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Directory: TechniquesOffensive techniquesSphere attacks

Spirit Bomb
Goku charges the Spirit Bomb
Anime name Spirit Bomb
Manga name Genki Dama
Alternate names Genki Dama
Genki Tama[1]
Spirit Ball
Spirit Blast
Energy Sphere
Energy Ball (Israeli dub)
Debut "Counting Down"
Inventor King Kai
Users Goku
Krillin[2]
Perfect Cell
Super Buu (W/ Perfect Cell abosorbed)[3]
Class Energy Ball
Color       &       &       or       &      
Similar techniques Spirit Ball
Revenge Death Ball
Finish Buster

Spirit Bomb (元気玉, Genki Dama; lit. "Energy Sphere") is a powerful attack in Dragon Ball, widely considered to be the strongest attack in the series, but depends on the number of organisms supporting its use. In the manga, it is used only a total of three times. Its name is a pun on denki gama, meaning "electric rice cooker" in Japanese.

History and usage[]

Users of the Spirit Bomb gather huge amounts of energy from all chosen surrounding life forms and conduct that energy into a massive sphere of astounding destructive power. Energy takes the visual form of sparkling, glittering wisps when adding to the mass. The creation of the attack promotes a calm breeze away from the bomb, which turns into a strong continuous gale and expels colorful bands or radiation of Northern Lights-esque aurora. When used it is quite swift, and if the user is not careful of it, the Spirit Bomb could absolutely obliterate a planet.

Krillin holds s bomb

Krillin hurls the Spirit Bomb at Vegeta

Essentially, to use the Spirit Bomb, one must have a pure heart so they can manipulate and gather energy, otherwise the move can backfire and possibly hurt or kill the user. In the afterlife, Goku was taught this move from King Kai. Likewise, once a Spirit Bomb has been fired, it is possible for one with a pure heart to deflect the technique, as Goku clarifies to Gohan and Krillin. However, it should be noted that although whether a person can be pure good or pure evil of heart, a Spirit Bomb that is created by a pure good person can not be deflected by a pure evil person, the two opposite energies cancel each other out and one engulfs the other. This is shown when Frieza (a being of pure evil) is not able to deflect the Spirit Bomb, although being able to survive it through brute force. However, the Spirit Bomb is capable harming anyone, regardless of morality.

Goku successfully creates a spirt bomb on King Kai's Planet

Goku with enough energy to create a Spirit Bomb on King Kai's planet

In the Dragon Ball Z film Super Android 13!, Krillin reveals that Goku cannot gather the energy while in his Super Saiyan state. This is because the Super Saiyan transformation is inherently malicious and taints the heart and soul. In the feature, Goku manages to channel the Spirit Bomb energy directly into himself while he is in his Super Saiyan form, supercharging his power, giving him a Spirit Bomb-sized solar aura, and filling him with a straining fury.

GokuSpiritBombVegeta

Goku wielding the Spirit Bomb's energy

However, the main disadvantage of the attack is the amount of time needed to complete the attack, thus the attack is used very rarely. Although Goku, Krillin, and Gohan are the only characters known to have used this attack, it was Goku who gathered the energy before Krillin threw it and Gohan only rebounded the attack. Although he never used it in the anime and manga, Cell claimed to be capable of using the attack (likely because he has data collected by Dr. Gero's remote tracking device about the fight between Goku and Vegeta) to Piccolo, Krillin and Future Trunks.

Occasions it has been used[]

Fusion Spirit Bomb[]

KuririnFormingGenkiDama

Krillin wields the Spirit Bomb given to him by Goku

During the battle against Vegeta, Goku had no choice but to use the technique King Kai taught him: the Spirit Bomb. But Vegeta transformed into a Great Ape and due to the enormous disadvantage he was at against his now monstrous enemy, many of Goku's attempts failed. However, he eventually managed to collect the energy needed for his ultimate attack. Unfortunately, before he was able to unleash this attack on his foe, Vegeta thrashed Goku, reducing the amount of gathered energy and leaving him incapable of doing anything. Still, he managed to give what was left of the gathered energy of the Spirit Bomb to Krillin, and with some help from Gohan, the Spirit Bomb reached its target, Vegeta. Although a direct hit, the Spirit Bomb did not finish the Saiyan prince, presumably due to having lost too much power, although it did injure and weaken Vegeta.[4]

