General Blue
From Dragon Ball Encyclopedia
"You can't cheat in a fight to the death. Fool. Whoever's alive at the end of the battle is the winner and that's that!"
— General Blue in "The Pirate Treasure"
General Blue (ブルー 将軍, Burū Shōgun; FUNimation "General Blue", Viz "General Blue") is a powerful high-ranking officer in the Red Ribbon Army and leads the Blue Corps.
General Blue's Japanese name is a pun on the word Burū, or Blue in English.
Contents
Biography
Blue was of German origin as implied in the manga through his spoken line "Auf Wiedersehen", which essentially means "Goodbye" in German. It is possible that this character was based on Adolf Hitler's ideal man and belief that blond-haired, blue-eyed people were superior to other races as seen in his feats of superhuman strength and psychic abilities. Even his sexuality (although never explicitly revealed) could be inspired by the Sturmabteilung (S.A.) "Brownshirt" stormtrooper division in Hitler's army, seeing how his outfit was similar to an S.A. trooper. His sexuality, in that case, may also stem from the fact that S.A. leader, Ernst Rohm, was homosexual.
Along with his effeminate behavior and mannerisms, he was a perfectionist who was extremely obsessed with his looks and was very strict and militant, ordering his men executed for crimes as trivial as nose picking. He has another executed for missing a target twice with torpedoes, and he personally executes a soldier who hides from Goku and Krillin. He is also disgusted of vermin and rodents such as mice.
General Blue is the only Red Ribbon officer we know the age of (28 when tongue-stabbed by Mercenary Tao). General Blue was also the longest-living officer in the series with the possible exception of Commander Red and Staff Officer Black, and he had an entire saga focused around him.
Dragon Ball
General Blue is very persistent and loyal to the Red Ribbon Army, and he tracked Goku through more than seven episodes of obstacles. He trails Goku and company into the Pirate Cave, and almost kills Krillin and Goku. During the battle, Bulma tries to distract him by wiggling her buttocks at him, but it does not distract him in the slightest, revealing that he is a homosexual and then yells at her for claiming to be a man (in the dub, this was changed to claiming to be a powerful Sumo Wrestler). Blue paralyzes Goku with a stare and releases a capsule containing a pump-action shotgun which he holds the muzzle to Goku's face. Luckily for Goku, Blue fears mice, and loses his concentration when he is startled by one. Goku breaks Blue's hypnosis and knocks him out afterwards. He somehow survives the collapse of the pirate's lair, and trails our heroes to the Kame House, where he is successful in stealing the Dragon Radar.
Eventually he and Goku ended up in Penguin Village, in a cross-over episode combining Dragon Ball and Akira Toriyama's earlier manga Dr. Slump. General Blue ended up being head butted in the adbomen by Arale Norimaki and was sent flying and crashing into an Egypt-like land. When he returned to the army's headquarters (through the use of a camel and an umbrella), Commander Red congratulated him on the finding of the Dragon Radar, but noted that his main mission was to collect the Dragon Balls, and that people were executed for failure. General Blue became terrified until Commander Red said that since General Blue had served the army well in the past (which is contradictory because earlier Staff Officer Black said that General Blue had a dismal record, however, Staff Officer Black's statement about Blue's record was also contradictory in and of itself, since he would have died far sooner if it really was dismal, due to executions for failure), and that if he fought Tao and won he would be able to redeem himself. In the series, Mercenary Tao killed General Blue by sticking his tongue on a pressure point on General Blue's temple.
Dragon Ball GT
General Blue has a brief appearance in Dragon Ball GT, after he and several other Red Ribbon Army members are killed by Pan. He is seen speaking to Staff Officer Black in Hell. King Yemma is busy stamping villains back into the dimension. The work load is heavily packed as all the villains are on a long line extending out of Yemma's domain. As Yemma announces his frustration, General Blue and Staff Officer Black are chatting while in line. Staff Officer Black declares that it didn't take long for all of them to be defeated and sent straight back to hell, referring to everyone in line as "losers". General Blue responds by reminding him that he's also in line with all those losers. They are all awaiting to meet their fate together.
Films
Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure
Blue appeared in Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure. He was one of Chaozu's loyal guards, wore a totally different uniform, and was killed in much the same way by Tao Pai Pai. It is arguable that in this film, he was one of the good guys. Strangely, this depiction of Blue actually has an action figure – a 2" mini figure in AB's Super Guerriers line. A 5-inch figure of Blue was also released in the JAKKS Pacific figure assortment.
Dragon Ball: The Path to Power
Blue appeared in Dragon Ball: The Path to Power. He first appeared on a Red Ribbon Army naval ship shortly before being blown away by Turtle Hermit's Kamehameha. He, however, managed to survive and capture Goku's group. Blue's death was execution by some low-level privates who dragged him in a room and shot him to death. Not even the fact that Blue had just given Red five of the seven Dragon Balls was enough to make up for the fact that he missed one lying buried in sand.
