Dragon Ball, from the very first chapter of the manga to Super’s last episode, has spanned three decades, over fifteen story arcs, nearly twenty movies, dozens upon dozens of spin-offs, and over one hundred named characters ready to be anyone’s favorite. Akira Toriyama is a master of introducing new characters, giving them an arc, and allowing them to develop to their natural potential. While this does work in the benefit of the series more time than not, it does also result in a few key characters who ultimately do serve to hurt Dragon Ball more than help.

In writing the series for ten years with virtually no help on the narrative side, it makes sense that Toriyama would stumble every now and again. He’s not a perfect writer by any means, and his strengths lie more in proper theming and characterization. Occasionally, Toriyama comes up with a character who just doesn’t get the right focus or gets too much, thus feeling out of place in the context of the series. This isn’t something exclusive to early or modern Dragon Ball, either. This is a rather consistent problem for the series, one with no end in sight given Toriyama’s writing style. Where does your favorite character fall? How about least favorite?

30 SAVED: Gohan

Goku doesn’t seem like the type of guy to settle down and have a family so for Toriyama to reveal that Goku now has a son after a five year time skip is a huge deal. It not only recontextualizes Goku’s character, it gives the series added focus. As Goku’s son, Gohan takes on an almost deuteragonist role alongside his father.

We wouldn't have DBZ without Gohan.

There’s a reason fans erroneously call Dragon Ball Z Gohan’s story: he develops so much over the course of it. Each arc makes sure to focus on Gohan considerably. He’s the perfect foil for Goku too, showing how a strong fighter may not necessarily love fighting. Gohan also firmly solidifies the concept of rage boosts, a tool that would become quite important in the long run.

29 HURT: Brocco & Pumpkin

In the same vein as Dr. Frappe, Brocco and Pumpkin are two characters who exemplify why exactly filler characters can hurt a series. On a conceptual level, their role seems harmless enough. They’re meant to signify just how outclassed the Earthlings are when compared to Saiyans. The problem stems from how derivative it makes the battle against Nappa.

When Yamcha gets blown up by a Saibaiman and Nappa subsequently starts throttling our heroes, it’s meant to be a wake up call. They came into the battle unprepared. They thought they trained hard, but it clearly wasn’t enough. This is a massive moment that doesn’t land if they have context from Brocco and Pumpkin who serve that role in an earlier filler episode.

28 SAVED: Vegeta

Although the manga’s first three years ran rather smoothly Vegeta-free, it is undeniable just how important Vegeta is to Dragon Ball’s legacy. He is the quintessential rival, pushing and challenging Goku at every turn. He, like Krillin, serves as a foil to Goku, showing us what the naturally strongest Saiyan is capable of.

You can't have Dragon Ball without the Prince of All Saiyans.

Dragon Ball without Vegeta simply isn’t Dragon Ball at this point. He has one of the clearest characters arcs in the entire franchise and is a useful writing tool who can create tension thanks to his own hubris. Integrating Vegeta into the main cast was one of the smartest moves Toriyama ever pulled.

27 HURT: Cui

Cui serves precisely one purpose in the context of the Frieza arc: to establish Zenkais and to imply Power Levels do actually matter in the long run. The former is quite a good reveal, one that allows Goku and Vegeta to realistically grow stronger over the course of the arc, while the latter basically ruined series discourse.

On a whole, Toriyama likes to push this idea that the number portion of the whole Power Level concept doesn’t matter. After all, Ginyu-Goku gets bodied pretty badly by both Gohan and Krillin. Unfortunately, Cui establishes rather early on that the number does matter. Vegeta’s number shoots up and he one shots Cui. A bad precedent.

26 SAVED: Frieza

Frieza is perhaps the most important arc antagonist in the entire series. His presence retroactively contextualizes every event that has happened prior. It’s because of him that Goku is on Earth; it’s because of him that Goku and Vegeta have their first fight; and it’s because of him that Goku manages to trigger Super Saiyan.

There’s a good reason Frieza keeps coming back in Dragon Ball Super: he’s just that important. Frieza is the kind of villain who, despite having a complete arc, can return without hurting the series. His charm is undeniable and his banter with Goku stands out as some of Toriyama’s best writing. A Dragon Ball without Frieza just isn’t Dragon Ball.

25 HURT: King Cold

Frieza plays a very important role at the start of the Cell arc. Despite being the last major villain to appear, Trunks defeats him rather easily. This is important not only to contextualize Trunks, but also the Androids. King Cold serves that exact same purpose, but does he really need to?

Frieza doesn't need a dad.

