Every Dragon Ball series offers something unique, but many of the series’ staples – like radical Super Saiyan transformations – are introduced in Dragon Ball Z. The original Dragon Ball has its share of iconic antagonists, but Dragon Ball Z goes above and beyond, featuring a litany of evil aliens & ancient malevolent forces who could eliminate any previous Dragon Ball villain in a single shot. Characters like Tien Shinhan just don’t stand a chance. In theory.
New villains like Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu prove to powerful enough to challenge totemic techniques like the Kaio-Ken Attack, Spirit Bomb, fusion, and various tiers of Super Saiyan transformations. That being said, one of Dragon Ball’s most reliable classic characters still stands tall against these apocalyptic threats and is responsible for crucial contributions that have helped save the planet. Tien doesn’t get nearly enough respect in Dragon Ball, but his trajectory through Dragon Ball Z is truly impressive and a testament to this underrated individual.
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Dragon Ball Z’s Cell Saga is a fascinating transition period for the series. Goku’s Super Saiyan ascension against Frieza is one of the franchise’s most important milestones, but Dragon Ball Z’s follow-up story arc proves that this transformation is more common than anyone could have predicted. Dragon Ball Z’s Cell Saga makes Super Saiyan transformations the norm, proving that this isn’t a power-up exclusive to Goku. Vegeta, Future Trunks, and even Gohan trigger Super Saiyan eventually. Dragon Ball Z emphasizes the idea that Saiyans are absolutely essential and their strength will be necessary to defeat new threats like Androids 17, 18, and Cell.
Amidst this Super Saiyan supremacy, Tien manages to prove he’s still relevant. He becomes a rare case of a human who successfully holds his own against Semi-Perfect Cell during a period when the heroes need him the most. Future Trunks is desperate to prevent Cell from absorbing Android 18 and attaining perfection – even if Vegeta adopts a contrasting philosophy – and Tien helps the heroes buy more time. Tien debuts the upgraded Tri-Beam attack – the Neo Tri-Beam – and he cathartically exhausts the technique against Semi-Perfect Cell. There’s some tremendous fallout here and Tien’s power buries Semi-Perfect Cell in the ground, even if it doesn’t manage to defeat the villain. It’s a more substantial contribution than what many other characters provide against Cell.
It’s quite telling that Cell goes on to later use Tien’s Neo Tri-Beam and clearly recognizes it to be a powerful attack. In many ways, this validates Tien’s experience and the fact he possesses an ability Cell considers worthy in battle. Tien’s milestones against Cell – and later the Cell Juniors – are even more impressive considering that he doesn’t train in Hyperbolic Time Chambe. This is a strategy that Goku, Gohan, Future Trunks, Vegeta, and Piccolo all take advantage of in order to grow stronger and cram a year’s worth of preparation into a single day. Tien is able to achieve everything he does without this gimmick and he’d likely be able to do even greater damage against Cell if he were to immerse himself in this training environment.
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Dragon Ball Z’s concluding Buu Saga is another massive period of change that highlights just how much the world – and its heroes – have grown in the seven years since Cell’s destruction. Majin Buu is an ancient evil who’s feared by even the likes of celestial deities like the Supreme Kai, exposing Eartj to unprecedented levels of terror. The Buu Saga elevates its Saiyans to even greater heights, with Super Saiyan 2 transformations becoming commonplace – as well as the introduction of Super Saiyan 3 – not to mention significant power boosts like Ultimate Gohan and the additive strength of fusion. Dragon Ball Z’s villains have become so dangerous at this point that it’s basically impossible for anyone who’s not a Saiyan to stay relevant.
It’s fair to say that no one expects Krillin, Yamcha, or Master Roshi to jump in and save the day. Even Piccolo struggles to keep up during this horrific attack. All this makes it even more impressive when Tien manages to provide some vital support against Super Buu. Tien is only around briefly in the Buu Saga, but it’s a significant contribution nonetheless. Tien senses that his friends are in danger and manages to protect Mr. Satan, Dende, and Gohan during one of Super Buu’s attacks. Admittedly, Super Buu’s severed legs almost immediately knock Tien unconscious afterward, but Tien’s ability to save Dende here still keeps the Dragon Balls in play, which is fundamental for the heroes’ later success.
Tien’s Buu Saga treatment also contains other validating results for the underrated character. Tien is one of the few people on the planet who manages to avoid Super Buu’s Human Extinction Attack, which is truly impressive and further corroborates how much he’s grown since he was last seen during the Cell Saga. He also avoids absorption by Buu, which is more than Gohan, Piccolo, and Gotenks can claim. Goku even considers fusing with Tien after Gohan gets absorbed and his original plan fails. Tien’s unconscious state is what pushes Goku to pivot to Vegeta as a fusion partner, but the fact Goku initially wants him and his strength before he considers Vegeta is quite telling. A universe where Goku and Tien do successfully fuse together could have completely changed the trajectory of what follows in Dragon Ball Super and Tien might have played a more prominent role in the series.
