@Kaiolino:
This is a horrible generalization of DB's women and completely wrong to boot.
I can't even wrap my mind around the fact you didn't mention Bulma. Probably because her character absolutely destroys your point. She is smart, strong-willed, is not a fanservice tool and the story wouldn't even exist without her.
And I don't see what #18 being an android has to do with anything. 1) She wasn't even an android, she was a cyborg and 2) She completely humiliated Vegeta's pride in a highly entertaining fight in the middle of a drab and boring arc. That's not what a conservative shonen writer would do with a female character.
And I'm not even saying Toriyama isn't sexist. He is. But Dragon Ball isn't.
Bulma tried to brive her way out of trouble via showing her underwear. And the "don't hit me cause I'm cute" card. And the bratty girl who is always complaining card. And panty shots. And not-panty shots.
Curiously, during Z she, ehmmmm, "manned up", and in the future she is directly top tier material. Fucking time machine, that's the most broken thing in the whole DB. Anyways.
I'm a A-18 fan, but the fact that the only female character to fight during Z is a cyborg (in my country it was named A N D R O I D 1 8, but wathever) is there. But again, I'm a DB fanatic, Really, but having 3 female fighter in such a long series, with 2 of them NEVER getting to even throw ki blasts in a series where Yamcha and Chaotzu could spam them, it's a fact and it's there. And it's a 150% fighting manga, so except Bulma who is always there due to her inventions (and I've already given credit to her Z portrayal), the other girls can't really do much- hell, Videl couldn't even F L Y at the "same level" as someone like Kibito. Fly. Not fight. Fly. "You guys fly so fast I can't even open my eyes".
And do I have to bother to remember how A-18 was downgraded to the point that base Goten and base Trunks fighting in the weirdest of ways (one being an upper body part and the other a lower body part) were enough to give 18 a run for her money?
@ Jerkdisease; No, I haven't forgotten about ChiChi nor Videl. Chi Chi did realy well during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Then she got defeated by a wind strike. Then she became an annoying housemaid. Videl rocked during the first institute arc, and I won't argue that she tried until the end. I sure didn't give her enough credit, and for that I'm sorry. She's actualy a good female character.
Again, I loved the fuck out of DB for what it was, and it's there as one of the mangas that has marked me the most, but OBJECTIVELY analysing it, it is sexist, at least in the sense of NUMBERS. That's it. Nothing else. And OP is above that, yes, but not MILES above that. Again, nothing wrong with it.
Also, 100% right on Schierke; I never thought I could care about a 12 year old girl, but she is definitely one of Berserk's strengths. Such a good character.
And if you mean Caska and . . .well. She was badass before that.
PD: Not to make this overly long, but just for the record: Unnecessarily badass female DOES NOT = Good female character. Maybe I gave that impression with my post, but it's not quite like this. Just take as an example some of Angelina Jolie's roles in some of her more questionable movies, and you have the reason why. Just adding this. Out of the blue. I'm drunk. That's it, good night!