshi, upon having fought supervised by the latter's elder sister, Baba Uranai. As a result of such training, Yamcha develops a "Kamehameha" and the Soukidan, an energy sphere directed by psychokinesis; and later trains under some of the story's gods. His constant companion is Puar. He is voiced by Tōru Furuya in the Japanese version of the series. In the Ocean dub, he is voiced by Ted Cole, and in the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat. In the 2009 Dragon Ball live-action film, he was portrayed by Joon Park, whose voice was overlapped by Hisao Egawa in the Japanese dub of the film.

Krillin

Krillin, more properly romanized as "Kuririn" in the English manga, is a bald martial artist and one of Goku's best friends. He is the classmate of Goku under Master Roshi's tutelage; initially his rival but later a friend, and a loyal companion in adventures thereafter. He is killed by King Piccolo's mercenary Tambourine, but revived by Shenron.

Tien Shinhan

Tien Shinhan (天津飯, Tenshinhan), nicknamed Ten in the English dub, known as Tenshinhan in the manga and as Shinto in the Harmony Gold dub, is first introduced in chapter 113 of the manga series, ^[13] where he, having been trained by Roshi's rival the Crane Hermit, tries to kill Goku and his fellow-students, but later becomes Goku's ally, accompanied by his friend Chiaotzu. ^[14] In the Japanese version of the series, he was voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki until his death in 2006; Kōichi Yamadera acted as a substitute for Suzuoki for episodes 82 and 84 of the series. He is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit and by Hikaru Midorikawa in Dragon Ball Kai. In the Ocean dub, he was voiced by Matt Smith. In the Funimation dub of the series, he was voiced by Chris Cason in the third season and by John Burgmeier from the fourth season onwards and in the redub of the third season.

Piccolo

Piccolo, otherwise known as "Piccolo Junior", is created by King Piccolo to destroy Goku in the wake of his death, subsequently assuming the role as the "evil half" of Kami-sama. As such, he at first sought the Dragon Balls on his own behalf; but later became Goku's ally when opposing the invading Saiyans, and remains an ally thereafter. He is later revealed to be a Namekian;––– a green-skinned, hairless, capable species associated with the story's planet Namek.

Gohan

Gohan is Goku's first son. He is first seen in the first volume of Dragon Ball Z, called "The World's Greatest Team", when he is kidnapped by Goku's brother, the Saiyan Raditz, and locked up in a space pod. However, his temper flares, and he bursts out of the space pod, dealing a blow to Raditz, but also knocking him out. Raditz intends to kill him, but Goku attacks Raditz and dies in the fight. Since Gohan was asleep during his father's murder, Piccolo took Gohan and trains him for a year.

Vegeta

Vegeta is a Saiyan, and the prince of the entire race. His name is a play on "vegetable". He is named after his home planet, Vegeta. Vegeta is known to have worked for the space tyrant Frieza, and is first shown on Planet Arlia when Raditz sends the battle feed to his scouter. The two of them travel to Earth in search of the Dragon Balls. It takes them less than a year, but when he and Nappa finally arrive in the populated city of Metro East, Vegeta kills everyone in the city with his ki blast. Vegeta tracks down Goku's allies, and soon finds a revived Goku, who beats up Nappa. Vegeta, seeing that Nappa has been paralyzed, mercilessly kills him. He then fights Goku, but he runs away when Yajirobe cuts off his tail and he is struck by Gohan's Spirit Bomb. He returns to planet Frieza 79, and then heads off to planet Namek to get the Dragon Balls before Frieza.

Trunks

Frieza

Frieza, more properly romanized as Freeza in the manga, is a galactic tyrant. He wants to get the Dragon Balls so he can wish for immortality. In flashbacks, it is shown that Frieza had feared groups of Saiyans, so he destroyed the Saiyan planet Vegeta, killing all but four Saiyans. Frieza hired Zarbon, Dodoria, Cui and Vegeta as some of his workers. Later, it is revealed that Frieza has a trepidation of Super Saiyans, so he kills all the potential Super Saiyans, including Vegeta. On planet Namek, Frieza kills off the entire Namekian race, including Dende. Frieza engaged in a fight with Goku and the others, and Goku became a Super Saiyan due to his anger over Frieza murdering Krillin. Out of anger, Frieza blasted a hole into Namek's core in order to destroy the planet. As a Super Saiyan, Goku sliced Frieza in half with his own attack. Frieza begged for mercy, and Goku gave Frieza some of his surplus energy. Goku supposedly killed Frieza, but he was rebuilt into a cyborg. He and his father King Cold come to Earth, but they both get killed by a mysterious teenager, later revealed to be Trunks.

Cell

Cell is the ultimate creation of Doctor Gero. He is an artificial life form created using the cells of several characters from the series, including Goku, Piccolo and Frieza. As a result, Cell is able to perform techniques such as the Kamehameha, which he gains from the cells of Goku. ^[15] In creating the character of Cell, Toriyama tried many different designs before finally settling on the one used in the series. Cell evolves several times throughout his appearances. He originally evolves from a cicada-like form into his first "Imperfect Form", which is still insect-like in appearance. Both his first form and his second "Semi-Perfect Form" have a long tail that ends in a stinger-like appendage and allows it to absorb other organisms. ^[16] The tail recedes under his wings in his final "Perfect Form", and he can use it to spawn Cell Jr., a minuscule child-like version of himself.

Requiring the androids #17 and #18 to evolve, he finds out that they are already dead in his timeline, so he kills the Trunks of his timeline and uses Trunks' time machine to travel back in time. He eventually absorbs both after many battles and ascends to his perfect form. ^{[17] [18]} He decides to hold the "Cell Games", a tournament in which he fights against Earth's strongest fighters. ^[19] Cell manages to defeat Goku, but he is eventually killed by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. ^[20] Cell appears in Hell in Dragon Ball Z, and makes a few appearances in Dragon Ball GT. Cell is voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the Japanese anime, Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, Dameon Clarke in the Funimation dub and Dragon Ball Z Kai, and by Travis Willingham in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast and its sequel.

Majin Buu

Majin Buu (魔人ブウ, Majin Bū, also spelled as "Majin Boo"), translated as " Djinn-Boo" in the English manga, is a magical life form created by the wizard Bibidi, eons before the events of Dragon Ball took place. He is eventually sealed by Bibidi (ビビディ) after he becomes uncontrollable, but Bibidi's son, Babidi makes it his goal to revive Buu. After being released, Buu appears as an innocent looking pudgy pink genie-like creature. He is very naive and easily influenced, and has a very volatile balance between his gentle and evil sides. After Buu kills Babidi, he becomes close friends with Mr. Satan, which eventually causes him to expel his evil side. This evil manifests, and it manages to defeat and absorb the good side, resulting in a tall, slender form, who is referred to as "Evil Buu". Evil Buu absorbs the fat Buu, becoming what is referred to as "Super Buu". He is interested in a challenge, and later goes on to absorb Goten and Trunks (as Gotenks), Piccolo, and Gohan.

It is revealed by the surviving member of the Kaioshin that the fat form of Buu is actually the result of the original assimilation of their leader into his body. The original is a sleek, child-sized being who is obsessed with chaos and destruction. The original is restored after Goku and Vegeta remove the good side (fat Buu) from Super Buu. The good side is later spit out by the original, and he goes on to live with Mr. Satan on Earth, while the original is killed by Goku, who wishes for him to be reincarnated as a good person. He is reincarnated into a child named Uub, who becomes Goku's successor and goes on to participate in battles against foes such as Baby, Super #17 and Omega Shenron in Dragon Ball GT.

