Ever since the days of Doraemon and Cowboy Bebop, anime has become one of the world’s most loved forms of entertainment. Throughout these times, there have been cases of some anime shows getting loved more than all the other shows airing in the same timeframe. Prime examples of these cases are One Piece, Sword Art Online, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, etc. However, there has been no anime show that can even come close to the domination that Dragon Ball has exerted on the entire anime scene. This show is the godfather of all fighting anime, as there always is at least one of the tropes originating from it that will be present in all of the fighting anime shows that come after it. Consequently, Dragon Ball has amassed quite a humongous fan base.
Aside from the obvious band-wagoning ones, most of the fans are all aware of the power ranking of the Dragon Ball Multiverse. However, there are still new fans who got hooked on the Dragon Ball Super series, so they do not know all the necessary information about this franchise. Of course, one of the most important pieces of information that these fans have to get to know is no other than the strength level of each character. In addition, they also must know who was stronger than who, as it is one of the most exciting parts of this series. As a result, I have put together this list explaining who the top 10 strongest Dragon Ball characters are. Of course, as Zeno is too powerful, he will be excluded.
1. Whis
When we first meet this lean, aloof individual, it is not readily apparent that great power lies behind his carefree smile. Whis is the Angel assigned to God of Destruction Beerus. He trained Beerus himself. As stated in the Dragon Ball world, this makes Whis more powerful than the God of Destruction to which he was assigned. He is also shown to be the fastest being in the universe and is possibly the most powerful Angel outside of his sister Vados, who fans have gotten a chance to know.
2. Beerus
This catlike humanoid shows a level of indifference to most lifeforms that could only be reserved for an entity of cosmic power. Beerus seems to harbor no ill will towards any lifeforms, merely annoyance at any disruptions in his favorite activities, acting mostly as a mechanism of nature. As a God of Destruction, he is served with the duty of maintaining balance in Universe 7, which he enacts through the decimation of any planets that displease him. He effortlessly took down Majin Buu, Gohan, Gotenks, and Vegeta. Beerus claimed that he used 70% of his full power to fight against Super Saiyan God Goku (who he defeated), but Toriyama notes that Golden Frieza — who is stronger than both Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta at the time they fought — is no match for Beerus no matter how hard he trains.
3. Jiren
We have been continuously teased that there is a mortal who is even stronger than the Gods of Destruction for the longest possible time. The moment this Universe 10’s stoic and tall Pride Trooper was introduced, we immediately get the feeling that it is without a doubt this guy. Jiren had suffered quite a traumatic and tragic experience of losing all those who are close to him early in his life. Consequently, he spent all of his days accumulating his power and pushing anyone who wanted to approach him far away. He cared for nothing more than absolute power and he finally managed to achieve just that. During the Tournament of Power, he is easily the strongest one, with his base strength being leaps and bounds above the other fighters.
During the tournament, there was no one that can actually make him get serious, not even Goku. Beerus even once stated that he just could not believe how one person can emit that much energy. Remember, Beerus was only mildly perturbed when he sensed the energy of Merged Zamasu, someone who was reigning in another reality entirely. As the tournament draws closer to its end, Jiren started to release even more power continuously, showing that he was suppressing a lot of power. When he and Son Goku fought, Goku had to use the Kaioken multiplier alongside his Super Saiyan Blue form. However, he still got handled, and not even base Vegeta can see what happened clearly.
4. Vegito
There is no way that this character does not show up on any kind of list of the most powerful Dragon Ball characters. After all, even though he made few appearances throughout the Dragon Ball Z and Super series, he is always one of the strongest characters around due to being the fusion of Goku and Vegeta. In Dragon Ball Super, Vegito only showed up briefly when the Z fighters were fighting Zamasu. He wiped the floor with the insanely strong (at that time) Zamasu easily. However, he was quickly defused. There is no doubt that if he had just a little more time, there won’t be any need to summon the future Zeno. His only weakness is the enormous ego that makes him always try to show off.
Due to the power fluctuation of the two sole ingredients of Vegito, Son Goku, and Vegeta, it is quite hard to properly place him on the list. After all, if he can manage to handle the pressure Kaioken x20 will put on his body, then there is no doubt that he will be able to climb at least one more place. However, it is far more likely that this pressure will instantly defuse his body, As some members of the fandom have illustrated, if we are talking purely mathematics and power levels, SSB Vegito can be as powerful as Kaioken x400 SSB Goku or even more. We hope that there will be more of his appearances in the future, as his power level is still a topic of debate right now.
