The height conundrum

[Attitudefan]

Okay, so this topic may have been explored before in the past, but searching through the forum, it's been quite awhile and never really delved deep into this conundrum of height in Dragon Ball. First of all, there has been official releases of heights of some of the characters such as Goku through to Tenshinhan, and even Vegeta. So, what is the problem? Well, as you may know, the art style is subject to change many times over the series' life; however, it should be at least noted that height seems to be fairly consistent through the show and manga release... sometimes.

Okay, so I would like to explain that Goku's height was officially stated to be 5'7" or roughly 170 cm. It makes sense since that would roughly be equivalent to average height in Japan for average males; all around the world, the average is 5'9" ~175 cm.

However, Goku's 170 cm height compared to body proportions started to change massively once we move onto the Namek arc. I mean, Goku is at least 2 inches taller when viewed from body proportion measurements. His legs are quite a bit slimmer and longer, just take a look at his boots from the Saiyan arc picture onto the Namek arc:

Spoiler:

What's interesting to note is how Goku's proportions are the same from the Ma Jr arc onto the end of the Saiyan arc. He is just thicker. His arms are a bit wider compared to his teenage counterpart in the Ma Jr arc. However, his legs and arms and overall body proportions remain the same. Yet, once we look at the far right, Namek arc Goku, his legs and boots look quite a bit long and he looks thinner due to his taller frame!

And if in doubt about Toriyama not being consistent, in the same volume, when fighting Nappa, Goku has the same proportions from when he arrives to when he defeats Nappa, so consistency doesn't change much during a short amount of time when certain panels are drawn. Goku remains the same. So it is not like Toriyama is just all over the place with height.

Spoiler:

While we take a look at Goku compared to others such as Yamch and Tenshinhan, does his height change?

compared to Ten, no, actually, Goku's height compared to Ten remains the same:

Spoiler:

Goku is still about a head and a bit smaller compared to an over 185 cm Tenshinhan. However, Yamcha, who is listed at about 6'0" 185 cm, Goku seems to be about the same height as him in more recent work!

Spoiler:

Yet, in some artwork in the manga, Goku is shown to be a little bit shorter than Yamcha, but not enough to be 170 cm.

Again, based off of reference height charts for the anime, and then seen in the actual episodes of the anime, the staff were just as consistent as they could be (most of the time).

Spoiler:

As we see, Gohan is up to Piccolo's shoulders (Piccolo is over 7 feet tall) in the reference chart and it translates the same over to the anime.

So, has some of the characters heights been inconsistent or changed over time? Well, take a look at this quote from a similar topic:

Other examples of height inconsistencies in both the manga and anime

Kuririn is a head shorter than Goku when he's next to him



But appears too short when he walks to Raditz



And now he's Gohan height



Badassery makes a character taller.




reply 2266

Yes, character height has been inconsistent, but how tall are the characters then, and why would you say they are that tall?

[RandomGuy96]

All very interesting. I think Tenshinhan looks far too tall compared to Goku in those pictures- if Ten is only 6'1, he shouldn't even be a head above 5'7 Goku, let alone above even that. Heck, if it wasn't for his hair, in the second picture the top of his head would be nearly level with Ten's shoulders.

Krillin in the introduction of Raditz seems to be the most blatant height contradiction in the manga, going from up to Goku's chin to below Raditz's waist in between frames. Also, I don't remember Piccolo seeming as massive as he should be in the 23rd Budokai arc. I could be wrong, though.

The very tall characters are also subject to inconsistent height. Second form Freeza is at one time so big that Gohan doesn't even up to his kneecaps, but later is only as tall as Piccolo. Chi Chi's dad goes from being MASSIVE compared to Goku, as in the above picture, to being only a little taller, not even a whole head. King Cold is a minor character, but is notable for just how inconsistent his height is in his short screen time; he is usually depicted as Piccolo/2nd form Freeza's size, but in a few shots, like the one on his ship, he seems like he's over twice that size. Super Buu also varies somewhat, going between a little less than a head above Piccolo to so tall that Piccolo doesn't even come up to his shoulders.



