Dragon Ball Z is full of over-the-top action sequences and perilous battles, where the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. Goku and the rest of Dragon Ball ZThe heroes of the team have overcome incredible obstacles and gotten to where they are through dedicated teamwork and selfless, courageous acts. However, sometimes that’s not enough and Dragon Ball Z is a series full of death. The Dragon Balls and their power to resurrect fallen individuals means that death is rarely the end of this series and most of the Dragon Ball ZThe most important characters in ‘s have perished multiple times — even Goku.
Death can be the ultimate act of heroism that helps push another character past their breaking point or finally provide some sort of advantage against a powerful villain. Unfortunately, deaths can also be random, unnecessary, and downright cruel. Dragon Ball Z Death strikes with a unique impact, but some losses are completely unnecessary and could have been easily avoided in other circumstances.
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10 Vegeta’s final explosion only serves to enhance Majin Buu’s powerful regenerative powers.
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 237, “The Final Atonement”
Dragon Ball Z has turned to self-destruction as a desperate last resort on several occasions, but it’s never been more brutal than when wielded by someone as prideful and selfish as Vegeta. Vegeta isn’t the type of person to admit defeat or consider self-destruction as an option, so his examination of this tactic for Majin Buu really stands out. Buu has overwhelmed the heroes in every way, and it doesn’t seem like they have a chance of defeating this ancient evil through conventional means. Vegeta has already stooped to a power boost thanks to Babidi’s Dark Majin Manipulation Sorcery, and his Super Saiyan 2 skills are still irrelevant against Buu.
Vegeta’s sacrifice in the final explosion is undeniably powerful, and it’s a heartbreaking example of how far he’s come since his first appearance. However, Majin Buu fully regenerates thanks to Vegeta’s destructive explosion, and the villain is ultimately none the worse for wear. The fact that Vegeta is pushed to this dark place is significant, but it’s a death that stands out even more because it didn’t need to happen. That being said, Vegeta’s noble sacrifice here helps him be seen as a hero by King Yemma and prove to the world that he’s properly atoned for his past sins. It’s a death that has value thematically and in terms of character development, but it’s pointless when it comes to Buu’s defeat.
9 King Cold’s power and reputation become irrelevant when faced with the strength of the Super Saiyan.
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 121, “Welcome Goku”
Goku’s battle against Frieza on Namek is Dragon Ball ZThis is Goku’s longest fight, so it’s heartbreaking when he manages to survive this encounter and appear on Earth, alongside his father. The heroes are terrified of this evil father-son team, especially since Goku’s location is currently unknown. This becomes an exhilarating opportunity to introduce Future Trunks, which also establishes that Goku isn’t the only Super Saiyan around. Future Trunks effortlessly slices and dices Mecha Frieza to pieces, then sets his sights on King Cold.
King Cold is just as easy to take down, and the extent of this tyrant’s powers is never revealed. King Cold’s death is shortly followed by Goku’s arrival on Earth. He certainly could have taken down King Cold as well if Future Trunks had failed in that regard. King Cold is a threat to the planet, and he’s specifically there to get revenge. This means that his death isn’t completely pointless, and Future Trunks is guided by logic here. However, it’s still a death that barely goes unnoticed due to how quickly it happens and King Cold’s lack of impact on the series. He exists, but that’s about it.
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8 Nappa outlives his usefulness and is executed by his own ally
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 29, “Lesson Number One”
One of the Dragon Ball ZGoku’s most triumphant moment is when Goku finally arrives on the battlefield after returning from his training under King Kaio in the Other World. Goku is dejected to see that so many of his friends have perished, but the battle soon begins to turn in the heroes’ favor when he casually defeats Nappa with a single punch. It’s incredible to see how much stronger Goku has become since he was last seen and his dominance over Nappa allows the battle to properly turn into an all-out war against Vegeta. Goku breaks Nappa’s back and he is completely useless. Vegeta, however, cannot let his humiliation continue and decides to execute his longtime Saiyan companion. Goku is disgusted by Vegeta’s callous actions and it’s an aggressive display that helps establish that Vegeta only cares about himself.
