Goku

Son Goku (孫そん悟ご空くう Son Gokū, Japanese pronunciation: [sõŋgokɯː]), born Kakarot (カカロット Kakarotto, Japanese pronunciation: [kakaɾot̚to]), is a Saiyan raised on Earth and the overall main protagonist of the Dragon Ball series. Originally was sent to Earth as an infant, Kakarot would be adopted by Grandpa Gohan who named him Son Goku. A head injury at an early age alters Goku's memory, ridding him of his initial destructive nature and allowing him to grow up to become one of Earth's greatest defenders. He constantly strives and trains to be the greatest warrior possible, which has kept the Earth and the universe safe from destruction many times.

Appearnce

Goku looks almost exactly like his father, possessing the same spiky black hairstyle, dark-colored eyes, and facial features. However, he has softer eyes, a kind demeanor, and a lighter-pale skin complexion from his mother. Goku's most distinguishing physical characteristic is his hair. He has three bangs hanging to the right of his forehead and two bangs hanging to the left. His hair also stands up in the front with four spikes and three bangs in the back (later in the anime, he has five spikes in the front and four in the back). Goku was born with the signature tail of the Universe 7 Saiyans, which was long and prehensile with brown fur. It was removed and regrown multiple times in his early childhood, but in his late teens, Goku's tail was permanently removed by Kami in order to prevent his Great Ape transformation. At age 12, Goku was rather short and appeared even younger than he was, being considered less than 10 years old (people were surprised when learning his actual age). His somewhat simple-minded personality also gave people the impression that he was as young as he looked. During the next few years, Goku did not go through any physical changes, other than his muscles becoming more pronounced. By age 15, he began showing noticeable increases in height. By age 18, he had a considerable growth spurt, growing taller than some of his friends and developing a well-built physique. He is also considered very handsome, as noted by various women including Bulma and Heles. His physical changes made him almost indistinguishable from before and was only recognized by his signature naïve personality and "trademark" hairstyle. By age 25, Goku had another growth spurt, and became about similar in height to his taller human allies and much more muscular.

Personality

Originally as an infant Saiyan, Goku was very timid, constantly crying for attention. Goku was then programmed with intense hostility to carry out his mission of eradicating all sentient life on Earth. When found by Grandpa Gohan, he was unruly, savage, and aggressive, wanting nothing to do with the elder. However, after the head injury that caused him to lose his instinctual aggression, Goku became well-known for the energetic, kindhearted, pure heart and caring personality traits he inherited from his mother Gine. He was taught to be compassionate and respectful to others by Grandpa Gohan. He takes most situations in stride; he rarely lets things get him worked up; he quickly got over losing his tail each time. He is however not without fear. Goku is shown to be submissive to overbearing women like Bulma and Chi-Chi, even to the point of Master Roshi jokingly declaring that for all his immense power, he is terrified of his wife. In the anime, he also has aichmophobia, a crippling fear of needles. He is not beyond feeling sorrow, most noticeably seen from the loss of his grandfather. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, he is not above feeling shame, as he regrets his lack of maturity as a person despite all the teachers who have helped him and likewise wants to make his loved-ones proud of him. He also shows genuine concern for the well-being of those close to him. When Master Roshi seemingly died against Ganos, Goku frantically rushed to his aid, desperate to save his mentor and shed tears of joy when he managed to revive him. He is well-noted for his love of any food, even by Saiyan standards,[4] which can be comical at times. When hypnotized while facing "Jackie Chun", Bulma told Goku dinner was ready, instantly waking him up.[34] Like most Saiyans, Goku loves combat and to challenge strong opponents. As such, Goku rarely shows nervousness or fear when fighting. While not arrogant in his abilities (especially compared to Vegeta), Goku has a tendency to be too relaxed and recklessly challenge anyone he views as strong to a fight. Despite his fighting spirit, he is, at heart, a pacifist, as he often spares his enemies, trying to avoid hurting or even killing people if possible and never using more strength than necessary.[35][36] He also strongly believes that people can change for the better, as he spared Piccolo, as well as Vegeta, in their respective fights, despite the former wanting to kill him and the latter killing most of Goku's allies. This, combined with his naturally gentle nature, can lead to him letting his guard down.

Vegeta

Vegeta (ベジータ Bejīta), more specifically Vegeta IV (ベジータ四世 Bejīta Yonsei),[7] recognized as Prince Vegeta (ベジータ王子 Bejīta Ōji) is the prince of the fallen Saiyan race and the husband of Bulma, the father of Trunks and Bulla, the eldest son of King Vegeta, as well as one of the main characters of the Dragon Ball series.

