Dragon Ball is a popular anime name that has been one of the oldest ones out there and has created an extensive fan base over the years.
The original Dragon Ball series premiered for the first time in 1986, while the manga in 1984. The franchise also has movies and video games to its credit.
While we all know that heroes or protagonists are an essential part of making an anime or a movie or overall a story a big hit, it is also true that the real sense of a hero only comes out when it fights against an equally tough and worthy competitor a.k.a villain.
Anime Villains have an equally significant position in making a story engaging as well as bringing out the true abilities of a hero.
While some are there in the series just to push the story forward only for a brief period of time, the rest have greater motives and do a lot more than just spread threat and danger.
They present more twists and additions to the plot, making it all the way intriguing. Thereby, they too play a pivotal role in deciding the show’s success through all these years.
And when it comes to the Dragon Ball franchise, the big name has not failed to keep up with the quality of the antagonists it has portrayed over the years and has just made it all worthy.
And not every character can leave a mark. Some play it well and are remembered for times to come, while others are just there till the story lasts.
So in the list, we are here to present original Dragon Ball villains to you, be it in the manga, anime, or a movie of the franchise, that has left an equally impressionable mark on the audience as the protagonists and own the powers more incredible than ever.
So if you are a true Dragon Ball fan, make sure to read the list till the very end and relish what these great villains have in store.
Where to watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
Top 17 Dragon Ball Villains Ranked (2023)
List of Top Dragon Ball Villains of All Time
17. Garlic Jr
Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (Movie)
Garlic Jr. is the main antagonist in the Dragon Ball Z movie, Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone. Despite being defeated in the movie, he can also be seen making an appearance in the Garlic Jr. saga.
He wanted to unite with the Dragon Balls to get the wish of immortality fulfilled so that by replacing Kami, he could become the king of the earth. However, defeating him was not at all an easy game.
He is known to possess the abilities of regeneration, immortality, Finger beam, Mind break, High-speed Rush, Ki Blast, Magic materialization, among others.
He has a personality full of revenge, and the fact he is granted immortality, makes him superiorly think about it.
16. Baby
The Baby Saga (Dragon Ball GT)
This character forms the first and most important villain in the Dragon Ball GT.
He happens to be the last survivor of the Tuffle race as he was created by fusing the DNA of Tuffle King with a robotic body.
He was created to seek revenge on Saiyans. On entering Vegeta’s body, he becomes Baby Vegeta and increases his strength in fighting.
He was the one that created Dr. Myuu and provided him the designs to make machine mutants and later bring him back to life.
However, Myuu was programmed to believe that he was the one to create Baby while it was another way round. He is a parasitic form that enters others’ bodies and takes control of them.
15. Raditz
Raditz Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
Also known as Raditz the Runt, this character is the oldest child of Bardock and Gine, the biological brother of Goku, and a Saiyan warrior in the mid-class.
After his home was destroyed, he was among the few full-blooded Saiyan left out. He happens to be the first villain in the Dragon Ball Z and the main one in Raditz Saga.
He comes to earth to check if his brother Goku is doing the task he was supposed to do but instead finds him helping the planet’s inhabitants.
To force Goku to form an alliance to destroy the earthlings, he kidnaps his son Gohan.
This caused Goku as well as Raditz to lose their lives as the former wanted the world to get rid of his evil sibling. Piccolo Helped Goku in defeating Raditz.
14. Cooler
Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge
Cooler is the main villain of Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge movie. In the film, we see Cooler heading to Earth to seek revenge for his brother Frieza’s defeat against Goku on planet Namek.
He is the eldest son of King Cold and the elder brother of Frieza.
And what we recently came to know is that when confined on the Prison Planet, Cooler proved that he too could transform into his final form, Golden form, and it’s not just Frieza who could turn into Golden Frieza.
Thus, this amazing transformation of Cooler in Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Universe Mission is his most powerful one thus far.
Like his brother, Cooler also bears the ability to sustain in a vacuum space. When he came to Earth, his fourth form was the best suited for Goku and his allies, but things leveled up for him when he was able to take control of New Namek as Meta-Cooler.
Thus, for the Z fighters, his ability to sustain and run an entire planet using an army of metal clones was more than enough.
13. Goku Black
The Future Trunks Saga (Dragon Ball Super)
Also known as Zamasu or simply Black, Goku Black serves as the primary villain in the Future Trunks Saga of Dragon Ball Super.
