The vast majority of the fighters in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were male, with martial arts being presented as something that men were more interested in than women.
This isn’t to say that the Dragon Ball franchise didn’t have important female characters, but they rarely engaged in combat.
The Androids Saga brought a chilling end to the reign of bulging muscles and fancy techniques, as two scrawny teenagers were given the power to bring a Super Saiyan to their knees.
Android 17 and 18 were responsible for wiping out the Z-Fighters in one reality and still posed a major threat in a timeline where their arrival had been prepared for.
Android 18 was once a regular girl named Lazuli. However, she was captured by Dr. Gero and had her body altered to the point where a teenager with no combat training was suddenly more powerful than the greatest warriors on Earth.
The name “Android” is technically incorrect, as Dr. Gero actually turned Lazuli into a cyborg.
The Dragon Ball franchise would eventually move beyond the creations of Dr. Gero, but Android 18 would still remain a major character in the series.
Android 18 was still an incredibly powerful combatant until the end of the series and her face-turn/relationship with Krillin would ensure that she would become one of the most popular characters in the series.
We are here today to learn the secrets of one of the most frightening and powerful characters in the Dragon Ball franchise: from the bizarre origins of her creation to the lone celebrity voice calling out for another live-action Dragon Ball movie.
Here are the 20 Strange Things About Android 18’s Body!
20. She Was Aware When Cell Absorbed Her
The Androids were built up as being this massive threat, to the point where they had devastated the world that Future Trunks hails from.
The reality of the situation is that Android 19 and 20 were quickly jobbed out to Vegeta and the remaining three Androids were quickly swept aside by Cell.
Goku had never actually met Android 17 in the story of Dragon Ball Z, which meant that he had no idea who he was looking for when he went to recruit 17 in Dragon Ball Super.
In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Android 17 revealed that he knew what Goku looked like, as he retained his sentience within Cell’s body. This situation was likely the same for Android 18 as well.
If Gohan hadn’t managed to destroy Perfect Cell, then Android 17 and Android 18 may have been trapped within Cell’s mind forever.
19. She Once Battled Her Evil Future Self
The Dragon Ball video games have commonly shown alternate realities where events in the story played out differently, such as Goku saving all of the Z-Fighters from Nappa or Majin Buu battling Janemba.
In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, you can play as Android 18 in the story mode of the game.
The ending of her scenario shows Perfect Cell being defeated for good when Android 16 detonated his bomb.
Once the credits have finished rolling, it is revealed that the versions of Android 17 and Android 18 from Future Trunks’ timeline have managed to acquire a time machine and travel to the present.
This means that Android 18 has to take down her evil self from the future.
18. She Is Far Better At Using The Destructo Disc Than Her Husband
Krillin was the inventor of the Destructo Disc technique, which was one of the most powerful attacks in the series for a long time.
The Destructo Disc creates a circle of pure energy that can be used to bisect your opponent.
You don’t see the Destructo Disc used often, as it is slow enough for most opponents to safely move out of the way.
Android 18 has been shown using the Destructo Discs in many of her appearances, to the point that she will save it for her big super moves.
It’s possible for Android 18 to summon two Destructo Discs at once, which is a move that we see used by likes of Frieza and Perfect Cell, making her a far more effective user of the technique than he husband.
17. She Doesn’t Need To Eat To Survive
There are numerous benefits to being transformed into one of Dr. Gero’s androids.
There is the obvious strength benefit, as well as a near-endless supply of energy that can allow them to battle indefinitely, but there are also several survival benefits to being transformed into a cyborg.
The androids are similar to Namekians in that they don’t need to eat food to survive.
All an android needs to survive is to drink water.
The androids also age at a much slower rate than regular humans, though we don’t know how long they can last compared to martial artists, as characters like Mercenary Tao and Master Shen have managed to live for hundreds of years without issue.
16. She Can Fire Missiles Out Of Her Back
Android 17 and Android 18 were built up to be a massive threat, but they didn’t stick around for long as antagonists before being replaced by Cell.
Dr. Gero’s Android’s lacked flashy moves or special techniques, but they didn’t need them, as their raw power alone was more than a match for the Z-Fighters at the time.
The lack of iconic moves has made it difficult for the developers of the Dragon Ball video games, especially as Android 18 is a popular character and was one of the few female fighters in the series, which means that they will have to make some up special moves on the fly.
The most ridiculous special move that was created for Android 18 appeared in Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu.
In this game, she can fire three homing missiles out of a special compartment on her back.
15. Akira Toriyama Once Forgot About Her Hair Color
Akira Toriyama is notorious for having a terrible memory when it comes to Dragon Ball, to the point that he would forget that characters even existed, which is why Launch disappeared from the series.
It’s a lot more forgivable that Akira Toriyama would forget the color schemes of the Dragon Ball characters, as he mainly worked on the manga, which was printed in black and white.