Is King Cold supposed to be this gargantuan? Usually he would be depicted as shorter than Super Buu and old Piccolo, but here he's over 15 feet tall. Or is this just another short where Freeza is tiny, as he often was in his fight with Goku?

[Attitudefan]

Actually, I just came across how much taller Vegeta has been in recent adaptions of Dragon Ball.

Spoiler:

compared to

Vegeta has easily gone from being no taller than 5'3" to easily 5'7"!!

But why would the animators have no care for something that blatant when obviously they have reference pictures and hight charts, especially on a camera angle that's facing the characters directly?

[ABED]

When I think of the character heights, I think Goku is average (5'7" to 5'10"), Tenshinhan as around 6' to 6'2", Piccolo around 6'5" or 6'6", Kuririn about as tall as Danny DeVito (5'), and Vegeta is 5'3". I prefer his look during the Saiyan arc, like Wolverine he has a bit of short man syndrome.

[Attitudefan]

When I think of the character heights, I think Goku is average (5'7" to 5'10"), Tenshinhan as around 6' to 6'2", Piccolo around 6'5" or 6'6", Kuririn about as tall as Danny DeVito (5'), and Vegeta is 5'3". I prefer his look during the Saiyan arc, like Wolverine he has a bit of short man syndrome.

Yeah, that what I would agree upon as well.

Based on that, I would pin Yamcha at 5'11" - 6'1", Nappa at 6'10" and Raditz as the same as Ten.

Since Bulma is slightly taller than Vegeta, I'd place her at 5'4" or 5'5".

[ErikB]

Piccolo's stated official height is 7'4", correct? I've read that a couple of times but I suppose it could be false (y'know, because Dragon Ball and rumours). That sure isn't reflected in a lot of the animation; especially during Gotenks's fight with Super Buu in which Piccolo regularly seems to only be a couple of heads taller than Gotenks.
But it's fair to note that a lot of the times when the characters are shorter than they should be, it's during gag moments and the more stout proportions simply look more comical. Plus in Piccolo's case specifically, we know he can change his size at will.
My brother and I were both really surprised the first time we saw Piccolo fighting Frieza, noticing that they were the same size. It wasn't until a later flashback to the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai when Piccolo mentioned that he could increase his size that we rationalized it among ourselves.

As for why the animators took no care with the heights: On principle they should have, it's the whole reason those height charts exist to begin with, but we know Toei and its budgeting ways. The episodes for the most part were likely pushed out the door as soon as they were passable.

Gyumao pretty much cemented the idea in my mind that there's not much worth in questioning the height inconsistencies. In what little screentime he has, he regularly fluctuates between about 10 feet tall to the size of a small house and back.

[Herms]

Gyumao pretty much cemented the idea in my mind that there's not much worth in questioning the height inconsistencies. In what little screentime he has, he regularly fluctuates between about 10 feet tall to the size of a small house and back.

I've also noticed that that bear guy Goku fights right at the start of the series seems to be all over the place height-wise.

Anyway, official character heights from the Super Exciting Guide: Character Volume:

Son Goku
Height: 175 cm (adult)

Son Gohan
Height: 176 cm (adult)

Son Goten
Height: 123 cm (child)

Vegeta
Height: 164 cm

Trunks (teenage)
Height: 170 cm

Trunks (kid)
Height: 129 cm (child)

Piccolo
Height: 226 cm (adult)

Kuririn
Height: 153 cm (adult)

Yamcha
Height: 183 cm

Kame-sennin
Height: 165 cm

Tenshinhan
Height: 187 cm

Chaozu
Height: 138 cm

Yajirobe
Height: 165 cm

Bulma
Height: 165 cm

Chi-Chi
Height: 163 cm (adult)

Mister Satan
Height: 188 cm

Videl
Height: 157 cm

[Attitudefan]

Interesting. Yamcha is labled as 183 cm yet the more I see him in anything recent he is the same size as Son. I do find it pretty awesome that Goku is the same height as me barefoot!

