Dragon Ball 5 Bad Guys Who Reformed (& 5 Who Never Did)

Many Dragon Ball antagonists eventually have a change of heart, while others stay true to their villainous roots.

People think the world of Dragon Ball means losing a fight always results in someone going over to the good side. But while some of the better characters in the series came from first being rivals to Son Goku or the rest of the Z Warriors, that isn’t always the case. There are plenty of bad guys in the universe that have simply never gone over to the side of good.

Most of the time, they were simply too evil to ever really go over to the side of the good guys. Instead, they have the potential to constantly be threats, while others will eventually see the benefit of working with rather than against Goku and his allies.

10 NEVER REFORMED: Frost

This other universe version of Frieza was able to fool people into believing he was actually a good person. But in truth, he turned out to be behind many wars in his universe, being in control from the shadows rather than in front of everyone else. He was given the chance to reform but still tried manipulating Frieza into working with him until Frieza betrayed him and got him eliminated. This enraged him so much he attempted to attack Frieza after being eliminated but instead wound up erased by Zeno.

9 REFORMED: Yamcha

When Yamcha was introduced, he was a dangerous desert bandit who even managed to go hand to hand with Goku, throwing him off with his unique Wolf Fang Fist. But this didn’t last very long, as Yamcha decided to work with Goku after a time, winding up helping him in his struggles against Pilaf. In the end, he would train under Master Roshi to become a more effective fighter and join the group as one of Goku’s friends.

8 NEVER REFORMED: Dr. Gero

Sure he was a super-genius, but in terms of actually thinking plans through, Dr. Gero wasn’t the brightest guy. The guy’s plan was to create androids who were so powerful they could easily destroy Goku no matter how strong they got. This was solid, but he gave them too much free will, so the second they were given the option, they took him out. But given he was defeated once and never thought to swap sides, it’s likely he was going to remain a villain no matter how long he was alive.

7 REFORMED: Tien

When Tien first appeared he was technically the primary antagonist of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. He’d been trained by Master Roshi’s nemesis and was there to prove the superiority of the Crane School. And to his credit, he did beat Goku and win the tournament.

Eventually, though, he saw his master for what he was and wound up leaving the Crane School to become his own person. Since then, he's gone on to become a martial arts teacher, training people as he trains himself.

6 NEVER REFORMED: Mercenary Tao

Mercenary Tao appeared as a villain who gave Goku a sound beatdown, easily showing Goku up because of his superior martial arts ability. But even after Goku surpassed him, he never changed his ways. Making multiple appearances throughout Dragon Ball, each time he was just as villainous as before, but he simply wasn’t a threat to Goku (or even Tien) any longer. He even made appearances during some of DBZ’s filler, but without the ability to destroy planets, he can’t quite compete with them anymore.

5 REFORMED: Piccolo

When Piccolo first appeared, he wanted revenge for what Goku had done with his father. He proved to be the toughest challenge the martial artist had and vowed he would one day take over the world. He remained close to Goku’s strength and had the intention of one day taking Goku out, but that didn’t stand up over time. When Raditz came, he learned how much he was lacking and was forced to work with Goku in order to protect the world from the Saiyan race.

4 NEVER REFORMED: Goku Black

Obsessed with the idea of wiping out all sentient life on Earth, Goku Black enacted a wide-reaching plan that allowed him to hop around through time and utilize the Super Dragon Balls to reach the goal he had. Though he was nearly defeated time and again by Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks, in the end, his hatred for humanity caused him to become one with the universe itself.

The only thing that saved Goku and the others was summoning Zeno and wiping his universe out of existence entirely.

3 REFORMED: Vegeta

Vegeta landed on Planet Earth intent on proving that what happened with Raditz only occurred because Raditz wasn’t an elite class warrior like him. He wanted control over the Dragon Balls so he could wish for immortality, but he wasn’t able to defeat all of the Z Warriors working together. Eventually, his rebellion against Frieza forced him to work with Goku and the others, and in the aftermath, he simply wound up only wanting to compete against Kakarot and make himself as strong as possible, rather than rule over a planet.

2 NEVER REFORMED: Frieza

Frieza worked with Goku and the others but he’s still just as evil as he was before. He was forced into working with Goku because the only other option was to be erased from existence. When he's seen again though, he’s still trying to run a galactic empire with a massive army that serves him and him alone. He even kills Broly’s dad when he thinks that can get Broly to a level strong enough to take out Goku once and for all.

1 REFORMED: Majin Buu

Buu started out as the most dangerous villain the Z Warriors had ever come close to before. He was so dangerous that the Supreme Kai actually came to Earth to try and find some people who could help him deal with it. But in the end, once Evil Buu split from Good Buu, the Good version of Majin Buu wound up becoming docile and largely harmless. He spends more time sleeping than actually being a threat to anyone.