A Ranking of All the Characters on 'Dragon Ball Z'

Image via Complex Original

Best fighting technique: Shapeshifting

​Power level: 10

Puar is a Dragon Ball hangover who initially served as the best friend for third tier Z fighter Yamcha, and he only shows up in the DBZ universe in uneventful flashes.

Best fighting technique: Shapeshifting

​Power level: 10

Oolong, another Dragon Ball original, saw his role drastically reduced in DBZ, and he once (stupidly) tried to use the dragon balls to kill Vegeta and Nappa instead of reviving a recently killed Goku, but he does occasionally provide much needed comic relief.

Best fighting technique: Ability to create doppelgangers

​Power level: N/A

The original summoner of Buu, Bibidi uses the monster to eliminate most of the Supreme Kais across the universe, but in doing so sets in motion the events leading up to his own demise.

Best fighting technique: Clairvoyance

Power level: N/A

Master Roshi’s sister, Fortuneteller Baba, exists only as filler in key moments, often showing lesser characters' battles using her crystal ball, but she also lets Goku return to earth for one day after his second death to meet his youngest son, Goten, for the first time.

Best fighting technique: Dynamic Mess Em Up Punch, which is basically a regular combo

Power level: N/A

Possibly the most annoying character in the entire series and often the most useless, Hercule, the reigning World Martial Arts Champion, is notorious for wrongly claiming to be the strongest fighter on earth, even taking credit for battles he didn’t win. Despite being a greedy coward, he is (sort of) pure-hearted and temporarily courageous when his family is in danger.

Best fighting technique: Superhuman strength when blonde

Power level: 18

One of the more fascinating characters in Dragon Ball, the split-personality femme fatale Launch was completely stripped of her intrigue in limited appearances in DBZ, where she spent most of her time rapidly sneezing in and out of her good and bad forms and occasionally filling the role of stand-in love interest for Tien.

Best fighting technique: Bomber DX, a one-handed energy wave

Power level: 4,000-7,000

Nappa was basically Vegeta’s lapdog, albeit a powerful one that killed many Z fighters.

Best fighting technique: Mind Control

Power level: 1,000,000

The doppelganger of Bibidi (or “his son”), Babidi tries to unleash Majin Buu in the present day and inevitably succeeds despite Supreme Kai's and the Z fighters’ best efforts.

Best fighting technique: N/A

Power level: N/A

Pan, the young daughter of Gohan and Videl who would go on to play an integral role in Dragon Ball GT as mini Goku’s space-traveling companion, is a peripheral character in DBZ. Though she is never featured, her determination and strength are showcased when she holds her own against Goten in the closing moments of the series.

Best fighting technique: Instant Transmission, the ability be anywhere on Earth in an instant

Power level: 1,030

Mr. Popo is more or less the assistant to the Guardian of the Earth (Kami), taking care of the lookout, training beings of the universe when there’s impending doom on the horizon (like Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu), and tending to the Guardian himself. Though he mostly exists in Kami’s shadow, he taught Bulma the Namekian language after Kami’s death, and played an important role in helping her get to Namek, acquire the Dragon Balls, and resurrect Kami.

Best fighting technique: Wolf Fang Fist, a swift combo of punches and kicks

Power level: 177-900,000

Once Goku’s enemy and Bulma’s boyfriend, Yamcha eventually became the biggest punching bag of the Z fighters and was inevitably sidelined as a cheerleader. His greatest moments came early in the series when the character was written as a martyr willing to sacrifice himself to save others, which he did… frequently.

Best fighting technique: N/A

Power level: 12

Bulma’s dad, Doctor Brief, is the creator of the Capsule Corporation and the inventor of the dynocap capsule, which can make almost anything compact. He builds the spaceship that Goku uses to travel to Namek, and his technical know-how is second only to his daughter’s.

Best fighting technique: Human flight

Power level: N/A

Videl is mostly characterized by her relationships—Hercule's daughter, Gohan's wife, Pan's mother—but she's a strong character in her own right, providing emotional support for her loved ones and fighting formidably (for a human) when necessary.

Best fighting technique: Ability to attack with psychokinesis

Power level: 130-19,000

Chiaotzu is to Tien what Puar is to the Yamcha, only Chiaotzu’s role as a sidekick extends far beyond simply existing in the margins of his better half. Chiaotzu makes strides toward being helpful by training at Kami’s Lookout during the Saiyan Saga. He’s a strong-willed character who butts heads with Tien, refusing his requests to stay behind. After a suicidal attempt to destroy Nappa fails, he becomes a much stronger fighter, learning from King Kai and defeating Guldo of the Ginyu Force.

