Few anime series have a more expansive gallery of villains than Dragon Ball Z. Over the course of his time as Earth’s savior, Goku and the rest of the Z fighters have fought a wide variety of enemies both on Earth and across the galaxy. Some of those battles were more impressive than others, and a few rose to the top to become some of the best in the history of the series.
Everyone has an opinion on which villains in Dragon Ball Z were the best, but the best villains had personality to spare on top of whatever their powers may be. Goku almost always emerges triumphant, but in these battles, his skill and power are pushed to their limits.
10. The Ginyu Force
It’s easy to look back on the Ginyu Force and feel like they were a bit of a joke, and they certainly did have their funny moments. When they were first introduced, though, their theatricality was deployed to hide how deadly they really were. Vegeta manages to dispatch most of them, but it’s worth remembering that Captain Ginyu does a number on Goku, and that’s the main reason he isn’t in action for the earliest parts of the fight against Frieza. Being able to switch bodies with your opponent at will is a pretty useful skill, and it’s one that almost gave Captian Ginyu the victory in his fight against Goku.
9. Broly
Broly answers the fairly simple question: What if there was a Super Saiyan more powerful than Goku? He may not be the deepest of characters, but his existence as a Legendary Super Saiyan is undeniably compelling, and he participates in some of the best fights in Dragon Ball canon. Because Broly is unstable, it’s hard to predict exactly what will happen when his true power is unleashed, but that’s part of what makes him interesting. He’s got no bigger motivation: He’s just a powerful being who is constantly on the warpath.
8. Goku Black
Goku Black isn’t really Goku at all, although he does pretend to be for a while. His real name, Zamasu, refers to a former North Kai and Supreme Kai apprentice who stole the Super Dragon Balls in order to steal Goku’s body. Part of what makes Goku Black so chilling, though, is that he looks so much like the hero we’ve come to know and love over the course of years inside the Dragon Ball universe. Even though it’s not really Goku, seeing someone inhabit his body and wish for the death of all mortals is pretty chilling. It’s like the Ginyu saga but turned up a few degrees.
7. Beerus
Beerus is basically just an ultra-powerful cat, and that’s exactly what he should be. He’s the god of destruction, and he’s yet another character that starts out as an outright antagonist and eventually evolves into more of a supporting player. Like most gods, Beerus is mostly just indifferent to the plights of his many subjects. He doesn’t act out of malice toward them, but because he’s the god of destruction, he just doesn’t care about the people he kills. That only makes Beerus’s overall attitude all the more compelling. He’s powerful but nonchalant, and often bored by the people he finds himself around.
6. Majin Buu
A pure embodiment of chaos, Majin Buu was the culmination of Dragon Ball Z, and while he was likely the weakest of the main villains in that series, he was still pretty cool. Although every Dragon Ball Z is indestructible to some extent, what made Buu special was just how impossible he was to destroy, as well as his childish personality. Buu’s destructive instincts had nothing to do with ego. All he wanted was to be having as much fun as possible at all times, which made him wildly unpredictable and almost impossible to stop. His various forms were all pretty cool, although Innocent Buu remains a favorite.
5. The Androids
It’s easy to forget about how genuinely dangerous the Androids were, in part because of how they were eventually subsumed into the broader Cell saga. The glimpses we get of Trunks’s alternate future, though, give us a sense of just how much damage the Androids were capable of unleashing. The Androids also get major style points, and Android 18, in particular, gets points for the surprising way she developed into Krillin’s love interest. Of course, Android 16 is the best of them all; a sensitive, caring machine that really just likes birds, but has been created with the sole intention of killing Goku.
4. Piccolo
The first of several Dragon Ball Z characters that started out as enemies and eventually became reluctant allies, Piccolo gets most of his character development through his relationship with Gohan, but that’s why we love him so much. He may start the series as an enemy of young Goku, but their battle is ultimately less important than who Piccolo becomes over the course of Dragon Ball Z. He becomes a genuine friend to Goku and a surrogate father for Gohan, and although he eventually becomes far less powerful than some of the other characters, he remains one of the wisest characters in the show’s roster.
3. Frieza
Frieza may be the most well-known Dragon Ball Z villain, and he’s certainly one of the best. From his slight, androgynous frame to the way he evolves and transforms as he continues to unveil his power, Goku’s battle with Frieza is one for the history books, and not just because it’s what ultimately forces him to go Super Saiyan. Ultimately, what makes Frieza so great is that he’s the first mega-villain in Dragon Ball Z canon. His powers are so great that he’s almost totally uncontested, and while we would eventually see forces much more powerful than him in play, Frieza was the first villain who seemed almost unbeatable.
2. Vegeta
One of Dragon Ball Z‘s most compelling characters is introduced as a villain and one who almost manages to kill Goku near the beginning of his story. The fight between Vegeta and Goku is plenty of fun, but what makes Vegeta one of the franchise’s best villains is his ego, and the way Goku utterly destroys it over the course of their battle. Vegeta will spend the rest of his time in this franchise trying to prove that he’s better than Goku, only to discover that part of what made Goku so great was how he was raised. The humans he surrounded himself with made him kind and compassionate, and that kindness only strengthened him as a warrior.
1. Cell
Perhaps it’s fitting that Cell is the most perfect villain in the Dragon Ball canon. The creature was genetically engineered to be perfect, and that’s exactly what he becomes. What makes Cell’s saga so great, though, is that there are numerous points in the story when Dragon Ball fighters could have taken him down. Piccolo defeats him quite easily when the two first meet, and Vegeta actively allows Cell to absorb Android 18 to prove his own strength. The final fight between Cell and Goku is one for the books, but Cell is also the moment when we see that Gohan will ultimately be the one to take out this enemy. Although Gohan failed to live up to the promise he showed in the Cell saga, seeing him take down Cell was a thrill all on its own.