Tien Shinhan
From Dragon Ball Z
Tien is a supporting character in Dragon Ball Z, a three-eyed martial artist who began as Goku's rival and became one of his most dependable allies. His courage peaks when he holds back Cell alone, burning his own life away. He is voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki in Japanese and John Burgmeier in English.
About Tien Shinhan
A disciplined three-eyed martial artist who began as a rival of Goku's at the World Tournament and became one of his most dependable allies. Tien never stops training, even as Saiyan power leaves human fighters behind, and his courage peaks when he holds back Cell alone with his life-draining Tri-Beam. Quiet, honourable and utterly fearless, he is often seen with his small companion Chiaotzu and later runs his own dojo.
Appearance
Tien is a tall, powerfully built, bald man with a third eye set vertically in his forehead, the mark of his distant alien-descended clan. He wears the white and green of his own school in Z, with a sash and wristbands, and carries himself with a monk's stillness. His small companion Chiaotzu is rarely far from his shoulder. In battle his whole body tenses like drawn wire: Tien's fighting style is precision and sacrifice in equal measure.
Personality
Tien is discipline made human: quiet, honourable, utterly fearless and completely without interest in fame. He trains constantly in the mountains long after Saiyan power has left human fighters behind, because training, not winning, is his life. Tien's arc is one of the series' quiet redemptions: raised by a corrupt master to be an assassin, he chose honour at his first real crossroads and never looked back. His loyalty expresses itself as resolve; when Tien decides to hold a line, stronger beings than him learn that the line holds.
Background & Story
Tien was the star pupil of the Crane School, the Turtle School's corrupt rival, trained by Master Shen and the assassin Tao Pai Pai to kill for money. At the World Tournament he met Goku, and, ordered to cheat and murder, discovered he wanted to win honestly and live honourably instead. He beat Goku in that tournament by the narrowest of margins and joined his side permanently. Through Z, Tien fought every invasion at the front: dying against the Saiyans without hesitation, and standing alone against Semi-Perfect Cell, an enemy hopelessly beyond him, firing life-draining Tri-Beams to buy the androids time, fully expecting to die. He survived, and kept training anyway.
Powers & Abilities
- Tri-Beam (Kikoho): Tien's signature: a diamond-shaped blast of devastating power that drains his own life force with every shot, the technique he fired repeatedly at Cell.
- Four Witches Technique and Multi-Form: Tien grows extra arms from his back, and can split into four complete copies of himself, Crane School arts he turned to honest use.
- Dodon Ray and Solar Flare mastery: The Crane School's piercing finger beam, and the blinding flash technique Tien uses to create openings against stronger foes.
- Third eye perception: Tien's three eyes track high-speed movement and see through illusions and copies better than any human fighter's senses.
Key Relationships
- Chiaotzu: His tiny, devoted companion of a lifetime, the two train, live and fight as one unit, and Tien's protectiveness of him is total.
- Son Goku: The rival who showed him an honourable path, Tien measures his training against Goku's shadow his whole life.
- Launch: The two-sided woman who fell for Tien's stoicism and chased him for years; he never quite knew what to do with her devotion.
- Master Shen: The corrupt Crane master who raised him as a weapon, rejecting Shen's orders at the tournament was Tien's defining choice.
- Yamcha: A fellow reformed rival of Goku's, the two old tournament fighters share the Z Fighters' human core.
Quick Answers
What is Tien Shinhan's main power?
Tri-Beam (Kikoho): Tien's signature: a diamond-shaped blast of devastating power that drains his own life force with every shot, the technique he fired repeatedly at Cell.
Who voices Tien Shinhan?
Tien Shinhan is voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki in Japanese and by John Burgmeier in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z.
Why does Tien have three eyes?
Tien is a descendant of the Three-Eyed People, an ancient clan said to have come from aliens who settled on Earth long ago. His third eye gives him exceptional perception in battle, and his forehead is as famous as his Tri-Beam.
