Highlights
- There are plenty of emotional moments along with a high casualty rate in the Dragon Ball franchise.
- Deaths create impactful and touching moments, while some are used as plot devices.
- Various memorable character deaths include Master Roshi, Chiaotzu, and Future Trunks.
The Dragon Ball franchise has had many epic fights and iconic moments that are solidified in the franchise. With so much content out there, the characters have become beloved elements, causing the anime to have a lot of emotional moments throughout the years. Yet, this means the franchise also has quite a high number of casualties throughout its many episodes.
Even though most deaths are not permanent in the grand scheme of things, the anime casualties still manage to create impactful and touching moments. While some deaths are used as plot devices and to heighten the stakes, others are there to make the fans realize how much they love these characters. Overall, the plethora of gut-wrenching deaths in the anime, regardless of their end result, moved audiences worldwide.
10 Master Roshi – Dragon Ball
A Powerful Death In A Darker Turn In Dragon Ball
- Episode 111 – “Roshi’s Gambit”
This event occurred when killing main characters was still fresh in Dragon Ball. Goku’s master is one of the casualties of the King Piccolo Saga when he fails to trap the enemy. Using all his life force to put King Piccolo in a rice cooker, Master Roshi experiences a powerful loss when he misses the container and dies for nothing.
Goku, far away from the fight, feels his master’s death. However, Master Roshi’s demise comes with a hopeful speech, a heartfelt goodbye from Yamcha and Bulma, as well as a touching reaction from his Turtle.
9 Chiaotzu – Dragon Ball Z
A Sacrifice Made In Vain
- Episode 24 – “The Power of Nappa”
Dragon Ball Z‘s beginning is filled with deaths and epic fights, setting up the new anime’s higher stakes. One of the first instances where the power of the Saiyans is seen is when Chiaotzu decides to blow himself up to kill the cruel Nappa. Even though he is one of many casualties in this part of the anime, what makes it extra sad is the fact that it is completely in vain.
After Chiaotzu sacrifices himself to kill Nappa, the Saiyan is not even bothered by the attack, making it a completely avoidable death, which is made even worse by Nappa’s mocking.
8 Future Trunks – Dragon Ball Z
Died After Suffering His Whole Life
- Episode 188 – “A Hero’s Farewell”
Future Trunks has no breaks in his life, coming from a reality where he watches Earth succumb to the androids and everyone he loves dies. With a sad life story, his death by Cell’s beam symbolizes a dark moment for the franchise, especially as Vegeta watches his son die.
Even though it turned out to be temporary, this death hits hard as a fan-favorite character meets his end after suffering so much in his life during a hopeless fight.
7 Chi-Chi & Goten – Dragon Ball Super
Goku Black Permanently Kills Chi-Chi And Goten In His Reality
- Episode 61- “Zamasu’s Ambition: The Awful ‘Zero Mortal Plan’ is Revealed”
There are not a lot of instances where Goku gets emotional, yet when he learns about Chi-Chi and Goten’s fate in Goku’s Black timeline, the protagonist gets visually upset. Killed by who they believed to be Goku, Chi-Chi and Goten suffer a horrible fate in an alternate reality.
Goten not only sees his mother being decapitated by Goku but is also killed shortly after, both of their deaths being permanent events. Even though it is in an alternate reality, seeing Chi-Chi and Goten dying in such a tragic way makes this an emotional moment in Dragon Ball Super and one of the darkest moments in all Dragon Ball.
6 Android 16 – Dragon Ball Z
A Permanent Sacrifice With An Inspiring End
- Episode 183 – “Android Explosion”
Android 16’s death was hard on fans for so many reasons. Initially a plot device to inspire Gohan’s next transformation, this death hit extra hard since it was one of the few permanent ones in the entire anime. The robot created as a machine of destruction wanted nothing more than to protect and care for Earth.
In particular, his speech before being killed makes this robot more human than a lot of characters in the anime, not only making it a sad ending but also an important death, triggering pivotal story points.
5 Goku – Dragon Ball Z
An Avoidable Sacrifice With Big Repercussions
- Episode 188 – “A Hero’s Farewell”
While the protagonist has his share of victories, Goku has also died quite a few times, yet most of them are emotional ends for the character. Yet, in one of his most selfless moments, he decides to die to save Earth against Cell’s last dirty trick, which threatens to kill everyone, including himself.
Gohan’s pride allows Cell to pull off this last Hail Mary, ending in Goku needing to sacrifice himself once again, saying goodbye to everyone. Not only leaving Gohan with a heart filled with guilt, Goku misses the birth of his second child, making this death not only an avoidable one, but also an incredibly sad moment.
4 Vegeta – Dragon Ball Z
Begs Goku To Avenge Their Race With Tears Of Frustration
- Episode 86 – “The End of Vegeta”
All of Vegeta’s deaths were emotional moments in the anime, including when the warrior Sayian sacrificed himself for the greater good by trying to defeat Majin Buu and seeking redemption for his wrongdoings. However, his first death in Namek as he fought against Frieza is just heartbreaking, especially coming from a prideful antagonist.
Not only calling out to his then-rival Goku, begging him to defeat Frieza and avenge the Saiyan race in tears, the cruel Vegeta shows emotion, evoking sympathy for the first time. A moment filled with revelations about the Saiyan warrior that not only are significant to his redemption arc but also because it felt like a final death for him, as he was an antagonist at that point.
3 Piccolo – Dragon Ball Z
Finally Turns Good By Giving His Life To Save Gohan
- Episode 28 – “Goku’s Arrival”
Piccolo went a long way from an evil antagonist to one of the most powerful Z fighters, not only becoming a protector of Earth but making genuine connections with others. That is why it is completely shocking and heartbreaking when, still at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, the character gives his life for his enemy’s son, forsaking his father’s evil goals.
This is not only Piccolo’s final decision to join the good side, but solidifies his relationship with Gohan, thanking him for teaching him kindness. So, when Nappa launches an attack on Gohan, Piccolo dies for the young warrior in a tragic moment filled with importance and connection.
2 Krillin – Dragon Ball
A Shocking Murder That Warrants Tears
- Episode 101 – “The Fallen”
It has been a long-standing joke that Krillin dies too many times and, while they are all in some way emotional, triggering the people around him, the saddest is the character’s first death. While Dragon Ball Z is filled with casualties, Dragon Ball’s death count is way lower, making Krillin’s death especially impactful.
Since the Tenkaichi Budokai tournament was never a life or death situation, Krillin’s death comes somewhat as a surprise, as Tambourine murdered him to get to the Dragon Ball. Both Goku and Krillin are kids, and Goku’s reaction to holding his best friend’s lifeless body is one of the saddest moments in all the anime, showcasing the darker turn being taken by the franchise.
1 Future Gohan – Dragon Ball Z
An Undignified Death In A Bleak World
- Episode 149 – “Ghost From Tomorrow”
Future Trunk’s reality is filled with bleak moments, but none more than Gohan’s inevitable and undignified death against the androids. Gohan’s death triggers Trunk’s transformation, leaving the warrior alone in a doomed reality that is filled with nothing more than tragedy.
What makes Future Gohan’s death extra sad is knowing the bleakness of his life, failing to save or avenge his friends, and perishing realistically. Hearing his screams of a gruesome death in a world with no happiness just makes this as sad as it can get, especially seen through Trunks’ eyes.
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