Dragon Ball fans, get ready for an epic journey through the most unforgettable moments in the franchise's history! From legendary transformations to heart-stopping battles, we're counting down the most iconic scenes that have defined the series for decades.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable moments
00:10from the Dragon Ball franchise.
00:12To be clear, we won't be including entire fights.
00:20Goku seems like an open book with no secrets.
00:34That is, until he and his friends are captured by Emperor Pilaf for the second time.
00:38Trapped in a prison with thick walls, yet with a view of the sky, Goku worries about
00:43a monster coming out during the full moon.
00:46He relates that his grandpa was killed by such a creature, though he's never seen
00:51it himself, as he wasn't allowed to look at the full moon.
00:54Everyone else is able to put two and two together, but Goku looks at the moon anyway.
01:02And the little monkey boy turns into a huge great ape, or Uzaru.
01:07It's technically Goku's first transformation, and foreshadows his Saiyan heritage.
01:21Like Cassandra of Greek mythology, Bardock's warnings of future doom fail to reach his
01:27people.
01:28So, Goku's dad decides to take the fight to Frieza by himself.
01:32The Saiyan warrior charges Frieza's ship, assaulted by dozens of the tyrant's men.
01:42Despite getting tackled mid-air, and attacked from all angles, Bardock refuses to go down.
01:47He ultimately confronts Frieza, and gives him a piece of his mind, and launches an attack
01:52at him.
01:53Unfortunately, the frosty Space Emperor puts a halt to Bardock's dream of freeing his
01:57people with a single finger.
02:06Yet, even if it's ultimately futile, Bardock's proud last stand still gives us chills.
02:25Even Gohan doesn't get many chances to shine in the Draggable Super era, but this
02:29movie changed that in a big way.
02:36During he and Mr. Piccolo's battle against the enormous Cell Max, Cell 2.0 uses an attack
02:41that seemingly kills Gohan's mentor.
02:44This prompts a powerful and mysterious new transformation from Gohan, that unleashes
02:49his inner beast, which constitutes red eyes and spikier white hair.
03:05The form doesn't last long, but seeing Gohan stop Cell Max in his tracks, and fire off
03:10Piccolo's signature special beam cannon to finish off the villain, is immensely satisfying.
03:15Plus, the sheer aura of the transformation is downright beastly.
03:36Some people may not be on board with anime dubs, but they've given us some of the anime
03:40fandom's greatest memes.
03:50Case in point, this line from the Ocean dub of Dragon Ball Z.
03:54When Goku returns to life and arrives to fight Nappa and Vegeta, he powers up to reveal his
03:59true strength.
04:00Nappa, incredulous at the drastic increase, asks Vegeta what Goku's power level is,
04:06according to the scouter.
04:07Although the original script calls for the line to be that it's over 8,000, the Ocean
04:12dub famously changed the line to, say it with us, it's over 9,000.
04:21The angry line reading, and Nappa's disbelieving response, have become one of the internet's
04:26most celebrated memes.
04:31Goku's match against Cell has a ton of cool moves and memorable set pieces, but this one
04:40takes the cake.
04:46He begins charging up a Kamehameha while in mid-air, which has everyone from his friends
04:51to Cell, thinking that he'll blow up the planet if he lets it fly.
05:01However, at the last moment, Goku performs an instant transmission to teleport directly
05:06in front of Cell.
05:12The ensuing blast is fired upwards and vaporises the upper half of Cell's body.
05:17Cell might regenerate soon afterwards, but the clever and badass application of some
05:22of Goku's moves help make this a very memorable sequence.
05:30Although well-established as a hero now, Piccolo begins the series as a villain.
05:35After kidnapping Gohan to train for a year, the Demon King's son teams up with the Z
05:40Fighters to battle the Saiyans when they arrive on Earth.
05:48However, Piccolo has more heart than his dad, and bonds with Gohan during that year spent
05:56together.
05:57So, when Gohan's life is in danger from one of Nappa's attacks, he rushes to stand
06:01in the way, taking the attack for his young protege.
06:04Dying to save his surrogate son is the ultimate culmination of Piccolo's character development,
06:14and it has left a lasting impression on both him and the fans.
06:31Goku goes Super Saiyan 4, Dragon Ball GT.
06:34Most of the Super Saiyan transformations look alike, spiky hair of various colours and length.
06:39Wash.
06:40Rinse.
06:41Repeat.
06:42However, GT took a different route.
06:46After transforming into a golden Great Ape while battling Baby, Goku loses control of
06:52himself.
06:53It's only through Pan's efforts, and a photo of his friends and family, that he's
06:57able to regain his sense of self.
06:59It also sparks a new transformation, which sees Goku obtain a black, spiky-haired, red-furred
07:05form dubbed Super Saiyan 4.
