Top 10 Best DBZ Villains
DBZ’s villain roster are some of the most recognizable characters in anime. As evil as they are iconic, these bads showed us what true evil is. Either sporting a new look, or gimmick they have kept us entertained, and enthralled for decades. On this list, we are going to cover the most entertaining DBZ villains in the anime.
10. Turles
Turles, space-pirate Saiyan, and leader of the Turles Crusher Corps. Turles was a former me soldier in Frieza’s Saiyan army before going rogue. Introduced in, “Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might,” what stands out the most about Turles is his striking resemblance to Goku, he is prideful and cruel. He has no attachments, as he offered Gohan a place in his corps. After watching him kill one of his men, he was able to defeat all of the Z fighters with help from fruit from the tree of might. Not the most recognizable villain in the series, he is used quite frequently in a plethora of non-canon material.
What makes Turles highly entertaining:
- Turles looks like Goku! I know not a big deal now, it was as a kid seeing the movie for the first time.
- He gives us a look into Saiyan biology looking exactly like Goku, all low-rank Saiayns share similar facial patterns.
- He is the exact opposite of Goku, hating strong beings with compassion for those weaker than them.
9. Cooler
He's just like his brother, but Cooler.
Not as arrogant or cocky as his younger brother, Cooler is just as underhanded and destructive. Cooler, the oldest son of King Cold and older brother of Frieza was first introduced in the DBZ movie, “Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge.” He only went to earth to kill Goku and destroy the planet, as he didn’t care much for his younger sibling, he was upset that Frieza lost to a Saiyan. I think what stands out the most about Cooler compared to the rest of his family is how withdrawn he is. He doesn’t treat his subordinates like toys and destroys them when upset like his brother. Although not as cool as Frieza, Cooler is quite capable and unique from him.
What makes Cooler highly entertaining:
- Aside from being Frieza’s brother, he also held his own against Goku.
- His ultimate transformation is super cool looking compared to his brothers (in my opinion).
- He’s much smarter than his brother in the sense of actually thoroughly checking and seeing to make sure Goku was dead (of course he wasn’t).
8. Bojack
Bloodthirsty, arrogant, and low-life space-pirate Bojack is one of the more despicable villains. Introduced in the movie, “Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound,” he had ultimate plans to conquer the universe, but first, he wanted to claim the earth as his kingdom before the conquest as he grew a strong penchant for its architecture. He has shown that he has no tolerance for anything getting in his way.
Bojack even went so far as to kill his crew and use one of them and a shield in his fight with Gohan. He has no regard for anyone, not even his loyal crew. Personality not a fan of the Full Power state, his base design along with his crews are amongst the coolest in the movies.
What makes Bojack highly entertaining:
- Bojack and his crew’s character designs
- He and his crew are way cooler than the other DBZ movie henchmen.
- The way he and his crew work together to dismantle the Z fighters, ganging on them one by one.
- His crew (I am not going to lie, that is honestly most of what makes Bojack cool).
7. Captain Ginyu
Who would I be to leave out Captain Ginyu, leader of the eponymous Ginyu Force? Wielding the ability to swap bodies, Ginyu tricked his stronger enemies by letting them beat him to a pulp then switching bodies gaining their power level and body. It goes without saying what makes Ginyu unique amongst the other villains on this list.
Aside from his magnificent posing, and ability to switch bodies, he is meticulous, loyal, and has a deep respect for his men. Which explains why he never tried switching bodies with Frieza.
What makes Captain Ginyu highly entertaining:
- Ginyu Body Change technique
- Pose!
- His technique feels very Dragon Ball (the original), and as crazy it can be no one else has seemed to try and learn it.
6. Super Buu
"Humans all dead. I fight now."
Super Buu, the next fighter on our villainous roster. After Evil Buu turned Good Buu into chocolate and ate him, Super Buu was born, a being with no remorse and a short temper. Super Buu single-handedly killed almost everyone on earth minus the 2 people stronger than him at the time and Mr.Satan, to draw out the strongest fighter on earth getting rid of all distractions.
A very interesting aspect of Super Buu is that with every being he absorbs his mannerisms will change as well. For example, he gets smarter and speaks with a different vernacular after absorbing Piccolo. Although short-lived, is one of the most interesting villains on this list.
What makes Super Buu highly entertaining:
- He wiped out the entire planet to get rid of all obstacles just to find the strongest fighter.
- The alterations to his personality after absorbing someone.
- Although a rather simple design, it emits intimidation with a touch of insanity.
5. Janemba
Literally forged from pure evil, Janemba was incarnated into a demon who was mutated by all the extracted evil of the souls put through the Soul Cleansing Machine in Other World. His original form was a giant yellow monster, but shortly after forming took on his more well known and much cooler form, Super Janemba.
