Ranking Dragon Ball’s Most Disappointing Villain Transformations

Dragon Ball has left an undeniable mark on the anime industry and it’s celebrated for many diverse ideas and achievements. However, Dragon Ball is a series that’s often reduced to flashy transformations that help characters reach new heights in battle. The heroes’ transformations, whether it’s Super Saiyan, Ultra Instinct, or Gohan Beast, are groundbreaking accomplishments that further reinforce why they’re the universe’s greatest protectors. Alternatively, Dragon Ball’s villains are also no stranger to intimidating transformations that they cycle through before they reach peak power.

At this point, Dragon Ball fans practically expect each new antagonist to experience at least one totemic transformation before everything is said and done. These villainous transformations are held up to high expectations, and it’s important that they come across as both strong and scary. Many Dragon Ball villains aren’t at their best until they’ve reached their final form, but there are also plenty of questionable transformations that miss the mark and feel like a step backwards.

10 Semi-Perfect Cell Is An Awkward Design That’s Sandwiched Between Two Superior Forms

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 152, “Say Goodbye, 17”; Manga Debut: Dragon Ball Z, Chapter 179 (Dragon Ball Chapter 373), “The New Cell”

Dragon Ball Z’s Cell is a worthy successor to Frieza, and he’s a curious case of a villain whose stronger forms are the direct result of him acquiring the proper fuel source. Semi-Perfect Cell is Cell’s second form (not including his laval state) and the result of his successful absorption of Android 17. Imperfect Cell is one of Akira Toriyama’s most striking and unique designs and he truly looks like a monster from out of a horror film. Perfect Cell also commands a certain level of gravitas and feels like the final state of a monster who increasingly edges closer to a human appearance.

Semi-Perfect Cell, while stronger than his predecessor, is a more brutish form that’s not as distinct as either of his other transformations. It’s the briefest of Cell’s transformations and it feels like the series rushes to Perfect Cell in order to scrub this transformation from everyone’s memories. It’s curious to note that Semi-Perfect Cell was actually Toriyama’s favorite design for the villain and what he envisioned for his final form. It’s why this design makes a prominent return in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero with Cell Max.

9 Kid Buu Is A Subversive Regression That Comes Across As Unnecessary

Anime: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 276, “Evil Kid Buu!”; Manga Debut: Dragon Ball Z, Chapter 314 (Dragon Ball Chapter 508), “The Boo Of Pure Evil”

Majin Buu is Dragon Ball Z’s final villain and another unique instance of an antagonist who undergoes multiple transformations. What’s interesting about Buu is that several of these new forms manifest as independent individuals and there’s even a battle that breaks out between Good Buu and Evil Buu, which culminates in Super Buu’s creation after the latter consumes the former. Super Buu is genuinely intimidating, whether he’s in his standard form or any of his absorption-based variations. However, a literal journey into the belly of the beast results in a vicious metamorphosis into the villain’s final form, Kid Buu.

Kid Buu doesn’t look dissimilar to Super Buu, only he’s significantly smaller and even more feral in nature. There’s an intentional effort from Kid Buu’s design to lead his targets into a false sense of relief, which is temporarily experienced by Goku and Vegeta when they first lay eyes on the tiny terror. Kid Buu proves that he’s just as strong and speedy as his predecessor, but this doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a lackluster design that feels like an afterthought instead of the character’s logical conclusion. A small villain is an interesting change of pace, but that alone is not enough to redeem the transformation.

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z: The Return Of Cooler; Manga Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Meteor Mission!, Chapter 4, “Surrender And Proposal”

Cooler, Frieza’s older brother, is a popular Dragon Ball Z movie villain who is nearly as successful as Broly and a non-canonical character who fans are hopeful will show up in Dragon Ball Super. Cooler’s Revenge makes its mark by showing that Cooler has one additional form than Frieza, which is honestly one of Dragon Ball’s most effective and aesthetically pleasing transformations. Cooler makes a comeback in the subsequent feature film, The Return of Cooler, which reveals that he’s undergone a cybernetic upgrade and become Meta-Cooler. Super Saiyan Goku and Vegeta’s efforts against an army of Meta-Cooler are exhilarating.

However, this design leaves a lot to be desired and gets lost in the shuffle, especially since there are multiple Dragon Ball villains who return with cyborg enhancements. Meta-Cooler would be a lot more effective if he was a cybernetic version of Cooler’s fifth form, instead of his fourth state. It’s strange that the movie doesn’t take this approach and seemingly forgets about Cooler’s superior final form in the process. Super Dragon Ball Heroes has explored the value in Golden Meta-Cooler, but this still can’t compare to Golden Cooler, who is in his final transformation.