Best fighting technique: Hikou, or moving through the air as if running

Power level: 970

An introvert, Yajirobe acts on Korin’s behalf, making deliveries and sending messages. He’s rude, grumpy, and unwilling to help others, making him a rarity in DBZ. Yajirobe’s main purpose is basically to deliver Senzu Beans.

Best fighting technique: Saturday Crush, a one-handed, pink energy sphere

Power level: 1,200-1,500

The elder brother of Goku, Raditz is Freiza's foot soldier. He's not as complex as later villains, with one-note tactics and a straightforward agenda, but he does bring with him secrets about saiyan ancestry and history.

Best fighting technique: Tri-Beam, an energy blast fired by forming a triangle with his hands

Power level: 250-930,000

Tien is one of the original Z fighters who's shoved aside toward the latter part of the series when their alien counterparts begin to dwarf them in power. Tien is also one of the first in a long line of enemies converted by Goku, but despite his lack of a unique DBZ backstory, he does protect Androids #16 and #18 from being absorbed by imperfect Cell in dramatic fashion.

Best fighting technique: Captain Ginyu’s ability to switch bodies with enemies

Power level: 11,500-120,000

The Ginyu Force is basically Frieza’s Seal Team 6, an elite group of mercenaries that helps the tyrant conquer other planets. They were written as extensions of each other, and with the exception of Captain Ginyu, they don’t stand up well individually. However, their penchant for group poses and betting candy on fights makes them likeable.

Best fighting technique: Healing

Power level: 10

One of the more important characters from the planet Namek—Piccolo and Kami's home—Dende starts the series as a young boy and ends up as Guardian of Earth. He has the rare power to heal others, which lets him fulfill his desire to help anyone in need. After Goku requests he replace Kami, Dende manages to recreate the Earth’s Dragon Balls.

Best fighting technique: Teleportation

​Power level: 530,000,000-1,000,000,000

The Eastern Supreme Kai is the only of the Supreme Kais that gets any real screen time, and he becomes the Supreme Kai when the others are killed or consumed by Majin Buu. Supreme Kai is rational, willing to seek help from Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta to prevent the re-release of Majin Buu, and he plays an important role in the Babidi and Buu Sagas.

Best fighting technique: Final Spirit Cannon (also called Riot Javelin), an energy sphere

Power level: 9,000-10,000

Goku and Raditz's father, Bardock, was developed in the special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock—The Father of Goku. The title says it all: He exists as a means to shed more light on Goku’s character. He even looks exactly like him.

Best fighting technique: Ability to command lightning from the sky

Power level: 190

Korin is a wise 800-year-old cat, a martial arts master who lives in a huge tower growing and cultivating the Senzu Beans, which heal wounds and give strength.

Best fighting technique: Rocket Punch, an attack that fires the android’s fist as an exploding projectile

Power level: 30,000,000

The least interesting android is still a fascinating look into what it means to be human. A replica of Doctor Gero’s dead son, #16 has no human attributes, but he develops a friendly nature, and against logic attempts to self-destruct and destroy Cell. Though that fails, he plays a pivotal role in encouraging Gohan to defend the Earth.

Best fighting technique: Blazing Aura, an energy power-up

Power level: 300

Chi-Chi is the finger-wagger who's prone to angry outbursts. She nags her husband and is overprotective of her sons, even forcing Gohan to quit fighting to tend to his studies as a teen, but her fiery disposition is matched by her loyalty to her family. As a traditional caregiver, she plays Bulma's foil, which helps to bring out endearing qualities in both characters.

Best fighting technique: Super Beautiful Arrow, a rapid fire combination of several waves of energy

Power level: 17,000-55,000

Though weaker and lower ranking in Frieza’s army than the Ginyu Force mercenaries, Zarbon is a more colorful character. He’s a warrior obsessed with physical appearance and beauty who, in his true form, is a hideous monster.

Best fighting technique: Energy Absorption

Power level: 405-10,000,000

The final android created by Doctor Gero, #19 is the only one of Gero’s creations to obey him completely and fully pursue his vendetta against Goku. He is the android most like a robot, which makes him less intriguing than his predecessors, #17 and #18. However, his ruthlessness makes him a true robot menace.

Best fighting technique: Supernova

Power level: 1,200,000-470,000,000

Cooler is the elder brother of the space tyrant Frieza. Though they share similar dispositions, Cooler is less likely to fly off the handle, which makes him less entertaining than his kid brother. Still, he's a formidable opponent for the Z fighters due to his ruthless efficiency.

Best fighting technique: Continuous Energy Bullets

Power level: 400-1,500,000

Garlic Jr. is a weird little guy who becomes the only character ever granted eternal life by the Dragon Balls. He intends to open up the Dead Zone and suck his enemies into the void, but instead gets caught in the vortex himself. He enslaves the Earth's population with Black Water Mist and goes Super Garlic. Though he's more of a nuisance than anything, his quest for vengeance is a nice change of pace.

