Rank these characters by skill

[DBZAOTA482]

Which characters out of the major cast has the most skill?

Goku
Gohan
Vegeta
Piccolo
Krillin
Goten
Trunks
Future Trunks
Master Roshi
Yamcha
Chi-Chi
Yajirobe
Chiaotzu
Mr. Satan
Videl

Here's my ranks:

Goku
Vegeta
Piccolo
Master Roshi
Krillin
Tien
Yamcha
Trunks
Future Trunks
Gohan
Goten
Chi-Chi
Yajirobe
Chiaotzu
Videl
Mr. Satan

Note: This is purely skill-based. Power is non-factor.

[LightBing]

Why would you have Yajirobe and Chi-Chi above Chiaotzu? They can't even use ki attacks. Goten is also pretty doubtful, he couldn't learn to fly by himself, he couldn't control the direction of his ki attack. I don't think he got much better during the RoSaT.

[DBZAOTA482]

Why would you have Yajirobe and Chi-Chi above Chiaotzu? They can't even use ki attacks. Goten is also pretty doubtful, he couldn't learn to fly by himself, he couldn't control the direction of his ki attack. I don't think he got much better during the RoSaT.

Chiaotzu is a super non-talent and easy-to-see-through fighter without his telekinesis and bukujutsu while Yajirobe is at least an experienced swordsman as demonstrated during his fight with Cymbal and Chi-Chi is a natural-born warrior ever since a child with skills worthy of praise from Muten Roshi himself (and it's not "Oh wow that's girl can fight pretty well!" but more "HOLY SHIT THAT GIRL CAN FIGHT!!!").

[LightBing]

Why would you have Yajirobe and Chi-Chi above Chiaotzu? They can't even use ki attacks. Goten is also pretty doubtful, he couldn't learn to fly by himself, he couldn't control the direction of his ki attack. I don't think he got much better during the RoSaT.

Chiaotzu is a super non-talent and easy-to-see-through fighter without his telekinesis and bukujutsu while Yajirobe is at least an experienced swordsman as demonstrated during his fight with Cymbal and Chi-Chi is a natural-born warrior ever since a child with skills worthy of praise from Muten Roshi himself (and it's not "Oh wow that's girl can fight pretty well!" but more "HOLY SHIT THAT GIRL CAN FIGHT!!!").

Can you please clarify why Chiaotzu is a "super non-talent"? He was trained by Tsuru-sennin, which I doubt would train those who lacked talent. God also deemed him worthy of his training, the same training Yajirobe received. Muten Roshi did call Chi-Chi a master, but he also called Chiaotzu one.
I have no doubt Yajirobe is the better swordsman. That's one of the lesser qualifiers for skill in Dragon Ball. Again, Yajirobe has no ki feats, who are defined as advanced techniques. Chiaotzu even knows the Dodonpa.
You can't simply undermine Chiaotzu by saying he can only fly and use mind powers. He's miles ahead of Yajirobe and Chi-Chi.

[Kamiccolo9]

Putting Roshi at the top, since he demonstrates not only basic martial arts and ki attacks, like everybody else, but more varied esoteric techniques, including hypnotism and generating electricity. No one else has demonstrated such a diverse skillset.

[LightBing]

Putting Roshi at the top, since he demonstrates not only basic martial arts and ki attacks, like everybody else, but more varied esoteric techniques, including hypnotism and generating electricity. No one else has demonstrated such a diverse skillset.

I disagree. I certainly wouldn't place him above Goku, who learned skills like the Kaioken and Genki Dama, even improved the Kamehameha. While Master Roshi displays a wide range of techniques, I don't think variety is enough to give him the edge. He's not even the fighter with the most unique techniques.
Tenshinhan has a much bigger range.

[dbzfan7]

Goku
Vegeta
Piccolo
Tenshinhan
Krillin
Yamcha
Master Roshi
Chiaotzu
Gohan
Future Trunks
Trunks
Goten
Chi-Chi
Yajirobe
Videl
Mr. Satan

[Kamiccolo9]

Putting Roshi at the top, since he demonstrates not only basic martial arts and ki attacks, like everybody else, but more varied esoteric techniques, including hypnotism and generating electricity. No one else has demonstrated such a diverse skillset.

I disagree. I certainly wouldn't place him above Goku, who learned skills like the Kaioken and Genki Dama, even improved the Kamehameha. While Master Roshi displays a wide range of techniques, I don't think variety is enough to give him the edge. He's not even the fighter with the most unique techniques.
Tenshinhan has a much bigger range.

