Best/Worst Versions of Each Character

[Zephyr]

What specific versions of each character do you guys enjoy the most? Which ones do you dislike the most? Would be cool to see both ends of the spectrum for everyone. You could be as specific or as broad as you want. Specify all the way down to the transformation, outfit, medium, and the dub (if applicable), or leave it general enough to just specify a story arc. You could justify it out of preference for an artstyle, a design, a certain voice, characterization, or whatever.

Some common examples might include:
Broly - Movie 8+12
Bardock - Dragon Ball Minus/Episode of Bardock
Gohan - Super
Chichi - Super
Goku - RoF - Funimation Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan
Cooler - Malaysian dub Metal
Bardock - TV Special
Goku - Anime - Japanese - Adult
Freeza - Anime - Funimation - Z
Trunks - Cell arc Super Saiyan Grade III
Goku - Pilaf arc
Baby - Heroes Jenemba
---
My personal favorites don't really consider the medium, region, or dub:

Favorites:
Gohan - Cell Games Super Saiyan 2/Buu arc Great Saiyaman
Goku -Pilaf-Namek arc
Jaco - Manga/RoF
Kame Sennin - Pilaf-Piccolo Daimao arc/Z Movie 2
Mr. Satan - Buu arc
Piccolo - 23rd TB-Saiyan arc/Z Movie 1-2
Tao Pai Pai - Red Ribbon Army arc
Tenshinhan - 22nd TB-Saiyan arc
Vegeta - Saiyan-Namek arc/BoG-RoF/Super
Videl - Buu arc
Whis - RoF/Super

Least Favorites:
Haven't started brainstorming this yet, but I'll update after I do.

[Vijay]

Badass topic! Can see pages exceeding 30+ easily

Best Versions

1 Broly-Movie 10

I love his regular Super Saiyan look. Looked majestic as f***

2. Goku-latter Buu Arc

Everything after his ressurection (to fight Buutenks) was roller-coaster fun. I was craving for Goku's epic entry into da main storyline, but witnessing Goku vs Kid Buu. Jesus....wet my pants at its sheer greatness. I also liked how Goku was funny, unlike how he was during early portions of Buu Arc

3. Veggie (Android Arc)

Right frm da ass-whoppin he delivers to 19, all da way to pulverizing Semi-Perfect Cell. Good times~

[Doctor.]

Goku - I like all the versions of the character throughout every arc, but if I had to name a favorite, it'd be Battle of Gods (the film), the Boo arc comes at a close second. My least favourite portrayal of him would be the Hunt for the Dragon Balls, I thought he was pretty bland without all the remarkable traits that would be introduced later on. Resurrection F (the film) comes in at a close second

Vegeta - Favourite would be his portrayal in the Boo arc. Least favorite would be the Resurrection F (the film). But, like Goku, I like his portrayal in every arc.

Gohan - This is an easy one. My favorite version of him is his early Boo arc self, while he was in the "Great Saiyaman" stage. My least favorite portrayal of the character is his Cell Games incarnation, more specifically, after he turned Super Saiyan 2.

Piccolo - Another easy one. Favorite goes to the Namek arc, where he gains his role as the cold, calm and mostly speechless tutor. Least favorite is the 23rd Budokai, he's just a carbon copy of Daimao.

[Dotogam]

Best Gohan, Great Saiyaman and Mirai. Worst Gohan, FnF Gohan (no matter how cool his hair design is).

[Kamiccolo9]

Movie 15 Goku, because he has a better looking gi.

Freeza fight Vegeta, because he cries.

Track suit Gohan because Track suit.

Buu Arc Piccolo, because he makes for excellent comic relief.

Same with Freeza Arc Krillin.

[Lord Beerus]

Goku: Honestly, I always really enjoyed how Goku has been portrayed throughout the story and I never really found myself hating any version Goku at any stage. I may see some of his ideas as stupid, like giving Cell a senzu bean, but I never found myself really irritated to point of where I don't like him. I really did like how he was portrayed in the Saiyan arc the most, though. His portrayal in the Freeza arc comes a close second and his portrayal in the Majin Boo arc come a close third.

