| Master Roshi | |
|---|---|
| Dragon Ball character | |
 Master Roshi's first appearance in the manga, drawn by Akira Toriyama | |
| First appearance | Dragon Ball chapter 3: Goku - Running to the Sea, 17 July 1984 (Weekly Shōnen Jump 1984) |
| Created by | Akira Toriyama |
| Voiced by | Japanese
English
|
| Portrayed by | Chow Yun-fat (Dragonball Evolution) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Jackie Chun |
| Title | The Turtle Hermit (sobriquet) |
| Occupation | Martial arts teacher (retired) |
| Relatives | Fortune-teller Baba (older sister) |
| Master | Mutaito Korin |
| Apprentices | |
Master Roshi, known in Japan asKame Sennin (亀仙人, lit. "Turtle Sage")[1] as well asMuten Rōshi (武天老師, lit. "Old Master of Martial Arts"), is a fictional character in the Japanesemanga seriesDragon Ball and itsanime adaptations created byAkira Toriyama.
Within the series, he is an elderlymartial arts master, born on March 20, who is the creator of theKamehameha (カメハメ波) technique. His students includeGrandpa Son Gohan,The Ox-King,Son Goku,Krillin andYamcha. He is bald, sports a thickvan dyke beard, and wears sunglasses, beach clothes, or martial arts suits. He usually wields a walking stick and, in early appearances, wears a turtle's shell on his back. In spite of hislechery, cantankerousness and occasional whimsy or foolishness, he is often depicted as wise and perceptive. While a popular character withDragon Ball fans, the depiction of some of his antics has been met with criticism or deemed highly controversial.
Master Roshi's design was inspired by the character ofKami-sama from Toriyama's previous mangaDr. Slump[vol. 2:afterword] and accordingly was originally voiced byKōhei Miyauchi,[2] who also voiced Kami-sama in the originalDr. Slump anime. For unknown reasons Miyauchi was unavailable for the recording of Dragon Ball Episode #137; the role was played by series narratorJōji Yanami. Miyauchi's final acting session before he died was for episode 260 ofDragon Ball Z, which he recorded only 3 months before his death. Kame-Sennin is voiced byHiroshi Masuoka from episode 288 ofDragon Ball Z onward,[3] inDragon Ball GT and the2008 Jump Super Anime Tour film. He is voiced byKinya Aikawa in the10th anniversary movie,[4] byTakko Ishimori in gameplay ofDragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, byMasaharu Satō in thethirteenthDragon Ball Z movie and all media followingDragon Ball Kai.,[5] and by Nobuaki Kanemitsu inDragon Ball Daima.[6]
In theOcean dub, he is voiced byMichael Donovan,Ian James Corlett,Peter Kelamis,Don Brown, andTerry Klassen at various points. Dean Galloway voices him in theBlue Water dub, whileMike McFarland voices him in the Funimation dub. Other English dub voice actors include Ed Marcus, Nesty Ramirez, Dave Bridges, andKirk Thornton.
Master Roshi's first appearance is in chapter #3 of theDragon Ball manga. Roshi lives with his longtime companion, an anthropomorphic turtle referred to as Umigame (ウミガメ, "Sea Turtle"), on an island with a house built on it known as "Kame House". Kame House eventually serves as a gathering place for Goku and his associates throughout the series, as well as a home for certain recurring characters likeOolong or Krillin and his young family. Graduates of Roshi's training (i.e. Goku,Krillin,Yamcha) often wear thekanji for "Turtle" ("Kame")亀 on theirdogi. When wishing to fight anonymously at the World Martial Arts Tournament, Roshi assumes a disguise and calls himself "Jackie Chun".
Master Roshi is consistently depicted as a pervert who frequently flirts with or harasses physically attractive female characters. In Chapter 5 of theDragon Ball manga series, published inWeekly Shōnen Jump on January 15, 1985, Roshi makes sexual advances on "Bulma" who is wearing a suggestive bunny costume; it is in fact an impersonation by a shapeshifting Oolong, who seduces Roshi by inviting him to place his face between his "breasts" and calls the act "Puff Puff".[7] The term is derived from the Japaneseonomatopoeia for a woman rubbing her breasts in another person's face, though it can also be used to refer to a woman juggling her own breasts.[8]
When tasked with putting out a fire on Mount Frypan, Master Roshi demonstrated an ability to greatly increase his energy. In this state, his appearance changes dramatically, with an enormous increase in muscle mass and likewise height which was nearly equal to Piccolo. Due to his natural precision in battle, this bulky state does not appear to affect his speed and agility. In this state, he can perform many ki attacks at their maximum potential, most noticeably an enhanced version of hisKamehameha attack, which was so powerful that it was able to destroy the moon.
At the beginning of theDragon Ball series, he is considered to be the strongest mortal fighter in theDragon Balluniverse, however his power level began to pale in comparison to Goku and his allies later in the series. While his legacy is demonstrated in the prolific use of theKamehameha technique by numerous characters in the series, his prominence has diminished greatly by the time Goku reaches adulthood. He would only make occasional appearances as a supporting character and no longer operate as an active fighter.
