Tien Shinhan

Tien Shinhan is a highly disciplined, solitary martial artist who ranks among the strongest Earth-born fighters in the Dragon Ball universe. Due to his ancestry from the alien Triclops race, he displays several non-human characteristics. Initially a student of the Crane School, he sought revenge against Goku for defeating his master, Mercenary Tao. With guidance from Master Roshi, he came to realize he had chosen the wrong path. Tien fights alongside the other Z Fighters against major threats to Earth, often showing great courage when taking on enemies far stronger than himself. Despite this, he spends most of his time training with his lifelong closest friend, Chiaotzu.

Tien Shinhan
22nd Budokai Saga23rd Budokai SagaSaiyan SagaNamek SagaCell SagaBuu SagaDragon Ball Super “ Poor Yamcha, only thing more pathetic than a loser is a loser who thinks he's born to win. „ “ What I say to you is out of concern, not disrespect. You and your brother taught me how to fight, I am grateful for your guidance. I do not wish to see you lose in disgrace. Leave the ring now. „ ~ Tien to Mercenary Tao “ Whatever it costs me, I will fight. „ “ 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! „ “ 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 Son Gohan after he saved him and the others from Super Buutenk's blast “ His strength, it's incredible. „ ~ Tien commenting on Beerus' strength
Origin
Origin	Dragon Ball
Creator	Akira Toriyama
First Appearance	Dragon Ball 22nd Budokai Saga
Voiced by	Japanese: Hirotaka Suzuoki, Mitsuaki Madono, Hikaru Midorikawa English: Brendan Hunter, John Burgmeier, Chris Cason, Matt Smith, Eddie Frierson, Douglas Rand, Ray Chase
Characteristics
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/Him
Sexuality	Heterosexual
Age	Unknown
Height	187 cm
Weight	75 kg
Ethnicity	Likely Chinese
Status	Alive
Alignment	Neutral Good
Archetype	Lancer
Occupation	None
Time Period	Age 784
Language	Japanese
Combat Style	Crane School Style
Homeworld	Earth
Relationships
Affiliations	Chiaotzu, Son Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, Master Roshi, Android 18, Android 17, Master Shen (Formerly)
Enemies	Son Goku (Formerly), Yamcha (Formerly), Krillin (Formerly), Master Roshi (Formerly), Vegeta (Formerly), Nappa, Android 19, Dr. Gero, Android 18 (Formerly), Android 17 (Formerly), Cyborg Tao

