Why doesn't Goku have a Third Eye like Tenshinhan?

[GS7X7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE9yX1T3R9A

It's clear he's become enlightened since he's clearly reading someone's mind here so shouldn't a third eye just open up on his head like Tenshinhan's? In fact, why does Tenshinhan have three eyes and nobody else does?

[Kamiccolo9]

Tenshinhan is a distant descendent of the Three-Eyed Clan, which is some alien race with, presumably, three eyes.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Tien is from a clan of three-eyed people, or so I once heard.

EDIT: Ninja'd

[GS7X7]

http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Three-Eyed_clan

Guess that really does make Kurillin the strongest human!

Someone probably brought this up to Toriyama and this was probably the explanation he had that was in the Daizenshuu.

[Herms]

I believe Toriyama referenced the idea of the third eye as a sign of enlightenment in an interview somewhere, and even said something about Tenshinhan being corrupted by the Crane School to use his third eye's powers for evil, but overall it doesn't seem that "third eye=enlightenment" is a thing in the DB world. Tons of characters are clairvoyant, read minds and do other mystic stuff without benefit of a third eye, and Tenshinhan's not exactly the most spiritually elevated character when he first appears, since he's a would-be assassin and all.

[GS7X7]

Still, an alien?! Didn't even know that til reading the Daiz summary!

What did Toriyama originally intend with his design? Just "someone who looks totally badass" and "fill in the details later" basically? (I know that's common a lot with comic artists.)

[Kamiccolo9]

Still, an alien?! Didn't even know that til reading the Daiz summary!

What did Toriyama originally intend with his design? Just "someone who looks totally badass" and "fill in the details later" basically? (I know that's common a lot with comic artists.)

He's not an alien. Somewhere down the line, one of his ancestors was. Everything with any say in the matter describes him as an Earthling.

[GS7X7]

An earthling of alien descent that is!

[tienfan]

Tenshinhan is a distant descendent of the Three-Eyed Clan, which is some alien race with, presumably, three eyes.

that theory was never fully proven,its honestly quite silly and in the manga it was said he got it from training

its supposed to be a throwback to the philosophy of the third eye
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye

long story short there is a reason why tien spents so much of his time meditating

[tienfan]

Tenshinhan's not exactly the most spiritually elevated character when he first appears, since he's a would-be assassin and all.

it is a sign of enlightenment not of moral value(the third eye) and he was never truly evil to begin with

also

»When Toriyama began creating the Dragon Ball series, he used Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West as a prototype for his own work. Tien's three eyed physical characteristic resembles the story character Erlang Shen, and both are warriors who were originally adversaries of the main character«

»It's actually to represent his enlightenment. That particular place on the Human body---where Tien's third eye is---is a chakra from which power can be derived, according to some Chinese philosophies. It is also where the third eye that supposedly all beings have resides. Through training and meditation, Tien has managed to make that third eye manifest itself physically«

[tienfan]

http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Three-Eyed_clan

Guess that really does make Kurillin the strongest human!

Someone probably brought this up to Toriyama and this was probably the explanation he had that was in the Daizenshuu.

Lol at the daizenshuu books and something written on the cover of a dvd being reliable sources of information

[VegettoEX]

Lol at the daizenshuu books and something written on the cover of a dvd being reliable sources of information

This is not a valid contribution.

We're not even talking about grammar at this point. Three posts in a row, and one being a sarcastic, dismissive response? This is not OK. You will receive account strikes moving forward.

[Akyon]

Most likely the real reason:
Because it's Tenshinhan's main unique defining physical feature. Yamcha was given scars to make his appearance more unique, Krillin has his incense burns and lack of a nose, Chiaotzu is chalky white with bright red cheeks and HUGE eyes and Tien has his third eye. Start giving everyone third enlightenment eyes and you take away the only thing that makes Tenshinhan's appearance instantly recognisable.

In-Universe reason:
Saiyan enlightenment may manifest itself very differently from human enlightenment. How do we know for example, that the initial Super Saiyan form isn't the Saiyan equivalent of enlightenment?

[Herms]

the manga it was said he got it from training

That's not said anywhere in the manga.

Not to be super picky, but he also doesn't do much meditating in the manga.

»When Toriyama began creating the Dragon Ball series, he used Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West as a prototype for his own work. Tenshinhan's three eyed physical characteristic resembles the story character Erlang Shen, and both are warriors who were originally adversaries of the main character«

People bring this up a lot, but I honestly think it's a bit of a reach. Tenshinhan pops up long after the period when DB was a big Journey to the West homage (pretty much just that very first "hunt for the dragon balls" story arc), Toriyama's never acknowledged any connection (not even when asked about Tenshinhan's third eye), and likewise no official material makes any connection (not even guidebook sections devoted to pointing out JttW references in DB). The only real similarity between the two is that they both have third eyes, but that's such a common feature in Asian mythology, it's a bit like claiming Character A must be a homage to Character B because they both have wings, or multiple arms. And yeah, Tenshinhan initially appears as an adversary for Goku, just as Erlang Shen was for Wukong, but that's an even looser connection. Goku has so many adversaries throughout the series that it'd be surprising if some of them didn't have characteristics in common with people Wukong fights in JttW, even when Toriyama didn't necessarily have that in mind.

Overall, it wouldn't be surprising for Toriyama to say in the next interview or Q&A "yeah, Tenshinhan's third eye is a reference to Erlang Shen", but so far he's never said anything like that, and the connection is so general that it also wouldn't be remotely surprising for it to just be a coincidence.

[FortuneSSJ]

The same reason why Goku has a nose, unlike Krillin
The third eye is just to make his character unique. I don't need to talk about enlightenment.

[ParkerAL]

Because it would look odd on Goku's character design.

[Makaioshin]

I believe Toriyama referenced the idea of the third eye as a sign of enlightenment in an interview somewhere

He sorta does this in one of his interviews for Viz's Shonen Jump.

What's up with the third eye on my main man Tenshinhan? Is Tenshinhan human?
- Charles Moyer, California; Evan Coltin, Via Internet
T: In certain parts of Asia, beings with a third eye on their forehead are thought to be godlike and are said to possess the power of true seeing. It seems that Tenshinhan, who was raised by the evil Tsuru-Sen'nin [Crane Hermit], lost the ability to use the myriad powers of his third eye for good purposes.

One of the users here transcribed the whole thing if anyone is interested.

[Herms]

Ah! That's the exact interview I was thinking of. Thanks, I looked around for it a bit but couldn't manage to find it.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Because it would look odd on Goku's character design.

Someone start up photoshop and test this please.

[GS7X7]

He ignored the whole "Ten's an alien" thing from the Daizenshuu.

Huh, guess maybe Ten isn't an alien then? Then again there is ZERO evidence or allusion to him being an alien anywhere in the anime/manga series.