All Cold does is establish something Froeza already did. He has an interesting design and he ultimately does make the world feel larger, but it’s mainly because of him that fans look at Trunks turning Super Saiyan as a flaw and not the great writing tool it actually it, (but we’ll touch on that later.)

24 SAVED: Future Trunks

The end of the Frieza arc marked a major shift in the series. Goku was not only the strongest man alive, he could trigger Super Saiyan at will to stop any foe in his path. How could any tension be built in a post-SSJ world? That’s where Future Trunks comes in, Akira Toriyama’s fix all tool.

In introducing Future Trunks, a character who could not only one shot Frieza as a Super Saiyan at that, Toriyama was able to craft newfound tension. Despite his amazing intro, Trunks was completely outclassed by the future Androids, the series’ next set of villains. Through Trunks, Toriyama is able to weave the cast into a new arc with a believable premise and a threat large enough to challenge even a Super Saiyan.

23 HURT: Dr. Gero

Dr. Gero is an incredible villain with a great motivation and a unique role to play in the story. He is literally Goku’s past coming back to haunt him in a major way. So why does he hurt Dragon Ball? It’s not exactly Dr. Gero’s fault as a character, but rather his role. Instead of fleshing out Gero, Toriyama caved to editor demands, neutering his role in the arc.

What a waste of unlimited potential (and energy).

Dr. Gero goes from a formidable opponent with a legitimate connection to Goku to a decapitated robot in the spawn of a few chapters. 17 and 18 are better villains, sure, but that’s because Toriyama was allowed to develop them. Dr. Gero had so much potential that never went anywhere and his demise leads to a less focused arc on a whole.

22 SAVED: Mr. Satan

It seems almost ridiculous to claim that Mr. Satan saved Dragon Ball, but it’s really true. After chapters upon chapters of dire drama in the Cell arc, Toriyama introduced Mr. Satan for some much-needed levity. While the anime goes overboard on his hijinks, the manga takes a restrained approach that leads into one of the series’ best character arcs.

Mr. Satan is not a particularly good man, but he clearly has a kind heart. It’s through his kindness that the series’ heart is restored after the bleak Cell arc. He’s a breath of fresh air and charm who feels appropriately old school Dragon Ball. His friendship with Buu also showed us that Goku doesn’t necessarily always have the best solutions to problems.

21 HURT: Evil Buu

Evil Buu does for the Majin Buu arc what Dr. Gero did for the Cell arc; he marked a noticeable drop in quality. Up until the evil grey Buu’s introduction, the Buu arc was moving at a fast, memorable pace. Gohan and Videl formed a budding romance; Goku and Vegeta settled their rivalry; Goku eased into a mentor role, and Mr. Satan even got some development.

One Buu too many.

With Evil Buu, the arc begins to drag. Super Buu is in no way compelling until he absorbs Gotenks, and Gotenks himself is not a likable lead in the same way Goku and Gohan are. Evil Buu takes a fine arc and gives it an awkward middle not unlike Dr. Gero. If nothing else, the arc course corrects itself by the end to lead into a satisfying finale.

20 SAVED: Beerus

Battle of Gods is the single most important piece of media in modern Dragon Ball’s canon. Not only did it lead into a grand revival for the franchise, it firmly solidified what exactly Dragon Ball was; a saga about Son Goku striving to be the strongest man alive, not to lord his power over anyone else, but for his own benefit. That’s why Beerus is so important.

Beerus is the unattainable. He represents the power that Goku can never and will never reach, but that, in itself, is alright. Goku is comfortable with that as we should be, because that means Goku can still keep growing stronger. Goku may not ever reach Beerus’ heights, but so long as he thinks he might, that will drive him, and the series, for the rest of time.

19 HURT: Zeno

Zeno is a character whose presence in Dragon Ball does make sense. Only in this series could the strongest being in all of existence be a little purple child with the ability blink universes out of existence without breaking a sweat. The problem with Zeno is more that he ends up playing the exact same role as Beerus, but without the self-awareness.

The series' mythos feels so much smaller with an Omni-King.

Where Beerus was a very deliberate writing tool meant to tie into the series’ core themes while also ensuring that Goku would always have something to strive for, Zeno does none of that. He’s simply the strongest being in all of existence. His inclusion should expand the world, but it actually makes it feel smaller, solidifying a definitive peak for Dragon Ball.

18 SAVED: Cabba

With the advent of multiple universes, it was only a matter of time before alternate Saiyans showed their face. Even though Cabba might be a disappointing character for some, with a rather timid design, he’s quite the important character and his role allowed Dragon Ball Super’s world to expand naturally.

