Dragon Ball/Characters/Villains

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Frieza's Army

Raditz (ラディッツ; Radittsu)

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Japanese)
Voiced by: Jason Gray-Stanford, Doug Parker (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Christopher Sabat, Justin Cook (Funimation dub)

Goku's brother and the first villain introduced in the Z series. Sent to check up on Goku's progress of Earth's conquest only to find his brother a changed person. Ends up kidnapping Gohan which prompts the legendary Enemy Mine fight between Goku, Piccolo and himself.

  • Arc Villain: Begins the most recognized part of the Dragon Ball series.
  • Badass Long Hair: Which fans have made jokes on how it'd look if he turned Super Saiyan.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: When he first shows up, he seems to be a unstoppable menace the likes of which has never been seen before. But it turns out that in the larger scale of things, he's just a glorified Elite Mook for Vegeta.
    • Becomes an even smaller fish compared to the overall pond of Frieza's mooks.
  • Dark Chick: To Vegeta.
  • Dirty Coward: Rather ironic that he is one, considering that he comes from a race composed of Blood Knight Determinators who actually would prefer death when defeated in battle than living with the shame of losing, especially to someone of a weaker caste level than themselves. Begging for your life seems to be a trademark of Frieza's army.
    • The Saiyans are in Frieza's army. And therein lies the Fridge Brilliance. Being a constant target of ridicule within the giant intergalactic space pirate organization where you're by far the weakest troop whose name Frieza actually knows? That's enough to scare the Saiyan spirit out of anyone.
      • His use of cheap shots sells it.
  • Elite Mook/ Mauve Shirt: Freeza at least knows his name.
  • Evil Uncle: Kidnapped Gohan with the intention to raise him as a real Saiyan, and using him as bait for Goku.
  • Heel Realization: Granted, a non-canon one: a what-if version of the Saiyan Saga that plays out in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has Raditz suffer amnesia, train alongside Goku and Gohan, becoming a valued ally against Piccolo. He later regains his memories and grugingly (due to the threat of Vegeta and Nappa) resumes his conquest of the Earth. He is trounced by the combined might of Goku, Krillin, Gohan and Piccolo and learns what "true strength" is: defending those who cannot defend themselves.
    • In addition, Raditz gets a (surprisingly touching) dream sequence where he admits to his long-dead father that he not only misses him, but that Raditz - despite his boasts - considers himself a weakling.
    • Heroic Sacrifice: Another incident from the What-If Saga: a badly wounded Raditz sacrifices his life to stop Vegeta and Nappa from reaching the Earth (by crashing his ship into theirs), warning his young sibling about the threat of an even greater monster that the Saiyans serve...
    • Yes, Raditz saw more character development and action in a video game released seventeen years after the fact than he ever did in his original debut. Tragic.
  • Killed Off for Real: Unlike a lot of the DBZ villains, he never comes back, not even in GT. You'd think being Goku's brother he'd play a bigger role. The Abridged Series lampshades this.
    • He does come back in GT. He's in a small (and I do mean small) cameo. Here.
  • Lack of Empathy: He notably takes advantage of Goku's own empathy, and pummels him as a result laughing at his younger brother's gullibility. Of course, he should've thought about doing this in front of Gohan...
    • On the other hand, he does express genuine grief that Goku would actually sacrifice himself for what he considers people far weaker.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Raditz suffers this - in an echo of his younger brother's memory loss - in the Tenkaichi 2 what-if version of the Saiyan Saga mentioned above. Raditz's memory loss is brought about by a defective Saibaman exploding in his face. While Raditz retains all of his might (and pent-up resentment at being called "weak"), he becomes more docile. His full memory is painfully reawakened upon seeing Gohan's tail.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Goku and everyone else were very surprised when he announced himself as his brother.
  • Noble Demon: In the anime. Most notably when he actually showed admiration towards Gohan for actually hurting him, and when he, like Nappa, was shown to be horrified when Vegeta decided to forsake desires to avenge his race by wanting to rule the galaxy
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Only surpassed in this by Napa and Vegeta. The sole reason he antagonises Goku is because of his refusal to accept his Saiyan heritage.
  • Playing Against Type: Shigeru Chiba often voices Butt Monkey and crazy characters like Megane and Buggy.
  • Rapunzel Hair: Fans joke about what would happen to his hair if he went Super Saiyan 3.
  • Redemption Equals Death: In an alternate telling of the events in Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Raditz ends up sacrificing his life to stop Vegeta and Nappa's invasion on earth.
  • Sadistic Choice: Either Goku kills 100 humans and joins Freeza's army, or Raditz kills Gohan.
  • Starter Villain: For the Saiyan arc, and Z as a whole.
  • Theme Naming: Named after the vegetable radish.
  • The Unfavorite: Vegeta and to a lesser extent Nappa didn't like him much, referring him as a weakling for dying.
  • Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Lampshaded in Attack of the Saiyans where Goku points out that Raditz didn't train at all in Hell. It seems he prefers trying to steal magical items to instantly get power.
  • Villains Want Mercy: First example in Z.
  • Villainous Widow's Peak: Does not take after his father at all.
  • Warmup Boss/"Wake-Up Call" Boss: Manages to be both.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Hinted in some of the video games like Burst Limit.

Nappa (ナッパ)

Voiced by: Shozo Iizuka (Z), Kiyoyuki Yanada (GT), Tetsu Inada (Kai) (Japanese)
Voiced by: Michael Dobson (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Christopher Sabat, Phil Parsons (Funimation dub)

Vegeta's partner and fellow surviving Saiyan. Practically dominates all of the Z-Fighters in their fight till Goku arrives and easily beats him down. Vegeta then finishes him off thinking he was being weak; of course he was very very wrong on that front.

  • Badass Mustache: Until Goku curbstomps him.
  • Bald of Evil: More of a greyish, but still obviously bad streak.
  • Breath Weapon: His "greatest technique".
  • The Brute: Solves his problems with force, yet listens to his superior obediently.
  • Blood Knight: He really loves fighting and causing destruction. Then again, it's to be expected as he is a Saiyan.
  • The Dragon: To Vegeta.
  • Having a Blast: He can use his ki to create massive explosions just by raising two fingers.
  • Hero-Killer: Killed Tien Shinhan and Piccolo.
  • Jerkass: As a Saiyan, it's a guarantee.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Nappa is such an arrogant fighter that he believed that the Z Warriors were so weak that dodging their attacks was unnecessary. When Gohan assaulted him with a Masenko blast using all of his energy, Nappa chose to deflect the blast with this bare hands instead of simply moving out of the way. He tried to do the same to Krillin's Kienzan, and had not been for Vegeta's warning, Nappa would have paid the price for underestimating his foes.
  • Made of Iron: Even Goku is surprised by how much resistance he has.
  • Noble Demon: Hinted at a few times: He considered reviving Raditz, and in some flashbacks, Nappa was also shown to be disgusted at the fact that he, Raditz, and Vegeta wiped out a world for Frieza for what is essentially nothing, not even praise (and he was fully ready to attack Frieza had Vegeta not stopped him), and he also was shown to be genuinely horrified when Vegeta decided to forsake desires to avenge his race by wanting to rule the galaxy.
  • Older Sidekick: To Vegeta.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: He has a lot of fun blowing up cities and destroying navys when he reaches Earth.
  • Porn Stache: Lampshaded in The Abridged Series.
  • Put the Laughter In Slaughter: Like most generic brutes.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon escaping from HFIL in the Super 17 arc of GT, Nappa, instead of heeding Vegeta's friendly advice to leave town, instead attempts to kill Vegeta out of revenge for killing him due to his broken back. Predictably, he fails.
  • Satellite Character: Has no real characteristics other than being The Brute who follows Vegeta's orders.
  • Theme Naming: Like all Saiyans, he's named after a vegetable. This one being Nappa Cabbage.
  • You Have Failed Me...: After Goku broke Nappa's back, Vegeta, after grabbing Nappa's hand seemingly to help him up, threw Nappa into the air, to which Vegeta then tells him he won't be so much of a disappointment when Nappa's dead before vaporizing him with a beam attack.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Surprisingly Nappa shows concern for the Saibamen under his command.


