Chaozu

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"It's the only way, Tien. Don't worry. I'm not afraid. And if I can save you, then it's worth dying for."
— Chaozu in "The Power of Nappa"

Chaozu (チャオズ, Chaozu; FUNimation "Chiaotzu", Viz "Chaozu") is a white-skinned, red-cheeked little Human who is the constant companion of Tenshinhan, his best friend. Just like Kuririn, Chaozu does not have a visible nose. He is first introduced near the end of the Fortuneteller Baba Saga in the anime. As a Crane School student, he forms a rivalry with Turtle School student Kuririn for awhile in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. Along with Tenshinhan, he quickly switches sides after seeing the folly of his master's teachings, and becomes a trusted ally and Z Warrior. He is a fairly quiet, but brave psychic martial artist who is willing to help out his friends whenever possible, and is highly devoted to his training with Tien.

Background

Compared to other Dragon Ball characters, relatively little is revealed about Chaozu. It is known that he was a student along with Tien of Master Shen, and he specializes in skills that involve telepathy and Telekinesis. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Chaozu's history says that he is a member of a military family.

In Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, which shows an alternate version of most of the characters, Chaozu appears as the emperor of the Mifan Empire with Tenshinhan as his bodyguard. In the film, Chaozu is manipulated by Shen, whom he believes is helping him reunite with his "wife", Ran Ran, who is revealed after the climax to be Chaozu's beloved doll. Although this is a non-manga, at the end of the Frieza Saga, Chaozu is referred to as "Emperor Chiaotzu" by the Narrator in the English dub (episode "Goku's Alive!!"). This was absent in the original Japanese dub and manga, however.

Chaozu is a Human who posseses a few different traits than most characters in the series, such as plain white skin and red cheeks. He is based on Chinese vampires, or the Kyonshi, as the similarities are displayed in both his appearance and also when Chaozu performs some of his attacks. Chaozu has also demonstrated an inability to quickly solve basic addition problems, or grasp some jokes. Despite being quiet and powerful, he also has a childish nature; mocking Krillin for shortcomings that Chaozu himself has when they first meet.

Name

Chaozu's Japanese name (餃子) is a pun on the Chinese food jiaozi (called gyoza in Japanese), in line with the tradition of naming various Dragon Ball characters after foods and other oddities. Besides that, in Chinese Folklore there are ghosts called Jiang Shi (僵屍 or 殭屍). They are described as having white skin, red cheeks, and wearing an outfit from the Qing Dynasty. These ghosts cannot walk, only hop, and always keep their arms stretched out in front of them. These qualities are all referenced in Chaozu to some extent: when first encountered, Chaozu flies more often than walks and his attacks are executed by stretching his arms. Chaozu's outfit also looks very close to a Qing one.

Biography

Dragon Ball

Fortuneteller Baba Saga

Chiaotzu is shown as Tien's partner-in-crime, traveling with him from village to village with the InoShikaCho, a naturally gentle beast who attacks villages Tien and Chiaotzu tell him to. Tien and Chiaotzu inevitably "save" the villages and collect huge rewards for the false services. Son Goku tries to expose them as frauds, but Tien convinces the villagers it is Goku who is ally of InoShikaCho. He is seen with Tien in the boat headed to the World Martial Arts Tournament on Papaya Island.

Tien Shinhan Saga

Chaozu fighting against Kuririn at the 22nd Tenkaichi Tournament.

Chaozu bearing a menacing face while his psychic powers on Kuririn.

Chaozu is fully introduced to the series at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament during the Tien Shinhan Saga. He is a student of the Master Shen, who enters him along with Tien in order to represent the Crane School of martial arts and defeat the students of his rival, the Turtle Hermit Master Roshi.