He was previously the apprentice of North Kai and Supreme Kai, serving his master Gowasu within Universe 10.
He visited the Super Dragon Balls from the unaltered main timeline and, after summoning Super Shenron, wished to replace his body with Goku within Universe 7 from the unaltered main timeline.
After his wish got fulfilled, he aimed to destroy all the mortals and his future counterpart Future Zamasu.
However, when he visited the Future Trunks timeline, despite introducing himself to be Goku, his appearance and style difference from the main hero gave him the name Goku Black by Future Bulma.
12. Moro
Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga (Dragon Ball Super Manga)
Also called Planet-Eater Moro, the character acts as the main villain in the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga in Dragon Ball Super and happens to have threatened Universe 7 a million years ago.
After he drained the energy from Goku and Vegeta, this goat-like humanoid became more youthful with a muscular and well-postured body.
Moro is known to possess the magic of a higher degree and even good battling prowess.
He used his magic to take advantage of the strongest Supreme Kais named Grand Supreme Kai and South Supreme Kai but was eventually confined by them for many centuries.
11. Dr. Gero
The Android Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
Dr. Gero is the main villain in the Android Saga. Also known as Android 20, Dr. Maki Gero has appeared as a villain in the Dragon Ball z universe, the Red Ribbon Army Saga, Trunks Saga, Android Saga, Cell Saga, Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13, and Super 17 Saga in Dragon Ball GT.
He happens to be a pure evil mastermind Scientist who has created various weapons and is behind the evil organization named the Red Ribbon Army. Dr. Gero a.k.a android 20 owns the ability, like an Android, to suck out energy from people with a device in their hands.
He is the creator of Cell and androids, along with Super 17, and the mother of his son Android 21.
In Japanese, the character has been voiced by the late Kōji Yada and Ikuya Sawaki in Dragon Ball Legends, whereas in the Funimation dub, Kent Williams has lent his voice to the character.
10. The Androids
The Android Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
These robotic humans were created by evil Dr. Gero and possessed eternal life with unlimited energy, and since they were derived from inorganic forms, unlike Cell, they were unable to be tracked by the Ki senses unlike, making them all the more interesting than other villains.
There are several Androids that have been introduced in the Dragon Ball franchise over the years, be it in series, films, or video games. Androids fought with z fighters and were one of the most formidable dragon ball z villains.
9. King Piccolo
The Piccolo Saga (Dragon Ball)
Also known as the Demon King Piccolo, this fictional character is a member of extraterrestrial species known as Namekians that have the ability to make wish-granting Dragon Balls.
The character plays the main villain in the King Piccolo Saga. Being a complete opposite of his good counterpart Kami, King Piccolo represents a very cold, sadistic, rude, and ruthless personality.
The villain gets killed by Goku when the latter becomes stronger by having Ultra Divine Water open up his hidden potential.
King Piccolo gets reincarnated as his son, Piccolo Jr., who owned a far more balanced personality than his father, the demon king.
8. The Ginyu Force
The Namek Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
The Ginyu Force is a group of special soldiers appointed by Frieza as a part of his army to conquer the planets.
The group members belong to a special High-Level Executive Class within the army. It is being led by the trusted man of Frieza, Captain Ginyu.
Although the group comprises just five members, they all possess extraordinary abilities that led them to take over many planets alone.
No doubt they fall into the list of strongest villains in the history of the Dragon Ball series. They are indeed one of the memorable villains in the entire series with some not-popular backstories.
7. Beerus
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods
Also known as the God of Destruction, Beerus played the main antagonist in the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods. He is believed to own the capability to destroy the whole universe using Whis.
Beerus comes to earth to look for the Super Saiyan God, and when he witnesses Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan God, a fight between the two ensues.
But the God of Destruction was able to defeat Super Saiyan Goku Red but spares him and the earth on the pretext that he is the second strongest person he had seen, the first being his teacher Whis. Otherwise, everything would have ended there and then!
6. Majin Buu
The Majin Buu Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
Majin Buu happens to be the final villain in the Dragon Ball manga series. It is a genie-like villainous character that is said to be awoken many years before the events of Dragon Ball took place by Bibidi that spread its terror by finishing the entire planets.