Zarbon (ザーボン; Zaabon) and Dodoria (ドドリア)

Zarbon voiced by: Sho Hayami (Z), Hiroaki Miura (Kai) (Japanese)

Zarbon voiced by: Paul Dobson (Ocean dub)

Zarbon voiced by: Christopher Sabat (Z), J Michael Tatum (Kai) (Funimation dub)

Dodoria voiced by: Yukitoshi Hori (Z), Takashi Nagasako(Kai) (Japanese)

Dodoria voiced by: Ward Perry (Ocean dub)

Dodoria voiced by: Chris Forbis (Z), John Swasey (Kai) (Funimation dub)

Freeza's Elite Mooks whose strength were third and fourth only to the Freeza and the Ginyu Force. They serve to show how powerful Saiyans become after recovering from a near death experience. Dodoria, who was stronger than Vegeta before his defeat on Earth is killed with ease. Zarbon beats Vegeta to near death in his monstrous second form, only for Vegeta to later recover and kill Zarbon instead.


The Ginyu Force (ギニュー特戦隊; Ginyuu Tokusentai)
Captain Ginyu (ギニュー)
Jeice (ジース; Jiisu)
Burter (バータ; Baata)
Recoome (リクーム; Rikuumu)
Guldo (グルド; Gurudo)

Recoome voiced by: Kenji Utsumi (Z), Seiji Sasaki (Kai) (Japanese)
Recoome voiced by: David Kaye (Ocean dub)
Recoome voiced by: Christopher Sabat (Funimation dub)
Jeice voiced by: Kazumi Tanaka (Z), Daisuke Kishio (Kai) (Japanese)
Jeice voiced by: Scott McNeil (Ocean dub)
Jeice voiced by: Christopher Sabat (Z), Jason Liebrecht (Kai) (Funimation dub)
Burter voiced by: Yukimasa Kishimo (Z), Masaya Onosaka (Kai) (Japanese)
Burter voiced by: Alec Willows (Ocean dub)
Burter voiced by: Mark Britten, Christopher Sabat (Z), Vic Mignogna (Kai) (Funimation dub)
Guldo voiced by: Kozo Shioya (Z), Yasuhiro Takato (Kai) (Japanese)
Guldo voiced by: Terry Klassen (Ocean dub)
Guldo voiced by: Dylan Thompson, Bill Townsley (Z), Greg Ayres (Kai) (Funimation dub)
Captain Ginyu voiced by: Hideyuki Hori (Z), Katsuyuki Konishi (Kai) (Japanese)
Captain Ginyu voiced by: Richard Newman (Ocean dub)
Captain Ginyu voiced by: Dale Kelly, Brice Armstrong (Z), R. Bruce Elliot (Kai) (Funimation dub)

Mercenaries summoned by Freeza after his Elite Mooks are killed. Their strength is second only to his. Basically just obstacles to get in the Z-Fighters' way while everyone was looking for the Dragonballs on Namek. With Ginyu's unique power, he switched bodies with Goku, horribly injuring his own before the switch. When Ginyu is almost beaten by Vegeta, he attempts to take Vegeta's body. Goku first blocks Ginyu's path and regains his body and then throws a frog in Ginyu's path when he tries again. Ginyu is stuck as a frog, who couldn't talk or switch bodies. The rest of the Ginyu Force was killed by Vegeta, but only after most of them were distracted or already defeated and knocked unconscious by Goku

  • Adorkable: Rare evil example.
  • Adult Child: Betting with candies and settling disputes with jan-ken-pon (scissors-rock-paper).
  • Affably Evil: They really seem like a fun, likeable bunch of guys... If not for the fact that they're the elite guard of the galaxy's most brutal dictator and all...
  • Aliens Speaking English: Another example in the series with no explanation.
  • Asskicking Pose: Possibly the most famous example
  • Australian Accent: Jeice in the English dub. Although in the original Ocean Dub he was given a British Accent, supposedly a 'Brummie' (Birmingham) accent.
  • Bash Brothers: Jeice and Burter are always seen taking on opponents together, and they tend to combine their attacks quite frequently.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Vegeta and Frieza both know this well enough from the start, but fans might not be convinced until they see just what Ginyu's crew is capable of when they get down to business.
  • Bragging Theme Tune - In Kai.
  • Breath Weapon: Recoome's Eraser Gun!
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: There's a reason why Frieza tolerates their quirky and childish personalities.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Jeice
  • Deliberate Injury Gambit: Ginyu
  • Determinator: Ginyu. Not even being turned into a frog sets him back for long.
  • Edible Theme Naming: Not very obvious unless you're savvy with their names' literal translation into milk products
  • Even Evil Has Standards: During Goku and Ginyu's battle, Jeice distracts Goku with his Crusher Ball, allowing Ginyu to grab him from behind. Ginyu lets Goku go and tells Jeice not to interfere. Goku later acknowledges this when he tells Ginyu that he's not as bad as the others.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Cpt Ginyu and Recoome in particular.
  • Evil Redhead: Recoome
  • Evil Sounds Deep: All five of them in the Ocean dub.
  • Eyes Do Not Belong There: Two of Guldo's eyes are on the side of his head.
  • Five-Bad Band
    • Big Bad: Ginyu, the leader and the most powerful guy on the team.
    • The Dragon: Jeice, Ginyu's second in command.
    • The Evil Genius: Burter, being as big and muscely as Recoome, but focuses on speed rather than brute strength. He's also the one coming up with all the tactics when he and Jeice fights Goku.
    • The Brute: Recoome, the big ruthless bruiser.
    • Dark Chick: Guldo, the little guy who earns a place among the big boys thanks to his mind powers.
  • Genius Bruiser: Burter, who seems to act as the tactician when Ginyu isn't around.
  • Grand Theft Me: Ginyu's tough on his own, but if he's up against someone stronger than himself, he can turn the tables by stealing their body.
  • Human Aliens: Recoome. Whatever he is, he's certainly not from Earth!
  • Incoming Ham: The first three minutes they're onscreen sounding off to Frieza tells you virtually everything you need to know about them.
  • Japanese Pronouns: All five of them use Ore, although Ginyu takes it a step further with the incredibly arrogant Ore-sama.
  • Large Ham: All of them, with Captain Ginyu and Recoome taking the cake.
  • Laughably Evil: Except they're actually dangerous.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Burter is the biggest member of the group, but his primary trait is his immense speed. Recoome and Ginyu also count, given that they're not much smaller but can still keep up with opponents as quick as Goku and Vegeta.
  • Made of Iron: In the Other World arc between the Cell saga and Buu Saga, the Ginyu Force was thrown right into the needle mountain and ended up impaled, and they were already dead by that time. It's a bit hard to believe they would survive that, especially taking into account that killing them when already dead would result in them being Deader Than Dead.
  • Metal Scream: Jeice tends to scream like this in the Ocean dub when he's posing.
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: Ridiculous they may be, but Recoome's intense beating of Vegeta shows that at least he is exceptionally powerful. Ginyu gives Goku a good fight as well.
  • Off with His Head: Vegeta decapitates Guldo before he can kill Gohan and Krillin.
  • The Other Darrin: Every single one of the original voice actors were replaced for Dragonball Kai (although Christopher Sabat, who voiced Recoome in the Funimation dub, is the only one who keeps his role).
    • In the Funimation dub, once the Ginyu Force arrives on King Kai's planet, Recoome and Jeice are suddenly voiced by David Kaye and Scott McNeil, using the audio from the Ocean dub.
  • Playing with Fire: Jeice.
  • Power Walk / The Slow Walk: Jeice, Burter, Recoome and Guldo start their battle against the Z Warriors on King Kai's planet this way.
  • Punch Clock Villain: All in a day's work for a mass-murdering emperor's private Mercenary Corps. Nothing personal mate, it's just good business.
  • Punny Name/Theme Naming: All members are named after various dairy foods. Ginyu literally means "milk" in Japanese, Guldo is derived from "yogurt", Burter is "butter", Recoome is "cream". Jeice who's name is derived from the word "cheese" also gets a new pun in English from the word "juice".
  • Psychic Powers: Guldo.
  • Quirky Miniboss Squad: AND HOLY SHIT HOW!
  • Shout-Out: To the popular Super Sentai franchise, the whole lovable lot of them.
  • Superpowered Mooks : At one point in the story, the Ginyu Force was the most powerful fighting force in the known universe. They debuted shortly before the Lensman Arms Race of power levels really took off, so this was never really apparent.
  • Super Speed: Burter brags about being the fastest in the universe...until he meets Goku.
  • Those Two Bad Guys: Jeice and Burter, although Jeice also fills this role with Ginyu for a while after Burter's untimely death.
  • Time Stands Still: Guldo, but only while he holds his breath. Which actually makes sense.
  • True Companions: For a team of villains, they're actually rather close.
  • Weak but Skilled: Guldo is considerably weaker than his fellow Ginyu Force members, but his psychic powers and the ability to temporarily stop time were considered formidable enough to earn him a spot on the team.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy: Jeice.

