List of Dragon Ball characters
Encyclopedia
The Dragon Ball
manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama
. The series takes place in a fictional universe where vast numbers of fighters in the world compete in tournaments, using various superhuman and supernatural abilities. The series' storyline follows the adventures of a martial artist as he searches for the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which are used to summon a wish-granting dragon.
The main character of the series is Son Goku
, a martial artist who comes from an extraterrestrial race known as the Saiyans. Along the way, he undergoes training regiments and educational programs to fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament. During the course of the story, he encounters diverse villains such as Tien Shinhan, an assassin and martial artist with a third eye; Piccolo
, the offspring of Piccolo Daimao; Vegeta
, a Saiyan who eventually becomes Goku's ally; and Frieza, a galactic tyrant who was responsible for the extinction of the Saiyan race; and allies such as Trunks
, Vegeta's son; Yamcha, a desert bandit; Yajirobe, a fat Samurai; Bulma, a scientist; and Krillin, Goku's rival who eventually becomes his best friend.
initially based most of the characters from the Chinese novel Journey to the West
. He also redeveloped one of his earlier one-shot manga series, Dragon Boy. To be creative with the character, Toriyama stated that he designed Goku not as a monkey like the Journey to the West character, but as a human-looking boy with a monkey tail.
During this period of the series, Toriyama placed less emphasis on the series art work, simplifying the lines and sometimes making things "too square". He found himself having problems determining the colors for characters and sometimes ended up changing them unintentionally mid-story. For the female characters, Toriyama felt it was not fun to draw "weak females" so he created women that he felt were not only "beautiful and sexy", but also "strong". Going against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, he designed many of Dragon Ball' s most powerful characters with small statures, including the protagonist, Goku.
After the first chapters were released, readers commented that Goku seemed rather plain, so his appearance was changed. More characters (such as Master Roshi and Krillin) and martial arts tournaments were added to give the manga a greater emphasis on fighting. Knowing readers would expect Goku to win the tournaments, Toriyama had him lose the first two while continuing his initial goal of having Goku be the champion and hero. When having fights in the manga, Toriyama had the characters go to a place where nobody lived to avoid difficulties in drawing destroyed buildings. In order to advance the story quickly, he also gave most fighters the ability to fly so they could travel to other parts of the world without inconvenience. This was also the reasoning behind Goku learning to teletransport
(thus allowing characters to move to any planet in a second).
Though he grew up on Earth and appears more or less human, Goku is descended from an alien warrior race known as the Saiyans, who originally sent him to the planet to prepare it for conquest. He was originally evil and violent; however, a coincidental knock on the head cleared his mind of his natural inclination towards global domination, though — instead, he ended up becoming the planet’s greatest champion.
His alien heritage gives him many advantages, including great physical strength, speed, resilience, and a leg up in focusing his chi
energy to develop many unusual martial arts techniques. Those include his famous Kamehameha energy blast, which has become his signature technique over the years, and the ability to transform into progressively more impressive levels of “Super Saiyan” power.
Goku was originally conceived by creator Akira Toriyama as a riff on the main character from the Chinese novel Journey to the West (just as the novel itself inspired the original Dragon Ball comics to some degree). In particular, the tail he sported in his younger days is a nod to the Chinese classic.
that brought her son Trunks
to the past during Dragon Ball Z and the generator that allowed her husband Vegeta
to achieve Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball GT.
Bulma is a direct parody of the character Xuanzang
from the Chinese novel Journey to the West
. Even though Bulma's character parodies a monk, her Japanese name "Buruma" is a direct take on the word bloomers
, which was a popular type of women's underwear in the early 20th century. As with most characters in the Dragon Ball series, Bulma's name is consistent with those of the rest of her family. All of Bulma's family members are named after underclothing of some sort. Her father's name is "Dr. Briefs", while her son and daughter are named "Trunks" and "Bra" ("Bulla" in the anime adaptation, which is "bra" in Japanese) respectively. She married the Saiyan Prince Vegeta, who is the only family member (other than King Vegeta) to not be named after clothes.
Bulma is voiced by Hiromi Tsuru
in all of the Japanese media. In Funimation
's dub, she would be voiced by Maggie Blue O'Hara
in the first Dragon Ball film; Lalainia Lindbjerg
in the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball and the 64 episodes and first three movies of Dragon Ball Z; Leslie Alexander in the film Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle; Tiffany Vollmer
in all other Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT dubs including re-dubs of previously dubbed works; and Monica Rial
in Dragon Ball Z Kai. In Westwood Media's dub, Maggie Blue O'Hara
returned to voice Bulma in Dragon Ball Z; Leda Davies was cast for Dragon Ball; and Kristin Nowosad in Dragon Ball GT. In the Japanese dub of the live-action Dragonball Evolution, she is voiced by Aya Hirano
.
Bulma has a cameo in the Dragon Ball/One Piece
crossover Cross Epoch. In this segment, she is partnered up with the character Nami. The two act as a pair of space pirates. Bulma has been portrayed by Jeannie Tse in the unofficial live-action Dragon Ball movie The Magic Begins
. She was also featured in the 1990 unofficial Korean adaptation
where she was played by Lee Ju Hee. Bulma appeared in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution, portrayed by Emmy Rossum
. Rossum describes her portrayal of Bulma as "She’s pretty bad-ass, but still quirky and fun, and kind of ridiculous in the way she is in the anime."
master and the first Earthling to wield the Kamehameha. Though he seems frail, he is a mighty warrior, having trained Grandpa Gohan, Ox King, Son Goku
, Krillin and others. He is a stock character
, as he is both the archetypal wise old man
and perverted dirty old man, the latter being typical of shōnen manga. His perverted actions normally would get built up during filler, but there are some instances, such as his adult magazines, that are famed throughout Dragon Ball. Still, he is depicted to be a very wise and gentle person, who loves life and its simple pleasures, but is willing to die if necessary, such as when performing the Mafu-ba technique (Evil Containment Wave in the English dub) against Piccolo Daimao. He sometimes gets cranky, which further provides comic relief
. He is bald, with a thick van dyke beard
and wears sunglasses. Roshi wears beach clothes or martial arts suits and, during the earlier stages of the series, a turtle shell on his back. He usually wields a walking stick. When wishing to act anonymously in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Roshi uses the name Jackie Chun. As mentioned before, Master Roshi died after performing the Mafu-Ba, and is revived by the Dragon Balls.
Roshi's character design was inspired by the character of Kami-sama from Toriyama's previous manga Dr. Slump
(who is unrelated to the Kami-sama from Dragon Ball). Roshi was originally voiced by Kōhei Miyauchi
, who also voiced Kami-sama in the original anime version of Dr. Slump. Miyauchi's final acting session before he died was for episode 260 of Dragon Ball Z, which he recorded only 3 months before his death. The episode aired on March 15, 1995. In his final line, he yells out "Kuririn!", and is turned into a bar of chocolate by Majin Buu shortly afterwards. Since episode 288 of Dragon Ball Z, Roshi is voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka, who voices him throughout Dragon Ball GT and in the recent video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. He is voiced by Kinya Aikawa
in the 10th anniversary special
and by Masaharu Satō
in movie 13
and Dragon Ball Kai. In the Ocean dub, he was voiced by Ian James Corlett
, Peter Kelamis
, Dave Ward, Don Brown, and Terry Klassen
at various points. In the Funimation dub, Roshi has been voiced consistently by Mike McFarland
. He is portrayed by Chow Yun-fat
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Tsutomu Isobe
in the Japanese dub of the film.
dub, is introduced as an outlaw
and a bandit. He starts out as an antagonist
of Goku's in order to steal his Dragon Ball and wish not to feel nervous when being near to women. He eventually reforms, becoming an ally and Z Fighter, and starts a relationship with Bulma. After participating in Baba's tournament, Yamcha requests to become the pupil of Master Roshi, to which Master Roshi obliges. He qualifies for the 21st Tenkai'chi Budo'kai fighting tournament, but loses to a mysterious old man, Jackie Chun, who is actually Master Roshi in disguise. He continually questions Master Roshi on his true ability, but is unable to find the truth. As a result from such training, Yamcha becomes able to develop various energy techniques such as the Kamehameha and the Soukidan, an energy sphere which he can control after throwing it. He soon becomes able to fly and is able to train with various gods from the Dragon Ball universe. He was killed in battle by Vegeta's saibamen. After the attack from the Red Ribbon Army's androids, he quits fighting, noting that he is very weak in comparison to his friends. His constant companion is Puar. During the series, he holds a romantic relationship with Bulma, but they break up some time after Future Trunks' first appearance, and Bulma ends up marrying Vegeta. He is voiced by Tōru Furuya
in the Japanese version of the series. In the Ocean dub, he is voiced
by Ted Cole
, and in the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat
. In the 2009 Dragon Ball live-action film, he was portrayed by Joon Park, whose voice was dubbed over by Hisao Egawa
in the Japanese dub of the film.
In Dragon Ball Z, Krillin and Gohan disobey Goku's orders and fight Vegeta, but they are both knocked out. He goes to Namek with Bulma and Gohan, where Frieza nearly kills him by impaling his horn through his chest; however, Dende heals him. He is killed again by Frieza, who explodes his body. Krillin's murder gives Goku the anger he needs to turn Super Saiyan. He is revived again, but is turned into candy by Majin-Buu, killing him. Krillin dies a fourth time in Dragon Ball GT, where evil Android 17 kills him. In the anime-only Garlic Junior Saga, Krillin proposes to a girl named Maron, but she refuses. Instead, he marries Android 18, and grows hair. He has a daughter named Marron.
Tien is bald and has three eyes, the third placed on his forehead. He has a Third Eye because he is from an Alien Race of three eyed beings called the Triclops. When Toriyama began creating the Dragon Ball series, he used Wu Cheng'en
's Journey to the West
as a prototype for his own work. Tien's three eyed physical characteristic resembles the story character Erlang Shen
, and both are warriors who were originally adversaries of the main character. His outfits change consistently as the series goes on, and he usually doesn't wear a shirt when fighting. In the Japanese version of the series, he was voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki
until his death in 2006; Kōichi Yamadera
acted as a substitute for Suzuoki for episodes 82 and 84 of the series. He is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono
in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
and by Hikaru Midorikawa
in Dragon Ball Kai. In the Ocean dub, he was voiced by Matt Smith
. In the Funimation dub of the series, he was voiced by Chris Cason
in the third season and by John Burgmeier from the fourth season onwards and in the redub of the third season.
for six months, then he trains him in fight. During the ensuing fight with the Saiyans, Piccolo risks his life in order to save Gohan from Nappa's ki blast. He is soon revived by the Dragon Balls, and is brought to Namek for the first time. He fuses with the Namekian Nail, killing Nail, but making Piccolo stronger. He fights Frieza, but loses. He is healed by Dende, who is soon killed.
The first step of Piccolo's training had Gohan survive in the wilderness for six months. At first, Gohan was scared, but soon he transformed into a giant ape. He was changed back when Piccolo destroyed the moon, and survived Piccolo's other six months of intense training. During the fight with the Saiyans, Piccolo saves Gohan's life when he steps in front of Nappa's ki blast. Gohan is told to run away by his revived father, but he soon comes back to turn into a giant ape again using Vegeta's artificial moon. In his ape form, Gohan crushes Vegeta, who is forced to retreat.
After healing from his battle wounds, Gohan rebels against his mother Chi-Chi, and goes to planet Namek, where is made stronger by Guru. Gohan fights the Ginyu Force and eventually helps his dad fight Frieza. During the battle against Cell, Gohan Turns into a Super Saiyan 2 after Cell kills Android 16. Though he becomes much stronger then Cell he lets his arrogance get the best of him doesn't kill him when he has the chance. Cell in an attempt to kill Gohan self-destructs and his father dies while he watches in agony. He later finds out that Cell survived and comes back stronger due to his Saiyan genes and is happy he can avenge his father. He later then defeats Cell in a beam struggle because Vegeta
distracts Cell with a ki blast. He starts high school four years later, where he creates his alter ego, the superhero "Great Saiyaman". As "Saiyaman", Gohan rescues a girl named Videl, the son of Mr. Satan. He plays a part in the fight of Majin Buu by fighting him and nearly dieing but is saved by Supreme Kai. Supreme Kai takes him to his home world where Gohan can wield the legendary Z-Sword. It Breaks and a past kai unleashes all his hidden power and he easily overpoweres Majin buu but is later absorbed.
On Namek, Vegeta sees his old workmates and kills them all, those including Cui, Dodoria and Zarbon. He also has several encounters with the Z Fighters, and successfully steals Frieza's Dragon Balls, but when the Ginyu Force is called over, he and Goku are forced to team up in order to defeat them, and they do. Vegeta becomes a Z Fighter, but Frieza kills him. When he is revived, he helps defeat Cell and the Androids. However, Vegeta is absorbed by Majin Buu, and is soon killed again. This time, he is not revived.
created using the cells
of several characters from the series, including Goku, Piccolo
and Frieza. As a result, Cell is able to perform techniques such as the Kamehameha, a powerful energy blast which he gains from the cells of Goku. In creating the character of Cell, Toriyama tried many different designs before finally settling on the one used in the series. Cell evolves several times throughout his appearances. He originally evolves from a cocoon-like form into his first "Imperfect Form", which is insect
-like in appearance. Both his first form and his second "Semi-Perfect Form" have a long tail that ends in a stinger-like appendage and allows it to absorb other organisms. The tail recedes under his wings in his final "Perfect Form", and he can use it to spawn , a minuscule child-like version of himself.
Requiring the androids #17 and #18 to evolve, he finds out that they are already dead in his timeline, so he kills the Trunks of his timeline and uses Trunks' time machine to travel back in time. He eventually absorbs both after many battles and
ascends to his perfect form. He decides to hold the "Cell Games", a tournament in which he fights against the Earth's fighters until there are none left, resulting in Earth's destruction. Cell manages to defeat Goku, but he is eventually killed by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. Cell appears in Hell
in Dragon Ball Z, and makes a few appearances in Dragon Ball GT. Cell is voiced by Norio Wakamoto
in the Japanese anime, Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, Dameon Clarke
in the Funimation
dub and Dragon Ball Z Kai, and by Travis Willingham
in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
and its sequel.
-like creature. He is very naive and easily influenced, and he has a very volatile balance between his gentle and evil sides. After Buu kills Babidi, he becomes close friends with Hercule, which eventually causes him to expel his evil side. This evil manifests, and it manages to defeat and absorb the good side, resulting in a tall, slender form, who calls himself "Evil Buu (or Super Buu)." He is interested in a challenge, and later goes on to absorb Goten and Trunks as Gotenks, Piccolo, and Gohan.
It is revealed by the surviving member of the Kaioshin that the fat form of Buu is actually the result of the original assimilation of their leader into his body. The original is a sleek, child-sized being who is obsessed with chaos and destruction. The original is restored after Goku and Vegeta remove the good side from Super Buu. The good side is later spit out by the original, and he goes on to live with Hercule on Earth, while the original is killed by Goku, who wishes for him to be reincarnated as a good person. King Yemma, hearing the wish, reincarnates him into a child named Uub, who becomes Goku's successor and goes on to participate in battles against foes such as Baby, Super #17 and Omega Shenron.
All forms of Buu have a rubbery body that is easily damaged. He can regenerate
instantly from any wound, regrow any part of his body, and he can even restore himself from vapor. It is possible for him to become so worn down that his regeneration begins to fail. He can reconfigure body portions into weapons, including stretching his extremities. Buu also can heal damaged beings, shapeshift
, and transfigure other objects and organisms. He can also absorb other organisms by enveloping them with his body, and can replicate fighting techniques, even after witnessing them once.