7 Miza, Iwaza, & Kikaza’s Fused Form Is Just A Giant Amalgamation That Lacks Nuance

Anime Debut: N/A; Manga Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 57, “Battles Abound”

Miza, Iwaza, and Kikaza are three members of Moro’s Galactic Bandit Brigade who typically fight as a trio. Master Roshi takes on these three criminals and begins to gain the advantage once he blindfolds himself and taps into Ultra Instinct. Miza, Iwaza, and Kikaza desperately turn to their special attack, a fusion method that combines them all into a gigantic juggernaut. This transformation, which is given no proper name, takes on characteristics of all three fighters and becomes substantially taller.

The Miza, Iwaza, Kikaza fusion is strong enough to fight against Roshi and Krillin, but one swift kick from Goku defeats the villain and causes the transformation to dissipate. This transformation seems like it’s largely played for laughs and isn’t properly thought through. This would be a more effective design if it was the character’s original state, rather than a transformation that they turn to when they’re backed into a corner. A bigger villain isn’t always necessarily more interesting, as Lord Slug and Piccolo have previously demonstrated.

6 Anilaza Mixes Together Too Many Ideas & Comes Across As A Confused Mess

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 121, “All-Out War! The Ultimate Four-Fold Union Vs. The 7th Universe’s Total Offensive!”; Manga Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 38, “Universe 6’s Last Resort”

Dragon Ball Super‘s Tournament of Power gets a lot of mileage out of its multiverse concept and how many of these realms have distinct themes. Universe 3, for instance, features many robotic warriors, the likes of whom embrace fusion as their ultimate weapon. It’s a risky procedure that limits the number of their fighters, but Universe 3 has three of its fighters — Borareta, Koitsukai, and Pancéa — merge together and become Koicéareta. Then, Dragon Ball Super goes one step further and Koicéareta fuses with Paparoni to become Anilaza.

Anilaza loses the robotic quality of its fighters’ previous forms, and he instead resembles a hulking humanoid aberration. Anilaza actually feels reminiscent of Dragon Ball Z‘s OVA fringe villain, Hatchiyack. Anilaza’s body features several gems, which are revealed to be his weakness, and he can also sprout giant wings, although they hardly seem necessary. Anilaza comes across as a giant kaiju-sized threat who is able to take on the majority of Universe 7 at once. He’s undeniably strong, but his design just feels particularly random and haphazard.

5 Bio-Broly Is A Goopy Extension To One Of Dragon Ball’s Greatest Villains

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly; Manga Debut: N/A

Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan, is a fan-favorite character who initially made waves in his two Dragon Ball Z movies, Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and Broly – Second Coming. Broly’s transformations in these movies, not to mention his canonical reintroduction in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, are truly incredible. They’re powerful, intimidating metamorphoses that push their film’s visuals to their limits. Dragon Ball Z’s 11th movie, Bio-Broly, unfortunately regresses and squanders the good faith that was established in the previous two movies. Bio-Broly is a cloned creature who is made out of the Legendary Super Saiyan’s DNA. The result is a transformed monster who vaguely resembles Broly, but is also made up of disgusting bio-liquid.

Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly deserves some credit for going the science fiction route and creating a disturbing monster, but it still feels like a step backwards that fails to properly realize this character’s potential. So much more could be done with an amorphous cloned version of Broly and an approach that’s similar to Majin Buu or Baby would have been more effective. If Bio-Broly could transform his arms into malleable weapons and be more akin to DC’s Clayface then there might have been more success with this transformation. It’s a poor design that’s emblematic of the movie’s lukewarm reception.

4 Majin Vegeta’s Wicked Branding Is A Bland Way To Delineate Evil

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 228, “The Dark Prince Returns”; Manga Debut: Dragon Ball Z, Chapter 262 (Dragon Ball Chapter 456), “Goku Vs. Vegeta”

Vegeta’s redemption arc into one of Dragon Ball’s greatest heroes is masterful storytelling. That being said, Vegeta’s road to rehabilitation faces a temporary setback when his insecurities and doubts get the better of him during Goku’s return to Earth from Other World. Vegeta gives into Babidi’s dark temptation and allows himself to become possessed in exchange for the incredible power that accompanies this transformation. Majin Vegeta is a deeply disturbing development who tests the character’s very nature and pushes him to an emotional breaking point. There’s really not much of a transformation to speak of here other than the signature Majin branding that’s placed upon Vegeta’s forehead.

