Tenshinhan's behavior in the Cell Arc

[Kid Buu]

During the 10 day wait for the Cell Games the heroes use this as a chance to enter the RoSaT again. Trunks, Vegeta, and Piccolo all want to go in while Tenshinhan, Goku, and Gohan decline. I understand why Goku didn't want himself or Gohan to go in the Time Chamber, but why Tenshinhan? He says he wont be able to beat Cell anyway, but all he does in his spare time is train anyway, so it seems rather out-of-character that he would decline such an opportunity. It's not like he'd be getting in the way, as the other fighters wouldn't take up to 10 days there either. It just seems rather odd to me.

[Kamiccolo9]

Because there's no point in him torturing himself for a year when he wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. Better for him to train in his own way at his own place.


Besides, I don't think that the Earthlings could withstand the gravity anyway, but that's neither here nor there.

[thatdbzguy]

I've just come to accept that every single character in the Cell arc was either out-of-character, or unrealistically stupid.

[Hitiro]

Why put himself through a years worth of training when he will do that over the time he is alive anyway? The way I see it is if you are going to go into the RoSaT you better have a damn good reason to use the day. Now Goku, Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta and Gohan all have valid reasons to use the RoSaT. Because they need to get strong quickly in order to beat Cell. But Tienshinhan doesn't gain anything by having some quick training, granted it will make him stronger faster. But he has his whole life to train with Chaotzu. Other than that you are hastening your death by 1 year essentially. While we don't know how long anybody has to live you're widening the gap between your friends so you have a more likely chance of dying. So I honestly don't see how it is out-of-character. What is he going to do in a day that he won't be able to do within a years worth of training? Absolutely nothing.

[rereboy]

Obviously, the only fighters already strong enough to be able to benefit from the ROSAT enough to maybe surpass Cell in time were the saiyans and perhaps Piccolo. Tenshinhan knew this so he didn't even want to occupy the room during that time and left it all for them. Also, the fact that Tenshinhan lives for training doesn't mean that he would feel the need to occupy the room when it can be better served. If he really wanted to use the room, he could ask permission to use it after Cell had been defeated.

I've just come to accept that every single character in the Cell arc was either out-of-character, or unrealistically stupid.

Or maybe there's a perfectly natural and obvious reason for it, like I pointed out, to those of us not determined in pursuing some kind of vendetta agaisnt Dragon Ball.

[thatdbzguy]

Obviously, the only fighters already strong enough to be able to benefit from the ROSAT enough to maybe surpass Cell in time were the saiyans and perhaps Piccolo. Tenshinhan knew this so he didn't even want to occupy the room during that time and left it all for them. Also, the fact that Tenshinhan lives for training doesn't mean that he would feel the need to occupy the room when it can be better served. If he really wanted to use the room, he could ask permission to use it after Cell had been defeated.

I've just come to accept that every single character in the Cell arc was either out-of-character, or unrealistically stupid.

Or maybe there's a perfectly natural and obvious reason for it, like I pointed out, to those of us not determined in pursuing some kind of vendetta agaisnt Dragon Ball.

What was Gohan's perfectly natural and obvious reason for his OOC behavior?

Exactly.

[rereboy]

What was Gohan's perfectly natural and obvious reason for his OOC behavior?

Exactly.

What you wrote has absolutely nothing to do with anything in this topic, except to confirm what I just said about your "vendetta".

[Doctor.]

Tenshinhan's objective was to surpass Goku, I think he stated that after Goku came back from Yardrat. I can't recall it completely, though. With that in mind, he knows that he's already far outclassed and wouldn't want to take time away for someone who could stand a chance against Cell.

[trick007z]

Tenshinhan knew he wasn't going to get anywhere near the vicinity of Cell in one year. He wasn't even going to accomplish enough to make a noticeable difference. He also trains intensely constantly. It was just a waste of his time. The Saiyans could make big gains really fast. The humans couldn't.

[FoolsGil]

Remember that one time that Tenshinhan deus ex machina Semi Perfect Cell? two goes in the ROSAT, he might have been able to do that to Perfect, or Super Perfect Cell. So I agree with Original Poster, he could have done have some good and it was foolish for him to not use it.

[Hitiro]

Remember that one time that Tenshinhan deus ex machina Semi Perfect Cell? two goes in the ROSAT, he might have been able to do that to Perfect, or Super Perfect Cell. So I agree with Original Poster, he could have done have some good and it was foolish for him to not use it.

That's under the assumption he could double or triple his power with a year in the RoSaT. Which we have no idea if it would have been possible. More than likely he thought that was impossible. Kuririn thought he had more than reached his limits on Namek until Guru unlocked his potential. And any gains by the Saiyan's are easier to accomplish because their base power is significantly smaller than their SSJ power. What would take someone equal to a SSJ to train to double or triple their battle power is much more easier for a actual SSJ because they only need to double or triple their base battle power. So we don't know how much stronger Cell was because his strength is relative to the Saiyan's gains. It's more than likely Tenshinhan wouldn't have had huge gains even with the years training. Also, Tenshinhan also didn't know how much stronger Cell had gotten. So he couldn't guarantee a 2x or 3x increase would have been enough.

