Community thoughts/reflections on Tenshinhan as a character

[kinisking]

Honestly, I don't think Tien gets near enough appreciation both in and out of the universe. He kind of seems like a non-factor to a lot of the fanbase. He doesn't get talked about much and I don't think I've seen anyone who's favorite character is tien. Honestly, he's by far my favorite human (and I love Kuririn). In dragonball he was clearly shown as a fighting genius and that side of him kind of got brushed away in Z. He also continues to train even though he's hopelessly outclassed which is super admirable. Are there any Tien fans out there? What are other people's thoughts on the character?

[Marco Polo]

He gets cool points my book for being the only Z Fighter who never forgave Vegeta.

[kinisking]

He gets cool points my book for being the only Z Fighter who never forgave Vegeta.

That's true, Vegeta did some horrible things which is never really considered by the other Z- Fighters. They REALLY should have given him some flak for what he did at the tournament.

[Bansho64]

He's one of the most realistic characters in the show to me. I love his bond with Chaozu (especially in DB Movie 3) and it was always very touching to me. Tenshinhan is tied with Kuririn as my favorite human and he's definitely in my top five favorite characters along with Kuririn, Gohan, Piccolo, and Chaozu.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Love his unique design as well as all of the crazy techniques he showcased during his WT ventures.

[Cipher]

Pretty bland character outside his role of generic martial arts rival in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai and Piccolo arcs.

He's basically as interesting as his function in the story. Which, after those arcs, is understandably reduced.

[ABED]

He's interesting beyond his "function" in the story as a rival. He has one of the more interesting complete arcs in the entire series. It might not be as long as others', but it's just as good.

[Cipher]

He's interesting beyond his "function" in the story as a rival. He has one of the more interesting complete arcs in the entire series. It might not be as long as others', but it's just as good.

His arc is limited to his introductory arc and the following conflict. It's tidy, it works, and what I meant by "function" is that he fills a very specific role as "serious rival martial artist who goes from threat to friend," with little extending beyond that.

I'm not saying he's a bad character, or that interesting stories couldn't be written around him, but he winds up feeling a little bland and functional compared to most others in the series.

[TheQuazz]

Just like many other characters in Dragon Ball he's boring and flat.
He was just a tough guy for Goku to fight, after that he became a good guy and hung out with the rest of the boring good guys who follow Goku around and cheer for him. Sometimes he'll pull off a flashy move but he still has no character and he didn't even affect the story after the arc he was introduced in.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

He's in my top 5 favorite characters. His design and the unique techniques he possesses are awesome. His character arc is one of my favorite things in the entire series. This might be an unpopular opinion but I vastly prefer Tenshinhan's character arc to Vegeta's.

- Travis

[ParkerAL]

Tenshinhan doesn't get enough respect. Even people who like him don't take the time to write out his actual name.

[dbgtFO]

I found him interesting as the villain in the 22nd Tournament, but after all the Piccolo shenanigans are over and done with, he quickly becomes a boring character, who wasn't given that much attention.
The plot point of him getting the gist of Kaio's training to perhaps one day challenge Goku goes nowhere, but at least he got some cool moments later in the series by temporarily stopping Cell and later saving Dende and Mr. Satan, which turned out to be quite important.

[ABED]

He's interesting beyond his "function" in the story as a rival. He has one of the more interesting complete arcs in the entire series. It might not be as long as others', but it's just as good.

His arc is limited to his introductory arc and the following conflict. It's tidy, it works, and what I meant by "function" is that he fills a very specific role as "serious rival martial artist who goes from threat to friend," with little extending beyond that.

I'm not saying he's a bad character, or that interesting stories couldn't be written around him, but he winds up feeling a little bland and functional compared to most others in the series.

Again with the word "functional." His conflict is interesting because it's not simply an external one, he's at war with himself. The execution of it all causes it to rise above being bland. It's a shame Toriyama couldn't find much for him to do after the Saiyan arc because he's one of the most three dimensional characters in the story. For example, even after he sees Tsuru-sennin for the bastard he is, he still doesn't completely dissociate himself from his teacher. He doesn't start wearing the gi or symbol of Kamesennin.

Sometimes he'll pull off a flashy move but he still has no character and he didn't even affect the story after the arc he was introduced in.

Wrong on both counts. He saves Goku's life and he clearly has a character. He's a martial artist that starts out being a dick who desires to eventually be an assassin like his mentor, but as we slowly find out, he doesn't have the heart for it. He figures out that in his heart what he truly desires is to be the best martial artist he can be, much like Goku.

