While developed by the late Akira Toriyama as a fighter with an insatiable desire to get better in combat, Goku of Dragon Ball fame grew into a protagonist who wants to save Earth from threats just as much as he wants good food and a good fight. Unfortunately for the jolly protagonist, his rather fighting-inclined behavior has earned the ire of various people he’s fought. While others eventually become rivals and even friends, others developed a hatred against the protagonist that lasted their entire sagas.

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Fortunately for Goku, the enmity of these individuals towards him does mean he gets to fight with an opponent who takes him seriously. However, these individuals who developed a deep hatred for Goku have interesting backstories to tell - especially since they differ from other villains in the series who Goku had to defeat solely to ensure they don’t get to destroy the Earth and the universe with it.

10 Tien Shinhan

Initially Vengeful For His Master, Mercenary Tao

Back when Goku’s childhood were spent in various tournaments, he faces against a strong rival in the form of Tien Shinhan. Introduced as an arrogant but skilled member of the Crane School, his initial role in the Dragon Ball story involves a desire to defeat members of their rival Turtle School under the orders of his Master Shen. However, when it’s revealed that Tien actually trained under the tutelage of Mercenary Tao, the discovery that Goku killed him had unleashed a desire to fulfill vengeance inside Tien.

Fortunately for Goku, this realization came during Krillin and Chiaotzu’s fight, with Tien squaring off against Jackie Chun - secretly Master Roshi - in the semis. It’s through Master Roshi trying to convince Tien of leaving the ways of an assassin that Tien gets a change of heart, and his match against Goku becomes that of him developing mutual respect for the warrior.

9 Mercenary Tao

One Of The Fiercest Foes Of Young Goku

Mercenary Tao easily established himself as a more serious threat to Goku and his friends after making quick work of General Blue, being immune to his telekinesis and even killing him merely using his tongue. Tao was then hired by the Red Ribbon Army to kill Goku, whose encounter cost the life of a dear friend. Their initial skirmish had Tao easily defeat Goku and steal his Dragon Balls, establishing Tao as a menacing villain. Tao’s eventual defeats at the hands of Goku and even Tien Shinhan would traumatize the mercenary, to the point where even the prospect of facing Goku’s son Gohan was enough for Tao to flee on sight.

Despite Tao’s recent tendencies to flee at the sight of Goku, the mercenary harbors intense resentment towards Goku and even Tien Shinhan for his defeat at their hands. Even in their earlier encounters, Tao resorts to using underhanded tactics to get the upper hand - throwing a grenade towards Goku, and even stealing Goku’s Dragon Balls by exploiting his naivete.

8 Piccolo

Created With A Desire To Destroy Goku And Rule The World

Despite his initial introduction as the vengeful reincarnation of King Piccolo, Piccolo eventually becomes an important member of the Z-Fighters - particularly due to his close kinship with Gohan, who he sees as a younger brother and who sees him as an uncle. However, while Piccolo and Goku are on civil terms, they started as fierce enemies. Piccolo’s birth came with the transference of all King Piccolo’s memories and techniques, creating a warrior hell-bent on killing Goku to conquer the world to fulfill his father’s wishes.

This initial hatred towards Goku and his powerset placing him beyond the mettle of Goku’s original foes will place Piccolo as one of the protagonist’s fiercest rivals. Piccolo’s inheritance of his father’s powers allows him to easily overpower Goku. And while they team up against Raditz in the opening arc of Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo actually succeeds in avenging his father after Goku asks him to kill Raditz while the protagonist is restraining him. It’s only during his training with Gohan where Piccolo truly begins making a change of heart - and even then, he originally wanted to use his hatred towards Goku to train Gohan as an assistant in his plans for world conquest.

7 Vegeta

Earth-Loving Goku Continuously Crushes His Saiyan Pride

Introduced as an arrogant and boastful Prince of All Saiyans, Vegeta easily became a fan-favorite Dragon Ball character due to his rivalry with Goku. Since his embarrassing defeat at Goku’s hands, the Prince has sworn to defeat Goku no matter what it took. Unfortunately for him, Goku would outshine him in many aspects: becomes the Super Saiyan of legend and defeats Frieza, masters the form after Vegeta had just achieved it, and continues to unlock more Super Saiyan forms before Vegeta does. Compounded by the fact that Goku is Saiyan by birth but continues to ally himself with Earth, Vegeta has his pride crushed a lot of times by a fellow Saiyan who is seemingly only out there for a good fight.

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While Vegeta eventually develops a rivalry and even a friendship with Goku, it took the entire Dragon Ball Z series for this to happen. Even when Vegeta and Goku start to become on amicable terms after the Cell Saga, Vegeta easily gives in to his pride and desire to win against Goku - succumbing to Babidi’s mind control for that extra Majin power boost.

