Three-Eyed People & Tenshinhan

[Nazi Cola]

In the manga, Tenshinhan displayed the ability to split himself into four people, and grow extra arms. The Daizenshuu says both are characteristics of the Three-Eyed People, and specifically says the latter is beyond "human limits."

Is there any explanation for this in the manga, or is that all we have? I mean, Piccolo refers to him as an Earthling alongside Krillin when they're searching for Gero's lab, but that's about it for his racial makeup mentions in the manga.

[sonikku956]

In the manga, Tenshinhan displayed the ability to split himself into four people, and grow extra arms. The Daizenshuu says both are characteristics of the Three-Eyed People, and specifically says the latter is beyond "human limits."

Is there any explanation for this in the manga, or is that all we have? I mean, Piccolo refers to him as an Earthling alongside Krillin when they're searching for Gero's lab, but that's about it for his racial makeup mentions in the manga.

Well, Ten is mostly human, but he is the descendent of the descendents of aliens.

[Kamiccolo9]

Seeing as Chiaotzu, Gyumao, the King of Earth, Turtle, Pilaf, and Giran are all considered Earthlings, I don't see why people seem insistent on not counting Tien just because he has a drop of alien blood. I mean, I'm American, but I have Italian ancestors. Does than make me any less American? Tien is always grouped with the other Earthlings, is never mentioned in the series to be anything but an Earthling, and considers himself an Earthling, so it just seems to be people who for some reason can't accept the information that we're given multiple times about him not being the strongest Earthling who are insisting that he be counted as an alien, even though nothing, including the publication that mentions his ancestry, considers him to be one.

[Marco Polo]

Earthling is not a race.

[caejones]

It's a weird sort of detail that no one in the series knows about, added because everyone else was getting Sci Fi-ish explanations. And by everyone, I mean the major characters (Chaozu kinda got left out).
It's also a reference to something, if I remember correctly.
Eh, Toriyama might have thought of it around the time of Kami, just like the other alien plots that he thought of around that time, and just never did anything with it. It strikes me as probably coming after the manga was completed, though, unless I missed some reference from the past year or two.

I like to think that Earth's previous Kami had three eyes, and occasionally split into four when he needed to send someone down to talk to people. That is, of course, pure fanfiction, but eh.

(Why didn't they say Chaozu is a vampire who is so dang weak because Kami won't let him feed on people? Maybe Chaozu tried to eat Nappa, and blew up because there was just too much in there? This would also explain why he becomes such a good cook: he has to make up for his lack of yummy people-juice somehow, so it'd better be delicious.)

[Herms]

Even Daizenshuu 4, which introduces the whole "Tenshinhan is descended from the alien Three-Eyed Clan" thing in the first place, still places him in the Earthling section of the book's racial guide. It's even in the "Earthlings with special powers" sub-section there that they mention the alien Three-Eyed Clan bit. So Tenshinhan is still definitely supposed to count as an Earthling, just one with some partial alien ancestry.

Anyway, there's nothing about Tenshinhan's Three-Eyed Clan ancestry in the actual series ands as far as I know it's first mentioned in Daizenshuu 4. The closest thing is the way everybody freaks out and is dumbfounded when Tenshinhan grows his extra arms/splits into four people, implying it isn't something ordinary people can do (Kame-sennin even says "there's. I way" Goku could grow arms like that). On the other hand the anime has Kuririn apparently split into three people when fighting Nappa, without any explanation. Meanwhile, the DB Adventure Special glibly notes that "no matter how much you train, you won't be able to grow more arms".

It's also a reference to something, if I remember correctly.

Well, "Three-Eyed Clan" is also the name of Sharaku's (terrestrial) race in the very aptly-named Osamu Tezuka manga The Three-Eyed One, and it's used in a couple other manga/anime as well. But it's also such a generic term that it's use in DB isn't necessarily a reference to any of those prior uses.

[DerekPadula]

You may already know this, but Tenshinhan has three eyes because he is inspired by Erlang Shen from Journey to the West. Erlang Shen's 'third eye' is what allowed him to see through Sun Wukong's myriad transformations, including turning into a house.

Just like Sun Wukong, Erlang Shen can transform into different shapes, become an animal, split his body into multiple clones and do all kinds of fancy martial arts. I don't recall off the top of my head if he specifically grows extra arms, but it's well within his reach [pun intended].

I feel like the Daizenshuu's explanation, which hey, may be straight from the mouth of Toriyama (who knows), seems like a post-hoc explanation for something because they didn't know enough about Journey to the West. Saying he's an alien seems right in line with any of the other easy explanations for other character's unique abilities and qualities.

[Herms]

You may already know this, but Tenshinhan has three eyes because he is inspired by Erlang Shen from Journey to the West.

That's never been officially confirmed anywhere. It could be, but three eyes are an incredibly common trait in Eastern mythology and fantasy works in general, so there's no reason Tenshinhan's three eyes would have to be inspired by Erlang Shen.

I feel like the Daizenshuu's explanation, which hey, may be straight from the mouth of Toriyama (who knows), seems like a post-hoc explanation for something because they didn't know enough about Journey to the West.

Goku's monkey tail is inspired by Journey to the West, and obviously that ended up with an alien explanation. Likewise, while Kinto-un and Nyoibo don't get alien origins in DB, their DB origins are still completely different from those of their JttW counterparts. So even if Tenshinhan's third eye was inspired by Erlang Shen, there's really no reason to expect the DB explanation for his third eye to match up with the JttW one.

Besides, the daizenshuu don't even use the "Three-Eyed Clan" tidbit to explain Tenshinhan's third eye, amusingly enough. Rather, it's always invoked only as an explanation for how Tenshinhan can grow extra arms and split into four people. They never even specify that the reason he has three eyes is because of his Three-Eye Clan ancestors, though obviously that's the implication.

[DerekPadula]

I wrote a response with further evidence to show that my opinion is right, but I don't feel like posting it anymore. It seems kind of silly to discuss such things. You're right that it has not been officially stated, so it's just an opinion.

I guess we'll have to wait and see if the next book or interview reveals any new info on the subject.

[mAcChaos]

You should still post it. The forum is dedicated to this kind of thing and it would be good info all around.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

In the manga, Tenshinhan displayed the ability to split himself into four people, and grow extra arms. The Daizenshuu says both are characteristics of the Three-Eyed People, and specifically says the latter is beyond "human limits."

Is there any explanation for this in the manga, or is that all we have?

There is also Toriyama's answer in this question:

(11) 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.