Background

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Tien Shinhan’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Due to his Three-Eyed clan heritage, Tien can grow extra arms from his back, split into four separate copies of himself, and fire energy beams from his third eye. Because Master Shen raised him, he can no longer use his third eye's powers for good purposes. Early in his life, Tien joined the Crane School, where he mastered powerful ki attacks like the Solar Flare, the Dodon Ray, and the Tri-Beam. He also picked up defensive techniques from Master Shen's younger brother, Mercenary Tao. 22nd Budokai Saga Tien's first major role in the series takes place during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. He enters as the Crane School's top student, with Master Shen hoping he will defeat the pupils of his longtime rival, Master Roshi. During the preliminary rounds, Tien brutally beats Nam within an inch of his life, sending a message to Goku and his friends about the danger they face. He cruises through the preliminaries without trouble and secures a spot in the finals. Thanks to Chiaotzu using his psychic abilities to manipulate the tournament bracket, Tien arranges to fight Yamcha in the quarter-finals. The two had been trading insults since the tournament began. Yamcha performs better than Tien expects but never truly threatens him. Tien defeats him and, after the match is already over, needlessly breaks Yamcha's leg while he lies unconscious. Later, when Chiaotzu fires a Dodon Ray at Krillin, Goku recognizes it as Mercenary Tao's signature move. Tien then learns that Goku killed Tao, and the tournament becomes about revenge as much as victory. Tien's next opponent is Jackie Chun, the winner of the previous tournament. Jackie Chun challenges Tien both physically and philosophically, warning him about walking an evil path. With help from Master Shen, Tien discovers that Jackie Chun is actually Master Roshi in disguise. He then turns Roshi's own Kamehameha against him. Even though Roshi has not shown his full power, he steps out of the ring and forfeits the match. When Tien later confronts him about why, Roshi explains that it is time for younger fighters like Tien to take over. In the championship match, Tien faces Goku. The fight appears evenly matched until Goku suddenly freezes every time he tries to attack. Tien quickly realizes Chiaotzu is interfering on Master Shen's orders. He demands that Chiaotzu stop because he wants a fair fight. Master Shen becomes furious and orders Tien to kill Goku, but Tien refuses—marking the first time he truly follows his own conscience. Shen then orders Chiaotzu to kill both Tien and Goku, and when Chiaotzu refuses, Shen threatens to kill him instead. Master Roshi ends the standoff by blasting Shen out of the stadium with a Kamehameha. Tien deliberately lets Goku land several hits to make up for the earlier cheating. The fight then continues, and Tien grows two extra arms, using them to grab Goku's limbs and repeatedly smash his stomach into his head. Goku escapes by slapping Tien across the face with his tail and grabs hold of Tien's legs, causing him pain. Tien throws Goku off, and the battle resumes. Determined to end the match, Tien unleashes his ultimate technique, the Tri-Beam. He warns Goku to dodge, planning to force him out of bounds rather than kill him. The blast destroys the entire arena floor. Goku barely avoids it by launching himself high into the air. Confident of victory because he can fly and Goku cannot, Tien is shocked when Goku uses a Kamehameha to propel himself into Tien like a human missile. Both fighters crash toward the ground, with Goku slightly ahead. Goku tries to slow himself with another Kamehameha but gets struck by a truck and hits the ground first. Tien lands an instant later, making him the tournament champion. After the match, Tien offers Goku half the prize money, admitting that luck was the only real difference between them. He also apologizes to Yamcha for breaking his leg, and the two agree to meet again at the next tournament. Master Roshi invites Tien to stay at Kame House, but Tien refuses, saying he cannot follow another master's teachings even though he has turned against his original one. King Piccolo Saga Krillin gets separated from the group and is murdered. His body is found with a note bearing the character for "demon" on it. Master Roshi explains that this symbol belongs to King Piccolo, a terrifying Demon King sealed away centuries ago by Roshi's own master using a suicidal technique called the Evil Containment Wave. Goku, still not fully recovered from his grueling fight with Tien, rushes off in a blind rage to avenge his friend. Tien recognizes the seriousness of the situation and offers to help however he can. He learns about the Dragon Balls and, together with Chiaotzu and Master Roshi, begins searching for them. Their radar soon shows that the remaining Dragon Balls are moving toward them—meaning King Piccolo is also hunting for the Balls and is coming for theirs. Before King Piccolo can reach them, Master Roshi knocks Tien unconscious and hides him in a nearby cave. Roshi plans to use the Evil Containment Wave against the Demon King and views Tien as the planet's last hope if he fails. Still semi-conscious, Tien can only watch helplessly as Roshi's attempt fails and he dies at King Piccolo's hands. King Piccolo gathers the Dragon Balls and summons the Eternal Dragon. Desperate, Tien orders Chiaotzu to wish for King Piccolo's destruction before the Demon King can make his own wish. Chiaotzu tries but is killed mid-sentence by a blast from King Piccolo. The Demon King makes his wish and then destroys the dragon to prevent anyone from using it against him again. Once he can move again, Tien practices the Evil Containment Wave, having learned it simply by watching Roshi perform it. After many attempts, he masters the technique and heads to Central City to confront King Piccolo. When he arrives, he discovers that the container meant to seal the Demon King is cracked and useless—damaged during his practice sessions. Despite this, he decides to fight anyway. King Piccolo, unimpressed, creates a powerful minion named Drum to deal with Tien. Drum overwhelms Tien, but Tien manages to knock him down, creating a brief opening to use the Evil Containment Wave on King Piccolo. Drum gets in the way, and before Tien can seal him, King Piccolo destroys the container. Goku suddenly arrives, kills Drum with a single kick, and saves Tien. Tien watches in awe as Goku battles King Piccolo. Midway through the fight, Tien uses his remaining strength to fly in and push Goku out of the path of a devastating attack. When the battle turns against him, King Piccolo takes Tien hostage, forcing Goku to allow himself to be crippled. After King Piccolo damages Goku, he discards Tien, but Goku proves more resilient than the Demon King expected and kills him with a final attack. With the fight over, Tien returns to Kame House to recover. When he learns that Goku will spend the next three years training with Kami, he vows to train harder than ever to close the massive gap between them. Piccolo Jr. Saga Tien redoubles his training efforts after hearing that Goku is learning from Kami, the Guardian of Earth. The Dragon Balls are restored, and a wish is made to revive everyone killed by King Piccolo—including Chiaotzu. Tien trains with Yamcha, Krillin, and Chiaotzu until Master Roshi tells them they need better methods to keep up with Goku. They climb Korin Tower and train with Korin before each going their own separate ways. Three years later, Tien returns to the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament alongside Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Krillin. He is surprised to see Goku now as a teenager and even more shocked to see Piccolo Jr., realizing that part of the Demon King has survived. Goku asks him to keep quiet about this to prevent panic. Once again, Tien has Chiaotzu manipulate the tournament bracket so that none of their group or Piccolo Jr. have to face each other in the preliminary rounds. Tien suddenly senses that something terrible has happened to Chiaotzu. He rushes to the scene and finds his best friend badly wounded and unconscious. Chiaotzu's opponent turns out to be Mercenary Tao, now rebuilt as a cyborg. Tao explains that he survived his apparent death at Goku's hands and wants revenge on both Goku and Tien for betraying the Crane School. Tien responds that he never betrayed Shen—he simply realized that Shen's teachings were wrong. He accepts Tao's challenge. The match begins with Tao lunging at Tien, who easily sidesteps and counters. Tien tells Tao that he does not want to humiliate a man who once taught him how to fight and offers him a chance to forfeit. Tao refuses and presses his attack, though he is clearly outmatched. As Tien tries to escort him out of the ring, Tao detaches his robotic hand to reveal a hidden blade and slashes Tien across the chest, leaving a permanent scar. Disqualified for using a weapon, Tao does not care and fires a Super Dodon Wave from a cannon concealed in his other hand. Tien nullifies the blast with his Kiai and defeats Tao with a single punch to the stomach. He carries Tao's limp body to Master Shen and tells him to take his brother and leave for good. Tien's next match is the rematch he has been waiting for: another fight against Goku. The battle begins evenly, with Tien having a slight speed advantage until Goku removes his weighted training clothes. Realizing he cannot beat Goku through physical combat alone, Tien unveils a new technique called Multi-Form, splitting himself into four identical copies. The copies spread to all four corners of the ring and fire Ki Blast Cannons at Goku, followed by beams from their third eyes. Goku seems unharmed and tells Tien that the trick will not work twice. When they try again, Goku dodges, uses the Solar Flare to blind them, and quickly takes out each copy. The duplicates revert into a single Tien, and Goku explains that the technique's weakness is dividing Tien's power among all the copies. Tien plays a limited role in the subsequent battle against Piccolo Jr. He offers to help several times, but Goku wants to fight alone. When Goku tosses him the sealed flask containing Kami, Tien opens it. He also helps evacuate their friends by blasting a pit into the earth for them to take shelter from Piccolo Jr.'s attacks. When Goku appears to be beaten, Tien reluctantly prepares to follow Kami's order to kill the elderly guardian—which would also kill Piccolo Jr.