Dragon Ball Updates Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Directory: CharactersHumansTournament fightersFormer villains

Tien Shinhan
250px-TienSemiPerfectCellSagaNV
天テン津シン飯ハン
Tenshinhan
Anime name Tien Shinhan
Manga name Tenshinhan
Alternate names Mr. Tien
Tenshinhan
Ten Shin Han
Three-Eyed Baldy (by Yurin)
Debut Manga: "Return to the Tournament"
Anime: "The Rampage of InoShikaCho"
Appears in
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball GT
Race Human
Gender Male
Date of birth Age 733
Date of death November 3, Age 762
September 9, Age 763 (Revived)
May 8, Age 774 (Revived)
Age 821 - Before Age 889
Height 6'2" (187 cm)
Weight 189 lbs (86 Kg)
Address Mifan (Formerly)
Tien, Chiaotzu & Launch's Capsule Home
Tenshin-Style Dojo
Occupation Martial Artist
Farmer
Martial arts teacher
Allegiance Crane School (Formerly)
Z Fighters
New Crane School
Tenshin-Style Dojo
Family
  • Future Tien Shinhan (Alternate timeline counterpart)
  • Three-Eyed clan (Ancestors)
  • Master Shen (Former mentor)
  • Mercenary Tao (Former mentor)
  • Master Roshi (Mentor/friend)
  • Korin (Mentor)
  • Kami (Mentor)
  • Mr. Popo (Mentor)
  • King Kai (Mentor)
  • Chiaotzu (Lifelong best friend)
  • Launch (Girlfriend)
  • Yamcha (Close friend)
  • Jimmy (Student/close friend)
  • Yurin (Student)
  • Goku (Early rival/training inspiration/friend)
  • Marcus (Close Ally)
  • Directory: Z Fighters

    "This is not about me. Or rather, this is about the bad things in my life that made me no better than King Piccolo. This is about atonement. And I only hope it's enough."
    — "The Ultimate Sacrifice"

    Tien Shinhan (天津飯, Tenshinhan) is a disciplined, reclusive and heavily devoted martial artist, and one of the strongest a Human introduced near the end of the Fortuneteller Baba Saga in the anime. Because of his harsh upbringing, he is initially cold and heartless, thinking nothing of exploiting innocents and inflicting pain. However, Master Roshi, Shaun and Goku eventually help him to see the folly of his master's teachings, and he then becomes a trusted ally.

    He also possesses a few non-human traits due to being descended from the Three-Eyed People. He battles alongside the other Z Fighters when major threats to the Earth surface, often courageously engaging enemies far more powerful than himself.[10] However, he spends most of his time training with his lifelong best friend, Chiaotzu.

    Appearance[]

    Tien Shinhan is a very muscular bald-headed man of an above-average height. His by far most prominent feature is his third eye, which he has inherited from his alien ancestors (although some sources claim the third eye was achieved via intense meditation). 

    The third eye is indeed real, as he has proved at several occasions that he can both move it around and close it, and even shoot ki laser beams out of it. Allegedly, Tien is not naturally bald, as it is stated by his former mentor, Master Shen, that he shaves his head. Another noteworthy trait of his, is the large scar on the right side of his chest, starting at his collar bone and running all the way down to his abdomen; Tien received this scar at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament during his fight against his former mentor, Mercenary Tao, who caught him off guard with his illegal Hidden Blade attack, scarring him for life.

    Throughout the series he was worn a large number of outfits, however, out of all of his many outfits, the most iconic one most likely has to be the Gi he wore during the Android Saga; which consists of a green baggy one shoulder tank top, a pair of baggy green pants, red-and-green wristbands, black boots with yellow covers and a red sash. Tien's non-combat outfit typically consists of a Hanfu-style robe with loose pants and boots, in contrast to the Manchu-style clothing that most Chinese characters in the series wear

    Personality[]

    Tien Shinhan was originally a cold-hearted and ruthless warrior, never caring for anyone's life with the exception of his fellow students and mentors. This brutality can be plainly seen when he crushes Yamcha's and another fighter's leg during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. However, he finds a lifelong best friend in Chiaotzu, for whom he cares deeply, and vice-versa. He highly idolized his mentor Mercenary Tao and desired to be a famous assassin like him. Due to Master Roshi's and Goku's consolations, he changed his demeanor and became one of the most respected warriors on the planet. Before he transitioned to the good side, he planned to kill Goku during the World Martial Arts Tournament as he was seen as a threat to himself and his cohorts. However, this mentality soon changes with the realization that he disagrees with the brutal methods employed by his masters, Shen and Mercenary Tao. He goes off on his own to train and soon becomes a powerful ally to Goku and the others. His personality transitions from one of a brutal killer to that of an honorable warrior who cares deeply for those he strives to protect. He occasionally tries to repent for his former brutality, but eventually rises above his horrid memories and looks toward to the future. He is very stern and serious, not cracking jokes and goofing around as often as most of the other Z-Fighters.

    During Dragon Ball Z, he is seen striving to become a powerful warrior and still hopes to surpass Goku one day. Tien despises staying on the sidelines whilst his more powerful friends and allies fight opponents far stronger than he and will always attempt to assist even if he knows that it will most likely lead to his death. Despite making new friends, Tien stays reclusive and is not very socially active, spending most of his time training to become a better fighter. Although he lets go of his grudge against Goku and the others, he is still capable of holding animosity towards people he considers unrepentant. One known person is Vegeta, whom Tien blames for almost destroying the Earth, and continued to view him as an enemy when he began allying with the Z-Fighters, (despite later knowing that the Saiyan prince himself was a slave of Frieza). However, he forgives Vegeta after he proves crucial in the defeat of Kid Buu and is later seen being civil with him. Tien valiantly fights and defeats a Saibaman when the Saiyans arrive, and does battle with Nappa, during which Chiaotzu sacrifices himself in vain, causing Tien Shinhan to put all his effort into one final attack, which fails. Tien Shinhan dies a hero's death, but is revived later by Porunga. When the conflict with the Androids comes into full swing, Tien puts his life on the line numerous times when assisting his friends against the mechanical demons, most notably when using his life-force to hold Semi-Perfect Cell at bay, nearly sacrificing his own life to allow Android 16 and Android 18 to escape, thus saving the Earth from certain destruction. When Super Buu threatens Earth's existence seven years later, Tien arrives just in time to save Gohan from a certain death.

    In Dragon Ball Super, Tien's personality remains mostly the same, and is brave enough to fight against the God of Destruction Beerus, Frieza's Galactic Army, and Yurin's spell-empowered minion's (including Master Roshi). Since opening his own dojo in the Universe Survival Saga, he is shown to be a serious and strict teacher, but at the same time, patiently looks forward to his student's development. During the Tournament of Power Tien's brave and noble actions save his entire team from a Sniper duo of Universe 2. Impressed by his bravery and noble will Beerus uncharacteristically praises Tien's fighting spirit following his elimination telling him he has nothing to be ashamed of, having earned the God of Destructions respect.

    Biography[]

    Background[]

    Then Shinhan is born in Age 733. He has a unique physical composition as a throwback to his ancestors, the Three-Eyed clan;[1] he has the ability to grow arms from his back[2] and split into four people, as well as shoot laser beams out of his third eye. Due to being raised by Master Shen, Tien lost the ability to use the myriad powers of his third eye for good purposes.[12] During the early years of his life, Tien entered Master Shen's Crane School. There, he learned powerful ki-based techniques such as the Solar Flare, the Dodon Ray and the Tri-Beam, and he was taught defensive techniques by Master Shen's younger brother, Mercenary Tao.[13]

    Dragon Ball[]

    Fortuneteller Baba Saga[]

    Main article: Fortuneteller Baba Saga

    Tien and Chiaotzu first meet Goku when they are pretending to save villages from InoShikaCho by pretending to kill it. When Goku discovers that they are really con artists, he tries to expose them by making the supposedly dead beast laugh, but Tien turns the people against Goku, saying that it is Goku who is partnered with InoShikaCho instead. Tien accomplishes this through hanging InoShikaCho over a fire and telling Goku to leave the beast to burn if he was not allied with it. When the merciful Goku cuts InoShikaCho down, he is chased away from the village.

