The Most Epic Fantasy and Sci-Fi Website

Top 10 Things You Can't Wish From The Dragon Balls


top-10-things-you-can't-wish-from-the-dragon-balls
Credit: Toei Animation

At this point, I think everyone is well aware of how the Dragon Balls work in Akira Toriyama’s masterpiece of anime. In a nutshell, they are the iconic, magical, and powerful balls that can grant wishes once seven of them have been gathered. However, do you ever wonder what are the things you can’t wish from the Dragon Balls?

Be cautious when wishing from the Dragon Balls because they can make the wisher's life even more difficult than it was before. This is because Shenron grant wishes according to how the wisher actually reimagines them.

So, a friendly reminder that if you were to wish for the Dragon Balls, make sure that you really think it through before it backfires on you. This article will talk about the original Earth Dragon Balls, including the Namekian Dragon Balls. It will also mention the Blackstar and Evil Dragon Balls. Also, we will not include the Super Dragon Balls since they will require a separate article for discussion.

Related: What are Dragon Balls?

  1. Unlimited Number of Wishes

    This is a basic rule of thumb, whether you are wishing from the genie in a bottle or from the Dragon Balls themselves. You are not allowed to be greedy and wish for more wishes. That’s just plain unfair. You can only satisfy yourself with the allowed number of wishes.

    The Earth's Dragon Balls can grant one wish, while Dende’s upgraded version allows up to two wishes. Meanwhile, Namekian’s Dragon Balls can grant three wishes! What an upgrade!

    In case you missed it, the Black Star Dragonballs and the Evil Dragonballs can only grant one wish, so the wisher should be careful in requesting what they really want from these variations of Dragon Balls.

    Related: Dragon Ball Super Experts Explain How Namekians Survive on Just Water

  2. Grant The Same Wish Twice

    This is one of the problems encountered by Goku and the rest of the gang in the series. They can’t request the same wish twice from Shenron. As much as they like to revive Yamcha and Krillin together, they really can’t do it.

    However, a large number of people can be revived if they were all killed in the same manner and cause. In contrast to the original Earth Dragon Balls, the Namekian Dragon Balls don’t restrict this standard rule.

  3. Kill Beings Superior To The Creator

    Of course, you can’t just summon Shenron and wish for your rival to hit the dust, especially if they exceed the power of Shenron (most of the villains have a power level higher than that of Shenron, with the exception of Emperor Pilaf and Mercenary Tao). That’s just stupid. No matter how powerful or evil the enemy is, the characters from the series are not allowed to just kill their enemies by utilizing the powers of the Dragon Balls.

    What will be the essence of the series’ training arcs and the long fighting episodes of the anime if they can just easily wipe out their enemies with dragon balls? In parallel to this, they can’t also wish for and ask Shenron to make them stronger. They need hard work to advance themselves, just like our training freaks, Goku and Vegeta.

  4. Wish Beyond The Creator's Power

    There’s a limit and restriction to how powerful the creators are. The idea behind it is that there’s a lot to ask for the Dragon Balls, but also a lot to not ask for from them. They can grant a request but not allow other wishes because their abilities can’t simply go way beyond the contents of the wish.

    One might ask, how powerful are the creators of these Dragon Balls? We really can’t measure it. It’s up to Shenron to grant your wish, whether the dragon will allow it or not.

  5. Destroy The Dragon Balls

    Remember when King Piccolo killed Shenron? That’s how you do it if you want to destroy the Dragon Balls. Otherwise, you need to take out its creator. You can’t just summon Shenron and ask the dragon to exterminate himself. That’s really outrageous if the series allowed it.

    We all know how greedy the vigilantes are when they decide to search for the Dragon Balls. Aside from their evil requests, they also want to destroy the balls to hinder the next wishers from either resetting their wishes or putting a stop to their devious plans. Obviously, the only option is to obliterate the Dragon Balls from the story.

  6. Revival of Dead Characters

    There are a set of rules to be followed when wishing to revive someone from the anime. First, they have to understand that reviving one’s dead body is not allowed if they have been deceased for one whole year. However, in the Resurrection F movie, in Frieza’s case, he is able to come back to life after being dead for over a year.

    Second, if the deceased died from natural causes, one example is Granpa Gohan’s death. Unfortunately, everyone can’t bring him back. Rest in peace, Grandpa Gohan.

    In case you missed it: Dragon Ball Shares New Secrets About Frieza's Race

  7. Affect Different Timelines

    The power of the Dragon Balls can only be used in the same dimension. This goes to say that it is unable to alter, affect, or impact any other universe apart from the one they are currently in. (Note that Super Dragonballs are an exception to this rule.)

    Although multi-verse and/or multiple dimensions exist, they cannot grant wishes that will either save or destroy something in other realities. One example is the arrival of Future Trunks in the narrative. He time-travelled and warned everyone of the upcoming destruction of Earth.

  8. Allow a Biotechnical Being To Become Human

    If you are wondering how Androids 18 and Android 17 became human without the powers of the Dragon Balls (technically, Dragon Balls can’t make them human, as the title implies), well, it’s because they are precisely human, for starters. Dr. Gero only altered both of them on a cellular level.

    In short, 17 and 18 became cyborgs. Even with nanotechnology, cybernetics, and fusion reactors in their chests, their reproductive organs and human emotions still remain. People often confuse them as androids from the start. Originally, Androids 17 and 18 were named Lapis and Lazuli unlike Android 16 and 19, which were made from scratch.

    You might also like: Dragon Ball Super Expert Explains Cell's Real-World Origins

  9. Kill The Creator of the Dragon Balls

    As I have mentioned above, wishing to destroy the Dragon Balls is not allowed. This goes to say that the creator’s demise is also included in the standard rules.

    If one wants to vanish the creator, he needs to normally take the creator down. Wishing for the creator to die is just not right. Why would you wish to kill the creator who has allowed you to wish from the balls he created?

    Related: Where is Vegeta from Explained in Dragon Ball

  10. Shorten the Cooldown Period of the Dragon Balls

    After using the Dragon Balls, it will scatter to different parts of the world. The original Earth Dragon Balls can be used again after 365 days. The balls will become dormant and no one can trace it for it has been turned into just spherical stones.

    On the other hand, the Namekian Dragon Balls have a shorter period of utilization. The balls will only remain dormant for 130 days because of Namek’s three suns. To everyone’s dismay, wishing that the Dragon Balls could cut its cooldown period is a no-no. Everyone is expected to wait until the Dragon Balls can be used again.

    Read: Dragon Ball is the Latest Victim of Cancel Culture After Getting Banned for Sexism

A lot of people thought that they could wish for anything from the Dragon Balls and it would be automatically granted. Well, surprise, it is not that easy. If you’ll be able to wish for something from the Dragon Balls, we hope that this article will be able to help you out.

Read: Is Dragon Ball Super Anime Returning in 2022?

For more articles like this, take a look at our Anime, Dragon Ball, and Lists pages.