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Directory: TechniquesSupportive techniques

Body Change
Captain Ginyu uses the Body Change
Alternate names Bodi Chenji
Body Swap
Mind Switch
Debut "Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku"
Inventor Captain Ginyu
Users Captain Ginyu
Color      
Similar techniques Body Change Special

Body Change (ボディチェンジ) is Captain Ginyu's signature technique.

Overview[]

GinyuChange

Ginyu prepares the Body Change technique

First, Captain Ginyu injures himself in the chest and powers up. After that, he spreads his arms and legs apart and shouts "Change, Now!" as he fires an energy wave from his mouth into the opponent's mouth. When it is finished, Captain Ginyu is in the opponent's body, while they are in his own body.

This technique appears to require the spoken component in order to work. Unlike other techniques, which have been shown to work even when the wielders are underwater or otherwise rendered unable to speak, as is the anime Ginyu is shown needing Bulma's universal translator in order to Body Change out of the Namekian Frog.

Usage[]

Anime/Manga[]

185769

Ginyu using Body change

Captain Ginyu first seen using this attack against Goku after being defeated by the Saiyan's Kaio-ken technique. He and Jeice then flew off to find the Namekian Dragon Balls (which were already dug up by Gohan and Krillin), with an injured Goku trapped in Captain Ginyu's body slowly following behind.

Later after killing Jeice, Vegeta attacked Captain Ginyu and knocked him down into the ground, much to the shock of Goku, Gohan, and Krillin. As Vegeta charged down towards Captain Ginyu, the captain attempted to use his Body Change technique against Vegeta. However, before the beam could hit Vegeta, Goku jumped in the way and got his body back while Captain Ginyu got his.

File:GokuAsCaptainGinyu01.png

Goku in Ginyu's body as depicted by Gohan's imagination

Captain Ginyu soon used his Body Change in a final attempt to switch bodies with Vegeta again. However, before the beam could hit Vegeta, an injured Goku threw a frog up in the air in front of the Body Change beam. Captain Ginyu's mind became trapped in the frog's body and the frog's mind trapped in Captain Ginyu's body, with Captain Ginyu's body in the position of a frog, hopping away. Vegeta first motioned to crush Ginyu, but after Goku convinced him not too, he decided to let the frog go rather than get his boots dirty (especially since he figured Ginyu being trapped in the body of a frog was punishment enough).

Anime Filler[]

GinyuBulmaChange.Ep

Frog Ginyu switching bodies with Bulma

In the filler, the frog-bodied Captain Ginyu is unable to switch to a different body as the frog is incapable of speech, which apparently is a requirement for using the technique. However he encounters an abandoned Bulma who, lonely and wishing for someone to talk to, builds a device that would allow her to understand him, unaware of who he truly is. With the aid of the device Ginyu takes control of Bulma's body while trapping her in the frog's. Using Bulma's air bike, Ginyu journeys to the battlefield where Frieza is fighting Goku. Using Bulma's body, Ginyu tricks Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo into thinking he is Bulma. However he's hardly able to keep up the ruse for very long, as he is prone to admiring and rooting for Frieza out loud, demonstrating where his true loyalties lie, and frog-bodied Bulma tries to warn Gohan, who initially thinks she's Ginyu. Eventually, Gohan realizes Ginyu is in Bulma's body and Ginyu is forced to defend himself. However, knowing Bulma's body is too weak he tries to steal Piccolo's body, but Gohan quickly throws the frog-bodied Bulma between the two, resulting in Bulma regaining her body and Ginyu returning to the frog's body.

Appearances in Video Games[]

The Body Change appears in Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza, Legend of the Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z: The Legend, and Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors. If Ginyu uses this technique in Legend of the Super Saiyan, the player can have one of his characters stuck in Ginyu's body for the rest of the game. It can be countered with a Namekian Frog card.

DBZ TTT Captain Ginyu's Metamorphosis

Body Change in Tenkaichi Tag Team

The Body Change is Ginyu's ultimate technique in the Butōden series, the Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi series. The first Budokai, Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, and Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden are the only fighting games where Captain Ginyu's Body Change is a real body change with the opponent (in Burst Limit, the body keeps its original voice). In Ultimate Butōden, Ginyu can also change back to his body (which can be very useful for defeating an opponent by allowing the opponent to hurt Ginyu so then Ginyu could return to his body).

Ginyu body switch Zenkai Royale

Captain Ginyu using the Body Change in Zenkai Battle Royale

In the Butōden series, when Ginyu uses the Body Change, no energy attacks of any kind are possible, and the effect drains the ki bar slowly and Ginyu will swap back when the bar is empty (the ki can be charged up to keep the exchange going longer). In Budokai Tenkaichi 2, when Ginyu uses the Body Change, instead of switching bodies with his opponent he picks a random character and he cannot use their transformations, Blast 1, 2 or Ultimate Blast. In Budokai Tenkaichi 3, he switchs bodies with a random character (either Goku (Mid), Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, Jeice, or Nail), however as that character, he will be unable to use any of their transformations, Blast 1, Blast 2, or Ultimate Blast techniques (nor will he be able to return to his own body). In the Raging Blast series and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, Ginyu's Body Change has been reduced to simply changing with Goku and having all but his Ultimate Attack available. The Body Change technique can also be used by Ginyu in Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale.

Trivia[]

  • While the Body Change may seem to give Ginyu an advantage over powerful opponents (allowing him to obtain a powerful body and trapping his enemy inside his wounded body), this is shown to have one drawback which in certain situations may become severe: any host changing bodies must take time to get used to their new body before they can use its full power. This is already problematic enough if the body in question is vastly different from his own, but in situations where the key to accessing the body's maximum power isn't anything he knows, or even anything strictly working within the body itself, it can become crippling to his output in relation to what its usual host is capable of. This is made clear in the case of his absorption of Goku. Ginyu originally believed that Goku's abnormally high power level for a Saiyan was aided via some natural mutation; however, the true source of this power was actually the use of Goku's Kaio-ken technique, which Ginyu had never even heard of. This, combined with his having barely spent any time in Goku's body before facing Krillin and Gohan with Jeice, resulted in Ginyu bearing a relatively dim power level of 23,000.
  • The Body Change technique appears to switch voices. However, this is heavily implied to be only for the sake of the viewer, and in order to prevent confusion, the characters retain their voice. In the universe however, the bodies retain their natural voice. This explains why Krillin and Gohan failed to recognize Ginyu as Goku right off the bat. However, Ginyu did attempt to make himself sound more like Bulma in an attempt to fool Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan, but only garnered more suspicion from them.
  • Similar to the above, the visual effects involving the technique appear to be also for the sake of the viewer as multiple characters fail to recognize when the technique is taking place, heavily implying that, aside from the pose taken and phrase shouted, it is otherwise invisible. This explains why Vegeta failed to recognize the Ginyu's second attempt at switching bodies and why all characters save for Goku and Ginyu were unsure of just what happened during the technique.
  • It is often wondered why Ginyu himself never used the Body Change technique to take Frieza's body and power for himself. However, it is highly implied, at least by the anime, that this may simply be due to nothing more than loyalty, as Ginyu is seen having plenty of opportunity to use the Dragon Balls for himself but never does this either. On the other hand, when Goku tells Ginyu to quit their violence shortly after he demonstrates his full power as being 180,000, Ginyu states "I don't take orders from you or anyone else".

Gallery[]

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