Highlights

  • Special attacks like Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack adds flavor, but don't always guarantee victory in Dragon Ball battles.
  • Powerful moves like Final Flash & Supernova can deal heavy damage, yet are not always able to defeat opponents completely.
  • Despite their deadly potential, attacks such as Destructo Disc have been dodged or tanked by enemies in Dragon Ball fights.

Dragon Ball has plenty of special attacks and ultimate moves, many of which have become iconic within the manga and anime sphere. Whether it be Goku's Kamehameha, Vegeta's Big Bang Attack, or Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon, the series' penchant for climactic, intensifying attacks has influenced shonen battle manga over the last 30 years.

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There are plenty of powerful, planet-destroying attacks in the series' canon, but there are also a surprising number of special attacks that, despite their power, have never been able to finish a climactic fight. Here are some incredibly powerful attacks in the Dragon Ball manga and anime that have never finished a fight.

8 Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack

A Swarm Of Explosive Ghost Swarms

Dragon Ball Gotenks Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack

Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack is one of Gotenks's silliest and most powerful attacks. It allows him to make ghost-like clones of himself which explode when they make contact with an enemy. While they generally follow their creator's orders, they can also act on their own initiative. After absorbing Gotenks, Super Buu could also use this move, and his ghosts could even use moves like Masenko.

Despite the versatility and utility of this move, neither Gotenks nor Super Buu were able to use this move to end a fight. The move itself is rather gimmicky, and while Super Buu managed to use this move to give Vegito trouble, it ultimately did not win the fight for him.

7 Hell's Flash

An Unrelenting Torrent Of Power

Dragon Ball Z Android 16 Hell's Flash

Hell's Flash is one of Android 16's strongest attacks, during which he detaches his forearms to reveal hidden cannons that fire a repeated burst of energy blasts. Android 16, being a pacifist, does not use this move (or many moves) very often, but he used this powerful attack against Cell when he attempted to absorb Androids 17 and 18.

Despite the incredible power of the attack, Android 16 was unable to repel Cell, who managed to evade the blow by digging underground. Cell ended up catching Android 17 by surprise, allowing him to absorb him and evolve into his Semi-Perfect form.

6 Light Grenade

A Charged Up Desperation Attack

Piccolo charges the Light Grenade in Dragon Ball Z

Piccolo has a variety of special techniques that he shows off throughout the series, but one of his most powerful is the Light Grenade, an attack he uses in the Androids Saga. Piccolo performs this move by charging a ball of energy in his hands, which creates a massive explosion when it hits its target.

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Despite the power of this move, he was unable to use it to defeat Cell, who was able to weather the move without taking much damage. Piccolo was defeated soon after as Cell began his rampage to absorb the Androids and achieve perfection.

5 Final Burst Cannon

Vegeta's Furious Rage Embodied

Dragon Ball Z Vegeta Final Burst Cannon

Named only in the video games, Final Burst Cannon is one of Vegeta's lesser-known attacks and a stronger variation of his signature Galick Gun. His most well-known use of this attack was during his futile battle against Frieza in his final form. After being toyed with by Frieza, an enraged Vegeta used all of his power to fire a massive burst of energy towards him.

Though his attack was claimed by Piccolo to be strong enough to destroy Namek, Frieza easily deflected the blow with a single kick, shattering Vegeta's pride in the same instant. Though Vegeta would use the move several more times against opponents like Goku and Kid Buu, it has never managed to serve as a finishing blow.

4 Destructo Disc

A Powerful Move That Never Proves Its Effectiveness

Krillin Destructo Disk

Also known as Kienzan, the Destructo Disc is one of Krillin's most powerful attacks. He creates a razor-sharp energy disc that is strong enough to even cut through mountains. While Krillin is the main user of this move, other characters have also used the move, with Frieza even having his own version called Death Saucer.

In terms of Destructo Disc, however, Krillin has never used the move to defeat an opponent, despite its deadly potential. Against Nappa and Frieza, his attack is always dodged in the nick of time, with Krillin only being able to slice off Frieza's tail at most. To make things worse, Perfect Cell completely tanks Krillin's Destructo Disc in the Androids Saga, proving there is a limit to the move's power.

3 Neo Tri-Beam

A Powerful Attack That Uses Life Energy Itself

Dragon Ball Z Tien Neo Tri-Beam

Neo Tri-Beam, also known as the Shin Kikoho, is Tien's strongest move. The Tri-Beam alone uses his life-force to generate a powerful attack, making it a strong but dangerous move for Tien to use. There are a few variations on the Tri-Beam technique, with Neo Tri-Beam being the most powerful of them.

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Tien uses the Neo Tri-Beam in his confrontation with Semi-Perfect Cell, as an attempt to delay him from trying to chase after Android 18. Though the attack was strong enough to push Cell deep underground, it ultimately was unable to deal any lasting damage, even after almost using up his life force.

2 Final Flash

An Ultra-Powerful World-Ending Attack

Super Vegeta Final Flash – The Deadly Sins of the Super Saiyan Transformations

Final Flash is one of Vegeta's most powerful moves, though it requires a lot of charging time to reach its full power. Vegeta utilizes this attack against Perfect Cell, who wanted to show off his new power to the Super Saiyan.

Despite generating enough power to destroy the entire planet, Vegeta is unable to completely destroy Perfect Cell, though he does manage to damage him severely. The anime shows Vegeta use this attack a few more times, though without the charge time it is considerably less powerful.

1 Supernova

Frieza's Special Planet Buster

DBZ Frieza Supernova

Death Ball is one of Frieza's signature attacks, a ball of energy powerful enough to destroy planets. There are numerous variations on the Death Ball technique, with Supernova being the most powerful of them all. Supernova is far, far larger than the Death Ball, and packs more than enough power to destroy a planet.

In the anime, Frieza uses Supernova to destroy Planet Vegeta, and attempts to do so again to destroy Earth. However, his attempt on Earth is stopped by Trunks, and he is killed by him not long after. Though Frieza did kill Bardock with Supernova when he destroyed Planet Vegeta, their confrontation could not be called a true fight.

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