However, as we see, especially during the Cell Games, Goku looks to be the same height as Ten! Obviously that can't be the case since look how short Goku looks beside him; Ten dwarfs the poor guy.

[Polyphase Avatron]

In that Buu saga height chart, Videl is tiny...

[RandomGuy96]

She and Kaioshin are insanely tiny. Their shoulders don't even come up to Gohan's waist, and Gohan is short. Definitely doesn't have match her official 5'1 height.

[SingleFringe&Sparks]

I think the most notable inconsistancies in the anime alone that I've seen were from Vegeta and Freeza.
Especially in the Majn Vegeta arc, when he proposes his challenge to Goku he looks really small like a quarter of Goku's height, then when he fights Goku hes the same height as Goku exactly?

Then there was Final form Freeza who on debut and early fight with Goku, times looked like 3 to 4 feet high, 1/4th of Gokus apparent height, then as he fought Goku later in hes at least 3/4 of Goku's height before he went SSJ, then he shrinks again.

Goku's height itself always confused me, I always thought Goku was like 6 Foot at least by the end of Z the way he looked, possibly his posture and bulk give that illusion but him being 5'7 seems small; a lor more so than he actually looks. Thats about average teenager height. Then there are statements about Piccolo being 7-Foot which I can really see. He never seemed that tall ever in the anime. Most of the time especially in the Android/19-20 arc and early afterward he was the same height as Goku.

[Attitudefan]

Well, with Goku, he usually looks a lot taller when he is not with the rest of the group. But it was stated officially that he was 5'9" (that would make him the same as me) and he was also stated to be 5'7" (pretty short). Seeing him next to Vegeta who is 5'3", it is safe to assume that Goku is probably 5'7" since Vegeta isn't completely dwarfed by Goku.

But you're right, Vegeta was virtually the same height (or so it seems) when he is fighting Goku under Babidi's control. Yet, earlier, we saw that he was a few inches shorter for sure!


I do not think Goku is close to being 6 feet at all since when you see him by Ten, he always looks way too short. Even throughout most of the series (not counting anything recent), Goku is much shorter than Yamcha as well. Most of the time, he is not too much taller than Krillin and even Freeza doesn't look too small compared to Goku.

Same goes for Bulma, she actually looks to be near equal to Goku. If we understand Goku's height, we can roughly base everyone off of that. So, Bulma being around/little taller than Vegeta's height, Goku could no way be a 6 footer. I would say he is actually closer to 5'7" than 5'9".

Spoiler:

Seeing that Yamcha in most works shown to be close to Ten's height, but still a bit shorter, and above Goku, from about two inches to a full head taller most of the time, AND seeing that Yamcha is listed to be 6 feet tall, it is safe to assume Goku is definitely no more than 5'9" (when we see he is shown to be about 2 inches shorter) and easily 5'7" when he looks to be about a head shorter than Yamcha (and Tenshinhan). Animators throughout Dragonball (including the manga), generally have Yamcha closer to Ten than he is to Goku, which establishes the fact that Yamcha is depicted the most consistent, being around 5'11"-6'0".

Spoiler:

Oh, and about that comment that Goku looks way too short compared to Ten in that one shot from the anime, I disagree since Toriyama is showing how short Goku really is compared to Ten:

Spoiler:

Goku is not a tall man no matter how much one wants him to be perceived to be around 6 feet tall. He's less of a wrestler's height and more of a traditional Kung-Fu star like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan's height. It makes perfect sense since that is where Toriyama got his inspiration from!

I think out of many of the official images (not sketches or reference charts), I really think this one is the most accurate for most of the characters. However, the only flaw is that either Ten is too tall or Piccolo is too short; but, Goku is up to Piccolo's shoulder, which is consistent with most frames, cels, scenes, and artwork done for the series. Therefore, I think Ten is depicted a little too tall. He should be just slightly taller than Yamcha.