Nappa’s accidental death only reinforces the idea that not only was his ending pointless, but his entire character is ultimately irrelevant. Vegeta could have done this all by himself, and Nappa’s presence is only meant to create more tension and showcase a tough brawler. It’s technically possible that Nappa could have been healed in a medical machine or even given a Senzu bean to recover. In that case, Nappa would likely have plotted revenge, and it’s for the best that he’s out of the picture here, even if Goku isn’t the one to do it. However, Goku’s strength is so much greater than Nappa’s that it’s hard to imagine him being a significant threat to the heroes in the future.
7 Tien becomes superfluous cannon fodder for the rampage of Nappa’s renegades.
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 25, “Sacrifice”
Yamcha and Chiaotzu had already perished during the Saiyan invasion before Tien reached his breaking point. Chiaotzu’s needless sacrifice ignites a burning rage in his friend and he does everything in his power to get revenge for Chiaotzu’s death. Tien was at one point the strongest human on Earth and even more powerful than Goku. This makes it all the more terrible when Tien’s mightiest efforts completely fail against Nappa.
Nappa cuts off Tien’s arm and the hero launches one final attack where he channels all of his remaining energy into a Tri-Beam attack. Tien’s Tri-Beam hits its target, but it only damages Nappa’s armor and leaves him unharmed. All of these losses are hard to watch and they help emphasize how bad the Saiyans are. However, the majority of these deaths seem rather pointless in retrospect once everyone is resurrected by the Dragon Balls. If Tien’s death was permanent, this would be a different story here.
6 Yamcha becomes a cautionary tale before the real battle even begins
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 23, “Saibamen’s Attack!”
Dragon Ball Z has a real knack for raising the stakes and making the heroes overcome dangerous obstacles before they can face the final challenge. Nappa and Vegeta showcase Saiyan strength beyond anything previously faced in the series. However, they kick off their fight against the Z-Fighters by planting six Saibamen that become a deadly training exercise. Yamcha is the only character who suffers against these Saibamen, and he is quickly executed before he even fully understands what is happening to him.
Yamcha’s death sets the tone for what follows, and motivates Piccolo and Krillin to take down these cultured fighters. Yamcha’s inability to survive against the Saibamen means that he would likely have fought even harder against Nappa and not survived. It is a blow from which Yamcha never fully recovers. However, he seems to have come to realize his insufficient martial arts skills and that his talents could be better used elsewhere, such as on a baseball field.
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5 Krillin suffers bittersweet end due to Super Buu’s taunting
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 260, “Feeding Frenzy”
Dragon Ball Z Super Buu is not only incredibly powerful, but also truly twisted and unpredictable. One of the scariest moments in the series is when Buu breaks free from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and subjects those nearby to a food-related brutality. Super Buu had previously turned Chi-Chi into an egg, which he then crushed. This time, he sets his sights on Krillin’s family. Krillin heroically attempts to protect his wife and daughter, but is useless against Super Buu’s superior strength and speed. Super Buu turns Krillin into a candy bar, which he then maliciously munch on. To top it all off, Krillin’s death doesn’t stop Super Buu from going after his family.
Android 18 and Marron are also turned into chocolate and then eaten by Super Buu. It should be noted that these deaths are not explicitly shown in Dragon Ball ZBuu’s manga, so the anime deserves some credit for being creative in taking it further. Majin Buu is responsible for so many deaths, including his Human Extinction Attack and his Planet Burst maneuver, the latter of which destroys Earth, that it’s easy to lose Krillin’s death in the shuffle. Krillin and the rest of Buu’s victims are later resurrected with the Namek Dragon Balls, which only reinforces the pointlessness of his fatality here. At this point, he’s too weak to pose any real threat to Buu, so his death has no real consequences here.
4 Kibito Becomes a Superficial Killing of Demon King Dabura
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 221, “The Demon King”
Dragon Ball Z Babidi’s story is punctuated by intense tension when Kibito and Shin show up at the 25th World Tournament on a sinister mission. Kibito is Shin’s assistant, and while he appears to be more powerful than his Supreme Kai counterpart, he doesn’t have much to do in the series. Shortly after Babidi psychically eviscerates Yamu and Spopovich—who are also pretty pointless deaths—Babidi and Dabura ambush the heroes. Dabura fires a point-blank Evil Impulse energy attack in front of Kibito’s face, completely annihilating him. It’s a surprising display of power, but one that falls flat since the audience hasn’t really had a chance to connect with Kibito yet.
