Although Dragon Ball Z featured iconic heroes like Goku and Piccolo, several of the anime’s villains are celebrated just the same. From Frieza to Majin Buu, Akira Toriyama developed ruthless antagonists, and although the show ended in the ’90s, his creations are still regarded as some of the best antagonists in anime history.
As mentioned in the headline, this list will cover the main villains in the Dragon Ball Z anime — not secondary antagonists who were around for only a few episodes (sorry Garlic Jr., Mecha Frieza, and King Cold). Also, none of the Dragon Ball Z movies’ villains will appear in this article either, even though Broly is one of the series’ most legendary big bads.
In its 291 episodes and nine seasons, over a dozen powerful foes appeared to challenge the Z-Fighters while fueling their ambitions. So, with that being said, let’s get into who they are.
Raditz
Goku’s brother Raditz was Dragon Ball Z’s first evil-doer. He appeared on Earth at the start of season 1 to figure out why his brother hadn’t destroyed the planet — the mission “Kakarot” was sent to accomplish. Once he made contact with Goku and Piccolo, who were forced to team up to combat the powerful threat, Raditz tried to recruit Goku to join his conquering campaign as one of the remaining four pure-blooded Saiyans.
Of course, Goku didn’t accept Raditz’s plan of universal domination and a battle ensued that left both brothers dead.
Goku ultimately caught Raditz in a hold and allowed Piccolo to pierce them both with his Special Beam Cannon attack. Before he died, Raditz warned Piccolo about his two Saiyan comrades and the vengeance they’d take out on him and the rest of Earth.
Vegeta and Nappa
Armed with the knowledge that two Saiyans would arrive on Earth in one year, the Z-Fighters prepared to counter the threat. As Raditz promised, Vegeta and Nappa showed up hell-bent on destroying the planet — as well as collecting the Dragon Balls in a scheme to wish for immortality.
Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha met the two armored warriors when they arrived. The “Prince of Saiyans” initially allowed Nappa, his hulking right-hand man, to take on Earth’s protectors after Yamcha was killed by their Saibamen. Piccolo, Tien, and Chiaotzu all perished fighting Nappa, and things looked incredibly bleak for the remaining two Z-Fighters until Goku showed up to save the day.
He quickly rendered Nappa immobile before Vegeta finished off his follower. Then, the classic first battle between Goku and Vegeta kicked off. They gave each other all they could handle, and, with the help of clutch moments from Krillin, Gohan, and Yajirobe, Vegeta was finally forced to retreat and leave Earth.
Besides Majin Buu, Vegeta is the only main antagonist in Dragon Ball Z to turn to the good side. He worked with the Z-Fighters during the next saga and eventually became a beloved anti-hero.
Frieza and the Ginyu Force
In perhaps the most famous saga in Dragon Ball Z, the Z-Fighters battled Frieza and his elite henchman — the Ginyu Force — on Planet Namek in season 2. The Ginyu Force, led by Captain Ginyu, was summoned to the planet after Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta foiled Frieza’s plan of capturing the Namekian Dragon Balls.
Although Vegeta quickly defeated the weakest member of the crew, Guldo, the Saiyan prince was no match for the powerhouse Recoome — and neither were Krillin and Gohan. But, in one of the anime’s favorite tropes, Goku showed up in the nick of time, incapacitating Recoome and Burter. Forced to flee, Jeice met up with Captain Ginyu and informed him of his teammates’ defeat. Goku and the others eventually fought the final two members of the Ginyu Force, with Vegeta killing Jeice and Captain Ginyu changing bodies with a frog, thanks to Goku’s quick thinking.
Then, on came Frieza — an immeasurably powerful foe the likes the Z-Fighters had never seen.
In a long, brutal battle that included Frieza killing both Krillin and Vegeta — as well as blowing up Planet Namek — Goku ultimately turned into a Super Saiyan and silenced the emperor.
The Androids and Dr. Gero
The Androids Saga produced the one and only home-grown threat on Dragon Ball Z. Dr. Gero, an enemy from Goku’s past, created Android 16, 17, 18, and 19, to destroy him.
Luckily for the Z-Fighters, Trunks traveled back in time to warn them about the Androids’ existence, which gave them three years to prepare for the impending invasion. They first battled the clown-like Android 19, as well as Android 20, who was Dr. Gero himself. After they were easily handled by Vegeta, Dr. Gero retreated to his lab and awakened Android 17 and 18 – the two machines that were responsible for wiping out the Z-Fighters during future Trunks’ original timeline.
