10 Dragon Ball Characters That Are Way Stronger in the Manga

After an eight-year hiatus following the conclusion of the Dragon Ball Super anime, the series is making a comeback with Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. But before that, Dragon Ball Super is getting a fresh start with a complete anime remake, beginning with the re-release of the Beerus saga this fall.

The Dragon Ball Super manga has moved beyond where the anime left off after the Tournament of Power, and many characters are now significantly more powerful. Traditionally, the anime adaptations of Dragon Ball have increased character strength, but the manga is so far ahead now that the anime can’t keep up. In fact, some Dragon Ball characters are achieving amazing levels of power in the manga that far surpass anything we’ve seen in the anime.

10. Teen Goten Can Still Turn Super Saiyan in the Dragon Ball Super Manga

Goten in Dragon Ball Super has become something of a letdown – he’s even lost the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan, as seen in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. While Trunks has the same issue, it’s particularly disappointing for Goten. He’s Goku’s son and was once the youngest person ever to become a Super Saiyan. When he was first introduced, he was already as powerful as Gohan, even as a child.

Thankfully, the Dragon Ball Super manga has made Goten stronger, allowing him to transform into a Super Saiyan once more. While he’s not the most powerful Saiyan – and seems to be less powerful than Trunks – he was able to participate in the Super Saiyan battle in Chapter 103 of Dragon Ball Super and even spar with Broly. He also appears relatively unharmed after the fight, which is a better showing than anything he achieved in the anime.

9. Teen Trunks Was Strong Enough to Hurt Cell Max in the Dragon Ball Super Manga

Both Goten and Trunks are somewhat sidelined in the Dragon Ball Super anime. Trunks, in particular, loses his ability to transform into a Super Saiyan as a teen and doesn’t play a significant role in the fight against Cell Max. However, the Dragon Ball Super manga treats Trunks much better, restoring his Super Saiyan form, making him the central figure in the High School Saga, and letting him contribute to the battle with Cell Max – with a little assistance from Goten and the Gammas.

In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Goten and Trunks are shown training by battling the remaining Cell Juniors on Android 17’s island. This was the same training that allowed Android 17 to become as powerful as Goku. Since each Cell Junior is comparable in strength to Perfect Cell, it’s logical that Goten and Trunks would become significantly stronger in the manga. Similar to Goten, Trunks also takes part in the battle royale featured in DBS Chapter 103, and even gets a chance to fight Broly.

8. Bardock is a Beast in the Manga

In the Dragon Ball Z anime, Bardock had a power level of 10,000. While he doesn’t appear much stronger in his normal state in the Dragon Ball Super manga, he performs an incredible feat during the Granolah the Survivor Saga. Through a flashback showing the last moments of Planet Cereal, we see Bardock battling Gas to defend a young Granolah.

During their battle, Bardock suddenly gained a significant power boost – similar to how characters get stronger after recovering from near-fatal injuries, and reminiscent of Goku’s Ultra Instinct. Even though Gas was stronger, Bardock managed to inflict a lot of damage, leaving Gas deeply shaken and traumatized by the fight.

7. Kale Eliminates Several Universes By Herself in the Manga’s Tournament of Power

Kale is a powerful character in the Dragon Ball Super anime, but she’s even stronger in the manga. During the Tournament of Power in the Dragon Ball Super manga, when Kale transforms into a Legendary Super Saiyan, she easily defeats most of her opponents. She dominates Golden Frieza and is almost solely responsible for eliminating Universes 2, 3, and 4.

Super Saiyan Kale’s immense power also causes her to accidentally defeat some of her allies, highlighting how difficult it is for her to control the transformation. It’s worth noting that Kale is significantly stronger in the Dragon Ball Super manga, but both Caulifla and Kefla are less powerful than they are in the anime. This is especially true for Kefla, who goes from being as strong as Goku when he first accesses Ultra Instinct in the anime to being around the same strength as Ultimate Gohan.

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6. Master Roshi Teaches Goku Ultra Instinct in the Dragon Ball Super Manga

Master Roshi receives a significant power boost in the Dragon Ball Super manga. During the Tournament of Power storyline, he becomes strong enough to fight against Jiren. By utilizing his immense martial arts knowledge accumulated over centuries, Roshi achieves a state similar to Ultra Instinct, allowing him to easily evade Jiren’s attacks and even impress him.

Master Roshi uses this situation to teach Goku a valuable lesson. He points out that after concentrating so much on brute strength, Roshi himself still holds the upper hand due to his experience. He explains that achieving Ultra Instinct isn’t like other transformations; it represents the peak of a martial artist’s entire journey and training. While Roshi isn’t portrayed as weak in the anime, the Dragon Ball Super manga truly depicts him as a legendary figure.