    Later, along with their master, Tien and Chiaotzu travel on a boat to Papaya Islandfor the upcoming 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.

    Tien Shinhan Saga[]

    Main article: Tien Shinhan Saga

    "Poor Yamcha, only thing more pathetic than a loser is a loser who thinks he's born to win."
    — "Preliminary Peril"

    Tien's first major role in the series begins at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. Introduced as the star pupils of the Crane School, Master Shen is entering Tien and Chiaotzu to defeat the students of his lifelong rival, the Turtle Hermit Master Roshi. In the preliminary rounds, Tien Shinhan leaves Namunconscious and nearly dead after their match in order to send a clear message to Goku and his friends about what exactly they are up against.[14] Tien faces little in the way of a challenge during the preliminaries and easily makes his way into the finals.

    Using Chiaotzu's mental powers to fix the ordering of the matches in the quarter-finals, Tien decides to first face off against Turtle student Yamcha, whom he had been exchanging hostile words with since the start of the tournament. Yamcha puts up a better fight than Tien expected, but was still not a significant threat to Tien, who not only defeated him, but went further and ended the match by needlessly breaking Yamcha's leg while he was unconscious. Soon after this fight, when Chiaotzu uses the Dodon Ray against Krillin during their battle, and Goku mentions that it is same move that Mercenary Tao used, he learns of the death of his role-model and martial arts teacher Tao by the hands of Turtle student Goku and the tournament becomes more about revenge than victory.

    Tien's next opponent is the winner of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Jackie Chun and he faces his first true challenge. Jackie Chun challenges Tien not only in physical combat, but also begins to warn him about following an evil path. With the help of the Master Shen, Tien learns that Jackie Chun is actually Master Roshi in a disguise and proceeds to use Master Roshi's signature move, the Kamehameha against him. After this, despite having shown none of his true power, Roshi concedes the match and hops out the ring. Tien proceeds to track down Master Roshi shortly afterwards to find out why he forfeited, to which Master Roshi responds by telling Tien that it is time for younger fighters, Tien included, to take his place.

    Tien then proceeds to battle in the final round against Goku himself. Goku is a powerful opponent and the fight seems to be relatively even until Goku suddenly becomes unable to throw a punch or dodge an attack without becoming frozen in place. Tien quickly learns that Chiaotzu is rigging the fight under Master Shen's orders and he demands that Chiaotzu stop since he wants a fair match. Master Shen takes this as defiance and orders Tien to kill Goku, but Tien, thinking about his own desires for the first time, humbly refuses (Thus, Master Roshi's words have proven true and Tien rejects the path of an assassin). The now infuriated Master Shen orders Chiaotzu to kill both Tien and Goku, and when Chiaotzu refuses, Shen then threatens to kill him instead. Master Roshi puts an end to this by blasting Master Shen out of the stadium with a Kamehameha, allowing Tien and Goku to concentrate on their match.

    After deliberately letting Goku give him a beating to make up for the beating he gave him while paralyzed, Tien and Goku continue to battle and Tien sprouts two extra arms to fight Goku. He grabs hold of Goku's arms and legs with his four arms, and then precedes to smash Goku's stomach into his head, which causes Goku a lot of pain. He does this for a couple of times, but then Goku frees himself by slapping Tien in the face with his tail. Goku counters it when he grabs Tien's legs and holds onto them, causing Tien pain. Tien manages to throw Goku off, and they continue the fight. Tien then decides to put an end to the match and use his ultimate attack, the Tri-Beam. He warns Goku to expect and dodge the blast (as there is no way to survive being hit by it) planning to force him out of bounds instead. Tien proceeds to use the attack and destroys the entire arena. Because of his warning, Goku dodged by leaping incredibly high in the air. Tien is convinced he will win at this point, as he can fly and Goku cannot, but Goku uses one final Kamehameha to propel himself into Tien like a rocket. Both fighters then fall to the ground, Goku slightly ahead. Goku attempts to use another, smaller Kamehameha to slow himself down, but is hit by a truck and lands first. Tien lands an instant later, thus winning the tournament.

    After the match, Tien receives 500,000 Zeni and offers Goku half of the prize money as he recognizes that, it was mere luck that he was the one who landed second referring to the fact Goku would have won otherwise. He also apologizes to Yamcha for using such excessive force during their fight and the two agree to meet at the next tournament. Master Roshi offers to let Tien stay at the Kame House, but Tien declines, stating that he cannot follow the teachings of another, even if he has betrayed his master.

    King Piccolo Saga[]

    Main article: King Piccolo Saga

    The good mood is short-lived however, as Turtle student Krillin is unexpectedly killed while separated momentarily from the group. Along with his body there was a note with the character "demon" on it. Master Roshi tells everyone that it represents an incredibly powerful Demon King, King Piccolo, who was sealed away centuries ago by Master Roshi's old master using the suicidal Evil Containment Wave technique, but is now apparently free again. On hearing this, Goku, still not fully recovered from his battle with Tien, rushes off in a rage to seek his revenge.

    Realizing the gravity of the situation, Tien volunteers to help in anyway he can. He is informed of the seven Dragon Balls, which when collected summon the dragonthat can grant any wish and, along with Chiaotzu and Master Roshi, is soon on a quest to retrieve them in order to have the Dragon eradicate King Piccolo. After finding several of them though, their radar which informs them of the Dragon Balls locations shows them that the remaining ones are actually coming to them, meaning King Piccolo is also seeking the Dragon Balls and is coming for theirs.

    Before King Piccolo can confront them, Master Roshi unexpectedly knocks Tien out and hides him in a cave. Master Roshi plans on using the Evil Containment Wave against King Piccolo and, since Goku is thought to have already been killed, Master Roshi considers Tien to be the last line of defense for the planet in case he fails. Semi-conscious, Tien can do nothing but witnesses Master Roshi's ultimately unsuccessful stand against the powerful Demon King, and watches him die. King Piccolo wastes no time joining the Dragon Balls together to summon the Dragon and Tien, in desperation, orders Chiaotzu to quickly make a wish to destroy King Piccolo before the Demon King can make one himself. Chiaotzu tries, but is quickly killed mid-sentence from a blast by King Piccolo, an act Tien can only watch in horror. King Piccolo continues to make his wish and then destroys the Dragon, knowing it is the only thing that can stop him.

    After regaining his mobility, and King Piccolo has long gone, Tien practices the Evil Containment Wave, having learned it from watching Master Roshi perform it. After many attempts, Tien has fully mastered the Evil Containment Wave and heads off to King Piccolo's location in Central City to confront the demon. After he arrives and challenges King Piccolo, he is horrified on discovering that the vessel to be King Piccolo's prison is cracked and useless from his practicing. Knowing that he will not be able to use the Evil Containment Wave, Tien decides to confront King Piccolo regardless.

    King Piccolo, not seeing Tien as being worth fighting, spawns a new minion, Drum, his most powerful son yet, to take care of him. Drum quickly dominates the battle, but Tien is able to knock him down giving him the opportunity to use the Evil Containment Wave on King Piccolo. However, Drum gets in the way of the blast and before Tien can seal Drum in the Electric Rice Cooker, King Piccolo destroys it. Drum is about to finish Tien off when Goku intervenes and saves him, killing Drum with a single kick. Tien, amazed at Goku's new power, can only watch as Goku and King Piccolo then battle it out, using the last of his strength part way through their match to quickly fly in and levitate Goku out of the path of a powerful attack by King Piccolo. When the battle seems to be turning against King Piccolo, the Demon King decides to take Tien hostage in order to force Goku to allow himself to be crippled. Piccolo says that if Goku does not do what he orders, he will crush Tien's head. After King Piccolo severely damages Goku, Tien is discarded by King Piccolo, but Goku is more resilient than King Piccolo thought and uses one final attack to kill the Demon King.