And although they had three years to prepare for the black and blonde-haired Androids, the heroes were no match for their mechanical prowess — especially with Goku out of commission with a heart problem. First, 17 and 18 killed Dr. Gero so he couldn’t put them back to sleep. Then, they activated Android 16, which turned out to be a pacifist. After 18 had her way with Vegeta, the Androids made it clear that their intent was to kill Goku — something they were programmed to do.
The Android’s campaign was ultimately disrupted by Cell; however, as the bug-like supervillain absorbed both 17 and 18. He eventually killed Android 16 during the “Cell Games” as well.
Cell
Perhaps the most famous pure villain behind Frieza, Cell was another of Dr. Gero’s creations — and he pushed Dragon Ball Z’s heroes to the brink. Cell first appeared during the Androids Saga, and his main mission was to absorb Android 17 and Android 18 to achieve his perfect form. He eventually did, evolving into Perfect Cell and threatening the universe’s existence.
He hosted the Cell Games, challenging Goku and others to meet him in a tournament-style competition. The Z-Fighters answered the call but were considerably outmatched by Perfect Cell, as well as his Cell Junior creations. However, Goku had banked on Gohan finally being able to unleash his hidden power, which he did.
Gohan obliterated the Cell Juniors and ultimately, Perfect Cell. In a final bid to exterminate the world, Cell, who had regressed to his previous form, blew himself up. But, before he could destroy Earth, Goku used Instant Transmission to take Cell to King Kai’s planet. Shortly after, the cold villain reappeared on Earth in his Perfect Cell form, but Gohan decimated him with a one-handed Kamehameha wave.
Babidi and Dabura
Badidi and Dabura are two aliens who showed up on Earth during the World Tournament Saga intending to revive Majin Buu. Besides releasing Majin Buu’s terror onto the planet’s inhabitants, Babidi — a small, evil wizard — is best remembered for casting a spell on Vegeta and turning him into Majin Vegeta. Dabura, the towering, right-hand man of Babidi, was known as the “King of the Demon Realm” and was controlled by Badidi’s power. He used his spit at his main attack, turning the likes of Krillin and Piccolo into stone.
Both Babidi and Dabura are eventually killed by the pink monster they hatched. Noticing the big-bellied warrior’s untameable nature, Dabura warned Babidi that he couldn’t control Majin Buu like his other followers and he’d lead to their downfall.
And after a brief fight, Majin Buu turned Dabura into a giant cookie and ate him. Later on, Goku helped persuade Majin Buu to betray Babidi after saying he was too powerful to be controlled by a cowardly villain. After Goku used his Instant Transmission technique to exit the battlefield, Babidi scolded Majinn Buu — and it was for the last time. Having enough of the wizard’s demands, Majin Buu grabbed Babidi by the throat and punched his head right off his body, sending him to Hell.
Majin Buu
The final main antagonist of Dragon Ball Z is Majin Buu, who is also the most powerful force the Z-Fighters faced. He had several forms, beginning with his first: the chubby, eccentric, and childlike warrior who was severely underestimated at first. After defeating the heroes in their initial showdown, Majin Buu wreaked havoc on cities while the Z-Fighters regrouped and Trunks and Goten practiced their fusion technique.
After Babidi was killed, Mr. Satan befriended Majin Buu, which halted the pink monster’s terror. The two would hang out with a puppy, Bee, and they enjoyed the simple life until a gunman shot both Mr. Satan and Bee, causing Majin Buu to manifest Evil Buu. He turned the original into chocolate and ate him, creating the Super Buu form. More powerful than ever, Super Buu resumed his villainous ways.
In a long arc that saw the maniacal Super Buu squaring up with the likes of Gotenks — Trunks and Goten’s fused form — and absorbing several Z-Fighters, this form was ultimately stopped by Goku and Vegeta. That wasn’t the end of Majin Buu; however, as he was forced into the Kid Buu form.
After more ups and downs, Goku finally silenced Kid Buu with his patented Spirit Bomb — thus saving the world one final time on Dragon Ball Z. With the evil extracted out of him, Majin Buu’s child-like form then joined the cast as a good guy.