5. Gohan Doesn’t Fall Off Nearly As Hard in the Dragon Ball Manga

Gohan suffers a lot from inconsistencies in how strong characters are portrayed throughout the Dragon Ball series. In the original manga, his Ultimate form is clearly the most powerful character without any fusions. However, the Dragon Ball Z anime surprisingly claims that he’s weaker than Super Saiyan 3 Goku, which doesn’t really make sense. Things don’t improve much in Dragon Ball Super, where Gohan becomes so out of practice that he struggles to even transform into a Super Saiyan during the Resurrection F Saga.

To make matters worse, Piccolo has to retrain Goku for the Tournament of Power, but Goku doesn’t get many significant battles there. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Gohan was already powerful enough to defeat Kefla and later achieved his incredibly strong Beast form in the Super Hero Saga. While the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie also shows Gohan unlocking Beast, the manga expands on this, depicting Gohan Beast defeating even Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku in a fantastic fight.

4. Manga Jiren Beat the Ultra Instinct Out of Goku

In the Dragon Ball Super anime, Goku achieves the power of Ultra Instinct, which is enough to overcome Jiren. However, he can’t defeat Jiren completely in the Tournament of Power because Ultra Instinct drains his energy and overwhelms his body. The manga version of their fight unfolds in a different way.

During the Tournament of Power in the manga, Goku’s initial, imperfect version of Ultra Instinct wasn’t strong enough to defeat Jiren. Jiren quickly learned to counter Goku’s increasing power and easily overcame Ultra Instinct. He even forced Goku out of the form and would have eliminated him from the tournament if Vegeta hadn’t saved him. This shows that Jiren is significantly more powerful in the manga compared to his portrayal in the anime, as he can withstand attacks from Ultra Instinct Goku.

3. Goku Has Fully Mastered Ultra Instinct in the Manga

The Dragon Ball Super anime concludes with Goku first achieving Ultra Instinct. However, the manga explores Goku’s training with this form in much more detail, showing him eventually mastering it. Between story arcs, Goku learns to control Ultra Instinct, switching it on and off at will, just like his other Super Saiyan transformations – a skill he initially struggled with.

According to the latest chapters of the Dragon Ball Super manga, Goku’s mastered Ultra Instinct is incredibly strong. He can combine it with his Super Saiyan transformations, project his energy outside of his body, and withstand attacks that would instantly defeat most other fighters. The Goku shown in the manga is significantly more powerful than his animated version, who wasn’t even able to use Ultra Instinct during his battle with Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

2. Vegeta’s Strongest Form in the Manga is Ultra Ego, Not Super Saiyan Blue Evolved

By the end of the Dragon Ball Super anime, Vegeta’s most powerful transformation is Super Saiyan Blue Evolved, which he achieved during the Tournament of Power. But in the Dragon Ball Super manga, Vegeta’s journey continues with training under Beerus during the Granolah the Survivor Saga. As a sign of acceptance, Beerus gives Vegeta one of his God of Destruction earrings, marking him as a true student. During his fight with Granolah, Vegeta unlocks a new, destructive power called Ultra Ego.

Ultra Ego is Vegeta’s version of Goku’s Ultra Instinct, but with a key difference: it prioritizes sheer power. While Ultra Instinct focuses on automatic reactions, Ultra Ego makes Vegeta stronger as he takes more damage and battles longer – similar to the dangerous Legendary Super Saiyan form. However, Ultra Ego has a drawback: Vegeta struggles to control the damage he receives, often leading to exhaustion before he can win a fight.

1. Frieza is the Strongest Mortal in the Dragon Ball Super Manga Right Now

In the Dragon Ball Super anime, Frieza was last seen in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, where he lost a long battle against Broly in his Golden Form. The Dragon Ball Super manga recently brought Frieza back at the conclusion of the Granolah the Survivor Saga. He spent ten years training in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber after traveling through different universes.

After completing his training, Frieza achieved his Black Form, which is now considered the strongest non-divine character in Dragon Ball. Some even believe he’s more powerful than many of the gods themselves. Black Frieza demonstrated his incredible strength by defeating Awakened Gas with a single blow and quickly knocking out both Goku (in his Ultra Instinct form) and Vegeta (in his Ultra Ego form). In the manga, Frieza’s power level is significantly higher than how he’s portrayed in the anime.

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2026-04-16 03:06