Plot armor is a narrative device which keeps characters from being seriously injured or killed due to their importance in the story. The term came about in the 2000s, on the Usenet forum alt.games.dur-trs-trap. While there are a lot of examples of media that subvert this expectation, Dragon Ball might be one of plot armor’s biggest offenders.
Dragon Ball Super makes it even more obvious that some characters just remain unfazed and unbothered by life or death situations. Granted, a vast majority of the characters have the ability to crack a planet in half with a sneeze so it may be less plot armor and more the fact that the plot isn’t strong enough to fight Goku. Regardless, there are lots of moments and characters who were definitely protected from their ultimate fates by the powers that be. It can be a lot of fun to see the many ways that they manage to survive the inevitable.
10 Frieza Should Have Died Multiple Times
Especially At Broly's Hands
Frieza has always had an insane amount of plot armor, even beginning with Dragon Ball Z. His appearance in Dragon Ball Super has just made that more and more obvious as the franchise was just never able to let him go. He ends up fully resurrected in the early parts of the anime that expand the events of Resurrection F and slowly downgrades to Team Rocket-levels, where he’s lost a lot of his menace but is still there.
The fact that, even in his golden form, he is able to survive Broly is something that screams levels of plot armor rarely seen. During Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Frieza kills Broly’s father Paragus and sends him straight over the edge into a crash out so epic that it ends up breaking reality in places. Frieza is then forced into fighting Broly by Goku and Vegeta, who need time to practice the Fusion dance, leaving him to try and survive the onslaught for an entire hour as they work it out. The fact that Frieza doesn’t end up split in half, again, is definitely plot armor at its finest.
9 Gohan's Lack Of Training Makes His Raw Strength Hard to Swallow
It's A Shocker Gohan Makes It Through Dragon Ball Super At All
Gohan has never had an easy go of it in Dragon Ball, but he might be the luckiest person in the universe. Gohan’s life of strife started at the ripe age of three, and took a while for things to calm down from there. Gohan might be one of the few characters in the anime that has longed for a normal life, even from the beginning. Gohan has been shown to not be overly fond of fighting, treating it as something he has to do rather than as something he wants to do.
As a result, Gohan gets a little lazy with his training after he marries Videl, something Piccolo points out a few times. Gohan was once the most powerful person in the universe and Dragon Ball Super showed that to fluctuate, but often at convenient times. This is especially obvious in the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero where he manages to unlock Beast while watching Piccolo get hurt. As with most of Gohan’s rage states, this one was right out of the plot armor play book.
8 Jiren Got Special Antagonist Privilege
And Was Deeply Boring Because Of It
Jiren is a pretty divisive character. One of his biggest issues is that he doesn’t have much character to begin with – he’s more like a force of nature. Especially when put up against Goku’s vibrant personality and the wacky characters that show themselves off throughout the Tournament of Power. Jiren is meant to mainly be an obstacle to overcome and as a catalyst for Ultra Instinct, which is what gives him a good amount of plot armor during the tournament and in his fight with Goku.
Even stated as a «mortal that a God of Destruction could not defeat», Jiren makes a mockery of a majority of the cast in ways that feel almost insulting. Jiren does eventually fall, but it isn’t really in a way that feels satisfying ultimately, and it is very clear that without Android 17’s quick thinking, he very much could have won. Jiren making it out of the tournament at all is kind of a shocker and it all relates to him being a plot device more than a character.
7 Orange Piccolo Is A Literal Deus Ex Machina
It Wasn't Even The First Time
Piccolo is no stranger to dying for the plot, his original tie to the Dragon Balls themselves acting as a bit of plot armor up until the Saiyan Saga in Dragon Ball Z. After fusing with Kami, however, some of that starts to fade away, as Piccolo is rarely put in positions that demonstrate his incredible ability to be killed when the plot needs. Dragon Ball Super manages to give Piccolo a few moments where he uses this to his advantage.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is the most blatant as Shenron outright states that he gives Piccolo «something extra» when he comes to get his untapped power unlocked. In his second round with Gamma 2, Piccolo miraculously unlocks his Orange form, which makes him as wide as he is tall and nigh on impossible to kill. This is a deus ex machina of the highest order that, while awesome, is a perfect demonstration of the plot armor Piccolo has managed to grow.
6 Trunks Never Has An Easy Future
Trunks Pulls A Gohan
Future Trunks has had a really rough go of life. He never even had a chance to become the spoiled version of himself the audience sees in the main timeline. While he goes to his own time to defeat the Androids, Cell, Dabura and Babidi, things still fall apart when Goku Black shows up and nearly destroys everything. It wouldn’t be out of place to say that plot armor is the only reason Trunks’ story manages to be told at all.