—but Goku stops him, insisting it will not be necessary. Goku evades Piccolo Jr.'s assault and defeats him with a surprise attack. After the battle, Tien joins the celebration and is overjoyed when Chiaotzu flies in, alive and well. Saiyan Saga Five years pass. Tien learns that Goku has died fighting Raditz, a Saiyan who turned out to be Goku's older brother. Even more alarming, two more Saiyans—both stronger than Raditz—are heading for Earth and will arrive in about a year. Tien receives an invitation to train at Kami's Lookout alongside Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Krillin, and Yajirobe to prepare for the Saiyans' arrival. During this period, the Z Fighters use the Pendulum Room to travel back in time and battle illusionary Saiyans. They are thoroughly overwhelmed, which only frightens them into training even harder. When the Saiyans finally reach Earth, the Z Fighters decide to stall for time until Goku can arrive. Tien and Chiaotzu track down the Saiyans and join Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin. Vegeta toys with them by having Nappa plant Saibamen in the soil. Tien volunteers to fight first and destroys a Saibaman with just two hits. After all the Saibamen are killed, Nappa enters the fight himself. Tien is his first target. The Saiyan warrior is far too powerful for Tien to handle, ripping off his left arm with a single blow. Chiaotzu sacrifices himself by trying to blow up Nappa, but the attack does nothing. Enraged by Chiaotzu's death, Tien pours all his remaining energy into one final Tri-Beam, using only his remaining right hand. The effort kills him from exhaustion. The blast damages Nappa's armor but does not seriously wound the Saiyan. Frieza Saga After dying, Tien is allowed to train on King Kai's planet in the Other World, joining Chiaotzu, Piccolo, and Yamcha. He struggles to make King Kai laugh during the required joke-telling test but eventually succeeds. While training there, he learns about the desperate battle against Frieza on Namek. In a filler episode, Tien faces Jeice and Burter of the Ginyu Force and dispatches them quickly and easily. He is eventually wished back to life along with Chiaotzu. Once back on Earth, the two retreat to the mountains to train in solitude. Androids Saga After three years of intense training, the Androids finally appear. Tien joins the other Z Fighters to confront them. He reveals that he left Chiaotzu behind because he felt that even after all their training, Chiaotzu could not keep up. When Android 20 destroys half a city, Goku, Piccolo, and Tien chase after the Androids. Tien notices that Goku is already exhausted from just flying—the result of a deadly heart virus. When Android 16, 17, and 18 make their appearance, Tien attacks Android 17 but is easily overpowered and choked until he is dropped. Realizing the Androids are far stronger than anyone anticipated, Tien leaves to train with Chiaotzu, hoping to close the gap. Cell Saga Tien interrupts his training to help hunt for a new threat named Cell. He joins Piccolo in searching locations where Cell's energy has been detected. When the Androids show up at Kame House demanding to know Goku's whereabouts, Tien senses Cell's energy nearby and goes after him. He watches Imperfect Cell battle Piccolo and Android 17 and tries to warn Android 17 before Cell absorbs him. After Cell transforms into Semi-Perfect Cell, he goes after Android 18. Tien uses his Neo Tri-Beam to hold Cell in place, fully aware that the technique could kill him if he expends too much energy. He continues firing anyway, stalling Cell long enough for help to arrive. The effort drains his life force until he passes out. Goku arrives and moves the unconscious Tien to safety before Cell can destroy him. When Perfect Cell announces the Cell Games, Tien decides to stay on the sidelines. He is offered a chance to enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber but declines, admitting he has no chance against Cell. He is forced back into the fight when Perfect Cell spawns seven Cell Juniors to torment the Z Fighters and anger Gohan. Tien and the others are saved when Gohan transforms into Super Saiyan 2. During Gohan's final battle with Super Perfect Cell, Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha, and Krillin repeatedly blast Cell from behind to help Gohan. After Cell's defeat, Tien says goodbye, telling the others that he and Chiaotzu will likely never see them again. He then flies away. Majin Buu Saga Seven years pass. While training in the mountains, Tien and Chiaotzu sense Goku transforming into Super Saiyan 3 and are stunned by his power. Later, they manage to evade Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack, which kills almost everyone else on Earth. Tien finally intervenes in the main battle, saving Mr. Satan, Gohan, Dende, and Bee from Super Buu. His strength has increased considerably, but he is still no match for the monster. He fires a Tri-Beam at Buu, but it does not even scratch him. After Buu is cut in half by Goku, his legs land next to Tien, who is quickly knocked unconscious by a single kick. When Kid Buu destroys the Earth, Tien and Chiaotzu are killed along with everyone else. After the planet is restored, they donate their energy to the Super Spirit Bomb, helping Goku finally destroy Kid Buu. Tien is later seen enjoying a party at Bulma's house. In the years that follow, Tien takes up farming alongside his training. He uses his ability to grow extra arms and split into multiple copies to harvest crops quickly. Launch tracks him down again, having fallen in love with him years ago and never given up searching. Though Tien has no interest in romance, she eventually moves in with him. She is terrible at farming and leaves after only a few days, though she continues to visit now and then. Battle of Gods Saga Four years after Majin Buu's defeat, Tien and Chiaotzu attend Bulma's birthday party. When Beerus arrives, Tien joins Android 18 and Piccolo in trying to stop him. Beerus dodges all their attacks and knocks them out with a single kiai. Tien then watches Goku's battle with Beerus from the sidelines. Resurrection F Saga Tien heads to North City, where Frieza has arrived with an army of one thousand soldiers. He fights alongside Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, and Master Roshi, killing at least fifty soldiers with one Tri-Beam. He is later taken out by Captain Ginyu possessing Tagoma's body. After the battle, he takes a Senzu Bean from Krillin and watches Goku and Vegeta fight Frieza. Tournament of Destroyers Saga Tien travels with the others to the Nameless Planet for the Tournament of Destroyers. He sits in the stands and watches the entire tournament unfold. Future Trunks Saga Krillin mentions that he is worried about Tien and Chiaotzu, but Yamcha explains that Tien left them behind because he felt they could not keep up in a baseball game. Universal Survival Saga Before this saga, Tien opens his own martial arts school called the Tien-Shin Style Dojo. Goku visits to invite him to join the Tournament of Power. Tien initially refuses because he does not want to abandon his students. Soon after, a visitor named Yurin uses mind control to turn his students against the village. Tien, Master Roshi, and Goku work together to stop them. Once Yurin's plan falls apart, Tien decides to take her on as a student. He then agrees to enter the tournament, hoping to use the prize money to rebuild his dojo and the village. During the tournament, Tien stays near the center with Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, and Master Roshi. He uses the Solar Flare to blind several opponents. After a chaotic rampage by Kale splits up the team, Tien knocks Za Priccio out of the arena with his Neo Tri-Beam. Later, he uses his Multi-Form technique to create multiple copies of himself to hunt down a sniper named Hermila. He corners Hermila at the edge of the stage and fires a Neo Tri-Beam, inflicting heavy damage. In a desperate final move, Hermila blasts the arena floor beneath Tien, breaking the ground and sending him falling. Tien's remaining copies tackle Hermila off the stage at the same time, resulting in a double elimination. Beerus praises Tien for his fighting spirit and effort. When Goku battles Jiren, Tien contributes his energy to Universe 7's Spirit Bomb. He spends the rest of the tournament watching from the sidelines. Universe 7 ultimately wins, and Tien is returned to Earth. The ending credits show him and Chiaotzu rebuilding their dojo with help from their students and Yurin. Super Hero Tien makes a brief cameo appearance during a recap of the Red Ribbon Army arc, shown attacking Semi-Perfect Cell with his Neo Tri-Beam. He also appears in Magenta's false version of history, which portrays the Dragon Team as villains fighting Cell.

