We've come a long way since those early Dragon Ball days back when Goku was still a young boy. There's no denying that this show set the groundwork for this truly grand series, and gave us some amazing episodes that taught us not only more about Goku but this weird version of Earth we'd never seen before.
While most of us can name some of our favorite Dragon Ball episodes without giving it a second thought, there are probably many filler episodes that don't get the credit they deserve solely because they aren't canon to the story. With this list, we decided to pay homage to the best of these forgotten episodes, ranked according to their IMDb ratings.
10 "Wedding Plans?" (7.2)
With Goku, Pilaf, and the Red Ribbon Army's Colonel Silver all searching for a single Dragon Ball, things get a little crazy after it ends up in a dish that the Ox-King prepares for Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding.
The episode ends with Pilaf disguising Shu as Goku and nearly getting the Dragon Ball when Colonel Silver decides to attack. Watching this episode reminds fans just how much of a monster the Ox-King actually is, as he manages to crush several Red Ribbon Army tanks on his own before being captured. "Wedding Plans?" also features some bonding moments between Goku and Chi-Chi, hinting at how they were destined for each other all along, even if Goku didn't realize it.
9 "The Legend of a Dragon" (7.2)
After the horrendous explosion of Pilaf's flying fortress, fans were relieved that Goku had survived the blast unscathed. He quickly bonds with a tribe of monkies, a callback to the Monkey King Sun Wukong of Chinese legend that he was based on. After the monkies locate a Dragon Ball, Goku steps up to defend the forest in an act that would make Dragon Ball Super's Android 17 proud.
Not only did this episode end on a literal cliffhanger, but we also got the origin story of the Dragon Balls, and were shocked to learn that they were once one magical orb instead of seven. We weren't surprised, however, to learn that over the course of history, many had abused their wish-granting powers, with the Red Ribbon Army proving that this trend wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
8 "The Rampage of InoShikaCho" (7.2)
No, this isn't a typo on our part for you Naruto fans. This episode actually served as Tien's first appearance in the anime and was an excellent explanation as to why he and Goku maintained such a strong rivalry throughout the series. After InoShikaCho, a huge boar with deer antlers and butterfly wings, is found terrorizing a village, Goku steps up to take it down, only to find out that Tien and Chiaotzu have already beaten him to the punch to claim the reward money.
Soon after, Goku realizes that the two merely worked together with InoShikaCho to collect and split the reward money. After Tien tricks a group of villagers into thinking that it was actually Goku who was working together with InoShikaCho, Goku is forced to lead InoShikaCho out of a village where it looks like everyone owns a gun.
7 "The Time Room" (7.3)
In "The Time Room," Mr. Popo decides to send Goku into the past, where he meets none other than a young Roshi. While he does look rather dashing, Roshi is still the same perv we've always known him to be. This episode's popularity definitely has something to do with Goku's brief scuffle against Master Mutaito, who was able to defeat Goku just by sitting down and using his index finger.
We learned a lot about ki in this episode, an element of the series often taken for granted moving forward, but it is hard to forget that moment when Goku uses his ki to split a wall of fire. After learning just how powerful ki could be, fans couldn't wait to see what Goku would be able to do with it next.
6 "Pilaf and the Mystery Force" (7.4)
As the preceding episode to "Wedding Plans?," this episode marks Pilaf's reentry into the series after losing his original castle to Goku's Great Ape transformation. It also marks the introduction of the Red Ribbon Army's Colonel Silver, along with his ruthlessness.
After Goku's clothes are stolen, he loses the dragon radar. The chaos for the next few episodes is set in full swing by a devious merchant who's seemingly made it his goal to sell as many fake Dragon Balls as possible, giving one to both Pilaf and Colonel Silver. While each party fails to realize that a bird took the real Dragon Ball, the stage is set for them to clash in a later episode, much to our excitement.
5 "Quicker than Lightning" (7.4)
In "Quicker than Lightning," Goku learned a vital lesson about speed while training under Mr. Popo, proving that even after he managed to defeat King Piccolo, he still had much to learn. In an attempt to get Goku used to see without relying on his eyes, Mr. Popo sends him to retrieve a sacred crown from a magical mountain. Whenever Goku tries to take the crown, bolts of lightning are sent down from the sky above.
After befriending a mysterious girl who's able to feel the presence of other living creatures even when she can't see them, Goku learns to incorporate this technique into his own movements. Although Goku makes great strides by the end of this episode, it ends with him getting knocked unconscious, a key reason why we made sure to tune in the following week to see just what happened to him.
4 "Goku vs. Sky Dragon" (7.5)
When he stumbles upon Master Chin, leader of the renowned Chin-Star School, Goku grows eager to test his skills against the martial arts master. However, upon learning of Master Chin's illness, Goku takes his place in a fight against Sky Dragon, a powerful master of a rival school.
After defeating Sky Dragon in battle, Goku manages to perfect Chin's specialty, the Afterimage Technique, a move that's still relevant even in Dragon Ball Super. Despite being a filler episode, Goku's fight against Sky Dragon showed us just how adaptable he is when facing opponents with unfamiliar, often bizarre techniques.
3 "Goku Goes to Demon Land" (7.7)
In "Goku Goes to Demon Land," Goku rushes to save a kidnapped princess from a legion of powerful demons that managed to open up a portal to their world.
Resembling an anime King Arthur, Goku not only defeats some of the strongest demon warriors Demon World has to offer but also manages to remove a cursed sword from the ground in order to separate the Demon World from his world as it was always intended.
2 "Which Way To Papaya Island?" (7.7)
Many Dragon Ball fans may not know this, but Papaya Island happens to be the site of the World Martial Arts Tournament. In this filler episode, Goku befriends the young fox Konkichi, who works together with Goku to get tickets for a plane ride to Papaya Island. Little does Goku know, his newfound friend is a liar and a thief.
After Konkichi is arrested for a failed bank robbery, Goku exonerates his newfound friend after apprehending the thugs that put him up to it. Unfortunately, he misses his flight and is forced to swim all the way to Papaya Island, which probably has something to do with Goku being so strong by the time the tournament begins...
1 "Goku's Doll" (7.8)
In order to strengthen Goku's mind and spirit, Mr. Popo forces Goku to fight a clay doll of himself. While Goku finds himself being distracted by outside influences, the doll is able to focus solely on the fight.
It isn't until Goku learns how to do this himself that he's able to score a hit on the doll, although according to Mr. Popo, he still had much to learn about complete concentration. Not only did this filler episode refuse to give Goku a happy ending, but Mr. Popo's lesson here still remains as relevant as ever as Goku seeks to perfect Ultra Instinct years later.