At Tenshinhan’s request, Chaozu uses his mental powers to fix the ordering of the matches in the quarter-finals. Chaozu decides to put himself up against Krillin, who is representing Master Shen's rival Master Roshi's Turtle School, and whom he had been exchanging petty insults with since the start of the tournament. As the quarter-final match begins, Chaozu and Krillin battle at an even pace, until Krillin starts to edge him out of the ring. Noticing this, Chiaotzu levitates high into the air and begins firing multiple Dodon Rays at Krillin. After Tien informs Master Shen that his brother, Mercenary Tao, faced defeat at the hands of Turtle student Goku, Chiaotzu was ordered to kill Krillin at once by using a Super Dodon Blast. As Chaozu fires the Super Dodon Blast, Krillin manages to avoid the attack by leaping upwards into the sky. Following the aftermath of the Super Dodon Blast's explosion, Krillin then proceeds to hit Chaozu with a Kamehameha, hoping to land Chaozu out of bounds. However, Chaozu manages to recover from the attack and leviatates back into the tournament arena.

After both Chaozu and Krillin land back into the arena, Chaozu unleashes his Telekinesis technique to attack Krillin’s internal organs. Whilst Chiaotzu has Krillin clutching his stomach in pain by the Telekinesis technique, Master Shen then telepathically orders him to slowly kill Krillin instead of tossing him out of bounds. Chaozu then proceeds to kick Krillin around the ring. Krillin soon figures out that Chiaotzu needs to have his palms spread out in order to continue with the attack. When Krillin asks Chiaotzu a math question, Chaozu needs to use his fingers to come up with the answer, which stops his Telekinesis technique from working each time he counts. The second time this happens, Chaozu is punched out of the arena after Krillin breakes free from the Telekinesis, thus causing Chaozu to lose the match via ring-out.

During Tenshinhan’s match with Goku in the final round, Chaozu is ordered by Master Shen to use his psychic abilities to constantly paralyze Goku during the match. Eventually discovering this, Tien demands that Chaozu must stop since he wants a fair match. After Tien refuses to kill Goku and rejects the path of an assassin, an infuriated Master Shen orders Chaozu to kill both Tien and Goku. Chaozu refuses, as not only does he want to see how the tournament ends, but he also doesn't want to kill his best friend Tien, who is fighting at his best, even if his master orders it. The Crane Hermit then grabs Chaozu and threatens to kill him instead. Master Roshi puts an end to this by blasting Master Shen out of the stadium with a Kamehameha, thus saving Chaozu and allowing Tien and Goku to continue their match.

After the match ends and Tien is declared the winner of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Roshi offers to let Chaozu and Tien stay at the Kame House. Tien declines the offer, stating that he and Chaozu cannot follow the teachings of another, even if they have both betrayed their master.

King Piccolo Saga

The good mood is short-lived, however, as Turtle student Krillin is unexpectedly killed while separated momentarily from the group. Along with his body there was note with the character (demon) on it. Master Roshi tells everyone that it represents an incredibly powerful Demon King, King Piccolo, who was sealed away inside an electric rice cooker centuries ago by Master Roshi's and Master Shen's old master by using the suicidal Evil Containment Wave technique, but is now apparently free again. On hearing this, Goku, still not fully recovered from his battle with Tien, rushes off to seek revenge.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chaozu and Tien volunteer to help in anyway they can. They are informed of the seven Dragon Balls, which when collected summon Shenron, a mystical dragon that can grant any wish. Along with Master Roshi, they venture out on a desperate quest to retrieve them in order to have the Dragon revive Krillin. After finding several of them, their radar which tells them the Dragon Balls locations, shows them that the remaining ones are actually coming towards them, meaning King Piccolo is also seeking the Dragon Balls and is coming for theirs.