All forms of Buu have a rubbery body that is easily damaged. He can regenerate instantly from any wound, regrow any part of his body, and can even restore himself from vapor. It is possible for him to become so worn down that his regeneration begins to fail. He can reconfigure body portions into weapons, including stretching his extremities. Buu also can heal damaged beings, shapeshift, and transfigure other objects and organisms. He can also absorb other organisms by enveloping them with his body, and can replicate fighting techniques, even after witnessing them once.

In the original Japanese, Buu and all his forms are voiced by Kōzō Shioya in all media. In the Ocean dub Scott McNeil would voice Fat Buu, Brian Dobson would voice the Evil and Super Buus, and Ward Perry would voice Kid Buu. McNeil would voice the renamed Mr. Buu in the Blue Water dub. In the Funimation dub Josh Martin voices Fat and Kid Buus, and Justin Cook voices Evil and Super Buu. Martin and Cook voice Buu in all video games with exception of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout where Buu, in kid form, was voiced by Dougary Grant. Buu was rated by Wizard magazine as the 40th greatest villain of all time. ^[21] David F. Smith of IGN states that although he is tough, Majin Buu's pink complexion prevents anybody from taking him as a serious threat. ^[22]

Secondary characters

Android #18

Android #18 (人造人間18号, Jinzōningen Jū Hachi Gō, "Artificial Human #18") is a human forcefully turned into a cyborg along with her brother, #17. ^[23] After being released by Dr. Gero, she travels with #16 and #17 in order to kill Goku, though they are interrupted by Cell and the main characters several times. She and #17 are eventually absorbed by Cell, but later during the Cell Games, a hard blow from Gohan causes Cell to regurgitate her. Though Krillin is unable to wish for her to be turned into a human, he is able to have her self-destruct device removed. ^[24] Krillin later pursues #18 and, at some point, they have a daughter named Marron. ^[25] In Future Trunks' timeline, as an android she is a mass murderer who is later killed by Trunks. She is voiced by Miki Itō. In the Westwood Media English adaptation, she is voiced by Enuka Okuma and in the Funimation English adaptation, her voice is supplied by Meredith McCoy (except in Dragon Ball Z Kai, and several video games since 2006 where Colleen Clinkenbeard instead provides her voice).

Baby

Baby (ベビー, Bebī) is a parasitic alien supervillain that first appears in the 22nd episode of Dragon Ball GT. Baby was created by combining the DNA of the king of the Tuffles (ツフル人, Tsufuru-jin) with a cybernetic body. Baby desires to destroy all of the Saiyans to avenge his people. Baby is first reactivated from a sleep state by his creator, Doctor Myu. He attempts to fight Goku, Trunks, and Pan, but is easily defeated. To boost his power, Baby infects various people with his DNA and begins gathering energy from them. After a second defeat at the hands of the three Saiyans, Baby infects Trunks and then goes to Earth. On Earth he battles Goten and Gohan, infects them both, and is able to infect Vegeta and make him his primary host. Goku, Trunks, and Pan return to Earth to find the entire population is now under Baby's control. Baby is able to defeat Goku, then he begins using the Black Star Dragon Balls to restore the planet Plant and transport the Earth population to it. During this time, Baby evolves into an even more powerful form and defeats Goku again. This causes Goku to transform into a Golden Great Ape and then into a Super Saiyan 4. In this new form, Goku is able to defeat Baby-Vegeta. He has Bulma, also under his control, fire a radiation beam at him from her Blutz Wave Generator which enables him to transform into a Golden Great Ape. After a lengthy battle, Baby separates from Vegeta and attempts to escape in a spaceship, vowing to return to destroy the Saiyans. Goku blasts the spaceship with a 10x Kamehameha attack, sending it into the sun. The ship is destroyed and Baby is obliterated.

He is voiced by Yusuke Numata in the Japanese version and by Mike McFarland in the Funimation dub.

Chiaotzu

Chiaotzu (餃子, Chaozu), properly romanized as Chaozu in the English manga, is a small human that resembles a doll with white skin, red cheeks, and one hair under his hat. Though he is not physically strong, he is skilled with psychokinesis and telepathy. He first trains under the Crane Hermit with his close friend, Tien Shinhan. After Tien decides that the Crane Hermit's teachings are wrong, the two leave him and join with Goku and his companions. He continues to support Tien throughout the series, even going as far as self-destructing on Nappa in order to attempt to save him. However, this proved to be a ineffective when Nappa survives without injury. After the Saiyan saga, Chiaotzu is generally no longer involved in battle, although he continues training. He is voiced by Hiroko Emori in Japan, Cathy Weseluck in the Ocean dub, and Monika Antonelli in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in the Funimation dub. Brina Palencia voices him in Dragon Ball Z Kai.

Chi-Chi

Chi-Chi, Chichi (チチ) in the Japanese version, is the wife of Goku and the mother of Gohan and Goten. She is very protective over the well being of her family, and wishes to remove them from Goku's lifestyle of fighting and constant conflict. She attempts to have Gohan focus on studying during his childhood, but this is interrupted by the constant threats to Earth. She later relaxes with Goten, even training him herself. As the daughter of the Ox-King, she is very strong in her own right, having easily made it to the quarter-finals of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, losing to Goku himself in one punch. She and Goku first meet as children when the Ox-King asked Goku to take her to Master Roshi's house. Later, Goku promises to marry her, thinking marriage is a kind of food. She later confronts him to have him fulfill the promise at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, despite the misunderstanding. She was voiced by Mayumi Shō in the Japanese version of the series until episode 88, from which point she was voiced by Naoko Watanabe. In the Funimation dub, she is voiced by Laura Bailey as a child and Cynthia Cranz as an adult. Chi-Chi is played by Jamie Chung in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; her voice was dubbed over by Ami Koshimizu in the Japanese version of the film.

Goten

Goten, full name Son Goten (孫 悟天), is the second and final child of Goku. First introduced in chapter 230 of the manga, ^[26] Goten resembles his father in appearance, with the same hair-style and similar clothing. In chapter 324, the end of the series, Toriyama changes his appearance to avoid confusion with Goku to include a shirt bearing his name, and a longer, shaggier hairstyle. ^[27] Goten is trained by his older brother Gohan in preparation for the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, which their father would be attending. During the training, Gohan discovered Goten could become a "Super Saiyan". ^[28] He also possesses the Kamehameha, a technique that concentrates chi energy and is released into a powerful beam. ^[29]

In order to save the world from Majin Buu, Goku and Piccolo teach Goten and Trunks the "Fusion" technique, which allows them to transform into a single powerful warrior, Gotenks. Gotenks battles Buu multiple times but even when he transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 he is unable to defeat Buu. Buu temporarily absorbs Gotenks, increasing his own power, but Vegeta and Goku are able to retrieve them from Buu. When Buu destroys the Earth in the 312 chapter, Goten and Trunks are killed. ^[30] The Dragon Balls later bring Goten back to life along with the rest of the Earth in order to give energy to Goku's Super Genki Dama attack, which defeats Buu. ^[31]

Masako Nozawa voices Goten in Japanese, while he is voiced by Kara Edwards (as a child) and Robert McCollum (as a teen) in the Funimation dub.

