Summary
- Goku is no longer the strongest character in the series after the other main warriors caught up.
- Building up other characters like Vegeta and Gohan has led to a richer narrative.
- Black Frieza is currently the strongest mortal in the series, surpassing the main Z-Fighters.
The strength of characters, particularly the Saiyans, has been the main conversation in the Dragon Ball fandom ever since the franchise began to head in its current direction. Many critics of the series state that the story takes a backseat to the power scaling and battles themselves, and while such criticism does sound harsh on the face of it, there is somewhat of a semblance of truth here.
Battles and the pursuit of greater strength are undoubtedly the central concepts of the Dragon Ball series, with the main characters being defined by their drive to improve themselves. The greatest example of this is the protagonist Goku, who had built himself up to become the strongest mortal in the universe. However, while this has been central to his journey, he is no longer the strongest hero, so let's go over why this is a good thing.
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Goku Is No Longer The Strongest Character In The Series
The Building Up Of Others
|
Goku's First Appearance |
Dragon Ball, Episode 1, "The Legend of the Dragon Balls" |
|---|---|
|
Strongest Form |
Mastered Ultra Instinct |
Even from the early days of the Dragon Ball franchise, Goku has always embodied the role of a protector, whether it was for his friends or even the planet itself. His beginnings were humble, since he was raised by Grandpa Gohan and taught the fundamental values that still influence him and his journey to this day. However, the start of Dragon Ball Z took a significant shift from the tone of the original series.
This was emphasized by a greater focus on fighting and the need to get stronger and Goku, being the protagonist of the story, was always relied upon as the greatest warrior on Earth. Eventually, he would reaffirm this position when transformations became the norm, since his iconic Super Saiyan form achieved in his battle against Frieza would prop him up as the most powerful character in the universe at that point. While these rankings would change a little in the Android Saga, it ultimately led to Goku being back on top.
Power comes in response to a need, not a desire. You have to create that need.
This is how Z ended, with Super Saiyan 3 Goku being the pinnacle of strength and the bar that everyone else strove to meet. With Dragon Ball Super, however, another drastic change was made, one in which the fan-favorite character Vegeta shared the spotlight with his rival, and the story continually built up both of their strengths together. This decision was loved by fans as they felt that the story was fleshing out Vegeta to be more of a deuteragonist than just another supporting character.
In the Tournament of Power, Goku would leave everyone in the dust by unlocking his Ultra Instinct form, once again putting him as the strongest mortal in the entire multiverse. However, as the story stands now, the rest of the main warriors of Universe 7, namely Vegeta, Gohan, Broly, and Piccolo, have all unlocked their own transformations that have brought them up to the same tier as Goku, with variations in their power.
This is one of the best decisions made in the franchise's history. It shows that Goku is no longer the single strongest or the sole main character anymore, and that the story will henceforth place an equal amount of focus and responsibility on each of these 5 characters. This will ultimately lead to a better narrative and a fresher take on much of the future conflicts of Dragon Ball, since the main characters are all at an equal level of strength that's enough to stand up to the greatest threats facing the multiverse.
With Vegeta's Ultra Ego, Gohan's Beast form, Broly's Full Powered Super Saiyan, and Piccolo's Orange form, the rest of the main cast has confidently reached the same tier as Ultra Instinct Goku, although there are slight variations among this tier between the characters themselves. Such a decision will undoubtedly lead to richer stories and better narrative developments, since the story would build them all up together.
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So Who's The Strongest Character Of Them All?
The Truth Of The Most Powerful
- While all these characters are powerful, Black Frieza is the strongest mortal in the series.
- Many think he's on the level of Beerus.
The debates among the fans of the franchise continue to rage on regarding who the strongest of them all truly is. Some give the advantage to Goku or Vegeta due to their experience, while others talk about the unparalleled potential of Gohan and Broly being far superior if they were to fight. However, the truth is that all five of these heroes are roughly in the same tier of strength. The only thing close to a confirmation that fans have is the statement made by Akira Toriyama regarding Gohan's strength being the greatest.
Gohan is actually stronger than anyone... Or so it's said, but lately, he hasn't really gotten a chance to shine.
However, it's a fairly vague statement that could be interpreted in different ways according to many fans, so they don't focus on it too much. What is confirmed, however, is the fact that Black Frieza is the strongest mortal in the entire multiverse at the current moment, being powerful enough to defeat Goku and Vegeta in their strongest states with a single punch. Whatever the level of everyone else may be, the truth is that they all need to work together to defeat the Galactic Tyrant.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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Dragon Ball Super
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2015 - 2018