I'm not talking about who would win in a fight. Typically, in Dragon Ball, skill is irrelevant.

Roshi has demonstrated versatility that no other character, sans Buu (whose abilities come from his biology), has matched. Goku would win in a fight, sure, but not because he's a more skilled fighter.

[LightBing]

I'm not talking about who would win in a fight. Typically, in Dragon Ball, skill is irrelevant.

Roshi has demonstrated versatility that no other character, sans Buu (whose abilities come from his biology), has matched. Goku would win in a fight, sure, but not because he's a more skilled fighter.

I didn't say anything about who would win in a fight. I meant edge, skill wise. Master Roshi doesn't have a range that diverse. There's just some never used techniques, like the hypnoses and the awesome electricity attack.
For example: Tenshinhan has the kikoho, taiyoken, the four arm technique, multi-form, also the kamehameha, bukujutsu and mafuba.
Difficulty is the best way to evaluate skill; Kaioken I would think is the hardest technique that exists in the series. Goku has it and a bunch more. That puts him ahead of everyone for me.

I find it hard to make the list, there's some guys that are so close...

[Kamiccolo9]

I'm not talking about who would win in a fight. Typically, in Dragon Ball, skill is irrelevant.

Roshi has demonstrated versatility that no other character, sans Buu (whose abilities come from his biology), has matched. Goku would win in a fight, sure, but not because he's a more skilled fighter.

I didn't say anything about who would win in a fight. I meant edge, skill wise. Master Roshi doesn't have a range that diverse. There's just some never used techniques, like the hypnoses and the awesome electricity attack.
For example: Tenshinhan has the kikoho, taiyoken, the four arm technique, multi-form, also the kamehameha, bukujutsu and mafuba.
Difficulty is the best way to evaluate skill; Kaioken I would think is the hardest technique that exists in the series. Goku has it and a bunch more. That puts him ahead of everyone for me.

I find it hard to make the list, there's some guys that are so close...

I don't see why difficulty is the best way. I would argue that experience and diversity are much more important. I mean, look at real life. 9 times out of 10, if you put someone who is extremely skilled in one martial art against a person who is proficient in several, the second person will usually win.

Practically all of Goku's attacks stem from manipulation of Ki. His actual martial arts training was extremely rudimentary, devoted solely to making his body stronger, not actually refining any technique. And the Kaio-Ken is impressive, but not really indicative of any real skill. I mean, Kaio thought it was possible for Goku to learn it after seeing him jump kinda high, not after seeing him demonstrate how good of a fighter he was.

Because the series relies on power more than skill, this is never really an issue. But nothing that Goku, or practically anyone following the 21st Budokai, have done has indicated any kind of real fighting skill. There are occasionally insights of strategy, but for the most part, they are more brawlers than master martial artists.

Tenshinhan's weird techniques stem from his biology, not any kind of special training, and half of his moves have the minor drawback of killing him. I'm not giving him much credit.

Roshi has a ton of techniques, ranging from ki, to physical attacks, to telepathy, to hypnosis, to electrical generation, and is capable of utilizing them all during combat. No other character in the series, (again, sans Buu,) has proven capable of doing that. Therefore, I'm giving the top spot to him.

[DBZAOTA482]

Why would you have Yajirobe and Chi-Chi above Chiaotzu? They can't even use ki attacks. Goten is also pretty doubtful, he couldn't learn to fly by himself, he couldn't control the direction of his ki attack. I don't think he got much better during the RoSaT.

Chiaotzu is a super non-talent and easy-to-see-through fighter without his telekinesis and bukujutsu while Yajirobe is at least an experienced swordsman as demonstrated during his fight with Cymbal and Chi-Chi is a natural-born warrior ever since a child with skills worthy of praise from Muten Roshi himself (and it's not "Oh wow that's girl can fight pretty well!" but more "HOLY SHIT THAT GIRL CAN FIGHT!!!").

Can you please clarify why Chiaotzu is a "super non-talent"? He was trained by Tsuru-sennin, which I doubt would train those who lacked talent. God also deemed him worthy of his training, the same training Yajirobe received. Muten Roshi did call Chi-Chi a master, but he also called Chiaotzu one.
I have no doubt Yajirobe is the better swordsman. That's one of the lesser qualifiers for skill in Dragon Ball. Again, Yajirobe has no ki feats, who are defined as advanced techniques. Chiaotzu even knows the Dodonpa.
You can't simply undermine Chiaotzu by saying he can only fly and use mind powers. He's miles ahead of Yajirobe and Chi-Chi.