[Marco Polo]

For example, even after he sees Tsuru-sennin for the bastard he is, he still doesn't completely dissociate himself from his teacher. He doesn't start wearing the gi or symbol of Kamesennin.

His reasoning is probably that it's Tsuru-sennin who betrayed the spirit of his own school and who should be the one to not wear its gi, not him.

IMO Toriyama could have expanded Tien's character after the Kaio training. The fact that he's not exactly a normal human (even if you disregard the whole "tree-eyed clan descendant" thing from the guidebooks) could been a basis for him getting on par with SSJ Goku or Kamiccolo.

Toriyama could have bookended his arc with his relationship with Launch, too.

[Kakacarrottop]

Honestly, I don't think Tien gets near enough appreciation both in and out of the universe. He kind of seems like a non-factor to a lot of the fanbase. He doesn't get talked about much and I don't think I've seen anyone who's favorite character is tien. Honestly, he's by far my favorite human (and I love Kuririn). In dragonball he was clearly shown as a fighting genius and that side of him kind of got brushed away in Z. He also continues to train even though he's hopelessly outclassed which is super admirable. Are there any Tien fans out there? What are other people's thoughts on the character?

Tien is definitely not underrated. At times he is given that same "badass antihero" role like Vegeta and Piccolo, so that instantly makes him popular with a lot of people. He's got way more fans than someone with similar screen-time such as Yamcha, who is constantly portrayed as useless in battle.

[kinisking]

Honestly, I don't think Tien gets near enough appreciation both in and out of the universe. He kind of seems like a non-factor to a lot of the fanbase. He doesn't get talked about much and I don't think I've seen anyone who's favorite character is tien. Honestly, he's by far my favorite human (and I love Kuririn). In dragonball he was clearly shown as a fighting genius and that side of him kind of got brushed away in Z. He also continues to train even though he's hopelessly outclassed which is super admirable. Are there any Tien fans out there? What are other people's thoughts on the character?

Tien is definitely not underrated. At times he is given that same "badass antihero" role like Vegeta and Piccolo, so that instantly makes him popular with a lot of people. He's got way more fans than someone with similar screen-time such as Yamcha, who is constantly portrayed as useless in battle.

Yamcha is basically the most hated on character in the show... don't think it's fair to compare lmao. But even so, I've seen a lot more people say Yamcha is there favorite character. In fact, I've never heard someone say Tien is theirs.

And I agree with you Abed! The dude had some crazy internal struggles. Turning good basically was him turning against everything he knew and having to betray the man he respected most. That takes a lot of character and is more impressive than Piccolo or Vegeta's changes.

[Majin Jator]

I never cared for him when I was a kid. I found him dull, and I suspect I didn't forgive him for breaking Yamcha's leg.
Now, with the years he has grown a bit on me, but the problem is that everithing he does, Piccolo does it better: "Cool, silent type" Check, "Rivalry with Goku" Check, "Caring for a midget" Check.

But yeah, he probably deserves more appreciation.

He gets cool points my book for being the only Z Fighter who never forgave Vegeta.

Great point. That makes him stands out from the rest.

[kinisking]

I never cared for him when I was a kid. I found him dull, and I suspect I didn't forgive him for breaking Yamcha's leg.
Now, with the years he has grown a bit on me, but the problem is that everithing he does, Piccolo does it better: "Cool, silent type" Check, "Rivalry with Goku" Check, "Caring for a midget" Check.

But yeah, he probably deserves more appreciation.

He gets cool points my book for being the only Z Fighter who never forgave Vegeta.

Great point. That makes him stands out from the rest.

I didn't really care for him as a kid either. But then again I didn't really care for anyone else besides for the Saiyans as a kid.

Piccolo isn't really a cool silent type anymore. He's much more talkative and goofy than Tien. He's been that way for quite a while now too.

Piccolo's rivalry with Goku wasn't really interesting besides for the fight with Raditz imo.

I agree with the caring for a midget part though. Gohan and Piccolo's relationship is one of the best parts of DBZ and super.

[ABED]

Piccolo's rivalry with Goku wasn't really interesting besides for the fight with Raditz imo.

It's not as psychological as Vegeta's or even Tenshinhan's, but both fights against Piccolo are amongst the best in any DB show.

[floofychan333]

He was epic in DB when I watched it and then he got thrown to the scrap heap like everyone who wasn't part of Goku and Vegeta's families. It also didn't help that he wasn't given a noticeably unique personality so he doesn't even get as much screen time as Kuririn and even Yamcha.