The vanishing dead

[SHINOBI-03]

Somthing confuses the hell out of me...

Why some people vanish when they die and some other don't?

When Goku died, his body vanished, and we see that he kept his body.

But when Yamcha, Chaozu, Tenshinhan and Piccolo died, they didn't vanish, but they also kept their body.

Kami vanished, but he is not a fighter and we don't know if he kept his body.

And during the Freeza Saga, we see the Great Elder vanishes the second time he died, but not in the first time.

Someone explains to me what's going on here.

Are vanishing from the living world and keeping the body in the After Life related?!

[Khalid Shahin]

I think it is one of two things. When a guardian disappears I believe it is similar to the force, or out of respect. But when Goku disappeared it was so he can train his body, and any damage done to it was healed. When a person goes to the afterlife without their body they are simply a soul that could not train. But what about Tien and the others? They didn't vanish and yet they got their bodies. Some interesting things about this. Kami wasn't around for long to collect the bodies, Bulma collected the bodies so they could wish them back with the Dragon Balls, and I think Akira Toriyama didn't care at that point. Hopefully I answered your question.

[Herms]

Kami was depicted as being dead with a body in one of the title pages, if that counts.

It was said that Chaozu had to get his exploded body restored by Kami in order to train with Kaio, implying that those killed during the Saiyan fight all kept their original bodies in the afterlife, instead of just being granted new ones. So maybe everyone's bodies disappeared sometime after they died, perhaps when it became clear that they had some hope of eventually returning to life?

No clue why the Great Elder didn't vanish when he died the first time, but I'd think the reason he vanished the second time would be because he got to keep his body in the afterlife. Since the only explanation ever given for a person's body vanishing at death is so they can keep their body in the afterlife, I'd assume that's the reason for all other cases of vanishing bodies we see, unless another reason is specifically given.

[the_abberration]

Somthing confuses the hell out of me...

Why some people vanish when they die and some other don't?

When Goku died, his body vanished, and we see that he kept his body.

But when Yamcha, Chaozu, Tenshinhan and Piccolo died, they didn't vanish, but they also kept their body.

Kami vanished, but he is not a fighter and we don't know if he kept his body.

And during the Freeza Saga, we see the Great Elder vanishes the second time he died, but not in the first time.

Someone explains to me what's going on here.

Are vanishing from the living world and keeping the body in the After Life related?!

Goku's body vanished because Kami personally escorted his spirit to the afterlife for training and he needed it.

Piccolo and Kami both vanished because Kami was a god and they were connected. [Side Note: Piccolo does disappear in the uncut DBZ. Due to a misconception with the edited dub, everyone else who died were airbrushed out due to censorship].

The Great Elder died the first time out of dispair from Freeza killing his people. He soul wasn't at peace. The second time, he was at peace. Yeah.. that's the ticket!!

Chazou got a new body, because there was nothing left after he exploded.

Tien and Yamcha were the only bodies left behind. In the manga Krillin asks Goku to move to another location to fight Vegeta so their bodies would not get mangled. In the anime, I recall Bulma loading them on the ship when they got Goku. However when they were brought back. Tien got a new body with his missing hand restored. Yamcha just got a new body for G.P.

Going back to the original DB series, Bulma saved Roshi and Krillin's body for when they were restored. Tien and Yamcha were restored by the Namek balls so maybe that's why they got new bodies.

All in there should be a dead body for Tien and Yamcha floating around somewhere unless the Namek dragon use them to make the new ones.

[Metalwario64]

[Side Note: Piccolo does disappear in the uncut DBZ.]

No he doesn't.

[Scarz]

No clue why the Great Elder didn't vanish when he died the first time, but I'd think the reason he vanished the second time would be because he got to keep his body in the afterlife. Since the only explanation ever given for a person's body vanishing at death is so they can keep their body in the afterlife, I'd assume that's the reason for all other cases of vanishing bodies we see, unless another reason is specifically given.

I thought it was the old "Whatever works best even if it doesn't make a slick of sense or contradicts the DB universe's own rules" writers approach.