Chiaotzu was incapable of tracking Krillin's Zanzoken... he needed Tien to give him pointers and even then he still had trouble showing a lack of battle intuition. Not to mention he kept on the defensive during Krillin's exchanges... he doesn't try to land a single attack. Not to mention he lacks basic math skills.

He could still have much more hand-to-hand combat talent than average (reason why I have him higher than Videl and Mr. Satan) but nothing compared to most of the characters here. His telekinesis and bukujutsu are his main skills.

Jackie Chun did call Chiaotzu a 'super master' but given the context he was merely pointing out he was a difficult opponent (he didn't really think all that highly of him)... Muten Roshi was outright giving Chi-Chi praise upon seeing her abilities in action and the fact he references it along with her style resembling his Turtle Hermit style adding with the apparent shock/disbelief says quite a bit regarding her skill level. His words (quite a master) were also something he used to hype up Grandpa Gohan.

Yajirobe also fought on par with Goku's match level from the 22nd Budokai on a standstill.

[Scorpio Kardia]

1st Master Roshi
2nd Piccolo
3rd Krillin
4th Tenshinhan
5th Goku
6th Yamcha
7th Vegeta
8th Gohan
9th Trunks
10th Chiaotzu
11th Goten
12th Videl
13th Chi-Chi
14th Yajirobe
13th Mr.Satan

[Doctor.]

1 - Goku
2 - Kuririn
3 - Tenshinhan
4 - Roshi
5 - Vegeta
6 - Piccolo
7 - Future Trunks
8 - Yamcha
9 - Gohan
10 - Trunks
11 - Chaozu
12 - Chi-Chi
13 - Yajirobe
14 - Goten
15 - Videl
16 - Mr. Satan

Added Tenshinhan.

[TheZFighter]

Really tough question, I reckon the answer would change all the time depending on when you asked me. When you look at that list of characters though, some of them have such a brilliant grasp and understanding of ki, like some of the techniques and things they're to do are just brilliant.

Today's answer:

Goku
Piccolo
Vegeta
Tenshinhan
Krillin
Yamcha
Master Roshi
Future Trunks
Gohan
Trunks
Goten
Chiaotzu
Chi-Chi
Yajirobe
Videl
Mr. Satan

[fadeddreams5]

Goku is the most skilled fighter out of those, including Master Roshi. He's not a mere brawler. Besides how easy it is for him to learn new techniques, time and again, he's innovated and/or manipulated these techniques in the battlefield.

Against Roshi, he used his tail to fly, as well as that monkey style. Oh, and the afterimages.

Against Piccolo, he used the feet kamehameha.

Against Frieza, he used those kamehamehas as a distraction before drop kicking him.

Against Cell, he combined the instant transmission and kamehameha. Not to mention knowing how to use range and distance to boost the power of his beam.

He instantly understood how an ASSJ wasn't as efficient as merely learning to control and tame the ki of a regular SSJ.

Against Yakon, he knew to use the monster's ki absorption against him.

His fighting IQ is wayyy above everyone in the entire series, besides the gods. It just so happens modern fights are generally uninspired and shitty.

[Lord Beerus]

Goku
Vegeta
Piccolo
Master Roshi
Krillin
Future Trunks
Gohan
Goten
Trunks
Yamcha
Yajirobe
Chiaotzu
Chi-Chi
Videl
Mr. Satan

[LightBing]

I don't see why difficulty is the best way. I would argue that experience and diversity are much more important. I mean, look at real life. 9 times out of 10, if you put someone who is extremely skilled in one martial art against a person who is proficient in several, the second person will usually win.

Practically all of Goku's attacks stem from manipulation of Ki. His actual martial arts training was extremely rudimentary, devoted solely to making his body stronger, not actually refining any technique. And the Kaio-Ken is impressive, but not really indicative of any real skill. I mean, Kaio thought it was possible for Goku to learn it after seeing him jump kinda high, not after seeing him demonstrate how good of a fighter he was.

Because the series relies on power more than skill, this is never really an issue. But nothing that Goku, or practically anyone following the 21st Budokai, have done has indicated any kind of real fighting skill. There are occasionally insights of strategy, but for the most part, they are more brawlers than master martial artists.

Tenshinhan's weird techniques stem from his biology, not any kind of special training, and half of his moves have the minor drawback of killing him. I'm not giving him much credit.