Large Spirit Bomb[]

GokuSpiritBombFrieza02

Goku charges the Large Spirit Bomb against Frieza

Similarly to his fight with Vegeta, Goku couldn't defeat Frieza even with his Kaio-ken's power increased 20 times, so he decided to once again use the Spirit Bomb, raising his hands into the air, with Frieza thinking Goku was giving up. With some help from Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan, Goku had enough time to collect energy from the remaining living beings of Namek as well as some nearby planets, thus creating a bigger Spirit Bomb than the last one, and threw it at Frieza, seemingly killing him. However, the Spirit Bomb was not strong enough to bring an end to the galactic tyrant.[5] This is speculated to be either because Goku underestimated Frieza's power (since he was only at about 50%) or because there was very little life left in the Namekian planetary system. Despite the fact that it failed, Frieza was still unable to reflect it, and caused him some damage.

Super Spirit Bomb[]

GokuSpiritBombBuuSaga

Goku charges the Super Spirit Bomb against Kid Buu

After seeing that Goku as a Super Saiyan 3 had not finished off Kid Buu to allow Vegeta a fair chance to fight, Vegeta came up with the idea to make a Spirit Bomb powered by the Earthlings. By restoring the Earth and immediately reviving everyone and the planet thanks to Porunga, every human would give Goku most of their energy. However, only Goku's friends gave their energy at first since everyone else had doubts about the voices they were hearing. But once Mr. Satan talked to the people on Earth and convinced them to raise their hands, everyone's energy became part of the Spirit Bomb, which eventually obliterated the evil Kid Buu (Goku formed the Spirit Bomb in base form, but had to go Super Saiyan as Kid Buu was deflecting it).[6]

Universal Spirit Bomb[]

GokuUniversalSpiritBomb

Goku charges the Universal Spirit Bomb against Omega Shenron

Having Goku and Vegeta lost both their fusion and their transformations as Super Saiyan 4s, the battle against Omega Shenron seemed practically lost. However, they would not give up and with a Spirit Bomb powered by the whole universe, the evil Shadow Dragon was beaten and completely destroyed.[7]

Movies and OVA[]

The Spirit Bomb has also appeared in several Dragon Ball Z movies.

Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest[]

After having decided that it was the only way to defeat Dr. Wheelo, Goku started gathering energy for a Spirit Bomb. Dr. Wheelo flew high into space, shooting a beam intended to destroy the whole planet. But just then Goku launched his energy ball and destroyed Dr. Wheelo once and for all.[8]

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might[]

Seeing that Turles had gained an incredible power after eating the fruit of the Tree of Might, Goku once again resorted to the Spirit Bomb. But since the tree had absorbed all the energy from the planet, there was no energy left for Goku to use his technique and Turles easily counterd it with his Calamity Blaster. Goku then collected the energy inside the very Tree of Might and used it to destroy both Turles and the tree he had planted after a brief showdown. In the English version, King Kai refers to this as a "Super Spirit Bomb" it could be considered the first one of its kind.[9]

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug[]

DragonballZ-Movie04 1308

Goku collects the energy for his Spirit Bomb to finish off Slug

When Gohan whistles as Piccolo asked him to, Lord Slug quickly loses his edge, and right after Piccolo gave his energy to Goku, the latter attacked Slug with the Kaio-ken. Goku then disabled the generator that was causing the Earth to freeze, so he could absorb energy from the sun. With that energy, Goku launched a Spirit Bomb at Slug, destroying him and his generator as well.[10]

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13![]

Supersaiyingokuspiritbomb

Super Saiyan Goku absorbs the energy of his Spirit Bomb

Although in this movie Goku does not actually throw a Spirit Bomb, he does gather the energy for it, except that, because he transformed into a Super Saiyan, he absorbed the energy, which ultimately he used to destroy Super Android 13.[11]

DragonballZ-Movie07 1578

Goku delivers the finishing blow to defeat Super Android 13

The Super Dragon Fist used by Goku in his Super Saiyan forms in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 and Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World is very similar the Spirit Bomb technique used in Super Android 13!.