[the_abberration]

[Side Note: Piccolo does disappear in the uncut DBZ.]

No he doesn't.

My mistake. Got mixed up between the edited/uncut version. But it would have made sense for Piccolo to disappear like Kami.

[Bussani]

Goku was escorted to the afterlife to get training right away, because there wasn't time to spare. There probably wasn't much point to gather up everyone else's bodies during the fight with the Saiyans. Or maybe they were going to wait until after the battle was over. Technically Goku vanished after the battle too, but since he died after the battle, there's no way of knowing if Kami would have whisked him away had he died before. Raditz would probably find it odd. Seems to make more sense to wait and do it quietly.

Tenshinhan and the others mention that they met Kami in the afterlife and he sent them to Kaio's place, restoring Chaozu's body for him. It's likely that it was here that they got their bodies so they could make the trip.

With Saichoro, it might be another case of waiting for a quiet moment for them to respectfully disappear, rather than doing it in the middle of the chaos.

[Gaffer Tape]

Yeah, I agree with Bussani about the bodies of Yamucha and the others. The way I see it is that gods and other advanced beings automatically get to keep their bodies when they die. Probably similarly to Goku, Kami-sama petitioned Enma to allow them to keep their bodies after he had met up with them in the afterlife. Goku died at the end of a battle, so Kami-sama probably had enough foresight to immediately warp Goku's body to the afterlife. When Yamucha and the others died, Kami-sama was too busy watching events unfold, plus there was really no real reason to speed them on their way to the Serpentine Road at that point. I do wonder how Kami-sama spent his death time, though...

Of course, filler messes up the logic of this when the Ginyu Tokusentai show up on Kaio's, with their bodies, even though at the same time, Gohan flies through Namek and finds their bodies in the same places they left them. Whoops...

[russ869]

I always thought it was weird that Kami-sama disappeared and Piccolo's corpse didn't. But, whatever...

[Gaffer Tape]

I used to think that too, but, again, Kami-sama is God. Piccolo's... well, not God.

[Kroni_Hunter]

Perhaps it has something to do with the deceased state of mind at their time of death.

For example, Goku disappeared knowing he had saved the Earth from Raditz. He looked very peaceful and happy as he disappeared. Yamucha, on the other hand, got attacked from behind in the middle of an uphill battle. Tenshinhan also died knowing Chaiozu had died in vain, and that he was about to as well. Piccolo, though, disappeared after saving Gohan and looked peaceful as Goku did.

Saichoro's first death was out of grief, but his second was natural and peaceful. Altogether I conclude that if a person has died feeling they have completed their purpose, it is considered a key factor in disappearing.

[the_abberration]

I read the manga a little bit again. Maybe this will help. I used the Viz version for what it's worth. (Ref DBZ Vols: 1, 2, 6, 9, and 12).

Why do some people vanish when they die and others don't? When Goku died, his body vanished, and we see that he kept his body.

Under special circumstances, Kami has the ability to take a person's body and soul to the afterlife when they die. When Goku vanished, Krillin is shocked that Goku's body disappeared. However Piccolo says he senses Kami's hand in it and asked Krillin who else could do such a thing. Later Kami says to Enma, "And so he has come still in flesh form to receive training."

But when Yamcha, Chaozu, Tenshinhan and Piccolo died, they didn't vanish, but they also kept their body.

Apparently, Kami can only take a person's body and soul when he is still alive or if they are on the same plain of existence. He was alive when Goku died. Also both of them were on Earth. When Piccolo died, Kami's body and soul went to the afterlife. Since Kami was in the afterlife, everyone else had to meet his soul there and have their bodies regenerated by Kami. When they reach King Kai's place, Yamcha says that they met Kami's soul in the afterlife. When Goku questions about Chazou blowing up, Yamcha says that Kami could regenerate even his body (this would imply that everyone else was regenerated as well].

Kami vanished, but he is not a fighter and we don't know if he kept his body.

