Dragon Ball is an insanely popular franchise where characters are usually competing with each other to see who’s the strongest. Also, they often get into battles for protecting the Earth and eventually the whole Universe from various foes. But Dragon Ball is a lot more than that – there are plenty of moments that have the potential to squeeze plenty of tears from our eyes.
We’re here to present you our picks for what we believe are the most emotional moments from the Dragon Ball series. If you have any other proposals, feel free to mention them in a comment below!
6. ‘That’s my Bulma!’
Vegeta couldn’t land a single blow to Beerus when the two fighters battled on Earth. The God of Destruction was far stronger than Vegeta, but one thing triggered a sudden multiplication of the Saiyan Prince’s powers. Beerus made the huge mistake of slapping Bulma, and that gesture pissed off Vegeta extremely badly. The Saiyan Prince then started to teach some manners into Beerus the way he knows best. Furthermore, for several minutes, Vegeta even surpassed Goku in power. The scene is truly emotional because it shows how much Vegeta truly loves Bulma and how he becomes fueled by anger if anyone dares to do anything bad to her. Of course, Vegeta is way too proud to admit it.
5. Frieza killing Krillin
Krillin may be weak and the subject for a lot of mocking memes and trolling throughout the internet, but he’s still one of the strongest Earthlings. Besides, he’s Goku’s best friend. That didn’t stop Frieza from killing him back on planet Namek in Dragon Ball Z, but the mighty tyrant made the mistake of his life. The sad event infuriated Goku so much that he became pumped up with brand new powers, achieving the first iconic Super Saiyan transformation with gold hair. Until Krillin’s death, Goku was pretty much done, having almost no energy left to continue the fight with Frieza. But it’s amazing how much Saiyans can improve when someone hurts their loved ones.
4. Goku sparing Vegeta’s life
We can’t forget the old days of Dragon Ball Z when Vegeta was a purely evil character that came to Earth to destroy it and steal the dragon balls for selfish needs. The Saiyan Prince was heavily injured by Goku and Gohan, and Krillin was preparing to pierce a sword into the former villain. But Goku stopped him, saying that everyone deserves a second chance and that we must learn how to forgive. This event leads to Vegeta ultimately becoming a good guy a lot of episodes further in the series and contributing tremendously to the defeat of much stronger villains like Cell and Majin Buu.
3. Piccolo sacrificing himself for Gohan
One of the most beautiful moments in Dragon Ball was when Piccolo, who was cruel and evil beyond belief, sacrificed himself for saving Gohan’s life. Nappa, who was Vegeta’s henchman when the Saiyan Prince was a villain, shot a powerful beam at Gohan. But Piccolo couldn’t stand that his pupil will die, so he positioned himself in the front of the energy wave. The outcome was imminent: Piccolo died to save Gohan’s life.
Gohan, you’re the only real friend I ever had. I wanna thank you.
I know I was hard on you, but it was for your own good. You’re like the son I never had, I’m proud of you. Goodbye, my friend.
These are the words that Piccolo said to Gohan after being hit by Nappa’s energy wave. A former villain who tried for many years to kill Goku and take over the world has now sacrificed himself for the son of his enemy. How emotional is that?
2. Vegeta’s sacrifice against Majin Buu
Vegeta fought the fat Majin Buu for a while, but the Saiyan Prince immediately realized that there’s no chance to win the fight. Majin Buu was regenerating himself after every blow and energy wave, and that could only mean that the monster is practically unstoppable. Vegeta had only one chance left: to bring out his ultimate attack, even with the cost of losing his life. Although he was once evil beyond belief, Vegeta sacrificed himself for the whole humanity. Unfortunately, it was in vain, because Buu regenerated himself once again.
1. Goku’s sacrifice against Cell
Sorry Vegeta, but your old friend Kakarot wins the first place of this list as well. Cell was ready to destroy the Earth along with everyone living on it by using an age-old Kamikaze technique. There seemed to be no escape for our heroes at that point, but Goku stepped in once more with the right formula. The mighty Saiyan teleported Cell to King Kai’s planet by using the Instant Transmission, so the villain could detonate himself very far away from Earth. Unfortunately, Goku didn’t have any time left to move away from the explosion, so he died. Cell managed to regenerate himself somehow and mimic the Instant Transmission technique from Goku to come back to Earth for a final round against Gohan.
It’s true that Goku was killed at that point and Cell survived, but the legendary hero has the tremendous merit of saving everyone’s lives of those living on Earth. Everybody would have been dead if Goku didn’t make the decision of teleporting Cell elsewhere, so saving the world with the price of your own life is truly emotional.
Luckily for us, there are a lot of emotional moments in the Dragon Ball series, and we would like to know your own personal list!
