TOP 10 Deaths in the Dragon Ball Saga

If you thought comic book characters often came back from the dead, then you really didn't see anything until you watched the Dragon Ball series . Sometimes all the characters are even wiped out at once when an entire planet is destroyed!

The main characters die and come back to life in the anime several times, generally thanks to the legendary Dragon Balls , these Crystal Balls for which the saga is named. After all, when one can make any wish/wishes come true by gathering all seven crystal balls, many kind-hearted characters think first of bringing back their dead friends.

Anyway, you will have understood, death in the animated series and the Dragon Ball manga is not really something to fear. Much like in American superhero comics, death is something that happens from time to time just so that a character can be resurrected through complicated techniques or means. However, it always has a positive, or negative, impact on the story and the way viewers perceive the anime. So let's discover without further delay the 10 Most Shocking Deaths in the Dragon Ball series! 💥

10) DEATH OF NAPPA

We begin this TOP 10 with the death of Nappa , Vegeta's right arm. After killing 4 of the 7 Z-Fighters (also known as the Dragon Team) on Earth, Nappa targeted Krillin and Gohan, causing Goku to quickly return. After Goku paralyzed his rival Nappa with a single blow using his fully-powered Kaioken , Vegeta decided to give his old friend a helping hand... Only to then send him into the air and make him explode into a thousand pieces. Nice, isn't it?

What makes this death so shocking is that it is not Goku who is responsible, but his sidekick Vegeta . He and Nappa have known each other for years, so the fact that Vegeta completely eliminated him in a split second was quite surprising! 😲

9) DEATH OF BARDOCK

We know that Bardock died before the start of the Toriyama- directed Dragon Ball series, but how did Bardock fare? Well, in the two animated films Dragonball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - Goku's Father , we see the character learning about Frieza's plans to eliminate the entire Saiyan race.

While trying to stop Frieza and his army, Frieza throws his Death Ball and eliminates both Bardock and Planet Vegeta. Before dying, Bardock has a vision and sees his son, Kakarot (aka San Goku) , confronting Frieza. He may not have had the best death, but Bardock the fighter was at least able to leave knowing that his son would avenge him and the entire Saiyan race. 🌟

Find the entire battle outfit of Goku's father including his incredibleBardock tank top for your sports sessions:

8) DEATH OF GOHAN FROM THE FUTURE

For Trunks (from the future) , Son Gohan was the one who came closest to a father figure. He protected Trunks from the Androids (who cost Son Gohan an arm) , trained him to become a Super Saiyan, and was the only friend he ever had. When Trunks tried to go and fight alongside Son Gohan, he knocked him out and slipped away for the last fight of his life.

Shortly after regaining consciousness, Trunks rushed to find his master to fight alongside him. He found his friend Son Gohan dead on the ground, it was a real nightmare for him. His anger was such that he entered his Super Saiyan form.

Fortunately, Super Warrior Trunks succeeds in avenging his fallen mentor by going back in time, gaining immense strength, and returning to destroy C-17 and C-18.

If you want to know more about Vegeta's son, discover our ultimate guide to Trunks here!

7) KRILIN’S WORST DEATH

Krillin knows resurrection well. If you are a fan of the series you know that Krillin is the character who is killed and resurrected most frequently throughout the saga thanks to crystal balls (4 times in total!) .

Despite his rather difficult temperament at the start of the series, the young monk was able to become friends with our hero Son Goku . They later became best friends and each developed their own martial art. Although Krillin already died in the past, he could not be resurrected by the Earth Dragon (Shenron) or the Namekian Dragon (Polunga) .🐉

Indeed, Polunga could only resurrect one person at a time and Shenron was turned to stone when Guru died. Moreover, many theories about Krillin in the DBZ Saga have been reported on the web, don't hesitate to consult our TOP 25 Dragon Ball Z Theories if you are curious to know more! 😉

Seeing Goku's best friend die once was bad enough, but seeing him get impaled by Frieza was just heartbreaking. This made Goku so furious that he transformed into a Super Saiyan and gave Frieza the beating he deserved!

6) DEATH OF MUTEN ROSHI (AKA AWESOME TURTLE)

Muten Roshi may be known for being an evil old man, but he is someone who will provide an important father figure to Son Goku and who will train him as a student.

When he faced Demon King Piccolo , things didn't go so well for the old man. Muten Roshi attempted to seal King Piccolo with the Mafuba technique, allowing evil confinement in a sort of jar. But the attack failed because Master Roshi narrowly missed the container that could have sealed the monster.

This will then be his last action in the series. What makes this death so sad is that Demon King Piccolo had killed Shenron before, so there will at first glance be no way for him to come back to life thanks to the crystal balls (at least there was). what we thought!) . 🔮

Awesome Turtle then dies before warning Piccolo that someone stronger than him will come and defeat him. And as you can imagine, this person will be Son Goku!