One of the characters who suffered from Akira Toriyama’s forgetfulness was Android 18, as she appeared in some of the promotional art for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods with purple hair.
The members of the movie’s production staff had to point out to Toriyama that she was meant to have blonde hair instead.
14. She Was The Inspiration For Blue Mary In The King Of Fighters Series
It is not an exaggeration to say that Dragon Ball is one of the most important anime and manga franchises of all time.
We can see the influence of Akira Toriyama’s art style in many of the most popular series running today, most notably One Piece, whose author has directly cited Dragon Ball as his biggest influence.
The influence of Dragon Ball can also be seen in video games, which is partly due to the focus on combat. The character designs of Dragon Ball have also inspired the creation of many video game characters.
The spiky hair of Goku can be seen in many different video game characters, but Android 18 has also acted as a source of inspiration.
Blue Mary of the Fatal Fury/King of Fighters series was directly inspired by the design of Android 18, with both characters sporting the same hairstyle and striking blue eyes.
13. She Can Fuse With Android 17
There are several different ways for two characters to fuse into one in the Dragon Ball universe. The most common methods involved using the Fusion Dance or the Potara Earrings.
Dragon Ball Fusions introduced a new method of fusion through the use of the Metamo-Ring, which is known as EX-Fusion.
It’s possible for Android 17 and Android 18 to fuse together using EX-Fusion.
This creates a new being, known as Android 1718, which can combine the Hyper Energy Cannon and Infinity Cannon techniques into the Infinity Energy Cannon attack.
Android 1718 is one of the few instances of a male and female character fusing together in the Dragon Ball franchise.
Akira Toriyama had previously claimed that a male/female fusion would result in a “Drag Queen” but this was likely just a flippant answer on his part.
12. An Animation Error Turned Her Into The Red-Eyes Blonde Android
The Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime series were both produced while the manga was still being published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.
This is the reason why the show could be slow at times and why there were a few extended filler arcs (like the one involving Garlic Jr.), as the producers of the anime didn’t want to overtake the manga.
The slow pace of the Dragon Ball Z anime didn’t prevent mistakes from creeping into the animation, as was the case in Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks.
There is a scene in The History of Trunks were Android 18 is trying on various clothes.
It is during this scene that Android 18’s eyes change from their usual frosty blue to blood red.
This was due to an error in the animation.
11. Android 18’s Original English Voice Actor Looked Just Like Her
Android 18 has been voiced by several different women over the years.
The Japanese voice actor for Android 18 has always been Miki Ito, but the numerous licensing issues surrounding the Dragon Ball franchise in the West has meant that several other women have voiced Android 18, including Jennifer Bain, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Enuka Okuma, and Tamara Ryan.
The woman who has provided the English voice for Android 18 for the longest period of time is Meredith McCoy, who continues to play her in the post Battle of Gods projects.
The fans have noted that Meredith McCoy bears a striking physical resemblance to Android 18 due to the fact that they share the same pale blonde hair and striking blue eyes.
10. You Could Collect & Use Her In Puzzle & Dragons
Puzzle & Dragons is one of the most popular smartphone games in the world, to the point that it has grossed over six billion dollars in revenue.
The fact that Puzzle & Dragons is beloved in Japan has meant that many famous anime and video game characters have appeared in the game.
Puzzle & Dragons has featured the likes of Batman, Cloud Strife, and Mario as enemies in the game.
Android 18 is one of many Dragon Ball characters who has appeared as part of a collaboration with Puzzle & Dragons.
This means that players can use her in battle.
9. She Can Fuse With Arale
Akira Toriyama is best-known as the creator of Dragon Ball, but the series that first propelled him to stardom was a comedy manga called Dr. Slump, which focused on an Android girl named Arale.
The world of Dr. Slump was added to the setting of Dragon Ball, which means that Arale is the first Android to appear in the series.
Arale has appeared in the Dragon Ball anime and manga, as well as many of the video games.
She appeared in Dragon Ball Fusions, which meant that she could fuse with other characters in the game.
Android 18 and Arale can perform an EX-Fusion and become Arale 18.
This fusion should theoretically make for an incredibly powerful character, as Arale’s status as a gag manga character means that even the cast of Dragon Ball Super live in fear of her.
8. Her Super Move Was Cut From Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 3
Android 18 may have the most playable appearances of any female character in the Dragon Ball video games.
Her first appearance dates back to ‘92, in a game called Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen, which was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and she still regularly appears in Dragon Ball games to this day.
Android 18 was playable in a fighting game called Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 3, where she was one of the few characters without a unique special attack.
It turns out that Android 18 did have a special attack at one point in development, but it was cut from the game.
It was going to be based on the move she used to defeat Gohan in The History of Trunks.
The sprites for this cut move can be viewed in the game’s debug menu.