Best fighting technique: Eye Lasers

Power level: 220

Piccolo’s better half (morally speaking), Kami serves as the Guardian of Earth early in the series. He creates Piccolo and Earth’s Dragon Balls. He is a complicated character who desires to be good, but his very existence means the survival of the Piccolo menace. This makes him doubt if he’s worthy of his title, and he contemplates suicide on many occasions.

Best fighting technique: Ability to grant any wish

Power level: N/A

Porunga is the Namekian Dragon, the equivalent of Earth’s Shenron. A more physically imposing being, Porunga can be summoned twice as often with Namek’s Dragon Balls, but in a way that cheapens his summoning. Despite having just as much power as Shenron (if not more), Porunga has far less personality than his Earth counterpart. He also has a way lighter workload.

Best fighting technique: Destructo Disc

​Power level: 206-950,000

Goku's life-long best friend, Krillin is a courageous and loyal ally who fights alongside both Goku and Gohan. His signature move, Destructo Disc, is among the most recognizable and devastating attacks in the series. Unlike other original Z fighters, whose character arcs dip dramatically in later seasons, Krillin remains relevant, sparing Android #18’s life before later marrying her and starting his own family.

Best fighting technique: Electric Shot, an electric-charged energy ball attack

Power level: 30,000,000

Android #17 is #18's twin brother, an agitator who constantly destroys things because he can. #17’s anarchist nature develops into something more intriguing when it's revealed that he despises the cybernetics that allow him to exist.

Best fighting technique: Telepathy

Power level: 3,500-4,500

King Kai is outranked by Supreme Kai, but he's more important to DBZ’s arcs, having dominion over the North Galaxy, which Earth calls home. King Kai plays a crucial role in training Goku after his first death and trains many other Z fighters in different intervals. He is eccentric, but brilliant.

Best fighting technique: Death Beam, a thin bullet-like blast fired from the index finger

Power level: 20,000-100,000,000,000,000,000,000

Frieza is the first of Dragon Ball Z's three major villains. Initially a shadowy figure who dispatches Raditz, and then Vegeta and Nappa, to do his bidding, Frieza eventually shows his true colors as a wicked dictator beyond redemption. He is the exterminator of the saiyan race, save for Vegeta, Raditz, Nappa, a few stragglers, and (obviously) Goku. Frieza is a true sadist, which makes his demise twice as satisfying.

Best fighting technique: Photon Wave, a wave of explosive energy

Power level: 10,000,000

Where Frieza is crazed, Doctor Gero is exacting. A genius scientist of the Red Ribbon Army, who manufactures the androids and Cell, Doctor Gero seeks retribution against Goku. Ultimately it isn’t his hubris that does him in but his inability to comprehend his own design, and he dies when his #17 and #18 models display free will and rebel.

Best fighting technique: Special Beam Cannon, a laser beam charged by touching the middle and index fingers to the forehead

Power level: 260-1,150,000,000

Piccolo is the only member of the original Z fighters who keeps pace with the saiyans' constantly increasing power. Many of his most important moments come only after fusing with other characters, but he's on the fringes of almost every major DBZ battle. He plays a role in shaping young Gohan, and he sacrifices his life to save the boy. An expert strategist, he's usually the voice of reason.

Best fighting technique: Kamehameha, the staple of the show

Power level: 139-350

Master Roshi, or the Turtle Hermit, invented the Kamehameha, which many characters use in multiple DBZ sagas. Though his role deteriorates with the saiyans' arrival, he still pops up to offer advice, support, and comic relief.

Best fighting technique: Mimicry, the ability to mimic the attacks of his enemies

Power level: 900,000,000-1,079,956,055

Cell is the second major villain in Dragon Ball Z. Created by Doctor Gero, he is obsessed with becoming perfect, and his personality shifts with each passing transformation. He absorbs other beings until he reaches perfection, and when he does, he is the ultimate warrior, a composite of multiple characters that can exploit weaknesses. Cell differs from other DBZ villains because he is only interested in testing his power, not conquering the world.

Best fighting technique: Masenko, a yellow sphere that focuses into an energy beam

Power level: 1-1,800,000,000

The Gohan character arc was so promising: a young, vulnerable boy slowly crawls out of his shell and becomes the most powerful being in the North Quadrant. He is the first saiyan to go Super Saiyan 2, and becomes even more powerful than his father, defeating Cell in the process. The only thing holding him back how swiftly his arc drops off after that. As a teenager, Chi-Chi relegates him to student life and halts his training. It’s mostly downhill from there, with the Great Saiyaman Saga being rock bottom.