5) DEATH OF YAMCHA, CHIAOTZU, TEN SHIN HAN AND PICCOLO

When the Saiyans finally arrived on Earth, no one could have expected what would happen to the planet's mightiest heroes, the Z-Fighters. As Goku tries to return to Earth to stop the Saiyans from destroying the planet, Earth's last 4 defenders fall under the power of the invaders.

A Saibamen Kamikaze killed Yamcha. Then Chiaotzu and Ten Shin Han sacrificed themselves in an attempt to kill Nappa. Piccolo also gave his life to protect Son Gohan (after giving him a second attempt to try to kill Nappa) . A real massacre! 💥

Piccolo's death also meant the death of Kami-sama , the protector of the earth, which had the effect of transforming the Dragon Balls into unusable stones.

4) UNJUST DEATH OF DENDE

Akira Toriyama 's stories had already shown children dying before the Dragon Ball Z saga. Indeed, Krillin and Chiaotzu had been killed. However, both of these characters were at least fighters who could hold their own. Dende was not. The poor Namekian child's only crime was helping his new friends save Namek from Frieza's assault... What he didn't deserve was to be killed by Frieza 's Death Ray .

Watching a child die in a series will always be difficult, especially when it's a character the audience was so attached to. This simply gave the Dragon Team fighters another reason to put an end to Frieza . Luckily, you can dry your tears! Because he will obviously be resurrected by Shenron like many other characters! 🌠

3) DEATH OF FREEZER (CYBORG) BY TRUNKS OF THE FUTURE

Just when we thought the Universe was safe in the Japanese Dragon Ball Z saga, Frieza came back even stronger than before. Not only had he become a Cyborg , but he also brought back a galactic army and his father in his ship, King Cold. With Goku still nowhere to be found, Frieza was about to ravage the Z-Fighters until a boy from the future appeared out of the blue, Trunks (from the future). ⚔️

Not only does this character manage to quickly kill Frieza's men, but he can also become a Super Saiyan! Seeing another Super Saiyan so early and especially whose existence we did not yet know brought great new developments to the main plot of the saga.

What will be even more shocking is seeing this Super Saiyan kill both Frieza and King Cold with disconcerting ease ! This obviously made the plot even crazier. If you liked the appearance of this famous warrior from the future, don't wait any longer to order the real Adult Trunks Figurine !

2) VEGETA SACRIFICE

Vegeta died twice, but both of his deaths were pretty damn tragic. After failing while trying to overtake Frieza , he was hit in the heart by it. It's even sadder when you learn that Vegeta only killed people to be able to survive until then. Of course, maybe you don't want to pity him because he has this reputation as a spoiled child... But he's the son of a king, what did you expect? 👑

However, the way he begged Goku to defeat Frieza was truly sad and poignant. If you followed the saga and are a true DBZ fan, you know the story and the rivalry well which unites Goku and Vegeta .

And as if that wasn't already terrible, Vegeta will die a second time when he tries to eliminate the evil Majin Boo by literally exploding, to atone for all the mistakes he made that day.

1) DEATH OF GOKU

It's always shocking when a character bites the dust, but it's even more so when that character is the main protagonist of the saga. When Goku grabbed Raditz with his life, Piccolo took the opportunity to deploy his Makankosappo . This technique will kill both Saiyans by piercing Raditz's armor.

Both protagonists were defeated and it was a horrible, unjust death. But Goku's saving instinct towards the earth was indeed present. You can also find our Manga Piccolo Lamp without further delay, representing this incredible technique. 🔆

While Goku was resurrected, no one knew when or how he would return. Would San Gohan be the only one who could definitively defeat the Saiyans? Would Piccolo become the next hero of the series? No one could have guessed what happened next.

CONCLUSION

It is thanks to all these twists and turns that a generation of children rush to their televisions every day to find out what will happen in the next exciting episode of the Dragon Ball saga. This series and this manga have captivated an entire generation (we remember Club Dorothée) , thanks to its share of villains, actions and martial arts.

And there you have it, it's already the end of this TOP 10 recounting the most shocking Deaths in DBZ ! But let's also remember that our Heroes have also saved the planets from the clutches of the villains throughout the episodes. You can find in this article a summary of the number of deaths per protagonist in images . Because yes, even if our favorite characters die at least once in the series, it is not without fulfilling great destinies! ⭐

While waiting for the dates for possible new episodes for the Dragon Ball Super series, you too can recreate the most impressive techniques thanks to our collection of DBZ LED Figures featuring all the greatest Saiyans from the saga in your store favorite:

So if you too are a fan of the Dragon Ball Animated Series , don't hesitate to write to us in the comments which death touched you the most!