While there was not much of an addition to his role in the manga, his personality was slightly different in the anime. In the manga, he was portrayed not just like a homosexual comical man, but as a far more serious, deceitful and clever villain.
Video games
Blue appears in Dragon Ball Z: Sūpā Gokū Den: Totsugeki Hen.
Blue appears as a boss character and a playable character in Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure and Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo.
Blue later appears in Dragon Ball: Origins 2.
Blue is a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. In this game, Blue had his own storyline where he stole Dragon Balls and hid out in Penguin Village (his statement of "finally, I have all seven dragon balls~~!"" implies that Blue was stealing them for himself and not for the Red Ribbon Army). He fought against Goku and Arale. A possible error in regards to the placement of the story was that it implied that it took place directly after the King Piccolo Saga.
Techniques
Aside from his accomplished martial arts, General Blue has a special psychic technique called Telekinesis, where he could temporarily paralyze people so they couldn't move. He used this to his advantage to win the fight with Goku. The origins of his psychic powers are never discussed. However, this technique seems to have little to no effect against stronger opponents, such as Tao Pai Pai. His psychic abilities made him a dangerous enemy for young Goku and Krillin.
- I'll Shoot You! – Blue takes out a Rocket Launcher and launches a powerful rocket at his opponent, causing massive damage. This attack is named in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and is originally used by Colonel Silver in Dragon Ball.
- Look into my Eyes
- Psychokinesis – Blue uses his psychic powers to paralyze his opponents. Freeza, Chaozu, and others are also able to use similar techniques as well.
- Rocket Engine Spark – Blue's ultimate blast in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Blue kicks his opponent into the air and pulls out a capsule. Next, he gets into a rocket ship and his opponent chases after him. Finally, Blue says, "Ignite rocket engine!" and releases a stream of fire from the rocket.
- Skewer! – The attack Blue is about to use on Goku in Penguin Village and one of his Blast 2 attacks in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Blue uses Psychokinesis on his opponent, which leaves them paralyzed, and takes a sharpened tree and slams it into his opponent.
Voice actors
- Japanese dub: Toshio Furukawa
- Dr. Slump remake: Nobuhiko Kazama
- FUNimation dub: Sonny Strait
- Latin American dub: Salvador Delgado
- German dub: Markus Pfeiffer
- Portuguese dub: Henrique Feist
Trivia
- In Akira Toriyama's manga Dr. Slump, a character named Kibalt Deruhhe (alternately spelled Dertze Kibalt and Deltze Kibalt) appears in the final volume of the manga (volume 18) and shares a striking resemblance to General Blue. He is not only very similar in appearance to Blue, but he also shares many qualities with Blue; Kibalt is also of German descent, handsome, and he's also an antagonist.
- Blue is the only known homosexual character in Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT aside from Trunks's opponent, Otokosuki, in the Tenkaichi Tournament featured in some of the last episodes of Dragon Ball Z.
- In Budokai Tenkaichi 3, when Blue uses his ultimate attack, Rocket Engine Spark (which has him getting into a rocket ship and igniting the engines to burn the enemy), against Frieza's third form (preferably as a finishing move), it resembles the death scene of the Alien in Alien.
- Blue uses a Rocket Ship Capsule in his Ultimate Blast, Rocket Engine Spark
- Blue bares a resemblance to Isaza from Toriyama's later manga, Kajika. Isaza, however, has sideburns and an altered hairstyle as a differential factor.
- During the cross-over, it is revealed that Blue has a long lost brother named Samuel when he confuses Obotchaman for his brother (although this is only in the English dub since the whole brother idea is to cover up for Blue's homosexual leaning).
- Along with the incident with Obotchaman, it has been implied that Blue has an attraction to little boys. In Budokai Tenkaichi 3, a special dialogue occurs between him and Trunks Brief. Blue comments on Trunks' appearance (giving the impression he finds Trunks attractive) with Trunks getting a little creeped out by his comment. (Given the fact that Blue is a homosexual, however, this may be a reference to Trunks' initial reaction to Otokosuki's homosexuality during their fight at the 28th Tenkaichi Tournament.)
- In Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Skewer, is the basically same technique Guldo used against Krillin and Gohan (except he physically throws a tree at his opponent instead of throwing via telekinesis). Skewer (like Guldo Special) is based on an failed attack, General Blue attempted to use it to kill Goku during their encounter in Penguin Village, but was interupted before he could finish. Guldo's technique also failed to kill Krillin and Gohan, as he was beheaded by Vegeta before he could complete the attack.
- Blue has a disgust for women in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. When he is paired up with Selypa, Son Videl, or Zangya, he makes an outcry when he tells them not to come near him. He says, "Disgusting!!" as well, leaving the girls confused about him. He does not do this with No. 18. (though he has different dialogue with her), Pan, (though she makes a remark about him), or Son Chichi.
References
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