There’s this misconception that raw strength is the end all, be all in Dragon Ball. This likely stems from the introduction of power levels, or battle power, in the Saiyan saga where scouters are used to attribute a numerical measurement to someone’s fighting ability. What most fans don’t realize though, is that power levels don’t exist to reliably showcase someone’s merit, they exist to show a contrast between the heroes and the villains.
Raditz has a higher power level than Goku and Piccolo combined, but he loses because they worked together and developed a strategy that could kill him. Vegeta is able to outmaneuver Frieza’s forces on Namek because he knows they rely on scouters to track people down. To be a good fighter in Dragon Ball, you can’t just be strong. You need the skill to back it up and with a cast as large as DBZ’s, you’re gonna get an even mix of skilled and unskilled.
17 BEST: Tien
Tien was never the strongest character in the franchise. Even during his first appearance, he was only ever just as strong as Goku; but strength isn’t all there is to being a good fighter. Tien stands out from the rest of the Z-warriors thanks to his wide array of skills, his seriousness as a martial artist, and his penchant for damaging his body in order to defeat his opponents.
Think of the times Tien has retained his usefulness even after becoming outclassed. During the Cell saga, he manages to hold Cell down with a Super Tri-Beam. In the Buu saga, he saves Gohan from Buutenks. These are two characters who easily could have killed Tien, but he still managed to contribute thanks to some quick thinking and actual strategy.
16 WORST: Gohan
Where Tien showed us that strength alone doesn’t make a good fighter, Gohan proved it. Let’s not mince words here, Gohan is talented. He’s bright, full of potential, and has the raw power to push back some of the fiercest foes. That said, he’s a sloppy fighter who lets himself get out of practice during every major time skip. His biggest flaw, though, has to be how easily he succumbs to arrogance whenever he gets the upper hand.
It’s that arrogance that gets Goku killed during the Cell saga, and ultimately leads to Super Buu destroying the Earth in the Buu saga. If Gohan just kept his cool both times, neither of those events would have happened. Even in Super, Gohan still hasn’t learned his lesson–getting so weak that he struggles to turn Super Saiyan. He’s the strongest character at the end of Z, but he doesn’t have to skill to back it up.
15 BEST: Master Roshi
Whether you know him as Kame-Sen’nin, Muten Roshi, or just the Turtle Hermit, you’re likely to have a fairly high opinion of Master Roshi. It’s through his presence that the audience is introduced to ki, formalized martial arts, and Goku’s series-long desire to better himself and find strong opponents. It’s his death, in conjunction with Krillin’s, that shifts Dragon Ball from a martial arts adventure to a martial arts drama. He’s an influential character, and a great martial artist to boot.
While he doesn’t get the chance to fight too often, every one of his battles is one worth remembering. His most iconic, at the end of the 21st Budokai, pits him against Goku. Despite being fairly evenly matched, Roshi’s experience clearly shines through. He employs his one Turtle style with a Drunken Fist style all while studying Goku’s movements to get an upper hand. He’s outclassed before Z, but his skill is very much still there and worth remembering.
14 BEST: Cell
Considering Cell is made up of cells from Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, and King Cold, it goes without saying that he’s going to be a naturally gifted fighter. These cells allow Cell to tap into each of those five characters’ abilities and fighting styles, creating a super warrior unlike any other. He has access to Goku’s keystone Kamehameha, Piccolo’s ability to regenerate, and Frieza’s sheer ferocity in battle. He’s not just pure strength either, his fight against Goku during the Cell Games shows just how capable of a martial artist he is as he’s able to add his own twist onto Goku’s signature style. It’s hard not to be a great fighter when you’re literally five of greatest.
13 WORST: Chiaotzu
Chiaotzu is basically the antithesis of Tien. Neither of particularly strong by the end of the series, but Tien actually manages to hold onto some relevancy until the very end. Chiaotzu basically loses all importance the moment King Piccolo kills him. It makes sense why, too; Chiaotzu is not a capable fighter. He has access to a wide array of psychic abilities and can channel ki into a self-harming blast the same way Tien can, but he never wins a single fight throughout the whole series.
His battle with Krillin is perhaps his most impressive, and most embarrassing. While he’s able to use his psychic talents to hold his opponent back, it doesn’t take long for Krillin to figure out that Chiaotzu can’t do basic math. By tricking him into trying to count during their battle, Krillin is able to distract Chiaotzu from using his psychosis and knocks him out. Chiaotzu and Tien had the exact same training, but Tien is more than just a gimmick.
