Goku (Kakrot)

Name meaning: (Goku) Sky. (Kakrot) Carrot.

Goku is the main character of the Dragon Ball series. He is the strongest warrior on Earth. He was sent down to Earth by his fellow Saiyans when he was a child. His mission was to destroy all living things on the planet. The Saiyans then would sell the desert planet to prospective alien buyers. When Goku arrived on the planet Earth his ship was damaged. Goku was found by an old man named Gohan. Gohan took the child in as his own. Gohan had a hard time because even as a child Goku was very strong because of his Saiyan blood. Goku was very mean and wild until one day he hit his head and he became the perfect child. He still was unusually strong, but he was well mannered and nice. I do not remember much from the original Dragon Ball series. I plan on buying the DB series in the spring, so I'll get more info soon. In the beginning of the original series (Dragon Ball) Goku meets up with Bulma. They go on many adventures...saving the world...blah...blah. After awhile I got bored of the show so I stopped watching. I wish I had kept watching because it would of gotten me up to speed on DBZ. In later episodes (that I didn't see) Goku found a new friend, Krillin. Somehow they ended up on Master Roshi's Island. They both were taught "Kame Hame Ha" by Master Roshi. Krillin and Goku built a strong friendship and help each other throughout the three series (Dragon Ball/Z/GT). Now for the Dragon Ball Z section. In the first season Goku finds out from his long lost brother (Raditz) that he is a Saiyan, a race of human like beings from the planet Vageta. When Raditz came to Earth, he did not have good intentions. He planned to recruit Goku into his band of Saiyans and to take over the Earth. Goku of course, refused, so Raditz kidnaped Goku's son, Gohan. Goku and his long time enemy Piccolo were forced to join in the common goal of beating Raditz. In the end they defeated Raditz, but Goku was killed in the process. Goku was then trained by King Kai at the end of Snake Way. He returned to Earth only to find most of his friends dead. He then beat the two Saiyans Nappa and Vageta over the period of too many episodes. He then was so beat up that he had to stay in the hospital for awhile. When he recovered he got on a spaceship to go to the planet Namek. He originally was going there to find the Namek Dragon Balls and wish his friends back to life. When he arrived he found a new enemy, Freiza. At first he was stronger than Frieza, then weaker, then stronger again. When all seemed to be lost, Krillin was killed by Freiza. Doesn't sound good, right? But this was what Goku needed to push him over the edge to become a Super Saiyan (1). (more soon) Goku is always brave and helps people in need. He is the classic super hero (even though he's not a super hero). He holds his friends and family dear and will sacrifice his life whenever there is the need. He trains hard for the next challenge that awaits him, so he can save his friends and anyone else that happens to be in trouble.

