Dragon Ball: Every Time A Saiyan Lost Their Tail (In Chronological ...

There are two features which best define Goku’s character design: his unruly hair and his tail. While Dragon Ball’s main character has since lost his tail (and gone through the majority of the franchise tailless,) it remains an important piece of iconography for the series– one Dragon Ball is still making use of today.

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Of course, said tail has been recontextualized with the passage of time. Beginning with the Z-era, it was revealed Goku’s tail stemmed from his status as a Saiyan from Planet Vegeta. Goku’s tail is no longer a part of his character design, but it's an important piece of iconography for Dragon Ball and one with history.

6 Son Goku: Cut Off By Yamcha

The first time Goku loses his tail comes shortly after he transforms for the first time as well. The end of the first story arc throws quite a curveball at the audience by revealing that Goku transforms into an Oozaru at the sight of the full moon, but it makes for an exciting climax to the Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc.

Having noticed that Goku’s tail was his weakness earlier in the arc, Yamcha reasons that removing Goku’s tail should reverse the transformation. If nothing else, it’s their only hope in subduing their enraged friend. Having Puar transform into a pair of scissors, Yamcha snips off Goku’s tail to bring the Monkey King down to size for the very first time.

Goku’s tail would regrow during the events of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai (likely brought about due to the stress of fighting Giran.) Although Goku transformed into a Great Ape for the second & final time while fighting Jackie Chun, the destruction of the moon meant there was no active harm in allowing Goku to keep his tail this time around.

5 Son Goku: Removed By Grandpa Gohan

Goku has his tail for roughly the entirety of the Red Ribbon Army arc, but its weaknesses aren’t used against Goku too often. It isn’t until Uranai Baba’s Tournament where Goku finds himself punished for failing to overcome his tail’s flaws. In the tournament’s final fight, Goku’s grandfather decides to teach the boy a lesson.

Grabbing his tail, Grandpa Gohan immediately subdues Goku and starts pummeling him. Gohan lets himself get a bit too carried away, however, ripping off Goku’s tail in the process. Before Goku can retaliate, Gohan reveals himself to his grandson and the two briefly get to reunite. Before parting one final time, Gohan urges Goku to fortify his tail.

Goku spends the next three years training his tail and removing its weakness, a fact which ends up netting him the win during his match against Krillin during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. After this point, Goku’s tail shows no sign of weakness and is more a visual flair.

4 Son Goku: Removed By God

The Demon King Piccolo arc marks the last time Goku sports his tail in Dragon Ball (Dragon Ball GT notwithstanding.) After defeating Piccolo, Goku scales Karin Tower to begin training with God. God turns out to be none other than the Demon King’s other half, but he’s nowhere near as evil as his counterpart.

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Goku spends the next three years training off-screen with Mr. Popo and Kami for the explicit purpose of defeating Piccolo at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Come the tournament, Goku is now a grown man with no tail in sight. Goku explains to his friends that God removed his tail because he wanted to restore the moon– a fact which makes no sense to Goku, but means the world to the original Dragon Team.

3 Son Gohan: Removed By Piccolo

Goku might have his tail removed before the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, but Dragon Ball doesn’t let tails lose their narrative relevance quite yet. If anything, the Saiyan arc and Gohan’s subsequent introduction make tails all the more meaningful. It turns out Goku’s tail was more than just a design quirk– it was proof he was an alien all along.

Gohan’s tail quickly comes into play during his training with Piccolo. Waking up on the night of a full moon, Gohan transforms and immediately starts to overwhelm Piccolo, leveling the region around them. Unable to subdue Gohan in his Oozaru form, Piccolo has no choice but to destroy the moon God so desperately wanted back on Earth. Piccolo yanks outGohan's tail as well just to be safe, but Gohan would transform one more time before the arc’s end.

2 Vegeta: Cut Off By Yajirobe

It was only a matter of time before one of the Saiyan invaders turned into an Oozaru, and Vegeta was clearly the best candidate of the three. The main antagonist of the Saiyan arc, Vegeta proves to be too much for Goku to handle. Even with Kaioken, Goku can’t kill Vegeta. Something Vegeta doesn’t realize.

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Turning into an Oozaru by creating a fake moon, Vegeta’s plan is to torture Goku to death. Unfortunately, he wastes so much energy creating the moon and transforming, that this move ends up being his downfall. Yajirobe– who had left his presence unknown throughout the initial battle– manages to sneak up on Vegeta and slice off his tail. Vegeta still has enough energy to fight back, but he would have been better off never transforming. Unlike Goku or Gohan, losing his tail once is enough for Vegeta to never regrow it.

1 Son Gohan: Cut Off By Vegeta

The final time a character loses their tail in Dragon Ball is when Gohan transforms at the end of the Saiyan arc. With the intensity of the battle against Vegeta pushing everyone to their limits, Gohan’s tail suddenly regrows after his personal fight with the Elite Saiyan. Gohan gazes up at the artificial moon Vegeta created and begins to wreak havoc.

Vegeta is smart enough to slice off Gohan’s tail with a Ki attack immediately, but he doesn’t account for Gohan’s massive monkey body crushing Vegeta as he reverts back to normal. Gohan’s weight does enough damage where even his smaller Oozaru frame is enough to force Vegeta to retreat.

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