Dabura follows up this evil act by spitting on Piccolo and Krillin, which turns them into stone. These deaths would be more significant, but they don’t technically die and this magic reverses upon Dabura’s death. Kibito is later resurrected with the Dragon Balls and even fuses with Shin, making this temporary obstacle pretty forgettable. Oddly enough, Future Kibito dies in the exact same way Future Dabura did, but this victim actually triggers Future Trunks’ ascension to Super Saiyan 2 status and carries much more weight than his main timeline counterpart.
3 Super Perfect Cell kills Future Trunks for pure shock value
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 188, “A Hero’s Farewell”
Dragon Ball ZThe Cell saga concludes with a collection of electric episodes that properly subvert expectations and keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Goku makes the noble sacrifice of using Instant Transmission to teleport a self-destructing Cell away from Earth, which tragically costs him his life. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but there’s at least some solace in the fact that Cell is finally gone. That relief is quickly washed away when a high power level is detected and a blast of rebel energy comes out of nowhere, fatally wounding Future Trunks.
Cell reveals that he is back, stronger than before as Super Perfect Cell, no less, and his fight against Super Saiyan 2 Gohan is far from over. Future Trunks’ death is tragic, especially after everything he has overcome and the lengths he has gone to protect the heroes. Thankfully, Future Trunks is resurrected – along with the rest of Cell’s victims on Earth – just four episodes later. Future Trunks’ death is extremely brief and does little to change what follows or further inconvenience the heroes. He is reduced to an obligatory casualty designed to surprise the audience and temporarily push the heroes out of their comfort zone. He is resurrected so quickly afterward that his loss is barely felt.
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2 Chiaotzu’s Noble Sacrifice Was in Nothing
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 24, “The Power of Nappa”
Nappa is an early grape variety Dragon Ball Z villain who often doesn’t get what he’s due due to how quickly he’s replaced by Vegeta’s superior power, which is even used to take out Nappa, no less. However, the damage Nappa does to Dragon Ball ZThe heroes are truly devastating and set a terrifying new precedent for what is to come in this Dragon Ball sequel. Chiaotzu’s death is particularly devastating because it only further reflects the extent of the rift between the heroes and Nappa. Chiaotzu had already died against the Demon King Piccolo in the original Dragon Ballbut there is at least some reason for this victim.
Here, Chiaotzu comes to terms with the grim state of reality and decides that the only way to defeat Nappa is to unleash all of his energy in a self-destruct maneuver. Such a decision would be heartbreaking even under the best of circumstances, but Chiaotzu’s self-destruct doesn’t even damage Nappa’s armor. He’s barely burned, and his death is completely unnecessary. Chiaotzu couldn’t have made a difference anywhere else in this Saiyan clash, but he could have at least stayed alive. The fact that this is Chiaotzu’s second death also means that he can’t—at least at this point in the series—be resurrected by the Dragon Balls.
1 King Kai is in the wrong place at the wrong time when Cell self-destructs.
Time of Death: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 188, “A Hero’s Farewell”
Goku’s decision to save Earth by using Instant Transmission to take a self-destructing Cell to another planet is a heroic, if heartbreaking, twist. It would be a fitting end to Goku’s story if this were the last we saw of him. Goku has to lock onto another ki signature in order to activate Instant Transmission, and unfortunately the best viable option in this scenario is to teleport to King Kai’s planet. Cell’s explosion takes out Goku, but also King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory. Goku’s death certainly has lasting ramifications here, but the loss of King Kai is pretty much irrelevant. King Kai’s planet is already in the Other World, and his life doesn’t really change after his death, aside from a residual embarrassment that comes from his halo.
King Kai still has access to all of his standard powers, and he’s really not in any worse shape. Interestingly, Dragon Ball SuperThe R manga provides some additional details that reveal that King Kai uses the Namekian Dragon Balls to restore his fractured planet, but he does not use them to restore himself. King Kai’s death becomes a running joke throughout the series, and it is ultimately a source of comedy, not tragedy. Goku continually forgets to wish for King Kai to return to life and there is even a Dragon Ball Super episode that revolves around the humiliating subject.
Dragon Ball Z (1989)
With the help of the powerful Dragon Balls, a team of fighters led by the Saiyan warrior Goku defends planet Earth from alien enemies.
- Release date
- September 30, 1996
- Casting
- Sean Schemmel, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
- Seasons
- 9
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Akira Toriyama
- Number of episodes
- 291