Cell regeneration

Ryu · Post by **Ryu** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 3:54 pm

I’ve been wondering about this. When Cell overcame death so to speak, he mentions that it was because inside his head there is a small lump that repairs him when he has been injured. As long as that lump isn’t destroyed, then he is able to regenerate his body. (This process is again mention in the Buu saga).

Now my question is (I’m sure you guys have already figure out what I’m going to ask), how was he able to regenerate earlier when Gokuu completely eradicated his top half of his body?

I don't think it could be a mistake as they happen fairly close to each other.

Sun_Wukong · Post by **Sun_Wukong** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 4:19 pm

Was that the time when Gohan got cockey and Cell almost killed him? If so, half of his body was pretty much in tact. The part that allows him to regenerate probably wasnt completley destroyed.

Deus ex Machina · Post by **Deus ex Machina** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 5:03 pm

That question is asked a lot...and the answer is, their is no answer. I guess Toriyama just wasn't all that hung up on the specific rules of how a characters powers worked.

It would've made more sence if he had just said that Cell could regenerate from any body cell, but he invented that little explination about the nucleas in his head because it sounded cooler.

B-kun · Post by **B-kun** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 5:06 pm

Deus ex Machina wrote:That question is asked a lot...and the answer is, their is no answer. I guess Toriyama just wasn't all that hung up on the specific rules of how a characters powers worked.

It would've made more sence if he had just said that Cell could regenerate from any body cell, but he invented that little explination about the nucleas in his head because it sounded cooler.

Plus, it was probably for drama. Didn't they show the nucleus shattering after Gohan destroyed his body?

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 7:00 pm

My thoughts: When Goku blew him away Toriyama hadn't thought up the brain thing yet. When Cell came back and mentioned the brain thing later, Toriyama probably forgot he had already blown him away.

B-kun · Post by **B-kun** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 7:02 pm

Dayspring wrote:My thoughts: When Goku blew him away Toriyama hadn't thought up the brain thing yet. When Cell came back and mentioned the brain thing later, Toriyama probably forgot he had already blown him away.

His memory's like a goldfish, it is... I'm still amused that, for a second, he thought Broli was in the manga.

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:06 pm

Hee hee. He was probably mixing Broly's gargantuousness (new word! Yah!) with USSJ2 Trunks.

Kodoshin · Post by **Kodoshin** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:43 pm

Perhaps Cell was just knocked a little loopy when he said all that

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:59 pm

Or maybe, when Goku blew his head off, the nucleus didn't exist yet, it was created when he reformed? No, I didn't really think so either.

Though I thought in the Anime, at least in the dub, he said "So long as a single cell remains in tact I can continue to regenerate."

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:48 pm

The dub does say that. And I remember people complaining about how they mistranslated a fairly important plot point.

But, it turns out that they might have (accidently) gotten rid of an old plot error. So, er, well done FUNi?

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:00 pm

Somebody should ask them how it's an important plot point and a plot hole at the same time.

I think FUNi did a good job actually fixing the error.

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:36 pm

It's a plot point because saying that he can regenerate from any cell is very different from saying that he can regenerate as long as a specific nucelus in his head is intact.

To be honest, I did originally agree with them. But I'd forgotten that Cell gets the top half of his body completely blown off a few episodes earlier.

Was there ever anything specific said about Piccolo's ability to regenerate? We know he regenerated the entire lower part of his body after Trunks accidently knocked his statue in two (it makes more sense than saying that he regenerated the top half). And we saw him make new arms all the time. But what about if he'd lost his head?

James R. Cadwell · Post by **James R. Cadwell** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:49 pm

PsyLiam wrote:Was there ever anything specific said about Piccolo's ability to regenerate? We know he regenerated the entire lower part of his body after Trunks accidently knocked his statue in two (it makes more sense than saying that he regenerated the top half). And we saw him make new arms all the time. But what about if he'd lost his head?

IIRC, Piccolo said that he can regenerate his entire body as long as his head is intact. (which is somewhat difficult to reconcile with other events in the series.) This is probably because he isn't able to repair damage to his brain or whatever serves as the "seat of consciousness" in Namekians. I figured Cell's "nucleus" served essentially the same purpose, and stored his memories, consciousness, etc.

More on that topic....

Is it possible that Cell's nucleus wasn't destroyed by Goku's Kamehameha and somehow wound up right next to Cell's remains, where it would be in a position to incorporate the original body when it regenerated?

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:58 pm

That would be about the only explantion, though I personally like the dub idea better, but, whatever. Still, if it blew up half his body I don't really see how it survived. Unless he has a back-up nucleus hidden somewhere

James R. Cadwell · Post by **James R. Cadwell** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 12:07 am

Xyex wrote:That would be about the only explantion, though I personally like the dub idea better, but, whatever. Still, if it blew up half his body I don't really see how it survived. Unless he has a back-up nucleus hidden somewhere

Maybe his nucleus wasn't located in his head until after he regenerated?

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 7:51 am

Maybe his tail could have acted as one as well, since that's kind of where he assimilates people for the first time. Maybe residual cells from everybody were there and it took those cells and regenerated the nucleus only (or formed a secondary nucleus). Once he had the nucleus back, his body could regenerate.

Sun_Wukong · Post by **Sun_Wukong** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:07 am

I thought Cell could only regenerate because he was made from Piccolo's DNA. So therefore, wouldnt he regenerate the same way? Or was the fact that if Piccolo's head is intact he can regenerate, not mentioned till the Buu saga? Toriyama mustve simply forgotten about Cell by then. Like mentioned before, Toriyama has a very poor short term memory, and long term for that matter. *cough*Lunch*cough*

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:16 am

I don't know when that was first mentioned.

But another theroy came to me. A Saiya-jin's tail has the ability to regenerate, correct? I mean, eventually it does stop but, though Cell looks rather old, he hasn't been walking around for very long, so maybe his tail also had Namekian enhanced regenerative powers that he used to fix himself that time?