King Piccolo

King Piccolo, known as Piccolo Daimao (ピッコロ大魔王, Pikkoro Daimaō, lit. "Piccolo the Great Demon King") in Japanese, is the evil half of the Namekian that removed his evil in order to become the guardian of the Earth; this negative energy took on a physical form, becoming a cast-off being. He and the good half, Kami, are linked, so if one dies, the other also will die. After being formed, he designates himself as the Great Demon King and begins to terrorize the world. He is eventually imprisoned by Master Mutaito, the mentor of Roshi, in a rice cooker for centuries by the suicidal Evil Containment Wave (魔封波, Mafūba) technique. After being released by Emperor Pilaf, he attempts to kill anyone that could possibly seal him again (including Chiaotzu and Master Roshi), uses the Dragon Balls to restore his youth, and takes over the Earth before being confronted by Goku, who, after a long battle, punches a large hole through his abdomen. Before dying, he regurgitates the egg containing his reincarnation, Piccolo Jr., in order to pursue his revenge. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono in Japan, Scott McNeil in the Ocean dub, and Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub. He was played by James Marsters in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Hōchū Ōtsuka in the Japanese dub of the film.

Besides Piccolo Jr., King Piccolo creates several offspring in order to help him with his plans. His first offspring, Piano (ピアノ), helps Piccolo formulate his plan until his death. He also creates Tambourine (タンバリン) to hunt down the contenders of the World Martial Arts Tournament to keep the sealing technique from resurfacing. Tambourine kills Krillin and beats a weakened Goku, but eventually Goku's Kamehameha vaporizes him. The third, Cymbal (シンバル), is created to find Dragon Balls, but he is killed and eaten by Yajirobe. The fourth, Drum (ドラム), is created to battle Tien, who he easily defeats until Goku appears and kills him in one blow. Tambourine is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao in Japan and Dameon Clarke in the Funimation dub; Piano is voiced by Masato Hirano in Japan and Brian Beacock in the Funimation dub; and Drum is voiced by Daisuke Gori in Japan and Paul LeBlanc in the Funimation dub.

Launch

Launch (ランチ, Ranchi), properly translated as Lunch in the English manga and known as Marilynn in the Harmony Gold dub, is a woman who Goku and Krillin rescued and brought to Master Roshi in exchange for him to train them. She has a strange disorder which makes her personality change from a nice, polite, blue-haired woman into a trigger happy blonde bad girl every time she sneezes. Since her bad form is a renown criminal, she decided to stay with Roshi at Kame Houses and become their maid. Launch's blonde persona develops an attraction towards Tien Shinhan's fierce attitude. In the manga she is not seen after the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament and is said to be chasing after Tien. She is seen in a few Dragon Ball Z anime filler episodes during the Saiyan saga and is seen again near the end helping contribute energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb to defeat Kid Buu. She was shown around the main cast once again in the special Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! and in the ending credits of Dragon Ball Kai. She is voiced by Mami Koyama in Japan, Edie Mirman in the Harmony Gold dub and Meredith McCoy in the Funimation dub.

Mr. Satan

Mr. Satan (ミスター・サタン, Misutā Satan), known as Hercule in Funimation's dub and in some editions of Viz's English manga translation, is a flamboyant martial artist that becomes a world renowned hero after the Cell Games. In 2009, his real name was revealed to be Mark (マーク, Māku), which is a pun on the word "Akuma", meaning "devil/demon" in Japanese. After Goku and his companions stop attending the World Tournaments, Mr. Satan starts winning them and becomes the reigning champion for many years. During the Cell Games, he attempts to fight Cell, but even after being swatted away, he is given credit for Cell's death by the media. He is soon called a world hero, gaining great wealth and a city named after him. Though Goku and his companions find his inflated ego and arrogance very annoying, he becomes their trusted friend after befriending the good Majin Buu, helping defeat Kid Buu by using his appeal to get energy from all of the individuals on Earth for the Genki Dama, and his daughter Videl pairs up with Gohan. He was voiced by Daisuke Gōri in Japan until his death, with Unshou Ishizuka taking over the role afterward, while in English he is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub, and Chris Rager in the Funimation dub.

Oolong

Oolong (ウーロン, Ūron) is a shapeshifting, anthropomorphic pig that uses his abilities for his own greedy desires. He was expelled from shapeshifting training for stealing the teacher's panties, so he lacks the ability to change his form for more than five minutes at a time without a one-minute break. He made the first shown wish with the Dragon Balls, wishing for a girl's pair of panties. He joins Goku in the search for the Dragon Balls to eventually steal them, but abandons this plan. In Dragon Ball Z, he is often in the company of Roshi. He is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta in Japan, Doug Parker and Alec Willows in the Ocean dub, Bradford Jackson in the Funimation dub, and Bryan Massey in Dragon Ball Z Kai.

Pan

Pan (パン) is the granddaughter of Goku. Pan's ancestry comes from both humans, and the extraterrestrials called the Saiyans. Pan is the daughter of the first Saiyan-Human hybrid to appear in the series, Gohan and Videl. In the Japanese anime, she was voiced by Yūko Minaguchi. In the English versions of Dragon Ball Z, she is voiced by Brenna O'Brien in the Ocean dub and Kate Bristol in the Funimation dub. In the English versions of Dragon Ball GT, she is voiced by Elise Baughman in the Funimation dub and by Caitlynne Medrek in the Blue Water dub.

Puar

Puar (プーアル, Pūaru), known as Pu'ar in the Viz manga and Pu-erh in Japanese versions, is a soft-spoken blue creature and the constant companion of Yamcha. Puar's abilities consist of transvection and shapeshifting. Puar travels with Yamcha and Goku during Dragon Ball and continues to live with Yamcha afterwards. The character's name is revealed to be a pun on pu-erh tea ^[32] and was designed to slightly resemble a cat. ^[33] He was constantly mocked by Oolong during their time at Shapeshifting School together. When questioned about gender, Toriyama disclosed that he looked at the character as male during illustrations. ^[34] Puar is voiced by Naoko Watanabe in the Japanese version of the series, by Kathy Morse and Cathy Weseluck in the Ocean dub and by Monika Antonelli in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in the Funimation dub. Brina Palencia voices the character in Dragon Ball Z Kai.

Videl

Videl (ビーデル, Bīderu) is the daughter of Mr. Satan. Like her father, she trains in martial arts, even surpassing him in strength. ^[35] She uses her abilities to fight crime in the city, and after Gohan appears as the Great Saiyaman, she quickly figures out his identity. She uses that to blackmail him into teaching her how to fly. After Buu is fully defeated, the two form a relationship, eventually having a daughter named Pan. When the two fight crime together afterwards, she takes on the role of the "Great Saiyaman 2" or "Great Saiyawoman". She is voiced by Yuko Minaguchi in Japan, Moneca Stori in the Ocean dub, and Kara Edwards in the Funimation dub. Her name is an anagram of Devil, a play on words with her father's name, Mr. Satan.

