Chaozu

Template:DB Character Chaozu (餃子, katakana チャオズ chaozu, Chaoz, pinyin jiǎo zi, Wade-Giles chiao-tzu) is a fictional character in the manga Dragon Ball and the anime Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. His seiyū is Hiroko Emori. In the English dub, he is voiced by Monika Antonelli. Chaozu is a white-skinned, red-cheeked little being devoted to Tenshinhan and possesses psionic powers.

History

Compared to other Dragon Ball characters, relatively little is revealed about Chaozu. It is known that he was a student along with Tenshinhan of Tsuru-Sen'nin, The crane hermit, and he has skills that involve telepathy and telekinesis. However in the movie The World's Strongest, Tenshinhan makes a remark that Chaozu is the prince of some far off kingdom and he is Chaozu's body guard, it is unknown whether or not this is to be considered canon. In the game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Chaozu's history says that he is a member of a military family, it is also unclear whether or not this is to be considered canonical as well. He has participated alongside Tenshinhan (whom he calls "Ten") in the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budôkai, representing the Crane School of martial arts, but Chaozu lost in the quarter-finals against Kuririn, representing Tsuru-Sen'nin's rival Kame-Sen'nin's Turtle School. He and Tenshinhan later joined Kame-Sen'nin after being threatened by Tsuru-Sen'nin.

After Piccolo Daimaō's release from his long imprisonment in an electric rice cooker, Chaozu, Tenshinhan, and Kame-Sen'nin began a desperate search for the Dragon Balls to revive Kuririn. After Kame-Sen'nin collapsed and died due to using the Mafuba, Chaozu tried to wish to kill Piccolo, but was killed before he had the chance. The Dragon was subsequently killed, but Chaozu was later wished back to life by Bulma and company, after Son Goku convinced Kami to bring Shenlong back to life, thus reviving the Dragon Balls.

Chaozu entered to compete in the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai, but was knocked out in the preliminary rounds by cybernetically-enhanced Template:DB:LDBC, who mysteriously survived his fight with Son Goku and had returned to take revenge on Tenshinhan and Chaozu for disgracing the Crane School. He suffered serious injuries, but was treated at the nearby hospital and rejoined Tenshinhan after Goku defeated Piccolo.

File:Chaozu.jpg

Chaozu in the Android Saga of Dragon Ball Z

In the "Dragon Ball Z" portion of the series, Chaozu trained under Kami-sama in order to fight the Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa, but he died in a suicide attack while attempting to defeat Nappa, who had cut off one of Tenshinhan's arms. No damage was done to Nappa. Chaozu was later wished back for a second time by the Namekian Dragon Balls.

After the Saiyan Saga of Dragon Ball Z, Chaozu stays in the background, mostly training with Tenshinhan in the frozen northern wastes, or at the Kame House with Master Roshi and Oolong. He makes an appearance in The Buu Saga and survives Buu's Human extinction attack but dies when Buu destroys the Earth and is wished back along with everyone else.

He makes cameo appearances in Dragon Ball GT in episodes 40, "Piccolo's Decision" and 64, "Until We Meet Again...".

Chaozu is apparently human, with a few different traits than most characters in the series such as plain white skin and red cheeks. He looks more like a doll than a human, and never seems to grow or age physically. Some fans believe that Chaozu is based on Chinese vampires or the Kyonshi. He has a single strand of hair on his head under his hat.

Special abilities

Bukujutsu

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.

Chonoryoku

Chaozu can manipulate objects in his environment through mental power. He can also use this on weaker opponents to paralyze them or to directly attack their internal organs, as revealed in the anime.

Dodonpa

A energy beam shot from the finger.

Drill attack

Chaozu is able to spin rapidly and launch himself headfirst at his opponent. He uses this attack several times against Kuririn in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai Saga. This is an anime only move.

Jibaku:

A suicide attack where the Chaozu makes himself a living bomb. He uses this technique on Nappa in a desperate attempt to kill him, but Nappa survives. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, it's called Farewell Mr. Tien and is his Super Finishing Move.

Name Pun

Chaozu's name (餃子) is the Chinese food jiaozi (called gyoza in Japanese), in line with the tradition of naming various Dragonball characters after foods and other oddities.

Video games

Chaozu is a playable character in the games Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 for PlayStation 2 and Wii, the NES barcode fighting game Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Budokai, and a SNES RPG called Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan. Chaozu is also a playable character and a boss in Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure for Game Boy Advance. Chaozu also appears as a one-line character in cut scenes for some Dragon Ball video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3.

Trivia

• In the original Japanese versions of the manga and anime, Chaozu has a tendency to refer to Tenshinhan as "Ten-san" ("Mr. Ten"), 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 Tenshinhan's name is shortened to "Tien" and used in this manner by most every character.