For most of its history Dragon Ball has always returned to the same place. No matter how big the threat or how wide the universe grows the story eventually circles back to Goku and Vegeta. They train. They fight. They unlock new forms. They save the day. This formula has worked for decades and it is the reason Dragon Ball became one of the most famous franchises in fiction. But it has also created a quiet problem. Dragon Ball does not lack characters. It lacks focus on the right ones.
Over the years Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super have introduced a large cast of fighters mentors rivals and survivors. Many of them were once central to the story. Many of them still have emotional weight and clear narrative potential. Yet instead of exploring these characters the series often chooses a simpler path. New villains. New transformations. Higher stakes that reset once the arc ends.
The question is no longer who can become stronger. The real question is what Dragon Ball could become if the spotlight shifted even slightly. Several side characters are ready for meaningful arcs. Not to replace Goku or Vegeta. But to give the world of Dragon Ball depth purpose and growth again.
Why Side Characters Matter More Than Ever
Dragon Ball is no longer a young series. It is a legacy story spanning generations. At this stage constant escalation is not enough. Bigger enemies and louder transformations lose impact when there is no emotional grounding behind them. Side characters provide something that raw power never can. Perspective.
They show how the world changes after battles end. They show how survival shapes people differently. They allow stories that are smaller but deeper. Stories about responsibility failure mentorship and choice. Dragon Ball Super has already proven that this approach works when it commits to it. The problem is that it rarely does. Several characters already have everything they need to carry strong arcs or even short spin off stories. They simply need focus.
Goten – The Saiyan Who Stopped Growing
Goten is one of the strangest cases in Dragon Ball. He is introduced as a prodigy. A child who achieves Super Saiyan effortlessly. Someone who mirrors Goku more closely than Gohan ever did. And then he stops.
For years Goten has existed in a state of suspension. He ages physically but not narratively. He trains rarely. He has little direction. His personality is often reduced to jokes or background reactions.
What makes Goten important is not his strength. It is his identity problem. He is a Saiyan born into peace. He never experienced the desperation that shaped Goku or Gohan. He never had a defining trauma or a reason to fight. That alone is fertile ground for storytelling.
A focused arc could explore what it means to inherit power without purpose. Goten does not need a new form. He needs a reason to choose who he wants to be. Is he a fighter. A protector. Or someone who steps away from battle entirely. Dragon Ball has never truly explored that choice. Goten is the perfect character to do it.
Trunks – More Than His Future Self
Trunks has always lived in the shadow of his future version. Future Trunks is defined by loss sacrifice and responsibility. Present Trunks is often treated as a lighter version without consequence. That is a mistake. Present Trunks is one of the few characters who knows about a doomed future yet lives in safety. That knowledge should matter. It should shape him. Instead it is often ignored.
Trunks is not just Vegeta son. He is the child of two legacies. Saiyan pride and human survival. His struggle should not be about power. It should be about expectation. A spotlight arc could explore Trunks wrestling with who he is allowed to become. Does he need to live up to his future self. Or does he deserve a different path.
Dragon Ball Super briefly touched this idea but never followed through. A focused story could finally separate Trunks from his alternate self and allow him to grow into something new.
Piccolo – The Mentor With Untold Depth
Piccolo is one of Dragon Ball most complete characters. He has undergone a full transformation from enemy to ally to mentor. Yet despite this growth his inner life remains largely unexplored. Piccolo carries generations of memory. Namekian culture. Loss of a planet. Responsibility for students who surpass him. He is calm because he has learned to endure not because he lacks emotion.
Dragon Ball Super Hero reminded audiences why Piccolo matters. Not because of his power but because of his presence. He grounds the story. He observes. He teaches.
A Piccolo focused arc does not need a major villain. It could explore mentorship failure. Cultural legacy. Or what it means to guide a new generation while knowing your time as a frontline fighter is fading. Dragon Ball rarely slows down enough to ask these questions. Piccolo is the character who could make that slowdown meaningful.
Android 17 – Proof That Growth Works
Android 17 is living proof that Dragon Ball can develop side characters successfully when it chooses to. His role in Dragon Ball Super was not built on raw strength alone. It was built on change. 17 became a protector not through training arcs but through time. Isolation. Responsibility. Quiet maturity.
What makes him compelling is that his growth feels earned. He is not chasing glory. He is guarding something fragile. Nature. Balance. Life that cannot fight back.
A spotlight arc for Android 17 could explore the long term consequences of power. What does it mean to live forever while protecting a world that keeps resetting itself through battles. Dragon Ball rarely shows the cost of constant conflict. Android 17 is the perfect lens to explore that cost.
Hit – The Wasted Rival Outside Universes
Hit was introduced as something Dragon Ball rarely does well. A rival without personal hatred. A professional. Someone who fights not for pride or survival but because it is his role. His presence expanded the universe without relying on shock value. He was calm. Efficient. Respectful. And then he was largely sidelined.
Hit represents a different kind of Dragon Ball story. One about systems. Duty. And restraint. He does not need to be stronger than Goku to matter. He needs purpose beyond tournaments. A mini arc focused on Hit could explore how warriors function in societies outside Earth. How power is regulated. How violence is normalized. Dragon Ball claims to be about universes. Characters like Hit are how those universes become real.
Why Dragon Ball Keeps Holding Them Back
The issue is not a lack of ideas. It is structural comfort. Dragon Ball relies heavily on familiarity. Goku trains. Vegeta struggles. A villain appears. A new form resolves it. This rhythm is safe. It sells. It is easy to reset. Side character arcs require commitment. They require smaller stakes and longer consequences. They require the story to slow down.
There is also fear. Fear that fans only want fights. Fear that characters without constant power growth will be ignored. Fear of changing a formula that still works financially.
But Dragon Ball Super has already shown that audiences respond positively when characters are treated with care. Super Hero. Android 17 arc. Piccolo return to relevance. The resistance is not from fans. It is from hesitation.
How Spotlight Arcs Could Fix This
Spotlight arcs do not need to replace main arcs. They can exist alongside them. Short focused stories. Three to five chapters. One emotional core. These arcs should not be about saving the universe. They should be about solving personal problems. Training students. Protecting locations. Facing consequences. Most importantly they should end with change that carries forward.
Goten finding direction. Trunks choosing identity. Piccolo redefining mentorship. Android 17 confronting permanence. Hit questioning purpose. None of these require new villains or forms. They require intention.
Final Thoughts
Dragon Ball strength has always been its cast. Not just its strongest fighters. Side characters do not replace Goku. They support the future of the franchise. They give weight to victories and meaning to peace. Spotlight does not mean power boosts. It means purpose.
Dragon Ball does not need more characters. It needs to remember the ones it already has. And when it does the series becomes more than battles. It becomes a world again.
