Nappa
From Dragon Ball Encyclopedia
"What's wrong? Oh wait, don't tell me. I think I know what you need. A nice trip to the afterlife. One way, of course."
— Nappa in "Sacrifice"
Nappa (ナッパ, Nappa) is a Saiyan.
Nappa's name is a pun on the word Nappa, or Greens in English.
Contents
Appearance and personality
Though his genes give him the appearance of someone in their mid-30s, Nappa is approximately 50 years old, and is first seen with the Saiyan Prince Vegeta after hearing of Raditz' death at the hands of Piccolo and Goku. At this time, he looks identical all the way to the time of his death. He has hair in the Bardock special (although it seems to be a smaller patch, lacking sideburns of any kind). He travels to Earth with Vegeta to gather the Dragon Balls and wish for eternal life. Before the annihilation of the Saiyan Race at the hands of Frieza, Nappa was the Commander-in-chief of the Entire Saiyan Army. He is the second most powerful Saiyan warrior in Frieza's army and reports his accomplishments to Frieza directly, alongside Raditz and Vegeta. Like most Saiyans, Nappa wore a scouter to detect the ki of his enemies.
Nappa has quite a destructive personality and loves demolition to an extreme level. When arriving on Earth, the first thing he asks Vegeta is if he can destroy a town. When taking time off to wait for Goku (in the anime only), Vegeta allows him to destroy as many things and places as he wants, as long as he doesn't waste enough energy to break a sweat. Nappa proceeds to demolish an entire Navy fleet division as well as an aerial raid, smashing through many jets and helicopters before leveling a slew of ships.
Nappa also has a very cocky personality, as he enjoys toying with his opponents. This shows his dark humorous side as he sometimes tells himself crude jokes when he's alone and laughs at them. He tends to fight first and makes use of his brawn more so than his brain. However, his great ego would immediately vanish the second someone causes him a bruise or scar, and would decide to kill them slowly and painfully as a result. He is, in this instance, vain to the extent that he feels his appearance should remain unscathed. However, he would still eliminate anyone as quickly as possible when losing patience with them. Often times, he allows his anger to get the best of him, becoming extremely enraged and infuriated, which results in Vegeta constantly reminding or, in some cases, ordering him to calm down.
Biography
Nappa was an elite Saiyan warrior from Planet Vegeta and Vegeta's partner in combat. Prior to the destruction of Planet Vegeta, Nappa was a General in the Saiyan Army under Freeza's Force and aide/partner to the young Prince Vegeta as well. After his race's demise, he along with Vegeta and Raditz worked as soldiers directly under Freeza, which led him to Planet Earth.
Genocide of the Saiyans
Main article: Genocide of the Saiyans
Nappa was briefly seen watching Vegeta fight a bunch of Saibaimen and afterwards having a conversation about Freeza.
Saiyan Saga
Main article: Saiyan Saga
While Vegeta and Nappa traveled to Planet Earth, they stopped on Planet Arlia. They were only there for a short time, and while they were there they made quick work of the planets strongest warriors before destroying Planet Arlia altogether. After arriving on Earth, Nappa did a power demonstration by blowing up an entire city just with his Exploding Wave. After Vegeta threatened him not to do so or he would kill him (because it could destroy any Dragon Ball nearby), they headed off to seek out the Dragon Balls and went directly to where Son Gohan, Piccolo and Kuririn are, looking for the one who killed Raditz, arriving moments before Yamucha, Chaozu and Tenshinhan.
After Yamcha was killed by a Saibaimen, Nappa demonstrates his sheer power over the Z Warriors, surviving the attacks of Tenshinhan and Chaozu (which ultimately took their lives in the process), with nothing but a few cosmetic injuries. During the fight, Piccolo had a plan to destroy him, but Gohan was too afraid to attack during the part where he was supposed to blast him. Before the fight could continue, Vegeta decided to pause it for three hours to allow Son Goku to show up, finding it amusing that Kuririn, Piccolo, and Gohan had so much faith on such a low level Saiyan warrior as Kakarrot. To keep himself occupied, Nappa destroyed the news crew that had been reporting on the battle and then easily decimated the military forces that consisted of battleships and aircraft carriers that were en route to stop the Saiyans. After that, he destroyed another city with his Bakuhatsuha technique.
