7 bizarre weaknesses and fears of Dragon Ball characters

As the Dragon Ball franchise has evolved, the need for more characterization and background on characters outside the ring has become more necessary. Inklings of this can be seen in Z, specifically when Gohan starts going to high school in a slice-of-life-esque string of episodes.

Interestingly enough, some Dragon Ball characters have some very strange vulnerabilities, and fears revealed through this characterization. A great example of this is seen in Dragon Ball Z, where Vegeta’s fear of worms is made very clear.

Here are seven bizarre weaknesses and fears of Dragon Ball characters.

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Vegeta’s fear of worms, 6 other Dragon Ball character’s fears and vulnerabilities make for interesting weaknesses

1) Goku’s fear of needles

When Goku is in the hospital following his fight with Vegeta in early Dragon Ball Z, Goku is seen being heavily restrained for a shot. His constant screaming and flailing required more than half a dozen people to hold him down. Eventually, Chi Chi comes in and, through her prodding at Goku’s expense, reveals the Earth’s hero is indeed afraid of needles.

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2) Vegeta’s fear of Beerus

When Beerus is initially introduced in the Dragon Ball franchise, Vegeta is shown to be incredibly fearful of the Destroyer. The reasoning for this is a time during childhood, when he saw his father utterly powerless and completely under Beerus’ control.

Considering how important Saiyan pride is to Vegeta, this scene understandably stuck with him, serving as the base for his own initial fear of Lord Beerus.

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3) Namekians are weak to whistling

As seen twice during the Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug movie, Namekians are incredibly sensitive to and heavily dislike whistling. Apparently, the high frequency is incredibly painful for them to hear, seen through Piccolo and Lord Slug’s fairly angry reactions to being subjected to it.

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4) Goku never goes all out from the start

Ironically, Goku's love of fighting is one of his biggest weaknesses (Image via Toei Animation)

Arguably, Goku’s greatest weakness is the fact that he never starts a fight going all out. He loves a good fight and has often held back just so whatever fight he’s in can develop into a good one. Despite his constant saving of the day, this behavior is still incredibly worrisome, and could one day have true, unfixable consequences.

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5) Vegeta’s fear of worms

During Z’s Fusion saga, Vegeta and Goku find themselves trapped in Super Buu’s body, eventually confronted by (relatively) giant, parasitic worms.

While both are understandably grossed out by the encounter, Vegeta’s reaction is much more animated than Goku’s, to the point of nearly puking at the sight of the worms. Even when one of the worms tries being friendly with the two, Vegeta is still obviously grossed out and very rude.

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6) Saiyan tails

As seen when Goku and Piccolo fight Raditz, a major weakness for the Saiyan race is their tails being grabbed. Apparently, this makes them completely unable to move or fight until the grip on their tail is fully released. While the physiological reasons for this are never explored or explained, Raditz does make it quite clear this is a universal weakness for Saiyans.

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7) Frieza fears Super Saiyans

While Frieza spends essentially his entire time on Namek hiding his true fear for the Super Saiyans, it becomes inarguably apparent upon his arrival to Earth. Seeing a second Super Saiyan in addition to Goku leaves Frieza speechlessly terrified, literally shaking upon seeing the transformation. While he did a good job of previously hiding it, Frieza’s fear of Super Saiyans is plain as day here.

Note: The article reflects the writer's own views.