Dragon Ball is one of the world’s most popular franchises. Originally released in 1984, the series made its way to American audiences and into the hearts of kids all over the world.
Spanning multiple manga, animated shows, video games and more, Dragon Ball helped bring the art of Japanese cartoons to a western audience. Inspired by Journey to the West, the series revolves around main protagonist Goku as he seeks to defend the world from evil and grow stronger with every adversary he faces. Side characters were continuously added and now the show is bigger than ever. With more movies, games, and TV shows on the horizon, it’s only getting more popular.
The franchise kicked off with Dragon Ball, which followed Goku’s youthful adventures with Bulma to find the seven dragon balls. This series focused more on youth and adventure while the subsequent series, Dragon Ball Z, shifted to a storyline more centered on combat. This has continued up through the latest series, Dragon Ball Super, in which the fighting elements have been cranked up to eleven.
While past episodes had focused on Goku becoming a legendary Super Saiyan, new episodes have had the titular hero attaining the powers of a God. As such, the stories have not focused on romance too much, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. The series has seen its fair share of romantic couples, with several relationships lasting up into the series today. This doesn’t mean that each one of them has been so beneficial, though.
Here is a look at 12 Couples That Hurt Dragon Ball (And 8 That Saved It).
20. Hurt: Yamcha/Bulma
Yamcha and Bulma first meet as teenagers in the original Dragon Ball series. Bulma is smitten right away, while Yamcha has difficulty returning the feelings due to his fear of women. Despite this, the two ultimately begin a relationship but from the bat it is riddled with problems.
Bulma grows irritated with Yamcha always training away somewhere and his constant flirtation with other women.
She still tries to mend the relationship, which eventually comes to a head after the arrival of Vegeta. Her feelings begin to grow for the Saiyan, and Yamcha attempts to win her back to no avail. The two eventually break up after several years of dating, but with the amount of problems they put up with, it probably should have ended much sooner.
19. Helped: Goku/Chi-chi
The Dragon Ball universe is full of many couples, but none more notable than Goku and Chi-Chi. Goku’s naivety and recklessness are staples of his personality, but sometimes they can get him into a lot of trouble. Luckily, he has Chi-Chi around to be a voice of reason, steering him away from getting himself or his kids hurt.
The two met as children when Goku saved Chichi’s life. He unknowingly promised to marry her because he believed that a bride was a type of food. Although he was unsure of his feelings at first, he has come to truly love her in time, cementing them as one of the first and longest relationships in the Dragon Ball universe.
18. Hurt: Goten/Valese
Dragon Ball GT wasn’t the most loved show by fans. Many bizarre elements were used, such as Goku becoming a kid again to defeat an enemy named Baby with his granddaughter Pan and Trunks. On top of all of this, the show was made without any involvement from original creator Akira Toriyama. The show was so negatively received that the new Dragon Ball Super is meant as a true Z sequel to replace GT.
Another odd element to this series was the characterization. Goten begins a relationship with a girl named Valese, a girl who is much like Videl in her upbringing but not nearly as memorable.
She rarely appears, and when she does, she comes across with a certain air.
She’s ultimately a good person, but the relationship was so forgettable that it was dropped in Dragon Ball Super.
17. Helped: Vegeta/Bulma
Oh, these two. It was a big surprise to everyone when the biggest hotheads of Dragon Ball Z got together, especially considering the incredibly rocky start to the future relationship.
Upon arriving on Earth for the Dragon Balls, Vegeta destroys many of the Z fighters– one such fighter being Bulma’s boyfriend at the time, Yamcha. She was there to witness the whole thing and immediately developed a disdain for him.
Through many adventures during the series, the two were constantly going at it. Their stubborn attitudes had them bickering often, but they eventually grew into a sort of affection for each other. The two got together and they have been one of the show’s staple couples ever since.
16. Hurt: Tien/Launch
Launch has been one of the oddest characters to ever come from the Dragon Ball universe. She is the physical embodiment of a split personality, with a good and a bad side. Her good side has dark hair and is beyond sweet to her friends while her bad side is an angry blonde who will not hesitate to unload a round of lead on a situation where she doesn’t feel comfortable. Both personalities come out with just a sneeze.
Despite her ever-changing personas, she develops big feelings for Tein, so much that she even comes to live with him and Chiaotzu. He is interested at first but her frequent changes begin to irritate the Z fighter, leading her to eventually leave.
15. Helped: Krillin/Android 18
These two are also a couple who had quite an odd beginning. Krillin first met Android 18 when she was released by Dr. Gero to destroy the world’s population. Initially, she paid no mind to the Z fighter, as she was more focused on hunting down Vegeta. Before she left, 18 gave Krillin a kiss as a goodbye token, causing him to freeze up and doubt if she really was that evil.
