Romanization notes:

Romanizing the names of the DB/DBZ characters is a royal pain. There are many "accepted" romanizations, many of which conflict. There are some names romanized in the manga, some romanized on Bandai DBZ merchandise, etc., and there is lots of debate over t he "right way" to do it. Basically, this is how I chose my romanizations. If I saw romanizations in the original manga, I use the one most recently seen. (i.e. Kulilin over Kuririn) If the name is a joke name, (i.e. Bulma, Brief, Trunks, Bra...all kinds of undergarments) that can help too, and if I still can't tell, I just gave it my best shot. Basically, keep in mind that the romanizations provided here are not universally correct or wrong either, for that matter.

Son Goku:

Goku is the main hero of the series. He's described in more detail on the last page.

Bulma

Bulma is the second character to appear in the series, and has been a major character in both DB and DBZ. She created the "Dragon Radar" which can sense the location of the Dragon Balls by the radiation they emit, and was the one who first started the se arch for the Dragon Balls. She is also Trunks' and Bra's mother. She is a major influence on almost all of the major characters and is most notably the only character who was able to "tame" Vegita.

Mutenroshi (aka Kamesennin)

Mutenroshi was Goku's first trainer and was once the strongest person on earth. He founded the "Kamehameha" technique which was used A LOT in the series. He's also incredibly perverted; he has a panty fetish and is always trying to find ways to get "peeks " or "feels" of young, beautiful women. However, he has a companion, Umigame, a sea turtle, who tries to curb his "urges." Despite his perverted wishes, Mutenroshi is very old and wise, and has an excellent battle sense. Like many other characters in DB, Mutenroshi played his prime role in the first series.

Oolong

Oolong was one of the earliest characters to appear in the DB series. He is a small pig with the ability to change his shape to whatever he wants for 5 minutes. Then he has to rest for 1 minute before he can shape-change again. Like Mutenroshi, he is also a pervert with a panty fetish, but he is not nearly as lecherous. Yet another character whose prime importance was in the earlier series.

Pooalu

Pooalu is a floating blue cat that went to the same shape-changing school as Oolong. He (She?) has somewhat of a rivalry with Oolong left over from kindergarten; Oolong had bullied him before getting kicked out for stealing the teacher's panties. Unlike Oolong, Pooalu can do "true" change, and does not need to rest every 5 minutes. Pooalu is also a friend (worshipper?) of Yamucha's. He has always served as somewhat of a minor character in both series, although he has had his high points.

Yamucha

One of the first characters to appear in the series,Yamucha was originally Goku's enemy, but soon became friends with him. Yamucha is characterized by a constantly changing hairstyle and an intense fear of women. (at least at the beginning) He was somewhat of an important character during the first series but less so in the second, being the weakest of all the Z fighters.

Gyumao

Gyumao was Kamesennin's second best student, next to Son Gohan, Goku's "Grandfather."
(Goku named his son after his grandfather, so don't get confused) He is a very large man who is always characterized by wearing a horned helmet. He appeared early in the series, during the first search for the Dragon Balls.

Chichi

Chichi is Gyumao's daughter, who also first appeared about the same time as he did. After the first time we see Gyumao and Chichi they don't reappear for a long time (in the manga). The next time we see Chichi, she gets married to Goku. Therefore, she is also Gohan and Goten's mother. Her distinguishing trait is her temper; she gets mad a LOT. She is a very overprotective mother, which is probably justified in that her son is constantly drawn into fights against some of the toughest people in the universe.

Kulilin:

Kulilin is Goku's best friend, and has been around since the first series. He is a fighting monk who leaves his temple to find and train with Mutenroshi. He is kind of short, has no nose and throughout most of the series, has no hair either. Kulilin trai ned with Goku under Mutenroshi and afterwards shared many adventures with him. Kulilin has died more times than anyone else in the series. He is one of the weaker fighters, but this is partially due to his low self-confidence. Nevertheless, he has gotte n fairly
powerful due to all his fights with the really powerful enemies, and I think is the next strongest Z fighter after Piccolo.

Lunch

A young, naive girl that Goku and Kulilin saved to bring to Kamesennin. She stayed at the Kame House during the first series, acting as somewhat of a housekeeper. Normally she is a polite, good-natured girl with dark hair, but whenever she sneezes, her hair turns blonde and she becomes a psychotic criminal. When "bad" Lunch sneezes, she changes back.

Artificial Human #8

The first Artifical Human in the Dragon Ball series, AH #8 first appeared during the first series, and bears a resemblance to the Frankenstein Monster. Made by Dr Gero of the Red Ribbon Army, he was supposed to kill Goku but would "not do bad things." Goku saved his life and became his friend, and AH #8 ("Hatchan") helped Goku defeat White of the Red Ribbon Army.