Android 18
From Dragon Ball Z
Android 18 is a supporting character in Dragon Ball Z, a human rebuilt into a cyborg by Dr. Gero, alongside her twin brother Android 17. Created to kill Goku, she walks away from her mission, builds a life, and becomes one of Earth's defenders. She is voiced by Miki Itō in Japanese and Meredith McCoy in English.
About Android 18
A human rebuilt into a cyborg by Dr. Gero, alongside her twin brother Android 17. Cool, blunt and unimpressed by almost everyone, Android 18 was created to kill Goku but walks away from that mission to live her own life. She surprises everyone by marrying Krillin and raising a daughter, and her calm strength and dry humour make her a fan favourite across Dragon Ball Z and Super.
Appearance
Android 18 is a slim, striking woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes and a cool, unimpressed expression that rarely changes. She dresses casually, a denim vest and skirt in her first appearance, later jeans and striped tops, a deliberate contrast to the monsters around her. Her beauty and her boredom are both famous; opponents usually notice the first and discover the second too late.
Personality
18 is blunt, dry-humoured and completely unimpressed by power, pride or speeches, she assesses everyone, including emperors and gods, with the same flat stare. As a villain she was playful-cruel; as a person she turns out to be practical, loyal and quietly kind, with a weakness for shopping, prize money and, to everyone's shock, Krillin. Her character is the series' proof that Gero's weapons were people first: given freedom, the android built to end the world chose a family, a job at tournaments, and defending the planet she was meant to terrorise.
Background & Story
Android 18 was born a human girl named Lazuli, twin sister of Lapis, the future Android 17. The two were kidnapped by Dr. Gero and rebuilt into cyborgs with limitless energy, programmed with a single mission: kill Son Goku. Released in the android crisis, the twins treated the apocalypse as a road trip, humiliating the Z Fighters and refusing even their creator's orders, Gero died by his own creations' hands. When Cell hunted her as the final piece of his perfection, 18's fate became the Cell Games' turning point. Afterward she surprised the universe by marrying Krillin, the kindest of her former enemies, and raising their daughter Marron, fighting for Earth ever after.
Powers & Abilities
- Infinite energy engine: 18's cyborg body never tires and never runs out of power, she can fight at full strength indefinitely, outlasting any natural fighter.
- Energy attacks and barriers: She fires rapid ki blasts, energy discs and waves with machine precision, and shields herself with android barriers.
- Superhuman strength and speed: Her rebuilt body battles Super Saiyans evenly, in her debut she broke Vegeta's arm with a single casual kick.
- Machine senses: 18 reads opponents' energy and movements with an android's precision, unshaken by fear or fatigue.
Key Relationships
- Krillin: Her husband, the enemy who wished for her bomb to be removed instead of her destruction, and whose kindness rewrote her life.
- Android 17: Her twin brother and partner in every era, their bond survives apocalypses, tournaments and decades apart.
- Marron: Her daughter with Krillin, the centre of the ordinary life 18 chose for herself.
- Son Goku: The man she was built to kill, she ends up fighting beside him to save the universe, more than once.
- Cell: The monster who hunted her as a component; being swallowed by Cell remains the defining terror of her early story.
Quick Answers
What is Android 18's main power?
Infinite energy engine: 18's cyborg body never tires and never runs out of power, she can fight at full strength indefinitely, outlasting any natural fighter.
Who voices Android 18?
Android 18 is voiced by Miki Itō in Japanese and by Meredith McCoy in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z.
Is Android 18 a robot?
No, 18 was born human, a girl named Lazuli, and was kidnapped and rebuilt by Dr. Gero with mostly organic enhancements. She is a cyborg, not a robot: she can live a normal life, and even have a child, which is how she later marries Krillin and raises their daughter Marron.
