10 Strongest Female Fighters in Dragon Ball History

Dragon Ball is admittedly a series that has sometimes lacked when it comes to female characters, but over the course of its long history, the franchise has actually had a surprising number of powerful women warriors. These female fighters have proven their mettle throughout the series, and they deserve some recognition.

The pool of female fighters from Dragon Ball is surprisingly diverse. Ranging from humans and androids to Saiyans and gods, there are quite a few women in the series who could even give Goku and Vegeta a run for their money. Many of these warriors are first seen in Dragon Ball Super, which took some steps towards fixing the franchise’s problem with female characters. Others date all the way back to the original Dragon Ball, and while a little outclassed in terms of power today, they still are owed some respect for their strength in the past.

10
Future Mai Fights a Hopeless War for Humanity

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super episode 47, “SOS from the Future: A Dark New Enemy Appears!”

Future Mai is from the same future as Future Trunks, and is shown to be a freedom fighter working alongside Trunks in the wake of the Androids and especially against Goku Black. Future Mai is an ordinary human with no real martial arts training; she’s usually seen wielding a gun, but her courage is equal to that of Trunks, if not greater, due to her lack of general power. Mai was once a minion of Emperor Pilaf, but after being deaged, grew up again alongside Trunks, nurturing a close relationship.

While Mai isn’t likely to be beating many other Dragon Ball characters in a fight, she deserves a lot of respect for facing off against divine opponents like Goku Black without flinching, and she’s a source of strength for Future Trunks, giving him something to fight for. Mai helps the surviving humans to hang in there even through the darkest moments, and that’s a strength few others possess.

9
Pan Proves It’s Cool to Fight Like a Girl

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 289, “Granddaughter Pan”

Pan is the daughter of Gohan and Videl, first appearing in the final episodes of Dragon Ball Z. She went on to be a major character in Dragon Ball GT, and has been seen growing from a baby to a young child in Dragon Ball Super. However, even at her tender young age in Super, it’s already apparent that Pan is a little spitfire, attacking her grandfather Goku the moment she sees him in chapter 103. She’s a fearless girl throughout the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero film as well, even when the giant Cell MAX begins to rampage.

Pan seems to have inherited her mother’s tough attitude and her father’s potential in battle, making her quite the opponent already. While Pan didn’t tend to fare well in her battles in Dragon Ball GT, her training with Piccolo suggests that Super might have a different sort of future in store for the young quarter-Saiyan.

8
Videl is One of Earth’s Toughest Humans

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 200, “Gohan Goes to High School”

Videl is the wife of Gohan, the daughter of Mister Satan, and the mother of Pan. However, when she first showed up in the series, she was a spunky teenager who was eager to prove herself. When she learned of Gohan’s secret, she demanded that he teach her how to fly using Ki. While she was never quite as good at it as some humans like Krillin, simply being able to do it at all is incredibly impressive. Videl is extensively trained in martial arts, and is almost certainly a better fighter than her father, in spite of his reputation.

Videl competed in the 25th World Martial Arts tournament, which sees only the best of the best fighters compete. She only lost because Spopovich was already possessed of a Majin’s strength; she even broke his neck with an attack, only to see him get back up. Unfortunately, Videl ends up moving out of the fighting spotlight once Pan is born, taking on a more motherly role, but she remains one of the toughest humans on Earth.

7
Chi-Chi Had to Be Strong to Win Goku

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, Episode 7, “The Ox-King on Fire Mountain”

Chi-Chi is the original female warrior in Dragon Ball, first appearing very early on alongside kid Goku, at which time she wore her iconic helmet and cape. While Chi-Chi wasn’t much of a fighter at first, she grew to become quite strong, taking out large groups of grown Red Ribbon Army soldiers by herself. As a teenager, Chi-Chi entered the 23rd World Martial Arts tournament, making it all the way to the semi-finals before being defeated by Goku.

Like Videl, Chi-Chi ends up moving away from martial arts once she becomes a mother, and grows frustrated with Goku’s constant training taking away from his family time. As a result, she tends to disapprove of Gohan and Goten training and fighting, and is responsible for pushing Gohan to succeed academically.

6
Ribrianne Championed an Entire Universe of Love

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 91, “Which Universe Will Win Their Place? The Mighty Warriors Gradually Assemble!”

Ribrianne is a warrior from Universe 2 who competes in the Tournament of Power. She’s something of a Magical Girl, leading a group of other Magical Girls known as the Kamikaze Fireballs. By using the power of love, Ribrianne is able to transform from her fairly human-looking base state into the powerful Ribrianne, a rounded figure who wields magic powers. She was a dangerous fighter in the Tournament, knocking out at least one fighter and disrupting a number of battles with her far-reaching attacks.