Yajirobe

Yajirobe (ヤジロベー, Yajirobē) is an overweight samurai that Goku meets. He is often considered to be rude, unmannered, timid, lazy, and cowardly. During their first meeting, Yajirobe gets mad at Goku for stealing his fish, and hates him. However, he has a change of heart, and helps Goku prepare for the battle against Piccolo Daimao, and continues to support Goku and his companions, though often from the sidelines. Originally he was a wanderer that lived off the land, but after meeting Korin and discovering the Senzu Beans, which provide the nutrients of ten days worth of meals, restore energy and heal wounds, he lives with Korin. He begins growing the beans with him, and often delivers them to Goku and his companions. He plays a part in Goku's first fight in Vegeta when Vegeta stares at a full moon and transforms into an ape monster. Yajirobe takes his sword and cuts off his tail. However, when Vegeta becomes enraged and threatens Yajirobe with death, he backs off and tells Vegeta that he wants to be on his team. His cowardly actions are shown again when he runs away from the Androids. He is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka in the Japanese version of the series, by Brian Drummond in the Ocean dub and by Mike McFarland in the Funimation dub.

Other characters

Android #16

Android #16 (人造人間16号, Jinzōningen Jū Roku Gō, "Artificial Human #16") is a large fully mechanical android developed by Dr. Gero. He is deemed a failure, and is deactivated until Android #18 reactivates and releases him. ^{[36] [37]} Despite the other Androids disobeying and killing Dr. Gero, #16 still follows his orders to search for and destroy Goku. Unlike the other two, #16 processes a sophisticated mechanism to sense and track power levels in real time. ^{[38] [39]} While trying to protect #17 and #18 from Cell, he is greatly damaged, ^{[40] [41]} though Bulma and her father Dr. Briefs repair him. After he is repaired, he ignores his old orders to kill Goku, and focuses on the fight against Cell. Like the other androids he had the ability to self-destruct, but the device was removed during his repairs. This is made known only when #16 tried to self-destruct and destroy Cell, which Cell retaliates by destroying him. ^{[42] [43]} However, his head and consciousness survived, but later is destroyed by Cell, which pushes Gohan over the edge to Super Saiyan 2. ^{[42] [44]} In the anime he is voiced Hikaru Midorikawa in Japan, Scott McNeil in the Ocean dub, and Jeremy Inman in the Funimation dub.

Android #17

Android #17 (人造人間17号, Jinzōningen Jū Nana Gō, Artificial Human #17) is a human forcefully turned into a cyborg by Dr. Gero along with his sister, #18. The two are released by Doctor Gero as a last resort, but they turn on their creator and quickly kill him instead. They begin to travel in order to find and kill Goku, coming into contact with the main characters several times. In Future Trunks' timeline, as an android he is a mass murderer who is later killed by Trunks. #17 returns in Dragon Ball GT, when he fuses with a new #17 created by Doctor Gero and Doctor Myu in order to become Super Android #17, who is finally defeated by Goku and #18. He is voiced by Shigeru Nakahara in Japan, Ted Cole in the Ocean dub, and Chuck Huber in the Funimation dub.

Babidi

Babidi (バビディ) is the son of Bibidi, the creator of Majin Buu. After Buu is sealed and his father is dead, he sets out to resurrect Buu to help him conquer the universe. Babidi manages to take over the minds of many strong warriors in order to help him achieve his goal, including Demon King Dabura (ダーブラ) ("Dabra" in the English manga), alien warrior Pui Pui (プイプイ) ("Pocus" in the English manga), light-devouring monster named Yakon (ヤコン), and two muscle-bound humans, Yamu (ヤムー) and Spopovitch (スポポビッチ). Babidi uses them to collect energy for Buu's revival, and later enlists Vegeta to help him, though Vegeta is able to ignore his orders. After Buu is revived, Babidi manages to control him with the threat of resealing him, though after being manipulated by Goku, Buu turns on him and shatters his head with a single punch. He later appears in Hell, cheering Goku and Vegeta on during their fight with Kid Buu, and then in Dragon Ball GT, when various villains escape from Hell. He is voiced by Jōji Yanami in Japan, Terry Klassen in the Ocean dub, and Duncan Brannan in the Funimation dub.

Bardock

Bardock (バーダック, Bādakku) is the father of Raditz and Kakarot (Goku), featured primarily in the Dragon Ball Z TV special Bardock - The Father of Goku. As a member of the Saiyan race, Bardock is just as violent and blood thirsty as the rest of them, in contrast to how Goku would become. He is also the leader of a small group of Saiyan comrades. During a routine planet conquering mission on the planet Kanassa, one of the surviving inhabitants strikes Bardock, giving him its native ability to see into the future in the process. Soon, Bardock began to see visions of Frieza's plan to destroy planet Vegeta and all of the Saiyans, as well as Goku's future on Earth. Bardock attempts to prevent the destruction of his race by challenging Frieza in orbit of planet Vegeta, but is unsuccessful, and becomes the first of the Saiyans to be obliterated by Frieza. Before his death, however, Bardock has one final vision of Goku challenging Frieza, and is able to die pleased knowing his son would avenge their race. In the 2011 spin-off manga drawn by Naho Ōishi, Episode of Bardock, it is revealed that after Bardock was hit by Frieza's blast where he was assumed dead, he was actually transported back in time to before planet Vegeta was inhabited by the Saiyans and was known as planet Plant. Here Bardock ends up transforming into a Super Saiyan and defeats Frieza's ancestor Chilled which then reveals that the Super Saiyan told in the legends was actually Bardock. He is voiced by Masako Nozawa in Japan, and Sonny Strait in the Funimation dub.

Broly

Broly (ブロリー, Burorī), the "Legendary Super Saiyan", is the featured supervillain in the eighth, tenth, and eleventh movies of Dragon Ball Z. He is born with a power level of ten thousand, a power greater than most elite adult Saiyans, and he is mentally unsettled as an adult, partially due to the crying of the infant Goku in the incubator next to him when they were born, and partially because his power was so extreme. He eventually becomes the "Legendary Super Saiyan" told of in legends and his destructive tendencies are quelled by a special controling device created by scientists for his father, Paragus (パラガス). In movie eight, after Paragus lures Vegeta, Goku, and their companions to another planet, Broly recalls Goku and goes into a rage, destroying the control device and becoming the unstoppable Legendary Super Saiyan. He effortlessly pummels Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Future Trunks as well as Piccolo before killing his father. He is eventually defeated by Goku, but off-screen somehow manages to make his way into an escape pod. In movie nine, he lands on Earth and goes into a frozen state until the crying of Goten awakens him. He is killed by Goku, Gohan and Goten. Though in movie ten, blood samples make their way into the hands of an industrialist, who creates a clone called "Bio-Broly" (バイオブロリー). The clone eventually wakes up and becomes mixed with bio-liquid, transforming him into Bio-Broly. He is eventually killed by Goten, Trunks, and Krillin. In the video games Raging Blast, Raging Blast 2 and Ultimate Tenkaichi, Broly attains the Super Saiyan 3 form. He is voiced by Bin Shimada in the Japanese films, and Vic Mignogna in the Funimation dub.

Cooler

Cooler (クウラ, Kuura, lit. "Coola") is the main villain in the fifth and sixth Dragon Ball Z films and a minor villain in the OVA special Plan to Destroy the Saiyans. He is the brother of Frieza who travels to Earth in Cooler's Revenge to seek revenge on Goku. While he admitted that he never liked his brother, he felt that he needed to punish the one who had ruined his family's honor by killing Frieza. Despite transforming into his final form, he is defeated by Super Saiyan Goku. He returns in The Return of Cooler, his remains having combined with the Big Gete Star, a sentient planet-sized machine. This gives him the ability to create an indefinite amount of "Meta-Coolers" (メタルクウラ), which have the ability to constantly repair and improve upon themselves. He tries to consume the planet New Namek, but he is eventually destroyed by the efforts of Goku and Vegeta. He is resurrected as a ghost by Dr. Raichi in Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans along with Frieza, Lord Slug and Turles but was defeated along with them when Goku and the fighters realized they were ghosts and shouted out that they weren't real. He also made a cameo in Dragon Ball GT. He is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao in the Japanese films, and Andrew Chandler in the Funimation dub.