In the original Japanese Buu and all his forms are currently voiced by Kōzō Shioya
in all media. In the Ocean dub Scott McNeil
would voice Fat Buu, Brian Dobson
would voice the Evil and Super Buus, and Ward Perry
would voice Kid Buu. McNeil would voice the renamed Mr. Buu in the Blue Water dub. In the Funimation dub Josh Martin voices Fat and Kid Buus, and Justin Cook
voices Evil and Super Buu. Martin and Cook voice Buu in all video games with exception of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
where Buu, in kid form, was voiced by Dougary Grant. Buu was rated by Wizard magazine
as the 40th greatest villain
of all time. David F. Smith of IGN
states that although he is tough, Majin Buu's pink complexion prevents anybody from taking him as a serious threat.
along with her brother, #17. After being released by Dr. Gero, she travels with #16 and #17 in order to kill Goku, though they are interrupted by Cell
and the Z Fighters several times. She and #17 are eventually absorbed by Cell, but later during the Cell Games, a hard blow from Gohan causes Cell to regurgitate her. Though Krillin is unable to wish for her to be turned into a human, he is able to have her self-destruct device removed. Krillin later pursues #18 and, at some point, they marry and have a daughter named Marron. In Future Trunks' timeline, she is a mass murderer who is later killed by Trunks. She is voiced by Miki Itō
in Japan, Enuka Okuma
in the Ocean dub and Meredith McCoy
in the Funimation dub. Colleen Clinkenbeard
has provided her voice for the recent video games; she also voices 18 in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai.
supervillain
that first appears in the 22nd episode of Dragon Ball GT. Baby was created by combining the DNA of the king of the Tuffles with a cybernetic body. Baby desires to destroy all of the Saiyans to avenge his people. Baby is first reactivated from a sleep state by his creator, Doctor Myu. He attempts to fight Goku, Trunks, and Pan, but is easily defeated. To boost his power, Baby infects various people with his DNA and begins gathering energy from them. After a second defeat at the hands of the three Saiyans, Baby infects Trunks and then goes to Earth. On Earth he battles Son Goten and Son Gohan, infects them both, and is able to infect Vegeta and make him his primary host. Goku, Trunks, and Pan return to Earth to find the entire population is now under Baby's control. Baby is able to defeat Goku, then he begins using the Black Star Dragon Balls to restore the Planet Plant and transport the Earth population to it. During this time, Baby evolves into an even more powerful form and defeats Goku again. This causes Goku to transform into a Golden Great Ape and then into a Super Saiyan 4. In this new form, Goku is able to defeat Baby-Vegeta. He has Bulma, also under his control, fire a radiation beam at him from her Blutz Wave Generator which enables him to transform into a Golden Great Ape. After a lengthy battle, Baby separates from Vegeta and attempts to escape in a spaceship, vowing to return to destroy the Saiyans. Goku blasts the spaceship with a 10x Kamehameha attack, sending it into the sun. The ship is destroyed and Baby is obliterated.
He is voiced by Yusuke Numata
in the Japanese version and by Mike McFarland
in the Funimation dub.
and telepathy
. He first studies under the Crane Hermit with his close friend, Tien Shinhan. After Tien realizes that the Crane Hermit's teachings are wrong, the two leave him and join with Goku and his companions. He continues to support Tien throughout the series, even going as far as self-destructing on Nappa in order to attempt to save him. However, this proved to be a mistake when Nappa survives without injury. After the Saiyan Saga, Chiaotzu is generally no longer involved in battle, although Kami gives Chiaotzu a new body for training. He is voiced by Hiroko Emori
in Japan, Cathy Weseluck
in the Ocean dub, and Monika Antonelli
in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in the Funimation dub. Brina Palencia
voices him in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
in the Japanese version of the series until episode 88, from which point she was voiced by Naoko Watanabe. In the Funimation dub, she is voiced by Laura Bailey
as a child and Cynthia Cranz
as an adult. Chi Chi is played by Jamie Chung
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; her voice was dubbed over by Ami Koshimizu
in the Japanese version of the film.
dub is a woman who Goku and Krillin rescued and brought to Master Roshi in exchange for him to train them. She has a strange disorder which makes her personality change from a nice, polite, brown-haired woman into a trigger happy blonde bad girl every time she sneezes. Since her bad form is a renown criminal, she decided to stay with Roshi at Kame Houses and become their maid. Launch's blonde persona develops an attraction towards Tien Shinhan's fierce attitude. In the manga she is not seen after the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament and is said to be chasing around Tien. She is seen in very few Dragon Ball Z anime filler during the Saiyan Saga and is seen again near the end helping contribute energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb to defeat Kid Buu. She was recently shown around the main cast once again in the special Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
and in the ending credits of Dragon Ball Kai. She is voiced by Mami Koyama
in Japan, Edie Mirman
in the Harmony Gold
dub and Meredith McCoy
in the Funimation dub.
in Japan until his death, with Unshou Ishizuka
taking over the role afterward, while in English he is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub, and Chris Rager
in the Funimation dub.
, anthropomorphic
pig that uses his abilities for his own greedy desires. He was expelled from shapeshifting training for stealing the teacher's panties
, so he lacks the ability to change his form for more than five minutes at a time without a one-minute break. He made the first known wish with the Dragon Balls, wishing for the most comfortable pair of panties from the world's hottest babe. He joins Goku in the search for the Dragon Balls to eventually steal them, but abandons this plan. In Dragon Ball Z, he is often in the company of Roshi. He is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta
in Japan, Doug Parker
and Alec Willows in the Ocean dub, Bradford Jackson
in the Funimation dub, and Bryan Massey
in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
. In the English versions of Dragon Ball Z, she is voiced by Brenna O'Brien
in the Ocean dub and Kate Bristol in the Funimation dub. In the English versions of Dragon Ball GT, she is voiced by Elise Baughman
in the Funimation dub and by Caitlynne Medrek
in the Blue Water
dub.
, in order to pursue his revenge. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono
in Japan, Scott McNeil
in the Ocean dub, and Christopher Sabat
in the Funimation dub. He was played by James Marsters
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Hōchū Ōtsuka
in the Japanese dub of the film.
Besides Piccolo Jr., Piccolo Daimao creates several offspring in order to help him with his plans. His first offspring, Piano, helps Piccolo formulate his plan until his death. He also creates Tambourine to hunt down the contenders of the World Martial Arts Tournament to keep the sealing technique from resurfacing. Tambourine kills Krillin and beats a weakened Goku, but eventually Goku's Kamehameha vaporizes him. The third, Cymbal, is created to find Dragon Balls, but he is killed and eaten by Yajirobe. The fourth, Drum, is created to battle Tien, who he easily defeats until Goku appears and kills him in one blow. Tambourine is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao
in Japan and Dameon Clarke
in the Funimation dub; Piano is voiced by Masato Hirano in Japan and Brian Beacock
in the Funimation dub; and Drum is voiced by Daisuke Gori
in Japan and Paul LeBlanc in the Funimation dub.
and shapeshifting
. Puar travels with Yamcha and Goku during Dragon Ball and continues to live with Yamcha afterwards. The character's name is revealed to be a pun on pu-erh
and was designed to slightly resemble a cat. He was constantly mocked by Oolong during their time at Shapeshifting School together. When questioned about gender, Toriyama disclosed that he looked at the character as male during illustrations. Puar is voiced by Naoko Watanabe in the Japanese version of the series, by Kathy Morse and Cathy Weseluck
in the Ocean dub and by Monika Antonelli
in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in the Funimation dub. Brina Palencia
voices the character in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
. First introduced in the 230 chapter of the manga, Goten resembles his father in appearance, with the same hair-style and similar clothing. In chapter 324, Toriyama changes his appearance to avoid confusion with Goku to include a shirt bearing his name, and a longer, shaggier hairstyle. Goten is trained by his older brother Son Gohan
in preparation for the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, which their father would be attending. During the training, Gohan discovered Goten could become a Super Saiyan. He also possesses the Kamehameha, a technique that concentrates chi
energy and is released into a powerful beam.
In order to save the world from the villain Majin Buu, Goku and Piccolo teach Goten and Trunks the "Fusion" technique, which allows them to transform into a single powerful warrior, Gotenks. Gotenks battles Buu multiple times but even when he transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 he is unable to defeat Buu. Buu temporarily absorbs Gotenks, increasing his own power, but Vegeta
and Goku are able to retrieve them from Buu. When Buu destroys the Earth in the 312 chapter, Goten and Trunks are killed. The Dragon Balls later bring Goten back to life along with the rest of the Earth in order to give energy to Goku's Super Genki Dama attack, which defeats Buu. Goten then returns to a normal life on Earth.
Masako Nozawa
voices Goten in Japanese, while he is voiced by Kara Edwards
(as a child) and Robert McCollum
(as a teen) in the Funimation dub.
in Japan, Moneca Stori
in the Ocean dub, and Kara Edwards
in the Funimation dub. Her name is an anagram of Devil, a play on words with her father's Japanese name (Mister Satan).
that Goku meets in Dragon Ball. He is often considered to be rude, unmannered, timid, lazy, and cowardly. During their first meeting, Yajirobe gets mad at Goku for stealing his fish, and hates him. However, he has a change of heart, and helps Goku prepare for the battle against Piccolo Daimao, and continues to support Goku and his companions, though often from the sidelines. He trains under Kami with the others in order to prepare for the Saiyans, and helps in their victory by cutting off Vegeta's tail. During Dragon Ball, he is a wanderer that lives off the land, but after meeting Korin and discovering the Senzu Beans, which provide the nutrients of ten days worth of meals, restore energy and heal wounds, he decides to live with Korin. He begins growing the beans with him, and often delivers them to Goku and his companions. He plays a part in Goku's first fight in Vegeta when Vegeta stares at a full moon and transforms into an ape monster. Yajirobe takes his sword and cuts off his tail. However, when Vegeta becomes enraged and threatens Yajirobe with death, he backs off and tells Vegeta that he wants to be on his team. He is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka
in the Japanese version of the series, by Brian Drummond
in the Ocean dub and by Mike McFarland
in the Funimation dub.
in Japan, Scott McNeil
in the Ocean dub, and Jeremy Inman
in the Funimation dub.
by Dr. Gero along with his sister, #18. The two are released by Doctor Gero as a last resort, but they turn on their creator and quickly kill him instead. They begin to travel in order to find and kill Goku, coming into contact with the Z Fighters several times. In Future Trunks' timeline, he is a mass murderer who is later killed by Trunks. #17 returns one last time in Dragon Ball GT, when he fuses with a new #17 created by Doctor Gero and Doctor Myu in order to become the Super Android #17, who is finally defeated by Goku and #18. He is voiced by Shigeru Nakahara
in Japan, Ted Cole
in the Ocean dub, and Chuck Huber
in the Funimation dub.
in Japan, Terry Klassen
in the Ocean dub, and Duncan Brannan in the Funimation dub.
in the original Japanese series and by Aya Hirano
in Dragon Ball Kai, with Hiro Yuuki voicing him as an adult. In the Funimation dub of the series, he is voiced as a child by Ceyli Delgadillo
in the original dub, Laura Bailey in the redub of the series, and by Maxey Whitehead
in Dragon Ball Z Kai. Justin Cook
voices him as an adult in the Funimation dub.
in Japan, Brian Dobson
in the Ocean dub, Kent Williams
in the Funimation dub.
in Japan and Chuck Huber
in English dub. Shu is voiced by Tesshō Genda
in Japan and Chris Cason
in the English dub. Mai is voiced by Eiko Yamada in Japan and Julie Franklin in the Funimation dub. She was played by Eriko Tamura
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution.
Goku and Pan kill all of the dragons besides the One-Star, Four-Star, and Three-Star Dragons, and collect their Dragon Balls. Goku soon fights the Four-Star Dragon, voiced by Ken Yamaguchi
in Japan and John Burgmeier in the English dub, who is fire-based and much more honorable than his siblings. The fight is soon interrupted by the Three-Star Dragon, who blinds Goku in an attempt to kill him. Goku eventually manages to kill the dragon, and when the Four-Star Dragon attempts to help Goku with his eyes, he is killed by One-Star Dragon, voiced by Hidekatsu Shibata
in Japan, and Bob Carter and Christopher R. Sabat in the Funimation dub. The dragon absorbs the Dragon Balls, transforming into Omega Shenron. After a long battle, he is killed by Goku's Super Genki Dama, and the Dragon Balls are purified.
in Dragon Ball and early Dragon Ball Z and by Mayumi Tanaka
during the later half of Dragon Ball Z and during Dragon Ball Kai. In English she is voiced by Ellen Kennedy in the Ocean dub and by Linda Chambers-Young
in the Funimation dub.
In the TV series, he breaks free using his power source, the Makyo Star, leading to the events of the Garlic Jr. arc. After attempting to brainwash the world with the Black Water Mist, he is once again trapped in the Dead Zone after the destruction of the Makyo Star. In the original Japanese version, Garlic Jr. is voiced by Akira Kamiya
in Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and Shigeru Chiba
in the anime. He is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub of the film and Dave Ward in the Ocean dub of the anime. Chuck Huber
voices Garlic Jr. in the Funimation dub of the film and anime.
Frieza calls upon them to assist in the defeat of Vegeta and help obtain the Dragon Balls on Planet Namek. In the anime, they (sans the surviving Ginyu) appear at King Kai's planet in the afterlife and battle Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu, who defeat and banish them to Hell. Tien defeats Jeice and Burter, Yamcha defeats Recoome, and Chiaotzu defeats Guldo. King Kai reveals that he actually invited the Ginyu Force there in order for Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu to test their new strength.
Guldo, known as "Gurd" in the manga, is a fat, four-eyed monster who, although physically weak, has psychic powers, including the fact that he can freeze time when he holds his breath. He can also freeze people. He is the first one killed when Vegeta decapitates him.
Recoome, known as "Reacoom" in the manga, is a tall, orange-haired man whose attacks are simply named "Recoome Punch" and "Recoome Kick". He is killed by Vegeta after a long fight with Goku, whose power level is supposedly 5,000 at the time.
Burter, known as "Butta" in the manga, is a blue-colored dragon. He is known as "Blue Hurricane" due to him being the fastest being in the universe. He argues with Jeice and Recoome over who gets to kill Vegeta, and play rock-paper-scissors constantly. Goku easily kills him in one hit.
Jeice, known as "Jheese" in the manga, is a gray-haired, orange-skinned human. He is also known as "Red Magma". Goku originally gave him the change to leave, but Vegeta showed no mercy and murdered him.
Captain Ginyu is the purple-skinned leader of the Ginyu Force. He is shown to be the smartest, as he found out that Goku is masking his true power level. After seeing that Goku's power level grew up to 180,000 on the Kaio-ken, Ginyu uses an attack on his arm, leaving him almost dead. Ginyu switches bodies with Goku, who is left with Ginyu's nearly dead body. Ginyu (as Goku) tricks Krillin into handing over the Dragon Balls, but Jeice reveals that Ginyu as Goku's power level is only 23,000. Ginyu tries to get in Vegeta's body, but instead he turns himself into a frog.
in the Japanese version of the original series, by Kinpei Azusa
in Bardock: The Father of Goku and by Shigeru Chiba
in Dragon Ball Kai. In the Funimation dub of the series, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat
. He is portrayed by Randall Duk Kim
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Hiroya Ishimaru
in the Japanese dub of the film.
. Seeing a threat, Kami decides to attempt to seal away the new Piccolo in the World Martial Arts Tournament, possessing a human named Shen (dubbed Hero in the English anime) as a guise, but the plan backfires on him when Kami is trapped inside a water jug and is swallowed by Piccolo. After Goku defeats Piccolo, he eventually reforms. During the fight against the Saiyans, Kami dies when Piccolo is killed by Nappa. Kami gives Chiaotzu a new body so he can train with King Kai, and much later during the Cell saga, Kami agrees to merge and rejoin Piccolo to stand a chance against Cell and the Androids. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono
in Japan, who would do so up until the Frieza saga in Dragon Ball Z Kai. After Aono suffered a stroke, Bin Shimada
voiced the character for his final appearance during the Cell saga. In English he is voiced by Michael Dobson and Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, and Christopher Sabat
in the Funimation dub.
King Kai, also known as and , is the Kai of the northern quadrant of the galaxy. His companion is a pet monkey named Bubbles and in the anime he also has a flying cricket companion named Gregory. King Kai trains fighters allowed to keep their bodies if they manage to reach his small planet at the end of Snake Way. Before training any students, he forces them to appeal to his strange sense of humor, catch Bubbles, and hit Gregory with a mallet. He provides Goku with martial arts training and two of his own techniques, the Genki Dama and the Kaio-ken, which King Kai was never able to master himself. He continues to help Goku and his friends throughout the series, lending his planet locating and telecommunicating abilities for their use. When Goku brings a self-destructing Cell to his planet, the explosion kills King Kai and destroys his planet. As he is already in the Other World, he only gains a halo and in the anime he appears to settle down on Grand Kai's planet. He is voiced by Jōji Yanami
in Japan, Don Brown and Dave Ward in the Ocean dub and Sean Schemmel
in the Funimation dub.
.
-like entity who serves as the caretaker to Kami and later Dende after taking his place as the guardian of Earth. He helps Goku meet Kami by suprisingly getting the best of Goku in a fight, which he tells him that the air is thinner here. Mr. Popo assists Kami in training Goku for three years in preparation for his battle against Piccolo at the World Martial Arts Tournament as well as later training Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu and Yajirobe during their preparation against the Saiyans. He is voiced by Toku Nishio
in Japanese, French Tickner in the Ocean Group dub, and Chris Cason
and Chris Sabat in the Funimation dub.