6 Emperor Pilaf

Hatred Devolves Into Hilarious Annoyance

5 Broly (Film)

Kakarot’s Crying Became An Everlasting Source Of Hatred

Since his introduction in the Broly Triple Threat trilogy, Broly has set a mark in the Dragon Ball franchise for his infamy as the Legendary Super Saiyan. He’s among the only threats in the Dragon Ball series whose animosity is unmatched, often requiring intervention through different sources to be defeated. While Broly is re-introduced in the Dragon Ball meta in his Dragon Ball Super film, his film counterpart is more animalistic and brutal compared to the loyal but bloodthirsty-when-provoked Super version.

More interesting is the fact that film Broly has a deep hatred towards Goku. As it turns out, a baby Broly with massive potential was laid down beside a noisy Kakarot, whose wails had been embedded deep into the former’s consciousness. It’s for this reason why Broly is provoked upon hearing Kakarot’s name, and how laser-focused he can become in killing Goku. It’s speculated that Broly has attached his trauma - Planet Vegeta’s destruction, his harsh training under Paragus - to Kakarot’s incessant crying.

4 Baby

Began Hating Goku For Opposing His Plans

While Baby initially appears in the Dragon Ball GT story as a parasitic creature, he also comes with a tragic past. Baby was a creation of the last Truffles in a bid to exact vengeance against the Saiyans for eradicating most of their kind. After his discovery in the Planet M-2, Baby begins his plans on converting everyone on Earth as Machine Mutants to worship him. However, intervention from Goku and his friends places the protagonist directly at Baby’s crosshairs, with the villain developing a grudge against Goku for even attempting to oppose him.

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Much of Baby’s fights against him are done through his new host, Vegeta. Through Baby’s parasitic influence, he’s able to channel his host’s Saiyan abilities and enhance them through his Machine Mutant biology to become a formidable foe hell-bent on defeating Goku. Baby isn’t above using underhanded tactics in his fight against Goku, not hesitating to target the members of Goku’s family - during the times they were under and even after breaking his control.

3 Dr. Gero

A Mad Scientist Who Wants Vengeance For The Red Ribbon Army

While the Red Ribbon Army had already disbanded after Goku defeated the paramilitary organization, head scientist and founder Dr. Gero was hell-bent on exacting revenge against this youngster who dared oppose them. This positions the mad scientist as an antagonist in the Android Saga, as his creations Android 17 and 18 grow powerful enough to not only fight the Z-Fighters but even succeed in killing Goku - creating a horrible reality in Future Trunks’ timeline. Such was Dr. Gero’s impact in Earth’s downfall that Future Trunks traveled back in time to prevent this from happening, arriving just in time during Dr. Gero’s reactivation as a self-converted Android.

It’s revealed that Dr. Gero spent years spying on the fights of the Z-Fighters, using data acquired from these battles to create the ultimate fighting machines. All of these Androids were programmed to avenge the Red Ribbon Army, particularly through killing Goku. Of these Androids, the deadliest were not just film-introduced Android 13, but also the infamous Androids 17 and 18, and even the biomechanical life form Cell.

2 Zamasu

Could Not Comprehend The Gods’ Trust In A Mortal

Among the fiercest foes Goku would ever face in Dragon Ball history would be Zamasu, the North Kai who harbors a secret hatred towards mortals. As beings capable of death while also being brash and “imperfect,” Zamasu wants to vanquish all mortal life for the Multiverse to become a true paradise of immortals. Such was his hatred towards mortals that he even used the Super Dragon Balls to switch bodies with Goku, as though he wanted to do the mission of eliminating mortals with his own hands. When Goku Black meets his counterpart Future Zamasu, they begin their plot in destroying all life in the universe. It actually took the intervention of Omni-King Zeno to truly eliminate the threat of Zamasu from the timeline.

Unlike other villains, Zamasu has quite the interesting relationship with Goku regardless of the version. Zamasu witnessing Goku’s strength in the fight between Universe 6 and Universe 7 led him to believe that a mortal attaining godly power was borderline blasphemous. Not only that, but mortals, especially Saiyans who are driven to improve, can threaten the natural order of the universe. This contempt also led to a keen fascination with the Saiyan, hence Zamasu opting to switch bodies with him just so this mortal with potential will also become the very mortal responsible for his kind’s demise.

1 Frieza

Cannot Let Go Of Goku Ever Defeating Him

While it’s not uncommon for a Dragon Ball villain to hate Goku, none have perhaps demonstrated a keen animosity towards the protagonist in modern times compared to Frieza. This transforming villain was left embarrassed after suffering a total defeat at the hands of Goku’s Super Saiyan form, the existence of which was supposed to be the stuff of legends. Even during his resurrection and acquisition of a Golden form, Goku’s new Super Saiyan Blue still triumphed against him.

While Frieza had to train his new Black form to outpace Goku’s Ultra Instinct, trends suggest it’s only a matter of time before Goku once again dishes out punishment to the villain. Such was Frieza’s enmity towards Goku that he shrugged off a show of mercy and attempted to kill Goku instead of escaping a Namek primed to blow up. Not only that, it took their universe getting close to destruction for him to team up with Goku to knock out Jiren in the Tournament of Power.

Dragon Ball Z (1989)

Action

Adventure

Comedy

Release Date

April 26, 1989

Studio

Toei Animation

Number of Episodes

291

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Seasons

9