After three hours had passed, the fight resumed and Nappa took off his Saiyan Armor so that there was nothing holding his power back. Piccolo devised a plan that involved him grabbing Nappa's tail to weaken him, but Nappa had become immune to this and did not suffer any pain from it as Raditz had earlier. Once again, the Saiyan demonstrated his might against Piccolo and Kuririn, clearly injuring Piccolo, torturing Kuririn, and bullying Gohan. The remaining Z Fighters were all injured, while Nappa wasn't even hurt at all, but soon, Kuririn threw a Destructo Disk at him, which he barely dodged, getting out with just a scar on his left cheek (the only injury he had received throughout the entire battle). This was enough to make Nappa stop making Kuririn suffer, and just kill him. However, Piccolo launched a Ki blast at him just in time, which makes Vegeta laugh at how he was hit twice. He was about to kill Piccolo, but decided to bully Gohan again, smacking him then taking time to relax by sitting on him while Gohan was laying face up, during which he threatened him with fart jokes (which he soon carried out on). After a few minutes and several farts, Nappa gets up, walks off and continues to mock Gohan's father. Gohan finally lost patience and kicked Nappa in a rage, catching him off guard for the first time during the fight, but this doesn't hurt Nappa at all and only makes Nappa angrier. In the end, Nappa ultimately kills Piccolo when the Namekian uses his body to shield Gohan from a potentially fatal attack. Gohan, enraged by this, uses all his power in one last blast called the Masenko; an attack that Nappa parries almost easily, but admits that it had made his arm a little numb.
Just as the much more powerful Nappa is about to finish off the exhausted Gohan, Goku arrives. As strong as Nappa was, he was unable to land a blow against Goku, whose agility was great, even his ultimate attack fails to faze him when he counters it with a Kamehameha charged within a few seconds.
Eventually, Nappa finally began to calm down, and thus, was able to fight Goku without letting his temper get in the way. Because of this, Nappa and Goku were evenly matched, Nappa even catches Goku off guard a few times. But when Vegeta loses patience with Nappa's performance and orders him to stand down, Nappa decides to take the humiliation out on Gohan and Kuririn, charging at them with the intention of finishing them off with a mouth blast. Goku had to use his Kaio-ken and stops him and fells Nappa with a Kaio-ken strike to his back, breaking it.
Defeated, Nappa is tossed at Vegeta's feet by Goku. As a punishment for his failure, Nappa is quickly thrown in the air by the Saiyan Prince, as a Saiyan who can't move is "useless" to him, according to Vegeta. After he begs Vegeta for his life, Nappa is ultimately destroyed by Vegeta's energy blast, officially destroying all redeeming qualities Vegeta had left. Seeing this, Goku gets furious and is immedietly pumped to fight Vegeta. Upon entering the Afterlife, he joins Raditz after being sent to Hell by King Yemma.
After death
In an anime only flashback, Nappa, Vegeta, and Raditz returned from their conquest of Planet Shikk, however, they were met with insult rather than congratulations by Dodoria, Zarbon, and Freeza. Nappa nearly lost control and tried to attack Dodoria, Zarbon, and Freeza, but Vegeta ordered his comrade to stand down, knowing that they would not stand a chance against them.
During the Androids Saga and Cell Saga, Goku's fight with Nappa was shown to be one of the times Doctor Gero had been tracking him. When Cell explained his origin to Piccolo, he said that Gero had collected cells from Nappa to help create him.
During the Kid Buu Saga, Nappa made an appearance in a flashback depicting the first meeting between Vegeta.
Dragon Ball GT
Temporary escape
In Dragon Ball GT, Nappa is revived with the rest of the evil departed. One of his first acts upon resurrection is to destroy an entire city (like he had done when he first landed on Earth in DBZ). Though Vegeta gives him a chance to escape and survive by telling him to "split town", Nappa instead attacks Vegeta in an attempt to avenge his own death. Vegeta easily kills Nappa (again) with an energy attack. He is later seen in Hell alongside General Blue, Staff Officer Black, and Major Metallitron approaching Piccolo, who presumably defeats them.
Also, in the Shadow Dragon Saga, Rage Shenron has a flashback of when Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, thus indirectly causing his birth.
Films
Nappa makes an appearance in the live action Korean Dragon Ball Film from 1990, Despite the movie taking place in the Emperor Pilaf Saga.
Video games
Nappa has appeared as a playable character in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, and in other series. He usually appears in the story modes in the same place as in the Dragon Ball Z story line. He was also a boss in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku, Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, and Dragon Ball Z: Sagas. He also appeared in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, and is set to appear in the Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 as well.
Techniques
- Arm Break – A rush attack that Nappa used against Tenshinhan while emitting the Lightning Aura.
- Bomber DX – He used this attack many times throughout the Saiyan Saga, most notably to kill Piccolo. Nappa charged up a potent wave of Ki and fired it with one hand. The name Bomber DX is taken from the first three Budokai video games, as it was neither named in the anime nor the manga. The attack is named Impact Bomb in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.
- Break Cannon – Break Cannon is named in the Budokai video game series. Nappa fires an immensely powerful blue energy wave from his mouth, similar to that of Saiyans in their Great Ape forms, that pierces through his foe's defenses. He calls this his ultimate attack and uses it as a last resort in his battle against Goku. It is called Kapa in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.
- Bukujutsu – Like most of the characters in Dragon Ball Z, he can fly without the use of Ki.