After Bibidi’s death, Buu remained hidden until Bibidi’s son named Babidi revived him to fulfill the plans of his dead father to conquer the universe.
He is supposed to be the most powerful and great villain the protagonists in the Dragon Ball franchise have faced that carries immense power and abilities of a superhuman.
Majin Buu has the unique ability to alter everything to form chocolate or sweets that he later relishes to satisfy his cravings.
He can regenerate after getting inflicted with a wound, produce clones of himself or even detach any part of his body if required.
Buu absorbed many characters, including Piccolo, Gotenks and Gohan, and became even more potent than Super Saiyan Goku and Vegeta.
5. Broly
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan
Son of Paragus, Broly is a mutated Saiyan warrior who serves to be both- an antagonist and a protagonist in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
The fictional character has two versions of it. The first one is present in older Dragon Ball Z movies like Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, Bio-Broly, and Broly – Second Coming.
The revamped version of this major antagonist can be seen in the recent film Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The fighter has been bestowed with inherent strength, speed, ki blasts, agility, durability, and reflexes.
He is rightly regarded as among the most powerful villains that the entire Dragon Ball franchise has.
In his Legendary Super Saiyan type, Broly has immense and endless powers that even surpass that of Super Saiyan God Goku.
During the conclusion of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Goku also mentioned that in its incarnated form, the powers of the antagonist might even go greater than the Gods, thereby signifying that, indeed, Broly is a dangerous villain!
4. Vegeta
The Saiyan Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
Vegeta, also known as Vegeta IV or Prince Vegeta, happens to be the son of King Vegeta, father of Bulla and Trunks and is the prince of the fallen Saiyan race.
He initially served as the main antagonist in the Saiyan Saga and later remained a tritagonist for the remaining Dragon Ball Z series.
Initially, Vegeta was a cruel warrior and killer in Frieza Force, but in the Frieza Saga, he has a change of heart and decides to stay on earth.
He becomes one of the earth’s protectors along with other mighty z warriors. He served as one of the furious antagonists that Goku and his pals faced during the initial times of the Dragon Ball Z series.
3. Frieza
The Namek Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
Every Dragon Ball series fan knows that Frieza is the main antagonist in the iconic series. He is among the feared villains in the universe and aims to take over the Universe 7.
He is among the biggest enemies of Goku by making frequent comebacks to the earth. Frieza destroyed the planet Vegeta, killing all of the Saiyan race.
As a replacement for Good Buu in the Tournament of Power, he was selected as the tenth member of Team Universe 7 to represent Universe 7.
And after the tournament furnishes, he gets back his self-called title of Emperor of Universe 7. This recurring villain in the series is the child of King Cold, brother to Cooler and Kuriza’s father.
Frieza’s fourth exclusive form Golden Frieza was first introduced in the Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F.
To match his abilities, Goku and Vegeta also upgraded their forms; however, Golden Frieza was unable to hold on to his new powers and eventually burnt out.
2. Jiren
Dragon Ball Super manga, Dragon Ball Super anime
This strongest member of the Pride Troopers was among the major competitor in the Tournament of Power. For the Universe Survival Saga, he served as the main antagonist engaged in fighting.
He fought with Goku with all his might and gave Goku one of the most challenging battles he ever fought.
Also known as Jiren The Gray, the villain is regarded as one of the powerful mortals in the entire multiverse.
This immensely powerful creature fights with all its might and believes in justice and strength. However, he does not consider teamwork and generally fights alone with his enemies, winning most of the time.
1. Cell
The Imperfect Cell Saga (Dragon Ball Z)
Formed by the technology of cell recombination, Cell is one of the greatest creations of Dr. Gero.
With the aid of a remote tracking device, the genes of the most powerful fighters on the earth were searched and then used to create the perfect form, Cell. Thus, it had to top our list of Dragon Ball Z villains.
He possesses the greatest of traits of Goku, Vegeta, King Cold, Frieza, and Piccolo and overall makes a perfect warrior that the series could have.
In the Perfect Cell, Imperfect Cell, and Cell Games Sagas, he is the main antagonist and leaves a mark with his fighting skills.
We hope the list of Dragon Ball villains entertained you thoroughly and made you believe that these characters have some extraordinary abilities that even good heroes lack.
But just because they ought to follow a negative path, their end was inevitable.
If you completed reading it here, then a virtual hug to you guys, and Keep coming back!
