As a series, Dragon Ball was as influential as any. It helped lead to the more popular Dragon Ball Z and helped spawn plenty of other shonen anime that tried to imitate its style. Despite its influence and the sheer length of time it's been around, it's far from a perfect form of media. There are plot holes littered throughout it.
Some of them got answered in Dragon Ball Super, such as what happened to Monster Carrot, but there are a few that haven't been addressed at all or merely hand waved from existence.
10 The Red Ribbon Army Searching For The Dragon Balls When They've Yet To Recharge
For as good as the Red Ribbon Army arc was, it's never made sense how it started. Only 8 months passed since the Emperor Pilaf arc, meaning the Dragon Balls still needed 4 more months before they recharged.
It'd be one thing if the Red Ribbon Army were merely searching for them, but the Dragon Balls were still showing up on Bulma's Dragon Radar. It felt like an instance where Toriyama misremembered how much time had passed between arcs.
9 What Happened To Arale During All Of Dragon Ball Z?
Arale was a decently powered character during the Red Ribbon Army arc, helping defeat General Blue, and since she's a cyborg, it's not out of the realm of possibility that she got stronger. Why then did she not show up at all in Dragon Ball Z?
Sure, she was more of a joke character, but you'd think she would have at least shown up during the Saiyan saga. Instead, she only pops back up in Dragon Ball Super as the mayor of Penguin Village.
8 Shenlong Stated There Was No Wish He Couldn't Grant, Only For It To Be Revealed There Were Plenty Of Things He Couldn't Do Later
Shenlong was originally made out to be a type of genie that had no limits to its powers. When Upa was wished back to life, Shenlong stated that was no wish that he could not grant, acting as if bringing someone back to life was child's play, which was sort of true considering how grand the wishes got by the end.
That said, there were still plenty of things that he couldn't do, giving him limitations that while necessary, were never explained in-universe beyond a hand wave.
7 The Nimbus Cloud Can't Be Destroyed By Anything Until It Can
Colonel Silver is the first one that destroyed the nimbus cloud, doing it during the Red Ribbon Army arc. Only he didn't actually destroy it because as the Snow villagers said, nothing can kill the nimbus cloud.
It makes sense, given the power of the cloud and its purpose in the lore. That said, all of those statements get thrown out the window when Tambourine comes along and destroys it for good. No explanation is ever offered.
6 How Did The Red Ribbon Army Not Know Who Master Roshi Was?
The Red Ribbon Army was supposedly great at collecting information. The fact they knew and managed to find the Dragon Balls is proof of that. How then did they not know who Master Roshi was?
Sure, they were expecting a scientist, and Roshi didn't look like one, but he was a world-renowned martial artist. You'd think he'd be on some sort of watch list or that they'd have some cursory knowledge of what he looked like. The whole scene made them look inept.
5 How Did The Red Ribbon Army Even Manage To Exist Without Drawing Attention From The Government?
For as technologically advanced as the Red Ribbon Army was, and feared enough that they could bully the government, it's a wonder how they even managed to get to this point. How had no one caught wind of what they were doing or tried to put a stop to it?
How did they manage to recruit such a large force, to begin with? There's no way something that large could have gone unnoticed at all, but the story makes it seem like they did.
4 How Did Getting Korin's Water Give Him The Power To Beat Tao Pai Pai When It Was Just Tap Water?
To defeat Tao Pai Pai, Goku needed to gain the power of Korin's jar of water. A power-up from a source of magical power would make sense, except the water was just tap water, and the real power-up came from the act of taking the water.
That made sense for someone like Master Roshi, who took three years to snag the water. The same can't be said of Goku, who took a total of three days before he snagged the sacred tap water. That isn't a whole lot of time to gain a power boost.
3 Why Does Tien Have A Third Eye?
Tien's third eye has never made any sense, nor did the fact that Toriyama never felt the need to explain it. How do you introduce a character with a third eye and never elaborate on it? He does this outside of the source material by saying that Tien descended from an alien race, making him more of a hybrid.
Given how much aliens come into play, it's strange that he decided to never go into Tien's backstory. Then again, Tien's importance lessened greatly after the Saiyan arc.
2 Why Did King Piccolo Explode After Goku Impaled Him?
Why does King Piccolo's body explode after Goku impales him? Beyond looking cool, what purpose did it serve? Is it because he passed his will onto Piccolo Jr, making King Piccolo more of a spiritual entity than an actual physical form?
It's more likely proof that Toriyama hadn't fully thought out the character, as shown by the fact that Namekians didn't exist back in Dragon Ball until Z came around.
1 Krillin's Lack Of Nose Is An Inconsistent Storytelling Device
Krillin's lack of nose is often used for laughs in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Most of the time he lacks one, allowing him to combat things that may otherwise incapacitate a person, as was the case with Bacterian in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai tournament.
Yet he manages to snort boogers at Jackie Chun during the same tournament. It's not that large a deal as Krillin's lack of nose is only there for jokes in the series and not some integral plot device, but it is weirdly inconsistent.