Dragon Ball is now kicking off a major celebration of the 40th anniversary of late Akira Toriyama’s original manga making its debut with Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and with it has confirmed who fans have chosen as their favorite fighter after all this time. Dragon Ball is kicking off 2026 in a huge way as the franchise is gearing up for a big event with plans to reveal what’s coming in the future of it all. But it’s also a perfect opportunity to look back on just how far it’s come over the decades too.
Part of the lead in to this event is a special popularity poll that took votes from fans all over. “Dragon Ball: The One” took every character in the franchise and pitted them against one another to really figure out who was truly the most popular. It’s revealed to be Goku, which ultimately isn’t that much of a surprise. You can’t really think or talk about Dragon Ball without bringing up Goku, so it makes a ton of sense to find out that he’s taken the win here.
Dragon Ball Fans Choose Goku as Their Best Character
Courtesy of Shueisha
According to the popularity poll details revealed through social media, the top ten Dragon Ball characters as chosen by fans are:
Son Goku
Vegeta
Son Gohan
Piccolo
Vegito
Trunks (Teen)
Bardock
Android 18
Cell
Frieza
While this top ten selection of characters comes as a bit of a surprise with additions like Vegito and Bardock cutting way more into the top ten than fans might expect, rounding out the top 20 are other favorites closely following like Krillin, Yamcha, Bulma, and more. But the funniest addition making the top 20 is undoubtedly Bulma’s Family Cat at 15, beating out others like Chichi, Android 17, and Videl.
But there’s really no beating out Goku when it comes down to it. There might be other characters within the Dragon Ball world that are stronger at any given time, Goku’s always come to the top of pretty much every conversation when it comes to Dragon Ball fans. Part of that fun is figuring out who Goku can beat in a fight from other worlds, after all. You’re not exactly having that same conversation about Vegeta or Piccolo until long after the Goku matter is resolved.
What’s Next for Dragon Ball?
Courtesy of Toei Animation
Dragon Ball has just started its celebration of the franchise’s 40th anniversary. It’s holding a special event in Japan this weekend with teases that it will reveal new information about what’s coming in the future, but has yet to reveal exactly what fans can hope to see. This could range anywhere from a potential return from Dragon Ball Super‘s manga (which has been on hiatus since Akira Toriyama’s death in 2024), or even a potential return of the Dragon Ball Super anime.
Dragon Ball could even reveal potential other anime projects that fans might not have even been expecting. There’s a lot that the franchise could have in the works, but it’s just a matter of seeing how Shueisha and other rights holders move forward following the loss of Akira Toriyama.
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