Nuova Shenron

From The Character Database
Nuova Shenron
Nuova Shenron 29.png
I've been awaiting your arrival Goku. Now we are free to play the ultimate game of survival, without any distractions.
― Nuova to Goku
Nuova Shenron.png
Yes. You have drawn me out of my shell so to speak.

What you see before you is my ultimate fighting form. And now that I've raised the stakes, it's your turn.

It's time to ante up or fold
― Nuova to Goku

Vital statistics
Names Nuova Shenron
Gender Male
Race Shadow Dragon
Occupation Warrior
Origin Dragon Ball GT
Alignment Anti-Villain
Age 37 (Created by King Piccolo's wish for his youth in Age 753, with the Shadow Dragon Saga taking place in Age 790)
Created By
Height {{{height}}}
Weight {{{weight}}}

Nuova Shenron (四星龍, Sū Shinron; lit. "Four-Star Dragon") is one of the seven Shadow Dragons, the fifth to be fought by Goku and Pan. Nuova is the dragon of the Four-Star Dragon Ball and is the twin brother of Eis Shenron. He represents the element of fire. He was born from King Piccolo wishing for the restoration of his youth during the events of the original Dragon Ball series.


Appearance[edit | edit source]

Nuova is somewhat more humanoid than most of the other Shadow Dragons, with a sleek build and a serious face. In his restrained shell, Nuova has red skin, with a darker red torso and wing undersides. When unleashing his true form, Nuova's exoskeleton turns a bright golden orange, while his torso and wing undersides become purple.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Nuova Shenron is very faithful to his fellow Shadow Dragons, but also is fair to his enemies in battle, never resorting to desperate tactics, no matter what situation he is in. He will even assist his enemies if he considers his brothers' tactics on them unfair and desperate. He is easily the most kind-hearted of all the Shadow Dragons. He is also one of the most serious Dragons, rarely smiling and limiting his taunts to the heat of battle.

Nuova's innate nobility and morals, unique among the seven Shadow Dragons, could stem from a number of places. The most obvious is that he is the Dragon of the Four-Star Ball, a Dragon Ball which has always been associated with Goku and his adopted grandfather, Grandpa Gohan. Another is that the wish made by King Piccolo, unlike all the other wishes that spawned the Shadow Dragons, was a selfish one made with evil intentions, and as such would produce less negative energy after being granted. Nuova Shenron also has the distinction of being the last character Goku is able to win over to his side in GT.

In the Xenoverse series, he is shown to be aware of King Piccolo's reincarnation Piccolo and Gohan who he remembers from the time he worn the Four-Star Dragon on his Four-Star Dragon Ball Hat.

Character History[edit | edit source]

Dragon Ball GT[edit | edit source]

He first encountered Goku and Pan when they wandered into the charred remnants of a city and attempted to strike them down whilst encased in an orb of flame. After introducing himself as "the invincible Four-Star Dragon," Nuova was attacked by a rash Pan and deftly knocked her unconscious with a single blow. Goku demanded the Shadow Dragon unhand his granddaughter and, to the Saiyan's surprise, Nuova quietly set Pan out of harm's way. After formally starting their battle, Nuova swiftly overpowered Goku with his sheer speed and ability to increase his body temperature. Goku was forced onto the defensive as Nuova relentlessly pursued him across the city. Goku could only use ki attacks to avoid being burned by Nuova, but was hampered by a sudden bout of hunger.

After nearly meeting his end from Nuova's lethal Nova Death Ray technique, Goku decided to even the odds and transformed straight to his Super Saiyan 4 form. Nuova responded in kind and shed his outer shell, becoming much faster and allowing him to maintain his advantage. Goku was able to outmaneuver Nuova by leading him underground and using deception, catching Nuova off-guard. However, Goku refused to finish off Nuova right away. When the Shadow Dragon demanded an explanation, Goku expressed his gratitude for not harming Pan when he had the chance. Nuova simply mentioned that he wanted a fair fight and was against killing innocents, a policy that earns Goku's approval, before both of them calmly returned to the surface to commence their battle anew.

The two were then interrupted by the arrival of Nuova’s evil twin brother, Eis Shenron. Eis ridiculed and pummeled Nuova, who refused to retaliate due to Eis being his brother, for his apparent weakness and faced down Goku himself. Nuova sat on the sidelines and refused to gang up on an opponent. When it appeared as though Goku was gaining the upper hand, Eis promptly resorted to freezing the Saiyan in a block of ice before instructing Nuova to incinerate him. However, Nuova instead used the intense heat of his attack to melt the ice that surrounded Goku, allowing him to take on Eis a second time. Nuova later stated his disgust for Eis' tactics, but still refused to strike him.

