5 Strongest Villains Who Goku Redeemed, Ranked

Despite many of anime's best and most iconic villains belonging Dragon Ball franchise, There is a notable trend of the series eventually turning many of these villains into heroes. This has actually happened quite a few times throughout history, with many of the biggest and most iconic characters today being once villains.

The common denominator among those that usually leads to such a change of heart is none other than Goku himself, who has been a huge reason for the villains to give up their evil ways. So in this article let's go through the strongest characters in Dragon Ball who were once villains but eventually became heroes due to Goku's influence.

5

The androids were created to destroy Goku

Arc: Android Saga

Created by Dr. Gero for the sole purpose of killing Goku, the Androids were powerful bio machines that had infinite energy and were originally set on causing as much destruction as possible. However, everything changed due to the intervention of Future Trunks, who came back from the future to save Goku's life.

Although he saved Goku, Androids 16, 17 and 18 were still villains at first. However, as the story continued and the threat of Cell became much more widespread, Goku openly accepted the Androids once they had given up their evil ways. Even in modern times, 18 is now married to Krillin and 17 was even recruited by Goku to fight for Universe 7.

4

Piccolo was once Goku's greatest enemy

Arc: King Piccolo Saga

Long before the days of Dragon Ball Zthe franchise began with the original Dragon Ball series, and the biggest villain Goku would face as a child was none other than the legendary Demon King Piccolo. Upon killing the villain, Piccolo would reincarnate through his son, who himself would become Goku's greatest rival.

However, after a hard-fought battle against the Namekian in the finals of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku would give Piccolo a Senzu Bean to help him recover. This began a slow turn within the villain, who would then go on to become one of Universe 7's strongest protectors and even the mentor and best friend of Goku's son, Gohan.

3

Vegeta and Goku have the biggest rivalry in Anime

Arc: Saiyan Saga

In what would later become known as the best rivalry in anime history, Goku and Vegeta share perhaps the greatest character dynamic of Dragon Ball. But as fans of the series know, it didn't start out like this, as Vegeta had come to Earth hoping to defeat or reverse Goku, especially due to his classist upbringing as a Saiyan elite.

Although he would eventually lose the battle against Goku and his allies, his life was spared because Goku sensed some semblance of goodness in him, planting the seeds for the greatest redemption arc in anime history. Although they bicker and bicker, Goku and Vegeta are important to each other's lives and journeys and are the greatest duo in the series because of this.

2

Broly was the strongest saiyan for a while

Arc: Broly Arc

While Goku alone can't get all the credit for Broly's luck, he played the biggest hand in it. Broly was never a villain in the traditional sense, as he was raised his whole life to be a mindless tool that his father could use to get revenge on Vegeta and the Saiyans. However, due to his immense power causing him to lose his mind, Broly played the antagonistic role.

Despite this, Goku still fought the Saiyan and even tried to snap him out of his rage, showing that he cared more about peace and Broly's overall well-being than fighting him. Eventually, Goku would even bring amenities to Broly at the end of the arc to help him, with the current setting showing Broly undergoing training to finally hone his magnificent power.

1

Goku changed Beerus' mind about destroying Earth

Arc: God of Destruction Beerus Arc

Although this was not a “redemption” in the traditional sense, Goku was the reason why the God of Destruction of Universe 7 changed his mind about destroying Earth. Beerus originally came to the planet with a desire to fight the Super Saiyan God to finally fulfill his desire to battle, but even Goku's strongest form at the time was far below even a fraction of his power.

Although the main reason he spared Earth was because of the love he had for its food, seeing Goku and the other's immense potential and fighting ability influenced his decision. It is primarily because of this that the Hunter cannot even be considered a villain anymore, and is one of Goku's most powerful allies.

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.