I have lauded the Dragon Ball franchise many times before, and I will probably continue to sing praises towards the series for as long as I live. Just click my name to see how many Dragon Ball articles I have already written. I adore the franchise, and I am assuming that since you are reading this, you also probably love the series. I love the fights, the characters, the stories, and the many video games that have come from the franchise.
Despite my great admiration towards Dragon Ball, let us not forget that the series can be very ridiculous. Many fans tend to forget that the original Dragon Ball manga started out as a comedy. The original manga author, Akira Toriyama, was originally known in Japan for his juvenile humor, and light-hearted stories. Dragon Ball was initially full of potty humor and cartoon-ish antics, similar to Toriyama’s other work. Eventually, Dragon Ball would evolve into a more serious action-drama, eventually leading into the much darker Dragon Ball Z anime.
This isn’t to say that the franchise has completely lost all the ridiculousness that was found in the early years. In fact, that’s further from the truth. Even though I do take Dragon Ball mostly serious, there are definitely a lot of silly moments in the franchise. The villains, in particular, have some ridiculous aspects to them. Some of the villains are intentionally ludicrous, while others are not so much. In this list, I will be going through some things we've all forgotten about the villains.
25 Ginyu Force Are A Parody Of Super Sentai (AKA Power Rangers)
For those that don’t know, Power Rangers is a popular live-action children’s show that focuses on a group of teenage superheroes. Power Rangers was created by splicing footage between a Japanese program called Super Sentai and original footage. While most in the west are aware of the enduring popularity of Power Rangers, Super Sentai is probably just as big in Japan.
Akira Toriyama clearly took notice of Super Sentai’s popularity and had the Ginyu Force be a parody of them. The Ginyu Force have the same kind of explosions behind them every time they pose, like in Power Rangers.
24 Frieza Was Meant To Be The Strongest In The Universe… Even Though Majin Buu Exists
It is pretty ridiculous that Toriyama introduces Frieza as the most powerful being in the universe, yet still wrote and drew two full-length sagas after Frieza’s defeat. While the villains in the Android Saga were created after Frieza’s defeat, Majin Buu and Beerus were entities that existed long before Frieza. Frieza is an arrogant alien, with little to no remorse for his actions. However, it is still odd that he chose to label himself the strongest in the universe when there are clearly beings more powerful than him.
23 No One Mentions Majin Buu Until The Majin Buu Saga
While it is odd that Frieza would call himself the strongest in the universe despite knowing of Majin Buu’s existence, odder still is that there is no mention of Majin Buu up until the Majin Buu saga. Resurrection F reveals that Frieza was aware of Buu’s existence by his father, meaning there are aliens in the world that know about Buu. Somehow, though, we never hear anything about Buu until the Supreme Kai informs the heroes on Earth about his existence. How did none of the main characters learn about Buu’s existence before the Supreme Kai told them?
22 No One Ever Mentions Beerus Before The Battle Of Gods Film
Speaking of random villains coming out of nowhere, Beerus’ introduction in the franchise is also absurd. Whereas no one mentioning Majin Buu is strange, it is even stranger that there wasn’t any mention of Beerus until the Battle of Gods movie.
Not only is Beerus the God of Destruction, several of the Kais knew he existed and was simply sleeping. Beerus is one of the strongest beings in all of existence, yet the Kais chose to keep him a secret... even though he would have been very useful against some of the more malicious foes.
21 Broly Hates Goku For A Dumb Reason (OG Broly Movies)
Broly is one of the franchises’ most famous villains, yet his reception among the fan base has become increasingly more polarizing. This is due to Broly’s backstory, which is, to be fair, pretty nonsensical.
Broly is a Saiyan who was born the same day as Goku, and they were crib mates. Broly was born with a very high power level; however, Goku’s cries as a baby traumatized Broly so much that he grew up with a vendetta against him. It is a pretty shallow origin story, and it is mostly meant to establish a rivalry between the two Saiyans.