Before King Piccolo can confront them, Master Roshi unexpectedly knocks Tien out and hides him in a cave. He then afterwards tells Chaozu that there has been a change of plans, and to refrain from jumping in the fight and to remain hidden, whatever happens. Master Roshi plans on using the Evil Containment Wave against King Piccolo, since Goku is thought to have already been killed. Chaozu, along with a semi-conscious Tien, can do nothing but witnesses Master Roshi's ultimately unsuccessful stand against the powerful Demon King. Afterwards, King Piccolo wastes no time joining the Dragon Balls together to summon Shenron and have his wish for eternal youth granted. To combat this, Chaozu is ordered desperately by Tien to quickly make a wish to destroy King Piccolo before the Demon King can make one himself. Chaozu appears from the shadows and attempts to change the wish, but he is quickly killed mid-sentence from a blast by King Piccolo, an act Tien can only watch. King Piccolo continues to make his wish and then destroys the Dragon afterwards, knowing it's the only thing that can stop him.

After Goku manages to defeat King Piccolo, Chaozu was later wished back to life by Bulma and company, after Goku convinced Kami to bring Shenron back to life, thus reviving the Dragon Balls.

Piccolo Jr. Saga

Chaozu then trains with Tien, Yamcha and the newly resurrected Krillin until they are informed by Master Roshi that, to be able to compete with Goku, they are going to need to find better ways to train than are available at the Kame House. They all head to Korin Tower and train with Korin before each going their own separate way.

Three years after King Piccolo's defeat, Chaozu, along with Tien, Krillin and Yamcha, return to compete in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. He, as well as the rest of the group, is rather surprised to see the now teenaged Goku and looks forward to the upcoming fights.

When the lots are drawn up to determine the order of the fights, Chaozu carries out Tien’s request to manipulate the cards so that none of the group (Tien, Yamcha, Goku, Chaozu and Krillin) or Piccolo Jr. fight each other in the preliminaries.

The early matches seem to be going as usual, with the group quickly dispatching their opponents. Tien then receives a horrible sense of something happening to Chaozu. He races to the scene and finds Chaozu heavily wounded and unconscious, his opponent turning out to be the now cybernetically-enhanced Mercenary Tao. Mercenary Tao explains that after his seeming death by Goku, he was rebuilt into the half-man half-machine before them, and had returned to take revenge on Tien and Chaozu for disgracing the Crane School, and Goku for defeating him before. Chaozu had suffered serious injuries, but was treated at the nearby hospital and later rejoined Tien and the others after Goku defeated Piccolo Jr..

Dragon Ball Z

Saiyan Saga

Chaozu's suicidal attack against Nappa.

After learning that Son Goku had sacrificed his life to defeat Raditz, Chaozu was summoned along with Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Yajirobe, and Yamucha to train at Heavenly Realm for the battle against Nappa and Vegeta. After completing Kami's training, he then continues to train with Tien until the Saiyans arrive on Earth. As Tien and Chaozu make their way to the battlefield, Tien requests that Chaozu stays behind. Chaozu began insisting that he too has trained hard, thus earning his right to participate in the fight. Tien continues to pressure Chaozu into staying however Chaozu refuses and continues with Tien along to the battlefield.

Both Chaozu and Tien arrive at the battlefield prior to the fight beginning, but just before Yamcha does. Despite the Z Fighters agreeing with Vegeta to challenge the Saibamen one at a time, Chiaotzu and Gohan don’t get their chance to take on any of the Saibamen.

After Yamucha was killed by a self-destructing Saibaiman and the remaining Saibaimen were destroyed by Kuririn and Piccolo Junior, Nappa decided to challenge the Z Warriors himself. Whilst he powered himself up, Chaozu attempted to use his Telekinesis attack on Nappa, but he proved too strong for the attack to have any effect. As Nappa finished powering up, he charged at Tenshinhan and proceeded to cut off his left arm. Chaozu was horrified as he saw the mighty Saiyan brutally attack his best friend before his very eyes. After Kuririn recovered from the aftershock of a huge energy attack from Nappa, he looked around in fear that Chaozu had been taken out by the blast. Vegeta told Nappa to look behind him just as Chaozu latched himself upon Nappa’s back, thus making himself a living bomb. The gigantic Saiyan struggled to remove him. After Chaozu telepathically said goodbye to Tenshinhan, he detonated and killed himself in a hopeful attempt to save his friends. Nappa surprised the Z Warriors, however, when he smugly reappeared from the smoke unfazed with only a small amount of damage being done to him. Kuririn and Tenshinhan were then left in anger at the fact that Chaozu's attack had not faze Nappa at all, and thus Chaozu's suicide attack had been in vain.