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Tien’s battle contributions against Cell and Majin Buu are worthy of accolades, but these actions mean even more when they’re viewed in the context of his role in the original Dragon Ball. Goku eventually becomes a larger-than-life figure literally as powerful as a God, which makes it easy to forget that Tien was his first real rival. Tien is introduced as Goku’s Crane School counterpart and he even manages to narrowly beat Goku in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, where he’s crowned the winner.
Tien’s victory during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai is one of his greatest achievements, but it’s also a vital crossroads for the character as he parts ways with Master Shen and goes on to align himself with Master Roshi. Tien is an incredibly honorable individual, but it’s hard for him to shake his past association with Master Shen’s Crane School and the damage that they’ve done to the world. Dragon Ball is full of redemption stories as former foes become allies. Tien has an especially hard time forgiving himself and truly atoning, even though his friends understand that he’s a changed man.
Tien’s past association with the Crane School comes back to haunt him during the 23rd World Tournament when he’s specifically targeted by Cyborg Tao due to his traitorous ways. Tien later receives scorn, persecution, and a surprise attack from another former Crane School disciple, Yurin, in Dragon Ball Super. Tien has truly moved on, but he’s continually reminded of his past wrongs, which makes it harder for him to forgive himself. This all motivates Tien to be a better fighter and a more honorable hero. He’ll never forget the fact that he was at one point capable of beating Goku, which is a guiding mantra for him in Dragon Ball Z that gives him the confidence and strength to even consider taking on villains like Cell and Buu.
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Tien comes out swinging during Dragon Ball Z’s Cell and Buu Sagas. That being said, Tien’s actions during the series’ introductory Saiyan Saga are much less impressive and are borderline embarrassing. Tien’s early humbling in Dragon Ball Z is difficult for any of his fans to watch, but this setback becomes a crucial catalyst that motivates him to work harder in the material that follows. Earth faces devastating losses against Nappa and Vegeta as the heroes’ numbers are seriously culled while Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, and Tien all perish. It’s an effective way to establish a new status quo in Dragon Ball’s more mature sequel. Tien exerts all his energy in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Nappa. This becomes a wake-up call for him that helps him recognize that it’s important to work harder if he ever wants to succeed against this new caliber of enemy. He acknowledges that he has new heights to reach and limits to pass if he ever wants to become relevant to Earth’s ongoing protection.
Alternatively, Yamcha and Chiaotzu regress following their Saiyan Saga deaths. Their defeats confirm that they’re out of their league and that it would be smarter for them to change course, like in the case of Yamcha’s pivot towards baseball. Tien, however, is inspired to keep striving to be the best. While it may be anime-exclusive filler material, Tien takes his time with King Kai quite seriously and truly cherishes his ability to beat the Ginyu Force in battle. He’s committed to never feeling helpless and overpowered again. In doing so, Tien achieves this goal and he never experiences another humbling loss that’s on par with his Saiyan Saga death, whereas Yamcha, Krillin, and Piccolo all do. Tien proves to be a true hero and an underrated character because he’s able to channel this loss to actually grow stronger and stand a chance against villains like Cell and Buu, rather than hide from them or not even try to take them on.
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Dragon Ball characters are often only as strong as their most recent accomplishment or failure. Tien’s contributions against Cell and Buu are impressive, but they’d retroactively lose impact if he were to regress in Dragon Ball Super. Fortunately, Tien proves to be one of the most important humans in Dragon Ball Z’s successor series. Tien is a vital member of Universe 7’s Tournament of Power team and proves that he can prepare and improve on his own. Krillin, on the other hand, requires Goku’s help to regain his fighting spirit and get back in shape. Tien shows that he’s a confident and independent individual by starting his own dojo and training a new generation of martial arts. Helping new heroes become strong enough to protect the planet has increasingly become one of Goku’s priorities, yet Tien has achieved it. Tien could even welcome Goten, Trunks, Uub, and Pan into his dojo and help them grow stronger in the process.
This all confirms that Tien has never turned his back on his trade, even if he hasn’t explicitly been in the spotlight. Krillin, Yamcha, and even Gohan have had lapses in this department and haven’t exclusively dedicated their lives to martial arts in the same way that Tien has. Tien’s cooperation during the Tournament of Power is significant, but he also stands out during the heroes’ battle against Moro’s Galactic Bandit Brigade in Dragon Ball Super’s manga. Tien’s skills have only continued to increase and he’s likely poised for even greater heights in the future. Goku doesn’t have to worry about whether Tien will be prepared to fight if danger strikes. He’s always ready, whether it’s against an artificial Android warrior, a malevolent ancient force of evil, or a new and unknown terror.