- Enerugiiha – Enerugiiha (エネルギー波, Enerugiiha; Literally meaning "Energy Wave")
- Exploding Wave – Named Break Storm in the Budokai video game series and Volcano Explosion in the Budokai Tenkaichi video game series. Nappa powers up his energy and raises two fingers in the air to create a large explosion around him. He can be seen performing this attack to destroy Metro East when he first arrives on Earth with Vegeta, in a filler episode taking place on Planet Arlia, when he was fighting against Goku, and in Dragon Ball GT when he returns from Hell. Nappa also uses another variation of the Exploding Wave known as the Blazing Storm.
- Eye Lasers – Like many characters in the series, Nappa can fire lasers from his eyes. He uses these while toying with the people of Earth to pass the time until Goku arrived.
- Great Ape Transformation – Nappa does not actually become a Great Ape in the series, however, he has a tail which indicates that he is able to transform. Nappa makes an appearance as a Great Ape, Great Ape Nappa (大猿 ナッパ, Ōzaru Nappa), in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 as a what if transformation. He is able to speak, and control himself normally, like Vegeta (and King Vegeta) can in their Great Ape forms. His bald head translates into something of a receding hairline/larger forehead in Great Ape form. Interestingly enough, in Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Nappa needs to be in a "Night" stage for him to become a Great Ape, when he is supposed to be a Saiyan Elite (who should be able transform with the aid of a Power Ball). This is likely an in-game explanation for why Nappa himself never used the transformation in the series, as he couldn't perform the Saiyan Power Ball technique.
- Lightning Aura – At the start of his battle against the Humans, Nappa charged up his energy and surrounded himself with a vibrating aura of energy. He used this to make his blows even more powerful and was even able to chop Tenshinhan's hand off while using this aura. He can also convert this aura into a beam.
- Note: The Power Ball is not a technique exclusive to elite Saiyans, as the low-class Saiyan Tullece can use the technique. It is highly likely that Nappa was unaware of the technique, which explains why he never used it in the series.
Battle power
Nappa's maximum battle power was 4,000 as stated in Dragon Ball: Daizenshū 7. Upon calming down and taking Goku on in earnest, however, he was seen almost holding his own against his mighty foe (who even remarked that "This would take forever!").
Major battles
- Nappa vs. Yetti
- Nappa vs. Kuririn and Piccolo
- Nappa vs. Chiaotzu
- Nappa vs. Tien
- Nappa vs. Piccolo
- Nappa vs. Gohan
- Nappa vs. Goku
- Nappa vs. Vegeta
Voice actors
- Japanese dub: Shōzō Iizuka (DBZ), Kiyoyuki Yanada (DBGT), Tetsu Inada (Dragon Ball Kai)
- Ocean Group dub: Michael Dobson
- FUNimation dub: Phil Parsons (Saiyan/Vegeta Saga, Remastered Bardock Special, and video games) and Christopher R. Sabat (Original Bardock Special and Episode 89)
- Latin American dub: José Luis Castañeda
- German dub: Gerald Paradies
- Italian dub: Riccardo Lombardo
- Portuguese dub: Ricardo Spínola
Trivia
- Alternately colored versions of Nappa and Vegeta actually appear earlier in a brief cameo appearance in "Reunions" alongside Raditz.
- Nappa's Scouter is the only Scouter, outside of filler, not known to be destroyed as he removes it before his fight at Vegeta's advice and never picks it back up before he dies. This means that it is still lying out there in the middle of nowhere, or at least until Majin Boo blows up Earth or Doctor Gero salvages the Scouter in order to create No. 16's Ki Sense feature. It is also possible that the Scouter is destroyed during the vicious fight that ensues.
- When Nappa is killing time waiting for Goku to arrive, he destroys another city. During this, for a second, he is suddenly wearing his scouter again, despite taking it off hours earlier. This is because the the footage was taken from when he destroys the first city after arriving on Earth.
- Nappa is insusceptible to the pain a typical Saiyan experiences when having their tail mistreated as Vegeta declares to the horror of Piccolo, Kuririn, and Gohan in "Time's Up!!".
- In the manga, an instance of a minor inconsistency is when Nappa had many light wounds and injuries from his fight against Tenshinhan and Chaozu, but after the three hours had passed, he seemed to have lost them.
- Unlike Vegeta, Nappa's color scheme is not corrected in his pre-Planet Earth appearances in Dragon Ball Z Kai, although it is possible he owns more than one suit of armor.
- The only one of the Z Warriors who Nappa technically kills is Piccolo. Yamucha is killed by a Saibaiman, Chaozu destroyed himself in a sacrificial explosion, and Tenshinhan uses every ounce of his energy in an attack, draining him of his life.
- Nappa is the very first villain injured by Goku's Kaio-ken.
- In Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, Nappa has special dialogue with the Ginyu Special Corps, despite never actually meeting them in the series.
- In Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, when Nappa is fighting against Vegeta in multiple rounds and Vegeta wins two, Nappa will say, "That's Vegeta for ya!"
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