With a legacy spanning over four decades, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball remains one of the oldest and most iconic anime and manga franchises of all time. Toei Animation, the oldest existing anime studio in Japan, adapted the original manga into two major parts: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. DBZ takes place after a time skip, where Goku is married to Chi-Chi and has a four-year-old son, Gohan. While the first part of the anime set up the foundation for the story, the sequel helped the franchise gain worldwide recognition through more intense action sequences, transformations, and iconic characters, raising the stakes higher than ever as the Z warriors face powerful enemies capable of destroying the world.
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Being a battle Shonen, Dragon Ball relies heavily on its thrilling fight scenes, which wouldn’t be possible if there weren’t any powerful villains to challenge the heroes and push them past their limits. DBZ is split into four major sagas, all of which include several incredible villains, but these five are clearly the cream of the crop.
5) Android 18 Overpowered a Super Saiyan With Ease
After the Frieza Saga, Vegeta became obsessed with training and finally achieved the legendary Super Saiyan transformation, which significantly boosted his powers. Since the Z Warriors already knew about the arrival of the Androids thanks to a warning from Future Trunks, they all trained hard to prepare for the impending battle. Vegeta, who was initially brimming with confidence after becoming a Super Saiyan, had his pride crushed by Android 18, who effortlessly plummeted him without even breaking a sweat.
4) Android 17 Vs. Piccolo Is One of the Best Fights Ever
Android 17 vs Piccolo is easily one of the best fights in the entire series, and often quite underrated. Piccolo fused with Kami to unlock his true potential and gained unimaginable powers, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the android. Although the fight lasted longer than expected, 17 clearly had the edge and would have emerged victorious even after the sacrifice Kami made. Among the several energy attacks, his Android Barrier was the most impressive, providing a shield against Piccolo’s strongest techniques.
3) Super Buu’s Human Extinction Attack Is Terrifyingly Devastating
Super Buu is one of the many forms of Buu, who used a Human Extinction Attack, one of the most powerful energy attacks in the franchise. By raising his hand, he launched a continuous stream of energy bullets, effectively killing everyone on the planet. Not only that, but he launched this attack on the Lookout and in front of the Z Warriors, who were too powerless to stop the villain. Although Super Buu isn’t even the most powerful form of the villain, the damage he inflicted was astounding, and the situation only spiraled downward from this moment on.
2) Frieza’s Ultimate Form Still Gives Us Chills
Frieza remains one of the most iconic Dragon Ball villains of all time, and it’s all thanks to his role in the Frieza Saga. The villain, who ruled over the universe with an iron fist, arrived on Namek to get his hands on the Dragon Balls and crossed paths with Vegeta and the others. Throughout the saga, he changed into numerous forms, but his ultimate and final appearance proved just how deep in trouble his opponents were. Just the design itself oozes lethality and strikes terror into the hearts of those standing against him. Had it not been for Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation, no one in the galaxy could have stopped the villain at the time.
1) Cell Killed Goku Without Even Trying
Whether it’s his writing or his powers, there are several reasons to justify why Cell is actually the best DBZ villain. Among his many memorable moments, the one that impacted the story most was how he killed Goku without even trying. His ruthless actions triggered Gohan’s Super Saiyan 2 transformation, and the eleven-year-old boy kept humiliating the villain. Unable to overpower Gohan, Cell took an extreme measure by choosing to self-destruct, knowing he could easily regenerate himself while the others would be dead from the blast. However, Goku saved everyone at his own expense and decided to stay dead for seven years, hoping that no enemies would approach Earth again to target him.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