Best fighting technique: High-Pressure Energy Wave, a yellow energy wave

Power level: 420-30,000,000

The most compelling android is #18, an artificial being prone to sarcastic remarks. She's curious and wishes to activate #16 even after Gero orders her not to. Her character can be measured against the alternate version of herself in the Future Trunks timeline where she is a sociopath. #18 is responsible for keeping Krillin relevant in the latter sagas, and their coupling creates some of the show’s better dialogue.

Best fighting technique: Ability to grant any wish

Power level: 1,900,000,000

The show is called Dragon Ball Z, and when characters gather Dragon Balls, they summon Shenron, the “Eternal Dragon.” Shenron grants wishes, and his power is a handy device that lets the writers revive dead characters (with various conditions). Shenron is also amusingly impatient, which is ironic given the fact summoners have to wait an entire year before they can summon him.

Best fighting technique: Eraser Cannon, a giant, green energy sphere

Power level: 1,400,000,000

Broly is the first Super Saiyan, or The Legendary Super Saiyan, and his massive power in his Super Saiyan form is balanced by his tepid, docile nature as a regular saiyan when subdued by a device created by his father, Paragus. The circumstances of his birth lead to his eventual insanity, but he is somewhat aware that he’s insane, which makes his experience tragic.

Best fighting technique: Full Power Energy Blast Volley, a barrage of small energy blasts

Power level: N/A

Goten is an even greater child prodigy than his brother, Gohan. He's the second youngest Super Saiyan ever after Broly, and he first turns Super Saiyan on accident. He exists mostly as part of a pair with Trunks, who's the assertive member of the duo, and their bond makes them extremely compatible for fusion. They even go Super Saiyan 3. Together, Gotenks nearly defeats Majin Buu on two different occasions. 

Best fighting technique: N/A

Power level: 12

Bulma is the most important supporting protagonist in the entire series. She is Goku’s oldest friend and she frequently aids the Z fighters in a non-combative capacity. Her knack for getting kidnapped is a consistent plot point. She is arguably the smartest person in the DBZ universe, inventing both the Dragon Radar and the time machine that brings her son, Trunks, back to fix the past. She is the only female character who exists on her own merits outside of a relationship to a man.

Best fighting technique: Ability to regenerate at the molecular level

Power level: 1,000,000,000-1,150,000,000

Majin Buu is the third of the major villains in Dragon Ball Z. Each iteration of Buu—Majin, Super, Evil—is the byproduct of consuming or dispelling other beings, and the various personalities of each iteration manifest themselves in different ways. The monster’s purest form, Kid Buu, is the last antagonist in the Dragon Ball Z series, and he is anime’s answer to Batman’s The Joker: an irrational being that cannot be corralled and seeks destruction without purpose. Each Buu presents his own unique set of problems that the Z fighters must combat

Best fighting technique: Galick Gun, a concentrated beam that becomes his signature

Power ranking: 15,000-1,580,000,000

From enemy of the Z fighters, to mutineer, to full-on anti-hero, Vegeta’s character arc is one of the most impressive in the series. He contrasts with Goku’s nobility, but over time he develops his own code of honor, fighting alongside his one-time nemesis. He attempts to become universe’s most powerful warrior, an effort that never really comes to fruition with Goku around. Through relationships with his wife and young son, he eventually becomes a full-on protagonist willing to fight to protect the same planet he once sought to destroy.

Best fighting technique: Spirit Bomb, a powerful sphere that gathers energy from beings in the surrounding area and concentrates it

Power level: 334-1,500,000,000

The face of the entire Dragon Ball franchise, Goku continues to shine in DBZ, where his peer group solidifies, his family comes to fruition, and he essentially carries the saiyan race on his back. Goku is among the most powerful beings in the universe, along with his eldest son Gohan and Super Buu. Despite his great strength, Goku is incredibly humble and kind, with a great capacity for forgiveness, which is crucial during the rehabilitation of Vegeta, Piccolo, and #18. He's a wholly good character whose flaws only make him more likeable.

Best fighting technique: Double Buster, an energy wave blast that can double as a sphere if used as a Trick Buster

Power level: 5

Trunks is the most interesting character in the DBZ universe, partially because he gets two brilliant character arcs, but mostly because he embodies the best personality traits of both his parents, Bulma and Vegeta. He’s proud, determined, and willing to do anything to protect his family. His arrival from the alternate future timeline, where Goku dies of a heart virus, shifts the entire DBZ landscape, saving Goku from death but also bringing Cell into the picture. Trunks marks the beginning of the 2nd Generation of Z fighters. He easily dispatches Frieza and provides critical intel on the androids that had destroyed his timeline. His first relationship with his father (who dies in his timeline) creates room for his second one to blossom. Kid Trunks plays a pivotal role in battling Super Buu and helps carry on his father’s proud saiyan legacy.