Dende

Dende (デンデ) is a Namekian child saved from Dodoria by Gohan and Krillin. ^[45] He is taken into Gohan and Krillin's care, and takes them to the Great Elder to tap into vast-hidden reserves of their powers. Dende later gains the power to heal after having his power unlocked, which he uses to aid the warriors fighting Frieza until he is killed by the tyrant for being disruptive and helping the Earthlings. After being revived, he lives on New Namek until he is asked by Goku to replace Kami as Earth's guardian and revive the Dragon Balls. He accepts and continues to serve as the guardian throughout the rest of the series. He is very close to Piccolo, who fused with his brother Nail on Namek. As a child and teenager he is voiced by Tomiko Suzuki in the original Japanese series and by Aya Hirano in Dragon Ball Kai, with Hiro Yuuki voicing him as an adult. In the Funimation dub of the series, he is voiced as a child by Ceyli Delgadillo in the original dub, Laura Bailey in the redub of the series, and by Maxey Whitehead in Dragon Ball Z Kai. Justin Cook voices him as an adult in the Funimation dub.

Doctor Gero

Doctor Gero (ドクター・ゲロ, Dokutā Gero) is the former chief scientist of the Red Ribbon Army. After the destruction of the organization, he begins using his development of androids to aid in destroying Goku for revenge. While creating a series of androids, he eventually implants his own brain into an exact replica of his body, becoming Android #20 (人造人間20号, Jinzōningen Nijugō). Both he and Android #19 (人造人間１９号, Jinzōningen Jū Kyū-go), a round, pale android and the most loyal of Gero's creations, are able to absorb the energy of others using small devices on their hands. The two eventually attack Goku and his friends. #19, successfully draining Goku of his energy while Goku is affected by his heart virus, is killed by Vegeta afterwards. Doctor Gero flees, attempting to release #17 and #18 as a last resort, though #17 quickly kills him. Doctor Gero appears once more in Dragon Ball GT, planning to return to Earth along with Doctor Myu by creating another Android #17. They succeed, though Doctor Myu betrays Doctor Gero and has the newly formed Super #17 kill him once again. He is voiced by Kōji Yada in Japan, Brian Dobson in the Ocean dub, Kent Williams in the Funimation dub.

Emperor Pilaf

Pilaf (ピラフ, Pirafu) is a small, impish man who dreams of ruling the world. Though he proclaims himself an emperor, he actually only has a crown and a castle. Along with his two minions, Mai (マイ), a woman that wears a trench coat, and Shu (シュウ, Shū) (originally named "Soba" in the manga), a humanoid dog in a ninja outfit, he seeks out the Dragon Balls to wish for world domination. After obtaining the Dragon Balls once, he is foiled by Goku and his companions after another wish is granted just before he can speak his fully. He returns to antagonize Goku several times throughout the rest of Dragon Ball, and while attempting to obtain the Dragon Balls, releases Piccolo Daimao from his confinement. They appear again in Dragon Ball GT, where they obtain the Black Star Dragon Balls and accidentally wish Goku to be a child again. Pilaf is voiced by Shigeru Chiba in Japan and Chuck Huber in English dub. Shu is voiced by Tesshō Genda in Japan and Chris Cason in the English dub. Mai is voiced by Eiko Yamada in Japan, Teryl Rothery in the Ocean dub, and Julie Franklin in the Funimation dub. She was played by Eriko Tamura in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution.

Fortuneteller Baba

Fortuneteller Baba, Uranai Baba (占いババ, lit. "All-seeing Crone") in Japanese, is an old "witch" and Master Roshi's older sister. She possesses a magic floating crystal ball which she rides on top of. She is able see the location of any lost item, have a limited view of the future and is able to bring any deceased individual back to the living world for only one day. She lives in a big palace located over an oasis in the desert. She normally charges a very high price for her services unless her team of fighters are defeated. Her team of fighters consists of Fangs (Dracula Man (ドラキュラマン) in Japanese), a boxing vampire, See-Through (Sukisan (スケさん) in Japanese), an invisible man who is weak but only advantage is being invisible, Bandages (Mummy-kun (ミイラくん, Miira-kun) in Japanese), a mummy with brute strength and Spike (Devilman (アックマン, Akkuman) in Japanese), a devilman whose signature technique the Devilmite Beam can destroy people using the evil in their hearts. During the time Goku and his friends visit in order for her to find the last Dragon Ball after the defeat of the Red Ribbon Army, his adoptive grandfather Gohan was the last of her fighters, temporarily brought back to the real world to see his grandson. In Dragon Ball Z, she makes many recurring appearances from time to time, including trying to tell the future of the Saiyans. In Japanese she is voiced by Junpei Takiguchi in Dragon Ball and early Dragon Ball Z and by Mayumi Tanaka during the later half of Dragon Ball Z and during Dragon Ball Kai. In English she is voiced by Ellen Kennedy in the Ocean dub and by Linda Chambers-Young in the Funimation dub.

Garlic Jr.

Garlic Jr. (ガーリック・ジュニア, Gārikku Junia) is one of the few original characters from the movies to appear in the TV series. His father was imprisoned by Kami in the realm of darkness, leaving Garlic Jr. with a deep feeling of resentment and desire for revenge. In the film, he manages to obtain the seven Dragon Balls, wish for immortality, and begin his quest for revenge. He is defeated when faced with an angry Gohan, who pushes Garlic Jr. into the Dead Zone (Black Hole Wave (ブラックホール波) in Japanese), an alternate dimension he can freely open.

In the TV series, he breaks free using the Makyo Star as a power source, leading to the events of the Garlic Jr. arc. After attempting to brainwash the world with the Black Water Mist, he is once again trapped in the Dead Zone after the destruction of the Makyo Star. In the original Japanese version, Garlic Jr. is voiced by Akira Kamiya in Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and Shigeru Chiba in the anime. He is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub of the film and Dave Ward in the Ocean dub of the anime. Chuck Huber voices Garlic Jr. in the Funimation dub of the film and anime.

Ginyu Force

The Ginyu Force (ギニュー特戦隊, Ginyū Tokusentai, lit. "Ginyu Special Squadron") is a team of five mercenaries who are hired by Frieza. Though physically some of the strongest individuals in the universe, the Ginyu Force's members delight in coming up with strange poses, betting candy on fights, and playing Janken. They are led by Captain Ginyu (ギニュー隊長, Ginyū Taichō), who has a unique technique that allows him to switch bodies with his opponents. The other members are Jeice (ジース, Jīsu, lit. "Jheese"), Burter (バータ, Bāta, lit. "Butta"), Recoome (リクーム, Rikūmu, lit. "Reacoom") and Guldo (グルド, Gurudo, lit. "Ghurd")

Frieza calls upon them to assist in the defeat of Vegeta and help obtain the Dragon Balls on Planet Namek. In the anime, they (sans the surviving Ginyu) appear at King Kai's planet in the afterlife and battle Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu, who defeat and knock them down to Hell. Tien defeats Jeice and Burter, Yamcha defeats Recoome, and Chiaotzu defeats Guldo. King Kai reveals that he actually invited the Ginyu Force there in order for Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu to test their new strength.