Freeza/Frieza (フリーザ; Furiiza)

Voiced by: Ryusei Nakao (Japanese)
Voiced by: Pauline Newstone (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Linda Young, Chris Ayres (Funimation dub)

A tyrannical Evil Overlord who is trying to take over the galaxy, but his first agenda is to gain immortality through the Namek Dragonballs. Responsible for nearly destroying all of the Saiyan race (despite the fact he was employing them in the first place). After a lot of cat and mouse with the Z-Fighters (Krillin, Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta) on Planet Namek, he comes into confrontation with Goku leading to one of the most drawn out fights in the series. Eventually he is struck down by his own attack and left for dead. Then, however, he is rebuild as a cyborg by his father, King Cold, and heads for Earth... only to be chopped into bits and blasted to atoms by Future Trunks upon arrival.

  • Abusive Parents: Frieza implies after Goku managed to deal some damage on him that King Cold (and possibly his mother) has hurt him in his final form.

Frieza: (dusting off) Well, well. It seems like you are the first to hurt me in my real form besides my loving parents.

    • At another point in the fight he mentions training with his father, so he might be referring to that instead. Of course, that line was not in the original, so we're back to abuse.
  • A God Am I: Thinks of himself as one, and really, who's going to argue with a guy that can casually blow up planets?
  • Ambiguously Gay: With little gems like this, and this, it's sometimes hard to tell...
  • Ax Crazy: Not as obvious as Kid Buu, but he does have some moments of mental instability.
  • Big Bad: The most famous one and the one who started the entire Dragon Ball series by blowing up Plant Vegeta and nearly wiping out the Saiyans.
  • Bad Boss: Frieza personifies the Machiavellian doctrine of "tis better to be feared than loved" when it comes to promotions and "demotions" (AKA vaporizing) of his employees in the Anime.
  • Bishonen Line: A significant Trope Codifier.
  • Complete Monster: Hands down THE most evil shit in the Dragon Ball universe.
  • Cross-Dressing Voices: In the dub, though his gender is left intact.
    • The Other Darrin: Kai switched Linda Young out for Chris Ayres after the first episode.
  • Dark Is Evil / Light Is Not Good: Frieza has relatively light colors, but most of his abilities either have references to darkness or are dark colored.
  • Despotism Justifies the Means: Only cares about staying in power as "The Strongest Being in the Universe."
  • Determinator: Frieza refuses to give up, even after all the chips are down and Goku offers to let him to live. Frieza will not stop until Goku is dead, even if it means blowing up the planet.
    • Also shown when Namek's Eternal Dragon returns. Frieza figures that it's not too late to get his wish, and he would have actually succeeded... if he knew Namekian.
  • Dirty Coward: Let's see, he attempts to kill Goku while his back is turned, even though Goku has allowed him to be healed after Frieza literally begs for his life (even though it's likely he's unconscious when he says this), and immediately berates our hero for this.
    • Pretty much everything he does is out of fear. Let's see, he: blew up Planet Vegeta because of a mere rumor that a Super Saiyan would rise and defeat him, attempts to find the Dragonballs out of a fear of death, and does not personally make a move against the Z Fighters until it's too late, and every one of his elite henchmen are dead. It all comes back to bite him in the end, however. He does mask it pretty well, and is one of the few dirty cowards capable of being cool.
  • Earthshattering Kaboom: When in doubt, this is his solution to every problem.
  • Establishing Character Moment: His first appearance features him ordering his men to murder every Namekian in a village. As if the audience needed more confirmation that he was evil.
    • Even more so in Kai. In his first few minutes of screen time, he drives the Saiyans to near-extinction by blowing up their planet.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Papas: Despite being a Complete Monster, he has a fairly good relationship with his father King Cold. Too bad, Daddy is willing to disown you as soon as you die and let an unknown teen be the heir to the empire you were supposed to get, just to save his own skin.
    • Frieza himself would probably do the same thing if the tables were reversed. It kinda runs in the family.
  • Evil Laugh: In Japanese, his is a distinct Noblewoman's Laugh: "Oh-hohohohohohoho!!"
  • Evil Overlord : Rules multiple galaxies...
  • Expecting Someone Taller: During their first encounter (at least in the manga) Goku comments Freeza looks younger than he expected.
  • Faux Affably Evil: When he's no enfuriated, Freiza is rather polite and so; even complimenting Goku's skill. Deep down, he's anything but nice.
  • Final Solution: His destruction of Planet Vegeta qualifies under this trope.
  • Finger Gun: BANG!
  • Freeza Can Breathe in Space: While it's not stated if Freeza can literally breathe, but he can survive in a vacuum.
  • Galactic Conqueror: And is willing to add more to his collection.
  • Genre Savvy: The "leading the homing attack back to the attacker strategy?" Please. Frieza knows that one.

Frieza: As if I'm stupid enough to be cut by my own attack.