Personality

• Originally Cold-Hearted and Ruthless: Tien was originally a cold-hearted and ruthless warrior who did not care for anyone's life except his fellow students and mentors. He crushed Yamcha's leg and another fighter's leg during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. He planned to kill Goku in revenge for Tao's apparent death.

• Transitioned to Honorable Warrior: Tien's mentality changed when he realized he disagreed with Shen and Tao's brutal methods. He became an honorable warrior who cares deeply for those he strives to protect. He is very stern and serious, not cracking jokes or goofing around as often as other Z-Fighters.

• Refuses to Stay on Sidelines: Tien despises staying on the sidelines while stronger friends fight opponents far beyond him. He always attempts to assist even if it likely leads to his death. Such as when he went to stop Semi-Perfect Cell despite knowing he was no match for him.

• Reclusive and Training-Focused: Despite making new friends, Tien stays reclusive and is not very socially active. He spends most of his time training to become a better fighter, though he still attends Bulma's parties and interacts well with others. A popular example can be seen during the end of the Cell Saga, where he claimed that this would likely be the last time they see him.

• Capable of Holding Animosity: Tien let go of his grudge against Goku but still holds animosity toward people he considers unrepentant. He blamed Vegeta for almost destroying Earth and viewed him as an enemy even after he allied with the Z-Fighters. He forgave Vegeta after he proved crucial in defeating Kid Buu, however, in Dragon Ball Super's Golden Frieza Saga, when misunderstanding why Vegeta was attacking Goku, he thought that he secretly was always working for Frieza.

Appearance

General Description: Tien Shinhan is a tall, very muscular bald-headed man. In his early appearances, he has a leaner physique which gradually becomes bulkier. His most prominent feature is his third eye on his forehead, inherited from his alien ancestors, though according to Legacy of Goku II, it was achieved via intense meditation. He is not naturally bald; his former mentor Master Shen states that he shaves his head much like Krillin, though he has never been seen unshaven.

Facial Features: He is bald. A third eye is located on his forehead, which he can move, close, and shoot ki laser beams from.

Special Features: A large scar runs from his right collarbone down to his abdomen, received during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament from Mercenary Tao's Hidden Blade attack.

Clothing/Outfit:

• Androids Saga Gi: A green baggy toga-like top, baggy green pants, red-and-green wristbands, black boots with yellow covers, and a red sash.
• Fusion Saga Gi: A blue dogi, white undershirt, baggy white pants, red-and-black wristbands, black boots, a red sash, and a white cape.
• Non-Combat Outfit: A Hanfu-style robe with loose pants and boots.
• Formal Outfit (Battle of Gods / Manga Universe 6 and Universe Survival Sagas): A green vest with the kanji "天" (Ten) on the front, a black shirt, black pants, a brown-red kilt, black boots, and an orange sash.
• Formal Outfit (Resurrection 'F' / Anime Universe 6 and Universe Survival Sagas): A primarily black, pale yellow, and brown-red version of the formal outfit.

Alternate Forms/Disguises: This character does not have other widely recognized alternate forms.

Goals

• Surpass Son Goku (Ongoing).

General Information

Name: Tien Shinhan

Origin: Dragon Ball

First Appearance: Dragon Ball 22nd Budokai Saga

Company: Shueisha, Toei

Creator: Akira Toriyama

Actor

• Japanese Voice Actor: Hirotaka Suzuoki (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, & Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3) Mitsuaki Madono (Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World & Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo) Hikaru Midorikawa (Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Legends, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, & Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO)
• English Voice Actor: Brendan Hunter (Dragon Ball), John Burgmeier (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Legends, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, & Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO), Chris Cason (Dragon Ball Z), Matt Smith (Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might), Eddie Frierson (Dragon Ball: Mystic Adventure), Douglas Rand (Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might), Ray Chase (Dragon Ball Super)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Pronouns: He/Him

Handedness: Right-Handed

Age: Unknown

Birth Year: Age 733)

Time Period: Age 784

Timeline: Main Timeline

Homeworld: Earth

Residence:

Story Role: Main Arc Antagonist, Antagonist, Reformed Hero

Legacy: Local Legacy

Influence: Event Influence (Participated in events that helped save the world)

Language: Japanese

Ethnicity: Likely Chinese

Religion: N/A

Classification: Earthling, Three-Eyed Human, Assassin

Species: Human

State of Being: Regular

Physiology: Humanoid Physiology

In-Universe Creator: Unknown

Occupation: None

Combat Style: Crane School Style

Affiliations: Chiaotzu, Son Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, Master Roshi, Android 18, Android 17

Enemies: Cyborg Tao, Son Goku (Formerly), Yamcha, Krillin (Formerly), Master Roshi (Formerly), Vegeta (Formerly), Nappa, Android 19, Dr. Gero, Android 18 (Formerly), Android 17 (Formerly)

Height: 187 cm (Officially listed as 187 centimeters)

Weight: 75 kg (Officially listed as 75 kilograms)

Affiliations: Chiaotzu, Master Shen, Master Roshi (After 22nd Budokai), Son Goku (After 22nd Budokai Duel), Yamcha (After 22nd Budokai), Krillin (After 22nd Budokai), Kami, Yajirobe, Mr. Popo

Enemies: Son Goku (During 22nd Budokai), Yamcha (During 22nd Budokai), Krillin (During 22nd Budokai), Master Shen (After 22nd Budokai), Cyborg Tao, Nappa, Vegeta (Up until end of Cell Saga)

Status: Has been both Alive and Deceased (Tien has died a total of two times, the first time was during the invasion of the Saiyans he died after using spirit tri-beam against Nappa, killing himself from exhaustion, and the second time he died to Kid Buu when he destroyed the planet. He was then revived both times)

Date of Death: Saiyan Saga & Buu Saga

Alignment: Initially Neutral Evil (Initially Tien was noted as one that follows the path of evil with Master Roshi throughout the tournament trying to tell him to follow the good path), Neutral Good during his fight with Son Goku (After witnessing Chiaotzu paralyzing Goku making his hits illegitimate he immedieatly orders him to stop and tells his master he no longer wants to be an assassin, along with telling Goku he is no longer fighting him for vengance or to kill him but to simply win and become the martial arts champion, with him finally noted to be a good guy by Son Goku)

Threat Level: Street Threat (When Tien was evil he merely wished to be an assassin following the path of evil)

Potential

• Type(s) of Potential: Growth Potential
• Level of Potential: Growth
• Description: Earthlings in Dragon Ball grow as they constantly train, reaching new levels of strength unheard of even by people that were originally meant to be the strongest martial artist in the world.
• Limitations: Their potential extends as far as they're willing to train.

