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There are many thrilling shonen anime series that amass hundreds of episodes, but there are few that achieve the same level of staying power as Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball has always been a major standout among action series, and part of the reason that it’s still so celebrated is that it understands how to evolve its formula and push its characters into new and exciting plateaus of power.
Goku and Vegeta’s character development are essential to Dragon Ball’s story, but there is also a wide selection of courageous fighters who recede into the background and don’t demonstrate nearly as much progress. Not everyone in Dragon Ball can have the strength of a Super Saiyan, but that doesn’t mean that incremental improvements are impossible. Nevertheless, some characters seem to thrive in stasis.
10 Videl Enters The Series With Promise Only To Stagnate
Dragon Ball Z feels like it’s reenergized during the Buu Saga, and it benefits from a jump forward in time following the defeat of Cell. Many new characters enter the picture, with Videl being one of the most important fresh faces. Videl and Gohan quickly hit it off, and Videl demonstrates that she’s a decent martial artist in her own right. It doesn’t take long for Videl to adopt basic ki manipulation skills, like flight. However, Videl falls into the role of wife and mother and doesn’t get many opportunities to return to the battlefield and increase her skills.
9 Yamcha’s Biggest Developments Have Happened In The Meme Department
Yamcha will always have an important role in Dragon Ball history since he’s one of the very first individuals who align with Goku as he heads out into the world. Yamcha has moderate fighting skills and even some signature moves that aren’t replicated with other characters. Everyone else grows leaps and bounds since the start of the series, but Yamcha remains at this average status. He grows marginally stronger, but he never receives a real boost, and his greatest accomplishments are in games of baseball. He’s not even allowed a shot to compete in the Tournament of Power.
8 Yajirobe Achieves A Basic Level Of Skills & Becomes Content At That Place
Yajirobe is someone from Dragon Ball that’s sometimes given an embellished sense of importance due to his proximity to Korin. Admittedly, Yajirobe knows how to wield a blade, but he’s never been someone who throws himself into training or even seems interested in becoming more powerful.
In this respect, Yajirobe is consistent throughout the Dragon Ball series, and even though he can sometimes lend an indispensable hand, his abilities don’t experience any sort of growth. He’s just in the right place at the right time.
7 Mr. Popo’s Guardian Position Doesn’t Make Training A Priority
Mr. Popo is one of Dragon Ball’s more enigmatic characters, and the series hasn’t really peeled back the layers on this unusual presence at Kami’s Lookout. Mr. Popo may not speak up often or assist the heroes in battle, but he’s trained with a young Goku and later Goten and Trunks, and proves that he’s stronger than he looks. Mr. Popo can hold his own, but considering he remains in this supporting position, it’s likely that he doesn’t actively work to improve his talents. Mr. Popo doesn’t seem to have changed much since his first appearance.
6 Android 18 Stays In The Picture But Doesn’t Visibly Improve
Dragon Ball’s introduction of Androids has given the series a lot of material to explore, and after Cell is out of the picture, it’s Android 18 who remains a regular presence who fights with the heroes. Android 18 is powerful from the start, and while she doesn’t give up combat, it does seem as if she becomes happier with a domestic life alongside Krillin and their daughter. Oddly, Android 18’s brother, Android 17, seems to exhibit more development and even wins the Tournament of Power. Android 18 holds her own but doesn’t seem discernibly stronger than her Cell Saga days.
5 Raditz’s Tenure Is So Brief That Improvement Is Impossible
Raditz gets the distinguished honor of being Dragon Ball Z’s first villain and the character who introduces both Goku and the audience to the idea of Saiyans. Raditz’s time in the series is short and sweet, and while he’s not as strong as Nappa or Vegeta, he proves a major challenge for a weaker Goku and Piccolo.
The reason that Raditz isn’t able to improve is that he never returns. However, Dragon Ball has such a history with bringing back dead characters, even through flashbacks, that Raditz is someone who easily could have come back stronger, like Frieza.
4 Hercule Satan Is So Lost In Delusion & Comfort To Need To Get Stronger
Hercule Satan is one of the more polarizing characters in the Dragon Ball universe. Hercule has good intentions, but his showboating personality and desire for fame have turned him into more of a performer than a martial artist. The problem that Mr. Satan faces is that he gains an inflated ego and reputation early on that he never has a necessity to work harder and grow stronger. He’s already been accepted, and while he could use this opportunity to grow into the hero people see him as, he’s happier to coast and turn to Goku when necessary.
3 Bulma’s Mind Never Stops Working & She Remains A Brilliant Presence
Bulma sometimes doesn’t get her due as one of Dragon Ball’s most important characters, and she shouldn’t be underestimated just because her talents lie outside of the battlefield. Bulma’s scientific advancements have made feats like finding the Dragon Balls a breeze. Goku would not be where he is today without Bulma’s help. Bulma has gotten older and started a family, but she’s been a genius from the first time she met Goku. Naturally, she’s gotten worldlier and tackled bigger projects, but she’s always punched above her weight.
2 Tien Enters Dragon Ball As A Serious Fighter & More Or Less Remains Sufficient
Tien is a major rival for Goku at the start of Dragon Ball, and to be fair, he’s demonstrated more growth than other characters. However, a lot of that growth has happened off-screen and in a capacity that’s not as visually apparent as a Super Saiyan transformation. Dragon Ball Super shows that Tien now runs his own dojo, and he’s maintained his strength to the extent that he gets to fight in the Tournament of Power for Universe 7, but he resorts to the same tactics that he always has and doesn’t feel like a changed fighter.
1 Beerus Has Adopted A Carefree Life Due To His God Of Destruction Status
Beerus doesn’t first show up until Dragon Ball Super, but he brings with him some major changes to the scope of the anime’s universe with the introduction of Gods of Destruction and Angels. Beerus initially hungers for a challenge against a Super Saiyan God, but afterward, he’s far too content in slacking off and enjoying the luxuries of life. Beerus doesn’t necessarily have an incentive to get stronger since he has the ability to erase anyone who crosses him. Beerus can defend himself if he’s ever challenged, but his days of training to grow stronger are past him.
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