7. A Saliva-Covered Android 18 Was Once Censored
In order to achieve his ultimate form, Cell had to absorb both Android 17 and Android 18. He did this by grabbing them with his tail and injecting them into his chest from the inside.
When Gohan achieves his Super Saiyan 2 form, he becomes so strong that his kicks forced Perfect Cell to eject Android 18 from his body.
Cell did this by vomiting Android 18 onto the ground.
The disgusting scene where Perfect Cell pukes up Android 18 was censored in the original English dub of Dragon Ball Z, so that it skipped to her body on the floor.
This was likely due to a combination of the horrifying imagery of Cell spitting out an adult woman and the fact that she was laying on the ground while covered in a liquid.
6. Her Voice Actor Once Recorded A Bizzare Song About Her
It’s a common occurrence for the voice actors of popular anime and video games in Japan to record audio dramas and in-character songs that are released on CD.
These releases are almost never localized and remain exclusive to Japan.
There are several Dragon Ball Z soundtrack CDs that feature songs that were recorded especially for them.
One of these albums was called “Android 18: The Androids Saga” and it features both songs from the Dragon Ball Z soundtrack and special recordings made for the album.
One of the songs on “Android 18: The Androids Saga” features vocals from Meredith McCoy, who was the voice actor for Android 18 at the time.
The song itself sounds like a mixture between Tori Amos and the awful song released by Gillian Anderson in the ’90s, so listen at your own peril.
5. There Was Once An Android 18 Figure With Wildly Incorrect Proportions
Akira Toriyama never shied away from including fan service in the Dragon Ball manga, with Bulma usually being the one wearing skimpy outfits or taking an on-screen bath.
These elements were phased out of over time, as the series focused more and more on combat.
There has been a lot of fan service-laden Dragon Ball merchandise released over the years, with one of the most shameful being the Dragon Ball Gals line of figures.
The Dragon Ball Gals line featured prominent female characters from the series with grossly inaccurate proportions.
Android 18 appeared several times in the Dragon Ball Gals line, with each figure looking like she stapled a pair of watermelons to her chest and stuck a set of couch cushions down the back of her trousers.
4. Ronda Rousey Wants To Play Her In a Live-Action Dragon Ball Z Movie
Dragonball Evolution was so terrible that it couldn’t even spell Dragon Ball correctly. It’s considered to be one of the worst adaptations in cinema history and may have been the reason why Akira Toriyama left retirement and returned to the series.
Hollywood loves to make adaptations of big-name properties, and Dragon Ball is still a massively popular franchise, so it will only be a matter of time before another studio takes a crack at making another Dragon Ball movie.
There is at least one person in Hollywood who is crying out for a new Dragon Ball movie and that’s Ronda Rousey.
Ronda Rousey is a huge fan who talks passionately about her love for anime and video games in interviews.
It was during an interview to promote her Entourage appearance that she gushed about how much she loved Dragon Ball Z as a child and wants to play Android 18 in a movie adaptation of the Cell Saga.
3. She Only Exists Due To The Opinion Of An Editor
Akira Toriyama has made no secret of the fact that he never had any long-term plans for the story of the Dragon Ball manga and was just making it up every week.
The story of the Dragon Ball manga was also being influenced by Akira Toriyama’s editors, including the ones who no longer worked on the series.
Kazuhiko Torishama was a former editor on Dragon Ball who called Akira Toriyama to complain when he saw the designs of Androids 19 and 20.
Toriyama had intended to use them as the villains of the story arc, but Torishama’s feedback caused him to introduce 17 and 18 instead as the new antagonists of the Androids Saga.
2. You Can Purchase A Figure Of Imperfect Cell Absorbing Android 18
The popularity of the Dragon Ball franchise has meant that a lot of merchandise based on the series has been released over the years, to say nothing of the numerous advertisements and endorsement deals that have involved the Dragon Ball characters.
There have been a lot of Dragon Ball action figures and statuettes released over the years.
The most bizarre Dragon Ball figure involves Android 18 being partially absorbed by Imperfect Cell.
The Dragon Ball Creatures series includes a figure of Imperfect Cell in his battle pose.
Imperfect Cell’s tail is partially see-through so that you can see the Android 18 figure that is halfway towards being absorbed into his body.
1. Her Dialogue Has Been Censored In The Dragon Ball Z Video Games
The Dragon Ball Z anime was once infamous for the botched localization and ridiculous amount of censorship it had to endure in order to become broadcast-worthy.
These edits included changing all references to the afterlife as being “Another Dimension” and censoring all of the blood that appears in the series.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, there was an edit involving questionable language, which was a rarity for the series.
If Android 18 fought Zangya in a match, then Zangya would comment on how Krillin was kind of cute, causing 18 to caller her a “skank.”
When Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was released, the fans discovered that the word “skank” had been taken out and replaced with a generic taunt.
Can you think of any other strange facts about Dragon Ball’s Android 18? Sound off in the comments!