Archetype: Lancer

Codex Statistics

Dragon BallDragon Ball ZDragon Ball Super

Key: 22nd Budokai Saga | 23rd Budokai Saga

Grade: B | B

Tier: At least 9-A, Higher with Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast | 8-A, Higher with Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Power Source: Ki (All beings in Dragon Ball have ki, the very life force energy of all characters, ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard, higher level users can lower their own durability to allow people far below them to fatally wound them)

Attack Potency: At least Room level (Potency) (Fought 22nd Budokai Son Goku, where he is above his Red Ribbon Army Saga self who defeated General Blue who tanked his plane crashing into a mountain at full speed, then after his training with Korin, it was noted by Korin his power increased "manyfold", making him at least two times stronger than before. Can fight against Master Roshi who has trained to grow strong enough to keep up with the new generation), Higher with Ki-Ko-Ho (The Ki-Ko-Ho's power is so great that it destroyed the entire arena and was noted by Master Roshi that its destructive power is far greater then the kamehameha. It's even noted that 22nd Budokai Saga Son Goku would've been killed by this attack if he took it at full force). Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast (Charged Blast have one focus all of their energy into one single point, putting the blasts power far beyond what their peak strength is, allowing them to destroy things they couldn't prior with their regular attacks, this also allows them to use charged attacks that can stop enemies far beyond their level, such as Tien Shinhan pushing back Semi-Perfect Cell with his Neo Ki-Ko-Ho, along with stopping an attack shot from Buu absorbed Gotenks. Strongest charged blast can gather ki to shoot out blast far beyond what the character is normally capable of, with blasts capable of seriously damaging/destroying the Earth along with completely obliterating the opponent. Charged Blast also rely heavily on emotional states for example Gohan not believing in himself was having Cell overpower him in a beam clash) | City District level (Potency) (Grew far stronger after training for 3 years, could fight against a casual 23rd Budokai Saga Son Goku, but ultimately lost, the likes of who is superior to their King Piccolo Saga self, fought and defeated King Piccolo, who destroyed parts of a city with an energy wave), Higher with Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast

Durability: At least Room level, Higher with Guard Up (Ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard) | City District level, Higher with Guard Up

Striking Strength: At least Room Class (Potency) | City District Class (Potency)

Lifting Strength: Superhuman (Superior to 21st Budokai Saga Son Goku, who could pick up and throw Bulma’s car, lift and crush a bolder with his own hands, moved a giant boulder with a lot of effort and later could somewhat move a massive boulder with some effort, etcetera) | Superhuman

Travel Speed: Superhuman | Superhuman

Attack Speed: High Hypersonic | High Hypersonic

Reaction Speed: High Hypersonic (Comparable to 22nd Budokai Son Goku, who could dodge a mouth blast from Tambourine, which he used to tag the flying nimbus where even post King Kai training Goku used the flying nimbus to make it to the saiyans implying it is at least comparable to his flight speed by then, with Goku being capable of traveling over a million of kilometers in two days which results in these speeds. Far faster than Mercenary Tao, who stated that a jet would take too long and used his pillar, with fighter jets reaching up to 1000 mph) | High Hypersonic

Key: Saiyan Saga | Namek Saga | Android Saga | Buu Saga Grade: B | B | B | B Tier: 7-A, Higher with Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast | At least 7-A, Higher with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast | At least 7-A. 6-C with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast | At least 7-A. 6-C with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast Cardinality: Finite Dimensionality: 3-D Power Source: Ki (All beings in Dragon Ball have ki, the very life force energy of all characters, ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard, higher level users can lower their own durability to allow people far below them to fatally wound them) Attack Potency: Metropolis level (Potency) (Casually defeated a Saibamen who are each noted to rival Raditz in power, who with his blast can cause explosions dwarfing the mountains), Higher with Ki-Ko-Ho (Puts all of his power and energy into this attack, having it scare Nappa for a second). Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast (Charged Blast have one focus all of their energy into one single point, putting the blasts power far beyond what their peak strength is, allowing them to destroy things they couldn't prior with their regular attacks, this also allows them to use charged attacks that can stop enemies far beyond their level, such as Tien Shinhan pushing back Semi-Perfect Cell with his Neo Ki-Ko-Ho, along with stopping an attack shot from Buu absorbed Gotenks. Strongest charged blast can gather ki to shoot out blast far beyond what the character is normally capable of, with blasts capable of seriously damaging/destroying the Earth along with completely obliterating the opponent. Charged Blast also rely heavily on emotional states for example Gohan not believing in himself was having Cell overpower him in a beam clash) | Metropolis level (Potency) (Fought against both Jeice and Burter, who were mentioned by Vegeta that each member of the Ginyu Force is stronger than him, should be comparable to Recoome, who easily defeated Vegeta, Son Gohan, & Krillin, making him superior to Nappa who casually destroyed a city and stood within the blast without having any damage, and Raditz who can cause explosions dwarfing the mountains), Higher with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast | At least Metropolis level (Potency) (Trained for 3 years in preparation of the Androids, though still noted that a heart virus Goku powering up to Super Saiyan was stronger than him). At least Island level (Potency) with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho (With his Shin Kikoho, he was able to repeatedly push back Semi-Perfect Cell, who destroyed several islands with several blast). Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast | At least Metropolis level (Potency). Island level (Potency) with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho (Blasted away Super Buu with Gotenks absorbed blast with his Shin Kikoho, with Super Buu (Gotenks Absorbed) being far beyond Super Perfect Cell). Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast Durability: Metropolis level, Higher with Guard Up (Ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard), Lower with Ki Control (Higher level users can lower their own durability to allow people far below them to fatally wound them) | Metropolis level, Higher with Guard Up, Lower with Ki Control | At least Metropolis level, Higher with Guard Up, Lower with Ki Control | At least Metropolis level, Higher with Guard Up, Lower with Ki Control Striking Strength: Metropolis Class | Metropolis Class | At least Metropolis Class | At least Metropolis Class Lifting Strength: Class 1 (Should be comparable to Early Saiyan Saga Son Goku who is able to barely move around and jump in gravity that multiplies his weight by ten times, where he's naturally 62 kg, thus making him 620 kg on King Kai's planet) | At least Class 1 (Able to move around himself on King Kai's planet which has ten times the gravity of earth) | At least Class 1 | At least Class 1 Travel Speed: Superhuman | High Hypersonic (Superior to Saiyan Saga Son Goku, with Goku being capable of traveling over a million of kilometers in two days which results in these speeds) | At least High Hypersonic | At least High Hypersonic Attack Speed: High Hypersonic | High Hypersonic | At least High Hypersonic | At least High Hypersonic Reaction Speed: High Hypersonic | High Hypersonic | At least High Hypersonic | At least High Hypersonic