Not only is he one of the only non-derivative beats in Vegeta’s character arc in DBS, Cabba is used as a means of introducing Caulifla and Kale, thus expanding the Saiyan hierarchy. His meager design also shows what the race could have accomplished in a Frieza-less world. They’re softer, but they’re also naturally stronger than both Goku and Vegeta.

17 HURT: Frost

What makes Frost a particularly frustrating character is that he very easily could have worked in benefit of the series. While the franchise was very much feeling Frieza fatigue after Resurrection F, the idea of a good counterpart in light of multiple universes was nothing short of brilliant. Frost was even introduced as what was effectively Universe 6’s guardian. He was their hero in the way Goku was Universe 7’s, but with a genuine desire to be a do-gooder.

We already have Frieza. We didn't need another.

Unfortunately, that idea was quickly broken down when Frost was revealed to be little more than a cheat. The anime even takes things one step further by making Frost an outright war criminal, gaming politics and hiring mercenaries so he can defeat them, earning him good publicity. It’s not a bad idea for a villain by any means, but it takes who should have been “good Frieza” to give us more of the same.

16 SAVED: Goku Black

There is nothing remotely interesting or unique about the concept of an evil Goku. Raditz and Vegeta both served that role on thematic levels during the series proper, and Tullece was a literal evil Goku on the film side of things. Conceptually, Goku Black shouldn’t work. Yet he does. He’s easily the most compelling villain in Super’s roster.

Toriyama took an exhausted concept and gave it new life. Goku Black is, at his core, just an evil Goku, but his context is incredibly morbid. He’s responsible for terrorizing Trunks and his timeline along with hijacking Goku’s body, destroying his family in the process. Goku Black is a calculating villain meant to make longtime fans uncomfortable.

15 SAVED: Raditz

Raditz is the single most important character in the entire franchise, even more so than Demon King Piccolo. Raditz takes everything that made TaoPaiPai and Piccolo work, and blends their best qualities together into the biggest moment in the entire series. Raditz completely changes the scope of the series.

"Most important character" isn't an understatement.

Raditz: reveals that Goku is a Saiyan; is used as a force to demonstrate Gohan’s power; introduces scouters and Power Levels, and is responsible for Goku losing his life thus leading to him training with Kaio and expanding the series’ concept of the afterlife. Raditz also overwhelms Goku completely, showing him that he’s not going to win every fight even when he absolutely needs to.

14 HURT: Chichi

Chichi is a weird case in that, if you’ve only read the manga, she’s totally harmless. Her relationship with Goku is charming enough, she clearly cares about Gohan, and she’s mainly used by Toriyama for the occasional joke. Chich in the anime is another story entirely, stripping away her best qualities in favor of something far worse.

Anime Chichi is beyond obnoxious. When people claim they hate Chichi, they mean anime Chichi who fails to understand the seriousness of any given situation consistently. All her worst qualities are amplified, turning her into a frustrating to watch character with next to no redeeming qualities.

13 HURT: Kale

Before it was revealed that Broly would be canonized for the latest film in the series, Kale was seen as an acceptable, if a bit fanservice heavy, character. She was clearly designed with Broly in mind, right down to basically being the female version of the character, but it was clear that Kale only existed because Broly couldn’t.

A female Broly just isn't as interesting when the real Broly is canon.

Obviously, that didn’t pan out and Kale comes out all the worse in light of a canon Broly. She’s no longer cheeky fanservice, but shameless fanservice. Dragon Room tried to capitalize on Broly twice. First with a lookalike and then with the genuine article. Kale is representative of modern Dragon Ball at its worst.

12 SAVED: Caulifla

If Kale is obviously a character created by committee, Caulifla is obviously a character created by Akira Toriyama. Her relationship with Goku in the anime perfectly captures that Toriyama style of writing, transitioning character development into exploration of Dragon Ball’s core themes.

It certainly helps that Caulifla is generally just well written when compared to other Tournament of Power newcomers. On top of that, she’s a female Saiyan and a strong one at that. Caulifla is basically Universe 6’s Goku and their dynamic goes a long way in paving a way for the future of the series.

11 HURT: Jiren

Whether you watch the anime or read the manga, you won’t find a depiction of Jiren who truly feels like he belongs amongst other antagonists like Demon King Piccolo, Frieza, Cell, or Majin Buu. Jiren is bland to a fault. His entire personality boils down to being the strongest man alive and while that should make him a good foil for Goku, both mediums drop the ball.

Strength means nothing when it's attached to a bland personality.

Jiren is simply not enjoyable to watch or read. His motivations are incredibly weak; his growth is truly impressive while failing to tie into the series’ core themes; and his design is too plain for its own good. Jiren feels like a massive step back after someone like Goku Black. Jiren is a good concept with bad execution.