Gun

Guns (銃, Jū) refer to firearms which fire high velocity rounds known as bullets or, in some cases, Ki Blasts. Guns appear many times throughout the Dragon Ball series, most commonly used by the people of Earth. However, they rarely see use by any major character since guns have very little to no effect against someone with a high enough power level.

Overview[]

WhiteVChief — General White threatens to execute the Jingle Village Chief with a Remington 1866 Derringer

While they are seen in every anime series of the Dragon Ball franchise, they are most prevalent in the early Dragon Ball. Just like their real-life counterparts, guns come in many different shapes, sizes, types, calibers, functions, operating systems and uses. Many of the guns seen in the series are largely based on weapons existent in reality, including Colt M1911, IMI Uzi, H&K MP5, H&K G3A3 M14, M16A1, M16A2, AK-47, M134 Minigun, Ithaca M37, Colt Police Positive, Minebea PM-9, FN FAL, AKS-74u, S&W Model 27, Remington M870, Thompson M1A1, Glock 17, M1 Garand, Winchester Model 1866, H&K PSG1, Springfield M1903A4, M3A1 "Grease Gun", Mauser Kar98k, PPsH-41, Browning Model 1922.

Though capable of killing most untrained fighters and non-martial artists, most firearms are useless against powerful warriors like the Saiyans, Red Ribbon Androids, and experienced martial artists especially those that fire bullets as they can be caught, dodged, or only inflict minor grazing depending upon the fighters strength and power level. However, Bulma in the Japanese version implied that guns of shotgun-caliber are capable of doing at the very least major damage to Saiyans if not kill them outright. Raditz also demonstrates that bullets fired from a gun can be caught and used against the person who fired them as he did to the Farmer.

Usage[]

In very early Dragon Ball, Bulma shoots Goku with a pistol, only for it to have almost no effect on the young Saiyan, although it does hurt him slightly.^[5]

Launch also uses a machine gun on many occasions in her blonde, more aggressive form. She mainly uses the gun on Master Roshi and Oolong. She is also seen using a shotgun when running from the police.

TriPolice2 — Policemen holding guns in "Tien's Atonement"

Many other characters in Dragon Ball are seen using guns. These characters mainly exist within the Red Ribbon Army, who use machine guns, shotguns, assault rifles and even turrets to try and kill Goku, all of which have little to no effect on him. Aside from this, the Red Ribbon Army was also implied to use guns to execute anyone for various reasons, as was evidenced General Blue's execution of a soldier and a weapons operator for picking his nose/causing delays in finding a Dragon Ball by indulging in the activity (depending on the version) and missing a sub twice, respectively (though he did so by ordering soldiers to do so), with it also being implied that Blue himself was aroused by the sound of guns killing people. General Blue, mostly due to the impending collapse of the pirate cave, proceeded to arm himself with an Ithaca 37 shotgun via a portable capsule in an attempt to kill Goku (the latter of whom was paralyzed by Blue's special ability). Blue was also seen holding a handgun on the cover for Chapter 80, The Three Stolen Dragon Balls, although he never actually was shown to use it in the story itself. In the anime version of the same chapter, while he is never actually seen using a gun, it is implied by the gunshot being heard in the transition scene to Bulma's stolen Jet-Copter that Blue executed the sole remaining soldier in his encampment via gunshot after he discovered the latter had hid from Bulma, Goku, and Krillin earlier before leaving to pursue them himself. Staff Officer Black uses a gun to kill Commander Red after learning of the latter's wish to become taller over actually bringing the Red Ribbon Army to greatness and his implication that the former was an expendable lackey.^[6] The standard issue rifle for the Red Ribbon Army appears to be the M1 carbine.

Police and Earth's Military rely heavily on the use of guns, which they use on many of the villains (such as King Piccolo, Nappa, Cell, and Majin Buu as prime examples) throughout the series.

EarthsMilitaryCellSaga08 — A King's Guard soldier prepares to unleash a fury of machine gun fire onto Cell during the Cell Games

Most notably, in very early Dragon Ball Z, a farmer shoots the evil Saiyan Raditz with a bullet from his Winchester rifle due to the latter trespassing on his property. However, Raditz simply catches the bullet and throws it right back at the man.^[7] Bulma uses a gun on Roshi, Krillin, and possibly Turtle after fixing Raditz's scouter due to their lack of attention.