However, unlocking Super Saiyan Rage reeks of aggressive plot armor. Dragon Ball as a series adores the last minute transformation while a character is in life-ending danger. Trunks even manages to make a giant great sword made of light to slice Zamasu in half. While Goku has to pull his own major deus ex machina to finally pull off the end of the conflict, Trunks gets almost killed so many times during the arc that it is nigh impossible to keep track.
5 Vegeta Is Often Kept Alive By The Grace Of The Plot
And It Will Never Stop
Except for a few characters, Vegeta might be the most heavily plot armored character in the entire franchise. His relative popularity keeps him safe, of course. The fact that he and Goku are basically co-protagonists helps out in his general survivability. Vegeta is one of the most popular and iconic anime characters of all time so having a little bit of immunity is to be expected. Vegeta got a lot of plot armor even from the beginning of his story.
Dragon Ball Super demonstrates this quite a lot. He fumbles killing Frieza and the planet blows up? Whis is there to reverse time and save the day. Broly seems to be adapting to him too quickly? Time for Goku to step in. Vegeta often comes out of situations by the very skin of his teeth, showing that the Prince of All Saiyans is also a prince of plot armor because he has become such an integral part of the Dragon Ball franchise, almost as much as Goku himself.
4 Broly Is Saved In a Last-Minute Moment
It's Great, But Still Plot Armor
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is easily one of the best movies in the entire franchise, taking a beloved character and reimagining him for canon in a way that makes him incredibly sympathetic and ultimately the protagonist of his movie. The audience is made to not want Broly to die at the hands of Gogeta, even though he is easily a world-ending threat that is unable ot truly control the power brewing inside of him. In fact, he even shows fear when it looks like Gogeta is about to end him.
Enter the Dragon Balls and Chilai, quickly wishing to send Broly back to the planet he grew up on. This takes Broly out of the fight with Gogeta, which it should be noted that this is one of the few times in the canon where a fusion doesn’t break up before the end of a fight. This also saves his life so that the character can be used later. Broly’s original incarnation was a fan favorite, but this version has managed to capture hearts and minds.
3 Goku Is The King Of Plot Armor
He's Dragon Ball's Protagonist For A Reason
It would probably be easier to list ways in which Goku didn’t have plot armor at times than to list every example of the plot coming to his rescue over the years. Dragon Ball Super carries that tradition forward with genuine ease as Goku unlocks new forms, becomes strong enough to fist fight a god, and even almost leads to a series of universes being destroyed. Not bad for a kid who grew up in the woods with no one but his grandpa.
Ultra Instinct might be the most egregious example, basically being the equivalent of being «in the zone» for a martial artist. It’s actually something of a shock that someone of Goku’s ability and talent didn’t unlock this ability before, but it pushes him forward against Jiren who has basically been unstoppable up till that point. Ultra Instinct is extremely cool, but it is very much a moment of plot armor as Goku’s different forms have officially started to push into the double digits.
2 Mr. Satan Has Shockingly Continued To Stay Alive
Despite Living With A Time Bomb
Hercule Satan is the single luckiest person in the entire Dragon Ball universe. He managed to survive everything from Cell to Majin Buu to Vegeta after making his daughter cry. As Gohan’s father-in-law and a doting father, he manages to keep up the front of being earth’s champion while being nowhere near the rest of the cast in terms of strength, and somehow he continues to continue on in life with few issues.
Hercule Satan also currently lives with Majin Buu. While Buu has joined the side of good, he is still unpredictable and needs nigh-on constant placation. The fact that Mr. Satan has been able to keep him calm and remain firmly in one piece is a truly amazing thing to think about. His ability to survive everything is incredibly important to his character and it is something that keeps audiences coming back for more of the reigning champion.
1 Bulma Has Acted Out Against Gods
And Never Gets Repercussions For It
Bulma should absolutely have been killed thousands of times over by the time Dragon Ball Super rolled around and another thousand times during it. Bulma insults Frieza to his face, slaps Beerus, annoys Zamasu, and so much more. She uses Shenron for cosmetic surgery, often flies into active fighting zones, and has made it very clear that she has no sense of self-preservation. Either that or she’s so used to it that she just can’t care anymore.
Bulma is the plot armor queen, making both gods and tyrants bow to her sheer force of personality. She is one of the characters who absolutely could have been killed multiple times over, and she has no powers to protect her. Bulma is actually pretty inspiring for that reason. She is always herself, despite the consequences, and it got her a Saiyan Prince for a husband and made her even richer than she was. She’s not just plot armored, she is untouchable.
