Fantastic news for fans of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot dropped as an announcement recently came out that a new Next-Gen upgrade will be released for the game for free on January 13th of 2023. Not only this, but the game is also receiving a second season pass with three DLC, with the first focusing on Bardock.
Fans can likely expect something similar to the DLC focusing on Future Trunks for the final DLC of the first season pass. Dragon Ball fans have a great love for characters like Trunks and Bardock. Their stories are compassionate, intriguing, and tragic.
Goku Killed His Own Grandfather
Goku isn't often viewed as the most tragic character, but that's primarily due to the fact that he has such a positive outlook on life.
Goku's life is actually much sadder from a different viewpoint from the death of his parents, the destruction of Planet Vegeta, and the death of his Grandpa at his own hands. Goku has also seen many of his closest friends killed around him and even sacrificed himself twice. If Goku had been any other character but himself, he no doubt would have had a hard and sad life.
Roshi Lost Everyone To King Piccolo
Fans often don't look deep into Roshi's character as he's more often used as a gag rather than a serious character. However, some fans have theorized he only acts this way as a coping mechanism due to the terror he has faced in the past.
Roshi lost almost every single person close to him thanks to King Piccolo hundreds of years ago. Even his best friend, Shen, ended up turning on him and becoming an evil rival of Roshi's. Thankfully he was able to continue onward as a master gaining new friends along the way, like Gohan and Goku.
Broly Rarely Knew Love Or Kindness
Broly, a Saiyan with even more potential than Goku and Vegeta, experienced a similar fate to Goku as he was sent away to a different planet shortly before the explosion of Planet Vegeta. However, for him, he was sent to a dangerous world with plenty of high-power-leveled beasts.
His upbringing was saddening, with his only friend, Ba, being scared away from him thanks to his father. While Broly had his father still alive, unlike Goku and Vegeta, Paragus was an evil man who tried to control and use Broly. Broly still loved his father, but even that was taken away from him as Frieza used Broly to try and defeat Goku and Vegeta.
Vegeta Was Made Who He Was By Frieza
Vegeta, one of the best characters in Dragon Ball Z, lost everything in his life at first. Originally he was to be the king of his planet, the ruler of all Saiyans, but Frieza took that away from him. What Vegeta hated more than anything, though, was that he never had a chance to be anything other than what Frieza molded him to be.
This is something Vegeta doesn't even overcome until his final sacrifice in the Buu Saga, which was nearly the end of his character entirely. Vegeta gave his life, knowing that he wouldn't get to see Goku and that his soul would be completely purged and reborn.
Kami Could Do Nothing As King Piccolo Terrorized Earth
Kami never knew the love of his father and was sent away from Namek for his safety, as they believed the planet was in imminent danger. Kami had to live on Earth, seeing the hardships of the world firsthand.
Kami's experiences led him to being a complex being with a darker side to him. To become the Guardian of the Earth, he drove the evil out of him, creating Piccolo. While Kami achieved his goal, he could do nothing but watch eternally as King Piccolo terrorized the planet he was supposed to protect.
Android 16 Never Got A Second Chance
Android 16, one of the strongest androids in Dragon Ball, was created for one sole purpose, and that was to kill Goku. Despite his morbid goal, this android, a pure manmade creation, fell in love with nature.
He wanted to protect Earth at any cost and was willing to put aside his mission to kill Goku to stop Cell. While Android 16's sacrifice gave Gohan the trigger he needed to reach Super Saiyan 2, he never returned to life. This is likely due to him being 100% machine, unlike Androids 17 and 18, making his death incredibly saddening and tragic.
Bardock Knew His Fate And Couldn't Stop It
Bardock saw the fate of his planet coming without him being able to do anything about it. While he couldn't convince his Saiyan comrades to stand with him or believe him, he was at least able to save his son and send him to Earth.
One of the worst things Frieza did in Dragon Ballwas his genocide of the Saiyan race, and Bardock's final stand against Frieza was heartbreaking as fans saw a warrior doing his best all alone to stand up against a foe far stronger than himself. In the end, he was obliterated with his planet, as well as his wife, Gine.
Future Gohan Saw The Death Of His Closest Friends
While most of what fans see of Future Gohan is through the eyes of Future Trunks, it can be easy to forget how much hardship Gohan himself went through. Gohan lost every single one of his close friends to the androids, including those who were closest to him, like Piccolo and Krillin.
He also lost Goku to a disease not long after he had defeated Frieza on Namek, an ironic end to a character that fought so many difficult battles. While Gohan went through all of this, he stayed strong to lead Trunks to be a better man and warrior, first giving up his arm to save Trunks and then his life.
Raditz Fought His Brother To The Death
Much like the other full-blooded Saiyan characters, Raditz lost his entire home world. Unlike Vegeta, he has more of a sense of camaraderie, so it's likely this bit much deeper for him than others. What's truly tragic about Raditz is how he fights Goku and believed him to be on a planet he was meant to destroy.
While Gine had told Raditz his whereabouts, she didn't explain why he had been sent there. This made Raditz completely misunderstand the situation and had these two brothers at each other's throats. This, alongside Bardock's wish for his sons to thrive, makes their death at the hands of Piccolo far more tragic and disheartening, knowing this is the last thing their parents would have wanted.
Future Trunks Lost His Entire World
Future Trunks is always brought up in discussion when speaking on the most tragic anime characters. In Dragon Ball Z, he lost so much and lived in a broken world of terror crafted by the hands of the androids. While he eventually prevailed, his peace barely lasted as Babidi appeared.
While Trunks too stopped this threat, it wasn't without the deaths of both the Supreme Kai and Kibito. The last threat to his world was Zamasu, who murdered his mother, and eventually, the entire universe was erased by the Omni-King. Trunks lost everything and is easily the most tragic character in the franchise.
Source:gamerant.com