Regal, egotistical, and full of pride, Vegeta was once a ruthless, cold-blooded warrior and outright killer,[8] but later abandons his role in the Frieza Force, instead opting to remain and live on Earth. He would later repeatedly fight alongside Universe 7's most powerful warriors in order to protect Earth and his family, as well as to surpass Goku in power.[9]

Vegeta's character development is the most praised and one of the biggest in the series. He started off serving as the main antagonist of the Vegeta Saga, but then as an anti-heroic tritagonist throughout the rest of Dragon Ball Z. After the Majin Buu Saga Vegeta would evolve into a hero as the main deuteragonist/secondary protagonist of the sequel series, Dragon Ball Super.

Appearance

Vegeta is a small yet very well-built man of a below-average stature, standing at 164 centimeters tall. His hair is black (or dark reddish brown, depending on the media) and spikes upwards. Vegeta has a prominent widow's peak. Like most Saiyans, he possesses defined eyes with a consistently stern look to them. Like other Universe 7 Saiyans, he was born with a prehensile brown-furred tail, until it was permanently cut off by Yajirobe. Over the course of the series, Vegeta's physical appearance changes. While originally appearing very short and lean, especially compared to his massive partner, Nappa, he later seems to be somewhat taller and noticeably more muscular. His hair and forehead appear to be shorter and his facial features, which are perpetually in a scowl, also look more distinct and sharply defined as the series progresses, making him look much older in later sagas compared to what he looked like in his debut.

Personality

Vegeta is arrogant throughout the series and becomes bitter due to the abuse his race suffered at the hands of Frieza. Following the destruction of his homeworld Planet Vegeta, his hatred toward Frieza grows. His royalty seems to have bestowed upon him an inflated sense of superiority, holding himself above nearly everyone he encounters. He is immensely proud of his Saiyan heritage and believes his race to be the most powerful in the universe. Despite this, even as an antagonist, he did not act as an ordinary Saiyan, being even crueler and prideful thanks to Frieza's influence. As the prince of a demolished Planet Vegeta, Vegeta is initially introduced as an unrepentant villain. Judging from his evil intentions before joining the Z Fighters, Vegeta has been consistently characterized as extremely arrogant, vengeful, and at times, sadistic. Many of Vegeta's early heroic acts are because of self-interest or revenge, although he later settles down and mellows out, adjusting to Earth as his home, raising a family with Bulma. Having been born into the upper tier of Saiyan society, Vegeta was fixated on achieving the legendary status of Super Saiyan and becoming the most powerful warrior in the universe. Vegeta is more of a tactical fighter who often rushes in the brawl without hesitation. However, his rage or arrogance often causes him to underestimate his opponent and usually leads to his eventual defeat and sometimes death. His royal blood and intense fighting style have both benefited and harmed him in many battles.

Gohan

Son Gohan (孫そん悟ご飯はん Son Gohan, Japanese pronunciation: [sõŋgohãɴ]) is a half-breed Saiyan and one of the most prominent characters in the Dragon Ball series. He is the elder son of the series' primary protagonist Goku and his wife Chi-Chi, the eldest nephew of Raditz, the older brother of Goten, the husband of Videl and father to Pan. He is named after Goku's adoptive grandfather, Gohan. Unlike his father, Gohan lacks a passion for fighting (although, he does possess a strong power within him) and prefers to do so only when his loved ones are threatened.[6] Nevertheless, Gohan fights alongside the Dragon Team in the defense of Earth for much of his life.

Appearance

Gohan resembles his father, inheriting Goku's hair, facial features, and dark eyes. At the same time, he has his mother's light peach complexion rather than his father's light tan. Also taking after his father, Gohan inherited a Saiyan tail, which was long and prehensile with brown fur. It was removed and regrew a few times during his childhood until removed permanently by Vegeta in their first battle. When first introduced as a young child, he had short and spiky but relatively well-kept hair. He wore a white sleeveless shirt and green pants with black boots with white lacing, this outfit was covered in a Hanfu-style top that was yellow with green sleeves and on the front his family name, 'Son', written in kanji within a large white circle with black lining. He also wore a red cap with the Four-Star Dragon Ball attached to the top. He later removes the Hanfu-style top to show his outfit when he is ready to train with Piccolo.