While Goku is traversing Snake Way in the Other World, he encounters Princess Snake and her attendants. During the confrontation, one of Princess Snake's attendants uses a magnum pistol to play Russian roulette with Goku and ends up shooting herself in the head. Goku notes that he prefers Checkers to Russian roulette.^[8]

On Namek, Frieza's ground troops use a highly advanced type of gun, commonly referred to as a blaster. These blasters are capable of much more damage to the common person, as they shoot beams of energy. However, to people with enough power, they are completely useless. There is also another variant known as the Arm Cannon, which fires an even more powerful beam.

Gunmen — Civilians shooting the Androids in "Ghosts from Tomorrow"

Android 17 owns a gun he uses only "for fun".^[9] Shortly before Future Trunks arrives at Future Android 17 and Future Android 18's location and attacks them, an Old Man who is in an overturned car attempts to shoot Future 17 with a revolver in order to avenge his son (as his son is murdered by Future 17, and the son's death is also implied to have left Future 18 enraged at Future 17 as well).^[10]^[11] On a related note, several surviving civilians also attempted to use various guns, including a pistol, a sniper rifle and a machine gun on Future Android 17 and Future Android 18 in an attempt to keep them at bay in Future Trunks' flashback, but the bullets merely fell off of them without so much as even being slightly knocked back, let alone flinching or being injured by them due to their enhanced physiology before the latter party vaporized them.^[12] South Kai use a pink Glock 17 to mark the start of the race between Goku and East Kai.^[13]

SouthGun2 — South Kai's pink gun, based on the Glock 17

The Musuka Circus director Mr. Musuka threatens Toh Toh with a police officer's handgun.^[14] During the Majin Buu Saga, two evil men named Van Zant and Smitty use high-powered rifles to terrorize the streets.^[15] They eventually even shoot and nearly kill Bee, Majin Buu's puppy friend. Van Zant also shoots and nearly kills Mr. Satan a short time later, the result of which sparks the creation of Evil Buu and the events following.^[16] Later during the saga, Mr. Satan uses a Colt M1911 .45 in an attempt to stop Super Buu's Destroy Everything! energy ball and believes he does so when Tien Shinhan obliterates the ball with a Tri-Beam.^[17] Pit Bull Pete, during a heist at a jewelry shop, ends up attempting to shoot Majin Buu in a state of panic due to having encountered him earlier and suffered a humiliating loss at Buu's hand during a routine fight scam. He scored a direct hit, but because of Buu's regeneration abilities, he barely reacted and just ejected the bullet from his body, causing Buu to "return" the bullet to its owner by flicking it to a picture frame just behind Pete.^[18]

Gohan045 — Videl after getting shot in *Battle of Gods*

In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Mai having since been reduced to a child, threatens to shoot Trunks with her gun while holding him hostage during Bulma's birthday party at the Capsule Corporation. Failing to recognize Mai was serious, a drunk Gohan donned his Great Saiyaman Suit and dared her to shoot him instead, with him easily deflecting the bullets. Unfortunately, the bullet accidentally ricochet into Videl's leg. Fortunately, Dende was on hand to heal her wound, during which he discovered Videl was pregnant, but kept it a secret as per Videl's request. The other bullet ended up hitting the God of Destruction Beerus in the face, which while not significantly hurting him nevertheless infuriated him enough that he came close to acting on destroying Earth.

East City Police Arrive — The East City Police ninja wielding various firearms

In Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, three ninja members of the East City Police are all shown wielding various firearms as the travel to Omori's Island by boat.

In Dragon Ball Super, the Earth's Resistance utilizes guns during their operations in opposing the Zamases. Future Mai wields a modified Shotgun and Sniper Rifle designed by Future Bulma to fire Ki Blasts instead of bullets. Earthling Poachers also wield firearms when they confront Android 17 on Monster Island. The Duo of Robbers and various criminals that appear in the anime also wield firearms. Krillin's fellow police officers wield firearms, though Krillin himself prefers to rely on his martial arts skills to combat criminals. Both Goku and Krillin have had been grazed by bullets fired by criminals due to getting rusty causing them both to start training regularly to get back in fighting shape.

DB Super Full Color Manga Vol 6, Ch 32 Caulifla & Kale (with Caulifla's Gang) — A member of Caulifla's gang pointing a gun at Cabba

In the manga during the Universe Survival Saga, it is revealed that guns exist in Universe 6 on the Saiyan homeworld Sadala as a member of Caulifla's Gang threatens Cabba with one.

