Shorty

"Did I do something to tick you off?"
— Shorty in "Showdown in the Past"

Shorty (ブロッコ, Burokko; FUNimation "Shorty") is a Saiyan.

Shorty's Japanese name is a pun on the word Burokkori, or Broccoli in English.

Biography

Shorty appeared in "Pendulum Room Peril". He worked alongside his partner, Scarface, and tormented anyone other than their own kind. While training for their battle against the forthcoming Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa, Tenshinhan, Yamucha, Kuririn, and Chaozu used the Pendulum Room in the Heavenly Realm and seemed to travel backwards in time by 100 years (although in the Japanese dub, Kami did not express how far in time the Z Warriors would be traveling). The group materialized in a ravaged city, presumably on Planet Vegeta, littered with the corpses of Saiyans. It was here that they encountered Shorty and Scarface.

Shorty was the first to appear. While Chaozu observed a head in the window display of what might have once been a shop, the head liquefied and revealed Shorty's face beneath it. Chaozu attempted to flee, however, he was grabbed by Shorty and drained of his lifeforce. Tenshinhan's attempts to defend his friend with a Tri-Beam proved inferior when he was counterattacked by Scarface. In a fit of rage, Tenshinhan attacked Shorty using his martial arts, but Shorty proved to be fast enough to evade each move. Yamucha's Spirit Ball was successful in hitting the two Saiyans, but failed to have any effect on them.

He and Scarface were also unfazed by a simultaneous barrage of the Tri-Beam, Spirit Ball, and Kamehameha techniques. While Shorty took flight against Tenshinhan, Scarface dragged Kuririn through a decimated floor to his temporary doom. The two remaining Z Warriors, Tenshinhan and Yamucha, held their own against Shorty and Scarface for only a short time before Scarface's energy wave killed them both. The original group was soon transferred back to the Pendulum Room where they were astonished to find themselves alive and disappointed that they had lost the battle, however, they were now more ready than ever to train further.

Video games

Shorty appeared in Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiya-jin.

Timeline inconsistency

Because Shorty and Scarface were said to exist 100 years prior to the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, they were the only Saiyans seen in the series who were not under the service of Freeza. Saiyans free from Freeza's control during his time in power have been known to appear in several films. According to the timeline, Freeza began his period of control in 731 Age. When the Z Warriors used the Pendulum Room where they encountered Shorty and Scarface, they would have arrived in May of 662 Age. This meant that the point in history the group visited would still have enjoyed 69 more years of freedom before Freeza rose to power, however, a problem exists. According to the timeline, the Saiyans and the Tuffles fought against each other in the Saiyan-Tuffle war from about 720 Age to 730 Age. This would mean that the Saiyans would not have had Scouters or Saiyan Armor like the ones that the Arcosians or Freeza supplied them, which apparently occurred in the 730s. If the year actually was 662 Age, the Saiyans would not have had this technology and would have still lived on the outskirts of Planet Plant, many years before they attacked the Tuffles, met the Arcosians, and become part of Freeza's Force. It is extremely important to note that this "100" years statement was only mentioned in the English dub, and therefore it is possible that it is another error that created another plot hole. Due to the nature of this episode's creation having no roots in the manga, some fans have merely labeled it as filler.

Techniques

• Bukujutsu
• Kankousen
• Photon Wave

Voice actors

• Japanese dub: Daisuke Gori
• Ocean Group dub: Paul Dobson
• FUNimation dub: Phil Parsons

Trivia

• Shorty's name comes from a credit roll in the FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z.