    With the battle over, Tien now heads back to the Kame House with Goku's friends Launch, Yamcha and Bulma. Tien gets all of his wounds treated by Launch, which he thanks her for. After hearing the huge news that Goku is getting trained by Kami up in the sky for three years, he vows to train harder than ever before in order to for sure bridge the now massive gap between himself and Goku.

    Piccolo Jr. Saga[]

    Main article: Piccolo Jr. Saga

    Tien keeps up his training, redoubling his efforts after learning that Goku is being trained by Kami, Guardian of the Earth. With the dragon restored, a wish is made to bring all those killed by King Piccolo back to life. Tien then trains with Yamcha and the newly resurrected Krillin, Marcus, Amelia and Chiaotzu until they are informed by Master Roshi that, to be able to compete with Goku, they are going to need to find better ways to train than are available at the Kame House. They all head to Korin Tower and train with Korin before each going their own separate way.

    Three years after King Piccolo's defeat, Tien, along with Yamcha, Chiaotzu and Krillin, return to compete in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. He is somewhat surprised to see the now teenaged Goku and hopeful that he is even more powerful than before. His real shock, however, is seeing Piccolo Jr., and realizing that something of the Demon King has survived. Goku asks him to remain silent about the matter for the time, not wishing to create a panic.

    When the lots are drawn up to determine the order of the fights, Tien once again has Chiaotzu manipulate the cards so that none of the group (Tien, Yamcha, Goku, Chiaotzu, Shaun, Danielle and Krillin) or Piccolo Jr. fight each other in the preliminaries.

    The early matches seem to be going as usual, with the group quickly dispatching their foes. Tien then receives a horrible sense of something awful happening to Chiaotzu, and races to the scene and finds Chiaotzu heavily wounded and unconscious, which makes him furious. Chiaotzu's opponent turns out to be the now cybernetically repaired Mercenary Tao, greatly surprising Tien, who thought Tao to be dead. Tao explains that after his seeming death by Goku, he was rebuilt into the half-man half-machine before them, and that he seeks revenge on both Goku and the Crane School "traitor" Tien and also Shaun and Danielle for humiliating him. Tien claims he has not betrayed Shen, but realized Shen's teachings were wrong. He gladly accepts his former mentor's challenge, wanting to avenge his best friend.

    They get their wish as Tien and Mercenary Tao are the first of the eight finalists to fight. After a long silence, Tao lunges at Tien, but Tien quickly sidesteps and counters, knocking Tao to the ground. Tien then states that he does not want to embarrass Tao, since he taught him how to fight. Tien also forgives Mercenary Tao for what he did to Chiaotzu and tells him to forfeit. Tao refuses this and presses on his assault, though he is clearly outclassed by Tien, who dominates the whole battle. After Tien grabs one of Tao's wrists and attempts to escort him off the ring, the cyborg pulls a surprise maneuver and detaches his mechanical hand, revealing a knife that he quickly uses to slash Tien, scarring him permanently. Though disqualified for use of a weapon, Tao does not care, as he only participated in the tournament to kill Tien, Shaun, Danielle and Goku. Tao quickly drops his other hand to reveal a cannon and fires a Super Dodon Wave at Tien, claiming Tien has no chance of survival. Tien however nullifies the large blast with his Kiai and then proceeds to defeat Tao with a single punch to the gut. He takes Tao's unconscious body out of bounds and presents it to the watching Master Shen, telling him to take his brother and leave, and to never bother him again.

    Tien's next fight is the one he has been waiting for, a rematch against Goku. The battle starts with numerous quick sparrings and shows to be fairly even, but with Tien having an edge in raw speed. This changes after Goku removes his weighted clothing though, making Goku fast enough to steal Tien's belt without Tien even noticing; resulting in Tien's boxers to be exposed to the audience. Realizing that he will not be able to defeat Goku physically, Tien uses a new technique he has created, the Multi-Form, and splits into four identical copies of himself. The Tiens disperse to the four corners of the ring, each one then firing a Ki Blast Cannon at the center, where Goku is, resulting in a large explosion which Goku has to leap to avoid.

    The Tiens quickly fire again, this time from their third eyes, at Goku, sending him crashing back to the ring. The Tiens warn Goku to give up before he gets hurt, but he appears unfazed by their attacks, and states they will not be able to pull off that trick again, which they then promptly attempt. Goku dodges the beams this time though, and uses the Solar Flare against them, blinding the Tiens. He then quickly dispatches each of them, causing them to revert to the single being. Goku states that the new technique Tien has a critical weakness, as Tien's power is divided amongst the duplicates. With the fight over, Tien looks forward to their next rematch, suspecting that Goku was still holding quite a bit back.

    Tien plays little role in following battles, he can only watch as Goku fights the seemingly all-powerful Piccolo Jr. He offers his assistance at several points, but is denied by Goku who wants to fight the demon alone, though he does open the Sealed Flask, which Piccolo Jr. used to trap Kami, after Goku tosses it to him. Tien also helps to evacuate their friends, creating a pit in the earth for them to take shelter from the Hyper Explosive Demon Wave, one of Piccolo Jr.'s more devastating attacks.

    When it looks like Goku has been beaten, him having most of his limbs broken and with Piccolo Jr. close to finishing him off, Tien reluctantly accepts the order from Kami to kill the elderly guardian, thus also killing Piccolo Jr. He is stopped by Goku though, who says there will be no need for such extreme measures, he then evades the demon's onslaught and ends up defeating him with a surprise attack. After Piccolo Jr. is defeated, Tien joins in on the tournament victory celebration, and even shares a couple of laughs with Goku and Roshi. He is also among with the others very shocked over Goku's decision to give the demon a Senzu Bean to heal his wounds. Only a few moments after this, Kami asks Tien if he is expecting a visitor, and to his surprise he sees Chiaotzu flying towards him with a bandage warped around his head, and he is very happy to see that his best friend is alive and well. He then watches as Goku and Chi-Chi flies away from the World Tournament area on the Flying Nimbus.

    Dragon Ball Z[]

    Saiyan Saga[]

    Main article: Vegeta Saga

    Five years after the tournament, Tien learns that Goku has died along with Shaun and Danielle in battle against an amazingly powerful warrior called Raditz, a Saiyan who was Goku's older brother and Shaun's rival. Even more disturbing is that two more Saiyans, both more powerful than Raditz, are on their way to Earth and will be there in about one year. Tien meets Jimmy for the first time as he's welcome him as he's intelligent, strong, friendly and native young boy to become the member of Z Fighters.

    In the early days, the wild Launch developed a bit of an infatuation with Tien, and she continues to chase him wherever he goes. Tien wastes no time, and is invited, along with Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe and Krillin, to train at Kami's Lookout so they can aid Goku when he is wished back to life in a year, after he completes his training with King Kai. In filler during this period, Tien and the other Z-Fighters on Earth fight Shorty and Scarface, two illusion Saiyans they met on Planet Vegeta when using the Pendulum Room at Kami's Lookout to go back in time. Tien and his friends are overpowered greatly by the Saiyans, before they are transferred back to Kami's Lookout. The experience frightens Tien and the others, so they continue to train as hard as they possibly can.

    When the Saiyans finally do arrive, the Z-Fighters decide to hold them off until Goku can arrive. Tien and Chiaotzu eventually find the Saiyans, Piccolo, Gohan, Kayla and Krillin's location, and join them, soon followed by Yamcha and Jimmy. Vegeta, deciding to toy with his opponents, has Nappa grow several Saibamen in the soil so that he can hold a small challenge. Knowing that they have to buy time, the Z-Fighters agree to this, and Tien volunteers to go first. He manages to quickly defeat the vicious creature (in two hits to be precise), which causes Vegeta to destroy it for its severe incompetence.