Vegeta: Oh, how I hate how stupid he got in Android/Cell arc from when he started fighting Semi-Perfect Cell. Yeah, I know, he's still an evil prick, but that doesn't mean he can't be a smart evil prick. I mean, honestly, in my opinion, for a good chunk of the entire arc, Vegeta's bitchy, whiny, "everybody else's fault but mine" attitude was cranked up several notches, and it just really rubbed me up the wrong way. Majin Boo arc Vegeta was Vegeta was at his without a doubt. The character truly evolved during that arc and it was wonderful to see.

Piccolo: I enjoyed Piccolo immensely during the Namek arc the most. But he also made really great comic relief in the Majin Boo arc, too. Conversely, I don't really have a version of the character that I really dislike. I guess his portrayal in the 23rd WMAT was a little bland.

Gohan: Everything about SSJ2 Gohan during the Cell Games, I detest. It so bloody OOC, that I can't really enjoy in retrospect. Not to mention it was poorly built up. Majin Boo arc Gohan is really good, but that most in part to wonderful hijinks in High School and his hilarious schtick as the Great Saiyaman. Ultimate Gohan, though, is just... ugh. His portrayal in the Saiyan arc was also brilliant, but that was mostly down to the filler in the anime adaption of the Saiyan arc.

Trunks: Future Trunks is just... awesome. Every other of Trunks pales in comparison. Great character, great backstory, badass sword user and he was the only character in the Android/Cell arc that I gave a damn about. He definitely earned his happy ending. Kid Trunks, on the other hand, is just an annoying, spoilt little shit.

[Vynak]

Goku - Best: kid Goku. He's endearing until he becomes an adult and it starts to go downhill after that. Runner up: Namek / SSJ Goku. He's at his best here, good fights, SSJ design was awesome. Worst: Everything past the Namek arc. SSJ3 form is terrible looking, sorry.

Vegeta - Best: Saiyan - Namek arc. Cunning, ruthless, fun to watch. Like his design. Runner up: Majin Vegeta. Vegeta's redemption, great design. Worst: Cell arc. Not his best moments, intelligence went completely out the window, USSJ looked terrible on him. Also almost all the movies except the last two and the 2nd Cooler movie.

Gohan - Best: Namek - Cell arc. He's grown up from being a scared crybaby and is coming into his own. You see a lot of development here. SSJ2 Gohan's design was awesome. Worst: Used to be Ultimate/Mystic (hated how it was obtained, design was boring) but now it's definitely Super. Design is awful, he's completely useless.

Piccolo - Best: Saiyan - Namek. He's still relevant and has personality. There's not really a worst arc for him because he's solid throughout but just becomes less relevant and moves into the mentor role. Becomes more generic as a character sadly.

[Hot Rod]

Goku - Kid Saiyan armor outfit / Super Saiyan 2.
Vegeta - Kid / Movie 15 outfit / Super Saiyan 2.
Bardock - Dragon Ball Online / Super Saiyan 2.
Janemba - Movie 12 / Majin Baby Janemba.
Trunks - Time Patrol.
Gotenks - Base / Super Saiyan 2.
Bulma - Movie 15 outfit / Dragon Ball Super's look after bath.
Videl - Long hair.

[Lunatic Fringe]

I'll be doing my Top 5 on this one and I won't be counting the movies, either -

Piccolo: There hasn't been a stage of Piccolo's character that I haven't disliked but I was never a big fan of his Namek/Freeza Saga portrayal. Not to say that it didn't have its bright spots or anything but outside of his fight with Freeza, he didn't do much besides stand around and be a spectator. At least during the Buu saga, he was great for comedic relief and he felt more central to the plot during the Android Saga before Goku got better. Honestly, my favorite moment out of everything he did during that time was him making the suggestions about what to wish for since it showed off his smarts. His best would have to either be during the Saiya-jin or Buu saga.

Goku: He's never really gone through too many changes where I'd say that I didn't like the end result so what I'd consider to be his "worst" version would be his Buu saga portrayal. Goku has always been an awe-inspiring character to me and this saga was probably what I'd consider to be his most unremarkable. Sure, he had the whole SSJ3 thing going for him but the quickly becomes obsolete and overshadowed with the introduction of Ultimate Gohan and the fusions. His best would be...gosh, this one's a toughie. I'd go with the Android/Cell Saga Goku. I liked how Goku's battle ingenuity, in terms of making the best time of the RoSaT, comes forth, which just so happens to introduce my favorite version of any SSJ in the FPSSJ form. This also might be headcanon talking but I also liked how much Goku had faith in Gohan to deal with Cell, even going so far as giving him a Senzu bean to make it easier on Cell to make Gohan angrier(confirm for me if this is headcanon and he only did it to give Cell a fair fight or not). There's also the fight he had with Cell, which is my favorite out of the entire arc and the use of his IT to divert Cell's explosion away from Earth in an act of selflessness. Basically, it portrayed all of Goku's faults endearingly enough for me not to bash my head into a wall and his battle smarts in ways that made the action he took part in entertaining to watch.