Grade: A (Tien was among the members chosen in the Tournament of Power, a tournament hosting the best fighters of each universe into a huge battle royale) Tier: At least 7-A. 6-C with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies-E with Strongest Charged Blast Cardinality: Finite Dimensionality: 3-D Power Source: Ki (All beings in Dragon Ball have ki, the very life force energy of all characters, ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard, higher level users can lower their own durability to allow people far below them to fatally wound them) Attack Potency: At least Metropolis level (Potency) (Fought against a mind controlled Universal Survival Saga Master Roshi). Island level (Potency) with Shin Ki-Ko-Ho. Varies: Skill with Strongest Charged Blast (Charged Blast have one focus all of their energy into one single point, putting the blasts power far beyond what their peak strength is, allowing them to destroy things they couldn't prior with their regular attacks, this also allows them to use charged attacks that can stop enemies far beyond their level, such as Tien Shinhan pushing back Semi-Perfect Cell with his Neo Ki-Ko-Ho, along with stopping an attack shot from Buu absorbed Gotenks. Strongest charged blast can gather ki to shoot out blast far beyond what the character is normally capable of, with blasts capable of seriously damaging/destroying the Earth along with completely obliterating the opponent. Charged Blast also rely heavily on emotional states for example Gohan not believing in himself was having Cell overpower him in a beam clash) Durability: At least Metropolis level, Higher with Guard Up (Ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard), Lower with Ki Control (Higher level users can lower their own durability to allow people far below them to fatally wound them) Striking Strength: At least Metropolis Class Lifting Strength: At least Class 1 Travel Speed: At least High Hypersonic Attack Speed: At least High Hypersonic Reaction Speed: At least High Hypersonic

Stamina: Superhuman (Fought with Son Goku in a very long and drawn-out battle where both had to use their greatest skills against each other. Held off Cell for a long while with a special technique that drained him of his life energy)

Range: Standard Melee, Interstellar with Ki Attacks (Ki attacks can reach out of the planet and to other planets. All ki attacks should be comparable to Goku's kamehameha, which reached all the way to the sun)

Intelligence: Gifted Intelligence (Was able to replicate the kamehameha wave against Master Roshi, which it was noted by him that it takes 50 years of hard training to learn that move)

Knowledge: Master level (Tien Shinhan was a prized student of the Crane School, far surpassing his master in power and Master Roshi in power, he made use of various clever tricks and techniques against Son Goku. Roshi even noted that Tien's skill was so great that he could go back into happy retirement as he felt the world was safe with the skill of the new generation. Along with this, Tien developed a technique so great Roshi noted that the kamehameha could not compare to its destructive power)

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Powers and Techniques

Standard Ki AbilitiesUnique Abilities

• Chi Manipulation & Ki Manipulation (All beings in Dragon Ball have ki, the very life force energy of all characters, ki allows a fighter to extend beyond their bodies limits, allowing them to even block attacks that would otherwise kill them from raising their guard, higher level users can lower their own durability to allow people far below them to fatally wound them)
  • Aura
    • Projection: A users ki aura can exert itself as a weapon to attack.
    • Explosive: Ki users through powering up can form an entire aura around themself, radiating their immense power, where depending on their immense strength, can cause them to explode their aura outwards to remove excess ki from themself.
    • Mood Reflection: Goku and Piccolo Jr. with their auras and their stern concentration on each other reflected in their electric auras, even shooting electricity at each other.
  • Emotional Empowerment (It's noted that ki users can receive energy through one cheering them on. Ki users can be greatly increased by their emotions and beliefs, Son Goku explains that Son Gohan needs to remember the time he fought Cell and bring out all of the power he has, this way he can lose to no one where it's shown during the Cell beam clash that he was holding back greatly out of fear of destroying the earth but from being cheered on and using all of his power within him, he was able to overpower Cell)
  • Attack Reflection (All Ki users are able to reflect attacks just by being stronger than their opponent. Examples include, Nappa deflecting a masenko from Son Gohan, Son Gohan being able to bounce back the spirit bomb, Son Goku deflecting a crusher ball from Jeice, Frieza deflecting a Final Burst Cannon from Vegeta, Son Goku reflecting multiple death beams back to back from Frieza, and Future Trunks being able to completely repel an energy blast with his hand from a Frieza Soldier just by being much stronger than them)
  • Homing Attack (Ki users can create attacks that will home in and chase a target forever)
  • Penetration Damage
    • Bladed Penetration: Ki users can conjure up a circle of chi that is sharp and can cut through enemies far more powerful then themselves, along with this they can conjure ki as a means to stab through an opponent.
  • Weapon Creation (Ki users can create energy weapons out of their attacks)
  • Power Absorption & Energy Transferal (Ki users can transfer their ki to others and absorb the ki given to them from others)
  • Attack Nullification
    • Ki Energy Based: Those with ki can nullify attacks of lesser ki with their ki alone. They can also catch and nullify ki attacks around their level through focusing enough.
  • Power Nullification
    • Ki Energy Based: Through having greater ki, one can nullify the powers done through ki attacks, such as Frieza being able to nullify a hakai ball, which fully destroys a target, though he is unable to resist a hakai ball from Toppo due to him being stronger, this ability however only works on ki, attacks unrelated, characters cannot resist through being stronger, such as how Vegeta, Krillin, & Son Gohan are unable to resist Guldo's psychic powers, along with even the likes of Son Goku.
  • Forcefield Creation (Ki users such as Cell can generate forcefields around themselves. These forcefields can be expanded, and used to protect others and defend against attacks far higher then the user)
  • Super Armor (Through releasing one's ki, they enter a state known as "Hyper Mode", in this state they do not flinch from weak melee attacks)
  • Self-Destruction (Ki users in Dragon Ball are able to release all of the energy within them to cause a massive self-destruction of energy that normally kills the user and turns them into dust though one can control it to surviving but having no stamina or energy left)
  • Dormant Power Reservoir (Ki users have a dormant power reservoir within them, as shown in arcs like the Buu Saga where Babidi saps this energy in order to use the energy to revive Buu and break his seal)
  • Internal Destruction (Powerful ki users can overload enemies with their ki, causing them to swell up and explode from the sheer density of ki within them)
  • Binding
    • Energy Binding: Ki Users can use their ki to bind targets to objects, making them unable to escape even if they're of equal power, however, those stronger than the ki user can easily break out of it.
  • Dreaming Existence (Characters in Shin Budokai have shown to create physical bodies in alternate timelines through dreaming)
  • Non-Standard Interaction
    • Intangible Interaction: Those with ki can block intangible attacks when they focus and notices them.
    • Space-Time Interaction (3+1-D): Characters can blast space-time distortions to close them.
  • Healing
    • Healing Singular Targets
      • Advanced Healing: Ki can be used to heal beings, allowing them to survive even with half their torso, it can also heal from near death.
  • Resurrection
    • Resurrection of the Deceased (Limited): Ki users can resurrect ones heart from death if their ki beams hit their heart, restarting it.
    • Resurrection from Exhaustion: Can heal downed allies to give them ki back, reviving them)
  • Intimidation & Spirit Manipulation (Ki is the manifestation of one’s lifeforce, along with the aura giving one the feeling of being crushed, exerting fear into the target, sometimes making them incapable of moving as their body is instinctively stuck due to the sheer difference in power)
  • Link Manipulation & Mind Manipulation (Characters can link their ki together and train within each other’s mind enacting in image training)
  • Vibration Manipulation
    • Seismic Vibration Manipulation: Ki users can transfer their ki into an object and cause it to vibrate and shake greatly. Powerful ki users can cause the very ground itself to shake when they power up.
  • Electricity Manipulation
    • Unknown Voltage: Powerful Ki users can generate electricity around their aura that can outright electrocute their opponents, Goku and Piccolo Jr. showcased being able to utilize their aura as pure electricity during their clash.
  • Weather Manipulation (Powerful Ki users can generate entire storms through merely powering up alone, Nappa used this in order to conjure the electricity from the storm. Goku showcases this when he first turns super saiyan, causing a massive lightning storm in the background)
  • Energy Manipulation (Ki is the latent power in one's body, this latent power allows them to form and create energy from controlling their ki, which can be used to shoot out energy blast)
    • Energy Projection
    • Possible Delayed Effect (Ki users can have their attacks have delayed effects to them, such as when Baby felt the affects of the kamehameha delayed)
  • Explosion Manipulation (Ki attacks can create massive explosions, or control the ki to set off a huge explosion under the enemy, or in front of them)
  • Portal Manipulation
    • Non-combat applicable: Characters in GT can link their minds together to open a portal between the living realm and the other world.
  • Heat Manipulation
    • At least 100 C: Ki user's ki attacks produce heat allowing them to cook and grill animals and raw meat, along with leaving behind steam after the attacks hit an area, showing its latent heat. Ki users electricity aura can burn objects that touch it.
  • Light Manipulation (Ki can be used as a flash of light, Degisu seeing ki attacks be fired notes that the characters are "firing light from their hands").