  • A Glass of Chianti: He is often seen drinking blood-red wine.
  • Hero-Killer: To Vegeta and Krillin.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: When he gets dismembered by his own attack. Ouch.
  • Humiliation Conga: Suffers this whenever he's revived.
  • Lack of Empathy: While he does grin like maniac when killing others in his previous three forms, his final form has him looking placid as he beats the tar of Vegeta.
  • Laughing Mad: His laughter when destroying Planet Vegeta pretty much shows just how much sanity he has, or rather lacks. Also gives one off when he is thinking about killing Goku's friends one by one before destroying Earth as revenge to Goku for besting him, to the point where his speech was barely comprehensible.
    • Also when he tried to destroy Namek before Goku's spirit bomb hit him...and then when he actually fires a blast into Namek's core.
  • Lost in Translation: In the original Funimation dub, Frieza was portrayed as a short tempered Smug Snake who had Ho Yay undertones, brutish way of speaking and a feminine voice. It was not until Kai that fans were introduced to the sophiscated tyrant he was originally intended to be.
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Ryusei Nakao, who is said to be a sweet and romantic gentleman with a gentle and lovely (you read that right) singing voice.
  • Missing Mom
  • A Nazi by Any Other Name: A racist who systematically killed off the Saiyans? Remind you of someone?
    • Ironically, the Super Saiyans, the reason why Frieza attempted to commit genocide against the Saiyans, resembled the Nazis' ideal Aryan.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Killing Krillin and threatening to kill Gohan sent Goku over the edge. Big mistake.
    • In a what-if story, his killing of Bardock that sends him into the past and killing his ancestor Chilled, who warns his family of the "golden haired menace" is to be believed means that he inadvertently caused the phenomenon that led to his demise.
  • Offhand Backhand: Does this to Nail.
    • It should noted that he did this just to show off.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Played with, as although he could (and did) destroy planets, Frieza wasn't actively out to destroy them as Cell and Buu were; he's first and foremost a businessman, usually settling for wiping out all life then selling it to the highest bidder. However, if he felt threatened in even the slightest he would blow up a planet without a second thought.
  • One Hit KO: He does this to any minor character, after his saga, He's a magnet to these during the rest of the series
  • One-Winged Angel: a Trope Codifier for its modern definition. Prior him, anime and western villains alike would only transform into a monster, dragon, giant, etc in the final battle and the multiple battle forms would appear in very little known series, his display of forms is what led to both hero and villains alike to transform into beautiful or hideous forms in order to fight their enemies,
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: In his final form, he's only slightly above Goku's waist.
    • And his first form looks even shorter!
  • Politically-Incorrect Villain: Towards the "Saiyan monkeys." Though it turned out the motivation was more fear than hatred.
    • The fear was also somewhat justified as Chilled, his ancestor, was ultimately killed (or at the very least brutally injured) by a Super Saiyan, and apparently Chilled passed on this information to his descendants before his death.
  • Power Incontinence: Goku notes that when he tries to use 100% power, he can't fully control it, causing his energy to diminish at a rapid rate, eventually declaring that he's not worth fighting.
  • Power Limiter: His final form is his true form. The rest are this.
  • Prehensile Tail: And he is more than happy to strangle people with it.
  • Properly Paranoid: Both times: He was paranoid that the Saiyans will either bring about a Super Saiyan to defeat him, or that they'd otherwise commit an uprising. Movie 8, not to mention Bardock and King Vegeta's revolt against him, as well as Bardock, via accidential time travel, also brutally injured/killed Frieza's ancestor Chilled (and his learning about the Super Saiyan from him) shows that his paranoia was very well justified.
  • Put the Laughter In Slaughter: Laughs like a loon when he's blowing up a planet filled with many potential fighters that could destroy him, including his own men who are begging him to not get them caught in the crossfire.
  • Rage Quit: When he attempts to blow up Namek when he figures he can't beat Goku.
  • Revenge: When he came back as a cyborg, this was his primary focus against Goku.
  • The Sociopath: He's got a supreme Lack of Empathy and a sense of charisma around him.
  • Shoot the Medic First: Poor, poor Dende.
  • Sissy Villain: Painstakingly polite, girly lips, always in some combination of pink, purple, and white.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": "Freeza" is used by Bandai and the manga, but Funimation uses "Frieza".
  • Sphere of Destruction: His Death Ball.
  • Smug Snake: Very clearly reduced to this once the main cast surpasses him.
  • Smug Super: One of the well-known contenders for the anime posterboy of this trope. Having spent who knows have many years unchallenged in his might and authority has made him Drunk with Power. As such, the very idea of someone actually being stronger than him is absolutely inconceivable for him to imagine and at the same time, It's what deep down, he fears the most.
  • Son of an Ape: His favorite way to insult the Saiyans. "Ape", "monkey", "simian", etc.
  • Star-Making Role: Frieza started a life of (much loved) typecasting for Ryusei Nakao as the go-to guy for terrifying villains.
  • Theme Naming: His father is King Cold, his brother is Cooler and he is Freeza.
    • Which leads to the various names for his race, such as Frost Demon and Icejin.
  • Torso with a View: Still survived despite being cut in half and half his face blown off.
  • The Chew Toy Becomes one after his saga
  • Unskilled but Strong: He never is shown to train, the strain on his body is too great to remain at full strength for long, and he can't even sense power levels, which by the Namek saga pretty much everyone outside his army could do. But before Goku became a Super Saiyan, he still outclassed just about everyone in the universe in sheer power.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Gradually happens throughout his fight with Goku.
  • We Can Rebuild Him: The original dub even quotes the line.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Yet another reason to hate him.
  • Wicked Cultured: He's well-mannered (even more so in the Kai dub), and establishes a legitimate business.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: It is heavily implied that he transforms to decrease his overall power because he is almost incapable of controlling himself in later forms. Especially the 2nd and 3rd.
  • Worf Effect: Especially in the movies.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: See Nice Job Fixing It, Villain.
  • You Have Failed Me...: He kills one of his men after the latter forgot to ask one of the Namekian survivors of Vegeta's attack where Vegeta is before killing the survivor, and implies that he'll kill Zarbon the exact same way if he doesn't find Vegeta and deliver him to him. Also, he kills one of his fathers men by impaling his chest from behind when the latter started to show signs of fear.
  • You Said You Would Let Them Go: Frieza, after he forced King Vegeta to give him custody of his son, Prince Vegeta, also stated that if Vegeta didn't do as he commanded him, he will murder his father. Vegeta did everything Frieza commanded for him to do, but Frieza still murdered King Vegeta anyways, as well as destroyed Planet Vegeta. Slightly justified in the case of killing King Vegeta, however, as King Vegeta was attacking Frieza when he killed him, although he nonetheless planned on eradicating the Saiyans from the start.


Doctor Gero's Androids

Android 20 (人造人間二十号; Jinzou Ningen Nijuu-Gou)/
Dr. Gero (ドクター・ゲロ; Dokutaa Gero)

Voiced by: Koji Yada (Japanese)
Voiced by: Brian Dobson (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Kent Williams (Funimation dub)

Used to be a scientist for the Red Ribbon Army from the first series which Goku single-handedly destroyed. By Z he has turned himself into an Android (number 20) and plots revenge on Goku, but the plan pretty much backfires on him. He returns again in GT, but doesn't fare any better.

