Took A Level In Kindness / Dragon Ball

• Bulma in the early series goes from just using Goku to get all the Dragon Balls to actually caring about him and seeing him as a dear friend. By the King Piccolo Saga, she's truly concerned about the state of the world and not just herself.
• Chi-Chi was an overbearing mother and a hard person to be around for most of Dragon Ball Z. During the Buu Saga however, she does not get upset as much and she's less harsh on Goten than she was on Gohan, allowing him to play and not study all the time. She even trained Goten in martial arts and allowed Gohan to skip school so he could get ready to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament. Part of this was because she took Goku's death very hard, and decided to ease up on them in honor of him.
• Also in the original Dragon Ball series, Piccolo was a raving, sadistic psychopath and a literal Demon prince. Years later in Z, he became one of the most levelheaded characters, all thanks to the kindness of a single child! Granted, this is probably because he only turned after he fulfilled his revenge against Goku.
• Z introduces the alien tyrant Vegeta, the last remaining pure-blood Saiyan who retains their nature and pride. Once he finally turns against the one responsible for their genocide, he relocates to earth (with little choice) and grows soft in the presence of the other Z Fighters...and, after a decade or so, his wife and son. But even though his Heel–Face Turn is made official near the end of the series (because it took that long), he doesn't make it past Jerk with a Heart of Gold. He comes about as close as is possible, but he never sheds his Saiyan nature.
  • It's to the point where in Dragon Ball Super, some fans consider him a bigger good than series protagonist Goku who doesn't always recognize the consequences of looking for stronger opponents to challenge.
• Videl, at least towards Gohan who she stalked and bullied before falling in love with him.
• Perhaps the most ridiculous example is Majin Buu. He was fully prepared to just destroy the Earth and kill everyone on it... but then Hercule told him that killing is wrong. And that was all it took! Apparently, between his two previous masters telling him nothing but "kill" and "destroy", he just hadn't considered that it was immoral.
• Mr. Satan himself also became more humble around the Z Warriors after taking in Buu, to the point where the first episode of Dragon Ball Super has him receiving a 100 million Zeni reward for saving the world...and he gives the whole thing to Goku^note Of course, he was already rich in the first place, but he still didn't feel right taking the money.
• During the Buu Saga, Android #18 was often shown to be very mercenary and money-grubbing, bossy and short-tempered to her husband Krillin and didn't seem to be much of a mother towards Marron, either. Her character softened a good deal in The New '10s, with Dragon Ball Super in particular having several episodes that reaffirm her love for her family and have her show real empathy for others.
• It happened before the beginning of the original Dragon Ball, but Goku was once a terrible toddler who terrorized Grandpa despite the latter's best efforts to raise him. It is not completely clear thanks to new information if it was the head-injury alone, Gohan's kindness, or a little bit of both that caused Goku to become the good-hearted boy we know and love.
• According to Minus, Goku and Raditz's father Bardock became quite the Family Man after marrying Gine (Goku and Raditz's mother). Put things into perspective, apparently, the typical Saiyan starts a family solely to reproduce.
• In Super, once his saga is finished, Beerus starts mellowing out and becomes more friendly towards Goku and Vegeta-the whole crew, in fact. He likes them so much that he sees no problem letting them train on his planet. He does find them unbearably noisy, however, so he has Whis warp them somewhere that will make them stronger without bothering him. He seems to tolerate them because he wants them to become stronger so he can fight them again. He also sets up Monaka as the greatest fighter in Universe 7 to encourages Goku and Vegeta to become stronger, while in reality Monaka is much weaker than them.
  • When the pair of Saiyans eat his stash of pizzas, he throws a comical fit and doesn't really make them suffer the way he would've done earlier on.
  • His kinder side comes out much more during the Tournament of Power; as Universe 7 starts losing more fighters, Beerus begins complimenting his defeated team and cheering on those that remain. He does berate the "baldies" (Krillin, Roshi and Tien) for being eliminated, but then adds they still did well all the same. By the time Gohan is sitting in the stands with him, he begins to compliment him starting with the words "Goku's kid"- before stopping short and correcting himself by using his name instead, and telling him he did well with a genuine, respectful smile.
  • Remember when Bulma slapped him, resulting in him slapping her back? Yeah, somehow Bulma can get away with disrespecting him now. What a nice guy!
• Beerus' brother, Champa. Although still a bit of a Jerkass, he's softened up by the time the Tournament of Power rolls around, being more accepting of his fighters getting eliminated despite the much higher stakes involved. He's still freaking out about it, but he doesn't lash out against them.
• Frost, maybe. When Hit comes to recruit him for the Tournament of Power, Frost displays some un-Frieza-ish traits such as accepting imminent death and acknowledging he could never beat Hit. He also says he sees the tournament as a chance to restore his honor. Whether he's honest or just trying to rebuild his image is left ambiguous, especially given he knocks out Krillin before feeling like a coward and express several hints he is becoming just like Frieza, laughing sadistically as he tortures Master Roshi with death beams.
• Frieza takes a microscopic level during the Tournament of Power. Not only was he willing to work with the heroes doing the arc (albeit for completely selfish and pragmatic reasons), he grows to respect not only Goku for his strength but several other Z-fighters as well, specifically Gohan (for his intelligence) and Android 17 (for his battle skill).
• When she was introduced in the original manga, Mai was a member of Emperor Pilaf's incompetent gang and, as such, was a bumbling villainess. Come Dragon Ball Super, while she is still a member of Pilaf's gang, she develops a more friendly attitude towards the heroes, in particular the young Trunks, whose friendship helps to soften her demeaner. Come the Goku Black Saga, we see a future version of Mai where her friendship with that timeline's Trunks helped transform her into a genuinely heroic and kindhearted woman.
• Jiren from Dragon Ball Super. Like so many before him, meeting Goku and seeing him and his teammates' faith in each other changes him for the better. After Frieza, 17, and Goku beautifully and flawlessly work together to defeat him, Jiren realizes he was wrong about trust and people and is even surprised at Toppo’s last words of thanks. After being revived by 17’s wish, he converses with Toppo about wanting to meet and battle Goku again and admits to his inability to trust people. Toppo rejects this, pointing out how Jiren fought for everyone in the end and now they’re true comrades who together will face down Universe 7 again and win. Jiren calmly but happily agrees to this sentiment, vowing to stop living in the past and start forming friendships in the present. It’s not massive, but it seems Jiren is truly changing for better and finally allowing himself to believe in others and open up to his comrades and see them as friends.