While energy attacks like the Kamehameha may be what comes to mind first when thinking ofDragon Ball, the franchise has just as much actual physical violence, if not more so. Some of this violence can be incredibly brutal to watch, to the point where it can terrify the children who make upDragon Ball’s intended audience.
Be it fantasy violence or realistic violence,Dragon Ballhas never held back on depicting the most disturbing moments in all their horror. Many of the following moments scarred children watching the series for life, to the point where they’ll still shudder even today as adults at the thought of these scenes. Akira Toriyama certainly knew how to depict violence in all its brutality when he needed to, and it was highly effective at making fans hate the bad guys with a passion.Here are some of the most brutal, disturbing, and violent moments inDragon Ballhistory.
10Bee is Shot by Van Zant
Dragon Ball Z, “I Kill No More”
An unusual moment to start off with, Bee is the dog that Buu adopted, which helped tochange his personality for the better under Mr. Satan’s guidance. Right as Buu is learning what it means to be good, and that killing is bad, two men who are on a mad killing spree arrive, aiming to make Buu their next target, and take up a sniper’s position not far away from Buu’s house. One of the gunmen, Van Zant, takes aim at Bee, and murders the dog in cold blood right in front of Buu.
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While Bee is brought back to life not long after,the episode ends with Bee’s death, leaving the brutal and shockingly realistic killing of an innocent creature as a cliffhanger. What’s worse is that, had this not happened, Buu likely could’ve been defeated without any further bloodshed; every bad thing Buu does after this point is Van Zant’s fault.
9Yamcha’s Death to the Saibamen
Dragon Ball Z, “Saibamen Attack!”
Yamcha’s death may well be a meme at this point, but that doesn’t make the original scene any less upsetting when watched in context. Challenged by Vegeta’s Saibamen, Yamcha steps up to fight in Krillin’s place, worried that if Krillin dies again, he won’t be able to be saved by the Dragon Balls. Yamcha’s fight initially seems to be going well, but the seemingly defeated Saibaman grabs onto Yamcha and self-destructs, killing Yamcha and leaving a smoldering crater behind.
Death hadn’t become quite so easily reversed at this point, so Yamcha’s death here really carries some weight that later deaths lack.
Yamcha’s struggles against the Saibaman before it self-destructs is tough to watch already, butwhat really makes this scene heartbreaking is Puar and Bulma watching on TV, and breaking out into tears at Yamcha’s death. Death hadn’t become quite so easily reversed at this point, so Yamcha’s death here really carries some weight that later deaths lack.
8Cell Absorbs the Androids
Dragon Ball Z, “The Last Defense”
Semi-Perfect Cell is out to achieve perfection, and that meansabsorbing Android 18 into his body. Despite being their former enemy, the Z Fighters must protect 18, but regardless of the best efforts of Future Trunks, Krillin, and 16, Cell is able to separate 18 from them. He absorbs her with his tail in a disgusting process, and begins to transform into Perfect Cell, whose power is so great that it causes the very earth to shake around them.
While 18 wasn’t the most sympathetic character at this point,the absorption process is so grotesque and horrifying to imagine experiencingthat it hardly matters. It gives Cell a real barbarism to his actions, and despite not being particularly realistic, it’s certainly the material of nightmares. Worse still, this is a true moment of despair, as everything the heroes have fought to prevent has happened anyway. Honorable mention to 17’s absorption, which is almost as bad.
7Krillin is Impaled by Frieza
Dragon Ball Z, “Gohan Attacks!”
While battling Frieza, who has transformed,Krillin is viciously impaled on Frieza’s horns.Gohan is left to watch in horror as Frieza plays with his friend’s unconscious body, reveling in the bloodshed. Even Vegeta is at a loss by the barbaric display, despite the horrible things he has done himself. Gohan attempts to attack Frieza, but the villain is left with hardly a scratch. Frieza then tosses Krillin’s body into the nearby water, letting him sink and presumably drown, if he doesn’t die from blood loss first.
The sheer brutality of this scene led to the episode being heavily edited when it aired on TV, and watching the uncut version, it’s easy to see why. If fans didn’t hate Frieza before, they definitely did after this scene, as Frieza’s behavior is so repugnant with his utter disrespect for his opponents.The horn emerging from the other side of Krillin is painful to watch, and makes his previous death look like child’s play.
6Great Ape Vegeta Crushes Every Bone in Goku’s Body
Dragon Ball Z, “Spirit Bomb Away!”
Battling againstGreat Ape Vegeta, Goku begins running out of options, and decides to give a Spirit Bomb a try. However, Vegeta manages to launch an attack that disrupts the Spirit Bomb, leaving Goku helpless. Vegeta pins Goku and crushes his legs with a stomp attack, while Goku gets off an attack that leaves Vegeta blind in one eye. Infuriated, Vegeta picks up Goku and begins crushing him to death with his bare hands.