  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Inverted. In the main universe, he apparently made no less than nineteen androids which all ended up doing a Heel Face Turn somewhere down the line. Finally averted with 19 (and, if you count the movies, 13, 14 and 15), Cell and himself, since he could be sure he would stay evil.
  • Arc Villain: He is responsible for all the horrors that transpired 3 years after Freeza's death.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: Even though he could only watch his victory from Hell, he is the only villain in the Dragonball Saga to get exactly what he wanted; the death of Son Goku at the hands of his creations.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: And yet...
    • Bigger Bad: Of the Red Ribbon Saga and the Cell Saga.
  • Badass Bookworm
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Brick Joke: Vegeta mentions that his head probably rolls just as well as 19's. It does.
  • Complete Monster: More of a Complete Monster wannabe, but he is still accountable for everything having to do with Cell, who is a true Monster.
  • Cyborg
  • Energy Absorption
  • Evil Old Folks
  • Grumpy Old Man
  • Hoist By His Own Androids : Three Times
  • It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": The US dub pronounces his name with a soft "G" (making his name sound French) while in Japanese it's a hard "G".
  • Mad Scientist
  • Not Me This Time: Played with in Movie 7. When Goku first encounters Android 13, he initially thinks that Dr. Gero created him. However, Android 13 corrects him and states that this time, he and his partners, Androids 14 and 15, were created by Gero's computer rather than Gero himself. It's not that he didn't intend to have them created so much as by the time they were created, Gero was long dead.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Cell implies after returning to Earth in his Super Perfect form that Dr. Gero may have created him for the purpose of not just destroying the Earth, but also the entire Universe as revenge on life itself for letting the Red Ribbon Army be defeated.
    • In GT, Gero talks about having a dream to replace all life whatsoever with artificial beings.
  • Retcon / Remember the New Guy?: He never appeared in Dragon Ball's original Red Ribbon Army story line. The anime even had a quietly ignored filler episode that claimed a 'Dr. Frappe' created androids like #8, only for Toriyama to bring that element back years later.
  • Revenge
  • Too Dumb to Live: Kidnapping two rebellious teenagers and making them more powerful than you is already stupid enough. Repeatedly mouthing off at said rebellious teenagers, whom, again, you made to be more powerful than you, is like hanging a "kill me" sign on your own neck.
    • It's possible that his original plan was to never reactivate 17 and 18 after noticing their rebellious attitude - and just wait for Cell to grow up and absorb them. He probably made 19 as a stop gap and went to town with him just to test the Z-Fighters' strength. The unexpected drastic power increase of said fighters and the fact that they had killed 19 and successfully hunted Gero himself down to his lab caused him to activate 17 and 18 in a desperate bid for survival... getting him out of the Z-Fighters' frying pan for sure, only to land in the Androids' fire.
    • But then in GT, Gero along with Dr. Myuu, who himself has been killed in betrayal, get the idea of trying to control 17 yet again while giving him ultimate power, all through a clone from hell. Naturally, this ends no better than it ever does.
    • Androids 17 and 18 had a purpose to fulfill that did not require either of them to ever be activated: be absorbed by Cell. It's quite likely that Gero never intended to activate them in the first place, and only did so as a last desperate measure against the Z warriors.
  • Unintentional Backup Plan / Xanatos Roulette: If you consider that Dr. Gero's final creation, Cell, eventually succeeds in killing Goku, exactly as Gero had planned for the androids.

Android 19 (人造人間十九号; Jinzou Ningen Juukyuu-Gou)

Voiced by: Yukitoshi Hori (Japanese)
Voiced by: Patricia Drake (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Phillip Wilburn (Z), Todd Haberkorn (Kai) (Funimation dub)

The final android created by Dr. Gero whose objective is to kill Goku. He almost does just that (with a tiny bit of help from Goku's heart condition), but is attacked by Vegeta before that can happen. Android 19 just loses his head after Vegeta goes Super Saiyan.

Cell (セル; Seru)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese)
Voiced by: Dale Wilson (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Dameon Clarke (Funimation dub)

The ultimate creation of Dr. Gero. An insectoid-reptilian-humanoid Biological Mashup being made from the cells of most of the Z-Fighters (as well as those of Freeza and Cold) who, unlike the Androids, can regenerate From a Single Cell when damaged, gain more experience and power as he fights (or as he "eats" people with his tail), and can use Androids 17 and 18 as batteries of a sort, upon absorbing them, to transform into increasingly stronger and more 'Perfect' forms. After becoming Perfect, he tries to be "fair" by giving Earth a chance with his own Budokai tournament, but eventually just screws the rules and tries to destroy everyone then and there. In the end though, he is destroyed by Gohan.

