The Dragon Ball series is considered by many to be one of the greatest franchises of all time, featuring a number of iconic characters and stories that have become synonymous with pop culture. The names of characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan — among many others — have been etched in the annals of history due to the massive role they played in the childhood of many fans all over the world.
The fights present in the Dragon Ball series have become the stuff of legends, with beam clashes and the like allowing for some of the most iconic moments in the franchise's history. Of course, as is the case with most shonen shows that have massive power scaling, there are some beam attacks that are bound to be better than others, with the best of the bunch earning their spot on this list.
Updated December 2, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Dragon Ball Z is a series where ki can be manipulated for all sorts of attacks. From energy balls to explosive waves, Dragon Ball has done a great job of taking this martial arts concept and spinning it brilliantly to make for bombastic fighting spectacles.
Perhaps the most engaging of them all is forming ki into a beam that can be fired at an opponent. There are several instances of fighters manipulating their energy for these awe-inspiring attacks, with the best beam attacks of the bunch being mentioned below.
20 Explosive Demon Wave
The Explosive Demon Wave has been used sparingly across the Dragon Ball series. It was a go-to move for King Piccolo before slowly fading away as Piccolo devised more powerful beam attacks such as the Special Beam Cannon.
The Explosive Demon Wave was actually brought out once during the battle against Cell Max but did barely any damage. Suffice it to say, the power level of this beam attack has been vastly overshadowed by other moves in the series
19 Spirit Cannon
Bardock didn't really get the opportunity to shine against some of Dragon Ball's stronger foes. He was taken out quickly by Frieza and never really got a chance to show his true potential.
While there is an OVA where Bardock goes Super Saiyan, the vast majority of Dragon Ball fans don't really like that development anyway. As a result, his iconic Spirit Cannon attack doesn't really get to rank all that high on the list.
18 Masenko
The Masenko is easily one of the most underutilized beam attacks in Dragon Ball. It's indicative of Gohan's decline as a character that this move barely sees the light of day.
Dragon Ball Super has featured this move at times, but there's still a long way to go before the Masenko establishes itself as a powerful beam attack once again. Until then, it's bound to be one of the biggest what-could-have-been-beam attacks in Dragon Ball history.
17 Final Impact
Majin Vegeta is one of the most fascinating characters in Dragon Ball Z. After going through a midlife crisis of sorts, Vegeta decides to unlock his hidden potential by letting Babidi take over his mind.
However, after his fight against Goku, Vegeta decides to take out Majin Buu with his Final Impact attack. However, Majin Buu turns out to be too tough for this move, and Vegeta resorts to blowing himself up instead.
16 Special Beam Cannon
Piccolo is easily one of the most beloved characters in Dragon Ball, and his Special Beam Cannon was easily one of the biggest highlights during the initial run of Dragon Ball Z.
While some people may argue that this move — and Piccolo himself — have lagged behind the rest of the pack in Dragon Ball Super, Special Beam Cannon was still a pretty reliable move that Piccolo fell back on several times throughout the series to defeat powerful opposition.
15 Death Beam
Frieza is one of the most iconic Dragon Ball antagonists of all time. His return to Dragon Ball Super was widely celebrated by fans who wanted to see this powerful fighter show his true potential.
One need only check the effectiveness of his Death Beam attack to see just how much Frieza has grown as a fighter. However, given how much of a punching bag he has become after turning into Golden Frieza, it's clear that the former emperor of the universe needs to get some more hours of training under his belt.
14 Galick Gun
The Galick Gun is still standing strong as one of the most powerful beam attacks around, remaining iconic ever since its first appearance during that iconic battle between Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z.
Since then, the Galick Gun has made sporadic yet important appearances throughout the show, with one such notable — and perhaps the most powerful — appearance coming in the movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly, where Vegeta combined the Galick Gun along with Goku's Kamehameha in the fight against Broly.
13 Final Flash
The Final Flash is easily one of the most iconic beam attacks in Dragon Ball, with its first — and most resounding — appearance coming in the fight against Cell in Dragon Ball Z.
Since then, the move has become a pretty valuable part of Vegeta's arsenal and is considered to be one of his best and most powerful attacks in the series.
12 Kamehameha
Of course, it was only a given that the Kamehameha would be a focal part of this list, and for good reason. An energy beam attack that is easily one of the most recognizable abilities in the series — with most people being able to figure it out with hand gestures alone — the Kamehameha has evolved various times over the course of Dragon Ball Z, increasing its power every single time.
One need only look at the fact that the rest of this list has just altered versions of the Kamehameha to understand just how powerful this move really is!