Piccolo

Name meaning: The musical instrument

Backround information on the Piccolo we know today: Hundreds of years ago, the planet Namek was almost pulled apart by violent storms. A young Namek was sent in a space ship towards earth by his father. The Storms died down and Namek remained intact, but no one tried to find the young Namek. Mean while, the young Namek named Piccolo (not the Piccolo we know today) was forced to land on Earth. He later became Kami's apprentice. Kami is the person that watches over the planet Earth. The word means God. This Kami is not the Namek called Kami that are in DB/Z. Kami decides that Piccolo will be his successor. Garlic is really pissed because he is not chosen. Piccolo becomes the Kami and splits himself into two entities. One evil that took the name Piccolo Daimon and the good one took the name of Kami. If one of them should die, the other will too. Piccolo Daimon was pure evil and attempted to take over the world many times. The two arch nemesis, Kami and Piccolo Daimon battled many times, but it always ended up in a draw. About 300 years later Goku met Piccolo Daimaou and the evil Namek was defeated. Before he died, Piccolo Daimaou spit out an egg. In it was his successor Piccolo Daimao. The new Piccolo vowed to avenge Piccolo Daimaou's death. Piccolo Daimao is the Piccolo we know today. Piccolo Daimao and Goku fought in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai. Goku defeated Piccolo Daimao and won the Tenkaichi Budoukai for the first time. In the first few episodes of DBZ it says that Piccolo Daimao and Goku fought on many different occasions, but we never get to see it. Piccolo is my favorite Dragon Ball Z character. He has the most depth out of all the DBZ characters. He is not a good guy, but he is not evil either. That's what makes him such a good character. Incase you have only been a DB fan since the Dragon Ball Z series, read the text to the right to get up to speed. DBZ: Now that you are (somewhat) up to speed, onto the Dragon Ball Z series. During the beginning of DBZ series Piccolo was still enemies with Goku. He then is forced to team up with Goku to stop the Saiyan Raditz from taking over the world. During the fight Piccolo sees great potential in the young Gohan (Goku's son). Piccolo kills Raditz in the end, but is forced to kill Goku in the process (like he cares). As Raditz is dying he tells his advisories that 2 more Saiyans, even stronger than he would arrive on Earth in one year. Piccolo decides that he must train Gohan so that he can help during the arrival of two Sayians. During the training Piccolo and Gohan form a bond. Piccolo could never admit that there was good in him, but Gohan could see it. When the Saiyans came to Earth Piccolo made the ultimate sacrifice. He jumped in front of a energy ball to save his young pupil. When this happened Kami could see a big change in his evil counterpart. The good was out weighing the evil inside of Piccolo. In the Freiza saga Piccolo returned to his home planet to help Gohan and Krillin. When he was wished to Namek he found that his fellow Nameks had been killed by Freiza. The only survivor was Nail. Piccolo was forced to merge with Nail so they would have a chance of beating Freiza. There combined Power levels weren't enough to defeat Freiza. During the final battle Piccolo jumped in front of a ball of energy to save Goku's life (what a guy, huh.) As time goes on his character changes a lot. The changes are very dramatic, but Piccolo is always trying to hide it. The way the character evolves overtime makes him an important part of the show. I'm glad that the writers of the show didn't kill him off in the original series.

Krillin

Name meaning: Chestnut Krillin is Goku's good friend. They both studied under Master Roshi as kids. Although Krillin is not the strongest of the group, he try's hard to keep up. He is a little bit of a wimp sometimes, but he always helps out his friends when they are in need. He has even save Goku's life a few times. In the fight against the Saibamen, Nappa and Vegeta he showed that he can be a fearless warrior. His most powerful attack is a flying disc that has the power to cut through mountains. He later uses this attack to cut off Frieza's tail. As time progresses he finds the power inside of him (with the help of Guru). And his power level grow tremendously. He is very dedicated to helping his friends and is willing to risk his life to help them. He is a good character because he adds jokes in to lighten the mood. There is a lot more depth to his character that you can see when he is in a battle.

Vegeta was the most powerful Saiyan in the first season (until Goku). He and another Saiyan named Nappa came to Earth in search for the Dragon Balls. There plan was to find the Dragon Balls wish for eternal life then destroy all living things on Earth. It didn't go exactly as planed. After destroying his comrade he was beaten by Goku, Gohan and Krillin. Vegeta was not killed though. He was just badly hurt. For some reason when Saiyans are badly hurt they recover and have a higher power level because of it. Vegeta then goes to the planet Namek to find the Namek Dragon Balls so he can wish for eternal life. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't get his wish. Instead he is forced to join up with his former enemies so Freiza could be defeated. You can see that Vegeta grows a lot emotional while he is on Namek. He is killed be Freiza just as Goku arrived. Before he died he told his fellow Saiyan (Goku) that Freiza had destroyed their home planet Vegeta. He then explained that he had been taken from his home as a boy by Freiza. If you haven't seen the episode yet, you won't believe this. The stern emotionless Saiyan warrior actually cries. He had all those emotions of guilt and sorrow that he had kept bottled up for so many years. At this point he admits to himself that he , a first class Saiyan, had not become a mythical Super Saiyan. Instead he see's that the peasant Saiyan, Goku, had become what Vegeta had always dreamed of being. Vegeta is the only good character in Dragonball/Z/GT that is stronger than goku for about 3/4 of all the dragonball series. Near the end Vegeta keeps on getting weaker than Goku but then he finally becomes as strong as him...once more... Vegeta is a complicated character, when he (once and awhile) saves a life I can never tell if he did it for personal gain or not. His cool attitude is what makes him cool. Most peoples fav. guy out of the whole show is Vegeta.