Dragon Ball Z has its fair share of filler episodes. Here's a look at 10 of the best.
The best filler episodes in Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z is one of the greatest anime ever made. The story of Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of the Z Warriors as they try and save Earth — and later on, the Universe — from a bunch of ultra-powerful threats never gets tiring. Of course, the main series ran at a snail's pace, and what made things even worse was the fact that the show used to branch out into filler content that was hard to avoid since it bled into the main plot at times.
As a result, the Dragon Ball Z anime can be hard to watch at times, which is why Dragon Ball Z Kai is such a breath of fresh air in this regard. That being said, there are some filler Dragon Ball Z episodes that fans absolutely love, with the best of the lot being ranked below.
10
Episode 202 — "Gohan's First Date"
Gohan's peak came at the end of the Cell Games saga, after which he became older during a time of peace. However, he felt that his powers were still required for the sake of the Earth, which is when he decided to become The Great Saiyaman.
When he feels that his identity has been figured out by some other girl, he's forced to go out on a date with her to keep his secret. However, the date doesn't go too well and his secret comes out — Gohan was spotted wearing teddy bear underwear by the girl!
9
Episode 14 — "Princess Snake"
The journey through Snake Way forms some of the most iconic chapters in Dragon Ball Z, although the runtime was padded with some filler. While Goku falling into Hell was pretty memorable in its own right, the real standout filler episode was with Princess Snake.
After Goku gets stuck in a princess' palace, he tries to escape... only for the princess to transform into a massive snake! Thankfully, Goku has his wits about him and manages to escape and return to Snake Way.
8
Episode 124 — "Z Warriors Prepare"
The episodes before the Androids come to Earth are pretty great in their own right. The Z Warriors take their time and prepare, with this episode focusing on Vegeta's exploits.
He trains at 300 times Earth's gravity, which almost kills him! A moment of hilarity comes when Yamcha thinks he can pull off the same kind of training, only to find out just how grueling Vegeta's training regimen really is.
7
Episode 171 — "Memories Of Gohan"
There's a round of preparations that happen before the dawn of the Cell Games. This episode takes a closer look at Goku's family, opening with both Goku and Gohan accidentally breaking plates because of how strong they've become.
Chi-Chi then finds an album detailing Gohan's growth as a child, after which the gang celebrates his eleventh birthday. However, this moment of happiness was not meant to last, with the Cell Games approaching sooner rather than later.
6
Episode 117 — "Krillin's Proposal"
Marron is a pretty hilarious character from Dragon Ball Z who randomly appears as Krillin's girlfriend. However, he realizes that Marron needs a ton of money to be kept happy, and decides to go on a fool's errand to try and gain as much wealth as possible.
This plan eventually fails, and Krillin is forced to break up with Marron instead. Funnily enough, Marron doesn't really care and leaves a heartbroken Krillin behind, whom the fans actually feel sorry for in a pretty decent piece of filler.
5
Episode 287 — "Celebrations With Majin Buu"
While this episode isn't completely filler, most of the celebrations after Kid Buu's death aren't featured in the manga. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, since this filler was a joy to watch.
Watching everyone finally experience a fleeting moment of happiness after the horrors inflicted by Buu is great to watch. Majin Buu also gets a moment to himself and is overjoyed when the Z Warriors wish for everyone to forget about the villainous antics of this character.
4
Episode 199 — "Goku vs. Pikkon"
The Otherworld Tournament saga was a pretty decent distraction that introduced Pikkon and allowed Goku to show his strengths once again. It's one of the few filler arcs that fans actually like.
The series ends with a showdown between Goku and Pikkon, which is pretty engaging and brings the Kaio-ken technique back once again. While Goku eventually gets the better of Pikkon, the fight is declared a draw for some convoluted reasons.
3
Episode 11 — "Terror On Arlia"
Just like the final celebrations, this episode isn't strictly filler either. However, the amount of canon content here is so minimal that it might as well classify as one.
Gohan's training is already pretty entertaining to watch as is, and this episode also takes a look at Vegeta and Nappa's exploits on a different planet in the universe. It's a unique episode where fans finally get to see just how much of a monster these Saiyans really are.
2
Episode 100 — "Gohan Returns"
The battle between Frieza and Goku is stretched to kingdom come, which can be really irritating after a point. However, there are moments when the additional content is pretty exciting in its own right.
This comes in the form of Gohan actually coming back to avenge his father, after he assumed that Goku had been defeated by the tyrant. Unfortunately, Gohan gets smacked up quite a bit... but, thankfully, Goku rises up from the pool of lava he was thrown into and continues his fight with Frieza.
1
Episode 125 — "Goku's Ordeal"
The episode where Goku and Piccolo go to get their driver's license is easily one of the most hilarious filler episodes around. It allows for a moment of levity during a time when the threat of the Androids was scaring everyone.
Watching these two fighters try and come to grips with how a car is driven is simply hilarious. The episode ends with them both crashing their cars, leading to them failing their test in spectacular fashion.
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