Paikuhan

Paikuhan
パイクーハン (Paikūhan)
English Name(s)	Pikkon
Name Pun	Pork ribs + rice
Anime Debut	Dragon Ball Z Episode 195
Japanese VA	Hikaru Midorikawa
Canadian VA	Brian Drummond
Funimation VA	Kyle Hebert
Personal Data
Classification	Alien
Occupation	Martial Artist

Paikuhan is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball universe, introduced as one of the many fighters in the Afterlife Tournament that Son Goku encounters in Age 767, hailing from the West Galaxy.

Paikuhan is first introduced in episode 195 of the Dragon Ball Z television series, as scripted by Aya Matsui, which debuted 28 July 1993 on Fuji TV. Paikuhan went on to appear in a supporting role in 1995's twelfth Dragon Ball Z film, and following the nostalgia boom in the aughts with various video game releases, began making regular appearances as a playable character, particularly in fighting games.

Biography

Paikuhan is a martial artist originally from the West Galaxy, but most recently serving as Son Goku's rival in the afterlife. He is an orthodox martial artist who combines power with technique. Though he does not talk much, he conceals a fierce fighting spirit inside him. His techniques include the Hyper Tornado where he spins his body at high speed to create a tornado, and the Thunder Flash where he attacks with glittering flames. He defeated Cell and Freeza when they were rampaging through Hell, but lost to Goku in the finals of the Afterlife Tournament.

Dragon Ball Z TV Series

More introductory Afterlife Tournament text TBD

In the preliminary rounds of the Afterlife Tournament, little of the match between Paikuhan and Jinkyo is depicted, but Paikuhan appears to dominate his opponent with an abdominal kick and emerges as the winner.

In contrast to their respective Kaiō who bicker and taunt each other, both Paikuhan and Olivu remain silent and motionless when the gong sounds for their second-round fight. Paikuhan makes the first move and nearly knocks Olivu out with the power of his voice. Olivu recovers and the pair take flight, battling each other with ki blasts in the asteroids far above the ring. They both launch devastating blows against the other, but time and again each fools the other with a quick afterimage. Olivu gets the upper hand for a moment and smashes Paikuhan down to the ring. After a long and seemingly even fight, Paikuhan succeeds in knocking Olivu out of bounds for the win.

Nothing is depicted of Paikuhan's third-round battle against Tolbee except that the latter needed to leave the arena on a stretcher (giving Paikuhan the win), although he was strong enough to watch the remainder of the event from the stands a few minutes later.

For the final match between Son Goku and Paikuhan, neither takes the fight seriously at first. Paikuhan feigns being nearly pushed out of the ring to counterattack Goku, but they remain even. The match pauses as Paikuhan tosses off his weighted turban and clothes. Goku says that he too will take the battle seriously and transforms into a Super Saiyan. Goku lobs a fast Kamehameha followed by ki blasts, but Paikuhan's incredible speed ensures that he dodges all of them easily. Paikuhan uses Hyper Tornado and captures Goku in a whirling vortex that cuts him and his clothes; with incredible effort, Goku is able to stabilize himself and send the tornado flying off into space. Goku counters by using a Super Kaiō-ken, but Paikuhan recovers quickly and nearly kicks Goku out of bounds. Paikuhan takes the offensive again with Thunder Flash, a horizontal column of fire that roasts Goku at the edge of the ring. Goku stands, but Paikuhan pummels him with the same attack again. He tries to finish off Goku with a ki barrage, but Goku recovers and the two soar all the way to the ceiling (each touching it briefly) before returning to the ring. Paikuhan launches Thunder Flash again, but a third view was all Goku needed to find the attack's weakness: he teleports behind Paikuhan at just the right moment and knocks him out of the ring for the win. However, Dai Kaiō consults the rule book and disqualifies both combatants for touching the ceiling, ultimately leaving the tournament without a winner.

In additional filler material as a part of episodes 278 and 279 of the Dragon Ball Z television series...

