For almost as long as there’s been a Dragon Ball anime, there have been Dragon Ball movies. Dragon Ball Z in particular had 13 movies throughout its original run, with Battle of Gods and Resurrection F bringing that count up to 15 years after the fact. The Dragon Ball Super anime may not be running currently, but even the sequel series got its own feature length film in DBS: Broly.
Dragon Ball movies are entirely non-canon for the most part, but that doesn’t mean they don’t feature some of Goku’s best fights. The best Dragon Ball movies offer an opportunity to stray away from familiarity to pit Goku against dynamic new challenges.
10 Goku Vs Android 13
Android 13 is far from the most compelling movie villain, but his fight against Goku makes use of a creative setting and solid fight choreography. The arctic rarely ever appears in Dragon Ball (its one canonical inclusion in the manga being Jingle Village & Muscle Tower,) so having Goku fight against 13 makes for a creative set piece.
The fight does drag a bit once Android 13 becomes Super and absorbs Androids 14 & 15, ultimately culminating in Goku saving the day with the Genki Dama – a trope the movies play out too much – but it’s still one of Goku’s better battles in the movies.
9 Goku Vs Broly (DBZ)
Few battles in Dragon Ball are as iconic as the final showdown against Broly in The Legendary Super Saiyan. After an entire movie of build up, Broly transforms and beats everyone in the main cast into submission. Trunks, Piccolo, and Gohan aren’t able to do much of anything; Vegeta won’t even fight back; and Goku’s pushed to his breaking point as Broly just keeps getting stronger & stronger. While the fight’s ending is fairly anticlimactic (Goku taking on everyone’s energy to defeat Broly with a single punch,) the sheer brutality makes for a visual feast unlike anything else in Dragon Ball Z.
8 Goku Vs Hirudegarn
Hirudegarn himself is one of the more fascinating movie villains. Where the average DBZ film antagonist is usually analogous to whoever the arc villain was in the anime at the time, Hirudegarn is a wholly original bad guy who takes cues from Kaiju movies ala Godzilla.
Goku defeating Hirudegarn almost feels like a cheat – especially since he very much is not the main character of Wrath of the Dragon – the build to his Dragon Fist makes for one of the better fights in the movie. Plus, Goku’s finishing move is an animation standout for Toei.
7 Goku Vs Cooler
The fight against Cooler isn’t as good as it should be on account of borrowing a bit too many beats from the fight against Frieza (and keeping Goku in his base form for too long,) but it also features one of the best Super Saiyan transformations in the franchise.
Goku’s fight against Cooler’s final form also features strong choreography as Frieza’s brother beats the Saiyan into submission. It’s a pity Super Saiyan Goku doesn’t get more choreographed action before he fires Cooler into the sun, but Cooler’s death is one of the best in the movies.
6 Goku & Vegeta Vs Meta-Cooler
Cooler’s Revenge suffers from fairly poor animation at times, but its fight choreography and art direction are top notch. And what the film lacks in a coherent plot, it makes for in some of Dragon Ball’s best action based storytelling. Watching Goku and Vegeta struggle to defeat Meta-Cooler – fighting together for very first time in the franchise – is fantastic.
Both Super Saiyans exhaust themselves completely only for an army of Meta-Coolers to rise beyond the horizon. It’s a chilling sight that the Dragon Ball Super manga even references during the Goku Black arc.
5 Goku Vs Janemba
Despite being a fairly straight reinterpretation of the Majin Buu arc, Fusion Reborn is still one of the better Dragon Ball Z movies. All the cameos from previous villains are fun to see, the art direction features bold outlining & coloring that makes characters pop, and Janemba is a bizarre villain whose abilities only get stranger as the movie goes on. Gogeta’s appearance steals the show for most fans, but Goku’s fight against Janemba is an outstanding showcase of animation and arguably shows off Super Saiyan 3 better than any fight in the actual series.
4 Goku Vs Dr. Uiro’s Henchmen
The first two Dragon Ball Z movies don’t have the high octane action present later in the franchise, instead playing off the (relatively) grounded martial arts that defined Dragon Ball’s first six story arcs. World’s Strongest culminates with a fairly lackluster retread of Goku’s fight against Vegeta, but Uiro’s Henchman offer a fantastic fight.
Goku is in rare form as he rapidly fights all of Dr. Uiro’s henchmen, dodging their attacks and using all of the techniques at his disposal to keep up. There’s a fantastic blend of Ki attacks and traditional martial arts that make it genuinely difficult to look away.
3 Goku & Piccolo Vs Garlic Jr
Although a very short fight, Goku and Piccolo’s joint battle against Garlic Jr is a massive highlight of The Dead Zone. At a point chronologically where the two are still bitter rivals, Goku and Piccolo briefly put aside their differences to beat down Garlic Jr. The choreography is frantic, almost entirely melee focused, and is scored to a mix of both Goku & Piccolo’s character themes.
2 Goku Vs Beerus
Fast forwarding to modern Dragon Ball, Battle of Gods did an outstanding job reintroducing audiences to the franchise. At its core, Battle of Gods is a character study of Son Goku and themes that define Dragon Ball: most notably the idea that there will always be someone better.
Defying the pattern codified by every single movie in the series, Goku fails to defeat Beerus even after attaining literal Godhood. After an outstandingly choreographed fight, Goku is forced to recognize Beerus as his better, an act of humility that both defines Goku’s career as a martial artist and saves the Earth from destruction.
1 Goku Vs Broly (DBS)
While Dragon Ball Super: Broly has its narrative shortcomings, the movie also features some of the best action in the franchise. All the fights in the move blend excellent choreography with jaw dropping animation. Gogeta (true to form) has the star fight, but Goku’s initial battle with Broly is hard to top. Even the CG, while distracting, isn’t so off putting where it takes away from the battle’s overall quality.
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