  • Cell Can Breathe in Space: Like Freeza, Cell can survive in a vacuum.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Because Cell got exactly the fight he wanted out of Son Gohan... ...hysterical screams of terror notwithstanding.
  • Beam-O-War: His final showdown with Gohan.
  • Big Bad: Of the Cell Saga, obviously.
  • Bishonen Line: A definitive example. Goes from being a insect themed Humanoid Abomination to a gray skinned human like being whose shell seems like a costume. In fact, he provides the image for the trope.
  • Biological Mashup: Of every main character and villain in Z, with Piccolo's traits being most prominent in his first form, Vegeta in his second, and Goku in his final.
  • Blood Knight: "Why do I seek ultimate power? Such a pointless question. It was the goal of the computer to create the Ultimate Warrior. Or perhaps its the blood of Saiyans, Freeza and Piccolo flowing through my veins that drives me thus."
    • Which becomes extremely obvious in his Perfect form.
  • Breath Weapon: You knew this already.
  • The Brute: Cell's second form qualifies.
  • Cavalier Competitor: The second kind. Perfect Cell starts off like this, mainly because all he wants is to fight and be entertained. When fighting Gohan, he does everything he can to awaken his hidden power, and finally does so by crushing Android 16's skull beneath his heel. However, once he pisses off Gohan enough to push him to Super Saiyan 2 and becomes sorely outclassed by a child, Perfect Cell's ego can't handle it (then again, he does have the cells of Freeza and Vegeta in him). He drops his facade of civility, gets a little angry and, had it not been for Goku providing spiritual help (and Vegeta an unexpected assist), Perfect Cell would have ultimately annihilated the entire solar system in one shot.
  • Complete Monster: He consciously chooses to pursue his programming out of sheer sadism rather than defecting, and ends up just about as evil as Freeza because of it.
  • Dead Line News: Cell's rampant bioextraction of the humans (including reporters and cameramen covering the scene in the town he's in) makes him the talk of the media. And that's before he takes a cue from King Piccolo and declares his challenge for the fate of the world on national global television.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: Subverted, in that his Big Bad master Gero is dead before he can become this. But given his personality and the fact that Gero was a Smug Snake who was killed by two of his other creations because of how he treated them, its pretty much a given that this is how their relationship would have turned out.
  • Driven to Suicide - A decidedly spiteful variation. Upon being bested by Super Saiyan 2-level Gohan, Cell attempted to self-destruct - a move that would've destroyed the entire Earth. He failed due to Goku's intervention, only to unexpectedly revive himself from a single surviving cell.
    • Before that, Cell attempted to destroy the planet with a Kamehameha. Fortunately, Gohan was able to counter it.
  • Faux Affably Evil: In his Perfect form.
  • For the Evulz: After achieving his Perfect Form, he explains to Trunks that unlike Freeza, he has no interest in ruling the universe and doesn't really care about Dr. Gero's vendetta against Goku. He just wants to have fun and test out his full power against Worthy Opponents. And the greatest fun according to him, is to see the looks of fear on people's faces as he kills them. In fact, his original plan upon winning the Cell Games was to slowly hunt down every single person on Earth and savour their terror and despair as he killed them instend of just blowing everything away in one shot.
  • From a Single Cell: Trope Namer.
  • Genetic Memory / Lamarck Was Right: Inherits all the learned techniques known to the characters from whose DNA he is made, as of the time when their cells were collected. He recongises each of the Z fighters on sight and knows more about them, and their personalities, than Gero ever did (on the other hand, he doesn't know everything they can do- for instance, he didn't know that Namekians have a Healing Factor, though he is happy to find out).
  • Glamour Failure: Cell looks vaguely humanoid, but his biology fails him several times. Notably, the original English dub for Cell's first form has his voice drop into an extremely deep register when he nearly kills Piccolo.
  • Hero-Killer: Killed Goku, Trunks (twice, in different timelines) and Android 16.
  • He's Back: Villainous example as Super Perfect Cell.
  • Irony: Doctor Gero's hatred for Son Goku is the stuff of legend, yet he seems to overlook the fact that by using Goku's own DNA in the construction of Cell a part of Goku will forever live on in Cell.
    • If Android 16 didn't break his programming to kill Goku, this is what would've allowed him to fight Cell anyway, by identifying Cell as Goku.
  • Lack of Empathy: Even worse than Freeza in this regard as he only sees others as either food to get stronger or entertainment to fight and kill.
  • Lego Genetics: A genetic chimera of Saiyan, Namekian, Human and Changeling/Frost Demon DNA. Through the magic of comic book science, he is born inheriting the techniques, strengths, and worst possible character traits of everyone from whom he is cloned.
    • As he explains in the anime, like Saiyans he gets stronger after every battle, like Namekians he can regenerate, and like Freeza he can survive in a vacuum.
  • Magnificent Bastard: Until the Cell Games got going...
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Norio Wakamoto loves to ham up his "bad guy" persona with little kids in his neighborhood, jokingly laughing "who wants to be drained" while they shout "Come and fight us Cell!!" Quite the Cool Old Guy.
  • Meaningful Name: As noted above, he can regenerate from a single cell. He's also a genetic construct made from combining and cloning the cells of various superpowered characters.
  • Mega Manning: Can use all of the main characters and villains' signature moves, although this is not what he's famous for.
  • Mix-and-Match Man: Made of the DNA of those above mentioned characters.
    • This also really confuses the main characters when he first appears, since even his Ki aura is a mixture of all the people he's made of. They swear they can sense Piccolo, Goku, and Freeza all in the same place (despite knowing that one of those is dead, and another is bedridden due to sickness).
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Starts out as a simple bug from an egg, then becomes this mass-murdering man-eater, to a brute capable of destroying islands with one blast and finally a Physical God that the whole world knows about, and even given a film about it 7 years later.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: Has Hellish Pupils instead of the traditional black dots, and later the blue, then pink irises; in fact Cell is far more detailed in design than any villain, or for that matter character in the series.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Fully attains this status after reaching his "Super Perfect" state. This near-death (essentially actual death, since he was stripped to a single cell) experience convinced Cell that - as "the perfect being" - his true purpose in life was to bring about the total destruction of all living things in the universe, one planet at a time.
  • One-Winged Angel: Not as much as Frieza and Buu, but it's more of an evolution theme.
  • Run the Gauntlet: Due to being created with the cells of almost everyone Goku has met, Cell is essentially a one-man version of this when Goku fights him.
    • The anime does much more with this than the manga.
  • Smug Super: His position as this is shown clearly in the Cell Games when he gets curious about Gohan's full power and deliberately provokes him into going Super Saiyan 2. He gets exactly what he wanted, yet still gets enraged when "a mere child" starts beating him. And the kicker: when he gets so desperate to kill Gohan that he powers up into a very slow, bulky muscled form; the very thing he mocked Trunks for way back in their fight!
  • Spirited Competitor: Acts like this during his Cell Games until he starts losing.....
  • Star-Making Role: Producers started to notice Norio Wakamoto's magnetic, charismatic and confident voice after his stint as Perfect Cell, eventually landing him the role of the Social Darwinist tyrant Charles Vi Britannia twenty years later.
  • Taking You with Me: He does not take losing well.
  • Villainous Breakdown: See the Smug Super entry. In the US, the episode in which it happens is actually titled "Cell's Mighty Breakdown".
    • Has a minor one in his second form against Vegeta.


Babidi's Coven

Babidi (バビディ)

Voiced by: Jouji Yanami (Japanese)
Voiced by: Terry Klassen (Ocean dub)
Voiced by: Duncan Brennan (Funimation dub)

A midget alien wizard who is trying to take over the world using his father Bibidi's living weapon Majin Buu. It works for a while, but when he get too mouthy, it backfires royally.

Buu:(Choking him) Ya aprendi muchas cosas de ti asi que ya no te necesito, ¡Muere, tonto! (punches him) (I have learned a lot from you already, So, I don't longer need you die, You Fool!

  • Dirty Coward: Only blatant one.
  • Enemy Mine: Sort of. He doesn't directly aid Goku in regards to defeating Kid Buu, but he cheers him on solely because he wants Buu dead as revenge for killing him in the first place.
  • Four Is Death: Bit of a meta example, but he (and his extremely dangerous plan) first debuted in the 444th chapter of the manga, which was released on April 4th, 1994 (4/4/94).
  • Evil Sorcerer: Only major one.
  • Karmic Death: Since Majin Buu's release from his ensealment, Babidi threatened Buu with sealing Buu back up if he doesn't submit to him and/or obey his command, and was verbally abusive. After Babidi makes the mistake of telling off Buu for not killing Goku when he had the chance, Buu decided that he had enough, and after tricking Babidi with a secret, he strangles Babidi so that he cam't utter the incantation that would seal him away, and then punches his head off in a bloody mist.
  • Lack of Empathy: Common Dragon Ball villain trait.
  • Non-Action Big Bad Wannabe
  • Punny Name / Shout-Out: Bibidi, Babidi, and Buu.
  • Smug Snake: Ohh boy, is he ever. Not helped at all by his status as a smarmy Squishy Wizard Non-Action Big BadWannabe in a series full of Badass Blood Knights.
  • Squishy Wizard: Only villainous example of this series
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Wants to conquer the universe to make old Bibidi proud.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Towards his loyal right-hand man Dabura, then this backfires when he mouths off to Majin Buu, and Buu gets tired of it and kills him. The Z Fighters and his two Dragons were all stronger than he was, so first Dabura, then Buu, basically served as his bodyguard.
  • You Killed My Father: The primary reason why he wanted to revive Buu in the first place, besides obviously conquering the universe, was to exact revenge on Kaioshin for killing his father.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: His philsophy.

Demon King Dabura (ダーブラ)

[[

Voiced By: Ryuzaburo Ohtomo (Japanese)
Voiced By: Scott McNeil (Ocean Dub)
Voiced By: Rick Robertson (Funimation)

Babidi's right hand man, he assists in his plans for a time. But Babidi abandons him in favor of Buu. He tries to fight Buu to prove his worth but winds up killed as a result. If that wasn't bad enough, Enma sends him to Heaven as since he a demon, Hell wouldn't be a suitable punishment for him.

