The 10 Best Non-Canon Dragon Ball Battles, Ranked

A big part of what makes Dragon Ball The intense battles that showcase the incredible strength and fighting ability of the characters are very popular. Even in the original series, which, in terms of powerscaling, is a lot more fun than what we have now, the fights were a highlight that stand as some of the best bouts in all of shonen.

We are very different Dragon Ball Media comes out over the years, some non-canon. Some of these may be easy to overlook because they don't impact the main story, but from movies to spin-offs, and some filler, these stand out as the best Dragon Ball fights that aren't canon.

related to

Dragon Ball: The 16 Strongest Movie Only Adaptations, Ranked

The movie-only adaptations of Dragon Ball defy almost all power scaling arguments, and are much stronger than they have any right to be.

10

Bardock's true potential is revealed in his 'what if' fight against the cold

Despite not having much screentime and being a relatively weak fighter compared to most of the main cast, Bardock became a fan favorite. But we should get a glimpse of what he can really do Episode of Bardock OVA and manga.

The 'what if' scenario sees Bardock sent back in time to an older version of Planet Vegeta called Planet Plant. There, he meets Child, Frieza's ancestor. Child makes short work of Bardock and the two come face to face. But when Bardock sees the Chilled Attack Berry, he remembers Frieza's betrayal and overcomes his limits to become a Super Saiyan. In Child's basic form, he doesn't stand a chance, and Bardock beats him so badly that Child is launched into space.

9

Gohan finds Final Form Frieza in the fight which some fans don't know is filler

The Frieza saga had some great Dragon Ball moments, but one of the highlights of the Z-Fighters' adventures on Namek, while considered by some to be canon, is actually filler. This explains why Gohan, despite being very strong for his age, was able to completely overpower Frieza for a brief moment.

Believing that Frieza killed Goku when he failed to understand his Ki, Gohan confronts the Tyrant and completely knocks him out. We see Gohan do some real damage to Frieza with his first hit, before he's hit by a barrage of blows and Masenko. A full power Frieza should have been able to tank all of them, so the fight itself is an awesome moment for Gohan, showing how incredible filler he can be.

8

Gogeta vs Janemba is a quick but spectacular battle

It's crazy to think that just a short bit of screentime can make a character so beloved by fans, but that's exactly what happened with Gogeta. We don't see Saiyan Fusion for a very long time, but he still makes a big impact.

Gogeta quickly proves to be more than a match for the previously heavy Janemba, hitting the monster with a vicious combo before destroying him with the Stardust Breaker. It was a great way to end things, and fans got to see both Gogeta and Stardust Breaker incorporated into the canon of the series. Broly.

7

Piccolo puts Cooler's armored squadron in their place

Piccolo isn't the flashiest character in the series, and while he couldn't keep up with characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan, that doesn't mean he couldn't put up a good fight. Cooler Revenge Piccolo sees him take on Cooler's armored squadron, and it's one of his best fights despite not being canon.

In the movie, Piccolo arrives just in time to save Gohan from the trio of Niese, Dore, and Salza. He proves more than capable of handling them, making short work of Dore and Neese, and proves himself to be more powerful than Salza. Although Salza is saved by Cooler during the fight, Piccolo manages to finish him off at the end of the film.

With Frieza's Mecha form being so short-lived, his non-canon brother's form became the more memorable of the two. Meta-Cooler proved to be a huge challenge for Goku and Vegeta in the new Namek, not necessarily because of his power, but because of the numerous clones the Saiyans had to deal with.

The first Meta-Cooler they encountered proved to be a huge challenge for both of them, even in their Super Saiyan forms it seemed easy with them. After a long battle, they finally managed to put Cooler down, only to be met by an army of Meta-Coolers. Bruised and battered, they never really stood a chance after that.

5

OG Broly took on the Z-Fighters and became a fan favorite

Super Nice job on bringing Broly into the canon of the series, but don't forget how big of a threat OG Broly was. The Legendary Super Saiyan truly lived up to its name. Even the combined might of Piccolo, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Future Trunks wasn't enough to put him down.

Goku eventually manages to pull out, but there were points in the fight where some of Earth's strongest fighters couldn't make Broly flinch. As far as movie villains go, Broly is up there as a fan favorite, and this fight is a big reason why.

4

Gohan took on Bojack and proved that he could be Goku's successor

BoJack and his galaxy soldiers nearly took over Earth, proving themselves more than a match for the Z-Fighters, BoJack stood out as a formidable threat that not even Piccolo and Vegeta could defeat. Gohan's final match with Bojack is reminiscent of the end of the Cell game.

With his friends in desperate need of help, Gohan manages to push himself once more to reach Super Saiyan 2, and at that point, he's strong enough to take down Bojack and his henchmen. It's very satisfying to see Bujin and Bido one-shot, and even though Bojack doesn't go down after one fatal attack, a quick beam fight and one final strike finish him off for good.

3

Goku Vs. Pikkon is a great filler in some anime

Aside from Broly and Cooler, Pikachu is another non-canon character that fans really love. We haven't seen much of him, but his filler-only fight against Goku in the Other World Saga showed that he was a formidable challenge for Goku.

Pikachu really gave Goku trouble with his Thunder Flash attack, and both fighters weren't afraid to spam Ki blasts throughout the fight. Some may not have enjoyed the over-reliance on specific techniques, but it made for an exciting visual spectacle that still stands out. Goku wins here, but both lose due to technical reasons. Still, this is probably some of the best filler material the series has given us.

2

Cooler brought the fight to Earth, but was not ready for SSJ

He may not be as memorable as his brother, but Cooler was still a great movie villain that fans would love to see made canon like Broly. Cooler proved to be a tough fight for Goku, though he didn't stand a chance against his Super Saiyan form.

They started out on a fairly similar footing, but when Cooler was in his fourth form, he was throwing Goku around for nothing. Cooler was pushed back only after Goku managed to go Super Saiyan. With the new look, the cooler should be stronger than its sibling Namekma. That apparently wasn't enough, and the battle ends in a gruesome confrontation between Cooler's Supernova and Goku's Super Kamehameha, with the former being knocked into the sun and burned.

1

SSJ4 Gogeta Absolutely Bullied Omega Shenron

GT Received some criticism from fans, but the series had its fair share of great moments. Of all the fights, SSJ4 Gogeta taking on Omega Shenron was one of the highlights of the spin off.

Omega Shenron was a terrifying ultimate villain, one that many couldn't even hope to match. But Gogeta was strong enough to handle him. Super Saiyan 4 was overkill back then. We saw at first an invincible enemy put to shame. He didn't take most of the fight seriously, he was outspeeded, overpowered and outclassed by Gogeta. This makes for one of the more fun fights to watch, mixing in some great action with fun moments that return to the lighter side of the series.

Dragon Ball Z

Release date

1989 – 1996

network

Fuji TV

directors

Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai

The authors

Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue

• 

  Masako Nozawa

  Son Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice)

• 

  Rio Horikawa

  vegetables (voice)