Despite being set on Earth, humans are a surprisingly underrepresented group in the Dragon Ball hierarchy of strength. With powerful aliens like Saiyans and Namekians running around, it can be hard to stand out as an ordinary human.

Not counting the Human/Saiyan hybrids like Trunks and Gohan, there are relatively few human characters who actually pack any kind of punch at all. Humans simply can’t match up with abilities like Super Saiyan, or the Saiyans’ ability to come back even stronger after a brush with death. Nor do they have the infinite energy of androids, or the regenerative abilities of a Namekian. Despite all this, though, there are some human characters who’ve been critical to the success of the Z Fighters as a whole, and now’s the time to honor their efforts with the 10 strongest humans.

10

Yajirobe Isn’t Just a Joke

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “Mark of the Demon”

Yajirobe is a masterless samurai who Goku meets in Dragon Ball. Despite being fat and mostly concerned with eating, Yajirobe is actually a surprisingly strong fighter when the chips are down. Yajirobe is one of the few Dragon Ball characters to primarily utilize a weapon, in his case a katana which he’s surprisingly skilled with. Yajirobe seems to have an incredible sense of survival, even making it through many of the disasters in Future Trunks’ world to still be alive when Goku Black appears.

Yajirobe has only defeated one villain on screen, and that was Cymbal, one of King Piccolo’s mutated children, whom he cut to bits with his blade. He also boldly attacked Vegeta in defense of young Gohan, something which could’ve easily resulted in his death. Yajirobe is a joke character these days, but once upon a time, he was a decent fighter.

9

Mercenary Tao was Goku’s Original Nemesis

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “The Land of Korin”

Of course, not every powerful human was an ally to Goku. Mercenary Tao was a long-running villain in the original Dragon Ball, contracted by the Red Ribbon Army to get rid of Goku. A ruthless assassin, Tao had no qualms about killing children, and was quite cutthroat towards anyone and everyone who crossed his path. Mercenary Tao was highly skilled in martial arts, trained in the Crane style, and often traveled by launching logs and pillars off at high speed, then jumping onto them for a free ride.

Mercenary Tao doesn’t remain a full human for the entirety of the series, however. Eventually converted to a cyborg, Mercenary Tao becomes much stronger and more dangerous as a result. While he was capable of certain energy attacks before, the cyborg Tao has a blaster in place of one hand, allowing him to fire a blast of energy that will track its target with incredible precision.

8

Mr. Satan Claims to Be Earth’s Mightiest

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Dende’s Dragon”

Mr. Satan is the man hailed by most around the planet as the strongest man alive, due to his performance at previous World Martial Arts Tournaments. The truth, however, is that Mr. Satan isn’t even close to being the strongest, and only maintains this reputation through dishonest means to preserve his way of life. That’s not to say that Mr. Satan is a weakling; he actually is fairly skilled, but compared to the power level wielded by characters like Goku or Frieza, his abilities are but a drop in the bucket.

Mr. Satan did win his first World Martial Arts Tournament title fair and square, proving that he is an extremely competent martial artist; his problem is more buying into his own hype. Mr. Satan has proven himself to be brave when the situation calls for it, such as when it was necessary to get Android 16’s head over to Gohan, but is often quite eager to avoid real battles.

7

Chi-Chi’s Skill is Underestimated

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

Chi-Chi is Goku’s wife, but she actually had a career as a martial artist before hooking up with Goku. Chi-Chi was skilled enough to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament, where she eventually came head-to-head with Goku himself. While she didn’t win, she did manage to provide Goku with a challenge, an impressive enough feat on its own. Despite generally being against her children fighting, Chi-Chi has also sparred with Goten, prompting him to develop the ability to go Super Saiyan.

Chi-Chi was a much more powerful human in her younger days, and has lost some of her skill by the time she’s a parent to Gohan and Goten. Chi-Chi was really only driven to martial arts by Goku, so it makes sense that she didn’t necessarily keep up her training the way that Goku has.

6

Videl Was a Junior World Martial Arts Tournament Champion

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

Videl is the daughter of Mr. Satan, and he’s extremely protective of her. Despite that, Videl has become quite a talented martial artist on her own, winning the Junior World Martial Arts Tournament at the age of 11. Unlike her father, Videl is capable of using Ki in some ways, including the ability to fly, but her Ki control is admittedly quite weak, and she has trouble keeping up with other characters like Krillin while flying. Still, Videl is one of the few humans capable of this at all, making it a more impressive feat than it appears.