Dragon Ball Z Movie 12

TBD

Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime

TBD

Name

Characters from the Afterlife Tournament have names that are largely sourced from east/southeast Asian food, or are an on-the-nose description of their appearance.

Paikuhan's name is written in katakana as パイクーハン (Paikūhan), a name spelling that is adjusted from 排骨 (paikū) meaning "pork ribs" and 飯 (han) meaning "rice"; in other words, his name is effectively an adaptation of "pork ribs with a side of rice."

As with several name spelling adaptations with an extended vowel sound (see also: "Goku"), the Kanzenshuu spelling convention of "Paikuhan" simply drops the macron for general readability.

"Pikehan" as a spelling was regularly used in English fansubs, while FUNimation themselves adopted a name change of "Pikkon" for the character.

Production

Due to the production schedule inherent in producing a weekly anime series based on a weekly comic, the writers of Dragon Ball Z interjected anime-only material both as a means of extending the runtime and to flesh out the Dragon Ball universe. Paikuhan and the entire Afterlife Tournament arc was written to depict Son Goku's experience in the afterlife prior to the time-skip and the arrival of Boo.

In April 2023, collector and fan hagero shared photographs of a variety of character design sheets on Reddit, all purported to come directly from Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, obtained as part of a visit to Toei in the late 1990s. As part of this batch, two designs are labeled with Paikuhan's name and "rough" (ラフ rafu as in "rough draft"). In particular, the first design of a man with a vest and necklace has パイクーハン (1) ラフ scratched out entirely and replaced with what appears to say "unknown martial artist" (無名の武闘家 mumei no budōka); this design was actually used in Dragon Ball Z episode 195 in a brief cutaway scene shortly after Son Goku arrives with North Kaiō to Dai Kaiō's planet. The second design of a more traditional-looking human man with glasses and a ponytail still has パイクーハン (2) ラフ listed with text (not crossed out as with the first).

• 
  Full first photograph of purported character design sheets from hagero
• 
  Cropped "Paikuhan (1) Rough"
• 
  Cropped "Paikuhan (2) Rough"
• 
  Character from Dragon Ball Z episode 195

Both 1995's Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 5: TV Animation Part 2 and Jump Anime Library guide book for the twelfth Dragon Ball Z film showcase various costume arrangements and facial expressions for Paikuhan.

Alongside his finalized character design, the 2003 guide book TV Animation Guide: Dragon Ball Z Son Goku Densetsu notes that Paikuhan was developed as a "Piccolo-type character".

He's a Piccolo-type character, and even in the anime's production materials, there are memos left that say "use Piccolo as a reference for the facial expressions."

• 
  Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 5: TV Animation Part 2 designs and notes
• 
  Jump Anime Library designs and notes
• 
  TV Animation Guide: Dragon Ball Z Son Goku Densetsu designs and notes

Notable Skills

Hyper Tornado

TBD

Thunder Flash

TBD

Performance

Japanese

Paikuhan is played in all appearances by Hikaru Midorikawa, a veteran voice actor who previously played Artificial Human No. 16. Midorikawa took over several of Hirotaka Suzuoki's roles after his passing, starting in 2009 for the Dragon Ball franchise as Tenshinhan in the "refreshed" Dragon Ball Kai television series, and onward into Tenshinhan's video game performances and other cameo appearances.

English

TBD

Notable Appearances

The following is a chronological, non-comprehensive list of some of Paikuhan's most notable appearances throughout the franchise, including those in various television series, films, video games, and more.