5. Son Goku
Son Goku, also known as the mightiest warrior of Earth, or simply the one without any limit, completely deserves this second spot. After all, he is the only one who has ever managed to corner Jiren and make him release all of his potential. This guy had received a lot of power-ups throughout Dragon Ball Super, in addition to his already OP enough arsenal. First of all, he got to become the Super Saiyan God. Then, he went and unlocked Super Saiyan Blue. Finally, after a long and hard-fought Tournament of Power, Goku even mastered the legendary Ultra Instinct, the one thing that no known Gods of Destruction have been able to do. In fact, they are all afraid of Goku being able to reach it so easily.
There still has not been any evidence of the Mastered Ultra Instinct’s limit. Thus, there is no way to tell how powerful Goku is when he is in this form. However, from what we saw in his fight with Jiren, he may very well be more powerful than all the Gods of Destruction. During his fight with Jiren, he has shown that his Mastered Ultra Instinct form is the only power-up that can help him fight that monster on even ground and eventually overpower him. The only downside of this form is the fact it burns a lot of energy, so Son Goku will not be able to maintain it for too long a time. This is why at the moment he is only in the second place on the list.
6. Vegeta
We all know that after that badass evolution of the Super Saiyan Blue form, there is no way that Vegeta is not on this list. Fans who have seen it like to refer to the form as Ascended Super Saiyan Blue or Super Saiyan Royal Blue. This form is just the thing Vegeta was in need of to show that he is different from the main character, Goku. At first glance, most of us thought of this as the equivalent of the SSB Kaioken x20 form of Goku. However, numerous characters have stated that it was more of Vegeta breaking out of his shell, just like what Goku did in his earlier fight with Jiren. Thus, this is arguably the equivalent to Ultra Instinct of Goku.
Vegeta got this currently strongest form during his intense fight against Toppo in his God of Destruction form. This form symbolizes Vegeta’s determination to never throw away anything that is important just for power. In this form, Vegeta received a dramatic boost in ki, speed, and power, making him able to dominate Toppo easily. He proved that fighting for honor, ideals, and someone will make you truly strong. There have been instances where we were able to witness how different this form is compared to the others. First of all, he was able to survive his Final Explosion, which killed him in the previous use. It showed that Vegeta’s power is now enough to keep him alive from something that would have surely killed him.
7. Toppo
The candidate to be the God of Destruction for Universe 10, the Pride Trooper’s leader, Toppo is a warrior for justice through and through. The Universe 10’s second strongest fighter had some big fluctuation in his character development through the Tournament of Power. Before the tournament began, we all saw him as someone who stood firmly on the belief of righteous justice above anything else. However, during the tournament, especially after Frieza had forced him into a corner, he promptly dropped his personal ideals and beliefs for pure power. After doing so, he attained the highest-powered form that is available for him, the God of Destruction Toppo.
After seeing his fight with Frieza and Vegeta, we can see that he is actually stronger than some Gods of Destruction. For example, Sidra was visibly worried about the power of the Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 that Son Goku used. During the fight, Toppo in his God of Destruction form showcased some power that even exceeds that. Thus, this indicates that there is a chance that he can defeat a full-on God of Destruction in a true fight. After all, he was able to destroy the ring that the Grand Priest created easily, something the Gods of Destruction were not so good at. There is also the temporary warping of the World of the Void that he did.
8. Hit
During the Tournament of Destroyers, Hit was regarded as the single strongest fighter throughout the entirety of Universe 6. Then when it came to the Tournament of Power, he was also initially branded as the ace of Universe 6. Due to his incredible special techniques along with his power, he was able to toe-to-toe with beings of immense power like the Super Saiyan Blue. Unlike most of the others on this list, Hit does not rely too much on any kind of ki blasts. Instead, he was more at ease using his special close-combat techniques to take down his opponents. When he got serious, his moves closely resemble those of the Wing Chun style.