Ribrianne can transform even further into Super Ribrianne, empowered by the love of her teammates and goddess of destruction, akin to Goku’s use of the Spirit Bomb. She’s ultimately defeated by Android 18, who resisted her Big Amour technique and subsequently ejected Ribrianne from the arena. Like the other universes who lost, Ribrianne was ultimately revived by Android 17’s Super Dragon Ball wish.

5
Android 18’s Power is Nearly Limitless

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 133, “Nightmares Come True”

Android 18 first appears as a villain alongside her brother, Android 17, both created by the Red Ribbon Army’s Dr. Gero to get revenge on Goku. However, when Cell appears and begins his quest to absorb the two Androids to become his Perfect form, 18 finds herself having to ally with the Z-Fighters. Following Cell’s defeat, 18 is revived by Krillin, and the two begin a romantic relationship that eventually results in the birth of their child, Marron.

However, unlike Chi-Chi and Videl, Android 18 still remains a fighter even after becoming a mother. She enters (and could easily have won) the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, but deliberately took a dive for Mr. Satan in exchange for a large amount of money. Android 18 goes on to fight in the Tournament of Power as well, and proves herself a valuable asset, as her unlimited stamina came in very handy in the universal brawl.

4
Caulifla Became the First Female Super Saiyan

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 88, “Gohan and Piccolo, Master and Pupil Clash in Max Training!”

Caulifla is a Saiyan from Universe 6, and happens to be the first female Saiyan to be shown going Super Saiyan in the series’ canon. She’s the leader of a powerful gang on the Saiyan homeworld of Planet Sadala, and was approached by Cabba to join Universe 6’s team for the Tournament of Power. Caulifla took to Super Saiyan very quickly, figuring out the transformation after only seeing Cabba perform it once.

Caulifla is an exceptionally skilled fighter, rapidly attaining Super Saiyan 2 in the Tournament of Power, making her the first in Universe 6 to do so. Her punk attitude is reflective of her strength, and she often insults her opponents as they battle. Caulifla eventually uses Potara earrings to merge with her close friend, Kale, becoming the incredibly powerful fusion fighter Kefla.

3
Kale Wields the Power of the Legendary Super Saiyan

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 89, “A Mysterious Beauty Appears! The Enigma of the Tien Shin-Style Dojo?”

Kale is a meek, quiet girl who belongs to Caulifla’s gang, and generally avoids violence. She has an incredibly close relationship with Caulifla, with the two referring to each other as “Sworn Sisters.” She has a dire lack of self-confidence and is very anxious at times, and these negative emotions come out when she attempts to go Super Saiyan, transforming instead into the berserk Legendary Super Saiyan state, like Broly.

Kale in her Legendary Super Saiyan form wields phenomenal power, capable of taking a Kamehameha from Super Saiyan Blue Goku without so much as flinching. In this form, she knocked out several competitors in the Tournament of Power, and her rampage forced all attention on her. Kale later fuses with Caulifla to create the fusion warrior Kefla, who can wield this immense power without fear of going out of control.

2
Heles is the Goddess of Destruction

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 78, “Even the Universes’ Gods are Appalled?! The Lose-and-Perish Tournament of Power”

Heles is the Destroyer of Universe 2, a humanoid woman who’s said to be exceptionally beautiful. She’s known for being very just for a God of Destruction, standing against evil acts in her universe and showing outrage at the idea of Zeno destroying multiple universes in the Tournament of Power. As a Destroyer, she wields the phenomenal power of destruction, able to raze planets at her whim. She’s also presumably a practitioner of divine techniques like other Gods of Destruction.

While she doesn’t get to show off much in the anime, she’s shown in the manga fighting with a bow and arrow, and even manages to land a shot on one of the other Gods of Destruction as they brawl. Her status as Goddess of Destruction places her near the top of the power rankings, only exceeded by the Angels that attend to and instruct these gods.

1
Vados is An Angelic Fighter On Par With Whis

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 18, “I’m Here, Too! Training Commences on Beerus’ World”

Vados is the Angel attendant of Universe 6’s God of Destruction, Champa. While Vados is never shown fighting, it’s well known from Whis that the Angels are primarily there to act as martial arts instructors for the Gods of Destruction, suggesting that she’s at least as powerful as her brother in Universe 7. She’s been shown to be capable of stopping Champa and Beerus from fighting with little more than raising her staff to hold them back.

Vados was even shown destroying a planet herself, something that required only that she tap her staff with the intention of doing so, concealing tremendous power. As an Angel, it’s likely that she, like Whis, can utilize the divine technique Ultra Instinct, something that even Beerus has struggled to perfect. While Vados never really got to fight, her implied power makes her undoubtedly the strongest female character in Dragon Ball history.

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