Who wished for what in the Dragon Ball franchise? The first arc of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball saw an innocent, young Goku and his friends set out on a quest to collect all seven mystical Dragon Balls and make a wish. The story has shifted focus since those days, now more interested in God-like warriors hurling energy blasts at each other, but the Dragon Balls always seem to find a way into the plot. Often used as either a MacGuffin for a villain or a reset device to bring back dead characters, plenty of wishes have been made through the various sets of Dragon Balls that exist in Toriyama's world.

Whether it's the regular Earth Dragon Balls, Namek's larger set or the planet-sized universe balls introduced in Dragon Ball Super, each collection comes with its own rules and powers and summons forth a unique wish-granting Dragon. Some wishes are ridiculous, some are heart-warming and some are devilishly evil. Taking into account each canon instance, here are all the wishes granted by the Dragon Balls:

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Granted by Shenron - Earth Dragon Balls:

  • The first wish made upon the Dragon Balls is by Oolong, who requests a pair of underwear. Classic.
  • Goku helps his Native American-styled friend, Upa, to wish back his father, who was killed by Mercenary Tao.
  • The original King Piccolo uses the Dragon Balls to become young again.
  • The Dragon Balls are used to undo the death wrought by King Piccolo.
  • Master Roshi revives Goku after he sacrifices himself to beat Raditz.
  • Everyone killed by Freiza's army on Namek is revived.
  • Everyone killed by Cell and the Androids is revived/Krillin requests Android 17 and 18's self-destruct devices are removed.
  • All the innocents killed during the 25th World Martial Arts tournament are brought back.
  • The planet's memories of Buu's attack on Earth are erased.
  • Emperor Pilaf makes himself and his companions young again. They become kids.
  • Goku uses the Dragon Balls to find out how to attain Super Saiyan God mode. It's not clear whether this is a true wish.
  • Sorbet revives Frieza following his defeat by Trunks/Shu wishes for 1 million zeni/Mai wishes for ice cream.
  • North City is restored after being destroyed during Frieza's invasion.
  • Gohan wishes for Pan's fever to go away.
  • Cheelai sends Broly back to his isolated planet in Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Dragon Ball Super Saiyan God Goku Attacks

Granted by Porunga - Namek Dragon Balls:

  • Piccolo is brought back to life following his death in the Saiyan Saga/Piccolo is transported to Namek.
  • The inhabitants of Namek are relocated to Earth while Goku and Frieza fight.
  • Krillin's soul is also relocated to Earth, since he died on Namek fighting Frieza/Krillin is revived.
  • Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu are brought back to life after their deaths in the Saiyan Saga.
  • The Namekians are transported from Earth to New Namek.
  • Earth is restored after it was destroyed by Buu/all non-evil Buu victims are revived/Goku's energy is replenished so he can defeat Buu with a Spirit Bomb.
  • King Kai's planet is also remade after Buu destroyed it.
  • Kibito Kai returns to being two separate people, Shin and Kibito.
  • Piccolo is revived after sacrificing himself to save Gohan. Again.
  • Cranberry restores his own health/Cranberry wishes for Moro's magic to return/Moro releases the Galactic Patrol's prisoners.

Granted by Super Shenron - Super Dragon Balls

  • Beerus restores Universe 6's Earth so his brother can taste the planet's delicacies.
  • Zamasu switches into Goku's body after being impressed by his fighting ability.
  • Future Zamasu makes himself immortal after learning Goku Black's plan.
  • Zamasu and Goku Black destroy the Super Dragon Balls in Future Trunks' timeline.
  • After winning the Tournament of Power, Android 17 brings back all the universes that were eliminated.

When viewing every wish made using the Dragon Balls, it's certainly easy to see why the items sometimes get accused of being a cheap plot device or a big, orange reset button to undo events that could have major ramifications in future arcs. However, it's also interesting to see how seldom Dragon Ball's villains actually manage to use the treasures for their own evil purposes. Perhaps the best Dragon Ball wishes, however, are the comedic ones. From summoning pants to reviving a pile of Frieza-shaped chunks, the Dragon Balls are most effective when the wishes made upon them backfire.

Impressively, the Dragon Balls have remained relevant despite Toriyama moving away from the humble adventures of yore and towards the battle manga approach modern fans are familiar with. The Dragon Ball creator has found interesting new ways to weave the wish-granting balls into each saga, even when the main focus lies elsewhere.

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