OVA[]

In the OVA Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku, Goku uses the Instant Spirit Bomb variation to defeat Hachihyaku while using his Full-Power Super Saiyan transformation.

Appearances in Video Games[]

KrillinSpiritBomb(SSW)

Krillin prepares a Spirit Bomb in Supersonic Warriors

The Spirit Bomb appeared in several video games, including the Gokuden RPG series, Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, Dragon Ball Z: The Legend, Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu, and Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2. In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, Goku teaches Krillin how to use the Spirit Bomb (Krillin was able to wield the Spirit Bomb when Goku gave it to him to attack Vegeta in the manga/anime).

It almost always inflicts extreme damage, being one of the strongest techniques in video games. It appears as golden-yellow and red in some games, and light-green for Cell's Spirit Bomb in the Budokai games. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and Budokai Tenkaichi 3, when the user combines certain techniques (such as "Give Me Energy!" and "Kaio-ken") together with Spirit Bomb, it inflicts a tremendous amount of damage. Super Buu can use the Spirit Bomb in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, but only after absorbing Perfect Cell.

DBHGenkiCard

The Spirit Bomb used by Super Saiyan Goku on a Dragon Ball Heroes card

In the Raging Blast series, if the non-custom Spirit Bomb is equipped on Goku with Krillin and Kid Gohan on his team, when he loses all health, a cutscene will occur recreating the scene of Krillin throwing the Spirit Bomb and Kid Gohan deflecting it back at the opponent. If this team attack hits, it will be an instant K.O, no matter how much health the opponent had.

The Spirit Bomb can also be used in the Shonen Jump crossover video game, Battle Stadium D.O.N.

Goku, as well as the player's avatar, can perform this technique in the arcade game Dragon Ball Heroes.

Premature and advanced levels[]

The following Spirit Bombs are presented in order of size and strength, from the smallest to the largest. The more spiritual energy is contributed to the bomb, the bigger and more potent it will become.

  • Fusion Spirit Bomb: A combined form of the Spirit Bomb that Goku used with Krillin and Gohan. It was used against Vegeta. This version appears in the Raging Blast series of video games
  • Large Spirit Bomb: A larger and more powerful Spirit Bomb. The energy was gathered from life forms on Planet Namek. It was used against Frieza.
  • Instant Spirit Bomb: A combination of the Instant Transmission and Spirit Bomb used against Hatchiyack.
  • Cell's Spirit Bomb: Cell's version of the Spirit Bomb shown in several video games.
  • Super Spirit Bomb: A much larger and even more powerful Spirit Bomb. The energy was gathered from the life forms on Earth and the Kai planet. It was used against Kid Buu.
  • Universal Spirit Bomb: The most powerful version of the Spirit Bomb. The energy was gathered from all of the life forms in the entire Universe. It was used against Omega Shenron.
  • Ultra Spirit Bomb: A larger and more powerful form of the Spirit Bomb used by Gokule in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2.

Trivia[]

  • At first, Goku could only create basketball sized Spirit Bombs. Later on, he can create ones that are the size of miniature planets.
  • Though neither character creates a Spirit Bomb, both Gohan and Kid Buu are contacted by the attack and manage to deflect it towards another target.
  • In the 4kids dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai, the Spirit Bomb is called the Spirit Blast.

References[]

  1. Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, 1993
  2. Krillin launched the Spirit Bomb once in the series, and he learns it in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors
  3. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, 2003
  4. Dragon Ball manga, volume 20: "The Deciding Battle", chapters 232-238
  5. Dragon Ball manga, volume 26: "Son Goku... In Action", chapter 313
  6. Dragon Ball manga, volume 42: "Bye-Bye, Dragon World", chapters 510-516
  7. Dragon Ball GT Episode 63: Universal Allies
  8. Dragon Ball Z Movie 2: The World's Strongest Guy
  9. Dragon Ball Z Movie 3: Super Deciding Battle for the Entire Planet Earth
  10. Dragon Ball Z Movie 4: It's Super Saiyajin Son Goku
  11. Dragon Ball Z Movie 7: Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans.
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