200. Kasal
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994)
Grandpa doesn’t get much done beyond filling a seat and ineffectually complaining, but still: it’s not Dragonball: Evolution. So he’s got that much going for him.
199. Jimbo
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 203
It’s weird that there’s a gang in this universe where two guys have the name Jim. But the boss is named “Rock,” so it’s not like “the gang’s thing. That’s the most interesting thing about this character.
198. Kasdan
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 170
Spoiler for the next entry: both these cowboys inexplicably working for a gangster bring hardly anything to the table. Apart from a total lack of unifying fashion sense.
197. Burdwell
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 170
A cowboy working for a gangster is a strange sight indeed. TWO cowboys working for a gangster? Even odder! Still not that interesting, unfortunately.
196. Mr. Borbonne
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 170
I’m not going to say Magenta in the Super Heroes movie made this guy completely redundant, but I’ll say: the only way I could tell them apart is by the animation quality.
195. Lucifer
Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Cast (1989)
I know a vampire lusting after a teenage girl isn’t exactly a “trend left in the past,” but there’s not much of a role left for villains like this in modern Dragon Ball, especially after the pivot to science fiction.
194. Pigero
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 16
This little John Rambo cosplayer transcends being an irritating tagalong, but can’t escape the pull of being more plotpoint than character.
193. Lotta Cash
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
Do you think her name was still a pun before she was married?
192. X. S. Cash
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unleashed (1993)
A damn fine pun name moves this guy up to this place as he’s otherwise entirely interchangeable as a “well-meaning rich guy.”
191. Mr. Vodka
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 174
There’s almost nothing separating him from his spirited counterpart Borbonne, but this guy’s got a much better sense of style and panache, so he gets to move on up the list.
190. Mad Chilli
Dragon Ball GT Episode 41
The great thing about Dragon Ball is the tournament that brings together unlikely characters and makes them opponents. Unfortunately, anyone who shows up without at least knowing what a Saiyan or Namekian is isn’t going to do well. A fun name, but nothing about him screams “must be counted.”
189. The Mafia???
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 174
I don’t know why, but the presence of prohibition-era mafiosi in the world of Dragon Ball just makes me laugh. That having been said: part of that is because of how badly they integrate into the world.
Yes, they’re technically “the Vodka Gang,” but to me: they’ll always be “the Mafia.”
188. Bio-Broly
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
Admit it: you barely remembered this guy was even a thing. A half-decent horror design completely undone by overusing a popular character and bringing him back so many times, it somehow makes him even less cool. And cool is all the base design had going for it in the first place. To say nothing of the fact that he’s upstaged by an acidic fluid in his own movie.
187. Majola
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994)
A random, malicious villager so nice, they used him twice. This guy appears across TWO movies, being one of the only non-main characters to do so.
186. Big Gheti Star’s Robotic Army
Dragon Ball Z: Return of Cooler (1993)
You know what a legion of robotic warriors already as strong as the god-emperor of space don’t need? Another, weaker robot army. I understand the concept of a leader not doing their own dirty work, it’s why the Freiza Force makes sense, but technically Lord Cooler is ONLY the Big Gheti Star core, and the Meta-Coolers are extensions of him, making this army entirely unessential.
185. Angela
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 202
She’s got spirit and great hair, but her insistence on using crocodile tears and blackmail to manipulate the people around her doesn’t paint her in the best light. But I can’t deny that incredible hairstyle, and her “get what I want” personality puts her above a lot of far less driven characters.
184. Pasta
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
A good early example of the brains behind the badguy, she nevertheless occurs early enough that she wouldn’t fit well into the modern canon. And has ambition limited enough that it wouldn’t adapt well to later stories either.
183. King Gurumes
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
Likewise: in-terms of a half-decent fairy-tale style villain: he’s expertly used in the early series but inappropriate and atonal for where it all went.
182. Boon
Dragon Ball Z Episode 40
If he can prove he’s not just Yamcha with goggles, he can go higher on the list. That scar’s not doing him any favors.
181. Mirror Ship Orphans
Dragon Ball Z Episode 40
Another group of displaced orphans placed early in a saga’s filler episodes, rather than lessons about responsibility and lost innocence, these folks mostly exist to hype up the badness of the new big-bad: the man they call Freiz. A. Freiza. While it’s interesting to return to a time when the franchise’s most famous villain needed a hype team and an introduction. But a combination of a neat ship design and making the galaxy feel lived-in and more expansive saves them from the lowest rungs of this ranking.
180. Zenshin
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 40
As the leader of a team to hype the upcoming villain, this guy and his crew could be used at almost any point in any series beyond the Cell and Buu arcs. Unfortunately that means they’re ultimately disposable and don’t do much to set themselves apart from a wholly new creation.
179. Men-Men
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
This slightly comical henchman has, like his boss, been made entirely redundant and irrelevant by recent canon movies. While he has a lovely teal suede suit and could probably stand to pay more for suspenders, but he lacks the incredible coif of Carmine.
178. Lord Jaguar
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
Like so many movie or post-series characters, this guy tumbled down this list in the face of a canon character that does his schtick better than him. Magenta from the recent Super movie is everything this could be, with an even better motive and grudge. Not that this series would ever just copy/paste a similar villain, of course…
177. The Shamoians
Dragon Ball Z: Broly- Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
I appreciate that the Broly movie created a new pathetic alien race to be subjugated by yet another Saiyan, but the main timeline simply doesn’t need it. They already have the Namekians, after all.
176. Nain
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
Every doctor needs a qualified assistant, but not every canon needs another mad scientist’s suspiciously willing to look the other way assistant.
175. Dr. Collie
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
It’s going to be a recurring theme that Dragon Ball could often use a villain or two who can’t just be punched into victory, and because this guy has almost nothing going for him apart from his brain, he’s the first where it comes up. And the lowest.
