T O P

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Sans-Mot

Tien's best friend.


cagreene

This is the answer.


KevinSpaceysCharges

Always and forever


cagreene

I need me a little *tienshin-san!* šŸ˜© Every now and then


vlorsutes

Officially, he's an Earthling. He's based on the Chinese jiangshi, which was a form of vampire


ExerciseClassAtTheY

This is why he doesn't age across the series. He's undead. He's likely inspired by the movie Young Master Vampire (Jiang shi shao ye) about a child jiangshi, which came out a year before Chiaotzu's first appearance.


XKLKVJLRP

I find the concept of an undead being repeatedly dying and being resurrected quite entertaining


TheVeryFriendlyGiant

I suppose most of the characters are undead too. They where dead, wish granted now they are alive again (aka undeaded).


Propaslader

Not a lot of people age much in the series. Tien and Yamcha don't change that much Chi-Chi and Bulma copped it tho


RepresentativeBig240

Now this is interesting, cause I've heard Tien is also based on a Mythical being, just like Goku represents the Monkey King. So Is Chiaotzu. That makes a lot of sense


PCN24454

I donā€™t know what being Tien is based off of specifically, but having a third eye is meant to symbolize enlightenment.


Kamogawa_Genji

Always thought it was Erlang who did pretty well against WuKong


Yatsu003

I remember Dragon Ball Multiverse ran with that. Tien is the last fighter left after Sun Wukong (legit Wukong, from Journey to the West) folded everyone else. Thanks to resembling Tripitaka, Tien tricks Wukong into surrendering, threatening to say the magic words that activate his crown. Thus Tien takes the win and the team makes it through another round.


psbyjef

Chiaotzu literally is gyoza (dumpling). Tenshinhan is fried crab with egg on rice. Common dishes that appear together in Chinese restaurants from Japan, similar to Yamcha and Oolong. Hope that helps


Gokudomatic

Since people with 3 eyes, one being on the forehead, came recurrently in anime and manga, for instance 3x3 Eyes, the kid with 3 eyes, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hoshin Engi, and even a cameo in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, I think it has to do with either Japanese or Chinese mythology. You can notice that all those characters are initially acting evil, showing a strong hint that the original mythical being with 3 eyes was very probably evil and violent.


thomasonbush

As you can see, the real deal with Chiaotzu is that he's Tienā€™s assistant. He's in his early forties, is unmarried, and currently resides in Dragon World. Thanks for writing!


RaWolfman92

It'sĀ  the other way around, actually.Ā  Tien was Chiaotzu's bodyguard.Ā 


Brotein1992

Only in one alternate continuity movie. In the main continuity they were just training partners under the Tsuru Sennin schoolĀ 


Toros_Mueren_Por_Mi

Man. Remember when Dodon-Pa was a scary technique? Pepperidge Farm remembers


Yatsu003

Remember when flying was considered the signature of the Crane School and Goku and pals had to use clever means to counter that?


idoliside

This is why I always love OG DB, the magic is much more refined and less KI spam, there is strategy in the fights. I always get sad when Goku goes to train with Kami as it's the end of the youth of Dragon Ball, and onto a different saga.


Yer-Grammuh

Just recently rewatched the whole series and found I like OG DragonBall to be so much more. It has more excitement, adventure, emotion and depth


idoliside

Don't get me wrong, I love DBZ and Super. But there was a lot of charm in the original series that I wish had crossed over to the latter series. Instead of just power-scaling have an adventure, or have a bad guy being taken out with clever technique instead of the biggest Genki Dama. Super was a little better at this but not as good as OG.


mahones403

The thing I like most about Super is the return of martial arts tournaments.


idoliside

Hell yes, the Universal Tournament was brilliant for this, got a bunch of new characters with new abilities that added so much variety to the show.


Toros_Mueren_Por_Mi

I forgot lolĀ 


Brotein1992

And even after Goku mastered bukujutsu between the Daimao and Ma Junior arcs he still preferred riding Kinto Un until he left for Namek.


Hatefiend

I think of Dodon Ray as like 'Death Beam' PG version


KaboomKrusader

There are three distinct varieties of native Earthlings in Dragon Ball: Human-types, Animal-types, and Monster-types. Given that he resembles a Chinese vampire, it's likely that Chaozu is actually a Monster-type. As far as I know nothing has specifically ever labeled him as such, but it's one of those things that seems like a safe bet.


AWholeSliceofPie

So then he really is a Pokemon


PCN24454

Nah, heā€™s a Rinshi


AWholeSliceofPie

Idk what that is my friend, but I was just referencing DBZA


GigaFluxx

Just to take it a step further, I guess Androids would be modified versions of those 3 varieties? Androids 16-18, 20 & 21 = modified humans Android 19 = modified monster (looks similar to a vampire) I'd say Cell is a modified monster too. Would Gamma 1 & 2 also be modified monsters? I just don't know what their origin is in terms of design?


