Amongst the "Dragon World" there are countless non-human Earthling characters that display human characteristics (walking upright and talking), however there are still those that do not. The "Racial Groups" section of Daizenshuu 4 distinguishes them as two separate groups, referring to those with human characteristics as "animal-types" (動物型; dōbutsu-gata) and those without as normal "animals" (動物; dōbutsu). "Animal-types" are characters that "look like animals, but they speak, use weapons, express human emotions, and behave just like humans"[1]. It is shown throughout the series that most animal-type characters harmoniously live amongst humans.
A giant bear looking for his next meal, when his eyes find Umigame. The bear bandit requests that Son Goku hand him over, but he refuses. Goku fights to protect Umigame, and unfortunately for the bear, he never "saw" his defeat coming.
A very unique rabbit with the ability to turn anyone he touches into a carrot. He is called to the scene by his defeated gang members, but he doesn't last long against Goku and Yamcha either. After their defeat, he and his henchmen are promptly placed on the moon by Goku to pound mochi.
As Chi-Chi and Goku are trying to find Kame-Sen'nin's island, they get lost somewhere over the sea. They decide to stop and ask the dolphin for directions. With the directions to Kame-Sen'nin's island, they fly off thanking the dolphin for its help.
He's the political ruler of the entire Earth, and lives in King Castle, the center of the world. He is a man of integrity who always thinks first of the nation's peace, but has experienced numerous hardships, such as being temporarily driven from his throne by Demon King Piccolo and Cell's rampage.
The milkman helps Kame-Sen'nin train Goku and Kuririn for the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai by allowing them to take over his milk delivery route for a while. However, Kame-Sen'nin makes the boys deliver the milk on foot, whereas the milkman typically uses a helicopter.
A perverted shape-shifting pig, Oolong terrorizes a small village and abducts their girls. As Oolong fights Goku, it is apparent that he doesn't acquire any special skills from whatever he shape-shifts into, and that he can hold a form for no more than five minutes. It is soon obvious that Oolong is more of a spectator than a helper when it comes to fighting. He is also considered a coward by most, especially Bulma.
While going to take a leak, Bulma becomes the prey of a hungry pteranodon. After tying Goku to a tree, he flies away, taking his meal with him. Unfortunately he doesn't make it too far, as Goku saves Bulma with the help of his Nyoi-Bō and her Capsule No. 9 Bike.
Pu'er is Yamcha's shape-shifting friend and together they rob anyone that wanders into their desert. Like Oolong, Pu'er has the ability to change his shape into any form. Though unlike Oolong, Pu'er can hold that form an indefinite amount of time.
One of Pilaf's servants, Shuu dresses up in a ninja costume and aids Mai when she is given a task. He looks as tame as he fights, and he often ends up foiling Pilaf's plans of getting the Dragon Balls.
Kame-Sen'nin's trusty turtle, Umigame constantly complains about his master's perverted actions. He tries to keep him in-line around the ladies, but his objections usually result in a scolding. He plays a relatively small part in the manga, but he has quite a few large roles in the anime.
The driver of a West City taxi. Goku naively gets in and asks the driver to take him to Bulma's house, without knowing the way there, or even having any money. The angry driver yells at him to get out.
An injured puppy that Majin Boo found while out killing people, but he heals him and the two quickly bond, even though Boo's real objective was to frighten and torment him. After the battle with Majin Boo, he lives with Mister Satan and Boo in Satan City.
One of the shortest lived characters to appear in Dragon Ball, we see the "Big Fish" make a brief appearance in the opening of the series. He most certainly learned his lesson: don't try to eat Son Goku or you'll become dinner yourself.
A gentle, mysterious monkey who North Kaiō keeps as a pet in the Heavenly Realm. He is ridiculously fast due to living under the powerful gravity of Planet Kaiō, and helps train those under Kaiō's tutelage.
After falling through a trap door in the sea-bottom pirate cave, Goku lands on this giant octopus. However, Goku thinks he's a squid, and the octopus gets mad. The octopus bangs Goku up against the cave wall to try and kill him, but Goku soon retaliates... And after baking him with a Kamehameha and turning him into takoyaki ("fried octopus"), Goku eats the octopus.
While passing by, he is hit in the head by an apple which Goku had tossed out of a tree after eating it. He chases Goku but ends up falling off of a cliff (Wile E. Coyote style) as Goku had grabbed a tree branch to avoid the fall. He later attacks Kuririn as he searches through the jungle for the "Kame"-marked stone. He becomes a recurring character, and even makes an appearance in the first episode of Dragon Ball Z, however this time he chases after Gohan.
Anime Original Characters
The following characters are original to Toei Animation's animated adaptation based on Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga series.
After tearing Kame House apart and not finding a Dragon Ball, Pilaf, Shuu, and Mai confront the crocodile outside the house. Although he's simply sunbathing and minding his own business, Pilaf threateningly questions him about Kame-Sen'nin's whereabouts.
After losing his parents in a tsunami, he lived in an abandoned building with Pigero, who he adored like an older brother. He quickly befriended Gohan, but seemed jealous to hear that Gohan had a mother. Though he continued to run from the custody workers, he was ultimately captured and taken back to the orphanage.
A petty thief who is saved by Goku from some thugs, who he owes money. To thank him for his help, Konkichi tries to steal a plane ticket for Goku to get to the Tenka'ichi Budōkai on Papaya Island, but is unsuccessful. He later gets dragged by the thugs to rob a bank, and is left behind to take the fall. Goku believes Konkichi when he says he's done being a thief and catches the real criminals.
A phantom bird that lives in the crater of Mt. Kiui and is rumored to be capable of eating fire. It is thought to have died in a volcanic eruption 40 years ago, leaving behind only an egg. However, it turned out that the Fire-Eating Bird was alive, and it returned to its newly hatched chick. Believing some nonsense written by Kame-Sen'nin in a book, Goku and Chi-Chi go in search of the bird thinking its feathers were the raw material to make the Bashō Fan.
Commander Red's very creepy pet, that looks like a cat, but has big ears, sharp fangs, and claws. And although it is fond of Red, it is ferocious toward anyone else.