Mr. Popo's appearance has been considered an offensive racist stereotype by Carole Boston Weatherford
in an article she wrote in the Christian Science Monitor in May 2000. The English releases of the manga by Michael Dobson have censored Mr. Popo's lips by reducing their size. In the airing of Dragon Ball Z Kai on CW 4kids Toonzai block, Mr. Popo's skin was changed from black to blue.
in Dragon Ball Z, Kiyoyuki Yanada
in Dragon Ball GT, and Tetsu Inada
in Dragon Ball Kai. In English he was voiced by Michael Dobson in the Ocean dub and by Phil Parsons
in the Funimation dub.
in Japan, Jason Gray-Stanford in the Ocean dub, and Justin Cook
in the Funimation dub.
General Blue is a high-ranking official of the army. He comes into contact with Goku and his companions multiple times, often using a special psionic
ability that allows him to paralyze other individuals. He is a neat freak, and does not enjoy Bulma's seduction, so she thinks of him as gay. He manages to steal the Dragon Radar during their final encounter, but after returning, he is set to be executed for not obtaining any of the Dragon Balls after multiple failures. He is allowed to fight Tao to redeem himself, though Tao easily kills Blue only using his tongue. Blue wears a brown uniform reminiscent of the Sturmabteilung
, implying parallels between the RRA and the real-life Nazi Party. Blue appears in the Dr. Slump
remake anime, where he assists the ninja Murasaki who is another operative of the Red Ribbon Army in trying to take the Dragon Balls from Goku and Arale
. Blue is voiced by Toshio Furukawa
in Japan and Sonny Strait
in the Funimation dub.
In Dragon Ball Z, the Doctor Gero creates Androids, and it is revealed that Gero worked for the Red Ribbon Army, and that Gero is actually an android himself. Android 17 kills Dr. Gero, and Android 18 marries Krillin, so the plan had failed.
summoned when all of Earth's Dragon Balls are gathered. Shenron can bestow any wish as long as it does not exceed the power of his creator (who must be still alive) and has not been previously granted. This is why Shenron can only bring the same person back to life once. Shenron can originally only grant one wish, but after being revived by Dende, he is able to grant two at a time. Shenron often tries to hasten summoners to make their wishes. He will usually threaten to leave or kill the summoner if they do not quickly make their wish, but never follows through with it. He is voiced by Kenji Utsumi
in the Japanese version of the series with the exclusion of episodes 192 and 193 in the series and the films, in which he is voiced by Masaharu Satō
; he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri
in Dragon Ball GT and by Kōji Yada
in the Dr. Slump
remake. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub and by Christopher Sabat
in the Funimation dub.
His Namekian counterpart is . Unlike Shenron, Porunga has a large, muscular upper body and various Namekian traits; he initially can only bring a single person back to life at a time, but can bring that person back multiple times. He can grant three wishes, so long as they don't exceed his creator's power, his creator is still alive, and each request is delivered in the Namekian dialect. He is voiced by Junpei Takiguchi
in the Japanese version of the series with the exclusion of episode 283, in which he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri
; he is voiced by Masaharu Satō
in the video games. In Dragon Ball Kai Daisuke Gōri originally performed the role; after his death, Ryūzaburō Ōtomo
took over. He is voiced by Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub of the series.
Dragon Ball GT introduces the Black Star Shenron, a much larger red Shenron made by Kami when he and Piccolo Daimao were still one entity. He is summoned when the Black Star Dragon Balls are gathered, and can grant any single wish, regardless of any restrictions placed on the other dragons.
in Funimation's English Dub.
(Kid Uub) and Atsushi Kisaichi
(Uub) in Japan and Kara Edwards
(Kid Uub) and Sean Teague (Uub) in the FUNimation dub.
in Dragon Ball Z Kai. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Paul Dobson in the Ocean dub, by Christopher Sabat
in the Funimation dub and by J. Michael Tatum
in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
In an issue of Beckett Anime, a Beckett
magazine publication, Zarbon was voted as one of the top five greatest henchmen of all anime, and was the only character from Dragon Ball on the list.
, action-figures
and plush
. Other merchandise featuring characters include t-shirts, tumblers and trading card games. Characters are also featured in video games from the series. While initial games were role-playing game
s (RPG), the following became fighting game
s.
(ANN) praised the story and humor of the manga to be very good, and noted the well-portrayed personalities of the characters. They also remarked Viz's translation to be one of the best ones of all the English editions of the series, praising the lack of censorship. Theron Martin from ANN praised the way the characters could turn the battles into "art", praising the ways they react while fighting, although they sometimes can become very long with little plot development. He also praised the themes from the warriors saying "it speaks to basic yet powerful themes like faith, confidence, heroism, sacrifice, love, and understanding what is truly worth fighting for", as well as the way Vegeta overcomes his pride to help the other characters. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews considered the series characters are different from stereotypes characters and noted that they have much more development than those from the series' sequels.
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
. The series takes place in a fictional universe where vast numbers of fighters in the world compete in tournaments, using various superhuman and supernatural abilities. The series' storyline follows the adventures of a martial artist as he searches for the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which are used to summon a wish-granting dragon.
The main character of the series is Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
, a martial artist who comes from an extraterrestrial race known as the Saiyans. Along the way, he undergoes training regiments and educational programs to fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament. During the course of the story, he encounters diverse villains such as Tien Shinhan, an assassin and martial artist with a third eye; Piccolo
Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
, the offspring of Piccolo Daimao; Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
, a Saiyan who eventually becomes Goku's ally; and Frieza, a galactic tyrant who was responsible for the extinction of the Saiyan race; and allies such as Trunks
Trunks (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball franchise by Akira Toriyama. Trunks is the half-Saiyan son of Vegeta, the prince of the dying race of fictional aliens called the Saiyans, and Bulma, the heiress of a massive company called Capsule Corporation...
, Vegeta's son; Yamcha, a desert bandit; Yajirobe, a fat Samurai; Bulma, a scientist; and Krillin, Goku's rival who eventually becomes his best friend.
Creation and conception
Akira ToriyamaAkira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
initially based most of the characters from the Chinese novel Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. He also redeveloped one of his earlier one-shot manga series, Dragon Boy. To be creative with the character, Toriyama stated that he designed Goku not as a monkey like the Journey to the West character, but as a human-looking boy with a monkey tail.
During this period of the series, Toriyama placed less emphasis on the series art work, simplifying the lines and sometimes making things "too square". He found himself having problems determining the colors for characters and sometimes ended up changing them unintentionally mid-story. For the female characters, Toriyama felt it was not fun to draw "weak females" so he created women that he felt were not only "beautiful and sexy", but also "strong". Going against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, he designed many of Dragon Ball
After the first chapters were released, readers commented that Goku seemed rather plain, so his appearance was changed. More characters (such as Master Roshi and Krillin) and martial arts tournaments were added to give the manga a greater emphasis on fighting. Knowing readers would expect Goku to win the tournaments, Toriyama had him lose the first two while continuing his initial goal of having Goku be the champion and hero. When having fights in the manga, Toriyama had the characters go to a place where nobody lived to avoid difficulties in drawing destroyed buildings. In order to advance the story quickly, he also gave most fighters the ability to fly so they could travel to other parts of the world without inconvenience. This was also the reasoning behind Goku learning to teletransport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
(thus allowing characters to move to any planet in a second).
Son Goku
Son Goku is the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball series. He is perhaps the most refined example of the shōnen manga hero. Goku is immensely strong, pure of heart, and extremely competitive, but dedicated wholeheartedly to the cause of defending the Earth from evil. His wife is Chi-Chi, and he has two sons, Gohan and Goten.Though he grew up on Earth and appears more or less human, Goku is descended from an alien warrior race known as the Saiyans, who originally sent him to the planet to prepare it for conquest. He was originally evil and violent; however, a coincidental knock on the head cleared his mind of his natural inclination towards global domination, though — instead, he ended up becoming the planet’s greatest champion.
His alien heritage gives him many advantages, including great physical strength, speed, resilience, and a leg up in focusing his chi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
energy to develop many unusual martial arts techniques. Those include his famous Kamehameha energy blast, which has become his signature technique over the years, and the ability to transform into progressively more impressive levels of “Super Saiyan” power.
Goku was originally conceived by creator Akira Toriyama as a riff on the main character from the Chinese novel Journey to the West (just as the novel itself inspired the original Dragon Ball comics to some degree). In particular, the tail he sported in his younger days is a nod to the Chinese classic.
Bulma
is a character appearing early in the series in the first chapter first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 3, 1984. She was originally portrayed as a secondary main character, next to Goku. Her role is quickly downplayed as the series continues, though she does continue her role as a supporting character for the remainder of the series. Bulma is the daughter of Dr. Briefs; the founder of Capsule Corp., a fictional corporation that creates special capsules that are often used to store objects of various sizes. Being the daughter of a brilliant scientist, Bulma is also an intelligent scientist, as well as an inventor and engineer. She is most credited for inventing the Dragon Radar, a fictional device that is specifically designed to detect the energy signal emitted by a Dragon Ball, being able to find the Dragon Balls faster than anyone else. Bulma's role as an inventor becomes important at several points in the series. Several of her creations were major contributions to various plotlines, including a microband that could make her shrink, the time machineTime travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
that brought her son Trunks
Trunks (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball franchise by Akira Toriyama. Trunks is the half-Saiyan son of Vegeta, the prince of the dying race of fictional aliens called the Saiyans, and Bulma, the heiress of a massive company called Capsule Corporation...
to the past during Dragon Ball Z and the generator that allowed her husband Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
to achieve Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball GT.
Bulma is a direct parody of the character Xuanzang
Xuanzang (fictional character)
The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"...
from the Chinese novel Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. Even though Bulma's character parodies a monk, her Japanese name "Buruma" is a direct take on the word bloomers
Bloomers (clothing)
Bloomers is a word which has been applied to several types of divided women's garments for the lower body at various times.-Fashion bloomers :...
, which was a popular type of women's underwear in the early 20th century. As with most characters in the Dragon Ball series, Bulma's name is consistent with those of the rest of her family. All of Bulma's family members are named after underclothing of some sort. Her father's name is "Dr. Briefs", while her son and daughter are named "Trunks" and "Bra" ("Bulla" in the anime adaptation, which is "bra" in Japanese) respectively. She married the Saiyan Prince Vegeta, who is the only family member (other than King Vegeta) to not be named after clothes.
Bulma is voiced by Hiromi Tsuru
Hiromi Tsuru
is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa Prefecture. She is currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is most known for the roles of Bulma , Ukyo Kuonji , Dokin-chan , Madoka Ayukawa , Miyuki Kashima , Reiko Mikami and Naomi Hunter is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa Prefecture. She...
in all of the Japanese media. In Funimation
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
's dub, she would be voiced by Maggie Blue O'Hara
Maggie Blue O'Hara
Maggie Blue O'Hara is a Canadian actress, noted for her voice acting and her recognizable "young teenage girl" voice. In addition to anime roles, she was the voice of Shadowcat in X-Men: Evolution....
in the first Dragon Ball film; Lalainia Lindbjerg
Lalainia Lindbjerg
Lalainia Lindbjerg is a Canadian voice actress who works for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Biography:...
in the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball and the 64 episodes and first three movies of Dragon Ball Z; Leslie Alexander in the film Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle; Tiffany Vollmer
Tiffany Vollmer
Tiffany Vollmer is an American voice actress best known for voicing Bulma in the Dragon Ball franchise.-Career:Vollmer was cast as Bulma in 1999 for FUNimation's third season of Dragon Ball Z, replacing Leslie Alexander, who left the show after playing Bulma in DB Movie 2, that was dubbed much...
in all other Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT dubs including re-dubs of previously dubbed works; and Monica Rial
Monica Rial
Monica Jean Rial is an American voice actress, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000...
in Dragon Ball Z Kai. In Westwood Media's dub, Maggie Blue O'Hara
Maggie Blue O'Hara
Maggie Blue O'Hara is a Canadian actress, noted for her voice acting and her recognizable "young teenage girl" voice. In addition to anime roles, she was the voice of Shadowcat in X-Men: Evolution....
returned to voice Bulma in Dragon Ball Z; Leda Davies was cast for Dragon Ball; and Kristin Nowosad in Dragon Ball GT. In the Japanese dub of the live-action Dragonball Evolution, she is voiced by Aya Hirano
Aya Hirano
from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She was contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, for her voice acting career, and for her singing career,...
.
Bulma has a cameo in the Dragon Ball/One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
crossover Cross Epoch. In this segment, she is partnered up with the character Nami. The two act as a pair of space pirates. Bulma has been portrayed by Jeannie Tse in the unofficial live-action Dragon Ball movie The Magic Begins
Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins
Originally released in America as "Dragon's Pearl," is an unofficial live-action remake of the first Dragon Ball feature film The Legend of Shenlong , made in 1991...
. She was also featured in the 1990 unofficial Korean adaptation
Dragon Ball (1990 film)
Dragon Ball: Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku is an unofficial live-action Korean film adaptation of the manga series Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. It was directed by Ryong Wang and was released on December 12, 1990.The movie follows the original Dragon Ball story, and does so more closely...
where she was played by Lee Ju Hee. Bulma appeared in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution, portrayed by Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher , An American Rhapsody, and Passionada . However, it was her role in Mystic River that garnered her wider recognition...
. Rossum describes her portrayal of Bulma as "She’s pretty bad-ass, but still quirky and fun, and kind of ridiculous in the way she is in the anime."
Master Roshi
Master Roshi, known in the English manga and the Japanese versions as and , is an ancient and wise martial artsMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
master and the first Earthling to wield the Kamehameha. Though he seems frail, he is a mighty warrior, having trained Grandpa Gohan, Ox King, Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
, Krillin and others. He is a stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
, as he is both the archetypal wise old man
Wise old man
The wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...
and perverted dirty old man, the latter being typical of shōnen manga. His perverted actions normally would get built up during filler, but there are some instances, such as his adult magazines, that are famed throughout Dragon Ball. Still, he is depicted to be a very wise and gentle person, who loves life and its simple pleasures, but is willing to die if necessary, such as when performing the Mafu-ba technique (Evil Containment Wave in the English dub) against Piccolo Daimao. He sometimes gets cranky, which further provides comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
. He is bald, with a thick van dyke beard
Van dyke beard
A Van Dyke is a style of facial hair named after 17th century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. A Van Dyke specifically consists of any growth of both a moustache and goatee with all hair on the cheeks shaven...
and wears sunglasses. Roshi wears beach clothes or martial arts suits and, during the earlier stages of the series, a turtle shell on his back. He usually wields a walking stick. When wishing to act anonymously in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Roshi uses the name Jackie Chun. As mentioned before, Master Roshi died after performing the Mafu-Ba, and is revived by the Dragon Balls.
Roshi's character design was inspired by the character of Kami-sama from Toriyama's previous manga Dr. Slump
Dr. Slump
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes...
(who is unrelated to the Kami-sama from Dragon Ball). Roshi was originally voiced by Kōhei Miyauchi
Kohei Miyauchi
' was a veteran Japanese seiyū born in Kagoshima Prefecture. His real name was Takayuki Miyauchi and his nickname was "Miya-chan". On June 2, 1995, Miyauchi died on his hospital bed at the Nihon University Itabashi Hospital from abdominal varices...
, who also voiced Kami-sama in the original anime version of Dr. Slump. Miyauchi's final acting session before he died was for episode 260 of Dragon Ball Z, which he recorded only 3 months before his death. The episode aired on March 15, 1995. In his final line, he yells out "Kuririn!", and is turned into a bar of chocolate by Majin Buu shortly afterwards. Since episode 288 of Dragon Ball Z, Roshi is voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka, who voices him throughout Dragon Ball GT and in the recent video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. He is voiced by Kinya Aikawa
Kinya Aikawa
as is a Japanese actor, tarento and voice actor.- Television :* Space Ace , Yadokari* Son-goku is coming: Chapter of Ko-fu Dai-o , Sagojo* Jump Out! Batchiri , Officer Chibisu, Roba* Goku no Daiboken , Sagojo...
in the 10th anniversary special
The Path to Power
, is the seventeenth Japanese animated feature film based on the Dragon Ball manga, following the first three Dragon Ball films and thirteen Dragon Ball Z films. It is a re-telling of the original Dragon Ball anime series and is also the longest film in the franchise...
and by Masaharu Satō
Masaharu Sato
is a Japanese voice actor currently working for Aoni Production.Along with the late Kōji Totani, he is considered the No. 1 supporting actor of the Japanese voice acting world....
in movie 13
Wrath of the Dragon
Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon, known in Japan as , is the thirteenth Dragon Ball Z feature movie. It was originally released in Japan on July 15, 1995 at Toei Anime Fair, where it was shown along with the Slam Dunk movie Hoero Basukettoman Tamashii!! Hanamichi to Rukawa no Atsuki Natsu and the...
and Dragon Ball Kai. In the Ocean dub, he was voiced by Ian James Corlett
Ian James Corlett
Ian James Corlett is a Canadian animation voice artist, writer, and musician. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series Being Ian and Yvon of the Yukon....