His feelings were exposed when he failed to detonate the bombs planted inside the androids and was visibly shaken as Cell absorbed 18.
After Cell’s defeat and 18’s resurrection, Krillin romantically pursues her until she decides to marry him.
The two had a child, Marron, and quietly settled down to live a calmer life raising their daughter.
14. Hurt: Gohan/Angela
Gohan and Angela were a very brief couple during his time as the Great Saiyaman. She blackmails Gohan to take her on a date, telling him that she knows his secret. Believing her to know his secret identity, he accepts in order to keep her quiet. Later, it is revealed that she didn’t know who he was and her “secret” was her discovering that he wore teddy bear underwear. She also misunderstands the relationship between Gohan and Videl, subsequently dumping him.
The boy is left humiliated, but relieved that she didn’t actually know his secret.
This eventually led to Gohan falling for Videl, a pairing which makes much more sense. Gohan is way too good for Angela.
13. Helped: Gohan/Videl
Out of all the couples on this list, these two got together a little more normally. First meeting each other in high school, Gohan avoided Videl due to his shyness and inexperience with romance. She was initially hostile to him, demanding to know more about his life and how he was able to fly. Gohan reluctantly agreed and the two began to develop feelings for each other.
After the 25th World Tournament and the defeat of Majin Buu, the two became a couple and had a daughter named Pan. Gohan took a route very different from his father Goku and became a scholar to provide for his family. However, Videl encouraged him to keep training so he could protect them and the two remain incredibly committed to each other.
12. Hurt: Raditz/Princess Snake
This is a weird one. Princess Snake is a character who appears in Dragon Ball Z. She lives in a castle along Snake Way, one which Goku mistakes for King Kai’s home on his way. Princess Snake appears to him as a beautiful woman to lure him into her castle, but quickly reveals her true nature and tries to trap him in.
It is revealed in Dragon Ball Z: The Distant Legend of Goku that Goku’s brother Raditz had some form of relationship with her. Since he is one of the first characters to perish and travel Snake Way in the show, it makes sense that he would have stayed.
However, this also means that Raditz was allowed to travel Snake Way instead of being sent to Hades, which is something that should have happened to his character due to his evil nature.
11. Helped: Future Trunks/Mai
Time travel in any show can be incredibly confusing, with Dragon Ball Z being no exception to this. The element is introduced when Trunks, Vegeta and Bulma’s future son, arrives from a later time to help the current group of Z fighters stop Cell’s destruction. Timelines are then split between the desolate future that Trunks exists in to the current time where Trunks is a small child.
Following Future Trunks’ defeat of Cell and the Androids, he heads back to his current time to start rebuilding the world with the help of Mai. Although the two deny their relationship being anything more than friends, they begin to show their true feelings upon the arrival of Goku Black in Dragon Ball Super.
After Goku Black’s defeat, the couple decide to live in a separate timeline, free from the destruction that has plagued their current world. Confusing, right?
10. Hurt: Mr. Satan/Miss Piiza
Miss Piiza is the very flamboyant and ruthless promotional agent of Mr. Satan during the Z series. She promotes the fighter during his appearances and truly believes it is him that is winning the matches.
During the series, it is hinted at that she is having an affair with the famous fighter, a revelation which is jarring.
Mr. Satan is a megalomaniac obsessed with fame and being the best fighter in the human world, but he still has a very loving and tender side to him. His relationship with his own promotional agent not only comes off as inappropriate and unlike him.
9. Helped: Bardock/Gine
Bardock and Gine were the couple that started it all. As the Saiyan parents of both Goku and Raditz, the two embody the traits that their sons would later inherit. Gine is very gentle and much less into fighting, while Bardock is a fierce warrior who is the true spirit of the Saiyan warrior race.
Knowing that the Saiyan race is about to be wiped out by the powerful Frieza, the two make a decision to send their sons off to different worlds as infiltration babies. Upon landing on Earth, Goku suffers a head injury, thus forgetting his mission to destroy the planet and in turn becomes its protector.
Though the two sent Goku away with more nefarious intentions, they were still proud of their son who went on to become one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
8. Hurt: Krillin/Maron
Krillin is one of the most endearing characters in the Dragon Ball series, so it was very surprising to everyone when he began dating Maron, a girl with all of the look,s but none of the personality or brains.
She regularly acts in a stuck-up manner, insulting other girls in the story like Bulma and Chi-Chi. Along with this, she also openly flirts with other guys despite being with Krillin.
Many of the other characters wonder why he is still with her and he eventually begins to doubt this himself.
