For dozens of episodes, Dragon Ball told the story of Goku, Krillin and their friends. But many secondary, tertiary and even side characters appeared alongside them. Some have been forgotten, perhaps unfairly.
This is a small tribute to those forgotten characters that you may not remember and who in some ways could have had more prominent roles.
Yawara bear
Episode 20: The Elimination Round
One of the many participants in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. Aside from the winners, it's hard to remember all the fighters, but this one was one of the most forgotten. His distinguishing feature is that he is a bear man in a judo uniform, which is perhaps why he was nicknamed the Yawara Bear for unleashing some Dragon Ball toys.
At that time, Yawara the manga was already coming out so that could be the answer to the mystery. He is defeated by Krillin and legendary Dragon Ball the hero wins easily. With his bear body, it is possible that he could have been stronger. One of his toy appearances is as a greaser figure in an attack stance.
Thief boy
Episode 30: Pilaf and the Mystery Force
It was September 17, 1986, when Thief Boy was introduced to Japanese television audiences. That's it, nameless. A petty thief who only wanted to steal Goku's things to sell. Naturally, he didn't know what he was getting into. Thief Boy wasn't exactly Aladdin, though that didn't stop him from taking the Dragon Radar and selling it at an antique store.
He gets almost nothing, but enough to buy something to eat. He's an orphan, poor, and stinks, which is why Goku manages to find him. When the hero finds him and gets information about where his Dragon Radar is, Thief Boy never appears again in the series. We wonder what happened to him. Did he succeed? He's a character we sometimes think back to, and he's a little sad about it. He wasn't a hero destined for a big arc, but there was more to come.
Mother with sunglasses
Episode 43: A Trip to the City and Episode 118: Prelude to Vengeance
Happy and proud mother. He appears on several occasions in the series and it is clear that he has a large family. She is a modern mother, wearing sunglasses, which have always been an important addition to Toriyama's drawings, not only in Dragon Ball, but also in other famous works. She started with red hair and ended up blonde.
New questions added!
GameRant Quiz
Start
Easy (15s) Medium (10s) Hard (5s) Permadeath (5s)
It also appears in the manga. Some people think she was a spy and had some hidden story that justified her constant presence. But let's say she is a mother walking with her children in the middle of a world of battles, aliens and destruction.
Soldier picking his nose
Episode 46: Bulma's Big Mistake
The General Blue Saga opens and puts this villain front and center in a heartbreaking scene. One of his soldiers picks his nose casually at his post and Blue is furious. He orders his execution within seconds.
Blue is disgusted to see him playing with his nose, but also annoyed that his soldiers are wasting their time instead of looking for the Dragon Balls. The soldier tells him he has a wife and children and begs for his life, but that's not enough to let him go. He is then executed by gunshot. What will happen to his family? Executed for picking his nose? Dragon Ball he clearly knew how to create villains.
Mohawked Fighter
Episode 85: Preliminary Peril and Episode 118: Prelude to Vengeance
The best example of how bad decisions in life can lead you down the path of failure. Known as the Mohawked Fighter, this character first appeared in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. He likes to show off his skills, but confronts Yamche and the hero wins.
Yamcha tried not to humiliate the Mohawked Fighter by controlling his power, but that didn't stop the character from continuing to make bad decisions. In episode 118, he is part of a gang of criminals trying to break into Kame House. There he meets Yamcha again. Bad news for criminals.
The unnamed warrior
Episode 107: Tien's Atonement
When Tien Shinhan was evil to the core, he did terrible things. In combat, he callously wounded a warrior and broke 13 of his bones. He later encounters him while searching for the dragon balls to save the world.
This unnamed fighter is a character that reflects an ordinary human being, a family man trying to provide for his loved ones. When he meets the man who kept him in recovery for two years, he reacts badly. Everyone would react badly. This leads Tien to beg and apologize as sincerely as possible to earn forgiveness. Eventually he succeeds. Humanity wins.
Captain of the Guard
Episode 114: Conquest and Power
King Piccolo also did terrible things and killed many innocent people. The Captain of the Guard was one of those characters who tried to do his job until the very end. To protect King Furry, he tried to use his weapon to kill King Piccolo, but it was obvious that he would fail.
In a tense moment, even as King Furry begged the evil Piccolo to stop, Piccolo threw him off the ship. He killed him without thinking, making it clear that King Piccolo had come to terrorize the planet.
Piccolo adoptive parents
Episode 123: Lost and Found
With this episode of the anime featuring an older couple made for the series, it's easy to come up with all sorts of familiar stories. From the legend of Momotaro, in which a couple finds a baby inside a giant peach, to the story of Superman. In the end, it's a pretty classic origin story that's been seen on several occasions.
These two elderly people find Piccolo's egg and decide to take him home. When it hatches, it quickly sets the couple's house on fire. He is later seen in his clothes and already planning his revenge on Goku. This origin story gave young Piccolo a little more humanity.
Chu Lee
Episode 127: Faster Than Lightning
This girl only appears in one episode, but she is extremely important in it Dragon Ball. The reason for this is that even at such a young age, he has the ability to sense the Ki around him. This is something that Goku discovers and quickly masters, allowing him to overcome one of his most difficult challenges of the time.
Chuu Lee saves Goku and teaches him that it is possible to sense energy without seeing living beings nearby. In her case, it's with her beloved bird. This will be a lesson for Goku that will help him in the future. It never happened in the manga, but it's part of the anime's charm.
Corinth
Episode 128: Secrets of the Forests
Another character that serves a great purpose: to demonstrate it to the world Dragon Ballthere are people with exceptional abilities who live peacefully. He is an elderly man, Éclair's father, and a proud master fisherman.
Goku discovers that he is the master he was looking for to learn more in his training. Corinth's ability lies in his great ability of concentration, which allows him to perceive everything around him and even disappear, merging with his surroundings. A charming character that brings realism to the world Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball
- Release date
-
1986 – 1989
- Network
-
Fuji TV
- directors
-
Osamu Kasai, Daisuke Nishio, Kazuhisa Takenouchi, Minoru Okazaki, Mitsuo Hashimoto, Yoshihiro Ueda, Yutaka Satoh, Yûji Endô
- Writers
-
Akira Toriyama, Keiji Terui, Toshiki Inoue, Takao Koyama, Michiru Shimada, Yasushi Hirano, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Yuichiro Oguro, Miho Maruo, Shunichi Yukimuro
-
Masako Nozawa
Son Goku (voice)
-
Mayumi Tanaka
Krillin (voice)