, Peter Kelamis
Peter Kelamis
Peter Kelamis is an Australian-born Canadian actor and comedian.-Life and career:Kelamis was born in Sydney, Australia of Greek origin. In 1985, Kelamis enrolled in the University of British Columbia...
, Dave Ward, Don Brown, and Terry Klassen
Terry Klassen
Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor and voice director in Vancouver, British Columbia. He co-created Yvon of the Yukon. He is the voice director for shows including Martha Speaks, "Johnny Test", "George of the Jungle", "Ed, Edd n Eddy", several "Barbie" movies, "Transformers", "CardCaptors",...
at various points. In the Funimation dub, Roshi has been voiced consistently by Mike McFarland
Mike McFarland
Michael Charles McFarland is an American voice actor, ADR Director, Script, and Line Producer at Funimation Entertainment. He also did work with ADV Films, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and Okatron 5000...
. He is portrayed by Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Tsutomu Isobe
Tsutomu Isobe
is a Japanese actor and seiyū from Tokyo.-Television animation:*Blade *Black Lagoon *Gungrave *Monster -Theater animation:...
in the Japanese dub of the film.
Yamcha
, known as Zedaki in the Harmony GoldHarmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold is a television production and distribution company established in 1983. It is best known as the “creator” and main distributor of the anime series Robotech. It also partially dubbed the Dragon Ball series in the late 1980s....
dub, is introduced as an outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
and a bandit. He starts out as an antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of Goku's in order to steal his Dragon Ball and wish not to feel nervous when being near to women. He eventually reforms, becoming an ally and Z Fighter, and starts a relationship with Bulma. After participating in Baba's tournament, Yamcha requests to become the pupil of Master Roshi, to which Master Roshi obliges. He qualifies for the 21st Tenkai'chi Budo'kai fighting tournament, but loses to a mysterious old man, Jackie Chun, who is actually Master Roshi in disguise. He continually questions Master Roshi on his true ability, but is unable to find the truth. As a result from such training, Yamcha becomes able to develop various energy techniques such as the Kamehameha and the Soukidan, an energy sphere which he can control after throwing it. He soon becomes able to fly and is able to train with various gods from the Dragon Ball universe. He was killed in battle by Vegeta's saibamen. After the attack from the Red Ribbon Army's androids, he quits fighting, noting that he is very weak in comparison to his friends. His constant companion is Puar. During the series, he holds a romantic relationship with Bulma, but they break up some time after Future Trunks' first appearance, and Bulma ends up marrying Vegeta. He is voiced by Tōru Furuya
Toru Furuya
is a veteran narrator and seiyū born on July 31, 1953 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As a child, he was a member of Gekidan Himawari, a children's acting troupe...
in the Japanese version of the series. In the Ocean dub, he is voiced
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
by Ted Cole
Ted Cole
- Anime Roles :* Beyblade - Lee, Spencer, Kane, Coach Barthez* Dokkoida!? - Pierre the Slave* Death Note - Reiji Namikawa, Yukito Shiraba, John McEnroe/Larry Conners, Jack Neylon/Kal Snydar* Dragon Ball - Yamcha...
, and in the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
. In the 2009 Dragon Ball live-action film, he was portrayed by Joon Park, whose voice was dubbed over by Hisao Egawa
Hisao Egawa
is a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo who works for Aoni Production. Egawa is most known for the roles of Shin'ichi Maki in Slam Dunk, Geki Kuroiwa in Brave Command Dagwon, Geki Hyūma and Goldymarg in The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, Killer Bee in Naruto Shippuden, and Falco Lombardi in the Star Fox...
in the Japanese dub of the film.
Krillin
Krillin, known as "Kuririn" in the Viz Manga, is a bald "Z Fighter", and one of Goku's best friends. He met Goku on Master Roshi's island after running away from Orin Temple. The two start out as rivals, but during the "21st World Martial Arts Tournament", they become friends when Goku gives Krillin good fighting advice. He is soon killed by King Piccolo's mercenary Tambourine, but is revived with the Dragon Balls.In Dragon Ball Z, Krillin and Gohan disobey Goku's orders and fight Vegeta, but they are both knocked out. He goes to Namek with Bulma and Gohan, where Frieza nearly kills him by impaling his horn through his chest; however, Dende heals him. He is killed again by Frieza, who explodes his body. Krillin's murder gives Goku the anger he needs to turn Super Saiyan. He is revived again, but is turned into candy by Majin-Buu, killing him. Krillin dies a fourth time in Dragon Ball GT, where evil Android 17 kills him. In the anime-only Garlic Junior Saga, Krillin proposes to a girl named Maron, but she refuses. Instead, he marries Android 18, and grows hair. He has a daughter named Marron.
Tien Shinhan
, known as Tenshinhan in the manga and Shinto in the Harmony Gold dub, is first introduced in chapter 113 of the manga series. Initially an enemy of Goku who was trained by Roshi's rival the Crane Hermit to kill Goku and the other Turtle Hermit studiers, during his finals battle with Goku, Tien realizes that the Crane Hermit's doings are wrong, and makes peace with Goku and becomes a Z Fighter. Accompanied by his friend Chiaotzu, Tien enters the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament , makes it to the finals, and faces Goku, who proves to be a more than worthy opponent. Eventually, after Goku survives every attack thrown at him, Tien destroys the arena with his Kikoho, but Goku jumps into the air and uses his Kamehameha to slam himself into Tien. Both fighters fall down to the ground, but Goku is hit by a passing truck, causing him to land on the ground first, which makes Tien the winner. Afterwards, Tien and Chiaotzu become allies of Goku. He participated in the battle against the Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z, in which he is killed by Nappa, along with Chiaotzu, Yamcha and Piccolo. The four of them are trained by King Kai and later revived by Porunga. Tien also participated in the battles against Cell and Majin Buu.Tien is bald and has three eyes, the third placed on his forehead. He has a Third Eye because he is from an Alien Race of three eyed beings called the Triclops. When Toriyama began creating the Dragon Ball series, he used Wu Cheng'en
Wu Cheng'en
Wu Cheng'en , courtesy name Ruzhong , pen name "Sheyang Hermit," was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty, best known for being the attributed author of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West.-Biography:Wu was born in Lianshui, in Jiangsu...
's Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
as a prototype for his own work. Tien's three eyed physical characteristic resembles the story character Erlang Shen
Erlang Shen
Erlang Shen , or Erlang is a Chinese God with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.Er-lang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who help regulate China's torrential floods, dating variously from the Qin, Sui and Jin dynasties...
, and both are warriors who were originally adversaries of the main character. His outfits change consistently as the series goes on, and he usually doesn't wear a shirt when fighting. In the Japanese version of the series, he was voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki
Hirotaka Suzuoki
was a Japanese voice actor and actor from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture who graduated from Tokyo Keizai University.His best known roles include Mobile Suit Gundam , Captain Tsubasa , Saint Seiya , Dragon Ball Z , The Transformers , Ranma ½ , Rurouni Kenshin , Pokémon...
until his death in 2006; Kōichi Yamadera
Koichi Yamadera
is a Japanese voice actor, actor, tarento, narrator, master of ceremonies and impressionist from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school, and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's...
acted as a substitute for Suzuoki for episodes 82 and 84 of the series. He is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono
Mitsuaki Madono
is a voice actor who was born in Osaka, Japan. He has a penchant for voicing characters who are supposedly jokers, but sometimes hide a more insidious nature is a voice actor (seiyū) who was born in Osaka, Japan. He has a penchant for voicing characters who are supposedly jokers, but sometimes...
in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
is a video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles based on the anime and manga series Dragon Ball. The game was developed by Dimps and published in North America and Australia by Atari, and in Japan and Europe by Namco Bandai under the Bandai label...
and by Hikaru Midorikawa
Hikaru Midorikawa
is a Japanese voice actor from Otawara, Tochigi who is represented by Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Seiran Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Heero Yuy in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in...
in Dragon Ball Kai. In the Ocean dub, he was voiced by Matt Smith
Matt Smith (voice actor)
Matt Smith is a Canadian voice actor who works for Ocean Productions in Vancouver.-Roles:*Dragon Ball Z - Tien * InuYasha - Hojo, Akitoki Hojo * Zoids: New Century Zero - Sanders...
. In the Funimation dub of the series, he was voiced by Chris Cason
Chris Cason
Christopher L. Cason is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment...
in the third season and by John Burgmeier from the fourth season onwards and in the redub of the third season.
Piccolo
Piccolo, otherwise known as Piccolo Junior, is a Z Fighter and an old enemy of Goku. He is born following his father King Piccolo's murder by Goku, and intends to take over his late father's mission of conquering the world. In the finals of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Piccolo is defeated by Goku, who wins the tournament. Five years later, in Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo is ambushed by Raditz, who proves to be a challenge to him. He forms a temporary alliance with Goku to defeat Raditz, and in doing so, kills Goku along with Raditz. After Goku's death, Piccolo vows to train Gohan so he can become stronger and fight the two other Saiyans who attempt to destroy the Earth. First, he has Gohan survive in the wildernessWilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
for six months, then he trains him in fight. During the ensuing fight with the Saiyans, Piccolo risks his life in order to save Gohan from Nappa's ki blast. He is soon revived by the Dragon Balls, and is brought to Namek for the first time. He fuses with the Namekian Nail, killing Nail, but making Piccolo stronger. He fights Frieza, but loses. He is healed by Dende, who is soon killed.
Son Gohan
Son Gohan is Goku's first son. He is first seen in the first volume of Dragon Ball Z, called "The World's Greatest Team", when he is kidnapped by Goku's brother, the Saiyan Raditz, and locked up in a space pod. However, his temper flares, and he bursts out of the space pod, dealing a blow to Raditz, but also knocking him out. Raditz intends to kill him, but Goku attacks Raditz and dies in the fight. Since Gohan was asleep during his father's murder, Piccolo took Gohan and told him of the bad news. Piccolo also vowed to train Gohan for a year.The first step of Piccolo's training had Gohan survive in the wilderness for six months. At first, Gohan was scared, but soon he transformed into a giant ape. He was changed back when Piccolo destroyed the moon, and survived Piccolo's other six months of intense training. During the fight with the Saiyans, Piccolo saves Gohan's life when he steps in front of Nappa's ki blast. Gohan is told to run away by his revived father, but he soon comes back to turn into a giant ape again using Vegeta's artificial moon. In his ape form, Gohan crushes Vegeta, who is forced to retreat.
After healing from his battle wounds, Gohan rebels against his mother Chi-Chi, and goes to planet Namek, where is made stronger by Guru. Gohan fights the Ginyu Force and eventually helps his dad fight Frieza. During the battle against Cell, Gohan Turns into a Super Saiyan 2 after Cell kills Android 16. Though he becomes much stronger then Cell he lets his arrogance get the best of him doesn't kill him when he has the chance. Cell in an attempt to kill Gohan self-destructs and his father dies while he watches in agony. He later finds out that Cell survived and comes back stronger due to his Saiyan genes and is happy he can avenge his father. He later then defeats Cell in a beam struggle because Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
distracts Cell with a ki blast. He starts high school four years later, where he creates his alter ego, the superhero "Great Saiyaman". As "Saiyaman", Gohan rescues a girl named Videl, the son of Mr. Satan. He plays a part in the fight of Majin Buu by fighting him and nearly dieing but is saved by Supreme Kai. Supreme Kai takes him to his home world where Gohan can wield the legendary Z-Sword. It Breaks and a past kai unleashes all his hidden power and he easily overpoweres Majin buu but is later absorbed.
Vegeta
Vegeta is a Saiyan, and one of the Z Fighters. His name is a pun on "vegetable". He is named after his home, the Saiyan planet Vegeta. Vegeta is known to have worked for the space tyrant Frieza, and is first shown on Planet Arlia when Raditz sends the battle feed to his scouter. The two of the them travel to Earth in search of the Dragon Balls. It takes them less than a year, but when he and Nappa finally arrive in the populated city of Metro East, Vegeta kills everyone in the city with his ki blast. Using his scouter, Vegeta tracks down the Z Fighters, and soon finds a revived Goku, who beats up Nappa. Vegeta, seeing that Nappa has been paralyzed, mercilessly kills him. He then fights Goku, but he runs away when Yajirobe cuts off his tail and he is struck by Gohan's Spirit Bomb. He returns to planet Frieza 79, and then heads of to Planet Namek for revenge on Frieza.On Namek, Vegeta sees his old workmates and kills them all, those including Cui, Dodoria and Zarbon. He also has several encounters with the Z Fighters, and successfully steals Frieza's Dragon Balls, but when the Ginyu Force is called over, he and Goku are forced to team up in order to defeat them, and they do. Vegeta becomes a Z Fighter, but Frieza kills him. When he is revived, he helps defeat Cell and the Androids. However, Vegeta is absorbed by Majin Buu, and is soon killed again. This time, he is not revived.
Trunks
Trunks is a mysterious sword-wielding teenager who first appeared on Earth from the future to kill Frieza and King Cold, and to warn Goku about a heart virus that will kill him that starts a apocalypse in the future. He reveals himself to be Bulma's son, with his father Vegeta. His sister is Bulla.Frieza
Frieza, spelled Freeza in the manga, is a galactic tyrant. He wants to get the Dragon Balls so he can wish for immortality. In flashbacks, it is shown that Frieza had feared groups of Saiyans, so he destroyed the Saiyan planet Vegeta, killing all but four Saiyans. Frieza hired Zarbon, Dodoria, Cui and Vegeta as some of his workers, but Vegeta soon found himself hating the job. On Planet Namek, Frieza kills off the entire Namekian race, including Dende. Frieza engaged in a fight with Goku and the Z Fighters, and Goku became a Super Saiyan due to his anger over Frieza murdering Krillin. As a Super Saiyan, Goku sliced Frieza in half with a failed kienzan, but he was rebuilt into a cyborg. He and his father King Cold come to Earth, but they both get killed by a mysterious teenager, later revealed to be Trunks. His brother Cooler fought Goku in the movie "Cooler's Revenge". In "Fusion Reborn", Frieza is easily defeated by Gohan.Cell
is the ultimate creation of Doctor Gero. He is an artificial life formSynthetic life
The creation of synthetic life is a goal of scientists working in the fields of synthetic biology or exploring the origin of life. The term has also been used to describe recent experiments that transferred...
created using the cells
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
of several characters from the series, including Goku, Piccolo
Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
and Frieza. As a result, Cell is able to perform techniques such as the Kamehameha, a powerful energy blast which he gains from the cells of Goku. In creating the character of Cell, Toriyama tried many different designs before finally settling on the one used in the series. Cell evolves several times throughout his appearances. He originally evolves from a cocoon-like form into his first "Imperfect Form", which is insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-like in appearance. Both his first form and his second "Semi-Perfect Form" have a long tail that ends in a stinger-like appendage and allows it to absorb other organisms. The tail recedes under his wings in his final "Perfect Form", and he can use it to spawn , a minuscule child-like version of himself.
Requiring the androids #17 and #18 to evolve, he finds out that they are already dead in his timeline, so he kills the Trunks of his timeline and uses Trunks' time machine to travel back in time. He eventually absorbs both after many battles and
ascends to his perfect form. He decides to hold the "Cell Games", a tournament in which he fights against the Earth's fighters until there are none left, resulting in Earth's destruction. Cell manages to defeat Goku, but he is eventually killed by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. Cell appears in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
in Dragon Ball Z, and makes a few appearances in Dragon Ball GT. Cell is voiced by Norio Wakamoto
Norio Wakamoto
is a veteran male seiyū and budō expert affiliated with Sigma Seven. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University...
in the Japanese anime, Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, Dameon Clarke
Dameon Clarke
Dameon J. Clarke is a Canadian-born American actor and voice actor who currently resides in Los Angeles. He has worked on numerous film and television productions as well as many anime and video game properties for FUNimation Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and OkraTron 5000. He is...
in the Funimation
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
dub and Dragon Ball Z Kai, and by Travis Willingham
Travis Willingham
Travis Hampton Willingham is an American actor and voice actor who works with anime films, television series, as well as video games....
in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
is a video game based on the manga and anime franchise Dragon Ball. It was developed by Spike and published by Namco Bandai for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles throughout North America, while everywhere else it would be published under the Bandai label. It was released in Japan, North...
and its sequel.