    After all the Saibamen are killed, Nappa decides to enter the fray himself, taking on Tien as his first opponent. Tien is no match for the giant warrior, and has his left arm ripped off in a single hit. Immediately, Tien tries to use levitation to escape, but is quickly smashed to the floor in the second hit. Seeing this, Chiaotzu sacrifices himself with a a self-destruction attack against Nappa, but it was in vain as Nappa remains unharmed and starts to fight with the now ally Piccolo and Goku's son, Gohan. Also, he's finds out that Kayla is Shaun's daughter.

    Tien, enraged by the death of Chiaotzu, puts all his remaining strength into one final Tri-beam through his remaining right hand, killing himself from exhaustion in the process. The attack manages to do serious damage to Nappa's armor, but does not seriously damage the Saiyan warrior. In the anime however, Nappa goes as far as to praise Tien's efforts, claiming that had his aim been better, it would have seriously injured him. The attempt also shocked Vegeta, as he was the one to warn Nappa of its power and stating that if he had not warned Nappa, it could have killed him.

    Frieza Saga[]

    Main articles: Namek Saga and Frieza Saga

    Because of the influence of Kami, after he perished, Tien was allowed to train on King Kai's planet in the Other World as Goku did earlier. Joining him were the other warriors who also perished in the battle against the Saiyans, Chiaotzu, Piccolo and Yamcha. On King Kai's planet, King Kai contacts Goku and tells him that his friends all crossed Snake Way in a far shorter time than he did, and that they all requested for tougher training than what Goku had received.[16] Prior to beginning his training with King Kai, Tien has difficulty making King Kai laugh during the prerequisite joke-telling test. In order to finally deliver a successful joke, Tien must literally power up and use the Multi-Form technique as he aggressively declares "You can tune a piano, but you can't tune a (tuna) fish" in the English version, and "You think what's up your nose is a secret but it's not (snot)" in the Japanese dub.

    Tien, along with Chiaotzu and Yamcha, remains on King Kai's planet and learns of everyone's (Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Gohan, Jimmy, Kayla, Dende and Piccolo fused with Nail) mighty struggle with the evil tyrant Frieza on Namek. While there, in a filler scenario, King Kai calls upon the deceased Ginyu Force (excluding Captain Ginyu) to challenge Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu. Tien takes on both Jeice and Burter, and disposes of them rather quickly and easily, showing off how much stronger he had gotten. Knowing the Ginyu Force at one time defeated Vegeta, gave them all a sense of pride. Tien is eventually wished back to life along with Chiaotzu by a wish made to Porunga. Once back on Earth, Tien and Chiaotzu go into solitude, training in the mountains.

    Cell Saga[]

    Main articles: Trunks Saga, Androids Saga, Imperfect Cell Saga, Perfect Cell Saga, and Cell Games Saga

    A year later, while Tien and Chiaotzu are training in the mountains, they are interrupted when they sense two very powerful evil energies heading towards Earth. They then fly to the location of where the power is coming from. Both Tien and Chiaotzu are surprised to find Vegeta there (who was somewhat reformed during the crisis on Namek and now resides on Earth with Bulma) and the other Z-Fighters who inform them that the power they are detecting is Frieza, who has somehow survived the destruction of Namek, in company with his previously unknown father, King Cold. When Frieza does land, he is quickly dispatched by an unknown mysterious youth (Future Trunks). Piccolo, overhearing the young Super Saiyan's private conversation with Goku, tells everyone the warning that two incredibly powerful Androids will attack in three years time and defeat everyone with the exception of Gohan (and, of course, Future Trunks, but Piccolo does not make mention of the youth in order to keep his identity a secret). During the three years of training, Tien trains intensively and uninterruptedly alongside Chiaotzu across the Earth and his power increases.

    "Whatever it costs me, I will fight."
    — "Goku's Special Technique"

    The three years soon pass and the Z-Fighters head to the location where the androids soon appear. Tien Shinhan tells the other Z-Fighters that he left Chiaotzu behind as he felt that even though they trained, he would not have been able to keep up in the battle. Enraged after witnessing Android 20 destroys half of the city where they appeared, Goku, Piccolo, and Tien fly off to a different location with the Androids following them. Tien notices that Goku is somehow already tired and out of breath just by flying. It is revealed that Goku's deadly heart virus is the cause of this abnormal lack of energy. Not too long after this, Future Trunks arrives to the battlefield, bringing them the unexpected news that the Android pair that they have been fighting with, are not the ones that he had warned them about. Shocked and concerned at the reveal of this game-changing info, Krillin, Piccolo, and Tien head off after Android 20 (who is revealed to be Dr. Gero), in search for his laboratory. Tien himself does not get the opportunity to do any fighting until Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18 appear. He attacks Android 17, but is quickly over-powered by him, and ends up being choked until he is dropped.

    "I might just be a pothole in the road to you big guy, but it's going to be one heck of a deep pothole!"
    — "Sacrifice"

    When the Androids leave to continue their pursuit of Goku, who is recovering from a heart disease, Tien goes off with Chiaotzu to train and become powerful enough to help against this new threat. He is soon interrupted from this to lend his aid in hunting for the new menace, Cell. Due to how great the monster is at hiding its energy, the hunt for it seems rather impossible. A couple days later Tien makes a visit to Master Roshi to check up on Goku's health. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the androids shows up asks where they are hiding Goku. Piccolo tell them that they will have to force it out of him. Not too long after the battle starts, Tien senses Cell's energy nearby. Tien decides to go after Cell and help Piccolo, saying that it is under his dignity to just be a bystander.

    Tien quickly catches up with Imperfect Cell, and witnesses his battle against the combined force of Piccolo and Android 17. Imperfect Cell defeats Piccolo though. When Imperfect Cell gets up, after being shot by Android 16, Tien tries to warn Android 17, but Android 17 ends up absorbed. This allows Imperfect Cell to become Semi-Perfect Cell. Semi-Perfect Cell then makes his move to absorb Android 18 as well, but is held off by Tien, who uses his Neo Tri-Beam to hold Semi-Perfect Cell in place. This maneuver stops Cell from pursuing Android 18 for some time, but slowly drains Tien's life force. Tien uses every ounce of energy he has, which ends in Tien passing out. Goku arrives and relieves the thoroughly drained Tien before he is destroyed by Semi-Perfect Cell.

    When Perfect Cell declares his Cell Games, Tien decides to remain on the sidelines out of the fight; he even is given the chance to enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but he bitterly declines the invitation, stating he has no chance against Cell. He does however get thrown into the mix when Perfect Cell spawns eight Cell Juniors to torment the Z-Fighters, in an effort to make Gohan angry and taking Jimmy's younger sister, Videl in his hostage. Despite receiving a severe beating by the small creatures, he does get in a hit with Yamcha while saving Goku (anime only). He and the other Z-Fighters soon get saved from the Cell Jrs. by Gohan, who turned Super Saiyan 2.

    During Gohan's final battle with Super Perfect Cell, Tien vows not to let Gohan die as he feels guilty for letting Goku sacrifice himself (especially since Goku was largely the reason he trained extensively at martial arts). Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha, and Krillin all repeatedly fire energy blasts at Cell from behind in order to aid Gohan. The Z-Fighters are eventually brushed aside by Cell who is then finally defeated by Gohan with the help of an apologetic Vegeta. At Kami's Lookout, Tien tells the other Z-Fighters that they will most likely never meet again (which stays true for about 7 years). Saying his farewells, and telling Trunks he will have no trouble defeating the future Androids, he then flies into the distance.