20 Frieza Never Trained In His Life Until Resurrection F
Having someone proclaim they are the strongest in the universe is already a ridiculous notion. Like, the universe is really big, so how would anyone know they are the strongest in the galaxy?
Frieza was able to call himself the strongest in the universe without anyone challenging it, so I guess it was true. However, what makes this whole idea even more ridiculous is the fact that Frieza never trained a single day in his life. He was pretty much invincible since birth, and was able to conquer planets without any formal training.
19 Frieza Unlocked His Golden Form In Only Four Months
As I mentioned in the previous entry, Frieza never trained a day in his life before he was ended by Future Trunks. That changed when he is resurrected in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. Once he was revived by the Earth’s dragon balls, he decided to finally train. How long did he train for, you may ask? He only trained for four months. Yep, in just four months he was able to unlock his Golden Frieza form and was able to keep up with Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (or just Super Saiyan Blue) Goku.
18 Androids 20 And 19 Were Supposed To Be The Main Antagonists In Their Saga
This is probably one of the more well-known bits of Dragon Ball trivia, but it is still a fascinating one that helps fans understand more about how the series is made.
You see, when the Android Saga began, the first set of Androids that showed up turn out to be weaker variations of what the leads were forewarned about. In reality, the first set of Androids, Androids 20 and 19, were meant to be the main antagonists of the Saga. Apparently, Toriyama’s editor told him that they didn’t look good, and convinced him to come up with better antagonists.
17 Cell’s Character Arc Was Dictated By Toriyama’s Editors
After Toriyama’s editors deemed Androids 19 and 20 as unworthy antagonists, he was then forced to create Androids 16, 17, and 18 to replace them. His editor also felt that they weren’t suitable to be main antagonists, and this eventually led to Toriyama creating Cell. Cell ends up being the main villain of the Android Saga; however, a lot of his design was changed because of the editors. Cell was introduced as an insect-like being; the editors didn’t like his look and forced Toriyama to change it. Cell’s second form wasn’t any better, which ultimately led to Perfect Cell’s design.
16 Raditz Was Capable Of Conquering Earth
Raditz is the butt of many fans’ jokes, primarily due to Raditz being the first antagonist introduced. Since Raditz’s introduction, the proceeding villains have become hilariously overpowered. Vegeta was able to destroy planets already, and Frieza wasn’t even revealed.
Despite that, Raditz was a credible threat when he was first introduced. He forced Goku and Piccolo to team up for the first time, and he claims he could easily conquer Earth. Knowing the fact that Piccolo could technically take over the Earth at that point, it’s safe to assume Raditz is capable of doing it as well.
15 Jiren’s Backstory Is Lame
The final few episodes of Dragon Ball Super, where Goku fights against Jiren in the Tournament of Power to determine the fate of their universes, are some of the best-animated scenes in the franchise.
This doesn’t excuse Jiren of being a pretty bland villain; his backstory is really cliché. Jiren’s village was destroyed by a supervillain, and later his master would later fall to the same villain. That encouraged Jiren to believe in ultimate strength above anything else. It is a generic origin story, and Jiren was better as an enigma rather than what they gave him.
14 Goku Black And Zamasu’s Confusing Time Traveling
While time travel was a major element in the Android Saga of Dragon Ball Z, it was relatively simple. Trunks is a warrior from the future that is trying to prevent the Androids from taking over the planet. There, that’s it; you don’t need to know more.
The Goku Black arc from Dragon Ball Super really complicated the whole time travel thing. Not only does it involve parallel universes and a Kai with a god complex, but it all also takes place in an alternate future. Then there’s that whole deal with the final episode of the Goku Black arc, which leads me into…
13 Zamasu Being Erased By Zeno
Zamasu is a Kai from Universe 10, who looks down on mortals. He uses the Super Dragon Balls to wish for the strongest body in all the universes, and ended up with Goku’s. He then teams up with a past version of himself, and they both decide to annihilate all the mortals in Future Trunks’ timeline.