Personality

As a child, Gohan was a shy, studious, intellectual child who lacked a Saiyan's raw fighting spirit, so he had to utilize his incredible half-breed Saiyan potential and emotional reserves to protect those he loves. As an adult, he achieves his dream career of becoming a great scholar. Being only half-Saiyan, Gohan is unusual in his values and personality compared to most full-blooded Saiyans in regards to the fact that he does not derive much pleasure from combat. However, when he is forced to fight, he shows special interest in protecting his family and friends. Like his father, Gohan has a pure and gentle heart, as well as possessing the typical Saiyan appetite that will compel to eat anything.[3] While he claims he does not share the love of fighting Goku has, Gohan does indeed love martial arts and adventures. It is also clearly obvious that he enjoys his superhuman powers, especially when utilizing them as a superhero. However, he dislikes receiving the fame and attention that comes with it and prefers to keep a low profile, which is why he created the Great Saiyaman persona, in order to keep his identity a secret. This is even more evident when he didn't acknowledge Cell's defeat at his hands to the public after Mr. Satan falsely took credibility for it. During the Zeno Expo, he admitted that his Saiyan half was getting excited from the challenge shown by Top of Universe 11, demonstrating that even though he despises senseless violence, he actually does enjoy fighting as a sport. It is possible that he prefers not to fight due to the many gruesome and painful battles he experienced in the past as a child, which may have led Gohan to have negative emotions associated with fighting.

Piccolo

Piccolo Jr. (ピッコロ・ジュニア Pikkoro Junia, lit. "Piccolo Junior"), usually just called Piccolo or Kamiccolo and also known as Ma Junior (マジュニア Ma Junia), is a Namekian and also the final child and reincarnation of King Piccolo, later becoming the reunification of the Nameless Namekian after fusing with Kami. According to Grand Elder Guru, Piccolo, along with Kami and King Piccolo, are part of the Dragon Clan, who were the original creators of the Dragon Balls. A wise and cunning warrior, he was the main antagonist in the final saga of Dragon Ball, the Piccolo Jr. Saga, and was thus a ruthless enemy of Goku. However, starting with the first saga of Dragon Ball Z, the Raditz Saga, he began to lose all villainous traits, and when he started training Goku's son Gohan during the Vegeta Saga which led to the two developing a strong bond with each other, he became a permanent member of the Dragon Team and eventually one of Earth's greatest heroes.

Appearance

Piccolo is a very tall and muscular Namekian. While greatly resembling his father/incarnation, he is noticeably shorter and somewhat thinner. He also has a more solid facial structure with less pronounced cheekbones, a rounder chin, and a straight nose. Piccolo only has four fingers with black nails in the Dragon Ball manga, but five fingers with white nails in the anime series and the Dragon Ball Super manga. He has several patches on his arms which are pink in the anime and yellow in the manga (and in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero). Piccolo Jr.'s outfit when he was a kid is very similar to the one King Piccolo is first seen wearing, with the same color scheme shown on the Kanzenban manga covers. From the time he is a young adult onward, Piccolo wears a dark purplish-blue gi, pointy orange shoes and sky blue obi (red in the manga). When not fighting seriously, Piccolo also wears a white turban with a dark purplish-blue top and a white cape along with it.

Personality

Throughout the franchise, regardless of Piccolo's allegiance, his general demeanor has always been stern, if not grumpy, with an indifferent attitude towards others. Piccolo rarely smiles and enjoys solitude. Piccolo is frequently seen meditating in quiet places and drinking thawed ice water in the north area.[3] However, he shows a noticeable cockiness when fighting. He can also be very confrontational toward people, showing very direct and honest opinions about a situation or an individual. Piccolo is known for his very precise and efficient methods in battle and likewise is shown to be very analytical and tactical in battle, able to see through his opponent's skills and weaknesses to devise effective strategies for victory. In the Baby Saga, Baby openly acknowledged Piccolo as one of the most brilliant fighters in the galaxy.

Buu

Good Buu (魔ま人じんブウ（善ぜん） Majin Bū (Zen), lit. "Demon Person Boo (Good)"),[4] also known mainly as Majin Buu, is the result of the Innocent Buu using fission to split into good and evil halves. He would go on to become a member of the Z Fighters and live with Mr. Satan. After the battle against the pure Majin Buu, Buu is referred to as Buu instead of Majin Buu and to the world he becomes Mr. Buu. Good Buu possesses the Grand Supreme Kai (大だい界かい王おう神しん Dai Kaiōshin, lit. "Great God of the Kings of the Worlds*) as part of his being and eventually temporarily awakened this part of himself.

Traits

Due to Innocent Buu splitting into Good Buu and Evil Buu, Good Buu became a "different life-form"[10] from the original Kid Buu and Innocent Buu forms and lost many of the unique capabilities of the original Majin. He became an entity of pure good, due to Innocent Buu's evil manifesting as Evil Buu, he lost the ability to absorb using his body and needed to turn others into chocolate in order to accomplish an "absorption" and he no longer needed to hibernate for incredibly long periods of time - instead entering an unwaking sleep for a brief period of time. Upon his initial appearance he also lost his ability to power up through anger (as Evil Buu was the embodiment of Buu's wrath), but later regained it after being spat out by Kid Buu.