Majin Buu
, known as "Djinn-Boo" in the manga, is a magical life form created by the wizard, Bibidi, eons before the events of Dragon Ball took place. He is eventually sealed by Bibidi after he becomes uncontrollable, and Bibidi's son, Babidi makes it his goal to revive Buu. After being released, Buu appears as an innocent looking pudgy pink genieGenie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
-like creature. He is very naive and easily influenced, and he has a very volatile balance between his gentle and evil sides. After Buu kills Babidi, he becomes close friends with Hercule, which eventually causes him to expel his evil side. This evil manifests, and it manages to defeat and absorb the good side, resulting in a tall, slender form, who calls himself "Evil Buu (or Super Buu)." He is interested in a challenge, and later goes on to absorb Goten and Trunks as Gotenks, Piccolo, and Gohan.
It is revealed by the surviving member of the Kaioshin that the fat form of Buu is actually the result of the original assimilation of their leader into his body. The original is a sleek, child-sized being who is obsessed with chaos and destruction. The original is restored after Goku and Vegeta remove the good side from Super Buu. The good side is later spit out by the original, and he goes on to live with Hercule on Earth, while the original is killed by Goku, who wishes for him to be reincarnated as a good person. King Yemma, hearing the wish, reincarnates him into a child named Uub, who becomes Goku's successor and goes on to participate in battles against foes such as Baby, Super #17 and Omega Shenron.
All forms of Buu have a rubbery body that is easily damaged. He can regenerate
Regeneration (biology)
In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
instantly from any wound, regrow any part of his body, and he can even restore himself from vapor. It is possible for him to become so worn down that his regeneration begins to fail. He can reconfigure body portions into weapons, including stretching his extremities. Buu also can heal damaged beings, shapeshift
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, and transfigure other objects and organisms. He can also absorb other organisms by enveloping them with his body, and can replicate fighting techniques, even after witnessing them once.
In the original Japanese Buu and all his forms are currently voiced by Kōzō Shioya
Kozo Shioya
Kōzō Shioya is a veteran seiyū born in Kagoshima Prefecture. He is currently represented by Aoni Production...
in all media. In the Ocean dub Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
would voice Fat Buu, Brian Dobson
Brian Dobson
Brian Dobson is the third of three brothers, the others being Paul and Michael, who are well known for their talent as voice actors.- Anime Roles :*.hack//Roots - AI Harald...
would voice the Evil and Super Buus, and Ward Perry
Ward Perry
Ward Perry is an anime voice actor who has voiced characters for a number of anime dubbed by the Ocean Group in Vancouver, Canada. He is mostly known as the voice actor of Dragonball Z Villain Kid Buu.-Credits:...
would voice Kid Buu. McNeil would voice the renamed Mr. Buu in the Blue Water dub. In the Funimation dub Josh Martin voices Fat and Kid Buus, and Justin Cook
Justin Cook
Justin Ryan Cook is an American Producer, Voice Actor, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Engineer who works for Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
voices Evil and Super Buu. Martin and Cook voice Buu in all video games with exception of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, known in Japan and Europe as , is a fighting game for the PlayStation. It was produced and released by Bandai in Japan, parts of Europe, and North America in 1997. The game would reissued in Europe in 2002 and in North America in 2004...
where Buu, in kid form, was voiced by Dougary Grant. Buu was rated by Wizard magazine
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
as the 40th greatest villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
of all time. David F. Smith of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
states that although he is tough, Majin Buu's pink complexion prevents anybody from taking him as a serious threat.
Android #18
is a human forcefully turned into a cyborgCyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
along with her brother, #17. After being released by Dr. Gero, she travels with #16 and #17 in order to kill Goku, though they are interrupted by Cell
Cell (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character and villain in the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama. The character was created as a main antagonist in the series, after the studio responsible for the publication of the material he wrote was dissatisfied with Toriyamas previous concepts for enemies to the...
and the Z Fighters several times. She and #17 are eventually absorbed by Cell, but later during the Cell Games, a hard blow from Gohan causes Cell to regurgitate her. Though Krillin is unable to wish for her to be turned into a human, he is able to have her self-destruct device removed. Krillin later pursues #18 and, at some point, they marry and have a daughter named Marron. In Future Trunks' timeline, she is a mass murderer who is later killed by Trunks. She is voiced by Miki Itō
Miki Ito
is a Japanese voice actress.-Notable voice roles:*Air Gear 2006*Angel Links 1999*Ashita no Nadja *Aishiteruze Baby *Battle Angel Alita *Battle Athletes Victory...
in Japan, Enuka Okuma
Enuka Okuma
Enuka Vanessa Okuma is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her work on the TV series Madison, on the TV series Sue Thomas F.B. Eye, and the Nickelodeon teen drama Fifteen...
in the Ocean dub and Meredith McCoy
Meredith McCoy
Meredith McCoy Mauldin is an American actress, singer, and voice actress who has worked for Funimation Entertainment. Meredith has done national commercials for Radio Shack, AT&T, 7-Eleven, and Chevrolet. Her father Jaan McCoy is a longtime radio personality in the Dallas/Forth Worth area...
in the Funimation dub. Colleen Clinkenbeard
Colleen Clinkenbeard
Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard is an American voice actress, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, and OkraTron 5000. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and series, most notably, Monkey D...
has provided her voice for the recent video games; she also voices 18 in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Baby
is a parasitic alienExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
that first appears in the 22nd episode of Dragon Ball GT. Baby was created by combining the DNA of the king of the Tuffles with a cybernetic body. Baby desires to destroy all of the Saiyans to avenge his people. Baby is first reactivated from a sleep state by his creator, Doctor Myu. He attempts to fight Goku, Trunks, and Pan, but is easily defeated. To boost his power, Baby infects various people with his DNA and begins gathering energy from them. After a second defeat at the hands of the three Saiyans, Baby infects Trunks and then goes to Earth. On Earth he battles Son Goten and Son Gohan, infects them both, and is able to infect Vegeta and make him his primary host. Goku, Trunks, and Pan return to Earth to find the entire population is now under Baby's control. Baby is able to defeat Goku, then he begins using the Black Star Dragon Balls to restore the Planet Plant and transport the Earth population to it. During this time, Baby evolves into an even more powerful form and defeats Goku again. This causes Goku to transform into a Golden Great Ape and then into a Super Saiyan 4. In this new form, Goku is able to defeat Baby-Vegeta. He has Bulma, also under his control, fire a radiation beam at him from her Blutz Wave Generator which enables him to transform into a Golden Great Ape. After a lengthy battle, Baby separates from Vegeta and attempts to escape in a spaceship, vowing to return to destroy the Saiyans. Goku blasts the spaceship with a 10x Kamehameha attack, sending it into the sun. The ship is destroyed and Baby is obliterated.
He is voiced by Yusuke Numata
Yusuke Numata
is a seiyū who is affiliated with Aoni Production. His old stage name was .- Television animation :*Atashin'chi *Aoki Densetsu Shoot *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED *Konjiki no Gash Bell!!...
in the Japanese version and by Mike McFarland
Mike McFarland
Michael Charles McFarland is an American voice actor, ADR Director, Script, and Line Producer at Funimation Entertainment. He also did work with ADV Films, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and Okatron 5000...
in the Funimation dub.
Chiaotzu
, spelled Chaozu in the English manga, is a small human that resembles a doll with white skin, red cheeks, and one hair under his hat. Though he is not physically strong, he is skilled with psychokinesisPsychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
and telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
. He first studies under the Crane Hermit with his close friend, Tien Shinhan. After Tien realizes that the Crane Hermit's teachings are wrong, the two leave him and join with Goku and his companions. He continues to support Tien throughout the series, even going as far as self-destructing on Nappa in order to attempt to save him. However, this proved to be a mistake when Nappa survives without injury. After the Saiyan Saga, Chiaotzu is generally no longer involved in battle, although Kami gives Chiaotzu a new body for training. He is voiced by Hiroko Emori
Hiroko Emori
is a Japanese voice actress whose works for Aoni Production.-Notable voice roles:*Armitage III as Bronski*BS Tantei Club: Yuki ni Kieta Kako as both Toshie and Sachi Tachibana*Caroline the car in the Japanese version of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends...
in Japan, Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian voice actress who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known with providing the voice for characters in various anime series such as Mirai Yashima , Dorothy Catalonia and Catherine Bloom , Near , Shampoo , Kagome's mother , Misa...
in the Ocean dub, and Monika Antonelli
Monika Antonelli
Monika Antonelli is a voice actress and librarian best known for voicing Puar and Chiaotzu in the Dragon Ball anime series, as well as earlier video games and other media for the franchise from 1999 to 2008...
in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in the Funimation dub. Brina Palencia
Brina Palencia
Brina Michelle Palencia is an American voice actress, singer, and ADR director who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series.Apart from her adult female voices, she has been cast in younger...
voices him in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Chi Chi
, spelled Chi-Chi in the manga and Chichi in Japanese versions, is the wife of Goku and the mother of Gohan and Goten. She is very protective over the well being of her family, and wishes to remove them from Goku's lifestyle of fighting and constant conflict. She attempts to have Gohan focus on studying during his childhood, but this is interrupted by the constant threats to Earth. She later relaxes with Goten, even training him herself. As the daughter of the Ox-King, she is very strong in her own right, having easily made it to the quarter-finals of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, losing to Goku himself in one punch. She and Goku first meet as children when the Ox-King asked Goku to take her to Master Roshi's house. Later, Goku promises to marry her, thinking marriage is a kind of food. She later confronts him to have him fulfill the promise at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, despite the misunderstanding. She was voiced by Mayumi ShōMayumi Sho
is a Japanese seiyū. She formely works at Aoni Production and is currently working at Kekke Corporation. She is married to fellow seiyū Keiichi Nanba.-Notable voice roles:*Ikuko Otonashi in Maison Ikkoku*Chi-Chi in Dragon Ball and early Dragon Ball Z...
in the Japanese version of the series until episode 88, from which point she was voiced by Naoko Watanabe. In the Funimation dub, she is voiced by Laura Bailey
Laura Bailey (voice actress)
Laura Dawn Bailey is an American actress, voice actress, Singer, Line Producer and ADR Director. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films, television series, as well as video games...
as a child and Cynthia Cranz
Cynthia Cranz
Cynthia Jane Cranz is an American voice actress who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment...
as an adult. Chi Chi is played by Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung
Jamie Jilynn Chung is an American actress known to reality television audiences as a cast member on the MTV reality television series, The Real World: San Diego and its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, and for her appearances in TV and films, such as I Now...
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; her voice was dubbed over by Ami Koshimizu
Ami Koshimizu
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Production Baobab management. She was born in the city of Kokubunji in Tokyo Prefecture. She is an award winning voice actress.-Career:*She graduated from Aomori Yamada High School...
in the Japanese version of the film.
Launch
, also known as Lunch in the manga and Marilynn in the Harmony GoldHarmony Gold
Harmony Gold may refer to:* Harmony Gold , a South African gold mining company* Harmony Gold USA, an American television producer and distributor...
dub is a woman who Goku and Krillin rescued and brought to Master Roshi in exchange for him to train them. She has a strange disorder which makes her personality change from a nice, polite, brown-haired woman into a trigger happy blonde bad girl every time she sneezes. Since her bad form is a renown criminal, she decided to stay with Roshi at Kame Houses and become their maid. Launch's blonde persona develops an attraction towards Tien Shinhan's fierce attitude. In the manga she is not seen after the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament and is said to be chasing around Tien. She is seen in very few Dragon Ball Z anime filler during the Saiyan Saga and is seen again near the end helping contribute energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb to defeat Kid Buu. She was recently shown around the main cast once again in the special Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
is a 35-minute Dragon Ball animated short film that premiered at the Jump Super Anime Tour in September 2008. It is the first animated Dragon Ball feature in twelve years, following the tenth anniversary film The Path to Power. It has not been licensed for an English-language release.- Plot :Two...
and in the ending credits of Dragon Ball Kai. She is voiced by Mami Koyama
Mami Koyama
Mami Koyama is a veteran seiyū and J-pop vocalist who was born in Nishio, Aichi. She was once married to fellow seiyū Tōru Furuya, her co-star in Mobile Suit Gundam, Urusei Yatsura, Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, and Casshern Sins...
in Japan, Edie Mirman
Edie Mirman
Edith S. "Edie" Mirman is an American voice actress best known for the voice of Fujiko Mine from Tales of the Wolf, and also for both Miriya Parina Sterling and Nova Satori from Robotech. She is also the voice of Teryx in Dinosaucers and Gatomon and Angewomon in the Digimon series. She is credited...
in the Harmony Gold
Harmony Gold
Harmony Gold may refer to:* Harmony Gold , a South African gold mining company* Harmony Gold USA, an American television producer and distributor...
dub and Meredith McCoy
Meredith McCoy
Meredith McCoy Mauldin is an American actress, singer, and voice actress who has worked for Funimation Entertainment. Meredith has done national commercials for Radio Shack, AT&T, 7-Eleven, and Chevrolet. Her father Jaan McCoy is a longtime radio personality in the Dallas/Forth Worth area...
in the Funimation dub.
Mr. Satan
, known as Hercule in edited FUNimation releases and in some editions of Viz's manga translation, is a flamboyant martial artist that becomes a world renowned hero after the Cell Games. In 2009, his real name was revealed to be Mark (マーク Māku), which is a pun on the word "Akuma", meaning "devil/demon" in Japanese. After Goku and his companions stop attending the World Tournaments, Hercule starts winning them and becomes the reigning champion for many years. During the Cell Games, he attempts to fight Cell, but even after being swatted away, he is given credit for Cell's death by the media. He is soon called a world hero, gaining great wealth and a city named after him. Though Goku and his companions find his inflated ego and arrogance very annoying, he becomes their trusted friend after befriending the good Majin Buu, helping defeat Kid Buu by using his appeal to get energy from all of the individuals on Earth for the Genki Dama, and his daughter, Videl, marries Gohan. He was voiced by Daisuke GōriDaisuke Gori
was a Japanese voice actor, narrator and actor from Kōtō, Tokyo. Throughout his life, he was attached to TV Talent Center Tokyo, Yoshizawa Theatre School and then Mausu Promotion; he was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. His real name, as well as his former stage name, was...
in Japan until his death, with Unshou Ishizuka
Unshou Ishizuka
, better known as is a Japanese seiyū from Katsuyama, Fukui. He is currently affiliated with Aoni Production and also provides the voice for the Narrator and Professor Oak on Pokémon. During the Johto saga, he voiced Jasmine's Steelix, Pryce's Piloswine, Clair's Gyarados and also Ash's Kingler in...
taking over the role afterward, while in English he is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub, and Chris Rager
Chris Rager
Christopher Rager is an American voice actor who works with anime series at Funimation Entertainment.-Anime:* Baccano! - Gustavo* Baki the Grappler - Yuri* BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - Kenji Takano...
in the Funimation dub.
Oolong
is a shapeshiftingShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
pig that uses his abilities for his own greedy desires. He was expelled from shapeshifting training for stealing the teacher's panties
Panties
Panties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
, so he lacks the ability to change his form for more than five minutes at a time without a one-minute break. He made the first known wish with the Dragon Balls, wishing for the most comfortable pair of panties from the world's hottest babe. He joins Goku in the search for the Dragon Balls to eventually steal them, but abandons this plan. In Dragon Ball Z, he is often in the company of Roshi. He is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta
Naoki Tatsuta
is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Buta Gorilla , Daima Jin , Oolong , Ashibe's Father , and Scoop-kun ....
in Japan, Doug Parker
Doug Parker
Doug Parker may refer to:* Doug Parker, chief executive officer of US Airways* Doug Parker , voice actor*Douglas Parker, playwright*Chief Parker, fictional DC Comics character, appears in stories featuring the original Superboy...
and Alec Willows in the Ocean dub, Bradford Jackson
Bradford Jackson
Bradford Jackson is an American voice actor who worked for the FUNimation distributing company. He is best known for voicing Oolong in the Dragon Ball metaseries...
in the Funimation dub, and Bryan Massey
Bryan Massey
Bryan Massey is an American actor and writer. He also works frequently as a voice actor with Funimation. He currently resides in his hometown of Dallas, Texas with his wife and daughter.-Anime Roles:* Baccano! - Ladd Russo...
in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Pan
is the granddaughter of Goku. Pan's ancestry comes from both humans, and the extraterrestrials called the Saiyans, which becomes the primary race throughout the Dragon Ball galaxies. Pan is the daughter of the first Saiyan Human hybrid to appear in the series, Gohan, and his human wife Videl. In the Japanese anime, she was voiced by Yūko MinaguchiYuko Minaguchi
is a Japanese seiyū from Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production.-Notable voice roles:* Princess Apricot in Bosco Adventure * Yumi in Blue Sonnet * Yawara Inokuma and Kaneko Inokuma in Yawara!...