Freeza: This one's easy enough. Worst is easily the portion of the series when he comes back in his Mecha form to seek revenge but gets chopped up and blasted away in an instant. Oh well, at least he got to go out with style. That also means that the Namek/Freeza saga version of the character is the best by default. No surprises there.

Kuririn: I guess I'd have to go with the Buu saga since all it really did was show us that he was a Dad. Not much to go off of there. Best would be the Saiya-jin saga followed closely the Namek/Freeza saga. He was really the perfect "wingman" so to speak, not necessarily doing too much to move the plot along in favor of him and his friends but more than enough to show that even though he's only a spoke on the wheel, you wouldn't be able to make it to the end without him. So, sorta like Scottie Pippen in a way.

Bulma: Best would be the Search for the Dragon Balls arc. Her cunning, spoiled, shrewd Straight Man role was a joy to watch. There was never really a dull moment with her at all, what with having to deal with Goku's unconventional personality, Roshi/Oolong's brand of perverted antics, and just the harshness of living out in the wild without the trapping of sheltered, city life. My least favorite portrayal would probably be...whenever she had to be a spectator in any of the WMAT sagas. She's equally as forgettable as the next one and although it makes sense since those arcs are primarily focused on fighting, it still doesn't mean that I have to enjoy it for what it is.

[ekrolo2]

Goku - I like him up to the Android Saga with every proceeding version cementing him as a one-note dickhead.

Vegeta - He was at his best at the end of the Boo Saga when he was cooperating with Goku, my least favorite is modern Vegeta whenever it's outside of a gag.

Piccolo - The Saiyan Saga was the peak for him with 23rd Budokai just portraying him as a copy of Daimao.

Gohan - I like his modern day and early Boo portrayal the best, I loathe him upon turning into an SSJ2.

Trunks - Future Trunks and any variation of him, fuck regular Trunks.

Freeza - At his best on Namek pre-new material but said new material has ruined even that version of him for me, thanks for those tidbits Toriyama.

[ekrolo2]

Ignore this post.

[Basaku]

Worst: Super Videl. Talk about not giving a damn about previously cool character.

[Cipher]

Just random thoughts in no particular order. I'm guessing that "version" of characters can mean any stage in their portrayal.

Favorite Goku: Easily Boo arc. Hes super bored, super reckless, and I love everything he adds to the plot. The implication that he spends ten years (before the new material) in a relative malaise before meeting Oob sets the stage for something I think really works as a finale.

Favorite Gohan: Great Saiyaman/high school material by a wide margin.

Favorite Kuririn: Namek arc, where he's a cool-headed bad-ass. It really feels great watching the character who last teamed up with Bulma during the Red Ribbon arc take such pragmatic control of the situation. He's basically the focal character at the beginning of the arc.

Favorite Freeza: He's a great villain on Namek, obviously, but I actually love Resurrection F and all his little returns over the years, where he shows up after being brought down a peg.

Favorite Bulma: Either the opening arc or her portions of the Red Ribbon Army arc. Teenage Bulma is a super fun character. Agreed with an earlier post that she gets shortchanged by all of the Tenkaichi Budokai arcs, where she's forced into the role of spectator.

Favorite Vegeta: Has to be the Namek arc, although like most characters, I love his slice-of-life moments early in the Boo arc as well.

Least favorite Goku: I feel like of any era, he has the least going on, character-wise, during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai and Piccolo Daimao arcs. We're out of his being a regular source of comedy, but not yet into the more interesting flaws that characterize adult Goku. But add Toei's more heroic movie Goku here as well (like the absolutely absurd messianic portrayal he gets in Z movie 5).

Least favorite Vegeta: Cell arc, when he's not even fun to hate. At least Trunks blasting him away as Cell is hunting for #18 is satisfying.