Personality

Good Buu is an entity of pure good, and is very kind, caring, and playful. Once he was absorbed by Evil Buu, his playful and childish traits manifest in Super Buu and Kid Buu respectively. During his second battle against Gotenks, Gotenks was preparing the Super Ghosts of his Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack for battle. Piccolo showed Gotenks that Buu had already regenerated from the last Super Ghost attack. Super Buu was also lying on his stomach, drinking a soda (though it looked like a milkshake) and reading a magazine, much to Gotenks' fury and embarrassment. Also, when Goku and Vegeta were preparing for battle, Kid Buu was sleeping (as Buu only needs a little time to rest), much to Goku's surprise. More importantly, due to his connection with Mr. Satan he had influence to stop him from killing the former as Super Buu and later Kid Buu. For this reason, he also responded to Videl's request to be patient due to being Mr. Satan's daughter; though it wasn't enough to stop him from killing her. While mildly annoying to Super Buu, it infuriated Kid Buu enough that he spat him out as soon as he was able to. Despite his good nature, it is shown in Dragon Ball Super that when he is hungry, Good Buu can be foul tempered and grumpy like when he interrupted Mr. Satan's press conference and is also shown to be quite gluttonous as he selfishly refused to share one of his pudding cups with Beerus. He also gets angry much like his original counterparts especially when loved ones are hurt or dead, such as Mr. Satan. However, these negative traits could be attributed to his childlike personality. Similarly, he also tends to do a lot more than is necessary for a given task largely due to his childlike personality. This is especially evident by his supplying an ice cream store a huge amount of Zeni (the store owner's reaction implied it was significantly more than needed to buy the ice cream) to walk off with a large ice cream cone.

Yamcha

Yamcha (ヤムチャ Yamucha) is a major deuteragonist in the Dragon Ball manga and in the anime Dragon Ball, and later a supporting tritagonist in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, with a few appearances in Dragon Ball GT. He is a former boyfriend of Bulma and the lifelong best friend of Puar. A former desert bandit, Yamcha was once an enemy of Goku, but quickly reformed and became a friend and ally.[13] Brave, boastful and dependable, Yamcha is a very talented martial artist and one of the most powerful humans on Earth, possessing skills and traits that allow him to fight alongside his fellow Z Fighters when major threats loom. Although he retired by the latter half of Dragon Ball Z, due to being largely outclassed by both his allies (namely the Saiyans) and their enemies, he is always present whenever a new threat approaches, and will occasionally lend a helping hand, thus proving himself to be a powerful ally in his own right.[14

Appearance

Yamcha's appearance changes throughout the series, mainly his clothes and hairstyle.[15][16] Yamcha started out the series with long hair and bangs. After settling down in the city, he cut his hair to fit in. Later on, he would grow his hair out again and eventually cut short to a spikier hairstyle and completely short before growing his hair out once again. Several of Yamcha's hairstyles are also used by Gohan at various points in his life.[17] Another of Yamcha's most significant appearance changes were the mysterious scars he got sometime during his three years training for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. According to Android 19's scanner, Yamcha is 183 centimeters tall and weighs 68 kilograms during the Androids Saga.[6] The first kanji Yamcha has on his clothes 楽 (raku) stands for "comfort" or "easy"; there is no real meaning behind it other than he just enjoys being comfortable.[18] After training with Master Roshi, he takes the "turtle" or "Kame" kanji "亀" as a sign of respect. Later, after training with King Kai, he wears both "Kame and "Kai" kanji. He wears them the opposite way Goku did ("Kame" on the back and "Kai" on the chest), except in Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might where he wears the "Kai" kanji on the back and "Kame" on the chest.[19]

Personality

Yamcha is originally characterized as a deadly warrior, who fears nothing but talking to women. After befriending Goku and the others, his personality remains mostly the same, but becomes very caring and considerate of the people he protects. He is showcased as a courageous warrior who strives to be the best, but is unable to reach this status, a fact that appears to plague him. He has a great network of information, recognizing Goku's Power Pole as Grandpa Gohan's during their first fight. Yamcha is a huge fan of the World Martial Arts Tournament and has always wanted to compete and someday win.[22] It is likely this is why he has knowledge of famous fighters like Grandpa Gohan, Monster Carrot, Bacterian and King Chappa. Whenever the tournament date neared, Yamcha would always go through vigorous training and invent a new technique like the Blinding Wolf Fang Fist, Neo Wolf Fang Fist and the Spirit Ball. He is the second fighter to learn the Kamehameha since the beginning of Dragon Ball (after Goku).