Janemaba, like everyone else on this list, has a pension for destruction and chaos. Something I find very interesting about Janemba is that with all his power he can get thrown off from the simplest insult towards him.
What makes Janemba highly entertaining:
- He’s literally pure evil.
- Janemba has one of the coolest designs of the DBZ bad guy roster.
- We got our first-ever appearance of Gogeta because of him.
- He has some of the most interesting abilities for a villain.
4. Kid Buu
"Haaaah!" "Kee hee hee!" "Gyaaaaa!" "Hee hee hee..."
Next, we have the purest, most ruthless, irrational, unpredictable, and evilest form of Majin Buu. Summoned by Bibidi and after having every fighter he absorbed removed by Vegito the purest evilest form of Majin Buu resurfaced. Aside from him having a very cool and mean-looking design, Kid Buu is legitimately terrifying.
Imaging a spoiled brat with no sense of right or wrong having planet-destroying, god-killing power. He holds no regard for life, not even his own, Kid Buu was so hell-bent on destroying the earth that he didn’t even care he was destroying his own body in the process. He is legitimately insane.
What makes Kid Buu highly entertaining:
- Kid Buu is legit a psychopath
- His design is so simple, but much like his other forms, perfectly emits the energy of who the character is.
- He put up one hell of a fight.
3. Vegeta
Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. Before becoming a hero he had a long evolution throughout the series. He used to be a cold-blooded killer who killed weaker species for fun. More egotistical than he is now, Vegeta was confident in his ability and looked down greatly on those who were weaker than he was. Seeing anyone who couldn’t hold up on their own as a crutch, he went so far as straight-up killing Nappa his fellow Saiyan after he was wounded by Goku “I’ve got no use for a Saiyan that can’t move.”
His ruthlessness doesn’t end there. He slaughtered a village of innocent Namekians in his search for their dragon balls. His villainy reemerges after redeeming himself in the Majin Saga, being uncomplacent with his power, and his standing with Goku he believed that he was more powerful when he was evil, so he made a deal with Bibidi.
What makes Vegeta highly entertaining:
- The only villain on this list who made a full 180.
- Vegeta is prideful and egotistical, it's what we love but also hate about him.
- Watching his growth from a villain.
2. Perfect Cell
"How durable is he?! How durable am I? Questions for later."
In the second spot, we have the being of true perfection, Perfect Cell. Created by Dr. Gero of the Red Ribbon Army in order to put an end to Goku. Cell has DNA taken from every fighter that Goku has ever faced up to the Namekian Saga including Goku himself. From his introduction as a horrid bug monster that appears as this force of nature, Cell’s goal has always been perfection and universal domination. He treated the fate of the Earth as a game because he wanted to give the Z fighters a chance (must be the Goku in him) to go out fighting. He’s smug, unsympathetic, suave, and treats the world around him like insects. Not To mention that he has without a doubt the coolest character theme in the series.
What makes Perfect Cell highly entertaining:
- He’s the perfect foe.
- One of the best arcs in the series revolves around him.
- He is villainy personified.
- Gave us one of the best scenes in DBZ.
- Bonus: Myyyy Waaayyyyy OR The Hiiigghhhwwaayy!!!
1. Frieza
Finally, at the top, we have the most despicable, evil, unsympathetic villain of the entire DBZ canon, Frieza, prince of the Frieza race. From his introduction in Z, he has always carried this sense of unease when on-screen or on the page. He was the first truly evil villain (that I can recall) that we got in Z. Destroying the Saiyan homeworld Vegeta to kill the Legendary Super Saiyan because they would stand in his way, he nearly wiped out the entire Saiyan race. He’s not bad because he has an agenda, he’s just evil because that’s who he is. He uses fear and power to get what he wants. Every moment Frieza is in the spotlight be it anime or manga, he steals it.
What makes Frieza highly entertaining:
- He is a legit villain who is evil for the hell of it.
- His hate/pseudo-rivalry with Goku
- Love to hate him
- He was the catalyst for some of the most iconic scenes in the series.
- He is the perfect example of an organic villain.
- Bonus: "Tell Vegeta I said, like a b*tch."
There it is Top 10 Best DBZ Villains. That concludes our list of who we think are the best and most entertaining villains in the entire DBZ series. Honestly can’t help but love some of these despicable beings of destruction.
I hope you enjoyed the read as much as I did writing it. Maybe you agree with me, or maybe you don’t. That’s the best part about these types of things, they spark discussions amongst the community. My name is Sym and I will catch you guys later, stay you.
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