    Majin Buu Saga[]

    Main articles: Majin Buu Saga , Fusion Saga , and Kid Buu Saga

    "Hardly recognize you Gohan. You've changed a lot, inside and out, good for you. But I see Majin Buu did some changing too!"
    — Tien to Gohan after he saved him and the others from Buu's blast

    Seven years later, Tien Shinhan makes an appearance with Chiaotzu as their training in the mountains is interrupted when they both sense Goku transforming into his Super Saiyan 3 form, both shocked by the power.

    Tien later reappears alongside Chiaotzu whilst they are training in the mountains. Here, himself and Chiaotzu manage to evade being hit by Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack, which was used to exterminate the population of Earth. They then briefly examine the small craters left behind by Super Buu's attack.

    When Tien finally intervenes into the main battle, he saves Mr. Satan, Gohan, Kayla, Melissa, Dende and Bee from being killed by Super Buu (w/ Gotenks absorbed). Tien's strength appears to have increased dramasticly, but due to the enormous power differences he's unable to make any further impacts in the battle. Both annoyed and entertained by the sudden interruption, Buu shoots a small ki blast at him, which he is able to dodge quite easily. Whilst in mid-air, Tien quickly takes a look at the destruction caused by the ki blast, before landing on a cliff edge. He then fires a Tri-Beam at Buu, but is unable to damage the monster at all. He then says the situation is just like he feared, and that the power differences are too big for him to be of any help. After being cut in half by Goku, Buu's legs land right next to Tien, who is soon dispatched after a single sucker kick from Super Buu.

    When the Earth was destroyed by Kid Buu, Tien and Chiaotzu are also killed in the process. Once the Earth is restored and everyone is revived by the Namekian Dragon Balls, he and Chiaotzu later donate their energy to Goku's Super Spirit Bomb so that he without doubt kill Kid Buu. He is later on seen over at a party held at Bulma's house.

    After the end of the saga, stoic Tien Shinhan mainly does farming in addition to his training. He can split into multiple bodies and grow extra arms, so harvesting the crops goes quickly. He is found by Launch, who fell in love with him at first sight and had been constantly pursuing his whereabouts, once again and even reluctantly lives together with her. As she is not cut out for farming and Tien has no interest in romance, she leaves after just a few days. After that, Launch apparently stops in from time to time.[6] Though Tien gave her the cold shoulder, she still tenaciously persisted and eventually she and Tien got together as she wanted.[9]

    Dragon Ball GT[]

    Baby Saga[]

    Main article: Baby Saga

    Tien Shinhan is seen when the Earth is about to explode from the work of the Black Star Dragon Balls. At the end of the episode, he is attending a party at Bulma's house with Chiaotzu and the others.[20]

    Shadow Dragon Saga[]

    Main article: Shadow Dragon Saga

    Tien Shinhan is seen in the final episode, "Until We Meet Again", when Goku passes by him with Shenronas he and Chiaotzu are training under a waterfall.

    Film Appearances[]

    Bardock - The Father of Goku[]

    Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku

    Tien Shinhan appears in Bardock's vision of the future.

    Mystical Adventure[]

    Main article: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure

    Tien is a bodyguard of Mifan's Emperor, Chiaotzu. However, he is part of a plan with Master Shen and Tao Paipai to take over the kingdom. Tien has stolen doll Ran Ran from Chiaotzu's room and takes advantage of collecting the Dragon Balls for finding Ran Ran to take over Mifan. But, he gradually gets friendship with Chiaotzu. At the night before the tournament, Chiaotzu feels fear and tells Tien his nightmare.

    At the next day, when Bora is killed by Tao Paipai, Tien and Shen take over the government. They command Mifan's army to arrest Master Roshi and Krillin. Tien beats Master Roshi with a single hit. Shen orders Tien to kill Chiaotzu but Tien refuses to do this. Shen shoots Dodon ray at Tien, Tien blows him away with his Tri-beam. After all, Tien gives Ran Ran back to Chiaotzu. Chiaotzu asks him that if he could stay with Chiaotzu.

    The Tree of Might[]

    Main article: Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might

    Tien appears to help Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, Jimmy, Kayla, Shaun, Zesmond and Chiaotzu investigate and battle with Turles's henchmen. He and the others are defeated, except Goku. He reappears once again with the other Z Fighters to defend Goku near the end of the movie.

    Bojack Unbound[]

    Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound

    Tien participates in the Intergalactic World Tournament along with Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, Piccolo and Future Trunks. He fights Future Trunks in the semi-finals until Trunks goes Super Saiyan and defeats him. Then, Tien goes to the Battle zone to help Gohan against Bojack's gang along with Yamcha. He tries to hit Bujin but he is unsuccessful. Tien is easily beaten with two hits.

    Power[]

    Main article: List of Power Levels

    Manga and Anime

    Tien Shinhan is one of the strongest humans on Earth in the series. His power level is 180[21] during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament and 250[22] in the beginning of Dragon Ball Z. After training at Kami's Lookout for a year, his power level rises to 1,830.[23]

    While on King Kai's planet, Tien noted that he cannot surpass Goku (from the Vegeta Saga) by doing the same training as him.[24] In anime filler of the Frieza Saga, while training on King Kai's planet; Tien (working with both Chiaotzu and Yamcha) was able to give Piccolo a hard time during the sparring match. Later he was able to fight and defeat both Jeice and Burter of the Ginyu Force, despite being double-teamed.

    In the Android Saga Tien manages to dodge Dr. Gero's eye beams. Later upon seeing the weakened Super Saiyan Goku, Tien is shocked at his power and states that the dimensions of their power are too far apart. Gero believes that if he takes the energy of Tien, Krillin, Gohan and Piccolo - he will be able to defeat Super Saiyan Vegeta. When attempting to attack Android 17 alongside Piccolo, Tien is knocked down in one blow, and then choked into unconsciousness. Later Tien proves to be able to hold off Semi-Perfect Cell using his Neo Tri-Beam. He is utterly decimated by a Cell Jr. when the small Bio-Androids attack, and only survives because the Cell Juniors were suppressing their power as they were ordered not to kill the Z-Fighters. Nevertheless, even in the manga version of the fight, Tien was able to land a single punch on the Cell Jr. that he was fighting; thus making him, Piccolo, Trunks and Vegeta, the only warriors able to even hit the little monsters.

    In the Majin Buu Saga, Tien appears to have improved, as his Tri-Beam is able to stop a finger beam from Super Buu (with Gotenks and Piccolo absorbed) that was aimed at Dende and Mr. Satan - however upon seeing Buu's charged energy ball - Tien noted it was beyond him. Tien is later knocked out by Buu with one surprise kick to the head as Tien was off guard, though Buu refers to Tien as a legendary fighter and it is noted that Buu took Tien out in one hit to try and intimidate Goku into losing hope.

    In Dragon Ball Super, Tien Shinhan attacks Beerus alongside Piccolo and Android 18, but the three are easily beaten by the God of Destruction. By the time of the Golden Frieza Saga, Tien Shinhan has strength enough to take out many of Frieza's soldiers. Nonetheless, he is no match for Shisami and Tagoma (the latter having powered up greatly thanks to training with Frieza). After Tagoma's body has been taken by Captain Ginyu, Tien gets beaten easily with a quick punch. In the manga version of Resurrection ‘F’, Tien defeats the Frieza Soldiers with even greater ease, and does not take any damage at all during the battle, he also never has to use his Tri-Beam.

    In the Universe Survival Saga, while fighting against his own students, whom were under Yurin's mind control, he subdued some of them with relative ease, and was able to outmatch base Roshi, however, Tien decides to be more serious when Roshi goes into his Max Power state. Tien used his Four Witches Technique and charged at Roshi but was stunned when Roshi counted him by using his Thunder Shock Surprise. Goku later stated that Roshi must have been doing secret training and had hidden his true power. Later when working with Goku against Gohan and Piccolo, Tien was easily overpowered by the half-Saiyan.