Namek Saga

Chaozu with Yamucha, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan shortly after arriving on North Kaio's World.

Because of the influence of Kami, after he perished, Chaozu’s body was regenerated by Kami and was allowed to train on North Kaio's World in the Next World as Goku did earlier. Joining him were the other warriors who also perished in the battle against the Saiyans: Tien, Piccolo and Yamcha. On King Kai's planet, King Kai tells Goku that they all crossed Snake Way in a far shorter time than he did, and that they all requested for tougher training than what Goku had received.

Frieza Saga

Chaozu, along with Tien and Yamucha, remains on North Kaio's World and learns of everyone's (Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Gohan, Dende and Piccolo fused with Nail) mighty struggle with the evil tyrant Frieza on the Planet Namek. He is eventually wished back to life a second time along with Tien by a wish made to Porunga. After returning to Earth, Chiaotzu and Tien go into solitude, training in the mountains.

Garlic Jr. Saga

For reasons unexplained, both Chaozu and Tien do not make their appearances in this saga. It can be assumed however that they were both also possessed by the Black Water Mist, and also later changed back to their normal states by the Sacred Water like almost everybody else on Earth.

Trunks Saga

Chaozu during the Trunks Saga.

A year later, whilst Chaozu and Tien are training in the mountains, they are interrupted when they sense two powerful evil chis heading towards Earth. They then fly to the location of where the chis are coming from. Both Chaozu and Tien are surprised to find Vegeta (who was somewhat reformed during the crisis on Namek and now resides on Earth with Bulma) and the other Z Fighters who inform them that the ki they are detecting is Frieza, who somehow survived. When Frieza does land, he is quickly dispatched by an unknown mysterious youth (Future Trunks). Piccolo, overhearing the youth’s private conversation with Goku, tells everyone the warning that two incredibly powerful Androids will attack within three years.

Androids Saga

Chaozu during the Androids Saga.

This is the main point where Chaozu makes a noticeably huge lack of appearance as the series progresses further. Chaozu now usually stays in the background, mostly training with Tien in the frozen northern wastes. In anime filler, he sometimes stays at the Kame House with Muten Roshi, Puar and Oolong.

After the three years had passed, the rest of the Z Warriors appear to the location where the androids would soon show up. Tien tells the others that Chaozu did indeed train with him for the arrival of the androids, but thought it was best to leave him behind, as Tien felt he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the battle.

Imperfect Cell Saga

Chaozu later reappears in what seems to be a training area, where he and Tien both sense Cell’s Ki.

Cell Games Saga

Due to a possible request from Tien, Chaozu also does not appear at the Cell Games with the other Z Warriors or the fight against the Cell Juniors.

Majin Buu Saga

Whilst he makes a few more appearances in the manga, (and many more short ones in the anime), Chaozu loses a lot of his importance, like many of the original Z Fighters near the end of the series. He makes an appearance with Tien as they're traveling in the mountains; he is interrupted when they both sense Goku transforming into his Super Saiyan 3 form.

Fusion Saga

Chaozu later reappears alongside Tien whilst they're training in the mountains. Here, himself and Tien manage to evade being hit by Super Buu's Special Human Genocide Attack, which was used to exterminate the population of Earth. They then briefly examine the small craters left behind by Super Buu's attack.

Kid Buu Saga

He is killed along with Tien when Kid Buu blows up the earth, and is later wished back to life along with everyone else. Afterwards, he and Tien later give their energy to the Super Spirit Bomb along with everyone else on Earth, so that Goku can destroy Kid Buu.

Dragon Ball GT

Baby Saga

Chaozu made a cameo appearance with Tien in Episode 40, "Piccolo's Decision".