When he uses only his base power level, Hit was already strong enough to fight on even ground with the Super Saiyan Blue form of Vegeta. He then proceeded to defeat Vegeta swiftly. Granted, Vegeta had no previous knowledge of Hit’s special technique: Time Skip. While he is indeed a great fighter, his strength, however, lies in his unrivaled ability to kill. There were numerous instances during their fight that Hit could just kill Son Goku easily, if not for the no-killing rule of the tournament. Because of this fact, we all know that Hit with his killing moves is much more fearsome than the Hit not using them.
9. Kefla
The two strongest Saiyan fighters from Universe 6 have fused together to become this powerful warrior. The combined might of Caulifla and Kale has the ability and strength that can rival the strongest fighters from any universe. That’s not all, as this combination seems like it has no limit to its potential. After all, it is common knowledge that the Saiyans of Universe 6 have much greater inherent potential than those of Universe 7. Still, Kefla did not even need the God ki to push monsters like Vegeta or Goku through their limit. She could have been a strong candidate for the seat of the 3rd strongest fighter throughout the Tournament of Power. However, due to other characters receiving power boosts after her final fight, she has dropped down a few positions.
The Potara fusion that created Kefla is, according to Vados the Angel, stronger than the total of both Kale and Caulifla’s power tens of times. We all know that not every Potara fusion is equal. For instance, Kabito Kai did not have any big boost in power after the fusion. In addition, the characteristic of the Potara fusion is that the closer the two participants are, the higher the effectiveness will become. Thus, when Caulifla and Kale, whose compatibility is simply the best fused together, the effectiveness of that fusion can even come close to Vegito. Thus, while she is certainly not on Jiren’s level, she can indeed hold her own against the weaker Gods of Destruction.
10. Frieza
There is no way that the Emperor of Universe 7 does not make the list. He is without a doubt one of the most popular villains of the Dragon Ball Saga and he has the power to back it up. Frieza was born a mutant with power that is abnormally greater than anyone else in his whole race. Although his family members were all historically strong, the power that Frieza possessed was just on another entirely different level. Even at his weakest, Frieza can easily destroy an entire planet. His power was so vast that even Beerus was shocked to hear that someone other than himself had defeated Frieza. He also was so talented he achieved godly strength just by training by himself, without any outer help.
After he was resurrected and heard the news of Goku defeating the terrifying Majin Buu, he only trained for four months and unlocked a completely new form. With this new Golden form, he was noted as being able to instantly kill Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form. The extent of his power was clearer in the Tournament of Power. During the tournament, he easily toyed around with most of his opponents. The only reason Frieza was not higher on the list was the fact he was not able to go toe-on-toe with the others above him in ranking. He did not manage to fight God of Destruction Toppo, and Jiren, even in an exhausted state, still proves to be a much stronger fighter.
11. Gohan
We all know that this guy is a through and through pacifist with more interest in being a scholar than anything else. However, that does not take anything out of his incredible growth rate and innate talent. Being a hybrid between humans and Saiyan, Son Gohan possesses a dormant power that is seemingly limitless. As he got older, he gradually becomes more adept at digging this power out. However, it seems like he still can have a boost whenever he is raging or training. This is evident in the Dragon Ball Super series, as he was able to get back into form by spending a short amount of time training. Both Vegeta and Son Goku agreed that his potential exceeds theirs even after obtaining the Super Saiyan Blue form.
Gohan is at his strongest when he activates his Potential Unleashed state. During this state, he can go toe-to-toe with any sort of god-like powers. This was proven after Gohan successfully reactivated the form thanks to Piccolo’s help. In a test against Goku after reactivating the form, Gohan was able to fight on even ground. After Goku went Super Saiyan Blue, Gohan released all of his potential and was able to exchange powerful blows. However, he still lost when he forced Goku to use the Kaioken on his Super Saiyan Blue form. Thus, we can easily see that Gohan in his Potential Unleased form is easily stronger than most of the fighters throughout the tournament. Moreover, he can still raise his power easily with training.
12. Kid Buu
Even though this guy did not have a chance to participate in the Dragon Ball Super series, there is no denying his power. The most fearsome thing about him is the fact his power fluctuates depending on the one he absorbed. Thus, he can technically become as strong as the Gods of Destruction. One of the moments proving Kid Buu’s might was when he managed to push back the Super Spirit Bomb that Goku threw at him. This feat was unprecedented at the time and remained untouched until Jiren came along. It is a shame that we did not get any chance to see him in action again.
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