Dragon Ball The One is a worldwide official popularity poll Dragon Ball website to determine the most popular character in the series. The poll officially opened on November 20th with over 200 characters to choose from, including some very obscure deep cuts like Mermaid Goku brings Master Roshi in the World Tournament Saga, a literal dolphin, and a blind boy cured by Majin Buu. The survey has gone through three different phases so far, with each round eliminating a huge number of characters.
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As Dragon Ball The One advances to its final round, with only 21 of the 212 characters remaining. Most of the top tips make perfect sense, but there are also some notable insults. Gotenks, Hercules, and all forms of Majin Buu were eliminated in favor of some very surprising characters that made it to the Top 20. The polls officially closed on December 24th, and now the final results are being tallied. Top 10 and #1 most popular Dragon Ball the all-time character will be announced at the official Dragon Ball YouTube Channel January 24, 2026.
Frieza is insulted while Raditz, Launch and Dr. Briefs' Cat officially advances to the final round
There are some surprising characters that managed to break into the Top 21. Slots 21 to 11 are as follows,
- 21. Android 17
- 20. Launch
- 19. Raditz
- 18. He saw
- 17. He got
- 16. Bulma's Family Cat
- 15. Tien Shinhan
- 14. Krillin
- 13. Chichi
- 12. Bulma
- 11. Frieza
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The fact that neither Frieza nor Krillin made the Top 10 is downright shocking. Frieza is regularly considered the most popular villain in the franchise – by a lot Dragon Ball Super brought him back three times in Resurrection F, the Tournament of Power, and the Granolah arc—but he was barely beaten by Yamcha and another DBZ quite the antagonist. Raditz and Launch's placement in the Top 20 is surprising, but undeserved given their early roles Dragon Ball Z and the original Dragon Ball.
Bulma's Family Cat is the only surviving meme pick in the poll, now that all the others have been removed. After being eliminated in the previous phase, Android 17 was brought back as a “revival pick”, securing the 21st place and the final phase of voting. Time will tell if he comes out of nowhere to a Tournament of Power style victory, but with the way the Top 10 is stacked, it doesn't look good.
Future Trunks, Bardock and Cell Just Barely Fail to Crack the Top 5
In a stunning upset, Future Trunks was completely pushed out of the Top 5. Slots 10 to 5 finished as,
- 10. Yamcha
- 9. Android 18
- 8. Cell
- 7. Bardock
- 6. Future Tribes
Cell defeating Frieza is surprising, but it makes some sense. Cell MAX isn't just the latest villain in the animated part of the game Dragon Ball SuperThe Cell Saga is a fan favorite story, especially in English-speaking countries. Most 90s kids who grew up watching Dragon Ball Z on Toonami they probably have more Cell nostalgia than Frieza. Unfortunately, that nostalgia wasn't enough to help Future Trunks, who was pushed out of the Top 5 by a wildly popular fusion. Another Cell Saga mainstay, Android 18, is remarkably the only female in the Top 10, but it makes sense since she's the strongest female character in Dragon Ball Z.
Bardock's placement is also not surprising. Despite his minimal role in the original series, Bardock is one of the best main characters DBZ movies (really a TV special) and they got a lot of attention in both Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super the manga is the Granolah arc. The biggest shock in the Top 10 is Yamcha's placement at all, but it's important to note that Yamcha was not only Goku's first opponent, but also the first character to actually defeat Goku. Maybe it's meme fodder, but it's nice to see Dragon Ball fans respect the name Yamcha.
Goku & Vegeta battle it out for #1 most popular Dragon Ball character
The actual TOP 5 is not surprising at all,
- 5. Vegito
- 4. Piccolo
- 3. Gohan
- 2. Weed
- 1. Goku
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Vegito is the single strongest character in Dragon Ball Z and the pairing of two of the most popular Saiyans in the series, so it makes sense that he would make it into the Top 5. Similarly, Piccolo is a much-loved character who has recently been a main character Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero alongside Gohan, and holds the notable distinction of being Akira Toriyama's favorite character. When it comes down to it, the final battle for #1 will be between Goku and Vegeta. Goku has been at the top of the charts since the poll started, but with less options to choose from, Vegeta could very easily pull off an upset and be crowned the most popular Dragon Ball character of all time.
Gohan was giving Vegeta a bit of grief in the previous round, but has since dropped to the Bottom 3. It's really Goku's battle to lose at this point, but the last time Goku and Vegeta faced off in Dragon Ball Super: Super HeroThe weed actually won. Who knows, Vegeta might even win the hearts of the fans again. Goku is more popular internationally, while English-speaking fans prefer Vegeta. Either way, only one Super Saiyan will claim that crown on January 24th. Sorry Piccolo.
- Release date
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1989 – 1996
- Network
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Fuji TV
- directors
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Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai
- Writers
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Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue
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Masako Nozawa
Son Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice)
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Ryo Horikawa
Vegeta (voice)
