Dragon Ball Z Androids: Who Are They And When Do They Appear?

Sometimes, especially when a series or anime is long, the author feels like dividing the work into different sagas or arcs. They are valid since they allow us to divide the plot, introduce new characters, and present unexplored villains. Dragon Ball, a long anime with different seasons and divisions, also had the so-called sagas we are speaking about.

Dragon Ball is the first installment of Dragon Ball. Also called the "original" Dragon Ball, part of it focuses on Goku being a child and how he slowly rises to the top. The second installment is Dragon Ball Z, and a significant part of it focuses on Goku's family, particularly his Hybrid son, Gohan.

You might not know about this, but those installments divisions do not exist in the manga. After the 291st chapter in the manga, that's Dragon Ball Z for you. Even if that division doesn't exist in the manga, it actually suited quite well in the anime. But that's something else we will discuss another time.

Today, we will focus on one of the most famous sagas in Dragon Ball Z: the Androids saga and the main antagonists called the Androids.

What Is The Androids Saga?

It's one specific saga in DBZ. The main characteristic is that we get the introduction of this saga three years before it starts. You could also call it a warning, and an unknown character at the time is the one who delivers it. He is Future Trunks.

Future Trunks tells our hero, Goku, that new villains will take control of Earth if he and his team don't stop them. Goku believes Trunks, even when he informs him that he is Bulma and Vegeta's son. Regardless of that new information, Goku and his team begin a journey of harsh training to avoid the inevitable. They need to stop the Androids because Trunks comes from the future, and he already knows what's the worst that could happen. Besides, he literally goes back to warn them, so it must be pretty serious.

With that, three years later, the Androids saga begins.

Who Are The Androids?

The main antagonists of this saga represent the creation of one wild doctor. If you saw the first Dragon Ball installment, you must be familiar with: Dr. Gero. He had already made Androids in the past, and when Goku was a child, he had to destroy the doctor to avoid stealing the Dragon Balls. At the time, we believed Dr. Gero was over. However, when Trunks comes from the future and tells Goku that he is alive, we are shocked.

The Androids of this DBZ saga are the new creations of this doctor. At one point, they were human, but now they have been technologically modified and programmed to do just one thing: to kill Goku.

What Are The Best Androids?

Of course, this wouldn't be complete without ranking the Androids. Some sites say there are twenty of them, but some aren't canon at all or even fan-made. We will try to summarize the best ones right now!

Metallitron

We believe he deserves a specific mention because he is the first Android we ever see in Dragon Ball. He literally looks like Terminator, and that by itself is very funny. Goku fought him when he was a child. Besides that one fact, there is not much left to say about this Android, really. He was part of the Red Ribbon Army, and he was close to defeating our hero, but without doing it anyways. (He was fighting Goku, like who did he believe he was?)

Android 19

We won't talk that much about that one since he is the first that gets defeated of all the new androids in the Android saga. You could say: "right, but he won the battle with Goku" and it's a valid argument, we think. However, Goku had a heart attack at that moment, and it's not like he could do something else besides letting him win while trying not to die. The good thing about this character and the one reason we don't put him further down on the list is that he could absorb. He is that type of character with potential, but it was all wasted in the end.

Mecha Frieza

Sure, he only serves as an introduction to the Androids arc in Dragon Ball, but we still believe Toriyama did a good job by framing it that way. After our fighters kill Frieza, we suddenly see him again, but wait, no! He has changed. He's some kind of cyborg now! Apparently, he didn't waste any time in training whatsoever. He straight up made himself stronger with technology. (Something that would be admirable if we weren't talking about the biggest villain in DB). Mecha Frieza acts as a way to remind us that there are androids and there are ways a human can come back from the dead. Two things that we see right after with Dr. Gero! What's even better, in the end, the one who defeats this changed Frieza is that one boy who comes from the future: Trunks. After that, Trunks tells our hero that there are actual villains worse than Frieza, at least for now. This leaves Goku, and the viewers, totally shocked. Who could be worse than this Mecha Frieza?

Dr. Gero

We have to keep showing you even better Androids! Here you have the one who started everything. A doctor that went crazy, of course. Someone who uses all of his knowledge to be a villain and doesn't care about it. The one and only: Dr. Gero. He used to be weak, but not anymore! With technology, now he can do whatever he pleases. The most impressive part of his improvements is that he can keep up with other villains far more powerful than he is. He gets the capacity of absorbing ki of any other androids, which is pretty powerful on its own.

He could be a great villain! (Or at least show more of this potential. More than he already did). His end was kind of tragic, though, since his own puppets were the ones who killed him at the end.

Android 16

He is one of the main antagonists in the Android Saga. This Android was technically strong in DBZ but later lost part of its strength. In fact, when fighting Cell, he was the one who could actually put up with a good fight. It didn't matter in the end, but still, it is an Android worth remembering. It is kind of sad, though! He had a bad ending because he wasn't resuscitated by the Dragon Balls. You probably already know, but characters in this series get revived a lot.

Cell

We weren't sure if we should include him since he is not technically an Android per se. He is, but instead of having the "Android + number" in his name, he gets special treatment and gets called totally different. He is still one of Dr. Gero's creations, though! He has specific forms that have been the nightmare of other Dragon Ball characters.

A villain born and bred, he can absorb ki, and what's worse, absorb actual humans. In fact, he gets to do that with different characters throughout the series, making him scarier than he might look at first glance. 

Android 17

One of the most awesome things about this Android is that he doesn't only shine in the Androids saga but also in Dragon Ball Super and even Dragon Ball GT. The remarkable thing about this character is that a significant part of this strength was not given to him, but he truthfully trained to be as strong as he shows in Dragon Ball GT. An example of this is that he had more or less the same abilities as the other androids, but with long sessions of training by his side, he managed to be as strong as Super Saiyan Blue Goku. What a character!

Android 18

We might be biased, but Android 18 is one of the best androids and characters in the saga. We get it. Most of the Androids were villains, so the most logical thing is that they'll get killed at one point or another. Still, it doesn't happen with this Android. She keeps being a constant character, and she even marries Krillin! So even if she started being a villain trained to kill Goku, she changes and turns against Dr. Gero. We completely love to see that character development! In Dragon Ball GT, she is way more powerful than when we saw her in the Androids saga.

That is everything for today! The Androids saga is considered one of the most intriguing arcs in Dragon Ball Z, mainly because it introduces us to brand new villains with abilities unknown until that time. If you liked this, we invite you to look at our store! We have potara earrings and other items like the famous Vegeta pink shirt. What are you waiting for?