  • Affably Evil: Regal and Gentlemanly, the picture of Evil Nobility.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Mere minutes after being introduced he obliterated Kibito, turned Krilin and Piccolo into stone statues and fended off both Goku and Vegeta, on the receiving end of one agait Buu.
  • The Dragon: To Babidi.
  • Dub Name Change: The US manga writes his name as Dabra.
  • Eye Scream: Majin Buu punches his eyes out shortly after being freed from the seal. He didn't blind him though.
  • Heel Face Turn: Anime only and its more due to the enviroment he's now stuck in turning him into a Love Freak, but Dabura does help the spirits of Chi Chi, Bulma and Videl try to look for Gohan in the after life and comforts them when it doesn't seem they're able.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal: He can pull out his sword and spear from seemingly nowhere.
    • He's The Demon King. It's expected he'd materialize objects with his mystical powers, even moreso than Piccolo.
  • Ironic HFIL: He was sent to Heaven for his crimes. Enma Daio/King Yama believed he'd enjoy it too much in HFIL. He did eventually reform himself there in the anime, as Chi Chi, Bulma and Videl discovered, to the point he became a Love Freak.
  • Noble Demon: Whether or not the curse comes into the equation, Dabura remains admirably loyal to Babidi even as he is abandoned by the ungrateful mage, warning his master that Buu will not stay loyal and will be the death of him if not quickly sealed... Babidi REALLY should have listened to his loyal right-hand-man.
    • He also challenges Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta to attack him all at once, thinking he'd be too much for any one of them (an overestimation of his power, but it's the thought that counts). When Babidi asked him where he'd like the fight to take place, he requested a planet similar to earth, so as not to give him an unfair advantage.
  • Never Bring a Knife to A Fist Fight: His mighty demonic sword is snapped in half by Gohan during their fight.
  • Physical Satan: Whereas "Demon King Piccolo" earned his title through a life of murder and terror, Dabura literally is the King of Demon World itself. He is explicitly said to be around the same power level as Cell, probably stronger, which means up to that point he was pretty much the strongest villain the Z fighters had ever faced ('course, Goku, Vegeta and Gohan were much stronger than Cell at this point too, but he's still stronger than Gohan, who defeated Cell).
  • Playing with Fire: His "Honoo" attack consist of a flaming cone of fire spewn by his mouth.
  • Sinister Scimitar: His large sword greatly resembles one.
  • Taken for Granite: His spit can turn anything into stone.
  • The Worf Effect: It's supossed that he is strong as Cell and his battle agaidt buu well exapais how much a former villai is outclassed

Majin Buu (魔人ブウ)

He is more dangerous then he looks. We're not kidding!

Voiced by: Kozo Shioya (Japanese)
Fat Buu voiced by: Scott McNeil (Ocean dub)
Evil and Super Buu voiced by: Brian Dobson (Ocean dub)
Kid Buu voiced by: Ward Perry (Ocean dub)
Fat and Kid Buu voiced by: Josh Martin (Funimation dub)
Evil and Super Buu voiced by: Justin Cook (Funimation dub)

The final villain of the Z saga, a pink blobby magical creature created by alien Evil Sorceror Bibidi to conquer the Kais and thus the take over the universe. When he absorbed the Grand Supreme Kai though, said Kai's overwhelming goodness weakened Buu's power and made him more childlike and misguided rather than the crazy and omnicidal being he originally was. Eventually Buu was sealed away, then awakened by Babidi, Bibibi's son, many, many years later. The two work together for a time, but Buu eventually gets tired of Babidi's criticism and kills him before going on a rampage of his own. Mr. Satan, who initially was sent to kill him, against all odds befriends Buu. But an unfortunate incident releases the true evil side of Buu as a Literal Split Personality, and it all goes downhill from there 'til he eventually reverts to his original and much more insane form. After blowing up the earth, Buu tears around the afterlife till a final battle between him, his Good Counterpart Fat Buu, Goku, and Vegeta commences. After some back and forth, Goku manages to obliterate him using power donated by all the citizens of Earth focused into one Spirit Bomb. But rather than be completely destroyed, he is reincarnated at Goku's wish as the human Uub who becomes Goku's pupil at the end of the series, while his surviving good side, Fat Buu, goes on to live with Hercule on Earth.

