Tullece
Tullece (ターレス or taaresu) is a character from the anime series Dragon Ball Z, known in the FUNimation Productions English-dub version as "Turles." His first appearance was in the third Dragon Ball Z movie, Chikyû Marugoto Chô-Kessen ("Super Deciding Battle for the Entire Planet Earth"), released to home video in North America by FUNimation Productions as The Tree of Might; his second was in the "Official Visual Guide" two-volume VHS release for the Bandai NES game, Saiya-jin Zetsumetsu Keikaku Gekan ("The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans"), the footage from which was later used in the Bandai PlayDia video games of the same title.
Name Pun
Confusion on Tullece's name-pun revolves around FUNimation's decision to alter the name for their English dub. Many dub fans speculated the name may be a pun on "turnip," though this is quite a stretch for several reasons (one being that FUNimation typically ignores any intended pun when changing character names, two being that it makes little sense).
Rest assured, the character's name is 100% a pun on the English word "lettuce." Written out as ターレス, if you re-arrange the first two syllables, you get レタース, which you would speak aloud as retaasu. Ignoring the elongated "aa" sound, you've ended up with the accurate English romanization of "lettuce," レタス (retasu).
Prominent and authoritative fansites spell the name as "Tullece" in an attempt to bring out the actual pun, making it more obvious to fans who otherwise might not understand. Older romanizations included "Taurus," which (along with spellings such as "Tarres," "Turles," and others) makes little sense, as no puns on vegetables can be drawn. In the DBZ universe, all Saiyan name puns revolve around some type of vegetable (with the race itself, サイヤ or "saiya" being the rearranged Japanese word ヤサイ or "yasai," meaning "vegetable").
Character History & Relations
As the DBZ movies are not canon (due to their inconsistencies with the original storyline), Tullece cannot be considered a canon character. He was created by Toei Animation exclusively for the purpose of showing a "What If...?" version of Goku. Goku (the main character throughout the series) is a member of an alien race known as the Saiyans (orginally named Kakarott). He was sent to Earth to destroy it, as the Saiyans worked for the maniacal warlord Freeza, wiping out populations of planets. Shortly after Goku landed on Earth, he hit his head, erasing all memories he had of being sent to the planet.
However, Tullece (who looks nearly identical to Goku), represents what Goku could have become if he had not lost his memory. His personality is best mirrored to Goku's own brother, Raditz. Tullece is evil, ruthless, and will stop at nothing to get what he desires. Although it has been claimed that Tullece is actually Goku's long-lost twin brother, nothing is actually stated in the movie or official Japanese publications to this extent.
In the movie, Tullece states that there "weren't that many types" of "expendable lower-level warriors" like themselves. This doesn't mean they had the same parents; rather, it seems to suggest that there were many other similar-looking Saiyans. Tullece also explains that they (Goku and himself) should fight on the same side, since they have the same background; however, there is absolutely NOTHING in the dialogue that even remotely suggests that they are of any blood relation. In the dramatic sense, their identical character designs are simply a plot device to show the "other" side of Goku: a literal representation of what he could have become without his human influence.ical Saiyan terrorists!
The color tankôbon for Dragon Ball Z movie 7 includes a Saiyan family tree; in this diagram, Tullece is clearly shown separate from Goku's own tree (which consists solely of Bardock, Raditz, and Goku/Kakarrot).
Henchmen
As in all DBZ movies, the main villain has a series of henchmen. In this instance, they all follow a pun family of nuts/beans.
- Daizu (ダイズ or daiizu; pun on "daizu," meaning "soybean" in Japanese): Seemingly Tullece's second-in-command; moderately short with a ponytail
- Cacao (カカオ or kakao; pun on "cacao" bean): A cyborg-type being with red skin
- Rezun (レズン or rezun; pun on "raisin"): First of small, plump alien twins
- Rakasei (ラカセイ or rakasei; pun on "rakasei," meaning "peanut" in Japanese): Second of small, plump alien twins
- Amond (アモンド or amondo; pun on "almond"): A tall, muscular alien
Dragon Ball Z Movie 3: Chikyû Marugoto Chô-Kessen
Tullece, as he appears in DBZ Movie 3
The seed of the Shinseiju ("Tree of Godly Might," simply called the "Tree of Might" by FUNimation) has come into possession of the Saiyan Tullece. When the tree is planted, it saps the energy of the world in which the tree has taken root. Therefore, he seeks out a planet that he would be able to plant the seed on, so he can eat the God's Fruit, and become exponentially stronger than before. With him, he has gathered a medley of ragtag thugs, all of whom are quite strong (stronger than the average Z-Senshi). None of them are truly granted personalities, and seem more expendable than most villains (see "Henchmen," above, for more information).
As the tree is tampering with Earth's ecosystem and endangering all of life as we know it, Goku and the Z-Senshi take upon the task of defeating the villain. Tullece's henchmen defeat all of the Z-Senshi except for Goku, who takes them all out after strengthening himself with the Kaiô-Ken. Tullece in turn uses his "Power Ball" technique (which simulates the full moon) to turn Goku's son, Gohan, into a raging giant ape ("Ôzaru"). After Gohan is restored to normal, with the Kaiô-Ken, Goku is able to keep up with Tullece's strength and attacks. However, once Tullece grabs a piece of fruit from the tree (now fully rooted and formed), his strength is dramatically increased, and once again, Goku is on the unfavorable side of this battle. Even with a Kaiô-Ken at ten-times its normal strength and a Genki-Dama formed from what little remained of the planet's energy, Goku is unable to topple Tullece. It is only with a newly formed Genki-Dama (seemingly drawing strength from that of the planet and the tree, itself) that Goku is able to defeat Tullece.
Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiya-jin Zetsumetsu Keikaku
Tullece, as he appears in DBZ Gaiden
NOTE: The animation used to portray this storyline was originally released as a two-volume VHS "Visual Strategy Guide" for the NES video game of the same name. It was later recycled for use in a two-volume series of PlayDia games (also of the same name). The footage was included in 2003 on Toei Animation's second DBZ "Dragon Box" set in Japan (a gigantic DVD boxset containing remastered video footage; this particular footage was not remastered, and simply included "as-is").
In this game, the Tsufuru-jin (called the "Tuffles" by FUNimation) Dr. Raichi seeks revenge on the Saiyans for overthrowing his race. He draws the Z-Senshi into a battle with ghosts of several DBZ villains - Freeza, Coola, Lord Slug, and Tullece. Tullece seems to have retained the powerup from the God's Fruit, although Goku and his comrades are much, much stronger than when they had last faced these foes. They prove to be nothing more than a nuisance and a distraction.
Other Appearances
Tullece has never appeared in the manga, has not appeared in any other parts of the anime, and has not appeared in any video games other than DBZ Gaiden (as a non-playable character). For a time, it was believed that Bardock's alternate costume in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 would look like Tullece, due to the fact that an image of the latter was shown on the i-Guide for Bardock's in-game techniques. However, when the game was released, this proved to be untrue.
Special Techniques
- Power Ball - A move where a Saiyan creates a ball of energy, which radiates Bruits (play on "Fruits") Waves, causing a Saiyan to become a giant ape (see below).
- Ôzaru - Tullece does not actually become an Ôzaru in the movie; however, he has a tail, which indicates that he would be able to transform. In the movie, he notes to himself that by not looking at this Power Ball, he kept from transforming.
- Ring of Fire (un-official name) - Bringing his hands above his head, Tullece creates a flaming ring of ki.