Videl’s track record in battle isn’t great, unfortunately, but it’s largely because she found herself up against supernaturally strong opponents in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Like Chi-Chi, Videl more or less retires from martial arts upon marrying Gohan and having a child, Pan.

5

Yamcha Has the Spirit of the Wolf

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “Yamcha the Desert Bandit”

Yamcha is one of Goku’s oldest allies, a former bandit in the desert who practices martial arts constantly, hoping to one day take part in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Yamcha is known for developing his own techniques, like the Wolf Fang Fist, and is one of the few people besides Goku capable of utilizing a Kamehameha. Despite his skill, Yamcha has never made it past the quarterfinals of the World Martial Arts Tournament, often suffering a debilitating injury that removes him from contention.

Yamcha realizes that he can’t keep up with many of his more extreme allies like Goku, and eventually retires from fighting, instead opting to become a baseball player. He’s wildly successful at that, as he’s still leagues ahead of any ordinary human, and as such maintains his training so as to keep a competitive edge in sports.

4

Tien is a Powerful Warrior of the Crane School

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “The Rampage of InoShikaCho”

Tien was originally trained by Master Roshi’s rival, Master Shen, who led the Crane school, which Mercenary Tao attended. Tien looked up to Master Shen and Mercenary Tao, but soon came to realize that their underhanded methods were unfair and unjust, and opted to stop emulating them and become a better person. Tien became a loyal ally of Goku’s, despite having originally wanted to kill him. Tien has also competed in the World Martial Arts Tournament, where he won against Goku and took the title.

Tien also has some extra powers as a result of his third eye. He’s capable of growing two additional arms using his Four Witches technique, and can fire his signature Tri-Beam attack. Tien was the one who taught the others how to fly with Ki, and is excellent at controlling and manipulating Ki.

3

Uub Has All the Power of Kid Buu

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Granddaughter Pan”

Uub is the reincarnation of Kid Buu as a human, who appears in the “10 years later” portion of Dragon Ball Z‘s ending. Born on a small island to a poor village, Uub somehow came to be strong enough to compete in the World Martial Arts Tournament, which he agreed to do to help his village with the prize money. Uub proves to be a very powerful fighter, able to keep up with Goku in the battle, although Goku never goes Super Saiyan during their confrontation.

After their match, Goku takes Uub back home to his village and begins training him. Uub becomes a valuable ally in Dragon Ball GT, having grown much stronger with Goku’s guidance over the years. In GT, Uub is capable of fusing with Majin Buu to become “Majuub”, enhancing his power radically and giving him access to several new techniques.

2

Master Roshi Proves He’s Earned His Title

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi”

Master Roshi is the extremely old human responsible for teaching Goku and Krillin everything they know. Master Roshi has won the World Martial Arts Tournament while in the disguise of “Jackie Chun,” and has done so on more than one occasion. He possesses some incredible power that he’s built up over his long life, able to destroy the Moon to keep Goku from transforming into the Great Ape. Roshi is the creator of the Kamehameha, having developed the powerful technique over a 50-year period.

Master Roshi manages to train himself enough to become a valuable competitor for the Universe 7 team in the Tournament of Power, providing critical aid in the fight to keep the universe from being destroyed. Roshi even earned the respect of Lord Beerus, using a technique which Beerus almost mistook for Ultra Instinct.

1

Krillin is Earth’s Strongest Human

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “Goku’s Rival”

Krillin is one of Goku’s oldest friends, and the two trained together under Master Roshi for a long time. Krillin is always just behind Goku in their training, struggling to keep up with his friend’s innate Saiyan abilities. Still, Krillin’s performance in battle is often admirable, even if he doesn’t always win. Krillin never gives up, and continues fighting on in even the most dangerous situations, where he knows he’s outmatched, proving that his courage is at least as great as Goku’s.

Krillin did retire from fighting for a while, but circumstances eventually drove him back to the battlefield, leading to Krillin becoming a key fighter in the Tournament of Power alongside his wife. As one of the few humans on the battlefield, Krillin performed exceptionally well, using his signature Ki techniques to help make up for his lack of physical size. Krillin’s courage and skill combine to ensure that he stands at the peak as Dragon Ball‘s strongest human.