    During the Tournament of Power, rather than going off on his own, Tien chose to remain with Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin and Master Roshi - they launched an assault that caused little to no damage against Lavender, Botamo, Comfrey, Shosa and Dercori. While working in tandem with Master Roshi, his Neo Tri-Beam was powerful enough to knock The Preecho out of the arena. When using his Multi-Form to divide in four, each having one-quarter the normal power, while three of his copies were easily defeated by Hermila, his final self, was able to severely damage Hermila with his Neo Tri-Beam. This forced the opponent to instead rely on trickery, destroying a portion of the area forcing a ring-out on Tien. However, showing such drive and focus, his remaining three copies went to hold Hermila, drawing the Universe 2 fighter out of the ring for a double elimination. Tien's efforts earned him the praise of Beerus.

    Films

    In Mystical Adventure, Tien defeats Master Roshi in a single hit. His Tri-Beam also blows away Master Shen.

    In The Tree of Might, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu are both defeated easily by Rasin and Lakasei but were shown to have somewhat affected them when firing blasts together. Rasin had a power level of 8,000 and Lakasei had a power level of 7,600. Tien had not yet trained under King Kai (the movie was supposed to take place after Vegeta's defeat but before Namek, which is an inconsistency because Tien along with Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Piccolo are alive).

    During the Intergalactic Tournament in Bojack Unbound, Tien Shinhan is shown to fight on par against Future Trunks, a Saiyan/Human hybrid who trained twice in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, until the latter transformed into a Super Saiyan and defeats him. Later on when confronting the Galaxy Soldiers, Tien was easily beaten in two hits by Bujin.

    In Battle of Gods Tien faces Beerus alongside Android 18 and Piccolo, but is easily thrown aside by him. In Resurrection F, Tien could take on several of Frieza's Soldiers, however he did later appear to have gotten very minor injuries and took a Senzu Bean afterwards. He (like Krillin, Jimmy and Master Roshi) would not be a match against Frieza's elite soldier Shisami.

    Techniques[]

    • Flight – The capability to fly by using the ki. At first, this technique was used only by Tien and Chiaotzu, then it was learnt also by all the Z Warriors, except for Yajirobe and Master Roshi.
    • Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
    • Ki Sense – The ability to sense the energy of other beings.
    • Domination Blast – A combination of many energy waves, much more powerful than the average ki blasts, and fired at a very rapid rate. The name of Tien's Renzoku Energy Dan (Continuous Ki Blast) technique he uses in the Butōden series and Budokai series.
    • Kiai – A technique where the user affects the air currents around him with ki to produce powerful shockwaves in order to strike the opponent at mid range. In the Raging Blast series, it is known as Kiai Return and is Tien Shinhan's signature attack.
    • Dodon Ray – A finger beam.
    • Neo Dodon Ray - A very powerful version of the Dodon Ray. Used in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
    • Super Knee Uppercut – A diving knee attack to break the opponent's leg, causing an extreme amount of damage. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.
    • Hammerhead – A flying headbutt technique. Named in the Butōden series.
    • Machine Gun Punch – Tien swings his arms so fast they appear to be windmills on his shoulder and pummels his opponent uncountable times. It is called Jackhammer Fist in the Budokai series.
    • Machinegun Fist – The name of Tien's High Speed Rush in the Budokai series.
    • Jackhammer Fist Flash – Tien kicks the opponent up in the air, and then he kicks and punches them down again. Used in the Budokai series.
    • Volleyball Attack – Tien uses his opponent as a ball and makes them fly with two hits before giving a final blow to stamp them into the ring.
    • Four Witches Technique – The user temporarily grows two extra arms from the back, seemingly under the shoulder blades. This allows the user to attack with twice the intensity that they would normally be capable of.
    • Multi-Form – Tien splits himself into four identical copies, with all the same power.
    • Ki Blast Cannon – Tien holds out both palms, one behind the other. He then charges up and fires a beam similar in appearance to a large Dodon Ray. In the Budokai series, the Ki Blast Cannon is fired in the same fashion as the Tri-Beam.
    • Mystery Ray – Tien fires a straight white beam from his third eye. Named in Ultimate Battle 22.
    • Multi-Form Attack – Tien uses the Multi-Form to split himself into four identical copies and then, at the same time, each copy fires a Ki Blast Cannon. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, the technique is alternatively Multi-Form Tri-Beam in the Gokuden series.
    • Meteo Brute Combo – Tien creates a copy of himself, and then both attack the opponent with the Machine Gun Punch at the same time. It is his meteor attack in Ultimate Battle 22.
    • Tri-Beam – Tien forms a vaguely diamond-shape "tunnel" with the hand's by keeping the fingers on each hand together, overlapping the index finger on the one hand with the pinky of the other hand, and overlapping the thumbs. The object being focused on gets zoomed in on and visualized inside that diamond, then he shouts "Tri-Beam, ha!" while releasing the large yellow beam from the hands. It is called Ki Blast Cannon in Budokai series.
    • Spirit Tri-Beam – A one handed version of the Tri-Beam, which uses Tien's life energy.
    • Neo Tri-Beam – A significantly more powerful version of the Tri-Beam.
    • Surprise Technique – The Tri-Beam technique used against Super Buu. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
    • Solar Flare – The user places their hands close to the center of their face with the fingers spread toward their eyes. The user then calls out the name of the technique, which provokes a white light to fire out and blind everything watching except the user, since they are projecting the light. Tien called it "Solar Flare of Crane School" because at that time he was Master Shen's pupil.
    • Final Solar Flare – A technique where Tien uses a Solar Flare followed by his Mystery Ray. This attack appears in Attack of the Saiyans.
    • Heavenly Sunlight – A combined Solar Flare attack used with Krillin in Attack of the Saiyans.
    • Afterimage Technique – An ability to move so swiftly that an image of the user is left behind. Tien uses a variation of the afterimage, the Wild Sense, in the Budokai Tenkaichi series.
    • Mimicry – The coveted ability to copy another fighter's technique after seeing it used only once.
    • Kamehameha – A powerful Ki blast fired with two hands after concentrating a large amount of Ki. In Dragon Ball: Xenoverse, it appears as one of Tien's Super Skills in his 2nd Skillset.
    • Evil Containment Wave – A technique designed to seal demons away by sucking them into a container with a special "Demon Seal" ofuda on it. The move requires huge stamina and endurance to perform, if user does not have enough life force they will die soon after performing it, despite the success of the technique.
    • Power Stance – A special fighting stance. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
    • You Can't Tuna Fish - A gag technique used by Tien to make King Kai laugh in order to train under him. Named in Dragon Ball Fusions.
    • Telepathy – A way to communicate with others using one's mind.
    • Telekinesis – A technique that allows the user to manipulate objects and other people with the power of one's mind. In the anime, Tien is shown using this to halt the waterfall near his home during the Vegeta saga.
    • Fusion Dance – Tien is able to use the fusion dance with Yamcha to form Tiencha, only in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 and Dragon Ball Fusions.
    • EX-Fusion - By wearing a Metamo-Ring and performing the fusion dance, Tien can fuse with Yamcha to form EX Tiencha.
    • Spirit Boost – The user protects themselves from Ki Blasts by using a Kiai to negate the attack. Used in Xenoverse.

    Fusion[]

    Tiencha[]

    Main article: Tiencha

    Tiencha is the fusion of Tien Shinhan and his ally Yamcha. He appears in the video games Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 and Dragon Ball Fusions.

    Chiaohan[]

    Main article: Chiaohan

    Chiaohan is the EX-Fusion of Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu. He appears in Dragon Ball Fusions.

