How many times has every main hero died in the Dragon Ball franchise? Death has been a common occurrence in the Dragon Ball franchise ever since the original anime, which saw several key characters meet their ends. Death became even more common in Dragon Ball Z, when a significant chunk of the main cast was killed by Nappa in the Saiyan Saga. By the end of Dragon Ball Z, nearly character had died at least once, due to Kid Buu's attack that destroyed Earth. Interestingly, death (for the heroes) was far less frequent in Dragon Ball Super.
Most of these deaths have resulted from conflicts with incredibly powerful villains, like Frieza, Cell, and Buu. Though Goku typically triumphs in the end, many of his allies either die before the fighting ends or fail to hold off the villain before Goku can make his grand entrance.
Thanks to the Dragon Balls, death isn't permanent in Goku's world. Death can be undone with a wish to Shenron after gathering the seven Dragon Balls. After a character dies, they wind up in Otherworld or in Hell, depending on their life choices. They will remain there forever, unless someone gathers the Dragon Balls and wishes them back to life or a deal with King Yemma is made. Here's how many times every main hero has died in Dragon Ball canon.
Krillin
Goku's best friend has died a total of three times, with his first death occurring in Dragon Ball. After a martial arts tournament, he was killed by Piccolo's minion, Tambourine, but was resurrected shortly thereafter. Though he's one of the few heroes to survive the battle with Nappa and Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga, Krillin was later murdered by Frieza. His death is what pushed Goku to go Super Saiyan for the first time. Krillin was killed yet again after being turned into chocolate and eaten by Super Buu. This was a fate shared by numerous Dragon Ball Z characters, including Mr. Popo, Videl, and more. In Dragon Ball Super, a vision forced Krillin to face all the people who had killed him in the past.
Master Roshi
Master Roshi, one of the oldest characters in the anime, has been killed twice, which is actually less than many of the main characters, due in part to his absence from most of the major storylines in Dragon Ball Z. In Dragon Ball, Roshi dies from consecutive uses of his physically taxing move, Evil Containment Wave, against King Piccolo in Dragon Ball. Following his resurrection, Roshi remained alive through the rest of Dragon Ball and most of Dragon Ball Z, until Kid Buu blew up the planet.
Chiaotzu
Chiaotzu, Tien's faithful companion since Dragon Ball, has experienced death three times in the Dragon Ball franchise, beginning with a brief encounter with the villainous King Piccolo. After gathering the Dragon Balls and summoning Shenron, King Piccolo was prepared to wish for eternal life, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Chiaotzu, who tried to change his wish. King Piccolo put a stop to this by instantly killing him. Chiaotzu died a second time in the Saiyan Saga when he used his self-destruct ability on Nappa. He believed that sacrificing himself would kill Nappa, but the attempt failed. Chiaotzu is also a casualty of the Earth's destruction in the Buu Saga.
Goku
The main protagonist of the anime has been killed on two occasions, not counting the brief moments where he "died" when his heart temporarily stopped. While holding down Raditz, Goku was killed by Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon in the beginning of Dragon Ball Z. Death proved to be quite beneficial for Goku the first time around, as it gave him a chance to improve his strength and learn both the Kaio-ken technique and the Spirit Bomb on King Kai's planet. After being brought back to fight Nappa and Vegeta, Goku didn't die again until the end of the Cell Saga when he used Instant Transmission to teleport Cell to King Kai's planet before Cell could self-destruct. In doing so, Goku saved Earth, though he also sacrificed himself, King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory. Goku didn't get brought back until the end of the Buu Saga.
Yamcha
Yamcha has died twice. He, along with Tien and Chiaotzu, all died while trying to hold off Nappa and Vegeta. But unfortunately, Yamcha didn't even make it to the fight with Nappa. He was blown up by one of Saibamen created by Nappa. Yamcha's tragic death has been mocked by fans for years. Yamcha almost died again while fighting Android 20, but managed to pull through. He wasn't so lucky, though, when Super Buu attacked. Like Krillin and so many others, Yamcha was turned into chocolate and devoured by Buu.
Tien
Tien has two deaths in the Dragon Ball franchise. Following Chiaotzu's sacrifice, Tien hit Nappa with everything he had, but it wasn't enough. Tien died trying to defeat Nappa. Alongside Chiaotzu, Tien died for the second and last time when Kid Buu destroyed the planet.
Piccolo
With three deaths, Piccolo ties with Krillin and Chiaotzu for the most deaths in the anime. In the Saiyan Saga, Piccolo held out longer than Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien, but despite his best efforts, couldn't take down Nappa. He died sacrificing himself to save Gohan. Piccolo was killed again when the Earth was destroyed by Kid Buu. Also, Piccolo holds the distinction of being the only main hero to die and be restored by the Dragon Balls in Dragon Ball Super. Piccolo died when he jumped in front of a blast that was meant for Gohan in the Golden Frieza Saga. His death was clearly meant to mirror his heroic sacrifice in the Saiyan Saga.
Vegeta
Vegeta died in the Frieza and Buu Sagas of Dragon Ball Z. In fact, Vegeta dying at the hands of Frieza was a huge turning point for the characters and is considered to be one of the character's best moments. Another high point for Vegeta was when he fought against Babidi's control and killed himself with an explosion, in the hopes that it would take down Buu as well. But because of Buu's ability to regenerate, Vegeta's sacrifice accomplished nothing.
Heroes Who Have Only Died Once
Future Trunks was killed by Cell when the villain was trying to anger Gohan into unleashing his full power, and Android 18 died after being eaten by Super Buu. Also, only a scant few heroes were off-world when Kid Buu blew up the Earth, so due to this incident, nearly every Dragon Ball Z character has died at least once. This brought about the first and only deaths for several heroes, including Goten, the child version of Trunks, Android 17, Yajirobe, and Gohan. Gohan is easily the most important Dragon Ball character who hasn't died at least twice. Despite being heavily involved in most of the stories, Goku's son has had better luck than most when it comes to surviving the world's greatest threats.