174. Gorilla
Dragon Ball Z Episode 197
A massive, hulking brute with tiny angel wings is a LOOK, but unfortunately a lack of screentime fails to sell him.
173. Torbie
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 197
Oh, this guy’s got everything to move higher up the list except one critical thing: screentime. And any display of his abilities as he wins by forfeit.
172. Mysterious Guide
Dragon Ball Heroes (2010)
Who let the Kingdom Hearts baddie in here? I think it ate the Black Mage from Final Fantasy!
171. Udo
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
“So it was sometime around Age 751 or 851, and I was supposed to fight this bony jabroni Gohan. And the whole crowd was chanting ‘You screwed Cell! You screwed Cell!’ And anyway, Gohan, the supposed level two super saiyan got pinned by me in the middle of the ring. And that’s why I’m the current and reigning champion of space.”
-the hulking Udo perfectly recalling the events of the Intergalactic Tournament
170. Doskoi
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
He sure is a generic sumo! The fact that he can only say his own name means he might also be a pokemon, making him one of the most requested crossovers in all of anime.
169. Amond
Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might (1990)
By far the most forgettable of Turles’ minions while also being the ersatz “captain,” Amond is a beatable brute in a universe where those are a dime a dozen. So much so, that he even just steals an ‘energy disc’ move and is the kind of character who feels overdressed, no matter how basic his outfit actually is.
168. Illusory Saiyans
Dragon Ball Z Episode 17
These two weirdos don’t really exist, or they did exist but in a long-dead world trampled underfoot by King Vegeta. They bring little to the table apart from the ability to systematically disassemble the team that Nappa would go on to systematically disassemble in a more entertaining and brutal way, and if not for their tails, they’d be indistinguishable from any other Freiza Force soldiers.
167. Kidnappers
Dragon Ball GT Episode 2
You have to admire the chutzpah of someone who hears about a brilliant inventor and weapons designer in Bulma and thinks “I’m going to extort this person for money.” And you have to laugh at the stupidity of trying to abduct Goku and hold him for ransom, even if he’s been shrunk down to a kid’s size. While this provides some of the biggest laughs in early GT, the characters are strictly one-offs.
166. Uzukar
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 125
Beyond an oddly excellent name, the only thing this guy does is fail to get out of the shadow of the greatest driving instructor of all time.
165. Enma
Dragon Ball GT Episode 43
A schemer with a penchant for bizarre tortures, she feels more at-home in early Dragonball than in the future of the series. Plus she shares a name with King Yemma, and that makes things confusing.
164. Haru Haru
Dragonball Online (2010)
Not much to this character, an interesting backstory of being descended from Majin Buu and hewing more to the tactical side of things, there’s just not enough about her to rank her any higher than this.
163. Shun Shun
Dragon Ball Online (2010)
When you create a twin character and only differentiate through appearance and powers, well…I think ice is just…coooooooler.
162. Psi Devilman
Dragon Ball Online (2010)
And sometimes a cool-ass/ridiculous character design is all you need to creep that much higher up.
161. Dogidogi
Dragon Ball Heroes (2010)
On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with a darksided counterpart for the Bird of Time Tokitoki, but it seems entirely unnecessary and more like someone for Fu to chat with when there’s no one else around.
160. Gelbo Elder
Dragon Ball GT: Episode 7
Dragon Ball, in totality, seems to have a lot of issues around useless fathers, doesn’t it?
159. Doma
Dragon Ball GT: Episode 7
This guy looks like he was kicked out of Dragon Quest for being too generic. While his cause is pure, and he’s a half-decent fighter, he brings so little to the table as to make the villain in his story more interesting by default.
158. Leena
Dragon Ball GT: Episode 7
The bride with the dark star dragon ball in her hair. Mostly in the show to look pretty and be a sacrificial bride, she gets a little more credence for at least having a more unique look than her father or husband-to-be.
157. Marron
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 108
Interesting bit of trivia about this character: there are TONS of images of her available both in-episode and online where she’s NOT wearing a skimy swimsuit or halter top! I thought that might need to be said, considering all of her Wiki headers.
Easily confused for Bulma, she’s a punchline to a joke that takes four episodes to tell.
156. This Weird Family of Worms
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 274
People always remember that not much changed or was cut in the Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z: Kai, but there were entire episodes excised, and one features just the weirdest thing: a family of sentient worms living in Super Buu’s digestive track.
There’s really not much more to say about it, they are…subversively very well-mannered, and I love that they get some genuine laughs, but they were filler for a reason.
155. Ghastel
Dragon Ball: Princess Sleeping in Devil’s Castle (1987)
The benefit of a henchman like this is that he’s evergreen and fits at any point in Dragon Ball’s history or future. But the downside to that is, of course, it’s already been done time and again and very little puts him ahead of a wholecloth new creation.
154. Commander Zeeun
Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
If this were a list of characters who most resemble a He-Man villain, this guy would top the list. But this is not that list, and frankly a commander so worthless that his own boss kills him to make a point doesn’t exactly speak highly of his worth.
153. Gyoshu
Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
Here’s a fun game: did I bother learning which of these two interchangeable characters were which, or am I taking advantage of the fact that they’re literally identical to just grab random screenshots?
152. Kakuja
Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
The answer is, of course, I did! I’m a professional.Did that little visual gag stand in for the fact that I have nothing to say about a character so interchangeable, Lord Slug killed one because he had a spare.
151. Red Shark Gang
Dragon Ball Z: Episode 204
This gang has nothing beyond a cool name and half decent hair style to unite them. They don’t all wear red, they didn’t dye their hair red, it kind of feels like they came up with the name first and went from there.