07:08The form's embrace of the monkey design for the Saiyans, and unique colour scheme,
07:12truly helps it stand out, and it left a big impact.
07:19While GT has a lot of issues, this transformation isn't one of them.
07:2913.
07:32Vegito is Born, Dragon Ball Z.
07:35Getting Vegeta to help Goku usually proves a Herculean task, no matter the situation.
07:43However, with their friends and family dead at Buu's hands, Goku is able to unbend his
07:50rival's pride to get him to fuse together using the Potara Earrings, if only for the
07:56sake of avenging them.
07:57The resulting fusion, who dubs himself Vegito, then goes on to battle Super Buu.
08:07Goku and Vegeta are perhaps two of the most popular DBZ characters, so seeing them combine
08:12into one person is truly a, you've got chocolate in my peanut butter, moment.
08:2012.
08:22Goku's First Death, Dragon Ball Z
08:37Dying is practically a rite of passage for Dragon Ball characters, but it never gets
08:41easier seeing our favourites get killed.
08:44Goku may be the franchise's protagonist, but it isn't until Z that he joins the club,
08:49so to speak.
08:50Raditz proves the most powerful opponent he has faced until that point, with not even
08:55he and Piccolo working together able to easily defeat his Saiyan brother.
08:59However, Goku is willing to take Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon too, if it means stopping
09:04Raditz and saving the world.
09:11Long-time viewers lamented Goku's death, while everyone who started with DBZ was shocked
09:16that the apparent hero dies in the first few episodes, and neither group is likely
09:21to forget.
09:2611.
09:30Super Saiyan 3, Dragon Ball Z
09:48Usually when there's a new Super Saiyan form, Goku's the one who debuts it first.
09:53Although he isn't the first to go Super Saiyan 2, more on that later, he is the first
09:58to reach the next stage.
09:59Goku explains the stages of Super Saiyan Taboo and Babidi while facing them, demonstrating
10:05each in turn, and then he starts powering up at the cost of his remaining time on Earth.
10:21As Goku screams louder and louder, the whole world shakes from the power coming off of
10:26him.
10:28He's revealed to have even longer Super Saiyan hair, and starts trancing Buu with
10:32his incredible power.
10:33There are a lot of great transformation scenes, but this one managed to go even further beyond
10:39our expectations.
10:4910.
10:51Goku Defeats King Piccolo, Dragon Ball
10:57Arguably the strongest foe that Goku faces as a child is King Piccolo.
11:03The vile Namekian battles the young fighter as his previous opponent, Tien Shenhan, watches.
11:14However, after Goku proves surprisingly strong, Piccolo resorts to taking Tien hostage.
11:22This allows him to break or injure nearly all of Goku's limbs.
11:26We say nearly, because Goku's right arm remains unharmed.
11:31King Piccolo is confident in his victory, but Goku manages to propel himself using a
11:37Kamehameha to punch straight through his opponent.
11:51Not only is this a brutal and creative finish, but this moment also marks the birth of Goku's
11:57rival and later ally, Piccolo Jr.
12:019.
12:02Father-Son Kamehameha, Dragon Ball Z
12:06Speaking of finishing moves, DBZ has its fair share of memorable ones too.
12:18In the finale of the Cell Saga, Gohan is engaged in a beam struggle against Cell.
12:24The green monstrosity is stronger than ever after his resurrection, and Gohan can only
12:29use one arm.
12:31However, with some coaching from his late papa Goku, Gohan delivers a Kamehameha that
12:38overcomes Cell and vaporizes him for good.
12:49Any time multiple characters do a Kamehameha is cool, but the fact that one of them is
12:55a ghost and it's done to defeat a big bad as bad as Cell ensured that fans would never
13:01forget it.
13:11It left us hungry for more, enough to eat a horse in fact.
13:158.
13:16Goku's Goodbye, Dragon Ball GT
13:20Look, GT gets a lot of flack, but we'll give it this, it knew how to do an ending.
13:31In the future, after all the other Dragon Warriors or Z Fighters have passed on, we
13:36see Goku's granddaughter Pan at a tournament.
13:40She spots her grandfather in the crowd, and while she loses him, we follow Goku as flashbacks
13:46from throughout the Dragon Ball franchise play.
13:54After seeing how far we've come, the narrator assures us that should the world need him
13:58again, Goku will return.
14:01The dub even has Goku signing off himself, as he flies away on Nimbus, Power Pole in
14:06hand, the franchise has come full circle.
14:09While we did meet again, we couldn't hope for a more fitting ending than this one.
14:167.
14:18The First Kamehameha, Dragon Ball
14:22In the annals of anime attacks, the Kamehameha is among the most iconic, which is why its
14:28debut all the way back in Dragon Ball remains close to fans' hearts.
14:32Goku and company call on Master Roshi to put out a fire on Fire Mountain.
