Upa

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Upa
ウパ (Upa)
Manga Anime Upa (Anime)
English Name(s)	Upa (FUNimation Dub, Viz) Oopa (FUNimation Sub)
Manga Debut	Dragon Ball Chapter 84
Anime Debut	Dragon Ball Episode 58
Japanese VA	Mitsuko Horie
Funimation VA	Kara Edwards
Relationship Data
Relatives	Bora (Father)

Upa is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga series by Akira Toriyama. Upa makes his debut in Chapter 84, published in the 1986 #34 issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Biography

Upa and his father Bora live in the Karin Holy Land, where their clan has been guarding Karin Tower for generations. In Age 750, they are attacked by the Red Ribbon Army.

In the anime, Bora is spearfishing and saves Upa from a big fish. The nearby volcano Mount Kanae erupts while Colonel Yellow and his men are trying to retrieve a Dragon Ball from it, spewing the ball towards Upa and Bora.

Yellow and his men try to take the Dragon Ball by force, but Bora fights them off and Yellow retreats. While Bora goes off to bury the fallen soldiers, Yellow takes the opportunity to take Upa hostage. Son Goku appears, however, beating Yellow and saving Upa by catching him on Kinto'un. Goku is excited to find the Dragon Ball, as it is his grandfather's keepsake, the Four-Star Ball.

In response to Yellow's failure, the Red Ribbon Army hires the assassin Tao Pai-pai to kill Goku and take the four Dragon Balls he has. Bora steps up to fight him first, however, and gets killed. When Goku also seems to get fatally injured, Upa throws a rock at Tao Pai-pai, who blows it back and departs with three of the four Dragon Balls. Upa buries his father, but Goku is still alive because the Four-Star Ball in his gi shielded him from Tao Pai-pai's Dodonpa. Goku tells Upa he will collect all seven Dragon Balls so that Bora can be wished back to life. In order to become stronger than Tao Pai-pai first, he climbs Karin Tower.

Three days later, Tao Pai-pai returns to the Karin Holy Land for the Dragon Ball he missed. He dodges the hatchet Upa throws at him and tries to make the boy talk, but Upa refuses. Goku comes to the rescue and has a rematch with the assassin, until Tao Pai-pai gets desperate and pulls out a bomb. Goku kicks it back, though, and it explodes in Tao Pai-pai's face. Determined to take the remaining Dragon Balls from the Red Ribbon Army, Goku departs.

Afterwards, he brings Upa along to the Fortuneteller Crone, who will divine the location of the final missing Dragon Ball if Goku and friends can defeat her five warriors. Though he does not intend on taking part in the battles, Upa ends up teaming up with Pu'er to fight Dracula Man. By using garlic and posing his body in the shape of a cross, Upa chases Dracula Man out of the arena, and Pu'er swats him down into the lake. Despite winning the match, Upa and Pu'er step down to let Yamcha and Goku take on the Crone's remaining fighters. When Goku is victorious and finds the last Dragon Ball, Shenlong grants Upa's wish and resurrects Bora.

Three years later, Upa briefly meets Goku again when he returns to the Karin Holy Land after having been beaten by the Demon King Piccolo. Goku seeks more training from Karin at the top of the tower, and Bora helps him on his way by throwing him upward.

In an anime-only scene, a grown-up Upa comes upon Bora arguing with Lunch, who is looking for an airplane capsule so that she can chase Tenshinhan up Karin Tower. Upa dodges her gunshot and Bora knocks the gun from her hands. Lunch sneezes, changing from her violent form into her innocent form.

Many years later, in Age 774, everyone on Earth hears voices asking them to donate ki to the Genki-Dama Goku is employing to defeat Majin Boo. Upa and Bora are skeptical at first, but contribute willingly when they recognize Goku's voice. A woman and a child, presumably Upa's family, can be seen in the background.

In Dragon Ball GT, Upa and everyone else on Earth get evacuated to Planet Tsufru before the Earth explodes from the aftereffects of the Ultimate Dragon Balls. They return to Earth when it is wished back with the Namekian Dragon Balls.

Name

Akira Toriyama had this to say about Upa's name:

If I'm not mistaken, I think it was that my assistant Matsuyama had a dog named this at his parents' house, and I said "Ah, that's a good name!"
— Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Forever)

Production

When appropriate, a description of the character's production, including who initially designed the character (if an anime original character), notes about their design or conception, etc.

Notable Skills

A list or description of notable skills or techniques. Video game techniques should be separated from those used in the series proper.

Performance

A list or description of the various voice actors that portrayed the character.

External Links

Kanzenshuu Animation Production Guide - Toriyama's Contributions to the Anime