Dragon Ball: How Old Android 18 Is (& 9 Other Things You Didn’t Know)

For a show as long-running as Dragon Ball, it’s strange to think that it is very little in the way of explaining how the world works, or even certain characters within that world. Some of the first characters that come to mind who are shrouded in mystery are the Androids, the powerful bio-mechanical entities that briefly threatened to take over Earth, but not until they have killed Goku.

While their human identities have since been revealed in manga form, those who only watch the anime will miss out on a great deal of character information that sheds some light on personal details, though this isn’t just limited to the Androids.

10 Android 18’s Age

Unlike many of the other main characters in Dragon Ball, Android 17 and 18 are never given a proper birthdate in the series, leaving their actual age up for debate. Assuming their number designation could be a hint to their approximate age when they were introduced, as they were kidnapped as children, this would make both Android 17 and 18 in their late 20’s or early 30’s by the end of the Dragon Ball Super anime. As this is just speculation, they could also be older or younger and be closer in age to Goku or Vegeta, who are both pushing 50 years old as of Super.

9 Goku Never Met Android 17

In the Universal Survival arc, Goku recruits the world’s greatest fighters to help keep Universe 6 from being destroyed, including a reformed Android 17 who is working as a park ranger with his family. While on the surface there is nothing strange about the encounter, this actually marks the first time Goku and Android 17 have met, as the Android was absorbed by Cell while Goku was incapacitated with a heart virus.

8 Hercule & Krillin Are The Same Age

It’s easy to forget just how old characters are sometimes, particularly when it comes to the second smallest Z-Fighter, Krillin. According to their official birthdates, both Krillin and Mark “Hercule” Satan were both born in the same year, Age 736, and make both of them older than Goku, though younger than Bulma and Vegeta.

While Hercule is no more of a threat to the Z-Fighters than the average human, he is a world-class martial artist compared to the majority of those who live on Earth and begs the question of what kind of fighter he could have become had he trained with Goku and Krillin in their youth.

7 Goku’s Hospital Visit

During Vegeta and Nappa’s attack on Earth, Goku is severely wounded by the combination of his Kaioken technique and the Great Ape form of Vegeta, leaving him stuck in the hospital for quite a while. Eagle-eyed fans may have spotted the fact that the hospital in question is named Wukong, which is the Chinese name for Goku in the tale Journey to the West, which Dragon Ball was heavily inspired by.

6 Piccolo’s Age

During the final season of Dragon Ball King Piccolo’s offspring, who becomes the main Piccolo that remains in the series, is introduced and becomes a short-lived rival to Goku until the Saiyans arrive on Earth. As a Namekian, he ages much faster than humans or Saiyans and reaches adulthood within a few years as opposed to the decades it takes other races. This makes him much closer to Gohan’s age than would be expected at first glance and makes their friendship a little less creepy in that regard, though also adds more questions since Piccolo often acts as Gohan’s father figure in place of Goku.

5 Goku & Cell’s Battle

The Cell Games marked many first time events in the series: Vegeta showing love for someone other than himself, Gohan being the strongest fighter and hero of the day, and Goku losing his fight against a major villain. This also marks the first time that Goku didn’t bite the main villain during their final fight, which is a strange thing to think about considering he’s a full-grown adult and had only just realized that biting isn’t a very sportsmanlike act during a fight.

4 The Shortest Time As World’s Strongest Protagonist

The Android and Cell arcs marked one of the longest games of hot potato when it came to who held the title of Earth’s strongest warrior, which seemed to be passed along every other episode. Normally, this comes down to just the Saiyans, with sometimes their children holding the title, but for a very brief moment in time, Piccolo was the one who held that honor.

After fusing with Kami to combat the threat of Cell, Piccolo becomes significantly more powerful than even the Super Saiyans and was able to hold his own against Android 17, who claimed to be the most powerful of the trio. Unfortunately, Piccolo would go through the rest of the series playing the third wheel to Goku and Vegeta, who are constantly in first and second place.

3 The Spirit Bombs Efficiency

During Goku’s training with King Kai, the Spirit Bomb technique was teased as being the greatest weapon in his arsenal, and should only be used as a last resort. While it was normally used in this way, at least at first, its success rate leaves little to be desired. Both Vegeta and Frieza survived the Spirit Bomb with enough energy to only be mildly annoyed by the impact, and it wasn’t used on Cell at all. The only time it ever actually does what it’s supposed to be against Buu, who is the only villain to be defeated by the technique.

2 Android 16’s Origin

There was a lot of debate around the origin of Android 16 in his first showing in the series, as he was so drastically different from both the Android twins as well as Dr. Gero and Android 19’s design that it was clear he was somewhat important. Though there was some speculation that he was Dr. Gero’s son, a Red Ribbon soldier killed by Goku, it would turn out that only half of that was true. As Dr. Gero’s son, Gebo was a high-ranking member of the Red Ribbon Army who was killed by a stray bullet from enemy fire. He was later revived as Android 16 and made nearly indestructible by Dr. Gero so he wouldn’t lose his son again.

1 The Gods Of Destructions Names

As is the case with most characters in Dragon Ball, the Gods of Destruction are all named after a certain food or item, in this case, they are all named after different kinds of alcohol. Beerus and Champa are beer and champagne respectfully, while Iwan, Helles, Mosco, Quitela, Arak, Liquir, Sidra, Rumoosh, Vermound, and Gene, the remaining Gods, are named after wine, helles, muscat, tequila, arak, liquor, cider, rum, vermouth, and gin respectfully.

Next: 5 Ways Dragon Ball & Dragon Quest Are Alike (& 5 Ways They’re Completely Different)

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