Although often considered its own saga, the events of the Red Ribbon Army arc actually end with Uranai Baba’s mini tournament before cleaning transitioning into the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai— in the manga, at least. This tournament ends up giving Dragon Ball its first major time skip and furthers the series’ lore by introducing the Crane School.
The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai is pre-Z era Dragon Ball at its absolute best, and really the only time in the franchise where multiple characters are evenly matched. This is a tournament that actually tries to obscure its final winner, creating a story arc that’s all the more engaging. Not seeing the tournament through mostly Jacki Chun’s eyes does result in an arc whose themes aren’t as clear, but every fight in the tournament serves a clear purpose and each participant does a good job at contributing.
8 Manwolf
Manwolf exists mainly to serve a narrative purpose. In this case, it’s Jackie Chun paying the consequences for blowing up the moon in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. It’s also worth remembering that this is Dragon Ball before the introduction of Piccolo Daimao, meaning that the series was still trying to play up its siller moments despite an emphasis on martial arts.
Jackie Chun’s fight against Manwolf can seem like fluff as a result, but he at least seems strong enough physically. Chun effortlessly rings him out, but Manwolf was still strong enough to get past the preliminaries. When it comes down to it, though, Manwolf mainly exists to offer some levity after Tenshinhan ruthlessly snaps Yamcha’s leg.
7 Panput
Even if it might not seem like it at first glance, Panput is a genuinely good martial artist. He’s won multiple tournaments and operates on a superhuman level. Unfortunately for him, most of the main character is already operating beyond that level. Panput may have been able to pose a threat in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, but the Turtle School is so beyond that point by the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai.
Goku notably takes out Panput in one of Toriyama’s full page spreads. To most, it looks like Goku isn’t doing anything at all, but that’s what makes this tournament so exciting. If even someone like Panput can’t compete, it’s easy to understand just how obscenely powerful everyone else is.
6 Chaozu
That poor Chaozu. Even in his introductory arc, the guy barely appears and has much of a presence. He pretty much exists to serve Tenshinhan’s arc— which, to be honest, isn’t that bad of a role considering how good Tenshinhan’s character development ends up being. Either way, Chaozu doesn’t end up making that strong of an impression and it’s no wonder Toriyama didn’t use him as much.
For starters, Chaozu isn’t a traditional martial artist. Rather, he fights using psychic powers. While novel, such an ability doesn’t lend itself well to the fast paced, action packed style of choreography Toriyama opts for. Chaozu does seem to be a heavy enough hitter to make Kuririn worry about his own life, but there’s a reason Chaozu never wins a single fight in the manga.
5 Yamcha
Interestingly, the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai plays things up as if Yamcha is Tenshinhan’s rival. They’re the two who interact with each other the most before the tournament starts, and Tenshinhan specifically has Chaozu rig the drawing so that he’s fighting Yamcha in the first round. Tenshinhan even explicitly states that Yamcha is probably the strongest turtle school student.
As the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai established, Yamcha is actually the weakest of Kame Sen’nin’s students, but he still puts up an amazing fight against Tenshinhan. It all comes crashing down when Tenshinhan snaps Yamcha’s legs after he’s already been defeated, but this is Yamcha’s best display of power in the entire franchise.
4 Kuririn
Kuririn is never more close in power to Goku than the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. That’s how it seems, at least. Logically, they were probably closer in power during the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, but Kuririn gives Goku a serious run for his money, strategizing his way through the fight in order to earn a victory by outsmarting Goku.
Kuririn ends up losing, of course, but not without nearly beating Goku. Had Son not trained his tail inbetween story arcs, Kuririn would have had victory in his grasp. He would have lost to Tenshinhan in the grand scheme of things, but it’s clear that Kuririn trained hard for the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Unfortunately, future arcs wouldn’t be so kind to Kuririn.
3 Jackie Chun
It’s not exactly clear just how strong Jackie Chun is during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. On one hand, Muten Roshi directly references how he trained in secret leading up to the tournament. Not just that, Jackie Chun never actually goes all out, forfeiting his fight against Tenshinhan. On the other hand, this is the tournament that causes Roshi to retire.
During his fight against Tenshinhan, Jackie Chun realizes that it’s time for him to pass on the torch to the next generation. He tries to get Tenshinhan to reject the Crane School, sowing the seeds for Ten’s redemption arc, and then walks off the arena. It’s an interesting display from Toriyama’s part, especially since it keeps Chun’s true potential a perpetual secret.
2 Tenshinhan
Tenshinhan might end up winning the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai in the grand scheme of things, but there’s enough in-text evidence to suggest that Tenshinhan was actually weaker than Goku during their match— at least physically. Tenshinhan even outright says as much, calling Goku the stronger of the two opponents.
Either way, Tenshinhan is still plenty strong thanks to Ki alone. Goku might have the physical strength and skill to push Tenshinhan back, but Ten is implied to be the faster fighter and his Ki attacks outdo anything Goku has in store. Tenshinhan’s victory is very much earned, he’s just not actually stronger than Goku.
1 Son Goku
It’s a bit strange that Goku is technically the strongest characters who participates in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai despite losing, but this wasn’t the right time for Goku to win a Tenkaichi Budokai. He still needed to be humbled further, and so closely tasting victory against Tenshinhan makes Goku’s ultimate win in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai all the more impactful.
The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai is kid Goku at his best. He’s clearly trained and matured since the Red Ribbon Army arc. He better understands the world around him and his respect for martial arts makes him a much more well rounded character.