. In the English versions of Dragon Ball Z, she is voiced by Brenna O'Brien
Brenna O'Brien
Brenna O'Brien is a Canadian actress. She is best known for voicing Rin in the anime series Inuyasha.-Career:She is also known for playing Meghan in Zixx: Level Two and appears in X-Men: The Last Stand as the girl in the car with her family during Magneto's displacement of the Golden Gate Bridge...
in the Ocean dub and Kate Bristol in the Funimation dub. In the English versions of Dragon Ball GT, she is voiced by Elise Baughman
Elise Baughman
Elise Paige Baughman is an American actress and voice actress. She is known for doing voice work in dubbing Japanese anime for Funimation Entertainment, New Generation Pictures, and OkraTron 5000.-Anime:...
in the Funimation dub and by Caitlynne Medrek
Caitlynne Medrek
Caitlynne Elizabeth Medrek is a Canadian actress and voice artist. A Canadian College of Performing Arts alumna, Medrek began performing in community theatre at a young age, later winning competitions in musical theatre...
in the Blue Water
Blue Water Studios
Blue Water Studios Ltd. is a recording company located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada mainly known for voiceovers on Anime-dubs and Video games...
dub.
Piccolo Daimao
, known as King Piccolo in the English dubs and Demon King Piccolo in the Viz manga, is the evil half of the Namekian that removed his evil in order to become the guardian of the Earth; this negative energy took on a physical form, becoming a cast-off being. He and the good half, Kami, are linked, so if one dies, the other also will die. After being formed, he designates himself as the Great Demon King and begins to terrorize the world. He is eventually imprisoned by Mutaito, the master of Roshi, in a rice cooker for centuries by the suicidal Evil Containment Wave. After being released by Emperor Pilaf, he attempts to kill anyone that could possibly seal him again (including Chiaotzu and Master Roshi), uses the Dragon Balls to restore his youth, and takes over the Earth before being confronted by Goku, who, after a long battle, punches a large hole through his abdomen. Before dying, he regurgitates the egg containing his reincarnation, Piccolo Jr.Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
, in order to pursue his revenge. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono
Takeshi Aono
is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō affiliated with Aoni Production. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School....
in Japan, Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
in the Ocean dub, and Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
in the Funimation dub. He was played by James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Hōchū Ōtsuka
Hochu Otsuka
, also known by the his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor from Okayama Prefecture, affiliated with the talent management firm Crazy Box. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist for: Gary Oldman and Jean-Claude Van Damme....
in the Japanese dub of the film.
Besides Piccolo Jr., Piccolo Daimao creates several offspring in order to help him with his plans. His first offspring, Piano, helps Piccolo formulate his plan until his death. He also creates Tambourine to hunt down the contenders of the World Martial Arts Tournament to keep the sealing technique from resurfacing. Tambourine kills Krillin and beats a weakened Goku, but eventually Goku's Kamehameha vaporizes him. The third, Cymbal, is created to find Dragon Balls, but he is killed and eaten by Yajirobe. The fourth, Drum, is created to battle Tien, who he easily defeats until Goku appears and kills him in one blow. Tambourine is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao
Ryusei Nakao
, known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor, singer, and voice actor from Tōkyō Metropolis, Japan. He is attached to 81 Produce. He has also worked under the name of ....
in Japan and Dameon Clarke
Dameon Clarke
Dameon J. Clarke is a Canadian-born American actor and voice actor who currently resides in Los Angeles. He has worked on numerous film and television productions as well as many anime and video game properties for FUNimation Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and OkraTron 5000. He is...
in the Funimation dub; Piano is voiced by Masato Hirano in Japan and Brian Beacock
Brian Beacock
Brian Keith Beacock is an American television and film actor and a voice actor in anime and video games...
in the Funimation dub; and Drum is voiced by Daisuke Gori
Daisuke Gori
was a Japanese voice actor, narrator and actor from Kōtō, Tokyo. Throughout his life, he was attached to TV Talent Center Tokyo, Yoshizawa Theatre School and then Mausu Promotion; he was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. His real name, as well as his former stage name, was...
in Japan and Paul LeBlanc in the Funimation dub.
Puar
, known as Pu'ar in the Viz manga and Pu-erh in Japanese versions, is a soft-spoken blue creature and the constant companion of Yamcha. Puar's abilities consist of transvectionTransvection (flying)
Transvection is the supernatural act of levitating, floating or more specifically flying through the air. While levitation and magical flight can equate to acts of stage magic or astral projection through the use of psychoactive entheogens, transvection usually refers to the experience of bodily...
and shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
. Puar travels with Yamcha and Goku during Dragon Ball and continues to live with Yamcha afterwards. The character's name is revealed to be a pun on pu-erh
Pu-erh tea
Pu'er, Pu-erh, Puer, also Po Lei or Bolay is a variety of post-fermented tea produced in Yunnan province, China. Post-fermentation is a tea production style in which the tea leaves undergo a microbial fermentation process after they are dried and rolled. This is a Chinese specialty and is sometimes...
and was designed to slightly resemble a cat. He was constantly mocked by Oolong during their time at Shapeshifting School together. When questioned about gender, Toriyama disclosed that he looked at the character as male during illustrations. Puar is voiced by Naoko Watanabe in the Japanese version of the series, by Kathy Morse and Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian voice actress who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known with providing the voice for characters in various anime series such as Mirai Yashima , Dorothy Catalonia and Catherine Bloom , Near , Shampoo , Kagome's mother , Misa...
in the Ocean dub and by Monika Antonelli
Monika Antonelli
Monika Antonelli is a voice actress and librarian best known for voicing Puar and Chiaotzu in the Dragon Ball anime series, as well as earlier video games and other media for the franchise from 1999 to 2008...
in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in the Funimation dub. Brina Palencia
Brina Palencia
Brina Michelle Palencia is an American voice actress, singer, and ADR director who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series.Apart from her adult female voices, she has been cast in younger...
voices the character in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Son Goten
is the second and final child of Goku, the series' protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. First introduced in the 230 chapter of the manga, Goten resembles his father in appearance, with the same hair-style and similar clothing. In chapter 324, Toriyama changes his appearance to avoid confusion with Goku to include a shirt bearing his name, and a longer, shaggier hairstyle. Goten is trained by his older brother Son Gohan
Son Gohan
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama as a protagonist for the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, movies, television specials, video games, and other collectibles...
in preparation for the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, which their father would be attending. During the training, Gohan discovered Goten could become a Super Saiyan. He also possesses the Kamehameha, a technique that concentrates chi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
energy and is released into a powerful beam.
In order to save the world from the villain Majin Buu, Goku and Piccolo teach Goten and Trunks the "Fusion" technique, which allows them to transform into a single powerful warrior, Gotenks. Gotenks battles Buu multiple times but even when he transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 he is unable to defeat Buu. Buu temporarily absorbs Gotenks, increasing his own power, but Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
and Goku are able to retrieve them from Buu. When Buu destroys the Earth in the 312 chapter, Goten and Trunks are killed. The Dragon Balls later bring Goten back to life along with the rest of the Earth in order to give energy to Goku's Super Genki Dama attack, which defeats Buu. Goten then returns to a normal life on Earth.
Masako Nozawa
Masako Nozawa
is a Japanese voice actress and actress affiliated with Office Nozawa. Her pet name is Mako. Her husband, Masa'aki Tsukada is also a voice actor....
voices Goten in Japanese, while he is voiced by Kara Edwards
Kara Edwards
Kara Edwards is an American Radio Personality and voice actress who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films. She is best known for voicing Goten and Videl in Dragon Ball series...
(as a child) and Robert McCollum
Robert McCollum
Robert McCollum is an American voice actor who works for anime series at FUNimation Entertainment. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films...
(as a teen) in the Funimation dub.
Videl
is the daughter of Hercule. Like her father, she trains in martial arts, even surpassing him in strength. She uses her abilities to fight crime in the city, and after Gohan appears as the Great Saiyaman, she quickly figures out his identity. She uses that to blackmail him into showing her how to fly. After Buu is fully defeated, the two form a relationship, eventually become married, and have a child named Pan. When the two fight crime together afterwards, she takes on the role of the "Great Saiyaman 2 or Great Saiyawoman". She is voiced by Yuko MinaguchiYuko Minaguchi
is a Japanese seiyū from Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production.-Notable voice roles:* Princess Apricot in Bosco Adventure * Yumi in Blue Sonnet * Yawara Inokuma and Kaneko Inokuma in Yawara!...
in Japan, Moneca Stori
Moneca Stori
Moneca Stori is a former Canadian voice actress known mostly for her role as the original voice of Kagome Higurashi in the English version of InuYasha. She is also credited as Monica Gemmer...
in the Ocean dub, and Kara Edwards
Kara Edwards
Kara Edwards is an American Radio Personality and voice actress who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films. She is best known for voicing Goten and Videl in Dragon Ball series...
in the Funimation dub. Her name is an anagram of Devil, a play on words with her father's Japanese name (Mister Satan).
Yajirobe
is an overweight samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
that Goku meets in Dragon Ball. He is often considered to be rude, unmannered, timid, lazy, and cowardly. During their first meeting, Yajirobe gets mad at Goku for stealing his fish, and hates him. However, he has a change of heart, and helps Goku prepare for the battle against Piccolo Daimao, and continues to support Goku and his companions, though often from the sidelines. He trains under Kami with the others in order to prepare for the Saiyans, and helps in their victory by cutting off Vegeta's tail. During Dragon Ball, he is a wanderer that lives off the land, but after meeting Korin and discovering the Senzu Beans, which provide the nutrients of ten days worth of meals, restore energy and heal wounds, he decides to live with Korin. He begins growing the beans with him, and often delivers them to Goku and his companions. He plays a part in Goku's first fight in Vegeta when Vegeta stares at a full moon and transforms into an ape monster. Yajirobe takes his sword and cuts off his tail. However, when Vegeta becomes enraged and threatens Yajirobe with death, he backs off and tells Vegeta that he wants to be on his team. He is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka
Mayumi Tanaka
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is best known for the roles of Ryuunosuke Fujinami in Urusei Yatsura, Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in Dragon Ball...
in the Japanese version of the series, by Brian Drummond
Brian Drummond
Brian Drummond is a Canadian actor. He also serves on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. He and his wife serve as vice-president and president, respectively.- Career :Drummond was born in Salmon Arm, British...
in the Ocean dub and by Mike McFarland
Mike McFarland
Michael Charles McFarland is an American voice actor, ADR Director, Script, and Line Producer at Funimation Entertainment. He also did work with ADV Films, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and Okatron 5000...
in the Funimation dub.
Android #16
is a large fully mechanical android developed by Dr. Gero. He is deemed a failure, and is deactivated until Android #18 reactivates and releases him. Despite the other Androids disobeying and killing Dr. Gero, #16 still follows his orders to search for and destroy Goku. Unlike the other two, #16 processes a sophisticated mechanism to sense and track power levels in real time. While trying to protect #17 and #18 from Cell, he is greatly damaged, though Bulma and her father Dr. Briefs repair him. After he is repaired, he ignores his old orders to kill Goku, and focuses on the fight against Cell. Like the other androids he had the ability to self-destruct, but the device was removed during his repairs. This is made known only when #16 tried to self-destruct and destroy Cell, which Cell retaliates by destroying most of #16. His head and consciousness survived, but later is destroyed by Cell, which pushes Gohan over the edge to Super Saiyan 2. In the anime he is voiced Hikaru MidorikawaHikaru Midorikawa
is a Japanese voice actor from Otawara, Tochigi who is represented by Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Seiran Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Heero Yuy in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in...
in Japan, Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
in the Ocean dub, and Jeremy Inman
Jeremy Inman
Jeremy Inman is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment.-Anime:* Basilisk - Udono Josuke* BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - Mitty* Black Cat - Woodney* Case Closed - Tonnen...
in the Funimation dub.
Android #17
is a human forcefully turned into a cyborgCyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
by Dr. Gero along with his sister, #18. The two are released by Doctor Gero as a last resort, but they turn on their creator and quickly kill him instead. They begin to travel in order to find and kill Goku, coming into contact with the Z Fighters several times. In Future Trunks' timeline, he is a mass murderer who is later killed by Trunks. #17 returns one last time in Dragon Ball GT, when he fuses with a new #17 created by Doctor Gero and Doctor Myu in order to become the Super Android #17, who is finally defeated by Goku and #18. He is voiced by Shigeru Nakahara
Shigeru Nakahara
is a veteran seiyū . He works at Vi-Vo .-Notable voice roles:*Another Century's Episode 2 , *Arion *Aura Battler Dunbine *Biker Mice from Mars...
in Japan, Ted Cole
Ted Cole
- Anime Roles :* Beyblade - Lee, Spencer, Kane, Coach Barthez* Dokkoida!? - Pierre the Slave* Death Note - Reiji Namikawa, Yukito Shiraba, John McEnroe/Larry Conners, Jack Neylon/Kal Snydar* Dragon Ball - Yamcha...
in the Ocean dub, and Chuck Huber
Chuck Huber
Chuck Huber is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script writer who work for anime series at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
in the Funimation dub.
Babidi
is the son of Bibidi, the creator of Majin Buu. After Buu is sealed and his father is killed, he sets out to resurrect Buu to help him conquer the universe. Babidi manages to take over the minds of many strong warriors in order to help him achieve his goal, including Demon King Dabura, alien warrior Pui Pui, light-devouring monster named Yakon, and two muscle-bound humans, Yamu and Spopovitch. Babidi uses them to collect energy for Buu's revival, and later enlists Vegeta to help him, though Vegeta is able to ignore his orders. After Buu is revived, Babidi manages to control him with the threat of resealing him, though after being manipulated by Goku, Buu turns on him and shatters his head with a single punch. He later appears in Hell, cheering Goku and Vegeta on during their fight with Kid Buu, and then in Dragon Ball GT, when various villains escape from Hell. He is voiced by Jōji YanamiJoji Yanami
is a Japanese voice actor currently represented by Aoni Production.- Television :* Ookami Shōnen Ken , Boss* Hustle Punch , Professor Garigari/Garigari Hagase* Osomatsu-kun , Tou-san...
in Japan, Terry Klassen
Terry Klassen
Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor and voice director in Vancouver, British Columbia. He co-created Yvon of the Yukon. He is the voice director for shows including Martha Speaks, "Johnny Test", "George of the Jungle", "Ed, Edd n Eddy", several "Barbie" movies, "Transformers", "CardCaptors",...
in the Ocean dub, and Duncan Brannan in the Funimation dub.
Dende
is a Namekian child saved from Dodoria by Gohan and Krillin. He is taken into Gohan and Krillin's care, and takes them to the Great Elder to tap into vast-hidden reserves of their powers. Dende later gains the power to heal after having his power unlocked, which he uses to aid the warriors fighting Frieza until he is killed by the tyrant for being disruptive and helping the Earthlings. After being revived, he lives on New Namek until he is asked by Goku to replace Kami as Earth's guardian and revive the Dragon Balls. He accepts and continues to serve as the guardian throughout the rest of the series. He is very close to Piccolo, who fused with his brother Nail on Namek. As a child and teenager he is voiced by Tomiko SuzukiTomiko Suzuki
was a Japanese seiyu. She was born in Aichi Prefecture and was a member of Aoni Production. Her last film was Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker which was released only a week and half after Suzuki's death from a heart attack on July 7, 2003 at the age of 47.-Notable Anime Credits:* Captain Tsubasa —...
in the original Japanese series and by Aya Hirano
Aya Hirano
from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She was contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, for her voice acting career, and for her singing career,...
in Dragon Ball Kai, with Hiro Yuuki voicing him as an adult. In the Funimation dub of the series, he is voiced as a child by Ceyli Delgadillo
Ceyli Delgadillo
Ceyli Juliann Delgadillo is a former voice actress from Arlington, Texas.She worked for Funimation from 1997 to 2001. Her most notable roles were as the child version of Goku in the Dragon Ball movies Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle and Mystical Adventure, and also the child version of Dende...
in the original dub, Laura Bailey in the redub of the series, and by Maxey Whitehead
Maxey Whitehead
Maxey Whitehead is an American stage actress and voice actress who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films....
in Dragon Ball Z Kai. Justin Cook
Justin Cook
Justin Ryan Cook is an American Producer, Voice Actor, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Engineer who works for Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
voices him as an adult in the Funimation dub.