    Video Game Appearances[]

    Tien Shinhan is a playable character in the video games include:

    • Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden (and its WonderSwan remake; Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! SaiyanDragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza
    • Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan
    • Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen
    • Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budōkai
    • Dragon Ball Z Arcade (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butōden
    • Dragon Ball Z: The Legend (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors (Support-type Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
    • Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 
    • Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors (Support-type Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure 
    • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
    • Dragon Ball Z: Sagas
    • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
    • Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 (Support-type Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
    • Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha 2 (Assist Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact 
    • Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road (Non-Playable Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu (Support-type Character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
    • Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact
    • Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
    • Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
    • Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers
    • Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans 
    • Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo
    • Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
    • Dragon Ball Online
    • Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team
    • Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
    • Dragon Ball Heroes
    • Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden
    • Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale
    • Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
    • Dragon Ball Z For Kinect
    • Dragon Ball RPG: Shōnen-hen
    • Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
    • Dragon Ball Xenoverse
    • Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden (assist character)
    • Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
    • IC Carddass Dragon Ball
    • Dragon Ball Fusions
    • Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
    • Dragon Ball FighterZ

    Voice Actors[]

    • Japanese: Hirotaka Suzuoki (Dragon Ball; Dragon Ball Z; Games 1995, 2002-2007), Kōichi Yamadera (Dragon Ball Z episodes 82 and 84), Mitsuaki Madono (Games 2008-2009), Hikaru Midorikawa (Dragon Ball Kai; Games 2009–present)
    • English dubs:
    • Harmony Gold dub: Eddie Frierson (DB movie 3)
    • Ocean Group dub: Matt Smith (Dragon Ball Z)
    • FUNimation dub: Chris Cason (episodes 68-107 [54-92 edited]), John Burgmeier (108-291 [93-276 edited]; 1-107 remastered; and movies and video games)
    • Blue Water dub: Brendan Hunter
    • AB Group dub: Doug Rand (DBZ movie 3), David Gasman (movie 9), Sharon Mann (Gohan and Trunks)
    • Bang Zoom! dub: Ray Chase
    • Creative Products Corporation dub: Richard Jonson

    Battles[]

    Major Battles[]

    • Tien Shinhan vs. Goku (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Nam (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Yamcha
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Jackie Chun
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Goku
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Drum
    • Tien Shinhan vs. King Piccolo
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Mercenary Tao (Cyborg Tao)

    Major Battles[]

    • Tien Shinhan vs. Goku
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Krillin (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, Krillin, Jimmy and Chiaotzu vs. Shorty and Scarface (anime only)
    • Tien vs. Yamcha (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. A Saibaman
    • Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, Krillin, Jimmy, Kayla and Gohan vs. Nappa
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Nappa
    • Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu vs. Piccolo (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Burter and Jeice (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Chiaotzu (training; anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan, Vegeta (Super Saiyan), Future Trunks (Super Saiyan), Jimmy and Piccolo vs. Android 17 and Android 18
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Cell (Semi-Perfect Form)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Cell Jr.
    • Tien Shinhan, Gohan (Super Saiyan 2), Jimmy, Kayla (Potential Unleashed), Piccolo, Yamcha, and Krillin vs. Cell (Super Perfect Form) (anime only)
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Super Buu (Gotenks and Piccolo absorbed)

    Movies[]

    • Tien Shinhan vs. Master Roshi
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Master Shen
    • Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu vs. Rasin and Lakasei
    • Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Krillin, Yamcha, Jimmy, Kayla, Shaun, Zesmond and Piccolo vs. Turles
    • Tien Shinhan vs. Future Trunks (Base/Super Saiyan)
    • Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, Jimmy, Kayla and Gohan (Super Saiyan) vs. Bido, Bujin, and Zangya
    • Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, and Android 18 vs. Beerus
    • Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, Gohan, Master Roshi (Max Power), Jaco, and Krillin vs. Galactic Frieza Army

    Trivia[]

    • Tien Shinhan's Japanese name pun is tenshindon, a quasi-Chinese dish actually invented in Japan and consisting of a crabmeat omelet over rice. It gets its name from the fact that it was originally made using high-quality rice. The character’s name is written in hanzi/kanji (天津飯) via the on'yomi rendering, making it read as Tenshinhan (Teh-n-shee-n-hah-n)
      • However, the "tien" part in the English dub is mainly modelled after the Mandarin/pinyin pronunciation of the kanji/Chinese character for "sky/heaven" ("Tee-ean" as opposed to "Tee-ah-n"). The proper pinyin reading for his name due to having Chinese characters as its base is Tianjinfan/Tiānjīnfàn (Tee-ah-n-jee-n-fah-n).
    • Tien supposedly has had hair, as Master Shen states that he shaves his head.
      • At the end of the episode "Full-Moon Vengeance", due to an animation error Tien is briefly seen without his third eye when Chiaotzu leaves to enter the ring.
      • The scar on Tien's chest is from his fight with Mercenary Tao in the 23rd World Tournament. Oddly, it never healed, even with the aid of any Senzu Bean he ate after the tournament.
      • Tien is one of the most notable characters who does not appear in Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!. This was done because his original voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, had died 2 years earlier, although this can easily be explained story-wise by Tien and Chiaotzu's reclusive nature. He appears with Chiaotzu in the opening and is briefly mentioned when Gotenks utilizes his Volleyball Attack technique in battle against Aka. However, they are included in the manga adaptation.
      • In Dragon Ball Forever's poll of the top 20 best characters, he was voted number 16 by Japanese fans. This is above Bulma, Android 17, Yajirobe and Videl.
      • Tien Shinhan's hobby is playing volleyball with Chiaotzu.[3]
      • Tien Shinhan favorite foods are jiaozi and shumai.[3]
      • Tien Shinhan's favorite vehicle is a llama and ostrich.[3]
      • In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, while you are doing a training session with Tien, Yamcha will state that "Tien is doing this to just impress Launch".
      • In the original 1997 FUNimation episode of Nappa... the Invincible?, when Tien's arms got chopped off by Nappa, Tien infamously claims that he could grow his arm back, very likely said to tone down the severity of such injury since Piccolo has regenerated his arm earlier despite the fact that Tien is a human and likely wouldn't have such ability.
      • Tien Shinhan is the only Earthling character in the series to fight against Beerus the Destroyer.
      • In Xenoverse 2, if the Future Warrior talks to Whis while having Tien as their instructor, Whis will say that Tien is very brave to fight against Beerus and hopes that they will be as brave as him.

    Gallery[]

    References[]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daizenshuu 4, 1995
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Daizenshuu 7, 1996
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Dragon Ball: Super Exciting Guide, 2009
    4. ↑ Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy, 1997
    5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MM
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Interview with Akira Toriyama, Mandō Kobayashi, March 24, 2013
    7. ↑ Dragon Ball Online, 2010
    8. ↑ Dragon Ball Fusions
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dragon Ball Forever, 2004
    10. ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
    11. ↑ Dragon Ball Z episode 153, "Sacrifice"
    12. ↑ Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, 2003
    13. ↑ [1]
    14. ↑ Dragon Ball episode 136, "Tien Shinhan vs. Mercenary Tao"
    15. ↑ Dragon Ball episode 86, "Then There Were Eight"
    16. ↑ Dragon Ball Z manga Vol. 06, p. 119, King Kai states to Goku that Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo and Yamcha all want tougher training than he had. ISBN 1569319359
    17. ↑ Dragon Ball Z manga Vol. 24, p. 25 ISBN 1421502739
    18. ↑ Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!, 2008
    19. ↑ "Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ - Special One Shot" Chapter 1
    20. ↑ Dragon Ball GT episode 40, "Piccolo's Decision"
    21. ↑ Tien's first power level. kanzenshuu.
    22. ↑ Tien's second power level. imgur.
    23. ↑ Tien's third power level. kanzenshuu.
    24. ↑ "The Four Dead Heroes"

    Site Navigation[]

