Death in the Dragon Ball franchises isn't something to worry so much about. Just like with American Super Hero comics, Death is something that happens every so often only for a character to be resurrected through some convoluted means. Despite this little setback, Death can still have an impact on both franchises.
So, rather than ramble on and complain about how death means nothing and should not be used, we decided to take a look back at the ten most shocking deaths in the Dragon Ball Series. Be they good or evil; these characters will be counted.
10 Nappa
Vegeta's right-hand man kicks off this list. After killing 4 of the 7 Z-Fighters on Earth, Nappa sets his sights on Krillin and Gohan, only for Goku to rescue our small heroes from the evil Saiyan. After Goku cripples Nappa in one hit, Vegeta decides to give his old pal a hand... only to send him flying to the air and blast him into smithereens.
What makes this death so shocking is that Goku wasn't the one who was responsible, but Vegeta. He and Nappa have known each other for years, so for Vegeta to outright eliminate him like that was pretty surprising.
9 Bardock
We know that Bardock was dead before the start of the Dragon Ball series, but how did Bardock go out? Well, in both DBS: Broly and Bardock: the Father of Goku, we see the titular character learning about Frieza's plan to eliminate the entire Saiyan race.
While he tries to stop Frieza and his army, Frieza launches his Death Ball and eliminates both Bardock and Planet Vegeta. Before dying, Bardock gets a vision and see's his Son, Kakarot, going up against Frieza. He may not have had the best death, But Bardock at least got to go knowing his Son would avenge him and the entire Saiyan race.
8 Future Gohan
In Trunks's future, Gohan was the closest thing he had to a father-figure. He protected Trunks from the Androids(which cost Gohan one of his arms), he trained him to become a Super Saiyan and was the only friend he ever had. When Trunks tries to fight along-side Gohan, the son of Goku knocks him out and goes off to the last fight of his life.
Seeing his friend dead on the ground fills Trunks with so much Grief that it transforms him into a Super Saiyan. Luckily, Trunks was able to avenge his fallen mentor by going back in time, gaining immense strength, and returning to destroy 17 and 18.
7 Krillin
Krillin may have started as a jerk to Goku, but the young monk was able to befriend our hero and have been best pals ever since. While Krillin has died in the past, he couldn't be revived with either Earth or Nameks Dragon, as the former could only bring people back once, and the latter was turned to stone when Guru Died.
Seeing Goku's best friend die once was bad enough, but seeing him go out at Frieza's hands was just heartbreaking. It infuriated Goku so much that he eventually transformed into a Super Saiyan and gave Friezaa taste of his own medicine.
6 Master Roshi
Roshi may be a perverted old man, but he's the closest thing Goku has to a father-figure. When he went up against King Piccolo, things weren't looking so well for the old guy. Roshi tries to seal King Piccolo away with the Evil Containment Wave, but the attack fails as Roshi barely misses the bottle that would have sealed the monster away.
What makes this Death so sad was that King Piccolo had killed Shenron, so there would be no way for him to come back(or so we thought). Roshi then falls before warning Piccolo that someone stronger than him would come and defeat Piccolo, which would happen to be our hero, Goku.
5 Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Piccolo
When the Saiyans finally arrived on Earth, no one could have expected what was going to happen to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Z-Fighters. While Goku tries to huff it back to Earth to stop the Saiyans from destroying the planet, Four the Earth's last defenders fall at the might of the invaders.
A Kamikaze Saibamen kills Yamcha, Chiaotzu and Tien sacrifice themselves in an attempt to kill Nappa, while Piccolo makes his turn to the side of good by giving his life to protect Gohan. Piccolo's death meant that Kami would die as well, meaning the Dragon Balls were turned to stone and un-usable.
4 Dende
Dragon Ball had already shown children dying before Z when Krillin and Chiaotzu were killed. However, these two were at least fighters who could defend themselves. Dende wasn't. The poor Namekian child's only crime was helping his new friends to save Namek from the Evil Frieza.
What he didn't deserve was to be blasted by Frieza. Seeing a dead child will always be haunting, even more so when it's one the audience had gotten so attached to. It just gave the Z-fighters another reason to put an end to Frieza.
3 Cyborg Frieza and King Cold
Just when you think the Universe is safe, Frieza comes back even stronger than before. Not only is he a Cyborg, but he's brought another Army and his father, King Cold. With Goku nowhere in sight, Frieza is about to lay waste to the Z-Fighters until a boy from the Future shows out of the blue.
Not only does this guy make quick work of Frieza's men, but he can also turn into a Super Saiyan. Seeing another Super Saiyan so soon and from someone we didn't even know made for one crazy plot twist. Even more shocking was the fact that this Super Saiyan was able to kill Frieza, and King Cold quickly made things even more insane.
2 Vegeta
Vegeta has died twice, but both deaths were pretty damn tragic. After failing to surpass Frieza, he's shot through the heart by the tyrant. It's even sadder when you learn that Vegeta only went around killing people so he could survive. Sure, Vegeta was a spoiled brat, but he's the son of a King, what do you expect?
However, the way he begged Goku to defeat Frieza was just so sad. If that wasn't already appalling, Vegeta dies yet again when he tries to eliminate Majin Buu by blowing up and redeeming himself for what he's done on that day.
1 Goku
It's always shocking when a character bites the dust, but it's even more so when that character is the Main Protagonist. When Goku holds on to Radiz for dear life, Piccolo unleashes his Special Beam Cannon, killing the two Saiyans in one blast. Whether it was children in Japan seeing Goku die after all he's done in the original Dragon Ball or kids in the US seeing Goku die in only a few episodes, it's still something that audiences didn't see coming.
While Goku was resurrected, no one knew how or if Goku was going to come back. Would Gohan be the one to defeat the Saiyans? Would Piccolo become the hero of the series? No one would have guessed what happened next, and it kept a generation of kids glued to the TV to find out what would happen on the next exciting episode of Dragon Ball Z.