Doctor Gero
is the former chief scientist of the Red Ribbon Army. After the destruction of the organization, he begins using his development of androids to aid in destroying Goku for revenge. While creating a series of androids, he eventually implants his own brain into an exact replica of his body, becoming Android #20. Both he and Android #19, a round, pale android and the most loyal of Gero's creations, are able to absorb the energy of others using small devices on their hands. The two eventually attack Goku and his friends. #19, successfully draining Goku of his energy while Goku is affected by his heart virus, is killed by Vegeta afterwards. Doctor Gero flees, attempting to release #17 and #18 as a last resort, though #17 quickly kills him. Doctor Gero appears once more in Dragon Ball GT, planning to return to Earth along with Doctor Myu by creating another Android #17. They succeed, though Doctor Myu betrays Doctor Gero and has the newly formed Super #17 kill him once again. He is voiced by Kōji YadaKoji Yada
is a Japanese voice actor currently represented by Aoni Production. Kōji Yada is also his birth name, but it is written with different kanji .-TV anime:*Arrow Emblem Hawk of the Grand Prix *Space Battleship Yamato Series...
in Japan, Brian Dobson
Brian Dobson
Brian Dobson is the third of three brothers, the others being Paul and Michael, who are well known for their talent as voice actors.- Anime Roles :*.hack//Roots - AI Harald...
in the Ocean dub, Kent Williams
Kent Williams (voice actor)
Kent Williams is an American actor and voice actor who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films.-Anime:...
in the Funimation dub.
Emperor Pilaf
is a small, impish man who dreams of ruling the world. Though he proclaims himself an emperor, he actually only has a crown and a castle. Along with his two minions, , a woman that wears a trench coat, and , a humanoid dog in a ninja outfit, he seeks out the Dragon Balls to wish for world domination. After obtaining the Dragon Balls once, he is foiled by Goku and his companions after another wish is granted just before he can speak his fully. He continues to antagonize Goku throughout the rest of Dragon Ball, and while attempting to obtain the Dragon Balls, releases Piccolo Daimao from his confinement. They appear again in Dragon Ball GT, where they obtain the Black Star Dragon Balls and accidentally wish Goku to be a child again. Pilaf is voiced by Shigeru ChibaShigeru Chiba
is an actor and voice actor. He has also worked as a sound effects director and music director. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce....
in Japan and Chuck Huber
Chuck Huber
Chuck Huber is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script writer who work for anime series at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
in English dub. Shu is voiced by Tesshō Genda
Tessho Genda
is a Japanese voice actor. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce. When he debuted, he used his real name, . as artist name. Because he had experience with ballet, he was known by the nickname "Pirouette Genda."...
in Japan and Chris Cason
Chris Cason
Christopher L. Cason is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment...
in the English dub. Mai is voiced by Eiko Yamada in Japan and Julie Franklin in the Funimation dub. She was played by Eriko Tamura
Eriko Tamura
is a Japanese actress and singer. The animated television show Idol Densetsu Eriko was created as a result of her popularity. The show has been syndicated world-wide, airing in such countries as Spain, Italy, and France...
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution.
Evil Dragons
The Evil Dragons, known as the Shadow Dragons in the English versions, are a group of evil beings born from the evil energy caused by overuse of the Dragon Balls. When attempting to repair the damage caused by Super #17, the cigar-smoking Evil Shenron is summoned from the Dragon Balls instead of the regular Shenron. He splits into seven dragons, each containing a Dragon Ball. They are known as the One-Star through Seven-Star Dragons in Japan, and Syn Shenron, Haze Shenron, Eis Shenron, Nuova Shenron, Rage Shenron, Oceanus Shenron, and Naturon Shenron in the English versions.Goku and Pan kill all of the dragons besides the One-Star, Four-Star, and Three-Star Dragons, and collect their Dragon Balls. Goku soon fights the Four-Star Dragon, voiced by Ken Yamaguchi
Ken Yamaguchi
was a Japanese voice actor. He was represented by OYS Produce.He was most known for the roles of Ashuraman, The Omegaman, Prisman , Genji Togashi , Flazzard , Tarantula Arachne , and Ein .Yamaguchi died on October 24, 2011 due to illness.-Notable voice...
in Japan and John Burgmeier in the English dub, who is fire-based and much more honorable than his siblings. The fight is soon interrupted by the Three-Star Dragon, who blinds Goku in an attempt to kill him. Goku eventually manages to kill the dragon, and when the Four-Star Dragon attempts to help Goku with his eyes, he is killed by One-Star Dragon, voiced by Hidekatsu Shibata
Hidekatsu Shibata
is a Japanese voice actor from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. He is married to voice actress Akiko Sekine....
in Japan, and Bob Carter and Christopher R. Sabat in the Funimation dub. The dragon absorbs the Dragon Balls, transforming into Omega Shenron. After a long battle, he is killed by Goku's Super Genki Dama, and the Dragon Balls are purified.
Fortuneteller Baba
is an old witch and Master Roshi's older sister. She possesses a magic floating crystal ball which she rides on top of. She is able see the location of any lost item, have a limited view of the future and is able to bring any deceased individual back to the living world for only one day. She lives in a big palace located over an oasis in the desert. She normally charges a very high price for her services unless her team of fighters are defeated. Her team of fighters consists of Fangs, a boxing vampire, See-Through, an invisible man who is weak but only advantage is being invisible, Bandages, a mummy with brute strength and Spike, a devilman whose signature technique the Devilmite Beam can destroy people using the evil in their hearts. During the time Goku and his friends visit in order for her to find the last Dragon Ball after the defeat of the Red Ribbon Army, his adoptive Grandfather Gohan was the last of her fighters, brought back to the real world to see his grandson. In Dragon Ball Z, she makes many recurring appearances from time to time, including trying to tell the future of the Saiyans. In Japanese she is voiced by Junpei TakiguchiJunpei Takiguchi
, better known by the stage name , was a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Chiba Prefecture.Besides his many narration and dubbing roles, he was also known for his roles in Time Bokan , Yatterman , Mazinger Z , Tekkaman: The Space Knight and for his narration roles in Burari Tochūgesha no...
in Dragon Ball and early Dragon Ball Z and by Mayumi Tanaka
Mayumi Tanaka
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is best known for the roles of Ryuunosuke Fujinami in Urusei Yatsura, Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in Dragon Ball...
during the later half of Dragon Ball Z and during Dragon Ball Kai. In English she is voiced by Ellen Kennedy in the Ocean dub and by Linda Chambers-Young
Linda Chambers-Young
Linda Chambers-Young is an American voice actress who voices characters in Japanese anime series, usually in voice productions produced by FUNimation Entertainment, arguably her most notable roles being Frieza in Dragon Ball Z and Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho.Her son is John Burgmeier, who works...
in the Funimation dub.
Garlic Jr.
is the main antagonist in Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and is one of the few original characters from the movies to appear in the TV series. His father was imprisoned by Kami in the realm of darkness, leaving Garlic Jr. with a deep feeling of resentment and desire for revenge. In the film, he manages to obtain the seven Dragon Balls, wish for immortality, and begin his quest for revenge. He is defeated when faced with an angry Gohan, who pushes Garlic Jr. into the Dead Zone, an alternate dimension he can freely open.In the TV series, he breaks free using his power source, the Makyo Star, leading to the events of the Garlic Jr. arc. After attempting to brainwash the world with the Black Water Mist, he is once again trapped in the Dead Zone after the destruction of the Makyo Star. In the original Japanese version, Garlic Jr. is voiced by Akira Kamiya
Akira Kamiya
is a Japanese voice actor. He has been represented by Theater Echo, Aoni Production, and others. He is currently represented by Saeba Shoji.-Career:Kamiya made his debut on Mahou no Mako-chan in 1970 while working for Theater Echo...
in Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and Shigeru Chiba
Shigeru Chiba
is an actor and voice actor. He has also worked as a sound effects director and music director. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce....
in the anime. He is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub of the film and Dave Ward in the Ocean dub of the anime. Chuck Huber
Chuck Huber
Chuck Huber is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script writer who work for anime series at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
voices Garlic Jr. in the Funimation dub of the film and anime.
Ginyu Force
The is a team of five mercenaries who are hired by Frieza. Though physically some of the strongest individuals in the universe, the Ginyu Force's members delight in coming up with strange poses, betting candy on fights, and playing Janken. They are led by , who has a unique technique that allows him to switch bodies with his opponents. The other members are , , andFrieza calls upon them to assist in the defeat of Vegeta and help obtain the Dragon Balls on Planet Namek. In the anime, they (sans the surviving Ginyu) appear at King Kai's planet in the afterlife and battle Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu, who defeat and banish them to Hell. Tien defeats Jeice and Burter, Yamcha defeats Recoome, and Chiaotzu defeats Guldo. King Kai reveals that he actually invited the Ginyu Force there in order for Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu to test their new strength.
Guldo, known as "Gurd" in the manga, is a fat, four-eyed monster who, although physically weak, has psychic powers, including the fact that he can freeze time when he holds his breath. He can also freeze people. He is the first one killed when Vegeta decapitates him.
Recoome, known as "Reacoom" in the manga, is a tall, orange-haired man whose attacks are simply named "Recoome Punch" and "Recoome Kick". He is killed by Vegeta after a long fight with Goku, whose power level is supposedly 5,000 at the time.
Burter, known as "Butta" in the manga, is a blue-colored dragon. He is known as "Blue Hurricane" due to him being the fastest being in the universe. He argues with Jeice and Recoome over who gets to kill Vegeta, and play rock-paper-scissors constantly. Goku easily kills him in one hit.
Jeice, known as "Jheese" in the manga, is a gray-haired, orange-skinned human. He is also known as "Red Magma". Goku originally gave him the change to leave, but Vegeta showed no mercy and murdered him.
Captain Ginyu is the purple-skinned leader of the Ginyu Force. He is shown to be the smartest, as he found out that Goku is masking his true power level. After seeing that Goku's power level grew up to 180,000 on the Kaio-ken, Ginyu uses an attack on his arm, leaving him almost dead. Ginyu switches bodies with Goku, who is left with Ginyu's nearly dead body. Ginyu (as Goku) tricks Krillin into handing over the Dragon Balls, but Jeice reveals that Ginyu as Goku's power level is only 23,000. Ginyu tries to get in Vegeta's body, but instead he turns himself into a frog.
Grandpa Gohan
is the adoptive grandfather of Goku, whom he found in a crashed spaceship. He teaches Goku martial arts, having originally studied under Roshi, and he even knows Roshi's Kamehameha. He warns Goku not to look at the full moon, but he disobeys, leading to him being killed by Goku as a rampaging Oozaru on a night with a full moon. Goku does not realize it until Vegeta turns into an Oozaru and tells Goku about the transformations. He is allowed to return to life for one day by Baba in order to fight Goku and anticipate his growth, and he later appears as an assistant to Annin, the ruler of the "magical furnace". He is only shown in flashbacks afterwards. He is voiced by Osamu SakaOsamu Saka
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Wheeljack in the Japanese dub of , as well as Seitaro Sakaki , Jotaro Honma , and Daisuke Aramaki .-Anime:* Noah Van Hellsing in Blade* Dr...
in the Japanese version of the original series, by Kinpei Azusa
Kinpei Azusa
, real name , was a seiyū, or voice actor, born in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He was employed by the talent management firm Aoni Production.Between the ages of three and six, Azusa was trained in the theatre. At the age of five, he was given the name Kinzō Azusa...
in Bardock: The Father of Goku and by Shigeru Chiba
Shigeru Chiba
is an actor and voice actor. He has also worked as a sound effects director and music director. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce....
in Dragon Ball Kai. In the Funimation dub of the series, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
. He is portrayed by Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim is a Korean-American stage, television and film actor. Kim was also the artistic director and mainstay lead actor at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which he founded with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright...
in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over by Hiroya Ishimaru
Hiroya Ishimaru
is a Japanese voice actor most famous for performing the role of Kouji Kabuto in the 1972 series Mazinger Z and its sequels. He also gave voice to Tutty from Bosco Adventure and recently voiced Ultraman Taro in Ultraman Story, Ultraman Mebius, and Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Brothers He is also the...
in the Japanese dub of the film.
Kami
is the guardian residing over the Earth for much of the series. Before his appearance, he was thought of as "God". He is the good half of an unnamed Namekian (which is called child of Katatz by Namekian Elder (Guru)) that had to split himself in order to become guardian. The evil half, Piccolo Daimao, was later sealed away by humans. After Piccolo Daimao is unleashed and killed by Goku, he spawns a much stronger reincarnation, PiccoloPiccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
. Seeing a threat, Kami decides to attempt to seal away the new Piccolo in the World Martial Arts Tournament, possessing a human named Shen (dubbed Hero in the English anime) as a guise, but the plan backfires on him when Kami is trapped inside a water jug and is swallowed by Piccolo. After Goku defeats Piccolo, he eventually reforms. During the fight against the Saiyans, Kami dies when Piccolo is killed by Nappa. Kami gives Chiaotzu a new body so he can train with King Kai, and much later during the Cell saga, Kami agrees to merge and rejoin Piccolo to stand a chance against Cell and the Androids. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono
Takeshi Aono
is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō affiliated with Aoni Production. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School....
in Japan, who would do so up until the Frieza saga in Dragon Ball Z Kai. After Aono suffered a stroke, Bin Shimada
Bin Shimada
is a Japanese voice actor. He is currently affiliated with the talent management firm Aoni Production.-References:* Nakagami, Yoshikatsu et al. "You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle". Newtype USA. pp. 48–49.-External links:...
voiced the character for his final appearance during the Cell saga. In English he is voiced by Michael Dobson and Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, and Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
in the Funimation dub.
King Kai
The are upper-level gods of the Dragon Ball universe. There are five at a time that rule over the main galaxy of the universe, with one presiding over each of the four quadrants in a galaxy, and the last overseeing them all. The Kai are responsible for the lower-level gods, who rule over individual planets. The Kai reside in the heavens, with each having their own small planet. There is a sense of competition among the Kai over whose quadrant has the best fighters. King Kai, the Northern Kai, trains Goku after his self-sacrifice to defeat Raditz, and eventually trains Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu and Piccolo.King Kai, also known as and , is the Kai of the northern quadrant of the galaxy. His companion is a pet monkey named Bubbles and in the anime he also has a flying cricket companion named Gregory. King Kai trains fighters allowed to keep their bodies if they manage to reach his small planet at the end of Snake Way. Before training any students, he forces them to appeal to his strange sense of humor, catch Bubbles, and hit Gregory with a mallet. He provides Goku with martial arts training and two of his own techniques, the Genki Dama and the Kaio-ken, which King Kai was never able to master himself. He continues to help Goku and his friends throughout the series, lending his planet locating and telecommunicating abilities for their use. When Goku brings a self-destructing Cell to his planet, the explosion kills King Kai and destroys his planet. As he is already in the Other World, he only gains a halo and in the anime he appears to settle down on Grand Kai's planet. He is voiced by Jōji Yanami
Joji Yanami
is a Japanese voice actor currently represented by Aoni Production.- Television :* Ookami Shōnen Ken , Boss* Hustle Punch , Professor Garigari/Garigari Hagase* Osomatsu-kun , Tou-san...
in Japan, Don Brown and Dave Ward in the Ocean dub and Sean Schemmel
Sean Schemmel
Sean Schemmel is an American voice actor, ADR director, and script writer who has worked for NYAV Post, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, OkraTron 5000, DuArt Film and Video, and 4Kids Entertainment...
in the Funimation dub.
