10 Dragon Ball Characters You Totally Forgot Existed

Upa is another character who rose to a lot of prominence during the Red Ribbon Army saga. He became the emotional center of that story and a little brother figure for Goku, who for the fist time became the role model.

He and his father, Bora lived peacefully at the base of Korin tower and befriended Goku, returning his grandfather's dragon ball shortly after an incident with the Red Ribbon Army.

However, the evil Mercenary Tao then arrives on a mission to kill Goku and take his dragon balls. Bora is killed when trying to intervene, leaving Upa all alone and Goku feeling responsible.

Up to this point Goku had simply been hunting for his grandfather's keepsake, the four star dragon ball. However following the unjust death of Bora his new mission was to gather up the balls and to bring his friend's murdered father back to life.

But Upa wasn't just the recipient of Goku's good will. He was as brave as they come, tried to take on Tao himself and even participated in the Baba Tournament for the final ball and through it all he and Goku built a strong, brotherly bond.

However, after the dragon is summoned and his father brought back, Upa goes back to his life and doesn't participate in any more adventures. Sure, we do get to check in on him once or twice in the later shows but he's never again a part of the main story or action.