When Goku had Eis at his mercy, Nuova was the one to request that Goku release him if Eis were to forfeit his Dragon Ball (despite stating that Eis "brought this on himself"). After Eis took advantage of Goku's kindness by blinding him, Nuova expressed considerable outrage and did not intervene after Eis was struck down.

After Eis Shenron's demise, Nuova Shenron thanks Goku for a good fight and offers a medicine that can restore his sight. He then states that he wants to fight Goku after the Saiyan fully recovers. Soon, Syn Shenron arrives and strikes Nuova with his Finger Beams, disgusted by Nuova showing mercy towards his opponent. Syn Shenron's finger beams also destroy the medicine bottle Nuova gave Goku. When Syn shot a Finger Beam towards Goku, Nuova Shenron launches himself at it and protects Goku. As he dies, Nuova apologizes to Goku, saying he only ever wanted a fair fight.

Nuova returned once more before the conclusion of the saga, this time to help Goku and Vegeta in defeating the seemingly unstoppable Omega Shenron. After almost defeating Omega once during the fight, Goku managed to intercept (and swallow) the Four-Star Dragon Ball. This allowed Nuova to be reborn and empowered with Goku’s positive energy, but he emerged from Goku's body seemingly loyal to Omega once again. Nuova requested to face the two Saiyans alone, and Omega agreed. Nuova then proceeded to outmatch Vegeta with little effort before blasting him out of the way. However in truth this was all a ruse and Nuova had actually been pulling his punches in order to catch Omega off guard. After a brief scuffle with Goku, the pair hit Omega with a surprise attack, allowing Nuova to initiate the next part of their plan. Surrounding himself in a Nova Sphere, Nuova restrained Omega Shenron and stated his contempt for him before attempting to incinerate Omega once and for all. Nuova even mocked Omega for the way he attacked his opponents by turning his back against him, remembering that Syn had shot him in the back.

Unfortunately, Nuova revealing his immunity to heat proved to be a fatal mistake. Omega forcefully possessed Nuova by embedding his six corrupted Dragon Balls in the latter's body. Despite his best efforts, Nuova's body is used as a shell for Omega, allowing the villain to survive the blast. After the attack dissipates, Nuova has just enough time to apologize to Goku before Omega bursts out of his body and reabsorbed his Dragon Ball to restore his full power. When Omega Shenron was vaporized by Goku's Universal Spirit Bomb, Nuova is destroyed along with the rest of the Shadow Dragons, as the Dragon Balls are purged of their accumulated negative energy.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Nuova Shenron's name contains the kanji for "four" (四), "star" (星), and "dragon" (龍).
  • Nuova's name refers to a nova, an exploding sun, referencing his incredible fire powers.
  • Nuova Shenron's personality resembles Piccolo's in the Piccolo Jr. Saga and at the start of Dragon Ball Z; both are nominally enemies of Goku who nonetheless have a strong sense of honor and who aid their foe against a greater threat. His creation through the wish of King Piccolo, a villain who eventually turned to the side of good when reincarnated, serves as foreshadowing to Nuova's own defection.
  • Both Goku and Nuova Shenron have teamed up with an enemy to defeat their dishonorable sibling. Each of them also perished upon doing so, only to be revived and perish again.
    • Fittingly both can fuse in Dragon Ball Fusions.
  • Nuova was born from King Piccolo's wish to restore his youth. Coincidentally, he bares a resemblance to King Piccolo's son Tambourine.
  • In Xenoverse series, he has special dialog when fighting Kid Gohan, where he will mention the time he (as the 4-Star Dragon Ball) rode around on Gohan's head (during the time when the 4-Star Ball was attached to Gohan's hat). He also has special dialog when fighting Piccolo, where he will remind Piccolo that it was his father King Piccolo's wish to be young again that created him.
    • Due to being King Piccolo's reincarnation, Piccolo inherited his father's eternal youth as he stopped aging upon reaching his physical prime (as he is shown to remain in his physical prime in Age 1000 in Dragon Ball Online when other Namekians like Dende and Moori show visible signs of age). Its possible that Nuova Shenron is referencing King Piccolo's wish as said wish also benefits Piccolo as he will never age beyond his physical prime (as King Piccolo effectively wished to be restored to his physical prime which is likely why Piccolo matured into his physical prime in only three years after he was born).
  • Nuova Shenron is the only Shadow Dragon who got reformed.