Can Roshi read minds?

[floofychan333]

I'm rewatching the original Dragon Ball on my DVDs and I just watched the episode where Roshi/Jackie Chun figures out why Nam is so stoic. He somehow figures out Nam's background and appears to read his thoughts. If Roshi is, in fact, able to read people's minds, then why is this never mentioned again? He could have had a whole new dimension in fights, reading enemies' minds to figure out their next attacks and warning his teammates in battle. Furthermore, he could have stayed relevant throughout the whole series as a mind reader who assists Goku and Vegeta and crew with figuring out the enemies' next moves, long after he was outclassed by the Z Fighters.
Is there any reasonable explanation other than Roshi being able to read minds when he figured out Nam's background? And if Roshi can read minds, does anyone think he would be of any use to the protagonists with his skill or can anyone come up with a reasonable explanation why he wouldn't be of any use with mind reading?

[Ssjcell]

Not only can roshi read minds but Goku and Vegeta can as well they read fat buus mind when he was in the pod to see what happened . Also Goku read krillins mind when he arrived on namek.

[SSJgogeto]

Vegeta? I don't remember that.

[Kamiccolo9]

Goku reads minds as the plot dictates, Jackie Chun read Namu's, and Piccolo's telepathic every other Thursday in May.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Sometimes. It doesn't appear to work in battle though (i.e. read your opponent's mind to predict their next moves).

[SupremeKai25]

Goku can read the minds of others. So imagine if he had used that technique in the Future Trunks arc to read Goku Black's mind. He would have learned his true identity in episode 49. He would have realized Zamasu's true inner thoughts in episode 53. In short, the Future Trunks arc would have been much shorter, and much more boring.

You understand why the writers had to forsake that technique, It's too OP and completely ruins the narrative.

[Waluigiman]

Did Roshi read Nam's mind at a long distance? I don't remember. And how about Goku?

[Polyphase Avatron]

Did Roshi read Nam's mind at a long distance? I don't remember. And how about Goku?

I think it requires a person's consent or at least them not holding intense negative emotions to you.

[Akira]

Roshi wasn't just the strongest man in the world at the beginning of the series, he was also one of the most cunning warriors with a massive arsenal of techniques of all kinds. Mind reading being one of many techniques at his disposal. Real explanation is what others have mentioned, it would be too game breaking so it wasn't used in battle. With Nam and Krillin being the subjects of this technique though, an in-universe explanation might be that it can only be used on those with a calm mind, or those that are in a resting state.

Roshi is a highly underrated character. Especially among fans who saw his return to the battlefield in the Resurrection of Freeza arc, and his selection for the Tournament of power leaving them confused. The confusion stems mostly from fans who only ever watched DBZ before DBS. In DBZ, he was relegated to the side lines or as a secondary character rather than a main frontline fighter. The reason for this though was that he had officially retired. Yes, he was ultimately outclassed by that part of the series, that much is true. However, those who watched the original DB might take note of a few things that speak to his level of power and strength in DBS.

First and foremost is the 22nd Budokai. Roshi is shown to have trained in secret, so that his alter ego, Jacki Chun could give his pupils (Son Goku, Krillin, and by that point Yamcha as well) a solid fight in the tournament. After battling with Tenshinhan, he realized they could have a worthy opponent in him, if he turned away from the killer's path set for him by Crane Hermit and Tao Pai Pai. As such, he hopped out of bounds and forfeit the match. Tenshinhan acted arrogant and said it must be because Turtle Hermit was afraid of losing to him. Yet, if one pays close attention to their match, you see that Roshi only used between 50% (low end estimate) to 70% (high end estimate) of his true power against Tenshinhan.

Mount Frypan and Earth's Moon were the only two opponents we ever saw in the series that Roshi took on at 100% battle power. They both lost, hard. Previous arguments (prior to DBS existence) were that the form was only for his max power Kamehameha. Yet, we see him in the Resurrection of Freeza arc use the form for basic hand to hand combat, debunking that theory. We learn just prior to his recruitment for the tournament of power that he has been continually training in secret all these years. No longer driven to "stay relevant" or to be the best anymore, he only sought self improvement, which was at the very core of his teachings for the others. He was spurred further ahead by the very students he had raised with these same ideals.

[Waluigiman]

Now that I remembered that Korin the one who trained Roshi can read minds, I don't think it is that surprising.

[floofychan333]

Roshi is a highly underrated character. Especially among fans who saw his return to the battlefield in the Resurrection of Freeza arc, and his selection for the Tournament of power leaving them confused. The confusion stems mostly from fans who only ever watched DBZ before DBS. In DBZ, he was relegated to the side lines or as a secondary character rather than a main frontline fighter. The reason for this though was that he had officially retired. Yes, he was ultimately outclassed by that part of the series, that much is true. However, those who watched the original DB might take note of a few things that speak to his level of power and strength in DBS.

First and foremost is the 22nd Budokai. Roshi is shown to have trained in secret, so that his alter ego, Jacki Chun could give his pupils (Son Goku, Krillin, and by that point Yamcha as well) a solid fight in the tournament. After battling with Tenshinhan, he realized they could have a worthy opponent in him, if he turned away from the killer's path set for him by Crane Hermit and Tao Pai Pai. As such, he hopped out of bounds and forfeit the match. Tenshinhan acted arrogant and said it must be because Turtle Hermit was afraid of losing to him. Yet, if one pays close attention to their match, you see that Roshi only used between 50% (low end estimate) to 70% (high end estimate) of his true power against Tenshinhan.

Absolutely. I thought I was the only person who thought Jackie Chun was holding back against Tenshinhan. People also need to keep in mind that he fought against Piccolo Daimao, which is one thing that redeems him for me. It's much too often that he seems like exclusively a sexual predator which makes him almost detestable in many situations, but his heroics in that arc made me appreciate him a lot. His good side is probably one of my favourite characters but I can't in good conscience have an exclusively positive opinion towards him due to all the gross things he tried to do to women. There's absolutely no justification for that, and the only way that it's even somewhat entertaining is how badly he fails at it. There's nothing funny about wanting to grope someone without their consent.

[Angelus]

Yeah, he's just not that good at it. Think of it as having a minor telepathic ability that you haven't mastered. Nothing like Professor X level

[shadowfox87]

If you remember, Korin read Goku's mind after he climbed Korin's tower. Roshi was taught by Korin. Eventually, after training at 100x Earth's Gravity, Goku also mastered the technique and read Krillin's mind.