12 BEST: Frieza
Frieza is living proof that talent doesn’t have to be earned, sometimes it can just be given. If there’s one thing Frieza’s fights on Namek prove it’s that he actually knows what he’s doing and that he isn’t just some spoiled brat. He constantly creates scenarios during battles where he can manipulate his opponents with fear, and he uses his transformations as a way of replenishing his stamina to keep fighting.
Before Goku goes Super Saiyan, Frieza holds his own rather well during their fight. Not because he’s strong, but because he’s clever and cruel. Agreeing to fight Goku without his hands give Goku a false sense of security while also making him have to question just how strong Frieza is. Trying to drown Goku likewise shows Frieza’s intelligence, using the environment as a weapon, something we almost never see in Dragon Ball.
11 WORST: Yamcha
Despite being Goku’s very first rival and having the honor of being one of the few characters to appear in every single story arc, Yamcha isn’t all that impressive. He’s introduced as the go-to exposition guy for martial arts, which gives off an implication that he’s at least somewhat talented, but every fight in the series serves to show us just why he isn’t that all that great. In fact, Yamcha’s arc is quite sad since he goes from being someone obsessed with martial arts to someone who happily quits when he realizes just how much he’s been outshined.
Yamcha is the first main character to be eliminated in every original Dragon Ball tournament, he’s the first to either die or get mortally wounded in the Saiyan and Buu sagas respectively, and he’s the only one of the original fighters besides Chiaotzu who doesn’t even get to fight in the Buu saga. Let’s also not forget Tien intentionally left him behind in Resurrection F because he’d just get in the way.
10 BEST: Captain Ginyu
Even though we didn’t get to see much of him, Captain Ginyu made it clear that he’s one capable fighter. Thanks to his signature copy ability, he’s able to constantly take the bodies of stronger foes in the heat of battle. He doesn’t just switch though, he makes sure to force his opponents into a body that’ll surely perish in due time. Case in point, his fight with Goku.
When Ginyu realizes just how powerful Goku is, he stabs himself through his own chest and then uses his body Switch so that Goku is trapped in a dying body. On top of that, Ginyu injuring himself also confused Goku. It’s a genius strategy that befuddles enemies and gives him the chance to change bodies in the confusion.
9 BEST: Piccolo
Piccolo proves, time and time again, that he’s one of the most battle ready characters in the entire series. During his major fight with Goku, he crippled all of his limbs because his father, King Piccolo, neglected in doing so and got killed. In his battle against Nappa, he sets up a volley with Krillin and Gohan where they can continually sneak attack the Saiyan. In his battle with 17, he intentionally misses firing ki blasts so that he can build up the Hellzone Grenade.
He also developed the Special Beam Cannon with the sole purpose of killing Goku over the course of five years. You might not have noticed it since it’s given little attention, but he actually fully masters it and transforms it into a regular ki wave by the time he’s fighting Nappa. Add in the fact he’s part Nail and Kami, and you’ve got an incredibly formidable Namekian.
8 WORST: Uub
You’d think Majin Buu’s literal reincarnation would be something of a capable fighter, but Uub is overall pretty sloppy. In his one fight in the series, it takes Goku taunting him to get an actual fight going and he doesn’t show off much besides being overwhelmingly strong. No technique, no skill, and none of Kid Buu’s fighting spirit. In that regard, he makes the perfect canvas for Goku to train and mold. Sadly, GT solidifies him in the sidelines so we really have no point of reference to see if he’s actually improved. He can turn people into candy, at least, so I guess he’s got that going for him.
7 BEST: Vegeta
If there’s one thing to take away from Vegeta’s actions in the Frieza saga it’s that he’s a master of stealth warfare. He spends most of the arc killing Frieza’s henchmen one by one and exploiting Frieza’s many blind spots on Namek to whisk away his Dragon Balls. He also takes full advantage of Zenkais and constantly puts himself in situations where he knows he’ll be severely injured but not killed.
Despite his reliance on natural ability until the Android saga, Vegeta is a legitimately talented martial artist. Perhaps it’s due to his Saiyan biology, but his brutal fighting style is the perfect foil to Goku’s more finessed skill set. Their battle on Earth shows that Vegeta isn’t just strong, he knows how to fight and he makes sure to pack weight into every one of his blows.