    Humans

    Human-Type Earthlings AgundasAaronAndyAkai TomatoAkane KimidoriAn AzukiAndroid 16's templateAmandaAngelaAntique Shop OwnerAntoine the GreatAoi KimidoriAsaoAmandaAmelia/Future AmeliaAlexAngelaAllisonAlissaAlyssaAlyson/Future AlysonAudreyBacterianBandages the MummyBarry KahnBradBradley DawsonBrandiBrandonBasakuBenBethanyBeatBobbyBimboBongoBoraBullies of the Orin TempleByronBulma/Future Bulma/Dragonball EvolutionBurdwellCaptain BacterianCaptain ChickenCaptain DarkCaptain of the GuardCarterCarey FullerCarl HawkinsCarlaCaroniCassandraCatherineClaireChad O'DonnellCharleyChaoChapuCharmy YamadaChelseaChi-Chi/Future Chi-Chi/Dragonball EvolutionOx-QueenChiaotzuChicoChin TaikenChrisChristineChocoraChowChuu LeeCocoCocoa AmaguriColonel SilverColonel VioletCodyCommander RedCrystalCynthiaDanielDannyDanielle/Future DanielleDaphneDariaDarrenDarryDavidDavid JohnsonDaigoro KurigashiraDebbieDeniseDennisDerekThe DictatorDJDylanDonkoDoskoiDr. AutoDr. BriefDr. ChallengerDr. CollieDr. FlappeDorisDubGeorgeGerald LyndonEclainEclairEmilyEmmaEmiEnaEsmeraldaErasaEricaEthanFanfanFarmerFranklin KingstonFeliciaFire Safety KidsFortuneteller BabaFreddy HeinFreddie GarrettGarret TimmonsGalaGeneral BlueGeneral WhiteGrandma HakkakeGrandma PaozuGrandpa Gohan/Dragonball EvolutionGraceGordon BowlersGloriaGyaosuHacchiHarryHaruHaskyHasky's followersHayaHaylieHelenHenry JohnsonGregory JohnsonJamie JohnsonHijikiHondawaraHoneyIdasaIdasamIkoseIntergalactic FightersIsazaJack SmithJamJasonJaniceJared DanielsJaredJewelJennyJessicaJeffrey PrescottJeremy HudsonJesseJillianJimmy/Future JimmyJimmy HawkinsJimmy FirecrackerJingle Village ChiefJonnyJoshJoshua JacksonJulian BriefJuliaJulieKaedeKajikaKallonKarenKayla/Future KaylaKalpochofKami of the Previous GenerationKasdanKevinKennyKillaKimberlyKing ChappaKing KressKinoko SaradaKojiroKorintoKrillin/Future KrillinKristenKyleKurikinton SoramameKyuumonji YukioLaunchLarryLauraLeslieLimeLisaLoganLord JaguarLorraineLotta CashLucyMarcus/Future MarcusMai/Dragonball EvolutionMakiMalojaManagerManpuku OkawariMaronMarronMaryMaster Mutaito/Dragonball EvolutionMaster Roshi/Future Master Roshi/Dragonball EvolutionMariaMaster ShenMaxMarlene GarrettMcKenzieMen-MenMelvinMelindaMelissaMichaelMike GarrettMichelleMirandaMidori NorimakiMighty MaskMiguelMintMiss PiizaMistyMorganMizoreMontyMousseMousse and Eclair's childrenMozukuMr. BorbonneMr. KingeryMr. LaoMr. MusukaMr. Satan/Future Mr. SatanMr. ShuMugleyMurasaki BrothersMurdockNainNamNathaniel/Future NathanielNatashaNatalieNaregNejishikiNicholasNinja MurasakiNokNoteOld ScientistOld Woman SpringOlibuOmori's WifeOtokosukiOwenOx-QueenOx-King/Future Ox-KingPagosPamputPanchiPannaPansyPaopaoPastaPaulPeasuke SoramamePecoPenguin Village Junior High PrincipalPepper JohnsonPerukaPete KobayashiPeterPigeroPintarPirozhkiPit Bull PetePlaguePlamoPochawompaPochimuraPolly BucketsPopo Poco Village ElderPrincess MisaPuckQueen HarumakiQueen KressRachelRanfanRebeccaRichardRichest man in GingertownRising DragonRockRocky RiversRomRonnieRuhnaSabrinaSachie MomochiSamuelSarahSapaSatan City MayorSekiSenbei NorimakiSteveSharnperScarlettShenSherman PriestShinsekiShokenSky DragonSmittySimonSoraSpopovichStaffStaff Officer BlackStaceySunoTamagoro KatayudeTanmenTanyaTaro SoramameTerrorTeresaTrishThief BoyThunderboltTien Shinhan/Future Tien ShinhanTimmyTightsTobyTokunoshin OmoriTommyTraffic Agent LadyTrinaTrunksTsukutsun TsunTsuntsunodanoteiyugo TsunTsururin TsunTsuruten TsunTylerTurbo NorimakiUdoUpaUubVanessaValeseVan ZantVeronicaVictor ElsonVictoriaVidelVodkaVodka's bodyguardsWantaWayan BudhiyasaWilliam BriefWillWild TigerWorld Tournament AnnouncerX.S. CashYajirobe/Future YajirobeYamcha/Future Yamcha/Dragonball EvolutionYamuYaochunYoshito-kunYuzukarZaladorZaridZachary/Future Zachary
    Animal-Type Earthlings AgarizameBoar BanditCaptain YellowDonbeGeneral BonJasmineJinkuKelly/Future KellyKing FurryKonkichiKorinMan-WolfMonster CarrotMr. PigOolongOonaanPuarShuTorahachiroTurtle/Future TurtleWombat and BikerWorld Tournament ChairmanYordon
    Monster-Type Earthlings Emperor PilafPaellaIgorKing Gurumes
    Earthling-Saiyan Hybrids AkinaBullaBulma LeighGohan/Future GohanGotenTrunks/Future TrunksMelissaBriannaAshleyBrittanyTiffanyKaylahKatherineDorisMariaHaylieMarcus/Future MarcusAlyson/Future AlysonNathaniel/Future NathanielKayla/Future KaylaMichelleAlissaTylerLucyTommyPanMatthewGoku Jr.Vegeta Jr.MarieZesmond/Future ZesmondZesmond Spencer
    Earthling Cyborgs Android 8/Future Android 8Android 17/Future Android 17Android 18/Future Android 18Cell/Present Cell/Future CellCell Jr.Dr. Gero/Future Dr. GeroDr. KochinDr. MashiritoDr. WheeloMercenary TaoMira
    Earthling fusions Arale 18Android 35Android 1617Android 1718Android 1920BulpanCell 17CellzaChiaohanChiaoldoChiaomanCoohanEclonEX GohanksEX GotenksEX PrillinEX TienchaEX TrunksFailed FusionsFuture GohanksGinyumanGod Fusion GokuGokuleGorilinGotenksGotenks: XenoGreat JacoGreat Saiyaman #12Great SatanmanJanksKallohanKrigohanMajin SatanPandelPannanPerfect 16PrillinSuper 17TaksTienchaTiraraUltra Fusion (Tekka)Ultra PinichVegeks: XenoVegenksYamta
    Transformation|Earthling transformations Max PowerPower Pole ProSupervillainJiang ShiSuper Saiyan
    Other transformations Kaio-ken (Kaio-ken x20) • Potential UnleashedUnlock Potential • (Majin) • Old Kai's Unlock Ability
    Squadrons American TeamRed Ribbon ArmyKaringa TribePeck Peck TribeTurtle SchoolCrane SchoolPilaf GangZ FightersSaiya SquadEarth's MilitaryEarth's ResistanceRed Shark GangToad Warriors
    Wars and conflicts Spencer Clan MassacreKing Piccolo warsRed Ribbon Army warSaiyan conflictBattle on Planet NamekAndroid conflictCell GamesMajin Buu conflictThe Dragon Ball GT conflicts
    Advertisement