• Limited Resistance to
  • Durability Negation (Ki users can focus their energy to localize an object to a specific spot to stop them from attempting to destroy their organs/insides)
  • Soul Manipulation (Characters with a strong enough will can keep moving after getting their soul reaped, though this requires something akin to a familial or friendship empowerment)

• Resistance to
  • Poison Manipulation (Can resist poisons through using forcefields)

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics
• Acrobatics
• Martial Arts
• Enhanced Senses
• Extrasensory Perception (Goku has been trained by Mr. Popo in learning to hone his sixth sense to be able to notice people attacking him from behind without using his eyes and feeling the environment around him, other users such as Tien Shinhan have learned the ability of ki sensing from training with Kami)
• Body Control & Additional Limbs (Tien can grow two extra arms)
• Duplication (Tien can duplicate himself into 4 different clones at the cost of splitting his power into 1/4th)
• Fusionism (Tien can perform the Fusion Dance)
• Accelerated Development & Reactive Power Level (Tien’s power level will grow at a higher rate than some humans who have trained for their entire lives, in order to keep up with the other Z Fighters, with it also being noted that saiyans (and Earthlings as they have received massive power boost too) grow incredibly stronger when up against stronger opponents)
• Power Nullification (Can negate attacks from just shouting alone)
• Sealing (With the mafuba technique, can seal one in a jar).

• Resistance to
  • Sleep Manipulation (Tien resisted the sleep gas Master Roshi put on him)
  • Empathic Manipulation (Unaffected by Ribrianne's Light of Love, which causes one that intakes the aroma to become infatuated with her)

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Equipment

• Electric Rice Cooker: Electric Rice Cookers are the most used containers in the Evil Containment Wave technique, with an ofuda talisman stuck on it. Roshi and Tien Shinhan attempted to use one each to seal King Piccolo again, but both failed; Roshi's strike missed the cooker and Tien's cooker was destroyed by training.

• Weighted Clothing: Clothing fitted with built-in weights to make them heavier than ordinary clothes.

• Senzu Bean: Senzu Beans are mystical beans with immense rejuvenation properties, being capable of healing entire wounds, such as one's stomach being punctured.

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Notable 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: The signature finger beam technique of the Crane School invented by Master Shen.
• Super Knee Uppercut: A diving knee attack to break the opponent's leg, causing an extreme amount of damage.
• 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.
• 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.
  • 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Kamehameha: A powerful Ki blast fired with two hands after concentrating a large amount of Ki.
• Evil Continanment 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.
• 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.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Tien will incoporate different techniques with his martial arts along with ki attacks, against far stronger foes he will attempt his Shin Kikoho.