After being defeated by Vegito and Trunks, Zamasu was able to will himself into the cosmos and infect all of reality. The heroes’ solution? Call Zeno, the god of everything, and have him erase all of Future Trunks’ timeline.
12 Pilaf’s Gang Keep Getting The Dragon Balls, And Make Stupid Wishes
Pilaf is some sort of goblin thing, and he was the first major villain introduced in the franchise. He has two lackeys, Mai and Shu. His main goal in life is to be king of the world.
Pilaf acts more like comic relief rather than a legitimate threat. He and his gang constantly get the dragon balls, yet always make stupid wishes. Rather than wish to be rulers of the planet, they instead wish for extra cash and to be kids again. Admittedly, everything about Pilaf is meant to be ridiculous, so it isn’t surprising he is on this list.
11 Kid Trunks And Mai’s Relationship
This is something you aren’t meant to think too hard on, yet when you do, you realize how creepy it is. You see, Kid Trunks and Mai have this cute little relationship. I say cute, even though Mai is mentally a woman in her forties. Mai is a part of the Pilaf gang, and they made a wish to make themselves younger. Their wish backfired, and they ended up being too young.
So since becoming children again, Mai and Trunks started dating. This completely ignores the fact that Mai is supposed to be the same age as Trunks’ mom!
10 Red Ribbon Army Went To War With The World
The logic in the Dragon Ball franchise is pretty loose as is, but early Dragon Ball had a particular kid’s logic that made it more cartoony. For instance, the Red Ribbon Army was a completely independent military force that had several bases across the globe. They were able to almost literally go to war against the whole world.
What makes the Red Ribbon Army even more ridiculous is that a young boy with a tail was able to singlehandedly defeat them. It may be silly; however, it is the fun kind of silly.
9 Piccolo Was Originally A Demon
We are so used to the fact that Piccolo is a Namekian that we all tend to forget that he was originally introduced as a demon. King Piccolo was initially revealed in the original Dragon Ball series as the franchise’s first serious villain. The previous antagonists in the series were too likable or comedic. King Piccolo changed that by slaying several main characters and destroying Shenron. Him being a demon was meant to emphasize how corrupt he was. Ironically, revealing Piccolo as a Namekian ultimately made the character more friendly.
8 Super Buu Shouldn’t Have Turned Into Kid Buu
This ridiculous thing is more of a plot hole than anything else. Super Buu was born when the original Majin Buu expelled all darkness from within himself. Originally, Super Buu was frail-looking but quickly transformed into his main form after eating the good Buu.
Later, Goku and Vegeta were able to enter Super Buu’s insides and rip out the good Buu from within. Super Buu should have turned back into his frail-looking form. However, for some reason, Super Buu instead transformed into Kid Buu, his purest form. It is probably one of the series’ biggest plot holes.
7 Goku Only Fought Broly Once In The Original Broly Trilogy
This is more of a surprising tidbit I realize, rather than something inheritably outlandish. However, it is pretty bizarre that Goku only fought Broly once in all three of the original Broly films.
I guess he technically fought against Broly twice in Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, but he only really fought against Broly’s Legendary Super Saiyan form once. The early fight was just Goku fighting with normal Broly, which I don’t really count. After the first Broly movie, Goku never really had a proper rematch, which is weird when you think about it.
6 Some Of The Dragon Ball Z Movie Villains Are Copies Of Villains In The Main Series
I may love the Dragon Ball Z movies, but nonetheless, they are well-known among the fandom for how much they recycle story elements from within the TV shows.
For example, Cooler’s movies are essentially an abridged version of Frieza’s arc in the show. This includes Cooler becoming a robot after his defeat with Goku, which is what happened to Frieza as well. Lord Slug is a copy of King Piccolo, Turles is essentially a retread of the villainous Saiyans in the Saiyan Saga, Janemba is similar to Majin Buu, and Android 13 is based on the Androids from the Android Saga.