11 Final Shine Attack
Vegeta loves adding the word "Final" as a prefix for his attacks. The Final Shine Attack that he develops in Dragon Ball GT is a great example of this, with this attack unleashing an emerald-color beam against his opponents.
This attack was devised by Vegeta in his Super Saiyan 4 form, with the Saiyan Prince using either one hand or both hands to charge this attack. The latter is done with a Final Flash pose, implying that this technique is an evolution of Vegeta's iconic move.
10 10x Kamehameha
Dragon Ball GT might be a mixed bag of a show, but it certainly has its draws. The red-tinted Kamehameha that Goku pulls off in his Super Saiyan form is one such example.
Watching Goku charge up this new and powerful move out of nowhere is quite a treat. Dragon Ball GT should've been an anime full to the brim with these moments, but the unnecessary amount of meaningless content in this series drags down the overall quality quite a bit.
9 Black Kamehameha
Goku Black is easily one of the best antagonists in Dragon Ball. Watching him add his own unique spin to Goku's established attacks was quite a treat indeed.
The greatest example of this was his Black Kamehameha, which was basically a Kamehameha that used divine ki. The end result was a visually spectacular attack that gave Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks a fair bit of trouble.
8 God Kamehameha
After ascending to the level of a god with the help of Whis' training, Goku ended up taking all his techniques and powers to the next level... including the Kamehameha itself.
One need only look at the massive power of his God Kamehameha — a Kamehameha unleashed with the power of god ki — to understand why this is the case. Goku unleashed this attack against Hit during their fight, and the latter would've been obliterated without the timely use of his Time Skip.
7 Big Bang Kamehameha
The Big Bang Kamehameha is an extremely powerful attack that combines the powers of Vegeta's Big Bang and Goku's Kamehameha into one powerful package that can send most enemies to an early grave.
While Gogeta is yet to use this move in Dragon Ball Super, the massive potential of this move can be seen in Dragon Ball GT. One can only wait and see whether this immensely damaging beam attack makes its way over to the newest series.
6 Final Burst Cannon
The Galick Gun is one of Vegeta's most iconic attacks, with the Prince of all Saiyans using this attack multiple times before devising the Final Flash. The Final Burst Cannon is pretty much an ultra-powered Galick Gun that hits for a ton of damage.
The most recent use of this beam attack was by Vegeta in his Ultra Ego form, which is proof enough of just how strong this beam really is. Fans can't wait to see this version of the attack when the anime adapts it.
5 Galick Kamehameha
The Galick Gun is a powerful beam attack, and the Kamehameha's legend pretty much speaks for itself. Combining both these attacks leads to one of the most powerful beam attacks in Dragon Ball.
The Galick Kamehameha might've only appeared once in the entire series, but it was still a visual treat regardless. Dragon Ball Super: Broly was full to the brim with excellent attacks, and the Galick Kamehameha was a great example of the same.
4 Final Kamehameha
While the Big Bang Kamehameha might not be part of Dragon Ball Super as of yet, there's one particular attack that also combines the power of Goku's Kamehameha along with another powerful move of Vegeta's — the Final Flash — for devastating results.
This attack is the Final Kamehameha, which was used by Vegito during his fight against Fused Zamasu. The attack had so much energy that both Goku and Vegeta ended up splitting apart since they used too much energy.
3 Divine Kamehameha
The Ultra Instinct form is easily one of the best evolutions of power in the Dragon Ball series, featuring an incredible level of power that Goku has yet to master. When Goku was using the imperfect Ultra Instinct form, he ended up channeling his energy into a Divine Kamehameha that was incredibly powerful.
The Divine Kamehameha was the move used in one of the most iconic moments in the series, with Goku skidding over Kefla's attack with the Divine Kamehameha before unleashing it point-blank at her face.
2 Omegaheat Magnetron
Jiren is easily the most powerful foe Goku had ever faced up to this point, and it's only a given that his beam attack would also make this list.
The Omegaheat Magnetron is a powerful move used by Jiren during a critical point in his battle against Goku, who had perfected his Autonomous Ultra Instinct up to that point. While this was the first time such a powerful move was used in the series, it ultimately lost to the...
1 Supreme Kamehameha
After achieving Autonomous Ultra Instinct, Goku ended up absolutely wiping the floor with Jiren. This form was unlike anything the fighters had ever seen before, and even someone as powerful as Jiren found it extremely challenging to keep up with this perfected form.
One of the attacks that Goku unleashed in this state was the Supreme Kamehameha — an upgraded version of the Divine Kamehameha that was so powerful that this release of power caused Goku to lose his Ultra Instinct form.