Dragon Ball is notorious for its characters dying with no real repercussions. It’s a nasty side effect of the series being written around magical orbs that can undo just about anything that’s been done, and as a result, countless main cast members have bitten the dust only to return a very short time later.

It can be a bit difficult to keep track of just how many times a certain character has died, as Dragon Ball‘s story traverses different futures, timelines, and anime original filler content. Across its vast and still unraveling world and story, these characters have died the most.

10

Gohan

Gohan Is Dragon Ball’s Luckiest Fighter With the Least Amount of Deaths

Of Dragon Ball‘s main group of heroes, it seems Gohan is the luckiest, having died only two times throughout the series. Lucky may not be the right word though, as his survival of the Androids’ early onslaught led to his leading one of the most difficult lives in a ruined future. His time would finally come to an end in a brutal way during his later fight with the Androids.

The second time he died was in a moment that claimed the lives of nearly everyone in the series, when Kid Buu destroyed the Earth. Only Goku, Vegeta, and Hercule survived after being teleported away to safety. Unlike most others, Gohan survived the earlier Dragon Ball Z era villains.

9

Goten

Goten Has Already Died As Many Times As Gohan at Less Than Half His Brother’s Age

Goten, like his older brother, has died twice during Dragon Ball, but achieved that number in a much shorter period of time. Like pretty much everyone else, the youngest half-Saiyan at the time didn’t make it during Kid Buu’s destruction of Earth, and then later was killed by Zamasu when he stole Goku’s body and became Goku Black.

Goten has the most deaths of any character at his age, which is something fans of the series don’t discuss all that often. Goku Black also killed Chi-Chi, eliminating the entire Son Family household in one sudden attack. Fortunately, the young Hyrbrid Saiyan has been able to avoid death in recent years.

8

Trunks

Trunks Has Mostly Been Able to Cheat Death, But Has Been Caught a Few Times

Trunks, considering the horrific future he was forced to endure and the powerful enemies he had to confront, has only died three times throughout Dragon Ball, and all three came when he was caught entirely off-guard. The first was when Cell ambushed him and stole his time machine. The second also came at the hands of Cell, who shot a ki beam through his chest after returning from his self-destruct.

The third came when Kid Buu destroyed the Earth, like every other character not named Goku and Vegeta. Trunks’ ability to survive such desperate, horrendous conditions is beyond admirable, and shows just what characters would have to go through if Goku and the rest of Earth’s heroes weren’t around to defend the planet.

7

Yamcha

Despite His Reputation, Yamcha Has Not Died Most in Dragon Ball

Yamcha’s reputation as Dragon Ball‘s useless hero that always seems to die isn’t exactly earned. In fact, he isn’t exactly close to some of the series’ other characters. Rather, it’s the way that he’s died that has earned him that reputation. Yamcha’s first death came when a Saibaman grabbed hold of him and self-destructed. The scene and his subsequent pose have become memes in the years since.

Following that one embarrassing death, his second came in Trunks’ timeline, when he died in battle with the Androids early on in their reign of terror. The third was during Kid Buu’s destruction of Earth. Since then, Dragon Ball‘s most meme-able character has been able to survive all major confrontations, though he hasn’t exactly participated in any either.

6

Vegeta

The Prince Has Suffered Some of Dragon Ball’s Most Emotional Deaths

The Prince of Saiyans is Dragon Ball‘s proudest fighter, and his deaths throughout the series have reflected that. He came close to biting it during the Saiyan Saga, but was spared and later died at the hands of Frieza on Namek, in one of the original series’ most emotional moments.

He died in Trunks’ timeline along with so many others during the battle with the Androids, and then later against Majin Buu, but not in the events that took the lives of the other fighters. Instead, Vegeta sacrificed himself in an enormous explosion with the intent of taking the big pink terror down. Both of his on-screen deaths were highly emotional, and remain two of the series’ best moments.

5

Tien

Tien Has Always Gone Down Fighting

Tien has died one less time than his best friend Chiaotzu has, and his deaths have never been quite as brutal. His first came during the Saiyan Saga, when he used every ounce of energy he had to stage a counterattack and avenge Chiaotzu, ultimately failing to do any damage to Nappa. It was a noble way to go, and proved that Tien would give everything he had for the team.

His second came against the Androids in Trunks’ timeline, and later against Kid Buu. He was skilled enough to avoid Super Buu’s human extinction attack, which claimed the lives of just about everyone else on the planet, but he could not escape the destruction of Earth.

4

Chiaotzu

Chiaotzu Has Suffered Some of Dragon Ball’s Worst Deaths

Chiaotzu hasn’t died most throughout Dragon Ball, but he has suffered some of the series’ worst deaths. First, at the hands of Demon King Piccolo, who would allow no one to interrupt his wish. The second time came during the Saiyan Saga, when he blew himself up in an effort to take down Nappa.

The other two, like the rest of the heroes, came when the Androids attacked, and later during Kid Buu’s annihilation of the Earth. Chiaotzu hasn’t really taken part in any of the series’ fights since his failed sacrifice, and that’s probably for the best given his track record.

3

Goku

The Series’ Protagonist Has Spent Quite a Bit of Time Dead

Goku is Dragon Ball‘s most important character, but he’s also spent a considerable portion of the series dead, especially during its Dragon Ball Z section. He first died in the struggle against Raditz, after being hit with collateral damage from Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon.

The second death came in a sacrificial moment, when Goku used Instant Transmission to transport Cell away from Earth and went down along with King Kai in the explosion. In Trunks’ timeline, he didn’t even make it to the fight with the Androids, succumbing to the heart virus. The most recent came with one of the only deaths in Dragon Ball Super.

Goku hired the assassin Hit to kill him as part of training, and it succeeded. However, he shot a ki blast into the air that revived him shortly after.

2

Piccolo

Dragon Ball’s Main Namekian Has Died More Than Fans Might Think He Has

Piccolo’s life is directly tied to the usability of the Dragon Balls. When he goes, the orbs become useless. However, that hasn’t stopped the Namekian from biting the dust on a number of occasions. Technically, and some might argue against it, the first came at the hands of Goku, before he was reincarnated as the great Demon King.

The second occurred during the Saiyan Saga, when Piccolo finally cemented himself as a hero and sacrificed himself to save Gohan. His third death came against the Androids, making the Earth’s Dragon Balls useless in the destroyed future timeline. He then fell when Kid Buu destroyed the Earth, and later during the non-canon Dragon Ball GT, when he went down with the planet.

1

Krillin

Krillin Ties Piccolo For Most Deaths in Dragon Ball

Krillin is Goku’s best friend, and as a result, has gotten himself tied up in some ugly battles, ultimately tying himself with Piccolo for most deaths in the franchise. His first came much earlier than it did for most, when he was killed by Tambourine early in the Demon King Piccolo Saga. He then died again on Namek, sparking Goku’s first Super Saiyan transformation.

Related

11 Things About Dragon Ball Z That Make Absolutely 0 Sense

Dragon Ball Z is one of the most iconic anime series ever created, but there’s also plenty about the show that doesn’t make sense.

He didn’t make it during the Androids’ reign of terror in Trunks’ timeline, and then fell again during Kid Buu’s destruction of Earth. Like Piccolo, Krillin was also killed during Dragon Ball GT, when Super 17 appeared and took the life of his sister’s husband. His five deaths put him in a tie for first place, and given that characters don’t die nearly as much as they used to, he might hold that title for a while.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

First Episode Air Date

April 26, 1989

Latest Episode

2019-10-05

From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.