• Dragon Ball Z Episode 196 to Dragon Ball Z Episode 199 (1993): Paikuhan appears throughout the entirety of the Afterlife Tournament.
• Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 (1995): Paikuhan returns as a supporting character during this film, the events for which partially take place in the afterlife.
• Dragon Ball Z Episode 278 to Dragon Ball Z Episode 279 (1995): Paikuhan makes a brief appearance in filler material dealing with Majin Boo as he teleports around the universe in search of Son Goku and Vegeta.
• Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury (2004): Paikuhan is a rare notable case of a character appearing in this western-produced video game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance ahead of any major appearances in a Japanese-developed game, albeit as an opponent rather than as a selectable character.
• Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai (2006): Paikuhan makes his debut as a playable character in this fighting game for the Sony PlayStation Portable.
• Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime (TBD): TBD
• Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2 (TBD): TBD

Video Games

Imagery	Year	Video Game Title	Notes
CONSOLE/PORTABLE GAMES
	2004	Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury	Non-playable character; boss fight in Chapter 1 + cameos later in game
	2006	Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai	(unlock method TBD)
	2006	Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO	(unlock method TBD)
	2007	Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2	(unlock method TBD)
	2007	Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! METEOR	(unlock method TBD)
	2008	Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World	(unlock method TBD)
	2010	Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2	(unlock method TBD)
TBD	2013	Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission	Available through the same cards as the arcade version
	2014	Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2	Available through the same cards as the arcade version
	2015	Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden	Unlockable as an assist character by completing Stage 5 of Kaiōshin's Planet in Adventure Mode
	2016	Dragon Ball Fusions	Unlockable post-game by completing the Sub-Event "Otherworldly Work"
	2016	Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2	Added as part of the "Legendary Pack 1" paid downloadable content in 2021
	2017	Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X	Available through the same cards as the arcade version
	2024	Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO	Teased as forthcoming paid downloadable content in 2026
MORE TBD...
MOBILE GAMES
TBD	2015	Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle	TBD
TBD	2018	Dragon Ball Legends	TBD
FIGHTING ARCADE GAMES
	2010	Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle	Added alongside Raditz in a 2014 update
CARD ARCADE GAMES
TBD	2007	Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact	Available via card 206-III with the abilities "The Greatest Martial Artist in the Western Galaxy" (西銀河一の武道家) which Increases Spin Level by +2, and "Kaio's Assistance" (界王の助力) for Dragon Spark Defense Level 1 which, when your opponent wins or ties in rock-paper-scissors and activates Dragon Spark, negates it once.
TBD	2008	Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact	Available via card 138-IV with the abilities "The Greatest Martial Artist in the Western Galaxy" (西銀河一の武道家) which Increases Spin Level by +2; "Kaio's Assistance" (界王の助力) for Dragon Spark Defense Level 1 which, when your opponent wins or ties in rock-paper-scissors and activates Dragon Spark, negates it once; and "Bonds with Allies" (仲間との絆) which, when teaming up with characters of the same attribute, causes the Double Explosive Power Gauge to gain +2 points at the start of each round, the effect for which ends upon defeat.
	2009	Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers Dragon Ball Kai: Dragon Battlers	Available via cards B030-1 and B030-2 with the Knockback Technique Hyper Tornado and Blazing Shoot, and the top Ki Damage Technique of Thunder Flash.
	2010	Dragon Ball Heroes	Available starting in the "Galaxy Mission 2" update series in the base Dragon Ball Heroes game with cards HG2-50 and HG2-51.
	2016	Super Dragon Ball Heroes	In addition to backward-compatible cards from the original Dragon Ball Heroes, new cards available starting in the fifth update series in the base Super Dragon Ball Heroes game with card SH5-20, with the most recent being MM3-025 from the "Meteor Mission 3" update series.
	2024	Dragon Ball Super Divers	Available starting in the sixth update series with card SDV6-073 (and its GDR★ variant), as well as SDV7-063 and SDV7-064.
MORE TBD...

Legacy

Animedia September 2017 issue survey on the Tournament of Power's Universe 7 lineup

The September 2017 issue of Animedia includes the results of a two-question, "man-on-the-street"-style poll conducted across Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinbashi, and Gotanda. Of the 91 people asked who they would call up to the Tournament of Power team to replace Majin Boo, three people answered Paikuhan.

Inclusion in Toyble's Dragon Ball AF

External Links

• https://dragon-ball-official.com/news/01_453.html
• https://en.dragon-ball-official.com/news/01_453.html