6 WORST: Burter
If your whole gimmick is speed, at least make sure you’re actually the fastest in your group. Burter is the self-proclaimed fastest in the universe, but Ginyu and Jeice are faster than him in the Ginyu Force and Frieza is faster than all of them. Burter entire fighting style relies on speed but he has no real leg to stand on since speed is tied to power. It’s why Goku makes easy work of him. Maybe Burter was able to handle weaker foes with ease, but his slightly above average speed means nothing in the face of an actual warrior. Even Guldo is more dangerous.
5 BEST: Goku
Son Goku. Where to begin? He’s trained under Grandpa Gohan, Master Roshi, Korin, Mr. Popo, Kami, King Kai, a Yardrat, and Whis for starters. With so many different masters in his life, he’s been able to pick up a unique set of skills ideal for just about any combat situation. On top of that, he’s constantly refining his fighting style, changing his stance multiple times over the course of the series and alternating between passive and aggressive move sets.
What makes Goku such an incredible fighter is the mere fact he was the lowest of the low. He was a Saiyan warrior naturally weaker than a trained Earthling, but he learned discipline and established for himself an incredible work ethic that allowed him to surpass his limits. Goku is often portrayed as a dumb hick, but he’s a fighting genius who takes his time to study his opponents and better himself in every outlet of his life. His skill wasn’t given to him; it was earned.
4 WORST: Future Gohan
Poor Gohan is so talentless that he gets to be on the Worst list twice. Future Gohan is probably the saddest entry on this list simply because he tries so hard to be a good fighter but he just isn’t. With all his possible training partners and masters dead, Future Gohan desperately self-trains for over a decade to face off against the Androids. Unfortunately, he has no clue you can transcend Super Saiyan and training alone only gets him about as strong as Goku when he comes back from Namek.
Totally outclassed with barely any senzu beans to exploit Zenkais, Future Gohan gets pummeled repeatedly until he decides to start training Future Trunks. The moment he loses his arm and realizes he’s basically worthless, he leaves Trunks behind and flies off to what can only be called a suicide mission. He was an inexperienced warrior who carried the weight of the world of the world on his shoulders until it finally collapsed and killed him.
3 BEST: Krillin
Krillin deserves your respect more than any other character in the series. He’s often regarded as a joke to casual fans, but he’s actually a very competent martial artist and an even smarter strategist. In almost every arc in Z, he plays a key role in keeping the heroes alive. He kills virtually all the Saibamen, he does a solid job holding off Nappa, he contributes in defeating Vegeta, he keeps Gohan alive on Namek, and he works together with Trunks to kill fetus Cell before he can grow up in his timeline.
Krillin’s shining moment, however, is his face off with Goku in the 22nd Budokai. It’s one of the closest matches in the series with neither one holding a clear edge. Goku is far from his strongest here, but the fact that Krillin can not only keep up but also push him back is quite telling to how diligently Krillin takes his studies. He loses, but he does so with dignity and as a true martial artist.
2 WORST: Gotenks
What do you get when you fuse Goten and Trunks? An irresponsible super warrior who doesn’t know how to finish off an enemy to save his life. Gotenks, for all his ingenuity and overwhelming power, is perhaps the single worst fighter in the series. It’s all because of one fatal flaw, too: discipline. Gotenks has none. The one time he actually could have killed Super Buu, he misses his opportunity by leading Piccolo into believing Buu was going to win.
Gotenks is so useless as a fighter that he wasn’t even brought along during Ressurection F. Super adds him in and it goes as disastrous as you’d expect. In GT, Goku straight up tells Goten and Trunks that fusing into Gotenks would be useless against Baby. It’s not like Vegetto ever beat an opponent, but any lack of victory there was because he either didn’t want to win or was caught off guard. For Gotenks, it’s just because he has no idea what he’s doing.
1 BEST: Future Trunks
Future Trunks does not mess around. He doesn’t waste time, he doesn’t let his opponents power up, and he doesn’t try to show up. He is a practical warrior whose fighting style is grounded in Vegeta’s and Future Gohan’s. From his first fight to his last, Trunks showcases why he’s the best fighter in the series. Against Mecha Frieza, he immediately rushes in to kill him before a fight can actually begin. Again the Androids and Cell in his own timeline, he blasts the former away asap and makes quick work of Cell before he can pull off any tricks.
He’s only better in Dragon Ball Super where he’s trained with Supreme Kai and now has access to a fully mastered Super Saiyan 2. In the manga, he’s even a formally trained Kai apprentice giving him access to restorative powers. No matter the medium, Future Trunks is a determined, skilled fighter who makes sure to finish what he starts.
