Artificial Human Characters

"Artificial Humans" (人造人間; jinzōningen) are beings created to resemble or act like humans, but the term itself does not specifically distinguish between either "Android" or "Cyborg" types. Akira Toriyama uses this term to describe all such beings seen throughout the series created by the scientist Doctor Gero. Each artificial human created has been assigned a specific development number by Doctor Gero, with the exception of Cell, which is typically how they are referred to (i.e. No. 17 & No. 18). The "Technology" section of Daizenshuu 4 further divides the artificial humans up into two separate groups, a "Biotechnological-type" (バイオタイプ; baio-taipu) and "Mechanical-type" (メカタイプ; meka-taipu).

Manga Characters

The following characters appear in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga series.

Biotechnological-type

Artificial Human No. 8 (人造人間８号) Japanese VA: Shōzō Iizuka A human-based artificial human created by Doctor Gero. Murasaki unleashes him as his secret weapon to defeat Goku, but the kindhearted No. 8 quickly befriends him instead. Goku nicknames him "Hatchan", a combination of the word "hachi" (Japanese for "eight") and the honorific "chan".

Artificial Human No. 17 (人造人間１７号) Japanese VA: Shigeru Nakahara No. 17 is a cruel artificial human who is equipped with an eternal energy engine and thinks of battles as fun games. Along with his twin sister, No. 18, they are both built from modified human bases with the sole purpose of being food to allow Cell to reach his perfect form.

Artificial Human No. 18 (人造人間１８号) Japanese VA: Miki Itō An eternal model type artificial human, No. 18 is a beautiful girl with a harsh personality who hates unfashionable things. She is the twin sister of No. 17, and together they were both designed as food to allow Cell to reach his perfect form. She eventually settles down, marrying Kuririn and giving birth to their daughter, Marron.

Cell (セル) Japanese VA: Norio Wakamoto Cell is a biotechnological being created by Doctor Gero from the cells of Son Goku and other powerful warriors that were collected during their battles on Earth. Following Doctor Gero's death, Cell's development is overseen and completed by his laboratory computer. However, by the time he is fully developed No. 17 and No. 18 have been defeated by Trunks. In order to achieve his perfect form, Cell steals Trunks' time machine and travels to the present where No. 17 and No. 18 can still be absorbed.

Mechanical-type

Artificial Human No. 16 (人造人間１６号) Japanese VA: Hikaru Midorikawa With the exception of Cell, No. 16 is the strongest artificial human. However, he has a gentle heart and does not like to hurt things. Because of this, Doctor Gero regarded him as a failed creation. He gives the impression of a taciturn, silent giant, but is forever faithful to his duty to kill Son Goku.

Artificial Human No. 19 (人造人間１９号) Japanese VA: Yukitoshi Hori Doctor Gero's nineteenth creation, he comes packaged with a cruel personality and is based on Gero's old energy-absorbing model, making his battle power inferior to No. 17 and No. 18. He oversaw Doctor Gero's restructuring into an artificial human.

Artificial Human No. 20 / Doctor Gero (人造人間２０号 / ドクター・ゲロ) Japanese VA: Kōji Yata Doctor Gero, known to many as a mad scientist, committed his life's work to developing the perfect artificial human. He began creating artificial humans as weapons for his employer, the Red Ribbon Army, but most of them were deemed defective. After the army's destruction, he immersed himself in creating artificial humans with the sole purpose of getting revenge on Son Goku, evening going so far as to turn himself into one.

Anime Original Characters

For further information, see Dragon Ball Movie Characters