Guldo, properly romanized as "Gurd" in the English manga, is a fat, four-eyed amphibian who, although physically weak, has psychic powers, including the fact that he can freeze time when he holds his breath. He can also freeze people. He is the first one killed when Vegeta decapitates him.

Recoome, properly romanized as "Reacoom" in the English manga, is a sadistic, orange-haired humanoid whose attacks are simply named "Recoome Punch" and "Recoome Kick". He is killed by Vegeta after a one-sided fight with Goku.

Burter, properly romanized as "Butta" in the English manga, is a blue-colored reptile. He claims to be the fastest being in the universe. He argues with Jeice and Recoome over who gets to kill Vegeta, and play rock-paper-scissors constantly. Goku easily incapacitates him with one blow, he is later mercilessly killed by Vegeta.

Jeice, properly romanized as "Jheese" in the English manga, is a white-haired, red-skinned humanoid with specialized ki attacks. Goku originally gave him the change to leave, but Vegeta showed no mercy and murdered him.

Captain Ginyu is the purple-skinned leader of the Ginyu Force. He is shown to be the smartest, as he found out that Goku is masking his true power level. After seeing that Goku's power level grew up to 180,000 on the Kaio-ken, Ginyu uses an attack on his arm, leaving him almost dead. Ginyu switches bodies with Goku, who is left with Ginyu's nearly dead body. Ginyu (as Goku) tricks Krillin into handing over the Dragon Balls, but Jeice reveals that Ginyu as Goku's power level is only 23,000. Ginyu tries to get in Vegeta's body, but instead he turns himself into a frog.

Grandpa Gohan

Grandpa Gohan, or Grandpa Son Gohan (孫悟飯じいさん, Son Gohan jiisan), is the adoptive grandfather of Goku, whom he found in a crashed spaceship. He teaches Goku martial arts, having originally studied under Roshi, and he even knows Roshi's Kamehameha. ^[46] He warns Goku not to look at the full moon, but he disobeys, leading to him being killed by Goku as a rampaging Oozaru on a night with a full moon. Goku does not realize it until Vegeta turns into an Oozaru and tells Goku about the transformations. He is allowed to return to life for one day by Baba in order to fight Goku and anticipate his growth. In the anime only, he later appears as an assistant to Annin, the ruler of the "magical furnace". He is only shown in flashbacks afterwards. He is voiced by Osamu Saka in the Japanese version of the original series, by Kinpei Azusa in Bardock: The Father of Goku and by Shigeru Chiba in Dragon Ball Kai. In the Funimation dub of the series, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat. He is portrayed by Randall Duk Kim in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Hiroya Ishimaru in the Japanese dub of the film.

Kami

Kami (神様, Kami-sama, lit. "God") is the guardian residing over the Earth for much of the series. Before his appearance, he was thought of as "God". He is the good half of an unnamed Namekian (which is called a child of Katatz by the Namekian Elder (Guru) ^[47]) that had to split himself in order to become guardian. The evil half, Piccolo Daimao, was later sealed away by humans. After Piccolo Daimao is unleashed and killed by Goku, he spawns a much stronger reincarnation, Piccolo. Seeing a threat, Kami decides to attempt to seal away the new Piccolo in the World Martial Arts Tournament, possessing a human named Shen (シェン) (dubbed Hero in the English anime) as a guise, but the plan backfires on him when Kami is trapped inside a water jug and is swallowed by Piccolo. After Goku defeats Piccolo, he eventually reforms. During the fight against the Saiyans, Kami dies when Piccolo is killed by Nappa. Kami gives Chiaotzu a new body so he can train with King Kai, and much later during the Cell saga, Kami agrees to merge and rejoin Piccolo to stand a chance against Cell and the Androids. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono in Japan, who would do so up until the Frieza saga in Dragon Ball Z Kai. After Aono suffered a stroke, Bin Shimada voiced the character for his final appearance during the Cell saga. In English he is voiced by Michael Dobson and Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, and Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub.

King Kai

The Kai (界王, Kaiō, lit. "King of the Worlds") are upper-level gods of the Dragon Ball universe. There are five at a time that rule over the main galaxy of the universe, with one presiding over each of the four quadrants in a galaxy, and the last overseeing them all. The Kai are responsible for the lower-level gods, who rule over individual planets. The Kai reside in the heavens, with each having their own small planet. There is a sense of competition among the Kai over whose quadrant has the best fighters. King Kai, the Northern Kai, trains Goku after his self-sacrifice to defeat Raditz, and eventually trains Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu and Piccolo.

King Kai, known as simply Lord of the Worlds (界王様, Kaiō-sama) and North Kai (北の界王, Kita no Kaiō) in Japanese, is the Kai of the northern quadrant of the galaxy. His companion is a pet monkey named Bubbles (バブルス) and in the anime he also has a flying cricket companion named Gregory (グレゴリー). King Kai trains fighters allowed to keep their bodies if they manage to reach his small planet at the end of Snake Way (蛇の道) (or Serpent Road). Before training any students, he forces them to appeal to his strange sense of humor, catch Bubbles, and, in the anime, hit Gregory with a mallet. ^[48] He provides Goku with martial arts training and two of his own techniques, the Genki Dama (元気玉) and the Kaio-ken (界王拳), which King Kai was never able to master himself. He continues to help Goku and his friends throughout the series, lending his planet locating and telecommunicating abilities for their use. When Goku brings a self-destructing Cell to his planet, the explosion kills King Kai and destroys his planet. As he is already in the Other World, he only gains a halo and in the anime he appears to settle down on Grand Kai's planet. He is voiced by Jōji Yanami in Japan, Don Brown and Dave Ward in the Ocean dub and Sean Schemmel in the Funimation dub.

Korin

Korin (カリン, Karin), properly romanized as Karin in the English manga and known as Whiskers the Wonder Cat in the Harmony Gold dub, is an immortal cat that lives at the top of the extremely high Korin Tower below Kami's Lookout. He trained Roshi at one point back in the past for three years and gave him the Kinto-un, and later trains Goku after his defeat to Mercenary Tao. Korin also gives Goku a supposedly poisoned water to make him stronger. He continues to help Goku and his friends by growing Senzu beans, which can fully heal any injuries and fatigue instantly. Later on he trains Krillin, Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu and is often accompanied by Yajirobe. He is voiced by Ichirō Nagai and Naoki Tatsuta in Japan, Doug Parker and Ted Cole in the Ocean dub, and Mark Britten and Chris Sabat in the Funimation dub.

Mercenary Tao

Mercenary Tao, original Japanese name Tao Pai Pai (桃白白), is an assassin for hire and younger brother to the Crane Hermit, Master Roshi's life long rival. He wears a custom made pink gi with the kanji for "kill" on the front and the English words "Kill You" on the back. He is first introduced in the series by being hired by the Red Ribbon Army to take out Goku and retrieve the Dragon Balls he possess. He kills General Blue with his tongue, and supposedly kills Goku. After succeeding in the first battle, he later had to come back after forgetting one of the Dragon Balls where Goku challenged him again with his new found power from climbing Korin Tower. He failed his second battle with Goku after getting caught in the explosion of his grenade and was assumed dead, which later resulted in his older brother the Crane Hermit attempting to get revenge during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. The Crane Hermit tried killing the Z Fighters in the 22nd Tournament. It is later revealed that he survived and was modified into a cyborg using all the money he gained from his previous assassination jobs. He enters the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament where he is set up against Tien who was his former student and is defeated. His last appearances were in filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z during the Cell Games Saga. In Japanese, he is voiced by Chikao Ōtsuka in Dragon Ball and Yukimasa Kishio in Dragon Ball Z. In the Ocean dub, he is voiced by Scott McNeil, while in the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Kent Williams.

