There are plenty of great examples of facial hair throughout the many Dragon Ball series, from King Vegeta’s iconic goatee to Toppo’s mighty mustache. Generally, though, the Z fighters tend to steer clear of facial hair for whatever reason, with pretty much all of the series’ main characters being clean-shaven by default. Of course, this can sometimes change temporarily from time to time.
Over the past few decades, there have been a handful of times when Dragon Ball characters have decided to grow a beard or mustache, all of which took place after the conclusion of Dragon Ball Z. In fact, main character beards and mustaches have been split pretty evenly between GT and Super, suggesting that those responsible for the two series may have been keen to make up for the lack of facial hair in Z.
1 Krillin
Krillin Grows a Mustache in Dragon Ball GT
One of the most memorable examples of a Dragon Ball character growing out their facial hair can be found in Dragon Ball GT. Throughout the series, Krillin is shown to be a lot older than he was during the events of Dragon Ball Z and now sports a thick, bushy gray mustache. Why exactly the team behind Dragon Ball GT opted to age Krillin quite as drastically as they did when only ten years were supposed to have passed since the end of Z is still a bit of a mystery, although the look remains an iconic one nonetheless. Of course, good things seldom last forever, as evidenced by the fact that Krillin returns to his default appearance for Dragon Ball Super.
2 Vegeta
Vegeta Grows a Mustache in Dragon Ball GT and a Beard in Dragon Ball Super
The people responsible for GT clearly had a thing for mustaches, as Krillin isn’t the only Z Fighter to sport one in the non-canon Dragon Ball series. Vegeta’s mustache is nowhere near as bushy as Krillin’s, although Bulma still isn’t a fan. Thankfully, Vegeta shaves off his mustache relatively quickly, but this isn’t the only time that the Saiyan prince has grown facial hair in the post-Z era. He also has a beard when he emerges from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in Dragon Ball Super, although, just like last time, it doesn’t take too long for him to shave it off. Both of these examples are a little contradictory, as in the Cell saga, Vegeta claims that a pure-blooded Saiyan’s hair does not change over time.
3 Goku
Goku Grows a Beard in Dragon Ball Super
Vegeta isn’t alone when he trains for the Universe 6 tournament in Super, nor is he the only one who grows out his facial hair while training. Goku also has a full beard when he exits the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but returns to his clean-shaven look soon after. Series fans can also see Goku with a bushy white mustache courtesy of Akira Toriyama’s Old Goku drawing, which first appeared in one of Shonen Jump’s Gold Selection Dragon Ball Z anime special magazines way back in 1989. Toriyama remarked that he had no idea how Dragon Ball would end and that he may well end up turning Goku into an old geezer with white hair.
4 Yajirobe
Yajirobe Grows a Beard in Dragon Ball Super
If Dragon Ball GT was all about mustaches, then Dragon Ball Super is a series about beards. In addition to Goku and Vegeta growing them during their time in training, Yajirobe can also be seen with a thick beard in one of the many scenes that take place in Future Trunks’ timeline. Of all of the times when Dragon Ball characters have grown facial hair, this one arguably makes the most sense. After all, it’s understandable why somebody might forego shaving when they’re faced with the very real threat of killer androids on a daily basis. It really quite suits him too, particularly given the post-apocalyptic world in which he resides.
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