Nappa

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Nappa
ナッパ (Nappa)
Manga Anime Nappa(Anime)
English Name(s)	Nappa
Name Pun	Napa
Manga Debut	Dragon Ball Chapter 204
Anime Debut	Dragon Ball Z Episode 5
Japanese VA	Shōzō Iizuka (Z) Tetsu Inada (Kai) Kiyoyuki Yanada (GT)
Canadian VA	Michael Dobson
Funimation VA	Christopher R. Sabat (1999) Phil Parsons (2005)
Personal Data
Death	03 November, Age 762
Classification	Saiyans
Occupation	Land Shark
Notable Skills	Greatest Technique Shockwave Kiai Neutralization

Nappa is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga series by Akira Toriyama. Nappa makes his debut in chapter 204, published in the 1989 #01/02 issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump, as one of the few survivors of the Saiyan race.

Biography

Nappa is one of the few Saiyans to survive the destruction of Planet Vegeta, and afterwards he continues to serve under Freeza alongside his fellow surviving Saiyans, Vegeta and Raditz. During their service, they discover a planet they can potentially sell at a high price; however the job may prove to be too difficult even for the three of them, so they decide to recruit Raditz's lost brother Kakarrot who is presumed to be alive on Earth, having been sent there shortly before Planet Vegeta's destruction. Nappa is listening via the scouter communication link as Raditz is killed on Earth by his brother, known on Earth as "Son Goku", and the Namekian Piccolo. As Raditz is dying, Piccolo torments him by informing him that Goku's friends will find the Dragon Balls and resurrect him, but then Raditz informs Piccolo that his comrades are listening, and will surely come for the Dragon Balls themselves. Nappa and Vegeta are indeed listening, but they decide they would rather wish for eternal life than resurrect Raditz. They soon depart on a year-long journey to Earth.

The two Saiyans arrive on Earth a month short of a full year later, on 03 November, Age 762. Nappa gives a twisted 'greeting' to the planet by destroying the city where they land. Vegeta calls Nappa off from further large-scale destruction, fearing retail damage of the planet and the possible destruction of the Dragon Balls. The two begin searching for the highest battle power, reasoning that it would be either Raditz's killer or Kakarrot's son. They are surprised to discover that the warriors on the planet have been preparing for their arrival; their power has increased, and they soon begin converging on one location. When they arrive at the battlefield, Nappa attempts to assess the Earthlings' battle powers through his scouter, but Vegeta realizes that they are capable of hiding their true power. Wishing to draw that power out, Nappa begins planting Saibaimen, remarking that they should grow well in Earth's soil. Surprised by their apparent strength and their dominance against the Saibaimen, albeit with the loss of Yamcha, Nappa confronts the Earthlings personally, dominating the Earth warriors with little effort. After Chiaotzu and Tenshinhan die attempting to kill Nappa, Vegeta resolves to wait for Kakarrot, intending to make the Saiyan traitor pay in front of his remaining friends and son.

When three hours have passed and Goku has not yet arrived, Nappa proceeds with his desire to kill those who remain. The Earth warriors hatch a plan to grab Nappa's tail, a common Saiyan weakness, only to find that Vegeta and Nappa have trained to eliminate this vulnerability. With Goku finally resurrected and on his way to the battlefield, Nappa and Vegeta set out to kill Gohan, Piccolo, and Kuririn in order to enrage Goku upon his arrival. Nappa aims a final blast at Gohan, but Gohan is shielded by Piccolo, who dies as a result. Deflecting Gohan's retaliatory Masenko, Nappa attempts crush the boy with his foot, but Gohan is saved by the sudden appearance of Kinto'un. Goku has arrived at last, quickly showing immense strength and speed that surpasses even Nappa. Unwilling to believe Vegeta's reading of Goku's battle power, Nappa challenges him, but he is easily outclassed. Despite his growing rage at being bested, Nappa surrenders the fight on Vegeta's order, deciding to attack Kuririn and Gohan instead. Goku manages to catch up to Nappa with his Kaiō-ken technique, crippling the Saiyan warrior. Goku advises Vegeta to leave and get medical attention for Nappa. Ignoring Nappa's pleas for help, Vegeta reasons that he has no use for Nappa if he is incapable of fighting, so he throws him into the air and kills him.

Name

The name Nappa comes from 菜っ葉 (nappa), referring to leafy vegetables. It is a common misconception that his name comes from Napa cabbage, a staple in East Asian cuisine, but Akira Toriyama set the record straight in Dragon Ball Forever:

This might just be my dialect, but leafy vegetables like spinach are called 'nappa' , so I took it directly from that.
— Akira Toriyama

Cabbage is often included in this group of vegetables.

Production

Nappa was created by Akira Toriyama for the Dragon Ball manga. Toriyama noted that Nappa's design was a deliberate contrast to Vegeta's own design: a larger and visually stronger character who turns out to be the weaker of the two in actuality.

Performance

Nappa is voiced by Shōzō Iizuka in Dragon Ball Z, Kiyoyuki Yanada in Dragon Ball GT, and Tetsu Inada in Dragon Ball Kai. He was also voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki for Dragon Ball Z: The Great Legend of Son Goku.

In the original FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z, Nappa was voiced by Michael Dobson of Ocean Studios. When FUNimation switched to their in-house cast in 1999, the role was briefly filled by Christopher Sabat for minor scenes like the flashback in Dragon Ball Z Episode 104. In the 2005 redub of the series, Nappa was voiced by Phil Parsons.