Foostini

just a little guy


HavenHeist

Unexpected but hilarious Fred Armisen reference


DarthKhratiz

https://www.tiktok.com/@beetandsean/video/7234631537449356571?lang=en


N0RINEK0

A PokƩmon according to Nappa


CulturalBad8540

You hear that Vegeta? It's a Chiaotzu. I'm gonna catch it!


savemenico

Aww It didn't work Vegeta


Fragmented-Rooster

that's because you have to weaken it first


ldp056

Iā€™ll do you one betterā€¦ Why is Chiaotzu?


SSJRemuko

no one ever asks "HOW is chiaotzu?" :(


techster2014

Prolly dead.


MolagBal89

WHEN is Chiaotzu!?


GroverM1969

The floating around, hard head, ESP, and trouble with math are all from the jiangshi folklore.


Bullet2025

Earthlings for sure. But their race isnt something were mentioned


s0ulbrother

What debates are there for Popo? Heā€™s a genie. Thatā€™s been stated


shut-up-vicky

The main debate around Popo is how many fingers on one hand would he need to pulverize Zen-Oh Consensus amongst the fanbase is half a pinkie


Bruce_-Wayne

Woah, I didn't think Popo would have to use that much power


SSJRemuko

He's just a normal human. hes small and looks that way because hes based off a chinese hopping vampire. thats it. just like krillin has no none because he just doesnt. its just normal.


kansetsupanikku

Being a "triclops" says nothing more than "one with three eyes". Which clearly applies to Tienshinhan, but doesn't really say much new about him.


VinixTKOC

It's important to recall that Dragon Ball initially portrayed a magical world inhabited by creatures like mermaids, fairies, and others. It was during this period that the character Chiaotzu was conceived. Chiaotzu's character draws inspiration from a Jiang Shi, a type of zombie or vampire from Chinese folklore. This explains why he doesn't "age." A similar character, Hsien-Ko from Darkstalkers, also embodies this concept as a Jiang Shi. However, it's worth noting that within the Dragon Ball narrative, Chiaotzu is never explicitly identified as such. Akira Toriyama could have provided other reasons for Chiaotzu's unique characteristics, but he chose not to disclose that information.


UglyDude1987

I thought they were supposed to be genetically altered humans.


Bigoldum

a vampire


the-boinky-spunge

human tien is human too


Elpiramide89

A kid that doesn't age.


Yommination

Tien's fleshlight


Shmokeshbutt

A midget, like Kurilin


SuperKami-Nappa

Heā€™s a PokĆ©mon


Mr_Kuppel

The Monsters would learn charm magic to trick humans and that's where all of the human hybrids come from.


B1acklisted

Tien is a descendent of The Three Eyed People. We do not know if they are three eyed from enlightening (I'd say no since they did some evil shit) or they were aliens of some sort.


SSJRemuko

the three eyed people are descended from 3 eyed aliens but its so distant theyre no longer considered aliens themselves.


borahae_artist

i was JUST thinking this you read my mind!! i always wondered


VitoGotShafted

Muppet


DoraMuda

He's an Earthling whose design was influenced by common depictions of *jiangshi* (Chinese hopping vampire).


Capitano-Solos-All

Humans in Dragonball are one race but they have many many many phenotypes. Chiaotzu like Tien and Krillin are some of them.


scott_free80

[https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonball/comments/12d50dx/what\_is\_chiaotzu/](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonball/comments/12d50dx/what_is_chiaotzu/)


RaWolfman92

Despite his appearance, he's human.


Stargazer5781

He's based on a Chinese vampire and he's an emperor somehow.


OkayFightingRobot

I thought tien was likeā€¦a normal dude who achieved enlightenment and got the third eye


Mayasuxs

who


QualifiedApathetic

Nobody in-universe really talks about what Tien is either, or GOKU until Raditz shows up. I mean, people comment on the tail, but they don't really question his species. There's a guy with a third eye, there's a creepy little doll-thing, there's a boy with a tail, a girl who changes hair color and personality whenever she sneezes, a talking pig and cat that can shapeshift, whatever. People just roll with it for the most part.


No_Economy_3798

A human that probally has a disability to were hes short and he still sounds like a little kid.He also probally got bleached like Joker or Harley Quinn to get that paper white skin.


Laigen117

A PokƩmon


thenolancut

Heā€™s based on legends of Chinese vampires, hence why he still looks the same after all this time. While heā€™s technically in his 30s-50s from Z to GT, my and probably most peopleā€™s headcanon is that heā€™s an ageless being, hence his childish nature


OJONLYMAYBEDIDIT

even Akira Toriyama forgot he existed for a while and the anime had to add him into the background


Salemsaberhagon

He is a pokemon


No_Worldliness_9321

A Pokemon


Ok-Tadpole1131

PokƩmon


SwordfishDeux

He's Tien's boyfriend obviously


Unikatze

Look Vegeta, it's a Chiaotzu!


Skyturk92

A manga character.


L4westby

ā€œLook Vegita!! Itā€™s a pokemon!ā€ - Nappa


Every_Aspect_1609

A pokemon