Spoiler:

So, I have one more image I would like to share. It is Raditz compared to Goku. Since Raditz's proportions are nearly the same as Ten—Goku is a little above shoulder level just as he is with Ten—I conclude that Raditz is about 6'1" to about 6'3".

Spoiler:

[RandomGuy96]

Bulma's official 5'5 height works well in the above images.

And yay, at roughly 6'1 I'm taller than any of the Z-gang! Except Ten. He's literally half an inch above me. Oh, and Piccolo of course. And Mr. Buu. Okay, so I'm not really.

Ten looks far too massive in that picture, if Goku's really supposed to be 5'7. Ten at about 6'1.5 would be considered tall in almost every part of the world, including Japan where the average male height is 5'7, but in that picture he looks Piccolo sized, with Goku not even coming up to his shoulders. He shouldn't even have a head on Goku.

A head, in terms of height, is usually 8-10 inches. Raditz is probably 6'3. The top of Goku's head reaches his nose.

Another thing: how small is final form Freeza supposed to be?

By the way, anyone else surprised by how big Fat Buu is here? He seems to be roughly the same height as Super Buu. I always thought Super Buu was significantly taller than the others, but nope.



How freaking massive would that make Grey Buu then? The tallest villain in the series, aside from Oozaru Vegeta?

[Attitudefan]

Damn dude, lucky you being that tall... :/

In terms of Freeza, in his final form, he is smaller than Krillin I think. Krillin, most of the time, is depicted to be around Goku's chin... yet Freeza is even smaller than that! He could no way be even 5 feet tall. Not even close. That makes him scarier than all the other villains I think. He's soooo tiny yet he can blow up planets with just his finger. And people thought Vegeta was short!



If anyone can get me a reference picture of Vegeta with Freeza, we can determine just how tall he should be, either being greater than or equal to 5 feet or less than 5 feet.


Buu... hmm... Super Buu might be taller. If Fat Buu is about Dabra's height, then Super Buu might have an inch on Fat Buu.

By the way, anyone else surprised by how big Fat Buu is here? He seems to be roughly the same height as Super Buu. I always thought Super Buu was significantly taller than the others, but nope.



How freaking massive would that make Grey Buu then? The tallest villain in the series, aside from Oozaru Vegeta?

Jeezus! HE'S HUGE!! I had no idea! But what about Evil Buu vs Buff Buu or Super Buu? Ox King might have a lead on being taller though....

Now what about Cell? I think he shrinks as he gets closer to perfect form. Around at the VERY LEAST Piccolo's height at first to I'm guessing Yamcha's height.

[RandomGuy96]

Damn dude, lucky you being that tall... :/

Hah, thanks.

In terms of Freeza, in his final form, he is smaller than Krillin I think. Krillin, most of the time, is depicted to be around Goku's chin... yet Freeza is even smaller than that! He could no way be even 5 feet tall. Not even close. That makes him scarier than all the other villains I think. He's soooo tiny yet he can blow up planets with just his finger. And people thought Vegeta was short!

-snip-

Damn. Dude is tiny. His shoulders don't even come up to Goku's waist. I think Freeza was made that short so that even Vegeta looked significantly taller than him, to rub in the "don't judge by appearance" motif.

On that note, I think the above picture on my other post of King Cold looking massive may just be Freeza being tiny again, as he often was during his fight with Goku.

Buu... hmm... Super Buu might be taller. If Fat Buu is about Dabra's height, then Super Buu might have an inch on Fat Buu.

It depends on the shot, but Piccolo is usually depicted as being a head shorter than Super Buu, or coming up to his shoulders. That's how tall Fat Buu looks there.

Jeezus! HE'S HUGE!! I had no idea! But what about Evil Buu vs Buff Buu or Super Buu? Ox King might have a lead on being taller though....

If the above height chart is accurate, Super Buu and Fat Buu should be roughly the same height. Fat Buu in that picture looks like he'd normally come up to Evil Buu's chest.