Shadow Dragon Saga

Chaozu and Tenshinhan in "Until We Meet Again..."

Chaozu appeared in "Until We Meet Again...". Here, he and Tenshinhan trained under a waterfall as they watched Goku pass by with Shen Long. Tenshinhan looked back and Chaozu teared up.

Anime filler

• Slightly younger versions of Chaozu and Tien are introduced a bit earlier at the end of the Fortuneteller Baba Saga. Here, they are young con-artists who utilize a wild boar-like creature, InoShikaCho, to destroy towns. They then show up at the place and offer their services to "kill" the creature. Goku learns of this scheme and puts an end to it.
• While searching for the Dragon Balls in the King Piccolo Saga, Chaozu, Tien and Master Roshi retrieve the first one from a greedy pirate bear. When they arrive at a near-vacated town, an ex-fighter, Tenshinhan, had defeated brutally several years ago gives him the second ball after Tien begs for his forgiveness. They then locate the third ball in the Arctic from an icecap and the fourth ball from a mountainside.
• On his way to train with Karin, Chaozu, Tien, Yamcha and Krillin rescue a village from an active volcano.
• Whilst training with Kami, Chaozu and the others enter the Pendulum Room, which allows them to virtually battle Saiyans from the past.
• In the Namek saga, on King Kai's planet, Chaozu along with Yamcha and Tien, participate in a 3 versus 1 sparring match against Piccolo.
• In the Frieza Saga, while training with King Kai, the recently killed members of the Ginyu Force show up on the planet, battling against Chaozu, Tien and Yamcha. They eventually beat them and send them flying back down to the depths of Hell. Chaozu himself takes on Guldo.
• In the Androids saga, Chaozu is shown staying at the Kame House with Oolong and Master Roshi, where they are visited by Krillin's ex-girlfriend, Maron. He is also shown as being a cook, as he makes soup for Oolong and Master Roshi. He also helps Yamcha get rid of the water that's flooding the house, which is being caused by the shockwaves Semi-Perfect Cell emits whilst transforming into Perfect Cell.
• At the end of the Kid Buu Saga, he goes to a party at Bulma Brief's House.

Films

Chaozu appeared in Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks, and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods.

Video games

Chaozu is a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, and Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2. He is also in Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan. Chaozu is both a playable character and a boss in Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure. Chaozu also appears as a one-line character in cutscenes for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. He made some appearances in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku and Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II.

Techniques

Chaozu's Masenko

Chaozu's Kamehameha

• Dodon Ray – One of the best techniques of Master Shen (master of Tien and Chaozu). It is a powerful energy beam shot from the index finger that is more powerful than a normal Kamehameha.
• Drill Attack – Chaozu is able to spin rapidly and launch himself headfirst at his opponent. He uses this attack several times against Krillin in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament Saga. This is an anime only move.
• Enajii Gettā – Enajii Gettā (エナジー ゲッター, Enajii Gettā; Literally meaning "Energy Getter")
• Farewell, Mr. Tien – A suicide attack where Chaozu makes himself a living bomb. He uses this technique on Nappa in a desperate attempt to kill him, but Nappa survives with little damage being done to him. In the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series it is his Ultimate Blast.
• Flight – This is the ability to fly using one's ki. Chaozu appears to have no trouble controlling his energy and is able to float in the air for longer periods of time than most others.
• Kamehameha-like blast – During his training with Kami, Chaozu also showed the ability to use a Kamehameha-like blast, only it was pure white instead of blue and white and was tossed like a kick ball rather than the usual Kamehameha stance.
• Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
• Masenko-like blast – In Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, Chaozu showed the ability to use a Masenko-like blast.
• Mimicry – Both Chaozu and Tenshinhan have shown the ability to copy moves after seeing them only once. Tien states this after using his Kamehameha after copying it from Yamcha. Chiaotzu uses it to copy the Saibaman self destruct technique and used it on Nappa.
• Psychic Bomb – Chaozu can convert his psychic power into energy by holding out his palms and forming a small bubble of ki. It is used to defeat Guldo in the anime.
• Psychic Power – This is a technique Chaozu uses on opponents that are not too strong for him to control, and also for training with sparring partners. The effects on opponents include paralysis and directly attacking their internal organs, as revealed in both the manga and the anime.
• Psychic Rock Throw – Chaozu can use his psychic powers to unearth large rocks and launch them at his opponent. This technique is used in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series and Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
• Psychokinesis – Chaozu can manipulate objects in his environment through mental power. He uses this technique at Tien's request to rearrange the number tags at the 22nd and 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai tournaments in order to study their opponent's fighting styles.
• Super Dodon Blast – This technique is a more powerful version of the Dodon Ray, but requires the user to charge it up. Chiaotzu uses this in his match against Krillin after Master Shen orders him to kill Krillin during the match.
• Telepathy – Chaozu can speak with his targets mentally.
• Zanzo-ken – This is a technique that consists in disappearing from a place, leaving a shadow of oneself, for a short period of time in the original position and causing the shadow image effect. Chaozu is shown doing this technique along with Tien, Krillin and Yamcha whilst jogging through a forest on their long journey to Karin's Tower. This technique is also used in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series.