This Majin mark is present on all of Babidi’s minions, whether it’s Spopovich, Yamu, or Dabura. There are other incidental design changes that Majin Vegeta experiences, such as darker bags under his eyes and a generally more sinister demeanor. Vegeta’s return to the dark side is a major moment for the series, and it’s just unfortunate that it’s not signified by a more extreme transformation. It’s important for Vegeta to still resemble his past self, so that the wicked nature of his actions is properly felt, but Dragon Ball Z still takes a deeply minimalist approach.

3 Super Android 13’s Blue Complexion & Radical Hair Comes Out Of Nowhere

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!; Manga Debut: N/A

Evil Androids have been a running concern throughout each Dragon Ball series and this threat reaches its apex in Dragon Ball Z. The core series introduces Androids 16-20, which gives the series’ seventh feature film, Super Android 13!, the opportunity to explore Androids 13, 14, and 15. More Android enemies are fitting subject matter for a Dragon Ball Z movie, and they become worthy challenges for the series’ top Super Saiyans. Super Android 13!’s climax throws one more hurdle at its heroes when Android 13 absorbs Androids 14 and 15’s microchips and transforms into Super Android 13.

Super Android 13, rather than taking on traits of his Android peers, gains a stark blue design, aggressive orange hair, and blanked out eyes. It’s a particularly bizarre transformation that does its own thing and ditches the humanity that was present in Androids 13, 14, and 15. There’s oddly a bunch in common between Super Android 13 and Vegeta’s Ultra Ego design. To make matters even more interesting, Android 17 and Hell Fighter 17’s fusion into Super 17 in Dragon Ball GT takes a very different approach. Super 17 also struggles when it comes to lackluster design choices, but it’s a transformation that at least feels authentic to its predecessors.

2 Black Janemba Takes The Easy Way Out With This Frightening Foe’s New Form

Anime Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes, Episode 25, “Epic Showdown In Hell! A New Janemba!”; Manga Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Big Bang Mission!!!, Chapter 3, “Limit Break”

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn gets a lot of attention for its introduction of Gogeta, but its central villain, Janemba, is also an incredibly effective antagonist. Janemba is a living manifestation of evil that came into existence when Other World’s soul cleansing machine got overloaded. Janemba can distort reality and is exceedingly dangerous, although his first form wouldn’t necessarily give this impression. Janemba’s base form is a giant rotund demon who bears a heavy resemblance to Buu. Janemba’s evolved state, Super Janemba, is the transformation that most fans associate with the villain. He looks like a proper Demon king, right down to the deadly sword that he brandishes. He’s truly frightening.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes brings Janemba back with powerful modifications that are courtesy of Dr. Wheelo. These result in Janemba’s acquisition of a stronger form that’s colloquially been named Black Janemba. Black Janemba looks the same as Super Janemba, except he has black body armor instead of his standard purple. He also gains additional spikes. This half-baked approach to Dragon Ball transformations has been subject to scrutiny, and it’s simply not enough to change a character’s color palette in order to create a successful form. Even Dragon Ball’s heroes are guilty of this when it comes to the color-coded Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue transformations.

1 Golden Frieza Is A Gratuitous Palette Swap That Lacks Imagination

Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 25, “A Full-Throttle Battle! The Vengeful Golden Frieza”; Manga Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 37, “Awaken, Super Saiyan Kale”

Frieza has evolved into Dragon Ball’s most persistent villain, and he’s the closest thing that the franchise has to a “main antagonist.” Frieza helped popularize the multiple transformation approach for villains in the first place and there’s something distinctly frightening about his second, third, and fourth forms. They each showcase more intense levels of power, while they simultaneously reflect Frieza’s truly alien nature. Frieza makes a proper return in Dragon Ball Super, and he experiences a new transformation to help him keep up with Goku and Vegeta’s recent Super Saiyan developments. Golden Frieza essentially looks the same as Frieza’s fourth form, only the villain now has gold coloration.

It’s an especially lazy approach for what’s supposed to be a major antagonist throughout the series. Golden Frieza feels like a fan-made form that’s the result of someone spray-painting one of their action figures. Golden Frieza’s restrained design is likely an attempt to have this villain continue to resemble his most popular form. However, Dragon Ball audiences are sophisticated enough to accept and embrace a totally new look for Frieza if that’s the direction that they wanted to take. Even giving Frieza the same design as Cooler’s fifth form would have been more creative. This color-swapped transformation approach has only continued with the character and his newest form, Black Frieza, delivers more of the same.