  • Acrofatic: Fat Buu
  • Ax Crazy: Super Buu and especially Kid Buu, who is Ax Crazy Up to Eleven.
  • Badass Cape: Fat Buu
  • Balloon Belly: Fat Buu.
  • Big Bad: The last one in the Z series.
  • Berserk Button: Fat Buu is possibly the most jovial character on the show, which is in itself bizarre in an adorable way, but God help you if you harm his dog and/or his best bud.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: This thing's dangerous? C'mon, he's not nearly as cool looking or charsmatic as Cell; he's a babyish blob monster. there's no way... Holy shit! Did he just oneshot Gohan who fought on par with Dabura who was as strong as Cell?!
  • Blind Idiot Translation: So, so much fan debate was created thanks to Funimation's mistranslation. When Old Kai learned Buu was able to be controlled after absorbing South Supreme Kai and Grand Supreme Kai, the dubbed line had him say "They weakened him," causing fans to argue (endlessly) that Kid Buu is the most powerful form. The manga used the correct translation: "They tamed him."
  • Blob Monster: He's able to absorb people with it, and/or regenerate himself in addition to body manipulation.
  • Blood Knight: As Super Buu and to a lesser extent Fat Buu. The desire to fight strong warriors was the only thing keeping them from destroying the Earth. As for Kid Buu, he just didn't care.
  • Chick Magnet: Fat Buu by the series finale.
  • Complete Monster: Super Buu and debatably Kid Buu reach this status.
  • Confusion Fu: Kid Buu's primary "fighting style." This is why this form is the deadliest despite not having as much power.
  • Continuity Snarl/Fridge Logic: When Fat Buu's evil leaves his body, it forms into the grey, emaciated Evil Buu. Shouldn't it have formed into Kid Buu?
    • One theory was that the Evil Buu and Fat Buu were still linked somehow (sort of like Piccolo and Kami) representing Majin Buu's evil and good half respectively, as his internal struggle was literally brought into the open. Super Buu is thought of the result of Buu regaining most of his original evil, making it a sort of Split Personality Takeover. Removing the Good Buu from within, removed the positive influence altogether, reverting him to his original form.
  • Deceptive Disciple: Learns each technique he's seen, at even greater speed as Kid Buu.
  • The Dog Bites Back: Majin Buu, after Babidi snaps at Buu yet again for not finishing off Goku, decided he has had enough of being barked around by his "master", and decides to kill him in such a way that eliminates any risk of Babidi trying to seal him back in.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: Nobody gives a sh*t about Babidi after he shows up. Unfortunately for Babidi, Buu joins that list.
  • Dumbass No More: After absorbing Piccolo.
  • Earthshattering Kaboom: Kid Buu blows up the Earth.
  • Eyes Always Shut: Fat Buu
  • Fan Nickname: Buu's various forms. Most have become ascended memes due to the video games.
  • Fat Bastard: Fat Buu. At first.
  • For the Evulz: Super Buu and Kid Buu.
    • Kid Buu, in particular, is described as being "evil incarnate." Super Buu was at least a bit more interested in fighting a strong opponent rather than random destruction (the first thing he does is fly to Kami's Lookout and demand to fight the "strong opponent" he was promised). Kid Buu just wanted to destroy for the sake of destruction (his first act was to blow up Earth even after Vegeta challenged him to a fight).
  • From A Single Atom: Forget a cell, all he needs is a remaining atom and he can regain his former body. You can tear holes in his body and he'll just refill them. You can cut him to pieces and they'll just come back together. You can blow him to smithereens and the smithereens will re-coalesce. You can vaporize him and he'll regenerate from the vapor. Only through complete and utter annihilation of every iota of his being can he destroyed for good.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Going by the flashback for Kid Buu's birth and Buu's overall backstory, Bibidi created Buu to destroy everything so he could dominate over existence. It worked... too well, as a few times Kid Buu attempted to kill Bibidi, or otherwise simply ignore him.
    • Actually, Kaioshin mentions in the Japanese version that Bibidi had created Buu by accident.
  • Hannibal Lecture: Starts giving these to Gohan after absorbing Piccolo.
  • Heel Face Turn: Fat Buu.
  • Hero-Killer: In fact he killed all the Z fighters at least once, except for Goku. While he didn't kill Vegeta himself, he did do so indirectly by causing said Saiyan's Senseless Sacrifice.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Fat Buu twice. In Z, he risks his life (and nearly dies) while fighting Kid Buu. In GT, he effectively kills himself by fusing with Uub.
  • The Hyena: The majority of Kid Buu's speech is composed of either maniacal laughter or insane screeches.
    • He's pretty prone to laughing fits in any of his forms.
  • Jabba Table Manners: Made worse by the fact that when he turns his victims to candy, they are still alive and conscious as he noisily chews on them.
  • Kill'Em All: Human Extinction Attack.
  • Knuckle-Cracking: As Super Buu.
  • Lack of Empathy: Super Buu, and especially Kid Buu.
    • In Kid Buu's case, he seems not to care, or even know about pain. He only wants to have fun, by fighting powerful people, killing, and causing lots and lots of destruction.
  • Laughably Evil:All of his forms specially in his Fat Buu form.
  • Laughing Mad: Especially in his Kid Buu form
  • Lightning Bruiser: Especially Kid Buu, but Fat Buu and Super Buu are very fast despite their statures.
  • Mega Manning: He can both imitate attacks he's seen only once and gain abilities from absorbing people.
  • Morality Chain: Both Mr. Satan/Hercule and Bee in Fat Buu's case.
  • Non-Human Sidekick: To Mr Satan (Hercule) after his Heel Face Turn.
  • The Napoleon: Kid Buu.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: As Kid Buu, and to a lesser extent, Super Buu.
  • One-Winged Angel: Has the most transformations of any villain in Dragon Ball.
  • Our Genies Are Different: Very different. Made more explicit in the comic than the show.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Kid Buu
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Fat Buu is the obliviously-evil type, Super Buu acts a bit more refined but tends to throw hissy fits when outmatched (even after absorbing Piccolo and Gohan), and Kid Buu is just completely off his rocker.
  • Pure Is Not Good: It is implied that Kid Buu is pure of heart in the final moments of the battle as he managed to not only catch the Spirit Bomb (which almost vaporized him), but also ended up pushing it back to Goku while he was still weakened before ultimately having it be reflected right back to him, and then destroyed by it.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning/Black Eyes of Crazy: A Trope Codifier for anime villains
  • Real Villains Are Pink: A Trope Codifier.
  • Rubber Man: A psychotic, superpowered flying wad of bubblegum.
  • Smug Super: After absorbing Gotenks and especially Gohan.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Literally its "Majin Buu", but Bandai uses "Boo". Viz for some reason, translated "Majin" as "Djinn".
    • 魔 ("ma") can mean sorcery or demon (it's the same character used in Piccolo Daimaou). 人 ("jin") means person, but it also used to indicate a person's ethnicity ("Amerika-jin" for American). Majin would be a Japanese word for genie (or djinn). The only problem with replacing "Majin" with "djinn" is it removes to alternate meaning of "demon."
  • Suddenly Voiced: The English dub, and some Latin American dubs as well, gave Kid Buu the ability to at least utter simple words, while in the manga and Japanese dub Kid Buu can't speak at all. Following video games for the franchise rectified this to match the manga and rendered Kid Buu speechless.
  • Sweet Tooth: He can change anyone, including himself, into candy in order to eat them.
  • Tangled Family Tree: Let's see, Kid Buu absorbs South Supreme Kai to become Buff Buu, and then absorbs Grand Supreme Kai to become the Fat Buu. Then Fat Buu releases the evilness from himself in rage which manifests itself into the Evil Buu, who subsequently absorbs the Fat Buu and becomes Super Buu. Super Buu absorbs: Gotenks, Piccolo, and Gohan only to have the ripped from inside of him by Vegetto (who also removes Fat Buu). After all of these are removed, Super Buu regresses into Kid Buu, who is then destroyed and reincarnated into Uub.
  • The Brute: Unlike Frieza or Cell, he is merely a force of brute strength, with little brain power (When Picolo wasn't absorbed) and quick to anger.
  • Teleporters and Transporters:Kid Buu finally found one he could copy towards the end
  • Transformation Ray: He can fire one from his head-tentacle. He mainly uses it to turn people into candy.
  • The Unfettered: Kid Buu, the purest version of Buu with nobody absorbed, may not be the most powerful incarnation, but there's no doubt that he's the most dangerous one. The other versions can be reasoned with to at least some extent; all Kid Buu understands or cares about is cosmic destruction.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Shortly after Majin Buu was released by Babidi, Buu pretty much ignored Babidi's presence going around and doing his own thing, not even thanking him. He only ends up bowing to Babidi when the latter essentially threatens Majin Buu with being re-sealed if he doesn't accept him as his master.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Forced into it by Vegetto.
  • Xanatos Speed Chess: Super Buu is very good at doing this, despite being a mere thug in personality. He noticed Gohan's growing power, so he fought against Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and tested the limits of his strength and his weaknesses (e.g. fusion limit). After briefly fighting Gohan and finding himself overwhelmed, he goes through an intentional Superpower Meltdown, knowing he will regenerate and buys time (and getting Goten and Trunks to recuperate, to fuse again). When he returns he goads the Goten and Trunks into fusing again at full power and absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo into his being, deciding 30 minutes is more than enough to handle Gohan (He was right). Goku arrives and the fusion breaks down. Goku says Gohan alone is strong enough to defeat Buu, so he absorbs Gohan. Interestingly, the only character this didn't work on is Vegetto, who was too strong, too wily, and had plans of his own, as he later found out...
  • You Will Be Assimilated: Buu's defining trait as a villain. Once he encounters a stronger opponent he absorbs them into himself, adding their power to his and taking on their abilities, their knowledge, memories and even certain aspects of their identity. This can make for a very unnerving fight (as Gohan finds once Buu absorbs his old mentor Piccolo), but can also work to the heroes' advantage (Fat Buu became less dangerous when the original Buu absorbed the peaceful, benevolent Grand Supreme Kai).
  • You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry: Said almost verbatim to Vegetto, notable in that it was after he absorbed Gohan; which at this point made him one of the two strongest characters in the series.
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