Roshi has a ton of techniques, ranging from ki, to physical attacks, to telepathy, to hypnosis, to electrical generation, and is capable of utilizing them all during combat. No other character in the series, (again, sans Buu,) has proven capable of doing that. Therefore, I'm giving the top spot to him.

The real life comparison is moot. Dragon Ball has few similarities to reality. Dragon Ball is pretty straight forward, Ki manipulation is the most advanced form of skill. That's why physical techniques, like the rogafuken and the jan ken, were dropped when the characters started to dominate Ki attacks.

Martial arts include Ki in Dragon Ball, it's not possible to separate both. Maybe I'm giving too much credit to the Kaioken, doesn't take away for the true skill necessary to use. Goku was the only one capable of doing it: Kaio, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Chiaotzu and Yamcha all failed to do so.

I know there's a guide which describes Tenshinhan as an alien or a descendant from aliens. But there's nothing in the manga that indicates that's the case. Even if it's true, do his techniques steam from this supposed different physiology? I don't think that's true.
You're exaggerating the part were half his moves may kill him. Only the mafuba and the kikoho are mentioned as capable of so, neither actually killed him. He even improved the kikoho, to an extend were he can use it multiple times.

Not to take away from Roshi but his arsenal isn't that diverse, it's unique because of techniques never seen by anyone. I can say the same about Tenshinhan, Goku and multiply other characters.

Chiaotzu was incapable of tracking Krillin's Zanzoken... he needed Tenshinhan to give him pointers and even then he still had trouble showing a lack of battle intuition. Not to mention he kept on the defensive during Krillin's exchanges... he doesn't try to land a single attack. Not to mention he lacks basic math skills.

He could still have much more hand-to-hand combat talent than average (reason why I have him higher than Videl and Mr. Satan) but nothing compared to most of the characters here. His telekinesis and bukujutsu are his main skills.

Jackie Chun did call Chiaotzu a 'super master' but given the context he was merely pointing out he was a difficult opponent (he didn't really think all that highly of him)... Muten Roshi was outright giving Chi-Chi praise upon seeing her abilities in action and the fact he references it along with her style resembling his Turtle Hermit style adding with the apparent shock/disbelief says quite a bit regarding her skill level. His words (quite a master) were also something he used to hype up Grandpa Gohan.

Yajirobe also fought on par with Goku's match level from the 22nd Budokai on a standstill.

Those are compelling points to put Kuririn above Chiaotzu. Not Chi-Chi or Yajirobe. Why mention math skills?

Jackie Chun puts Chiaotzu on the same "master" level as Kuririn, Tenshinhan and Goku. I went back to see the line:

Chapter: 122, P13.3-7
Kame-sennin: “Panput was truly a fearsomely skilled master, but only when seen from an ordinary level…To your eyes, however, he didn’t look like anything special…That shows just how much you two have acquired strength that surpasses the ordinary.”
Kuririn: “But…Yamcha lost, and he was about as good as me. And even I had a really tough fight against that runt.”
Kame-sennin: “There’s no helping that. It’s because your opponents were also super masters who have surpassed the ordinary.”

At best , the master line puts Chi-Chi and Chiaotzu even. She doesn't have anything else to prove her skill is above Chiaotzu. While he dominates various techniques and trained with a bunch of respectful masters.

Yajirobe even fight with Goku only shows he was strong. Doesn't provide any insight to his abilities besides that. I mean, Chiaotzu can finger flick Kami and Master Roshi, doesn't mean he's any more skilled than them.

[DBZAOTA482]

Those are compelling points to put Kuririn above Chiaotzu. Not Chi-Chi or Yajirobe. Why mention math skills?

Jackie Chun puts Chiaotzu on the same "master" level as Kuririn, Tenshinhan and Goku. I went back to see the line:

Chapter: 122, P13.3-7
Kame-sennin: “Panput was truly a fearsomely skilled master, but only when seen from an ordinary level…To your eyes, however, he didn’t look like anything special…That shows just how much you two have acquired strength that surpasses the ordinary.”
Kuririn: “But…Yamcha lost, and he was about as good as me. And even I had a really tough fight against that runt.”
Kame-sennin: “There’s no helping that. It’s because your opponents were also super masters who have surpassed the ordinary.”

At best , the master line puts Chi-Chi and Chiaotzu even. She doesn't have anything else to prove her skill is above Chiaotzu. While he dominates various techniques and trained with a bunch of respectful masters.

Yajirobe even fight with Goku only shows he was strong. Doesn't provide any insight to his abilities besides that. I mean, Chiaotzu can finger flick Kami and Master Roshi, doesn't mean he's any more skilled than them.