Weaknesses

• Standard Ki Weaknesses: Ki users that do not have sufficient training over their emotions put their power within a mental lock, thus affects to their emotions can seriously limit their powers, their emotions can also have them instinctively block using the full power of their attacks out of fear of the destruction along with lack of confidence in themselves. If a Ki user is inflicted with any kind of status, disease, or poison, powering up or transforming will put further strain on the body and can speed up the process of poison. Users of Ki Sensing cannot sense beings that invisible, even if the character is in front of them attacking them, they have a hard time countering them due to being invisible. Users of Ki Sensing also have a harder time sensing the true being using illusions, requiring them to focus in on energy fields to see who is moving and who is casting the illusion. Due to the nature of ki draining stamina and energy, Dragon Ball characters ki usage requires them to usually use their higher levels of energy in short bursts, using a large amount of ki overtime can greatly weaken them to the point that characters far lower then them can actually harm them with attacks. Taking large amounts of damage can greatly deplete a ki users attacks, making it where attacks that would otherwise kill massively weakened characters, only pushes them back. Ki users cannot put all of their ki and strength into an attack if parts of their body are broken/injured, they also lose half of their chi if something like one of their arms are badly injured or broken.Ki users that are able to ki sense cannot do it when their guard is dropped, such as when Vegeta was able to sneak attack Son Goku during the end of their fight in the Buu Saga. Despite some ki users being able to reach blasts that can destroy planets through charged attacks or techniques, they have not shown to be able to tank such blasts themselves, with attacks that have destroyed several planets in the series always killing the character. Even characters such as Majin Buu's body cannot withstand the energy of a planet exploding. Using ki volley attacks come with the caveat of their aim being rather poor, making it harder to hit moving targets. If ki users are at all possessed, even by accident, their true self will be sleeping within, with the possessor needing to awaken them. Even if awoken, they are immobilized and unable to move without the possessor giving them the ability to, even with them wanting to wake up, they cannot do it. Specific waves can can suppress a ki users power, and put their consciousness to sleep. If Ki users stamina is broken, they will unable to be able to continue fighting for a short while, this will also cancel out any ki attack they were attempting to use, including ultimate's, this also adds on that ki users guards are down while charging ultimate attacks. Their stamina can also be broken if a character moves far too fast and surprise attacks them while they're charging their ki. Ki Users can also be grabbed out of charging their attacks. When ki users radiate their Ki at its highest, their body is also freed the most, making them open to attacks and making them easy to possess.
• Unique Weaknesses: The Multi-Form technique divides Tien's strength into 1/4, Kikoho drains his strength and if he uses it too much, he will die. The mafuba requires a container to use.

Note

• Some clips used on the profile come from an anime or movie due to the fact that some abilities Goku use shouldn't function much differently from how they can in canon, along with this sometimes the anime version/video game version of a scene will be used for cleaner visuals. Toriyama himself directly overlooks scenes in the anime and movies and gives Toei the thumbs up.
• The speed scaling for PLs are taken with a grain of salt as there are noticeable times where someone's speed isn't equal to their power, such as Burter being faster then Recoome and Jeice, along with Super Saiyan Grade 3 Trunks having his power greatly increased but his speed decreased.

Trivia

• Tien Shinhan's Japanese name pun is tenshindon (天津丼), 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 formatting for his name due to having Chinese characters as its base is Tiānjīnfàn, and is pronounced either as "Tee-ah-n-jee-n-fah-n" or "Tee-ean-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.
• A minor three-eyed background character is referred to as Tien's Mom in the Funimation dub credits for "Day 1".
• Tien is one of the most notable characters who does not appear in Dragon Ball: The Return of Son Goku and Friends!. 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.
• Tien Shinhan favorite foods are jiaozi and shumai.
• Tien Shinhan's favorite vehicle is a llama and ostrich.
• 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.
• Tien shares parallels to another mythological figure from Chinese mythology that has appeared in Journey to the West: Yang Jian, also known as Erlang Shen, the three-eyed demigod who is able to see through lies and deception with his third eye, and has a dog companion by the name of "Howling Heaven Hound/Dog". Like how Tien fought against Goku, Erlang Shen was also known for fiercely combating the original Son Goku/Sun Wukong in order to subdue him during his prequel tale before the journey west, which was overall both Tien and the Three-Eyed People's likely inspiration.
  • A coincidental tie-in to Journey to the West/Chinese mythology in general is also the usage of his Four Witches Technique; Nezha was another known figure who could also both sprout extra arms and/or heads that also was one of the original Sun Wukong/Son Goku's prior adversaries.
• There's a rap song named after him and Yamcha by rapper Sada Baby.
• In the first Budokai game's Legend of Mister Satan mode, before fighting Tien as Mister Satan notices that Tien has 3 eyes, he wonders what Tien's glasses would look like.

Explanations

Before discussing anything regarding planetary, cosmic tier, etcetera Dragon Ball, please do read the full explanation page.

Codex Statistics Questions

Q: What about the planetary feats in Dragon Ball?

A: Planetary feats are normally done through their strongest charged blast, where they can gather ki to shoot out blast far beyond what the character is normally capable of, with blasts capable of seriously damaging/destroying the Earth along with completely obliterating the opponent, though they themselves are never capable of leaving this unscathed.

ExamplesNon-Planetary Showings

Frieza throws a destroy the planet death ball attack but it doesn't destroy the planet. Goku then interestingly notes the reason the planet didn't blow up is because Frieza was too scared of getting caught in the blast . Vegeta's final flash is noted it's going to destroy the planet and Perfect Cell, who is beyond Vegeta, couldn't tank the blast and had to dodge it last second or it would've killed him. Goku's kamehameha was going to destroy the earth and Cell cannot tank this blast, needing to regenerate. Semi-Perfect Cell explosion was consistently noted it was going to destroy the planet and Gohan and it killed Goku. Ultimate Gohan dies to an attack that destroys the earth, his guard was up too since this was when he was fighting Super Buu. Kid Buu shoots a blast trying to destroy the planet, with Vegeta noting he's going to take himself out with it if he lets it off. In Dragon Ball GT, Great Ape Baby Vegeta shoots a super galick gun that he claims will destroy Earth, when Goku is hit by it, he is knocked out to the point that he can't move for a good while, Elder Kai and Shin later state that Baby is going to shoot another blast that will destroy the planet on, greatly injuring Baby if he's caught in the Blast and will kill everyone on the planet if done. Frieza destroyed the entire earth, killing Vegeta in the process. In the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Gohan tells Goku that he doesn't need to hold anything back and can go all out because anything that happens to the Earth can be restored with Dende and the Dragon Balls. Yet, none of Goku's all out attacks destroy the planet but just heavily causes shockwaves around it. Semi-Perfect Cell unleashes a several blast that destroys several islands Android 16 notes that the attacks are just strong enough to not kill Android 18.

In the fight of Trunks vs. Mecha Frieza, who is far stronger than his final form, Mecha Frieza immediately goes for his strongest attack, the Supernova. In the original Z anime King Kai even states this is ten times stronger than the power he used on Namek:

• DBZ Kai Version.
• Original DBZ Anime Version. The attack is directly noted that it could destroy the planet, but doesn't because Trunks catches it, when Mecha Frieza proceeds to detonate it, the explosion is massive but the planet is still intact, implying Frieza must target the core in order to destroy the planet.

Battle Records

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Versus Threads

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