Dragon Ball Has Some Bleak Moments, But Its Darkest Scenes Are on Another Level

Dragon Ball is one of the most popular anime franchises of all time. It has become an example to anime series everywhere of what the art form can truly be. The main themes of Dragon Ball are overcoming one's limits, relying on friends for the things you can't do alone, and to always have a good perspective. One theme the Dragon Ball franchise has never been known for is a dark, bleak theme of hopelessness.

While they aren't common, there are a few scenes in Dragon Ball too dark to be forgotten. Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super all have at least one moment that would make anyone's jaw drop due to the sheer darkness involved. Dragon Ball GT set out to be the darkest entry in the franchise, but even DBGT had a hard time getting as dark as some of the moments in the main canon.

7 Yamcha’s Death by the Androids

Yamcha Couldn't Even Yell for Help

Yamcha is no stranger to being on the wrong end of a beat down in the Dragon Ball franchise. He's usually the first to a fight, and unfortunately, the first to get knocked out of it. His death pose is so famous, there are cameos of it that can be found throughout anime. That isn't to say he's weak or a coward, however, as no matter who the Z Fighters are facing, Yamcha is always there to back his friends up.

During the Android Saga, Yamcha is the first to find the cause of the trouble in an island city under duress. He finds Androids 19 and 20, the first Androids in the franchise. He's too confused to register them as threats, and Android 20 (Dr. Gero) takes advantage of the situation.

In one of the scariest moments in Dragon Ball, Dr. Gero grabs Yamcha by the face and begins to drain his energy. Yamcha can't call for help, and before he can make another move, Dr. Gero pierces him through the chest. Most of the Z Fighters die in a fight, but Yamcha was ambushed, sneak attacked, and assassinated in a rare, dark moment for the franchise.

6 Videl Beaten by Spopovich

A Scene That Made All Fans Cringe

Videl was never really a fighter in Dragon Ball, but she nonetheless trained under her father first and then learned a few tricks about ki control from Gohan. When Videl joins the World's Martial Arts Tournament, she comes up against a legitimate threat in Spopovich, a once-kind man turned evil by Babidi's magic. He's a hulking mass of muscles, and in a single fight, becomes one of the most vicious villains in the series.

Videl charged at Spopovich boldly but was beaten quickly. Not only was Videl beaten, she was brutalized. Spopovich was toying with her, trying to cause her as much physical pain as possible before he finished her off. It was such a bad beating that Videl never fought again. There are a couple of one-sided beatdowns in Dragon Ball, but none feel as dark as Videl's. She clearly got caught in something bigger than she thought, and the brutalization of a young woman came as a shocking novelty for fans of the series.

5 Vegeta Attacks the Crowd

Is It Slavery When You Get What You Want?

Vegeta's character arc is one of the best in Dragon Ball. He starts the series as one of the first villains, then he transforms into a pseudo-ally on Namek, before becoming a bona fide good guy and reluctantly joining forces with the Z Fighters. In the middle of his transformation into a good guy, however, he has a massive relapse. During the Buu Saga, he gives into Babidi's temptations, reverting to a villain in order to get power on par with Goku.

While Vegeta becoming a villain again is dark in and of itself, his actions while under Babidi's influence are brutal. During the World's Martial Arts Tournament, he wants to force Goku into fighting him. Goku doesn't want to, citing the fact that Vegeta isn't a villain anymore. Vegeta refutes Goku by blasting the tournament crowd, killing a ton of crowd members in an instant.

Civilians usually aren't involved in the violence that the Z Fighters are part of. Vegeta makes them directly involved by killing a ton of people who weren't even fighting in the first place. It's the darkest moment in his entire character arc and one of the darkest moments in the series.

4 Krillin’s First Death

Krillin's Lifeless Body Is Terrifying

Krillin is no stranger to death. By the end of Dragon Ball Z, Goku's longest serving friend had died a whopping three times. His first death way back in the original Dragon Ball was the darkest of them all, however, and easily one of the darkest moments in the series at large. Krillin has always been a happy-go-lucky character too, making his first death even harder to watch.

Tambourine finds Krillin and the World Martial Arts Tournament Announcer alone. He takes on Krillin easily. Krillin is only in his early teens at the time and doesn't really have a chance against the monster that is Tambourine. Tambourine toys with Krillin, allowing him to attack because of the sheer disparity in their strength. Tambourine then kills Krillin with a swift kick to the head, ending his life brutally.

The worst moment is when Goku finds his best friend's lifeless body. Usually, dead characters are treated with a little more grace, but Krillin wasn't. His face looked scared even after his final moments. Krillin's death struck Goku and audiences to their core. It was cold, brutal, and almost too dark to comprehend.

3 Vegeta Executes the Ginyu Force

Goku Shows Mercy, Vegeta Does Not

In Dragon Ball Z, Goku was always merciful. He lets Vegeta live even after the Prince of all Saiyans threatens to blow up the planet. The same can't be said about Vegeta. He's earned his spot as one of the most popular anti-heroes in anime for a reason. When the Ginyu Force first arrives on Namek, Vegeta is rightfully terrified. They're all stronger than Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin, and they're more than willing to beat the trio down on a few occasions.

They almost killed Vegeta, but that's exactly how Saiyans get stronger. He comes back to find the Ginyu Force and finally gets a chance to enact his revenge. After defeating several of the members swiftly, Vegeta has a chance to spare them like Goku would, but he doesn't take it.'

Vegeta executes each member of the Ginyu Force, bar Captain Ginyu himself. He even decapitates Guldo, which is the first and only decapitation in the main series. Dragon Ball is no stranger to death, but watching Vegeta systematically dismantle the Ginyu Force was dark. There's a good argument to be made about not leaving them alive, but Vegeta handles it in the most brutal way possible.

2 Future Trunks’ Entire Timeline

Truly the Darkest Timeline

It's odd to remember that Future Trunks' timeline is technically the original timeline of Dragon Ball Z. If it wasn't for Future Trunks traveling into the past to warn the Z Fighters of the Androids and to give Goku the medicine he needed for the Heart Virus, they all would have died. Future Trunks has suffered more than any other character in Dragon Ball, and while his entire timeline is incredibly bleak, there aren't any moments darker within it than Future Gohan's death.

Future Gohan's Death is one of the biggest sacrifices in Dragon Ball. He recognizes how much stronger they are than him and Trunks, but he charges into battle anyway, just to give Trunks a chance to keep living and find hope in the future. The Androids not only kill him, but they bully him the whole time as well. Trunks finding Gohan's body lying face down in a puddle is one of the darkest moments in the entire franchise, and the darkest moment within Dragon Ball Z as a whole.

1 Goku Black Kills Chi-Chi and Goten

The Darkest Moment in Dragon Ball

Goku Black was a shockingly evil character. Before he was Goku Black, he was Zamasu, the Supreme Kai Apprentice of Universe 10. He made a wish to swap bodies with Goku, using the Saiyan's powers for his own ends. Before he could begin his conquest, he had to kill Chi-Chi and Goten.

It's a dark, sickening moment that easily ranks as one of the most shocking in Dragon Ball. When he tells Goku what he did to his wife and child, Goku flies into an understandable rage. But no matter how angry Goku got, he can't change the fact that Goku Black killed Chi-Chi and Goten mercilessly in the other universe. It's such a dark moment, it almost feels like it doesn't even fit into the franchise.