Mercenary Tao
Mercenary Tao also known as Tao Pai Pai (桃白白) is an assassin for hire and younger brother to the Crane Hermit, Master Roshi's life long rival. He wears a custom made pink gi with the words "Kill You" on the back and his way of transportation is by riding on any cylinder shaped object he throws really far in the general direction of his next destination. He is first introduced in the series by being hired by the Red Ribbon Army to take out Goku and retrieve the Dragon Balls he possess. He kills General Blue with a touch of his tongue, and supposedly kills Goku. After succeeding in the first battle, he later had to come back after forgetting one of the Dragon Balls where Goku challenged him again with his new found power from climbing Korin Tower. He failed his second battle with Goku after getting caught in the explosion of his grenade which he was assumed dead which later resulted in his older brother the Crane Hermit attempting to get revenge during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. The Crane Hermit tried killing the Z Fighters in the 22nd Tournament. It is later revealed that he survived and was modified into a cyborg using all the money he gained from his previous assassination jobs. He enters the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament where he is set up against Tien who was his former student and is defeated. His last appearances were in filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z during the Cell Games Saga. In the film Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure he along with the Crane Hermit serve as the movies main antagonists where they attempt to take over Chiaotzu's empire. In Japanese, he is voiced by Chikao Ōtsuka in Dragon Ball and Yukimasa Kishio in Dragon Ball Z. In the Funimation dub he is voiced by Viz MediaVIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
.
Mr. Popo
is an immortal GenieGenie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
-like entity who serves as the caretaker to Kami and later Dende after taking his place as the guardian of Earth. He helps Goku meet Kami by suprisingly getting the best of Goku in a fight, which he tells him that the air is thinner here. Mr. Popo assists Kami in training Goku for three years in preparation for his battle against Piccolo at the World Martial Arts Tournament as well as later training Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu and Yajirobe during their preparation against the Saiyans. He is voiced by Toku Nishio
Toku Nishio
was a Japanese actor and voice actor from Gifu Prefecture, Japan. He was represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society.He was most known for the roles of Mammoth Nishi , Musashi , and Mister Popo ....
in Japanese, French Tickner in the Ocean Group dub, and Chris Cason
Chris Cason
Christopher L. Cason is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment...
and Chris Sabat in the Funimation dub.
Mr. Popo's appearance has been considered an offensive racist stereotype by Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford is an African American author and critic, now living in North Carolina, United States. She writes children's literature and some historical books, as well as poetry and commentaries.- Biography :...
in an article she wrote in the Christian Science Monitor in May 2000. The English releases of the manga by Michael Dobson have censored Mr. Popo's lips by reducing their size. In the airing of Dragon Ball Z Kai on CW 4kids Toonzai block, Mr. Popo's skin was changed from black to blue.
Nappa
is an elite Saiyan warrior that accompanied Vegeta to Earth in search of the Dragon Balls. He has a somewhat violent nature. He survived the attacks of Tien and Chiaotzu, which drained their lives. He put Piccolo to death with his incredible might, but fell powerless to Goku who had returned to Earth with new training from North Kai. Vegeta ordered Nappa to stop fighting due to Goku's clear dominance over him. He was then executed by Vegeta when defeated by Goku. He returned briefly as one of the escapees from Hell in Dragon Ball GT, only to be killed by Vegeta once more. In Japanese he is voiced by Shōzō IizukaShozo Iizuka
is a male Japanese voice actor from Fukushima Prefecture who is affiliated with Sigma Seven. He graduated from the fine arts department of Nihon University....
in Dragon Ball Z, Kiyoyuki Yanada
Kiyoyuki Yanada
Kiyoyuki Yanada is a seiyū who was born in Tokyo. He was a member of 81 Produce.-Notable voice roles:*After School in the Teacher's Lounge *Baten Kaitos...
in Dragon Ball GT, and Tetsu Inada
Tetsu Inada
' is a seiyū who works for Aoni Production.-TV:*Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales *Bakugan Battle Brawlers *Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia *Bamboo Blade...
in Dragon Ball Kai. In English he was voiced by Michael Dobson in the Ocean dub and by Phil Parsons
Phil Parsons
Phil Parsons , is a former NASCAR driver and owner of MSRP Motorsports . He is also the younger brother of the late 1973 Winston Cup champion and former NBC/TNT commentator Benny Parsons. Years later, he returned to the Busch Series, where he enjoyed modest success...
in the Funimation dub.
Raditz
, first seen in Dragon Ball Z Chapter 1 (New Threat), is a Saiyan warrior and the older brother of Goku. Along with Goku, Vegeta, and Nappa, Raditz is one of the few Saiyans who still exist following the genocide of the Saiyans in the destruction of Planet Vegeta at the hands of Frieza. In the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, Raditz arrives on Earth, searching for his long-lost brother in order to recruit him in conquering other planets. He is shown wearing a new device called a scouter that can read power levels. He tracks down Goku to try and get him to destroy Earth, but when Goku refuses, Raditz kidnaps his nephew, Gohan, and orders Goku to kill 100 Earthlings within a day if he wants his son back. Instead, Goku and Piccolo team up to defeat Raditz, though not even their combined powers are not enough. However, Goku makes the ultimate sacrifice by grappling with Raditz and allowing Piccolo to kill them both with his Makankosappo technique. Before Raditz dies, Piccolo taunts him by explaining that Goku will be revived by the Dragon Balls, though Raditz manages to send one final transmission on his scouter to inform Vegeta and Nappa of this, believing that his Saiyan comrades will come to Earth and use the Dragon Balls to revive him. Piccolo then attacks him, dealing the final blow to Raditz. However, Vegeta and Nappa travel to Earth to use the Dragon Balls for their own purposes instead. Raditz later makes a minor appearance in Dragon Ball GT along with many of the other villains who escaped Hell. He is voiced by Shigeru ChibaShigeru Chiba
is an actor and voice actor. He has also worked as a sound effects director and music director. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce....
in Japan, Jason Gray-Stanford in the Ocean dub, and Justin Cook
Justin Cook
Justin Ryan Cook is an American Producer, Voice Actor, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Engineer who works for Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
in the Funimation dub.
Red Ribbon Army
The is a paramilitary organization bent on total world domination. Originally a technological cooperation, they lost out to the Capsule Corporation, and focused their technology on military weapons. They plan on obtaining the Dragon Balls to help with their goal, using any means necessary including raiding towns, hiring the mercenary Tao to attack Goku, creating androids, among others. Despite this, Goku is able to wipe out the entire army. The quest for world domination turns out to be a ruse by their leader Commander Red. He is a short man, who really plans on using them to become taller, even if the whole army has to be sacrificed. The second in command is , who loyally obeys Red until hearing of his plan (to become tall), at which point, he kills Red with a shotgun and attempts to take over, only to be killed by Goku.General Blue is a high-ranking official of the army. He comes into contact with Goku and his companions multiple times, often using a special psionic
Psionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
ability that allows him to paralyze other individuals. He is a neat freak, and does not enjoy Bulma's seduction, so she thinks of him as gay. He manages to steal the Dragon Radar during their final encounter, but after returning, he is set to be executed for not obtaining any of the Dragon Balls after multiple failures. He is allowed to fight Tao to redeem himself, though Tao easily kills Blue only using his tongue. Blue wears a brown uniform reminiscent of the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, implying parallels between the RRA and the real-life Nazi Party. Blue appears in the Dr. Slump
Dr. Slump
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes...
remake anime, where he assists the ninja Murasaki who is another operative of the Red Ribbon Army in trying to take the Dragon Balls from Goku and Arale
Arale Norimaki
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the anime and manga series Dr. Slump created by Akira Toriyama. She is voiced by Mami Koyama in the first anime and Taeko Kawata in the second...
. Blue is voiced by Toshio Furukawa
Toshio Furukawa
is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production and is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. His height is 164cm. Hobbies are Fishing, diorama, reading and movies.In July 2011, Furukawa appeared at Anime Expo as a guest.-Career/Personal:...
in Japan and Sonny Strait
Sonny Strait
Don "Sonny" Strait is an American voice actor who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment. He has provided voices for a number of characters in English language versions of Japanese anime films....
in the Funimation dub.
In Dragon Ball Z, the Doctor Gero creates Androids, and it is revealed that Gero worked for the Red Ribbon Army, and that Gero is actually an android himself. Android 17 kills Dr. Gero, and Android 18 marries Krillin, so the plan had failed.
Shenron
, also known as the Eternal Dragon in the Ocean and Funimation dubs, Shenlong in the Viz manga, Shen Long in Japanese versions, and the Dragon God in the Harmony Gold dub, is the wish granting dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
summoned when all of Earth's Dragon Balls are gathered. Shenron can bestow any wish as long as it does not exceed the power of his creator (who must be still alive) and has not been previously granted. This is why Shenron can only bring the same person back to life once. Shenron can originally only grant one wish, but after being revived by Dende, he is able to grant two at a time. Shenron often tries to hasten summoners to make their wishes. He will usually threaten to leave or kill the summoner if they do not quickly make their wish, but never follows through with it. He is voiced by Kenji Utsumi
Kenji Utsumi
is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Kitakyūshū, affiliated with the self-founded Ken Production. He is married to fellow voice actress Michiko Nomura....
in the Japanese version of the series with the exclusion of episodes 192 and 193 in the series and the films, in which he is voiced by Masaharu Satō
Masaharu Sato
is a Japanese voice actor currently working for Aoni Production.Along with the late Kōji Totani, he is considered the No. 1 supporting actor of the Japanese voice acting world....
; he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri
Daisuke Gori
was a Japanese voice actor, narrator and actor from Kōtō, Tokyo. Throughout his life, he was attached to TV Talent Center Tokyo, Yoshizawa Theatre School and then Mausu Promotion; he was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. His real name, as well as his former stage name, was...
in Dragon Ball GT and by Kōji Yada
Koji Yada
is a Japanese voice actor currently represented by Aoni Production. Kōji Yada is also his birth name, but it is written with different kanji .-TV anime:*Arrow Emblem Hawk of the Grand Prix *Space Battleship Yamato Series...
in the Dr. Slump
Dr. Slump
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes...
remake. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Don Brown in the Ocean dub and by Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
in the Funimation dub.
His Namekian counterpart is . Unlike Shenron, Porunga has a large, muscular upper body and various Namekian traits; he initially can only bring a single person back to life at a time, but can bring that person back multiple times. He can grant three wishes, so long as they don't exceed his creator's power, his creator is still alive, and each request is delivered in the Namekian dialect. He is voiced by Junpei Takiguchi
Junpei Takiguchi
, better known by the stage name , was a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Chiba Prefecture.Besides his many narration and dubbing roles, he was also known for his roles in Time Bokan , Yatterman , Mazinger Z , Tekkaman: The Space Knight and for his narration roles in Burari Tochūgesha no...
in the Japanese version of the series with the exclusion of episode 283, in which he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri
Daisuke Gori
was a Japanese voice actor, narrator and actor from Kōtō, Tokyo. Throughout his life, he was attached to TV Talent Center Tokyo, Yoshizawa Theatre School and then Mausu Promotion; he was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. His real name, as well as his former stage name, was...
; he is voiced by Masaharu Satō
Masaharu Sato
is a Japanese voice actor currently working for Aoni Production.Along with the late Kōji Totani, he is considered the No. 1 supporting actor of the Japanese voice acting world....
in the video games. In Dragon Ball Kai Daisuke Gōri originally performed the role; after his death, Ryūzaburō Ōtomo
Ryuzaburo Otomo
is a Japanese voice actor, actor and narrator from Tokyo. He is currently affiliated with Aoni Production as of December 2006, and was formerly affiliated with 81 Produce and the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society....
took over. He is voiced by Christopher Sabat in the Funimation dub of the series.
Dragon Ball GT introduces the Black Star Shenron, a much larger red Shenron made by Kami when he and Piccolo Daimao were still one entity. He is summoned when the Black Star Dragon Balls are gathered, and can grant any single wish, regardless of any restrictions placed on the other dragons.
Supreme Kai
was originally the ruler of the eastern quadrant of the universe but due to his other fellow supreme kai's being destroyed by Majin Buu is the de facto ruler of the entire universe. During his debut he had pink skin and a white mohawk and was accompanied by his larger loyal body guard Kibito. He came to Earth to meet Goku and his friends and try to help prevent Babidi from resurrecting Majin Buu but ended up failing. The Supreme Kai takes Gohan to his own private planet where he has him train using the Z Sword but instead the sword is broken where the Supreme Kai's older ancestor gives Gohan the true power that is obtained from the Z Sword. Supreme Kai and Kibito later get permanently fused into one being when they remove only one of the earings to give to Goku which he later uses with Vegeta to create the fusion of Vegetto. The Supreme Kai later assists in the final battle with Kid Buu by teleporting the Goku and the last survivors on Earth onto his planet and helps fled with Dende to revive Earth and its people with the Dragon Balls. In Japanese he is voiced by Kent Williams and by Kent WilliamsKent Williams
Kent Robert Williams is an American painter and graphic novel artist.A graduate of the Pratt Institute in New York City, Williams, a consummate draftsman and painter, has realized his work through various other artistic channels as well; that of the illustrated word and the graphic novel ,...
in Funimation's English Dub.
Uub
, known as Oob in the Viz manga and in Japanese versions, is the reincarnation of the evil Majin Buu. After Kid Buu is destroyed, Goku asks him to be reincarnated as a good person, so they may battle again. King Yemma overhears the request and complies with it. Goku eventually senses Uub's hidden power, and seeks him out when Uub attends the tournament to gain money for his village. Goku ends up deciding to train him to be Earth's new guardian and as an opponent that he can battle. In Dragon Ball GT, Mr. Buu enters Uub's body, making him into "Majuub" to face threats such as Baby, Super #17, and Omega Shenron. He is voiced by Megumi UrawaMegumi Urawa
in Kashiwa, Chiba) is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Konjiki no Gash Bell!! *Ghost Sweeper Mikami *Hell Teacher Nūbē...
(Kid Uub) and Atsushi Kisaichi
Atsushi Kisaichi
Atsushi Kisaichi is a seiyū who was born in Tokyo. He works for Aoni Production. His hobbies are baseball and tennis.-Anime:* Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion: Shōgo Asahina...
(Uub) in Japan and Kara Edwards
Kara Edwards
Kara Edwards is an American Radio Personality and voice actress who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films. She is best known for voicing Goten and Videl in Dragon Ball series...
(Kid Uub) and Sean Teague (Uub) in the FUNimation dub.
Zarbon
is one of Frieza's top henchmen. He has the ability to transform from a handsome, long-haired human into a powerful reptilian beast. Zarbon travels to Namek alongside Frieza and Dodoria to help collect the Dragon Balls. He eventually comes into contact with Vegeta, whom Zarbon manages to easily defeat and capture after transforming. After Zarbon retrieves Vegeta's battered body and brings him to Frieza's ship in order to heal him for interrogation, Vegeta manages to escape and steal Frieza's Dragon Balls. Zarbon sets out to find him once again, but Vegeta, having become stronger after healing, kills Zarbon in his monster form. Zarbon also appears in Bardock - The Father of Goku, where he advises Frieza to destroy the Saiyan planet and briefly appears in Dragon Ball GT when he escapes from Hell with other villains. He is voiced by Shō Hayami in the original Japanese series and by Hiroaki MiuraHiroaki Miura
is a Japanese voice actor from Nagano Prefecture. He is affiliated with the studio Aoni Production and has starred in several voice-over roles for anime, video games, and film since 1998.-Anime:* Air Master...
in Dragon Ball Z Kai. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Paul Dobson in the Ocean dub, by Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
in the Funimation dub and by J. Michael Tatum
J. Michael Tatum
John Michael Tatum is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Script writer who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000...
in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
In an issue of Beckett Anime, a Beckett
Beckett Media
Beckett Media is a privately held company. Founded in 1984 by James Beckett as Beckett Publications, the company focuses on the collectible industries, especially in the area of sports collectibles.-History:...
magazine publication, Zarbon was voted as one of the top five greatest henchmen of all anime, and was the only character from Dragon Ball on the list.
Merchandise
Several pieces of merchandise were released based on the characters from the series. These include key chainsKeychain
A keychain or key chain is a small chain, usually made from metal or plastic, that connects a small item to a keyring. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring...
, action-figures
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
and plush
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
. Other merchandise featuring characters include t-shirts, tumblers and trading card games. Characters are also featured in video games from the series. While initial games were role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s (RPG), the following became fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s.
Reception
Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
(ANN) praised the story and humor of the manga to be very good, and noted the well-portrayed personalities of the characters. They also remarked Viz's translation to be one of the best ones of all the English editions of the series, praising the lack of censorship. Theron Martin from ANN praised the way the characters could turn the battles into "art", praising the ways they react while fighting, although they sometimes can become very long with little plot development. He also praised the themes from the warriors saying "it speaks to basic yet powerful themes like faith, confidence, heroism, sacrifice, love, and understanding what is truly worth fighting for", as well as the way Vegeta overcomes his pride to help the other characters. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews considered the series characters are different from stereotypes characters and noted that they have much more development than those from the series' sequels.