Least favorite Gohan: Super. I don't know how Toei's managed to do so, but they've made Gohan and Videl boring, which is the one thing neither of them should be.

[Khin]

Worst: Super Videl. Talk about not giving a damn about previously cool character.

Videl was already like that ever since he found out that Gohan and the gang are actually stronger than Satan,my headcanon says that she only act as she was in the early Boo Arc to keep the jerks away or she is just too proud of his father being the strongest thus why when he learned that Gohan was actually the one who beats Cell,she become soft.



Gohan = Best Version : Early Buu Arc self/Saiyan Arc , Worst Version : Cell Games SSj2 self.

Freeza = Best Version : Freeza Arc , Worst Version = GT,Movie 12 and DBZ fillers (How the hell could you make the most iconic villain in the entire franchise a complete joke ? )

Vegeta = Best Version : Namek Arc , Worst Version : Cell Arc

Piccolo = Best Version : Saiyan Arc , Worst Version : Boo Arc (I hate how they made Piccolo in Boo Saga as a joke character in the Gotenks vs. Super Boo fight.

[EXBadguy]

Goku: Best- Frieza/Worst- Buu (Keeps making bad decisions)

Vegeta: Best- Cell and Buu/Worst- None

Piccolo: Best- Cell/Worst- Buu (I've grown to hate his comedic personality)

Gohan: Best- Cell and Future Gohan/ Worst- First half of Buu and Super

Krillin: Best- Frieza/ Worst- second half of Cell and Buu

Trunks: Best- Future/ Worst- Present

[DBZAOTA482]

Goku: Best - Saiyan/Namek Saga Worst - Boo Saga (so careless)

Gohan: Best - Namek/Freeza Saga Worst - Second half of Boo Saga and following

Vegeta: Best - Saiyan/Boo Saga Worst - None

Piccolo: Best - Cell Saga Worst - Boo Saga

Krillin: Best - Saiyan/Namek Saga Worst - Cell Saga

[Kuririn Fan]

Why is Kuririn the worst in Cell & Boo arcs? He had the best reason to be stupid in Cell where everyone was stupid and established a family in Boo.

[MajinMan]

Goku

Best - Red Ribbon Army. He really grew in this arc, and we got to see him go through many unique areas and meet many new characters. He had great character development during the Karin part of the story.

Worst - Hunt for the Dragon Balls. There was nothing particularly bad about him here, but nothing too interesting either. He was just a funny monkey boy that took orders from Bulma. That's about all he did.


Vegeta

Best - Majin Buu. Fantastic moments all around for Vegeta in this one. Goku vs Vegeta, Vegeta's sacrifice, and the number 1 speech are all major highlights.

Worst - Cell. Even though he was in character, I found him to be quite annoying in this arc. Too many terrible decisions and had an unlikable attitude for the most part.


My Boy, The Muten Roshi

Best - 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. From training Goku and Krillin and then whooping their asses in the tournament while getting a couple of "feels" here and there, well, he was really fun. That's all.

Worst - Red Ribbon Army. I could have put a Z arc in here, but by the time we get to those he was already a minor character, so I chose this instead. Coming hot off the tournament arc, you would think he would have a major role in this arc. He didn't, and that's a shame.


Gohan

Best - Buu. This was the first time we got to see Gohan living a natural life, and it was great. I love his Buu arc character, and it's a shame that he got shafted so quickly after his power up.

Worst - Cell. I really don't want to get into this, but no matter how much the story or Toriyama wanted us to "see" Gohan as the new main character, it didn't work. He needed to do more DURING the meat of the arc so the payoff at the end would have more punch. You can't just turn him into a super saiyan and magically have him transition into the new MC. No wonder it didn't work out in the end.


Piccolo

Best - Saiyan. Piccolo at his best. We got to see him grow and become one of the good guys. The relationship between him and Gohan will always be one of the best.

Worst - Freeza. He's dead for 66% of the arc and gets a bigass power boost that's made irrelevant as fast as possible. After that he just stands on the sidelines and doesn't do shit until Goku needs help charging his Genki Dama. Not a strong showing after the Saiyan arc.


Krillin

Best - 21st Tenkaichi Budokai(?). I can't really choose one for the little guy because he's equally as good in every arc in my eyes. I guess I'll choose the one he was introduced in because he recieved the most attention here.

Worst - Maybe Red Ribbon Army. He got his ass whooped constantly after the arc where he trained with Roshi.