Major battles

• Chaozu vs. Krillin
• Chaozu vs. King Piccolo
• Chaozu vs. Cyborg Mercenary Tao
• Chaozu, Tien, Krillin & Yamcha vs. Scarface & Shorty
• Chaozu, Tien, Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan vs. Nappa
• Chaozu, Tien & Yamcha vs. Piccolo
• Chaozu vs. Guldo
• Chaozu & Tien vs. Lakasei & Rasin (Movie 3)
• Chaozu, Tien, Krillin, Piccolo & Yamcha vs. Turles (Movie 3)

Voice actors

• Japanese dub: Hiroko Emori
• Ocean Group dub: Cathy Weseluck
• FUNimation dub: Monika Antonelli (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and early video games); Brina Palencia (later video games and Dragon Ball Z Kai)
• Harmony Gold dub: Rebecca Forstadt (Dragon Ball Movie 3)
• Latin American dub: Patricia Acevedo
• Portuguese dub: Cristina Cavalinhos

Trivia

• In the original Japanese versions of the manga and anime, Chaozu has a tendency to refer to Tien as "Ten-san", displaying both familiarity and respect. This habit was kept for the U.S. English version of the manga, but is somewhat downplayed in the U.S. anime dub, where his name is shortened to "Tien" and used in this manner by most every character although he sometimes refers to Tien as Mr. Tien in the American dub.
• In the alternate timeline, Chaozu is killed by the Artificial Humans. Whilst a scene of him being killed is not shown in the anime or Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks TV Special, Future Trunks states in both the manga and anime that Chaozu did indeed fight against the Artificial Humans with the other remaining Z Warriors and had been killed alongside them.
• Interestingly, despite Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure being non-manga, the Narrator actually referred to him as "The Young Emperor Chiaotzu" when he was revived in "Goku's Alive!!".
• Chaozu's seeming agelessness may stem from his design being based on a Jiang Shi. Although it is uncertain if Chaozu explicitly is a Jiang Shi, this would account for him not aging, his physical appearance, and his outfit in Dragon Ball.
• Chaozu is one of the most notable characters who does not appear in Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! this is because Tien Shinhan's seiyu died, although this can also easily be explained by Chaozu and Tien's reclusive nature. However, they were included in the manga adaptation.
• Chaozu has a single, wiry hair on his head only seen after he removes his hat.
• He enjoys eating tenshindon (Tien Shinhan was named after this dish).
• If one uses Chaozu against Artificial Human No. 19 in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, he will have special dialogue with No. 19, who accuses Chaozu of copying his looks.
• Despite being a Z Warrior, Chiaotzu has never won any fights that were present in the manga (except for unnamed background characters such as the preliminary fighters). He did, however, win an anime-only fight against Guldo.