DBS42-5 — Mr. Satan pulling out his gun in an attempt to stop the Galactic Patrol from taking Buu

During the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, while trying to stop the Galactic Patrol from kidnapping the sleeping Good Buu, Mr. Satan pulls out his .45 caliber handgun and fires it at Merus. However, Merus easily counters by shooting the bullet before it can hit him using his Ray Gun. This is the first time in the series to feature a gunfight between someone using a normal handgun and another using a Ray Gun. As Merus demonstrates, normal bullets are vulnerable to the energy emitted by Ray Guns. However, Merus is secretly an Angel, possessing far greater strength and reflexes than almost any mortal, and is able to imbue the shots from his gun with his own ki in order to strengthen them, as seen during his intervention in the Dragon Team's fight with Moro, so it is unclear whether an ordinary Ray Gun shot would have destroyed an ordinary bullet in a similar way.

DBS Super Hero Piccolo (Red Ribbon Soldier 94 disguise) — Piccolo wielding a gun as part of his Red Ribbon soldier disguise in *Super Hero*

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, the resurgent Red Ribbon Army utilize firearms. Additionally while posing as a Red Ribbon soldier, Piccolo briefly wields a gun as part of his disguise.

Variations[]

Stun Gun - A type of firearm designed to incapacitate a person.
Ray Gun - A type of firearm designed to fire an energy blast as opposed to a bullet.
- Gamma Blaster - A powerful Ray Guns developed by Dr. Hedo to be wielded by Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 in Super Hero.
.22 Gun - A .22 caliber handgun used as a Special Move in Dragon Ball Fusions.
- .45 Gun - A .45 caliber handgun used by Mr. Satan against Super Buu in the manga and anime. Also used against Merus in an attempt to protect Good Buu during the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga. Also appears as a Special Move in Dragon Ball Fusions.
Vulcan Cannon - A technique used by Dr. Kochin in Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest.
Machine Gun Punch - A technique used by Bulma and Launch as a Super Attack in Dokkan Battle where they attack the opponent with a Machine Gun. Launch also uses a version that incorporates a rush attack before she fires her machine gun at the opponent.

Video Game Appearances[]

DB Fusions Gunner Chocora — Chocora wielding her .22 Gun in *Dragon Ball Fusions*

Guns occasionally appear in video games usually wielded by enemies, though occasionally by playable characters.

In Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, various characters such as General Blue and Red Ribbon Army soldiers wield guns.

In Dragon Ball: Origins, Bulma wields guns as a Support character.

In Dragon Ball: Origins 2, Bulma wields guns as a support and playable character. Colonel Violet also wields guns in Origins 2 as well.

In Dragon Ball Fusions, guns and Beam Guns are wielded by various characters such as Cital, Chocora and her brother Gato. Cital, Chocora, and Gato wield .22 Guns and .45 Guns which are strong enough to damage powerful martial artists and warriors, and fire rounds capable of Energy Clashing though they have a limited attack range compared to Beam Guns. Mr. Satan also wields his .45 Gun that he originally used against Super Buu though it fires better rounds like those used by Cital, Chocora, and Gato. Good Buu and Mr. Satan's Ex-Fusion Majin Satan also wields Mr. Satan's .45 Gun.

XV2 - Hell's Storm bullets — Hell's Storm firing bullets in *Xenoverse 2*

In the Dragon Ball Xenoverse series, Hell's Storm the finisher for Super 17's basic strong combo, is depicted as a machine gun that fires high caliber rounds.

In Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, certain characters wield firearms such as Red Ribbon Soldier, Poachers, Staff Officer Black, Bulma (Youth), Launch, Pasta, Mr. Satan, and Mai (Future). Mai (Future) wields her Shotgun which is modified to double as a Grenade Launcher to fire Stun Grenades and her Sniper Rifle fires .50 caliber rounds. Pasta wields her Beam Machine Gun as handheld firearm instead of it being plane mounted like in Curse of the Blood Rubies.

In Dragon Ball Legends, Bulma (Youth) and Launch wield Uzi as their primary weapon using gunfire instead of standard Ki Blasts and Blast Arts (with their Blast Arts classified as Physical Blasts). Additionally Future Mai fights wielding her Shotgun and her pair of handguns which she uses for rapid fire attacks (like Bulma and Launch her Blast Arts are classified as Physical Blasts).

In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, the Farmer wields his rifle against Raditz after he lands in the East Ravine area.

In Dragon Ball: The Breakers, the Farmer wields his rifle.

Trivia[]

In the Toonzai broadcast of "Prologue to Battle! The Return of Goku!", the bullet shot by the farmer and caught by Raditz is glowing and blue due to censorship issues. The sound of the gunshot, as well as the sound of Raditz throwing the bullet back, are also altered to sound less like a gunshot and more like a Ray Gun.
In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, the pants of the Time Patrol Logo Suit features a holstered handgun though it is purely cosmetic and can only be worn. Its design is based on Android 17's pants which also feature his holstered handgun.