Kami either kept his body or regeneated it. He chose to stay behind because as you said, he's not a fighter. When Yamcha says the four of them made it to King Kai's, Goku assumed the fourth person was Kami. Yamcha corrects Goku by telling him, that Kami chose to stay behind and the fourth person was Chazou.

And during the Freeza Saga, we see the Great Elder vanishes the second time he died, but not in the first time.

I think I figured out what happened the first time. They were in the middle of making their wishes when the Great Elder died. Since he was tied into the dragonballs, this may have had something to do with his body not being able to vanish (His soul did move on however). The second time he died, he had passed his title of Great Elder to Muri. This severed his connection to the Namekian dragon balls, and his body was able to vanish (which is why they were able to use them after the original Great Elder died).

Are vanishing from the living world and keeping the body in the After Life related?!

After looking at everything again, I would have to say no. Apparently, you don't really need to vanish, since Kami (or the dragon) can regenerate a new body or your old one (even from nothingness). It seems gods have the ability normally, and Goku was was special rush job. Look at Krillin. When Freeza blew him up, the Namekian dragon brought him back and said he even pulled his tattered body and clothes together as a treat. When Vegeta died in the Buu Saga, his body turned to ash/stone and blew away when he died. When he came back with Baba, he was missing the M symbol on his forehead (which would suggest a new body).

[Velasa]

Just out of curiosity.. so does this mean there are extra bodies for Pic, Tenshinhan and Yamcha lying around in capsules in a drawer somewhere? Creepy.

[Duo]

Just out of curiosity.. so does this mean there are extra bodies for Pic, Tenshinhan and Yamcha lying around in capsules in a drawer somewhere? Creepy.

What if they brought Piccolo's old body back to life and he merged with it? Another epic power up?

[Dr. Casey]

Just out of curiosity.. so does this mean there are extra bodies for Pic, Tenshinhan and Yamcha lying around in capsules in a drawer somewhere? Creepy.

This post made a chill run down my spine.


I'm scared now.

... well, Buu did blow up the Earth. But yeah, I guess they did stick around for the intervening decade.

[the_abberration]

Just out of curiosity.. so does this mean there are extra bodies for Pic, Tenshinhan and Yamcha lying around in capsules in a drawer somewhere? Creepy.

In the manga, Bulma is not shown going back and recovering the bodies. The spot where they find Goku is different from where the others died. Krillin asked Goku to move his fight with Vegeta to another area so their friends bodies wouldn't get mangled.

To amend my earlier post slightly, going from what Yamcha said about Chazou. I believe that unlike Goku where Kami was able to get both his soul and body together, he waited (or had to wait) for Piccolo and the other souls to arrive in the afterlife before getting their bodies.

Maybe Kami did use their original bodies and they vanished "off screen". It seems that he, the dragon, and Enma (assuming he's the one that gave Vegeta his body back) can recycle the body, restore lost limbs, and remove troublesome majin symbols from one's forehead.

[IncompetentOverlord]

Perhaps it has something to do with the deceased state of mind at their time of death.

For example, Goku disappeared knowing he had saved the Earth from Raditz. He looked very peaceful and happy as he disappeared. Yamucha, on the other hand, got attacked from behind in the middle of an uphill battle. Tenshinhan also died knowing Chaiozu had died in vain, and that he was about to as well. Piccolo, though, disappeared after saving Gohan and looked peaceful as Goku did.

Saichoro's first death was out of grief, but his second was natural and peaceful. Altogether I conclude that if a person has died feeling they have completed their purpose, it is considered a key factor in disappearing.

I really like this theory. It's kind of mystical in a way that Dragonball rarely seems to be. Thanks

[caejones]

Just out of curiosity.. so does this mean there are extra bodies for Pic, Tenshinhan and Yamcha lying around in capsules in a drawer somewhere? Creepy.

This post made a chill run down my spine.


I'm scared now.

... well, Buu did blow up the Earth. But yeah, I guess they did stick around for the intervening decade.

Crazy Fan Idea Time~!
Someone used the bodies f--Dangit, Cell!