As a codifier of modern Shonen anime and manga, it goes without saying Dragon Ball has its fair share of plot armor, quirks, conveniences and coincidences to justify the Z-Fighters winning against seemingly impossible odds. Although Akira Toriyama is better on the power scale than he's given credit for (especially when it comes to Dragon Ball manga is concerned), Goku's villains have a bad habit of squandering what should be easy wins.
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Across the original Dragon Ball, DBZ, Dragon Ball GTand Dragon Ball SuperGoku fights, survives and even wins against characters who frankly should have won and beaten him. Most of the time this is done to make the story more compelling and resolve a narrative theme or character arc, but it doesn't end Dragon Ball from requiring a certain suspension of disbelief to cope with these beats.
1
King Piccolo literally stops Goku's heart in the original Dragon Ball
Akira Toriyama was notoriously ill when he wrote and drew the Demon King Piccolo Saga i Dragon Ball manga. It's a testament to his skill as a writer and artist that the story is regularly heralded as the moment Dragon Ball turns out to be truly amazing, but for keen readers it's obvious that Toriyama wasn't firing on all cylinders. Case in point? King Piccolo literally kills Goku at the beginning of the arc. During their first battle, Piccolo stops Goku's heart, verifies that he is dead, and then leaves with the Dragon Ball when it is confirmed that Goku is finished.
Goku's heart then stops beating again out of nowhere in the next chapter. Never before or again Dragon Ball so shamelessly defeated his main character only to bring him back from clear defeat. Dragon Ball Super tries to sort things out by allowing Bardock's wish in the Granolah Saga to keep his sons safe and alive, but the fact is that King Piccolo did win and would have conquered the entire world if Goku's heart hadn't miraculously restarted.
2
Vegeta would have beaten Goku if he didn't turn into a big ape
Outside of Goku using the Kaioken x 4, Vegeta's power level was higher than Goku's during the Saiyan Saga, and by a huge degree when he transformed into a great ape. But here's the thing: Vegeta didn't have to turn into a great ape. By creating an artificial moon and transforming, Vegeta consumed a huge amount of his Ki. When Yajirobe cuts off his tail, Vegeta is weak enough where Gohan and Krillin can subdue him with Goku's support.
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If Vegeta hadn't transformed, he would actually have been able to beat Goku fair and square. Goku used up almost all of his energy during their beam fight, he only had enough Ki to use a few more bursts of Kaioken, fire a Ki Blast and unload a greatly weakened Spirit Bomb. By keeping his cool, Vegeta could and would have easily killed Goku. Worse, Gohan and Krillin would never have come back to help, as they only turn around when Vegeta creates his fake moon.
3
Frieza only loses because Goku goes Super Saiyan
In one Dragon Ball without Super Saiyan forms, Goku would have lost and died to Frieza on Namek. Even with Kaioken x 20, Goku is only strong enough to fight a Frieza who is only using half his full power. The revelation that Frieza has been toying with Goku the whole time makes it clear how completely outclassed the Z-Fighters are. Even the Spirit Bomb isn't enough to kill Frieza for good. Like Vegeta before him, Frieza makes a huge mistake that costs him the rest of the fight.
If Frieza had just gone after Goku directly instead of killing Krillin, hurting Piccolo and threatening Gohan, he would have actually won. Goku was defenseless and fearless after firing his Spirit Bomb. Frieza had a perfect opportunity to win, but wasted it to emotionally torture Goku. Story-wise, this was clearly the better move for Dragon Ball Z when Goku goes Super Saiyan is one of the most satisfying moments in his character arc and series.
4
Legendary Super Saiyan Broly basically won his battle with Goku
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan is one of the most frustrating films in the series. Filled with amazing animation, amazing music and exceptional fight choreography DBZ Movie 8 ends with a shockingly lame ending. After spending the entire movie trying and failing to subdue Broly, Goku's brilliant plan to defeat the legendary Super Saiyan… is to hit him really hard. Sure, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Future Trunks all donate their Ki so that Goku has more power, but it just feels undeserved.
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By all metrics, Broly won the battle. He grew stronger throughout the fight and was powerful enough to fight several Super Saiyans and a Super Namekian at once. The only reason Broly loses is because a Dragon Ball Z the movie obviously can't end with all the main characters dying to the villain. More than Goku's miracle punch, it's bad writing that ultimately beats Broly.
5
Super Buu Should Have Killed Goku In Seconds (Anime Only)
In it Dragon Ball manga, Goku refused to fight Super Buu at all. It has been made very clear that Super Saiyan 3 Goku is only marginally stronger than Fat Buu and on par with Kid Buu. Super Buu is simply too powerful for Goku to handle, even at his absolute strongest. To extend time and scale up Goku into the strongest character in the series, the Dragon Ball Z the anime actually has SSJ3 Goku briefly fighting Buutenks while Ultimate Gohan searches for the Potara earring.
Goku doesn't land any major, damaging hits, but he successfully dodges several of Buutenk's punches, landing a punch and parrying for Gohan. This filler fight completely ruins the power scaling of the Buu saga. Buutenks was strong enough to make short work of Ultimate Gohan like he was nothing. Buutenks is strong and fast enough to kill Super Saiyan 3 Goku with a single hit. There's a reason why Akira Toriyama never has Goku fight Super Buu in the manga.
6
Omega Shenron may have actually killed Goku at the end of Dragon Ball GT
Dragon Ball GTThe ending is as beautiful as it is confusing. After defeating Omega Shenron, Goku flies away at Shenron with the Dragon Balls, seemingly ascending to a new plane of existence. What happened to Goku has been the subject of debate Dragon Ball fans for years now, especially since Omega Shenron seems to be killing Goku on screen Dragon Ball GT Episode 63 with its negative energy ball.
When Goku returns for the final battle, he has a new aura and nothing can hurt him. When the battle is over, Goku mysteriously leaves Earth, only to return as an apparition in the series finale. While Dragon Ball GTwriters intentionally left Goku's fate vague, it's clear that Omega Shenron managed to kill Goku for real, just because something to bring Goku back – and not even necessarily to life.
7
Jiren was the strongest fighter in the Tournament of Power
In terms of raw power, Jiren was by far the strongest fighter in the Tournament of Power. Even Ultra Instinct wasn't enough for Goku to call out and defeat Jiren by himself. In both Dragon Ball Super anime and manga, Goku & Frieza are forced to team up to eliminate Jiren, with Universe 7 only winning because Android 17 hid on stage after seemingly self-destructing. Jiren doesn't lose because he's weak, but because Goku has allies.
It's a good beat and a good theme for the Universe Survival Saga to end on, but it doesn't change the fact that Jiren could have easily defeated Goku, Frieza, and Android 17 by himself at several different points. Realistically, Jiren should have been able to call out Goku earlier, even when using Ultra Instinct. The Dragon Ball Super The anime alone gives Jiren plenty of opportunities to wrap things up.
- Created by
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Akira Toriyama
- First TV show
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Dragon Ball
- Latest TV show
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Dragon Ball DAIMA
- Upcoming TV Shows
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Dragon Ball DAIMA
- Air date of first episode
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February 26, 1986
- TV program
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Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA
