Like many popular anime series, Dragon Ball is filled with characters who can defy not only the laws of physics, but aging as well. While there are some characters who have yet to hit their 30s, like Goten, Gohan, & Trunks, there are a ton of characters in Dragon Ball who've lived for centuries, or sometimes even hundreds of centuries.
Dragon Ball caters to many different interests, but action is usually one of its major priorities. Since Dragon Ball is mostly concerned with concocting scenarios where these characters face off against each other in battle, sometimes specific ages don't get revealed and fans are forced to make estimations. That being said, Dragon Ball provides plenty of details about its characters and universe which make it easy to determine who's the oldest.
Updated September 12, 2022 by Daniel Kurland: The ongoing Dragon Ball timeline has covered an impressive span that’s allowed children to mature into grandparents, but this still amounts to just a fraction of the franchise’s universe. The universe has been in danger for millennia and there are actually a select number of individuals who are old enough to have witnessed most of this chaos. Not everyone has been around for thousands of years, but Dragon Ball sets some high standards when it comes to its oldest individuals.
15 Master Roshi Has More Than Three Centuries Of Experience Under His Belt
Goku is privileged enough to train under many prestigious martial arts legends throughout Dragon Ball, but Master Roshi is Goku’s first real teacher and the one who instills in him a healthy fighting foundation. Roshi teaches Goku his signature Kamehameha attack, among other valuable lessons that the Turtle Master has had centuries to perfect.
Roshi is more than 300 years old at the start of Dragon Ball, which at first comes across as comical. Curiously, Mercenary Tao is only 29 years younger than Roshi, which means that he’s also several hundred years old.
14 Fortuneteller Baba Is Roshi’s Elder By More Than Two Centuries And Holds 500 Years Of Wisdom
Master Roshi is no slouch in the sage ancient master department, but Dragon Ball has some fun subverting his mentor role when it reveals that he has an older sister who’s 200 years his senior. Fortuneteller Baba is a prolific seer instead of a martial artist and she’s more than 500 years old when Dragon Ball begins.
Baba’s advanced age has helped her hone her unique abilities and she’s earned herself an enviable reputation. Roshi and Baba can still squabble like little children when they’re together, which is even funnier considering that they’re 300 and 500 respectively.
13 Grand Elder Guru Is The Oldest Namekian At Over 500 Years
Dragon Ball's Kami was alive for over 300 years, but he wasn't the oldest Namekian by a long shot. Grand Elder Guru had two centuries on him and was so old that he's lived through a drastic climate change on Namek that nearly exterminated their entire population. Aside from Kami and Piccolo, every other Namekian alive is descended from Elder Guru, including ones like Dende and Nail. This is because the responsibility of reproduction fell on Grand Elder Guru so that new Namekians could survive the planet's new terrain.
In a depressing twist of events, Elder Guru is forced to die twice on-screen. He's revived once on Earth following his first death, which makes his subsequent passing even harder. However, he does his part in rebuilding one of Dragon Ball's most resilient, miraculous races.
12 Fangs The Vampire Is An Eternal Vampiric Warrior Who’s Pushing Close To 600
Dragon Ball is full of characters that are pulled right out of fantasy and horror folklore. The original series indulges in these areas quite a bit, albeit typically in playful and comedic manners. Fortuneteller Baba forces Goku and company to defeat her five fighters when they can't foot the bill for her fortune-telling services.
Fangs the Vampire is the first of these threats and although he takes out a young Krillin, he's a rare fighter that Puar happens to eliminate. In typical vampire fashion, Fangs doesn’t look ancient even though he’s more than 580 years old
11 Korin Is An Ethereal Guardian Who’s Witnessed More Than 800 Years Of Growth
Dragon Ball introduces a growing list of guardians and deities over the course of its run as the boundaries of the series’ universe continue to expand. Korin is an early presence that Goku encounters during her vertical trek to Kami’s Lookout. Korin is around through each
Dragon Ball series, typically with Yajirobe by his side, even if he doesn’t serve a major role. Korin may look like a comfortable cat, but he’s more than 800 years old when Dragon Ball begins. It makes sense that such an important guardian figure would live for so long, but any outsider is likely to mistake him for a common feline.
10 Bandages The Mummy Is An Ancient Fighter Who’s Journey Begins More Than 800 Years Ago
Another supernatural figure who fights in the name of Fortuneteller Baba, Bandages the Mummy has an unblemished record until he encounters Goku and company. Bandages is just slightly more than 800 years old when Dragon Ball begins and his age isn’t that much greater than Korin.
Bandages has the advantage of centuries of slumber in his cryptic sarcophagus until he’s called into battle. Bandages defeats Yamcha, who underestimates his brute strength, but a young Goku manages to make this mummified menace experience humility.
9 Master Roshi's Turtle Has Been Trucking Along For More Than 1000 Years
It's no surprise that one of Master Roshi's best friends would be Turtle. Roshi definitely embodies a turtle theme, whether it's in the name of his martial arts school or the title of the Kamehameha Wave, which is a pun off the word "turtle" in Japanese. While there's no turtle in reality that can live for a full millennium, turtles are still known for their longevity.
Unfortunately, age is taking its toll on Turtle. He somehow manages to get separated from Roshi and can't find his way back home despite the animal instincts that he should possess. It's a shame that Goku reduces Turtle to a test dummy when he practices the Evil Containment Wave. He could try to show just a little more respect for his elders.
8 Hit Is A Legendary Assassin With Over Ten Centuries Of Service Under His Belt
While Hit's age has never been concretely stated, he reveals during the Tournament of Destroyers that he's actually over 1,000 years old. This likely explains Hit's professionalism and expertise as a renowned assassin. Given the fact that he's had centuries to perfect his technique, it's no surprise he always has some type of backup plan. Hit executes his kills with zero margin for error.
It's amazing that Hit doesn't possess any wrinkles at all to show for all those centuries that he's spent alive. This might be because Hit's race possibly ages at a considerably slower rate than other mortal species in the Dragon Ball world. Either that or Hit has more time manipulation skills up his sleeve than the audience realizes.
7 Omni-King Zeno Has Ruled Over The Multiverse For 8.5 Million Years
Fans were shocked to find out that the "King of All" in Dragon Ball has the disposition of a mere child, and yet he possesses the ability to erase entire universes. Zeno might act like a child, but there are times at which he flaunts his ultimate authority and gives the Gods of Destruction pause. Zeno doesn't seem to have parents, yet one thing many fans were quick to point out is that the Grand Priest states that the Tournament of Power will begin on the "3,135,500,603rd day" of Zeno's rule, which translates to over eight million years.
This doesn't necessarily mean that Zeno came into existence 8.5 million years ago and it might just be a reference to how long he's been the Omni-King. It's hard to believe that the multiverse could exist for this long when Zeno exhibits such reckless, destructive tendencies.
6 Planet-Eater Moro Develops The Ultimate Revenge Plan That's Ten Million Years In The Making
Moro's age can only be inferred, since his date of birth is never specified. Regardless, one look at him says that he's been alive for a pretty long time. The Dragon Ball Super manga states that Moro previously threatened Universe 7 over ten million years ago. During this cataclysm he brought about mass extinction on over 300 planets with his energy absorbing powers.
Moro's actions earn him a death sentence from the Galactic Patrol. However, even in his frail, elderly state he still possesses such extreme power that no one is able to execute him. This culminates in his grand escape.
5 Old Kai Earns His Title And Has Put In Over 75 Million Years Of Service
Old Kai's official date of birth doesn't get revealed in Dragon Ball, but it's plausible that he's around 75 million years of age. The biggest clue to this number is that it was around this far back that an old witch steals one of his Potara Earrings and tries it on, back when he was just a young Supreme Kai. This cavalier act forces them into a fusion that neither party is thrilled over.
This fusion doesn't just make Old Kai wiser, but it also grants him a host of unique powers. The most notable of these skills is that he can unlock an individual's potential after he performs a complicated ritual.
4 Beerus And Champa Have Had God Of Destruction Squabbles For Over 200 Million Years
Beerus and Champa are twin Gods of Destruction who represent Universes 7 and 6, respectively. These brothers are given the opportunity to live for centuries more than any other members of their species. Beerus states that he's lived for hundreds of millions of years, which means that Beerus and Champa, like other Gods of Destruction, have been alive to see countless civilizations rise and fall.
These two have been around for millennia, but it seems like most of this has been wasted time. Champa is more focused on eating than destroying, while Beerus spends most of his time asleep. It's not the smartest use of their celestial rewards, but they're also not exactly on a tight timeframe.
3 Whis Has Used His Angel Skills For Hundreds Of Millions Of Years
If Beerus has been around for hundreds of millions of years, it's plausible that Whis has been around for far longer. This is because every God of Destruction before Beerus has required Whis' assistance to help them adjust to their role as Destroyers. And despite being so ancient, Whis doesn't have a wrinkle to show for it.
Without this necessary context on Whis' celestial status, one might assume he's one of the younger characters in Dragon Ball Super. It's unlikely that Whis will ever need to resort to Dragon Ball wishes for vain cosmetic improvements, like Bulma and Frieza.
2 The Grand Priest Looms Over Existence For Hundreds Of Millions Of Years
The ages of Gods of Destruction, Angels, and the Grand Priest can only be left to speculation based on what knowledge exists concerning Dragon Ball's divine hierarchy. That being said, it only makes sense for the Grand Priest to be a few million (or perhaps billion) years older than his son. His age has clearly granted him much wisdom, as well as an incredible amount of power that he has yet to display.
The Grand Preist remains a Dragon Ball character who's shrouded in mystery even after Goku's training session with the deity. At the end of the day, the character's age is irrelevant when he possesses power that's presumably not far off from Zeno.
1 Majin Buu Exists Beyond Conventional Chronology And Is Time Immemorial
Many fans believe that the evil wizard Bibidi actually created Majin Buu, but Akira Toriyama has revealed that Buu has existed since the beginning of time. This means that he predates every other character in the franchise. Majin Buu has experienced intense periods of hibernation and activity, with each cycle in this process absorbing the evils of mortals and growing more violent because of it.
Bibidi was able to control Buu to a limited extent and he uses him to hunt down the Supreme Kai. However, this effort to eliminate the divine hierarchy ultimately becomes the cosmic evildoer's undoing. Thankfully, Goku makes sure to put an end to Majin Buu, once and for all, ensuring that Universe 7 won't be plagued by such a force of pure destruction ever again.