We're breaking down the top 10 battles from the original run of Dragon Ball Z.
Battle: The Legendary Super Saiyan: Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Future Trunks, and Piccolo VS Broly.
Impact: We saw what it truly takes to bring down the The Legendary Super Saiyan.
Why we love it: This one is a rare add from one of the DBZ film releases. We included it in the ranks, because it's rare to see all of the fighters working together all at once in battle. We got to see all of the attacks, strategies, and egos, all laid out at once on the big screen.
Battle: GOKU AND PICCOLO VS. RADITZ
Impact: This battle built upon legacy of the Saiyan race and teased what future threats were to come.
Why we love it: The brother dynamic between Goku & Raditz gave us more insight into Kararot's past. It was also great to see Goku & Piccolo team up in battle. This all culminated with Goku's ultimate sacrifice. This battle started the foundation of Goku & Piccolo's friendship moving forward.
Battle:
Battle: GOHAN VS. SUPER BUU
Impact: This battle finally gave Gohan some runway as the most dominant Z-Fighter.
Why we love it: There are only a few moments after Gohan stepped up versus Cell that we get to see his true potential. It was great to see Gohan display his true strength against the main villain in the saga.
Battle:
Battle: TRUNKS VS. FRIEZA AND KING COLD
Impact: Opening up the world to time travel gave the fans some interesting insight into the future of our main characters. When Trunks easily handled Frieza it perfectly raised the stakes, as well as teased the upcoming threats of the next saga.
Why we love it: Trunk immediately became a fan favorite upon his arrival. If being introduced to another super saiyan wasn't enough, he also wielded a badass sword.
Battle:
Battle: VEGETA VS. ANDROID 19
Impact: We finally got to see Vegeta ascend to Super Saiyan form.
Why we love it: Sometimes, we don't need a battle to last 4 episodes. Sometimes, it's great to see a classic beat down, especially from Vegeta and his quest for supreme power.
Battle:
Battle: Piccolo Vs. Android 17
Impact: We got to see Piccolo be a main focus of the battle for the first time
Why we love it: Piccolo has and will always be a fan favorite, but It's hard to keep Piccolo relevant in the never-ending arms race of saiyan power. The show has had to get really creative to justify the Namekian's continued escalation of power. This was one of the rare moments later in the series that we got to see Piccolo go toe-to-toe with one of the show's big bad and hold his own.
Battle:
Battle: GOKU VS. MAJIN VEGETA
Impact: Vegeta's return to the dark side.
Why we love it: The show has constantly teased Vegeta returning as a villain, but it's hard to do that in a craftful way without destroying all of his character development to date. This was the perfect excuse to temporary turn the character, just so we could see another face off between these two epic rivals.
Battle: GOKU VS. VEGETA
Impact: The birth of Goku vs Vegeta's rivalry.
Why we love it: At the time, fans might not have known what a great character we had in Vegeta. That being said, his perfect portrayal as a villain made it that much greater as he slowly turned to the good side. This built the foundation for the show's perfect anti-hero.
Battle: Goku vs Frieza
Impact: We saw Goku ascend to Super Saiyan for the first time.
Why we love it: Frieza will always go down as Goku's greatest rival. This is probably why the show has tried to get creative with weaving the character back into its storylines. We've had some fun battles leading up to this point in the saga, but this finale took it to another level. This was truly a fight to the death match, all while the planet was a ticking time bomb. This set the bar for all future battles to come.
Battle: Gohan vs Cell
Impact: We got to see Gohan ascend to his true power and take down one of the biggest villains of the series.
Why we love it: This truly may be the highpoint of the series. Gohan was truly the last man standing and he rised to the challenge. With the threat of Cell, the Father/Son Kamehameha, added emotion of Android 16, this was the perfect ending to a possibly the best saga in the series.
Image Credits: TOEI ANIMATION