[Tyro]

Besides, I don't think that the Earthlings could withstand the gravity anyway, but that's neither here nor there.

What do you mean? Kaio's planet had 10x Earth's gravity and so does the RoSaT. Yamcha was there for about 136 days and Tenshinhan+Chaozu were there about 266 days. I guess you could argue that Kuririn would have a difficult time since battle power doesn't directly correlate with withstanding gravity, but I think he could handle it.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Tenshinhan has been training for all these years, and he couldn't surpass base Goku, or even Kuririn. To me, this indicates that he had reached his limits, like Goku did after RoSaT, so he probably realized that getting inside would give him more torture than results, and he would still be useless against Cell.

[White Oni]

I've just come to accept that every single character in the Cell arc was either out-of-character, or unrealistically stupid.

Wait, do you not like the cell saga or something?

[Hitiro]

I've just come to accept that every single character in the Cell arc was either out-of-character, or unrealistically stupid.

Wait, do you not like the cell saga or something?

The guy doesn't like any saga. Or at least that's the way it seems to me. Check his posts. For a guy who calls himself "thatdbzguy" he doesn't half dislike Dragon Ball. You would think he is just one of those guys who posts his dislike for something just because he feels the need to. He may not be that way, but that is what it seems like no matter how many times I see him post on here. Don't mean any offence by it, but I feel it is a legitimate opinion. Rereboy seems to have also noticed him attacking the story from multiple posts as well.

[FoolsGil]

Remember that one time that Tenshinhan deus ex machina Semi Perfect Cell? two goes in the ROSAT, he might have been able to do that to Perfect, or Super Perfect Cell. So I agree with Original Poster, he could have done have some good and it was foolish for him to not use it.

That's under the assumption he could double or triple his power with a year in the RoSaT. Which we have no idea if it would have been possible. More than likely he thought that was impossible. Kuririn thought he had more than reached his limits on Namek until Guru unlocked his potential. And any gains by the Saiyan's are easier to accomplish because their base power is significantly smaller than their SSJ power. What would take someone equal to a SSJ to train to double or triple their battle power is much more easier for a actual SSJ because they only need to double or triple their base battle power. So we don't know how much stronger Cell was because his strength is relative to the Saiyan's gains. It's more than likely Tenshinhan wouldn't have had huge gains even with the years training. Also, Tenshinhan also didn't know how much stronger Cell had gotten. So he couldn't guarantee a 2x or 3x increase would have been enough.

There is a point in trying, if you're supposed to be a hero.

[Kamiccolo9]

Besides, I don't think that the Earthlings could withstand the gravity anyway, but that's neither here nor there.

What do you mean? Kaio's planet had 10x Earth's gravity and so does the RoSaT. Yamcha was there for about 136 days and Tenshinhan+Chaozu were there about 266 days. I guess you could argue that Kuririn would have a difficult time since battle power doesn't directly correlate with withstanding gravity, but I think he could handle it.

They were dead then, and not subject to biological limitations. A living human body could not function under 10x gravity. The heart wouldn't be able to pump blood through the body, the lungs wouldn't be able to inflate, and the skeletal structure couldn't support the additional weight, to name a few things.

[Hitiro]

There is a point in trying, if you're supposed to be a hero.

Tenshinhan had stopped being a hero a long time ago. I think he has accepted the fact that the Saiyan's are the true hero's now. I didn't say he wouldn't still keep training. But it is pointless for him to speed up his growth when he would still be useless. He would reach the strength he would have reached from the RoSaT at some point during a year of training, give or take, why should he rush himself and shorten his lifespan by a year just to get results he can get during his time with Chaotzu?

They were dead then, and not subject to biological limitations. A living human body could not function under 10x gravity. The heart wouldn't be able to pump blood through the body, the lungs wouldn't be able to inflate, and the skeletal structure couldn't support the additional weight, to name a few things.

The humans have long since shed the biological limitations we would assume they would have from our universe though. You say it is impossible for a living human body to function under 10x gravity. It is impossible for a human to take a spray of bullets and not be harmed. Yet the characters do that. It is impossible for a human to push that huge rock Goku and Kuririn pushed. Yet a human accomplished it. It is impossible for a human to move at a speed where they are practically unseen by other humans. Yet that happens. Also the fact that all the human characters beat Goku's time across Snake Way and weren't as bothered by the gravity as Goku was. You can pin this on "not subject to biological limitations" but the manga never states they aren't subject to the biological limitations. And it isn't like Goku pointed out a human couldn't handle that much gravity, if they were his friends levels anyway. Their physiological limits being like ours were long since smashed by them Pre-Saiyan arc.

[Marco Polo]

Tenshinhan was too prideful to use the Chamber. Imagine if you were an average painter and you could paint everyday in the same workshop as the most talented artists in the world, except that you have no teacher (the others don't teach you). You would get discouraged real fast since the difference between the others' work and yours would be jarring . You'd much rather go paint at your own place.

[mysticboy]

Besides, I don't think that the Earthlings could withstand the gravity anyway, but that's neither here nor there.

They can handle the gravity just fine, but it's the atmosphere that might be the problem.