In a global survey conducted in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Dragon Ball franchise, the most beloved character has been officially identified. The outcome, however, is hardly a shock to fans everywhere.

Marking a milestone for the series, the first worldwide popularity poll was launched, inviting participation from fans across the globe, including those in Japan. This poll, which started with 212 characters from Akira Toriyama’s iconic Dragon Ball manga, was conducted in an elimination format. The final round of voting took place between December 17 and December 26, 2025, which ultimately crowned Son Goku as the favorite among the top 21 contenders.

The results of this extensive popularity poll were unveiled during a live broadcast on the official Dragon Ball YouTube channel. Hosted by Toyotarou and Victory Uchida, the announcement confirmed the top five characters, with Son Goku taking the coveted number one spot.

Dragon Ball Crowns Its Top Character of All Time in Final Worldwide Ranking Results

Image via Shueisha

The Dragon Ball worldwide popularity poll’s final result was announced via a live stream hosted by Toyotarou and Victory Uchida on the official Dragon Ball YouTube channel, with the top five confirmed as follows:

1. Goku

2. Vegeta

3. Gohan

4. Piccolo

5. Vegito

Throughout each elimination phase, the results of Dragon Ball’s character popularity poll fluctuated wildly in the lower ranks, but the top most popular characters tended to remain largely fixed throughout each elimination round. The first elimination concluded with Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Vegito and Piccolo in the top five. From there, Gohan and Vegeta continually fought for the second-place spot in subsequent elimination periods, while Piccolo and Vegito would swap between the fourth and fifth place positions. Through it all, one person’s position never changed: Goku.

Goku has remained the top most popular character in every single round of the poll, so his victory in the end should come as no surprise. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some other surprises throughout the voting. For example, Future Trunks retained his sixth place position in the first three elimination periods. Another surprising upset was that of Frieza, who was consistently outvoted by Cell.

Another surprise was Vegito’s high standing in the rankings. Importantly, because the poll only covered manga characters from Toriyama’s original series and not Dragon Ball Super, Vegito’s generally more popular fusion counterpart, Gogeta, was not an option in the poll.

Dragon Ball’s worldwide popularity poll marked the finale of Dragon Ball’s epic ongoing 40th anniversary celebration that began with Dragon Ball DAIMA in late 2024. That ending is just the start of a new beginning, as there’s still plenty to look forward to for Dragon Ball fans given the series’ highly anticipated Genkidamatsuri event being live-streamed on Jan. 25.

Rumors and apparent “leaks” surrounding the event have been a constant since it was first announced in October of last year, especially since the official Dragon Ball website promised fans that Goku voice actor Masako Nozawa and the series’ executive producer, Akio Iyoku, “will take the stage to make announcements about new developments coming to Dragon Ball.” Some of the biggest rumors have included a potential Dragon Ball Super anime remake, the continuation of the Dragon Ball Super anime with the Moro Saga, and even the return of Toyotarou’s Dragon Ball Super manga, to name a few.

Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri will definitely be the event every Dragon Ball fan will be talking about, so fans won’t want to miss the official English live stream of the event on Toei Animation’s official YouTube channel.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

Latest Film

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

First Episode Air Date

April 26, 1989