Weapons and Dragon Ball don’t exactly go hand in hand. Most of the series’ combat revolves around fairly traditional martial arts, with an increase in Ki attacks and spectacle as the story matured. Most every character has a signature Ki attack, but very few have a signature weapon. Which isn’t to say Dragon Ball hasn’t had its share of weapon wielding warriors.
In fact, Goku was originally designed with a weapon in mind. Before Goku began learning martial arts under Roshi, he fought with the Nyoibo– Dragon Ball’s signature weapon. But he wasn’t the only character to wield a weapon. With a preference towards swords & staffs, Dragon Ball has featured a surprising number of weapons for characters throughout the years.
9 Son Goku (Nyoibo)
The Nyoibo– also known as the Power Pole in Funimation’s English dub– is a weapon Goku inherited from his grandfather, Gohan, before the start of the series. Along with his tail, the Nyoibo is one of Goku’s defining features in the first story arc. The first proper martial arts fight in the series even includes Goku clashing the Nyoibo against Yamcha’s Liuyedao.
While the Nyoibo would be understandably sidelined for the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, Goku used it a few times in the Red Ribbon Army arc. After this point, Goku’s focus on martial arts meant he didn’t need to use the Nyoibo as a weapon anymore. The last time the Nyoibo is used in the manga is when Goku connects Karin Tower to God’s Palace. The last time it’s seen, however, is on Goku’s back when he reunited with everyone at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.
8 Yamcha (Liuyedao)
A desert bandit, it only makes sense Yamcha is introduced with a weapon. While he has access to the Roga Fufu Ken– one of the first named techniques in Dragon Ball– his first fight sees heavy use of his Liuyedao. Yamcha never uses his Liuyedao again following his battle with Goku, but it’s an exciting introduction to the character.
Yamcha also busts out a rocket launcher at one point, taking out the Dragon Team’s car. As Dragon Ball continued and Yamcha faded into the background, there would be less & less opportunities for him to use weapons. Virtually all of Yamcha’s battles after this point are fought in tournament settings.
7 Master Roshi (Staff)
A martial arts master, it makes sense Master Roshi wouldn’t need to fight with a weapon. In fact, throughout the original Dragon Ball, the only time he ever uses his staff as a weapon is in his brief fight against Captain Dock & his men during the Red Ribbon Army arc. Come Dragon Ball Super, however, and you’d think Roshi’s staff was a key part of his skill set.
Both Resurrection F and the Moro arc feature Roshi using his staff to fight opponents. While this does make sense in some capacity considering Roshi is far outclassed by the current Dragon Team, the manga’s Universe Survival arc does go to greath lengths to showcase Roshi’s skill in light of his age. Either way, it’s a means of Dragon Ball to get interesting choreography out of a character who stopped fighting at the Piccolo Daimao arc.
6 Son Gohan (Sword)
Gohan very briefly wields a sword in the Saiyan arc, but it’s almost iconic to the character– if only because it’s paired with a demonic version of Goku’s own gi. In the manga, Gohan only ever uses the sword to cut off a dinosaur’s tail, the story skipping past most of Gohan’s time in the wild.
The anime revels in this period of Dragon Ball history, though, showcasing almost everything Gohan went through in order to begin training with Piccolo. Gohan’s sword is as much a weapon as it is a tool, and it’s even comparable to Goku’s early relationship with the Nyoibo.
5 Future Trunks (Sword)
Aside from the hand blasters used by Frieza’s men, the next time a weapon is seen after Gohan’s sword in Dragon Ball isn’t until Future Trunks’ introduction in the Cell arc. Despite being a spacebound story, the Namek arc is pure martial arts from start to finish. Trunks’ sword introduces a new edge to combat that had been missed.
Paired with his sheer tenacity, Trunks makes excellent use of his sword– cutting Frieza into pieces before obliterating him with a Ki attack. Unfortunately, Trunks’ sword is shattered during the fight with the Artificial Humans. 18 grabs the blade and shatters it before Trunks can do much of anything.
4 Dabra (Dadao)
Even though he doesn’t use his dadao enough to be associated with it (his signature attack is petrifying spit, after all,) Dabra’s sword is still an iconic part of his character design. The King of Hell wielding a dadao only makes sense. It’s just a pity he doesn’t get to use it all that much before he ultimately dies.
Dabra uses his sword against Gohan and later Majin Buu, but the blade does nothing to his opponent both times. In the case of Gohan, their fight ends shortly after the fact. With Buu, the Djinn turns Dabra into a cookie & eats him almost immediately.
3 Son Gohan (Z-Sword)
Toriyama’s passion for swords rear their head in the Majin Buu arc, with Gohan even pulling out a weapon right out of Arthurian Legend on Kaioshin’s home world. Stuck in its pedestal, the Z Sword is deemed too heavy to be pulled out, but Gohan’s able to force his way through the ordeal by turning Super Saiyan.
The Z Sword is set up as the weapon destined to defeat Majin Buu, so having it break in two makes for quite a shock. That said, the destruction leads to Rou Kaioshin’s unsealing. While the elder Kaioshin is able to unlock Gohan’s latent potential, Evil Buu is one step ahead of the Dragon Team and the Z Sword’s efforts go to waste.
2 Future Trunks (Super Sword)
Like Gohan, Future Trunks gets to wield the Z Sword during his Majin Buu crisis. It also breaks, but Dabra’s petrification shatters the blade completely, presumably killing the Rou Kaioshin. Trunks loses the Z Sword in the process, but he’s able to defeat both Dabra and Bobbidi before Majin Buu can be revived.
Some time after, Trunks manages to get his hands on a wider blade that he uses throughout all of Dragon Ball Super. The sword breaks during his fight against Zamasu and Goku Black near the end of the arc, but the anime has Trunks channel what seems to be Genki into the sword in order to land the finishing blow on Merged Zamasu.
1 Merus (Angel Staff)
All the Galactic Patrolmen use blasters to make up for their lack of Ki, but Merus was in a league of his own. Of course, this only ended up being the case because Merus is actually an angel. With the Moro arc nearing its conclusion, Merus recently gave his life in an attempt to teach Goku Ultra Instinct one last time.
During his fight with Moro, Merus uses his angel staff as a weapon– ranging from a spear, to a sniper rifle. Merus’ battle makes for some of the best fight choreography Dragon Ball Super has had in a while and a large reason why is the creative use of his angel staff.