Bulma

Best - Hunt for the Dragon Balls. She had a lot of character here and actually grew a little throughout the arc. She made friends with Goku and got a boyfriend in Yamcha.

Worst - Freeza. She was pretty annoying in this arc and didn't do much after they landed on Namek. Her terrible filler in the anime also doesn't help.


Trunks

Best - Cell. I like his backstory. I'm actually not a big Trunks fan but his entrance vs Freeza and Cold is one of my favorite moments in the franchise.

Worst - Resurrection F. Didn't do shit here even when he was Gotenks.


Goten

Best - Buu. He was really cute and had a charming personality that was similar yet quite different conpared to Goku. He could at least stand on his own here unlike now.

Worst - Resurrection F. Same reason as Trunks.


Tenshinhan

Best - 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. His character development was good and I loved the unique techniques he showed off here. His confrontation with Roshi after their fight was intense.

Worst - Cell. I guess from the arcs he got somewhat of a role in, this is at the bottom. The shin kikoho was badass, though.


Yamcha

Best - Hunt for the Dragon Balls. Back when Yamcha was important. Lots of funny fails on his part and his transition into joining the gang was great.

Worst - Saiyan. He came, he died. At least it was sad in the anime.


Chichi

Best - 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. She entered the tournament so she could kick Goku's ass into remembering who she was. She was somewhat interesting here.

Worst - Resurrection F/episode 17. She seemed a little TOO bitchy here. I'm not one of those that spout generic "Chichi is a bitch lolooolllol she ruined gohan" comments, but even I though she was too much here.


Chiaotzu

Best - 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. The only time he was relevant. I liked how he couldn't count and made fun of Krillin for being bald.

Worst - N/A


Oolong

Best - Hunt for the Dragon Balls. Again, another character which doesn't do much after his/her debut arc. I thought he was pretty funny here. His transformation gimmick is a great concept.

Worst - Again, this is irrelevant (some will say Battle of Gods because of episode .


Lunch

Best - 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. Some people hate her gimmick and think it gets old quick, but I like it. She brings in even more comic relief and thats always welcome.

Worst - Saiyan. She vanished. Not a great trick if you ask me.


Puer

Best - Red Ribbon Army. Only for his fight against the vampire man. I liked that tag team duo he made with Upa.

Worst - Nope.


Is that all of them? The whole gang? I feel like I missed one or two...

[Kakacarrottop]

Best:
Gohan - The Trunks Special
Goku - Saiyan Saga (Ocean dub)/Tree of Might (edited Ocean TV dub)
Bulma - Garlic jr Saga
Cooler - Metal (Big Green dub)
Tullece - Tree of Might (edited Ocean TV dub)
Freeza - Early Namek Saga (Japanese)
Chichi - Late/post-puberty DB
Trunks -Early Android Saga
Vegeta - Namek Saga (Ocean dub)
Zarbon - (Ocean dub)
Yamcha - Saiyan Saga (Ocean dub)/Tree of Might
Tenshinhan - Saiyan Saga (Japanese)
Majin Buu - w/ Gotenks & Piccolo absorbed
Piccolo - Dead Zone (Ocean dub)
Pan - GT (Blue Water dub)

Worst:
Goku - (Speedy dub)
Tullece - Tree of Might (Speedy dub)
Tenshinhan - Tree of Might (Big Green dub)'
Piccolo - (Blue Water dub)
Vegeta - The Return of Cooler (Big Green dub)
King Kai - Tree of Might (Speedy dub)
Freeza - Late Namek Saga (FUNimation dub)
Bardock - Cooler's Revenge (Big Green dub)
Recoome - (FUNimation dub)
Omega Shenron - (Blue Water dub)

[apex_pretador]

Best

Goku : He's good every arc, but IMO , cell arc goku was better than buu arc goku.

Vegeta : Freeza / namek arc. Not even close, others are just failed attempts at becoming a hero.

Piccolo : Android arc and saiyan arc.

Gohan : RoF arc in Super , Saiyaman arc

Krillin : All arcs. Especially good in freeza & saiyan arc.

Freeza: Namek

Buu : Kid buu

Worst

Vegeta : Universe 6 arc by far

Gohan : Saiyan arc , freeza arc , buu arc

Freeza : RoF arc

Chiatzu : every arc