Mr. Popo

Mr. Popo (ミスター・ポポ, Misutā Popo) is an immortal genie-like entity who serves as the caretaker to Kami and later Dende after taking his place as the guardian of Earth. He helps Goku meet Kami by surprisingly getting the best of Goku in a fight, which he tells him that the air is thinner here. Mr. Popo assists Kami in training Goku for three years in preparation for his battle against Piccolo at the World Martial Arts Tournament as well as later training Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu and Yajirobe during their preparation against the Saiyans. He is voiced by Toku Nishio in Japanese, French Tickner in the Ocean Group dub, and Chris Cason and Chris Sabat in the Funimation dub.

Mr. Popo's appearance has been considered an offensive racist stereotype by Carole Boston Weatherford in an article she wrote in The Christian Science Monitor in May 2000. ^[49] The English releases of the manga by Viz Media have censored Mr. Popo's lips by reducing their size. ^[50] In the airing of Dragon Ball Z Kai on CW4kids/Toonzai block, Mr. Popo's skin was changed from black to blue.

Nappa

Nappa (ナッパ) is an elite Saiyan warrior that accompanied Vegeta to Earth in search of the Dragon Balls. He has a somewhat violent nature. He survived the attacks of Tien and Chiaotzu, which drained their lives. He put Piccolo to death with his incredible might, but fell powerless to Goku who had returned to Earth with new training from King Kai. Vegeta ordered Nappa to stop fighting due to Goku's clear dominance over him. He was then executed by Vegeta when defeated by Goku. He returned briefly as one of the escapees from Hell in Dragon Ball GT, only to be killed by Vegeta once more. In Japanese he is voiced by Shōzō Iizuka in Dragon Ball Z, Kiyoyuki Yanada in Dragon Ball GT, and Tetsu Inada in Dragon Ball Kai. In English he was voiced by Michael Dobson in the Ocean dub and by Phil Parsons in the Funimation dub.

Raditz

Raditz (ラディッツ, Radittsu) is a Saiyan warrior and the older brother of Goku. Along with Goku, Vegeta, and Nappa, Raditz is one of the few Saiyans who still exist following the genocide of the Saiyans in the destruction of Planet Vegeta at the hands of Frieza. In the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, Raditz arrives on Earth, searching for his long-lost brother in order to recruit him in conquering other planets. He is shown wearing a new device called a scouter that can read power levels. He tracks down Goku to try and get him to destroy Earth, but when Goku refuses, Raditz kidnaps his nephew, Gohan, and orders Goku to kill 100 Earthlings within a day if he wants his son back. Instead, Goku and Piccolo team up to defeat Raditz, though not even their combined powers are not enough. However, Goku makes the ultimate sacrifice by grappling with Raditz and allowing Piccolo to kill them both with his Makankosappo technique. Before Raditz dies, Piccolo taunts him by explaining that Goku will be revived by the Dragon Balls, though Raditz manages to send one final transmission on his scouter to inform Vegeta and Nappa of this, believing that his Saiyan comrades will come to Earth and use the Dragon Balls to revive him. Piccolo then attacks him, dealing the final blow to Raditz. However, Vegeta and Nappa travel to Earth to use the Dragon Balls for their own purposes instead. Raditz later makes a minor appearance in Dragon Ball GT along with many of the other villains who escaped Hell. He is voiced by Shigeru Chiba in Japan, Jason Gray-Stanford in the Ocean dub, and Justin Cook in the Funimation dub.

Red Ribbon Army

The Red Ribbon Army (レッドリボン軍, Reddo Ribon Gun) is a paramilitary organization bent on total world domination. The army's initial leader, Commander Red (レッド総帥) is a short man who has his forces go on a quest for world domination by raiding towns and searching for the Dragon Balls. While the plan was secretly a ruse, so he can really use the power of the Dragon Balls to become taller, the second in command Adjutant Black (ブラック参謀), who loyally obeyed Red, shoots him after hearing the real plan and attempts to take command of the army, only to be killed by Goku after he was able to easily wipe out most of their forces.

The many operatives of the army served as the obstacles for Goku during his second quest for the Dragon Balls. Goku quickly became the top of their hit list when he first came in contact with them by defeating Colonel Silver (シルバー大佐). Though they first thought it was only a fluke, they then realized the threat Goku was when he defeated the forces under General White (ホワイト将軍) in their northern stronghold known as Muscle Tower. Among the forces under General White is the ninja known as Murasaki (ムラサキ曹長), his four identical brothers and the android brute Major Metallitron (メタリック軍曹). After the destruction of Muscle Tower, Android 8, One of the armies defunct Androids who was kindhearted and disliked fighting, befriends Goku and lives peacefully with the locals of Jingle Village.

General Blue (ブルー将軍) a high-ranking official of the army and the most powerful of them, was next to go after Goku. He has a special psionic ability that allows him to paralyze other individuals. He is a neat freak, and as he does not enjoy Bulma's attempts at seduction, she thinks of him as gay. He manages to steal the Dragon Radar during their final encounter, but after returning, he is set to be executed for not obtaining any of the Dragon Balls after multiple failures. He is allowed to fight the recently hired Mercenary Tao to redeem himself, though Tao easily kills Blue only using his tongue. Blue wears a brown uniform reminiscent of the Sturmabteilung, implying parallels between the RRA and the real-life Nazi Party. Blue is voiced by Toshio Furukawa in Japan and Sonny Strait in the Funimation dub.

Another high ranking operative is General Copper (カッパ将軍). Although he is never seen, he is mentioned quite a few times and was the commander of Colonel Silver. Other members under General Copper were Captain Yellow (イエロー大佐), an anthropomorphic tiger which Goku defeated when arriving at the land of Korin just before encountering Tao and Colonel Violet the only known female operative of the army.

In the aftermath of the Red Ribbon Army's defeat, Doctor Gero who previously worked for them, continued creating androids and uses them in a plotted revenge on Goku which he attempts to go through with later in the series.

In the film Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, General Blue and Major Metallitron appear as soldiers in Chiaotzu's army. In the live-action Korean film, Dragon Ball: Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku, Murasaki appears as one of Emperor Pilaf's subordinates. The Red Ribbon Army appears in the alternate-retelling film Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, where many of them get altered character designs. Ninja Murasaki and General Blue appear in the 1990s Dr. Slump remake anime, where they attempt to take the Dragon Balls from Goku and Arale.

Shadow Dragons

The Shadow Dragons, known as the Evil Dragons in Japanese, are a group of evil beings born from the evil energy caused by overuse of the Dragon Balls. When attempting to repair the damage caused by Super #17, the cigar-smoking Evil Shenron is summoned from the Dragon Balls instead of the regular Shenron. He splits out the tainted Dragonballs before fading away, each manifesting into one of the seven dragons as they proceed to cause chaos across the world. They are known as the One-Star through Seven-Star Dragons in Japan, and Syn Shenron, Haze Shenron, Eis Shenron, Nuova Shenron, Rage Shenron, Oceanus Shenron, and Naturon Shenron in the English versions.