Actually, I think Evil Buu might have the lead going by the above picture and the height chart. Ox King's lead on Piccolo appears similar to Evil Buu's lead on Fat, and Fat Buu is significantly taller than Piccolo. Ox King looks closer to Fat Buu than he does to Evil Buu. So Evil Buu should tower over Ox King too!

Height chart:

Spoiler:

Evil Buu bending over to look at Fat Buu:

Spoiler:

I have a hard time figuring out Buff Buu, since the only time we see him he's hunched over and has no one nearby to compare his height to. I just assume he's the same height as Super/Fat Buu. Which would make South Kaioshin about Kibito's size.

Now what about Cell? I think he shrinks as he gets closer to perfect form. Around at the VERY LEAST Piccolo's height at first to I'm guessing Yamcha's height.

Perfect Cell and Goku looked to be the same size during their fight, roughly. At least, Cell didn't dwarf him. I'd probably guess he's 6 feet as well. Imperfect Cell and Semi-Perfect Cell seem to fluctuate more so the latter (Imperfect Cell looks equal to Piccolo); see, for example, Semi-Perfect Cell vs Vegeta. Cell looks huge there.

[Metalwario64]

Spoiler:

Badassery makes a character taller.

That's funny. I thought Gohan being extra tall in that shot was another Last House fail.

As for discussions of Super Buu's height, I think I should toss this into the mix:

Seems a bit taller than fat Buu (who I could've sworn was sometimes drawn shorter than that, though I know he was drawn huge in the first few episodes, especially the Studio Cockpit episode when he fights Gohan and Kaioshin).

[Herms]

Well, with Goku, he usually looks a lot taller when he is not with the rest of the group. But it was stated officially that he was 5'9" (that would make him the same as me) and he was also stated to be 5'7" (pretty short).

Pretty sure 175 cm is the only height officially given for adult Goku, and that's about 5'7". Where are you getting 5'9" from?

If I recall correctly, 175 cm is average by Japanese standards, but I guess it's a bit short by US standards.

[Attitudefan]

Well, with Goku, he usually looks a lot taller when he is not with the rest of the group. But it was stated officially that he was 5'9" (that would make him the same as me) and he was also stated to be 5'7" (pretty short).

Pretty sure 175 cm is the only height officially given for adult Goku, and that's about 5'7". Where are you getting 5'9" from?

If I recall correctly, 175 cm is average by Japanese standards, but I guess it's a bit short by US standards.

175 cm is just barely under 5'9". Just do the conversion. 68.8976 inches or roughly 5'8.9". 170 cm is 5'7". But I swear a few times I've read around that he was listed (in the imperial system conversion) at 5'7". I think that is why it is such a problem. Seeing Yamcha and Ten being 6 footers, Goku is quite small in comparison (most of the time). Like you said, Goku is 5'7", and should not be listed at 5'9" at all.

Seems a bit taller than fat Buu (who I could've sworn was sometimes drawn shorter than that, though I know he was drawn huge in the first few episodes, especially the Studio Cockpit episode when he fights Gohan and Kaioshin).

Studio cockpit exaggerates the characters to such an extent that everyone looks well over 6 feet tall. I mean, that's a little much don't you think?

But I think Evil Buu and Super Buu are pretty similar in terms of height. They are just towering monsters. If I recall correctly, Piccolo wasn't even at shoulder length with Super Buu!

[TheDevilsCorpse]

But I think Evil Buu and Super Buu are pretty similar in terms of height. They are just towering monsters. If I recall correctly, Piccolo wasn't even at shoulder length with Super Buu!

I think this is the only chart with Evil Buu:

[Herms]

175 cm is just barely under 5'9". Just do the conversion. 68.8976 inches or roughly 5'8.9". 170 cm is 5'7". But I swear a few times I've read around that he was listed (in the imperial system conversion) at 5'7".

Ah, they probably made the same mistake I just did and forgot that 5.74 feet doesn't equal 5'74".

*redface*