Master Roshi would return to prominence as a major character with the revival of theDragon Ball series in the 2010s. In the filmDragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' andits counterpart story arc inDragon Ball Super, Master Roshi would join Goku and his friends in their fight against a resurrected Frieza leading his army to Earth and exact vengeance against Goku. It is also implied on one episode that the Paradise Herb is the source of Master Roshi's long lifespan, as he claims that eating some of it would allow him to live on for another millennia.
In the Universe Survival arc of theDragon Ball Super manga, Roshi is revealed to have been secretly training and holding back his true strength, and he is later recruited as one of the representatives of the Seventh Universe by Goku, not for his strength, but for his knowledge in fighting in tournaments. But as his perverted behavior got him caught in a mind control spell by a Crane School student named Yurin, Roshi enlists Puar to build up a resistance to beautiful women. Master Roshi manages to eliminate competitors from other universes during the tournament and is one of the last 6 remaining members of universe 7 in the tournament. Roshi later instructs Goku as he struggles fighting against Jiren, telling him that plain old fighting strength is not a way to measure things, that they master the martial arts not to win fights but to conquer their own selves. Jiren begins to attack Roshi, but the old master is able to avoid all attacks as he focuses on controlling his body. Ultimately, Jiren is able to eliminate Roshi after chopping at his neck, but his sacrifice is not in vain as Goku uses Roshi's teaching to unlock the new form, "Ultra Instinct", as Roshi watches from the sidelines.
In the anime he is forced to eliminate himself when an altercation with the Sixth Universe warrior Frost nearly kills him from excessive use of theMafuba technique.
In June 1988, Master Roshi along with otherDragon Ball characters were featured in two public safety announcement shorts. The first was entitledThe Goku Traffic Safety (悟空の交通安全,Gokū no Kōtsū Anzen),[9] and the second calledThe Goku Fire Fighting Regiment (悟空の消防隊,Gokū no Shōbō-tai) where he along with Krillin, Yamcha, and later Goku become volunteer fire fighters.[9]
Master Roshi is portrayed byChow Yun-fat in the American live-action filmDragonball Evolution; his voice was dubbed over byTsutomu Isobe in the Japanese version.
Roshi was included as one of eight character pairings inDragon Ball x One Piece: Cross Epoch, a crossover manga between their respectiveDragon Ball andOne Piece series.[10] In the 2013 crossover TV specialDream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special!! (ドリーム9 トリコ&ワンピース&ドラゴンボールZ 超コラボスペシャル!), Roshi is one of the participants in the Food Tournament (Tenkaichi Kuōkai), consisting of a race to the center of the hosting island and the championship prize of luxuriously rare Carat Sizzled Cattle, hosted by the International Gourmet Organization (IGO).
Roshi is aplayable character in the followingvideo games:
Master Roshi is a popular and widely recognized character,[11] who has appeared in several "top" character lists by fans and critics. Japanese fans voted Master Roshi the thirteenth most popular character of the series in a 2004 poll.[12] Master Roshi was ranked second place in a Japanese fan poll conducted by Charapedia for their favorite lecherous male anime and manga characters.[13] Master Roshi was ranked among IGN's Top 13Dragon Ball Z Characters List published in 2015, which acknowledged Roshi's primary role within the series as a comic relief character but also emphasized the importance of the character's in-universe legacy for being the inventor of the Kamehameha, "the franchise's most recognizable move and Goku’s signature technique", and that he can still hold his own in battle when necessary.[14] Roshi came in 12th place onComplex's list "A Ranking of All the Characters on 'Dragon Ball Z": Pearce observed that while Master Roshi's role in the series deteriorated with the arrival of the Saiyan characters, he still pops up to offer advice, support, and comic relief.[15]
Master Roshi has received particular attention for his lewd sensibilities as well as his constant attempts to catch the series' female characters in revealing positions.[16] Tim Jones from Them Anime Reviews believed that while fan service is prevalent in the originalDragon Ball series, he opined that it is not very extremely offensive as characters like Roshi quite often gets beaten up or punished in retaliation for comedic effect.[17] Master Roshi's scene with Oolong who is disguised as Bulma originated the slang term "puff puff", which is later referenced in other works which has Toriyama's involvement, such as theDragon Quest franchise.[8] References to the act were removed from the American television broadcast of theDragon Ball anime adaptation.[16] The character's lecherous behaviour towards a female character named Yurin in aDragon Ball Super episode provoked a major complaint by Japan's Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization due to the underlying theme of sexual harassment.[18] AnotherDragon Ball Super scene, where Roshi persuades Pu'ar to shapeshift into a scantily clad young woman in order to motivate him to train better, provoked controversy inArgentina. This led to the series being banned in the country as of September 2021.[19]
Reviewing the live-actionDragonball Evolution forIGN, Christopher Monfette said that Chow Yun-Fat's performance successfully captured Master Roshi's "whimsical, half-drunken essence".[20]
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