Goku and Pan manage to kill the other Shadow Dragons before encountering Eis and Nuova Shenron, the latter voiced by Ken Yamaguchi in Japan and John Burgmeier in the English dub. Being much more honorable than his siblings, Nuova helps Goku defeat Eis. However, Syn Shenron kills Nuova before absorbing both his Dragon Ball and the others as well to increase his power.

Syn Sheron, known as the One-Star Dragon in the Japanese version, appears in Dragon Ball GT. He was created as the result of Mr Popo's wish on Earth's Dragon balls to revive everyone on Namek that died at the hands of Frieza and his forces. The nature of the wish in turn made Syn Sheron both the most powerful and most evil of the Shadow Dragons. Making himself known after the death of Eis Shenron, killing Nuova Shenron in the process, Syn Shenron manages to swallow the other six Dragon Balls to become Omega Sheron with access to all of the abilities of his Shadow Dragon brethren. In his state, Omega Shenron's power was only dwarfed by Gogeta in his Super Saiyan 4 form. After a long battle, he is killed by Goku's Super Genki Dama, and the Dragon Balls are purified. Syn/Omega Shenron is voiced by Hidekatsu Shibata in Japan, with Bob Carter and Christopher R. Sabat respectively voicing Syn Shenron and Omega Shenron in the Funimation dub.

Shenron

Shenron (神龍, Shén Lóng, lit. "God Dragon"), also known as the Eternal Dragon in the Ocean and Funimation dubs, Shenlong in the Viz manga and the Dragon God in the Harmony Gold dub, is the wish granting dragon summoned when all of Earth's Dragon Balls are gathered. Shenron can bestow any wish as long as it does not exceed the power of his creator (who must be still alive) and has not been previously granted. ^[51] This is why Shenron can only bring the same person back to life once. Shenron can originally only grant one wish, but after being revived by Dende, he is able to grant two at a time. Shenron often tries to hasten summoners to make their wishes. He is voiced by Kenji Utsumi in the Japanese version of the series with the exclusion of episodes 192 and 193 in the series and the films, in which he is voiced by Masaharu Satō; he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri in Dragon Ball GT and by Kōji Yada in the Dr. Slump remake. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub and by Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub.

His Namekian counterpart is Porunga (ポルンガ). Unlike Shenron, Porunga has a large, muscular humanoid upper body and something similar to a dorsal fin down his back; he initially can only bring a single person back to life at a time, but can bring that person back multiple times. He can grant three wishes, so long as they don't exceed his creator's power, his creator is still alive, and each request is delivered in the Namekian dialect. He is voiced by Junpei Takiguchi in the Japanese version of the series with the exclusion of episode 283, in which he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri; he is voiced by Masaharu Satō in the video games. In Dragon Ball Kai Daisuke Gōri originally performed the role; after his death, Ryūzaburō Ōtomo took over. He is voiced by Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub of the series.

Dragon Ball GT introduces the Black Star Shenron, a much larger red Shenron made by Kami when he and Piccolo Daimao were still one entity. He is summoned when the Black Star Dragon Balls are gathered, and can grant any single wish, regardless of any restrictions placed on the other dragons.

Supreme Kai

Supreme Kai (東の界王神, Higashi no Kaiōshin) was originally the ruler of the eastern quadrant of the universe but due to his other fellow supreme kai's being destroyed by Majin Buu is the de facto ruler of the entire universe. During his debut he had pink skin and a white mohawk and was accompanied by his larger loyal body guard Kibito. He came to Earth to meet Goku and his friends and try to help prevent Babidi from resurrecting Majin Buu but ended up failing. The Supreme Kai takes Gohan to his own private planet where he has him train using the Z Sword but instead the sword is broken where the Supreme Kai's older ancestor gives Gohan the true power that is obtained from the Z Sword. Supreme Kai and Kibito later get permanently fused into one being when they remove only one of the earings to give to Goku which he later uses with Vegeta to create the fusion of Vegetto. The Supreme Kai later assists in the final battle with Kid Buu by teleporting Goku and the last survivors on Earth onto his planet and helps flee with Dende to revive Earth and its people with the Dragon Balls. In Japanese he is voiced by Yūji Mitsuya, and by Kent Williams in Funimation's English Dub.

Uub

Uub (ウーブ, Ūbu), known as Oob in the Viz manga and in Japanese versions, is the reincarnation of the evil Majin Buu. After Kid Buu is destroyed, Goku asks him to be reincarnated as a good person, so they may battle again. In the anime it is shown that King Yemma overhears the request and complies with it. Goku eventually senses Uub's hidden power, and seeks him out when Uub attends the tournament to gain money for his village. Goku ends up deciding to train him to be Earth's new guardian and as an opponent that he can battle. In Dragon Ball GT, Mr. Buu enters Uub's body, making him into "Majuub" to face threats such as Baby, Super #17, and Omega Shenron. He is voiced by Megumi Urawa (Kid Uub) and Atsushi Kisaichi (Uub) in Japan and Kara Edwards (Kid Uub) and Sean Teague (Uub) in the FUNimation dub.

Zarbon

Zarbon (ザーボン, Zābon) is one of Frieza's top henchmen. He has the ability to transform from a handsome, long-haired human into a powerful reptilian beast. Zarbon travels to Namek alongside Frieza and Dodoria to help collect the Dragon Balls. He eventually comes into contact with Vegeta, whom Zarbon manages to easily defeat and capture after transforming. After Zarbon retrieves Vegeta's battered body and brings him to Frieza's ship in order to heal him for interrogation, Vegeta manages to escape and steal Frieza's Dragon Balls. Zarbon sets out to find him once again, but Vegeta, having become stronger after healing, kills Zarbon in his monster form. Zarbon also appears in Bardock - The Father of Goku, where he advises Frieza to destroy the Saiyan planet and briefly appears in Dragon Ball GT when he escapes from Hell with other villains. He is voiced by Shō Hayami in the original Japanese series and by Hiroaki Miura in Dragon Ball Z Kai. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Paul Dobson in the Ocean dub, by Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub and by J. Michael Tatum in Dragon Ball Z Kai.

In an issue of Beckett Anime, a Beckett magazine publication, Zarbon was voted as one of the top five greatest henchmen of all anime, and was the only character from Dragon Ball on the list. ^[52]

Merchandise

Several pieces of merchandise were released based on the characters from the series. These include key chains, action-figures and plush. ^{[53] [54] [55]} Other merchandise featuring characters include t-shirts, tumblers and trading card games. ^{[56] [57] [58]} Characters are also featured in video games from the series. While initial games were role-playing games (RPG), the following became fighting games. ^{[59] [60]}

Reception

Anime News Network (ANN) praised the story and humor of the manga to be very good, and noted the well-portrayed personalities of the characters. They also remarked Viz's translation to be one of the best ones of all the English editions of the series, praising the lack of censorship. ^[61] Theron Martin from ANN praised the way the characters could turn the battles into "art", praising the ways they react while fighting, although they sometimes can become very long with little plot development. He also praised the themes from the warriors saying "it speaks to basic yet powerful themes like faith, confidence, heroism, sacrifice, love, and understanding what is truly worth fighting for", as well as the way Vegeta overcomes his pride to help the other characters. ^[62] T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews considered the series characters are different from stereotypes characters and noted that they have much more development than those from the series' sequels. ^[63]

See also

References