Eventually, he breaks up with her, stating that he believes he is not good enough to be with her. Initially she is sad but gets over it quickly as a buff guy in a sports car rides up offering her ice cream. You’re better than that, Krillin!
7. Hurt: Android 21/Dr. Gero
Another tragic story, Android 21 is the result of Dr. Gero transforming his human wife into an android. While she was a human, her and Gero’s son lost his life. This led Gero to create Android 16 and convert his wife into one.
Not much is known about her life with Gero or even her life before she was an android.
She was finished by Gero’s super computer after his death and has been a force of destruction ever since. While not much is not about her previous life, not much needs to be known. She was transformed into an android by her own husband, proving that he had a lot more things than love on his mind.
6. Helped: Dr. Brief/Panchy
Despite being a comic relief couple of the Dragon Ball universe, there is a lot to love about Dr. Brief and his wife Panchy. The two are the parents of Bulma and Tights, but they love to offer help to the many characters throughout the show.
They’re both displayed as being blissfully unaware of serious situations, such as when Majin Buu is at large. When they are offered a chance to stay on Kami’s Lookout, so they can avoid the destruction, the couple decline so that they can stay and look after their pets.
Dr. Brief’s company, Capsule Corp also assists the heroes in many ways on their journeys, and they offer hospitality to any character that wonders in. They are the delightful comic relief, and also some of the most loving, fearless people in Dragon Ball.
5. Hurt: Tarble/Gure
Tarble and Gure are a notable couple in the Dragon Ball universe in that their pairing is just so weird!
Gure is a short, white alien with big eyes and a purple outfit. Tarble is Vegeta’s estranged brother who looks very similar to the warrior.
The Saiyan is sent to Gure’s planet by King Vegeta, where he meets the alien and the two eventually marry.
They make their way to Earth in order to acquire the assistance of Vegeta with ridding their home of Frieza’s henchmen. Upon meeting his new sister-in-law, Vegeta is taken aback, but greets his brother’s wife with respect.
Many of the other characters react with surprise as well, leaving one question to be asked, why do Saiyans choose such weird partners?
4. Helped: Ox-King/Ox-Queen
The story of the Ox-King and his wife is a rather sad but touching one. Though not much is known about the Ox-King’s wife, it is revealed in Dragon Ball that she perished of an illness shortly after their daughter Chi-Chi was born. Her wedding dress is kept in the Ox-King’s castle to be used by Chi-Chi one day when she is married.
The only time she is ever seen in the series is in a painting hanging at the Ox-King’s castle. She is shown to be holding Chichi and has the same hairstyle as her daughter. Despite this, her face is not shown.
Regardless, the Ox-King and Chichi both talk about her with great admiration.
3. Hurt: Buu/Miss Buu
Like a few other entries on this list, these two are also an odd case. Miss Buu is a female Majin that is created by the original Buu after he reads one of Mr. Satan’s adult books called Bob & Margaret.
Buu longs for love and splits into two Buus, resulting in the creation of Miss Buu.
During the same year, the couple desires a child just like humans have and read Mr. Satan’s book again to find out how. They later use the “love-love beam” to give birth to their Baby Buu. The family multiplies like rabbits, so quickly that they are eventually recognized as their own race.
None of this has ever taken place in canon. The story has only ever appeared in Dragon Ball Online, and it’s not hard to see why.
2. Hurt: General Blue/Obotchaman
Forget the weird entries that have come before, this one takes the cake. General Blue is introduced as a high-ranking officer in the Red Ribbon Army. He becomes annoyed with Goku’s easy defeat of the army and decides to take him on.
After the ensuing battle, Blue attempts to escape Goku, only to forget that he is flying and crashes into a mountain. He lands in Penguin Village and considers conquering it due to its size. Blue steals a car which he later has fixed up by the Dr. Slump character Obotchaman.
The young robot fixes his car and General Blue finds himself attracted to Ombotchaman
While this was later changed in the dub to Blue believing Obotchaman was his little brother, it’s still incredibly messed up. Why they chose to include that in the first place, no one will ever know.
1. Hurt: Mira/Towa
Mira and Towa are a special case on this list in that they are fairly new characters that have mainly appeared in Dragon Ball video games. They are a couple from the demon realm that have no greater goal than to be the most powerful beings in the universe, and to wipe out anyone standing in their way.
Along with being rather uninteresting characters, their motivation rings hollow as it has been seen in Dragon Ball so many times before.
It’s rather flat and in turn makes them very uninteresting enemies. On top of this, it is revealed that the couple had no interest in romance and only married due to similar goals. C’mon guys, you can do better than this!
Who’s your favorite couple in Dragon Ball? Let us know in the comments!
