Jiren

This page is incomplete. Kanzenshuu wiki team members are aware that they must edit this page to add missing information and complete it.

Jiren
ジレン (Jiren)
Anime Manga
English Name(s)	Jiren
Name Pun	Range (stovetop)
Manga Debut	Dragon Ball Super Chapter 30
Anime Debut	Dragon Ball Super Episode 85
Created by	Akira Toriyama
Japanese VA	Eiji Hanawa
Funimation VA	Patrick Seitz
Personal Data
Universe	Universe 11
Occupation	Pride Troopers
Title	Jiren the Grey

Jiren is a fictional character in the Japanese animated television series Dragon Ball Super and its companion manga series written by Toyotarō. Jiren makes his debut in Dragon Ball Super Episode 85, broadcast on 09 April 2017 on Fuji TV as a member of the Pride Troopers.

Biography

Jiren is Universe 11's strongest warrior. Although he is silent and cool, he boasts fearsome strength said to reach the realm of a God of Destruction.

Name

Jiren (ジレン) is likely an anagram of the katakana transliteration of "range" (レンジ/renji), used specifically to refer to a stovetop. This name pun follows the theme of the Pride Troopers being named after items found in a kitchen.

Production

Akira Toriyama's corrections Toyotarō's introduction of Jiren in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 30.

Akira Toriyama corrected Toyotarō's introduction of Jiren in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 30. This is the only Toriyama drawing of Jiren that was ever made public.

An interview with Dragon Ball Super producer Sakoru Takami and director Ryōta Nakamura published near the end of the anime's broadcast run clarified some long-lingering questions about Jiren's development during the anime production process:

Were Universe 11‘s Pride Troopers part of Toriyama-sensei‘s designs?

Nakamura: They weren’t in his designs, but since Jiren and co. all wore the same red and black suits, he allowed us to flesh it out like that.

Takami: In sensei‘s initial rough draft, there was no information indicating Jiren’s personality. Since the tough opponents in Dragon Ball Super up until then had been nihilistic, cool characters like Hit or Zamasu, we thought it might be best to make Jiren very talkative, so we came up with the background of him being a hero of justice. Jiren was central to this squadron of heroes.

Nakamura: When we suggested that to Toriyama-sensei, he replied that “Jiren is a character who doesn’t speak.” It was then that Toriyama-sensei sent us the backstory that his parents and martial arts master had been killed. He said that Jiren was this type of character, in contrast to Hit or Zamasu.

Takami: And so the characterization of Jiren that we originally came up with was passed on to Toppo.

It was interesting how Toppo became a God of Destruction despite talking about justice all the time.

Nakamura: Toriyama-sensei‘s background for Toppo included that he was a candidate for God of Destruction, so we fleshed that out a bit. We wondered what to do with Dyspo, but then once Bin Shimada was cast, he naturally took shape as a cocky character. With the concept for those three settled, we came up with the other members to match up with them.

Universe Survival Arc Extended Trailer vs Dragon Ball Super Episode 78

Early events of the Universe Survival arc had already suggested to fans that there was some late indecision regarding the roles of Jiren and Toppo during the Zen Exhibition Match. The arc's first animated trailer premiered following the broadcast of Dragon Ball Super Episode 75, and an extended version was posted on Toei Animation's official YouTube account a week later. In these promotional trailers, the hooded figure standing with the gods of Universe 11 is much thinner than Toppo, and Jiren's distinctive nose seems to be visible in the hood opening.

This leaked Animage summary for Episode 82 served to complete a partial reveal of Jiren's name seen in a Super Dragon Ball Heroes livecast stream capture, but the reference to Jiren in the advertisement was an error:

As Goku and Jiren battle, the Great Priest stops their fight and tells them to settle things at the "Tournament of Power". The "Tournament of Power" will be set up as a battle royale where 80 warriors from 8 universes all battle at once, and lose if they fall from the stage. Losing means having your universe destroyed, and the tournament begins in just 40 hours.

Episode 81 had already aired, so it was quickly deduced that the summary should have instead named Toppo, who had been present at the Zen Exhibition Match since Episode 78.

Performance

Jiren is voiced by Eiji Hanawa in his first role for the Dragon Ball franchise.