If he was significantly below Krillin then it'd be irrelevant but the fact he was able to evade Krillin's attacks with success shows otherwise. He barely even tries to land a hit so it doesn't really say much regarding his physical abilities.

His lack of basic math skills is relevant because it makes him easy to see through as demonstrated during his fight with Krillin.

Jackie Chun had not even saw Goku and Tien fight even close to the true extent of their abilities plus none of them weren't close to their peak in both skill and strength. This also doesn't mean much considering Tien had no interest in fighting Krillin with Goku and Jackie Chun (he actually expected to win 1st place and Chiaotzu 2nd implying he can easily counter the telekinesis).

Her fight with a much more skilled Goku, serious or not, offered more to the table regarding her physical abilities than anything Chiaotzu ever did against Krillin. She managed to put him on the defensive matching him movement-for-movement... she even matched his casual 50+ meter jump and fought him in mid-air (which Nam struggled to do with Goku in the 21st Budokai). It was also possible she was holding back given her emotional state (she was having conversation with him that was completely unrelated to the fight). Even as a child she has a more impressive skill feat than anything skill feat Chiaotzu has ever shown when she threw a boomerang blade with enough force to decapitate a T-rex and return back to her with success despite being scared... then catching it before it hit the ground.

The fact Yajirobe can go toe-to-toe with someone on his level (and it's Goku no less) shows he's got the melee skills down pretty damn well which is more than I could say for Chiaotzu who can hardly fight hand-to-hand.

[Sandubadear]

Let's see:

Master Roshi
Kuririn
Goku
Piccolo
Vegeta
Gohan
Future Trunks
Yamcha
Yajirobe
Chiaotzu
Goten/Trunks
Mr. Satan
Chi-Chi
Videl

I guess? Mutaito has better skill than all of them, I would say.

[LightBing]

If he was significantly below Krillin then it'd be irrelevant but the fact he was able to evade Krillin's attacks with success shows otherwise. He barely even tries to land a hit so it doesn't really say much regarding his physical abilities.

His lack of basic math skills is relevant because it makes him easy to see through as demonstrated during his fight with Krillin.

Jackie Chun had not even saw Goku and Tenshinhan fight even close to the true extent of their abilities plus none of them weren't close to their peak in both skill and strength. This also doesn't mean much considering Tenshinhan had no interest in fighting Krillin with Goku and Jackie Chun (he actually expected to win 1st place and Chiaotzu 2nd implying he can easily counter the telekinesis).

Her fight with a much more skilled Goku, serious or not, offered more to the table regarding her physical abilities than anything Chiaotzu ever did against Krillin. She managed to put him on the defensive matching him movement-for-movement... she even matched his casual 50+ meter jump and fought him in mid-air (which Nam struggled to do with Goku in the 21st Budokai). It was also possible she was holding back given her emotional state (she was having conversation with him that was completely unrelated to the fight). Even as a child she has a more impressive skill feat than anything skill feat Chiaotzu has ever shown when she threw a boomerang blade with enough force to decapitate a T-rex and return back to her with success despite being scared... then catching it before it hit the ground.

The fact Yajirobe can go toe-to-toe with someone on his level (and it's Goku no less) shows he's got the melee skills down pretty damn well which is more than I could say for Chiaotzu who can hardly fight hand-to-hand.

You're really grasping at straws to make Chi-Chi something she's not.

Chiaotzu fought perfectly fine hand to hand with Kuririn. Kuririn had the upper hand but it's not like Chiaotzu was blown out of the water. He went to the air and used his techniques to get an advantage. Something Chi-Chi can't do.
Chiatozu received training from Tsuru-sennin, Karin and Kami! He had to catch Karin's water, did all the training Goku probably received from Mr.Popo. He's shown fighting with Yamcha in the training. How can you say he can hardly fight hand-to-hand?!

The master line, how can you distort it like that? He simply puts him in the same category as the other fighters. Doesn't matter if Goku and Tenshinhan still hadn't displayed all they could do. Goku also hadn't displayed anything special in the fight with Chi-Chi, can I also diminish the argument by saying this?

Chi-Chi is nothing more than a Super Human. She doesn't have anything worthwhile to put her above Chiaotzu.

Put Yajirobe fighting Chiaotzu, both with the same power. Who wins? Chiaotzu because he can fly, use Ki attacks and telekinesis. Or even self-destruct to get at least a tie. He wins because he has more skill. Those melee skills are just a small part of the whole cake.