This may well be the most helpless Goku ever is in the entirety ofDragon Ball. It’s difficult to watch as every bone in his body begins to crack under the pressure Vegeta exerts, and there’s not really anyone around who could help him. Once again, this brutal scene acted as a cliffhanger, leaving fans horrified over Goku’s fate, especially knowing he’d already died once before.
5Tien Breaks Yamcha’s Leg
Dragon Ball, “Yamcha’s Big Break”
Going back to the originalDragon Ball, Yamcha is battling Tien in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.Tien is able to deflect Yamcha’s Kamehameha, to everyone’s surprise, and then Tien manages to get behind Yamcha and kicks him down, knocking him unconscious. Standing over Yamcha’s body, Tien has effectively already won, but before the match is called, Tien cruelly goes over to Yamcha and breaks his leg in brutal fashion. Puar manages to get Yamcha out of there and to a hospital.
While it’s far less severe than some of the previous entries,the cruelty and realism of Tien’s actions make it hit home much harder. Most of the other acts of brutality happened in battle, but this one was done purely out of malice, and to no advantage to Tien. At this early juncture, it was one of the most violent scenes in the series.
4Frieza Tortures Vegeta
Dragon Ball Z, “The End of Vegeta”
This episode opens withFrieza mercilessly beating Vegeta, even after it’s apparent that Vegeta has lost the ability to fight back. Frieza is cruelly enjoying Vegeta’s suffering, doing what he can to prolong it. Frieza finally throws Vegeta into a boulder, and tries to kill him, only for Goku to arrive in the nick of time. However, it’s too late for Vegeta, and the Saiyan Prince is mortally wounded by a Death Beam from Frieza. He dies begging Goku to get vengeance on Frieza, not for him, but for their people.
Frieza’s beatdown on Vegeta is utterly unnecessary at this point, and once again,Frieza’s sadistic nature comes out, showing how insanely cruel the tyrant is. Vegeta’s confession of his past and the fall of the Saiyans givesVegeta’s death a tragic twistthat would’ve been impossible to imagine when he first appeared.
3Cell Tosses Piccolo into the Ocean
Dragon Ball Z, “Up to Piccolo”
As Piccolo and the Androids confront Imperfect Cell, Piccolo tries to get the Androids to retreat, to prevent him from being able to absorb them. They fight, and Cell powers up with an aura similar to Super Saiyan, giving him an edge over Piccolo. Cell punches Piccolo and breaks his neck, then grabs him and tosses him aside as trash, stating that absorbingPiccolo no longer has anything of value to addto his perfection. Piccolo’s body falls into the ocean, seemingly dead.
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The brutal snapping of Piccolo’s neck is a sight that viewers wouldn’t soon forget. Piccolo’s defeat went to show just how dangerous Cell was, even in his Imperfect form, and was a shocking turn of events. While Piccolo ultimately survived this beatdown, it opened the door for Cell to absorb 17 just a few episodes later.
2Spopovich Absolutely Brutalizes Videl
Dragon Ball Z, “Videl is Crushed”
Mr. Satan’s daughter, Videl, has entered the World Martial Arts Tournament, and is up against a mysterious figure known as Spopovich in the first round.Spopovich has a massive size advantage on Videl, but Videl fights bravely, even snapping Spopovich’s neck, which has no effect on the fighter. Spopovich simply delivers hit after merciless hit to Videl, stomping on her head, and pulling her back into the ring when it seems she might ring out. It’s only thanks to Spopovich’s partner’s intervention that Videl wasn’t killed here.
This fight is particularly difficult to watch, in part due to the size disparity between Videl and Spopovich, as he can easily throw her around.Videl is horrifically torturedin an excessive fashionthat’s not befitting the spirit of the World Martial Arts Tournament, and it’s all Gohan and the others can do to keep from going out there to save her.
1Recoome Breaks Gohan’s Neck
Dragon Ball Z, “Let the Battle Begin”
Recoome,one of the Ginyu Force, is battling against Gohan after having already beaten Krillin. Gohan is forced to step up and does his best, but mostly just gets pummeled by Recoome. Gohan isn’t one to give up, however, and keeps getting back up each time it appears he’s been defeated. Gohan launches one final attack, but Recoome dodges and kicks Gohan in the head, breaking his neck and severely injuring his spine, leaving the boy effectively paralyzed.
Gohan’s age is a big part of what makes this so inhumane to watch, as Recoome is essentially a grown man beating a child without mercy.
Even when later given a Senzu bean, Gohan can barely move his mouth to eat it.Gohan’s age is a big part of what makes this so inhumane to watch, as Recoome is essentially a grown man beating a child without mercy. It’s easy to forget sometimes just how young Gohan is supposed to be in these moments, only around 6 years old, which really emphasizes how ruthless and savage Frieza and his men are. For this reason, Recoome’s beatdown on Gohan may be the most disturbingDragon Ballmoment of all time.
Dragon Ball
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.