14:42While the old man appears doddering and incapable at first, Roshi soon bulks up and lets loose
14:48his famous beam attack, putting out the fire and destroying the mountain.
14:53Goku is quite impressed and decides to try it out for himself, managing it easily, and
14:59the rest is history.
15:066.
15:10Trunks Slices Frieza, Dragon Ball Z
15:20The introduction of Trunks into the series is among the most impactful and memorable
15:25in the show.
15:26Frieza has arrived on Earth, his dad in tow, and seemingly stronger with his cyborg modifications.
15:33But then Trunks shows up, a mysterious youth with a sword.
15:37Not only that, but he's super saiyan as well.
15:55After tanking a massive attack from Frieza, Trunks tosses an overly dramatic shot at the
16:01Space Emperor, only to surprise him from behind with his sword.
16:15Watching Trunks turn the franchise's biggest villain to this point into mincemeat instantly
16:20made an impression.
16:22It also made fans everywhere immediately label him as one of the coolest characters
16:27ever.
16:285.
16:29Vegeta's Sacrifice, Dragon Ball Z
16:32Vegeta is a character defined by his pride.
16:36After once again turning to evil in his attempt to surpass Goku, Vegeta finally returns to
16:41his senses during the battle with Martian Buu.
16:45He bids farewell to his son, Trunks, even knocking him out to prevent him from fighting.
16:51Even Piccolo telling Vegeta he'll go to hell isn't enough to deter him.
17:11With one last blast, the Prince of All Saiyans makes one final atonement in death in his
17:17attempt to kill Buu.
17:27This may not be the end for Vegeta, but it does mark a major turning point for his character,
17:33at last becoming a proper hero.
17:36Even the narrator came back to pay respects.
17:514.
17:57Goku and Vegeta's Beam Clash, Dragon Ball Z
18:01There are beam struggles, and then there's this.
18:05Vegeta and Goku's first battle is loaded with iconic moments, but this is easily the
18:11one everybody thinks of first.
18:13Goku goes all out with Kaioken, which puts his body on the line, managing to overwhelm
18:18Vegeta.
18:34Concerned that a lower-class foe has injured him, Vegeta decides to blow up the planet
18:39with his Galick Gun.
18:41With no other option, Goku fires a Kamehameha to meet it.
19:02Goku pushes his Kaioken even further to come out on top, in this exchange at least.
19:08The image of their two attacks meeting is burned into Dragon Ball fans' brains, like
19:13Vegeta's anger at Goku.
19:283.
19:41Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 Transformation, Dragon Ball Z
19:46New transformations always make a big splash.
19:50Gohan's battle against Cell looks dire, as he's thrown against the cyborg Bugman
19:55with little preamble.
19:57And when Cell unleashes his brood of Cell Juniors against Gohan's friends, the young
20:02fighter can only watch.
20:18An emotional speech from Android 16, hoping to inspire Gohan, takes a dark turn, as Cell
20:24stomps on the cybernetic man's head, killing 16.
20:28Turns out that was enough to push Gohan over the edge.
20:42With a haunting cry and plenty of tears, Gohan reaches Super Saiyan 2.
20:48With the crackle of lightning and the drying of tears, we know that the son has surpassed
20:53the father, for the moment at least.
20:562.
20:57Ultra Instinct, Dragon Ball Super
21:00The Tournament of Power has plenty of hype moments, but the one that literally broke
21:05the internet was this one.
21:07Seriously, multiple streaming sites went down.
21:18During Goku's fight with Jiren, our hero is on the cusp of mastering Ultra Instinct,
21:24a technique that allows him to dodge attacks effortlessly.
21:28It's the whole attacking back part that Goku struggles with.
21:32But as Jiren aims to wring Goku out, the Saiyan fighter's power continues to rise, and he
21:39eventually starts hitting back, with his aura and hair taking on a divinely shimmering light.
21:50As far as modern Dragon Ball goes, it doesn't get much more hype than this.
21:55That's why we have to go back.
22:251.
22:26Goku Goes Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z
22:29When it comes to anime transformations, Super Saiyan is arguably the most iconic of all,
22:35and the debut rocked the Dragon Ball fandom and is still making waves decades later.
22:40Goku and company believe they've finally defeated Freeza.
22:44Unfortunately, they're wrong.
22:50The evil tyrant reappears and kills Krillin.
23:03The death of his best friend sends Goku into a rage so great that his power skyrockets.
23:09The weather changes, and his hair turns golden.
23:22Freeza isn't dealing with the average Saiyan warrior anymore, and fans weren't dealing
23:27with the average Dragon Ball either.
23:29This is peak Dragon Ball.
23:31Is there a Dragon Ball moment we forgot?
23:34Raise your hands and deliver a spirit bomb to those comments below.