Tambourine
| Tambourine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Names | Tambourine,タンバリン
Tanbarin, |
| Gender | Genderless |
| Race | Mutated Namekian |
| Occupation | Assassin |
| Origin | Dragon Ball Chapter 135: "The Death of Kuririn" (クリリンの死しそして恐おそろしき陰いん謀ぼう Kuririn no Shi Soshite Osoroshiki Inbō, lit. "Kuririn's Death, and a Terrible Conspiracy") July 28, 1987 (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1987 #35) |
| Alignment | Evil |
| Age | 1 Day |
| Created By | Akira Toriyama |
| Height | 188cm (6ft 2in) [1] |
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lbs) [1]' |
Tambourine (タンバリン Tanbarin) is a mutated Namekian and one of King Piccolo's offspring. He serves as a loyal assassin for his father, targeting powerful martial artists to ensure King Piccolo's dominance.
Appearance[edit | edit source]
Tambourine is a mutant Namekian of average height with a distinct appearance. He resembles a humanoid gargoyle, complete with large bat-like wings, sharp fangs, and a green, muscular body.
Personality[edit | edit source]
Tambourine is incredibly cold-hearted and sadistic, deriving pleasure from killing humans, whom he considers vastly inferior to his kind. He exhibits no remorse for his actions or his victims and views other races, especially humans, as having no value beyond being exterminated. His cruelty extends to attacking innocents purely for entertainment, even when they are unrelated to his mission. Tambourine is also very arrogant, often taunting his opponents and boasting about his superiority. However, when faced with a stronger adversary, such as Goku, he reveals a cowardly side, attempting to flee rather than fight.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
Tambourine is born offscreen shortly after King Piccolo is freed by Emperor Pilaf. King Piccolo assigns Tambourine to eliminate all fighters from the last three World Martial Arts Tournaments who might threaten his return to power and to collect any Dragon Balls he encounters.
Tambourine's first target is Krillin, whom he confronts shortly after the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. Krillin fights back, but Tambourine proves too strong and kills him by crushing his skull with a kick. He then takes the Four-Star Dragon Ball and a list of all tournament participants.
Dragon Ball[edit | edit source]
King Piccolo Saga[edit | edit source]
Tambourine's killing spree continues as he targets other martial artists, including King Chappa, Pamput, Bacterian, Man-Wolf, and Giran. During this time, he encounters Goku, who is determined to avenge Krillin's death. Tambourine mocks Goku over Krillin's death and engages him in battle. Due to Goku's weakened state from his earlier fight with Tien Shinhan, Tambourine defeats him, destroys the Flying Nimbus, and leaves him for dead.
Tambourine continues his mission until he receives a telepathic order from King Piccolo to find the one who killed his brother, Cymbal. He locates Yajirobe but is interrupted by Goku, who has recovered and seeks revenge. Despite his initial confidence, Tambourine is overpowered by Goku in their rematch. Realizing he cannot win, he attempts to flee but is killed by Goku's Kamehameha. Tambourine's death inadvertently reveals Goku's location to King Piccolo, who then arrives to retrieve his Dragon Ball and regain his youth.
Dragon Ball Super[edit | edit source]
"Future" Trunks Saga[edit | edit source]
An illusion of Tambourine appears in the Forest of Terror, where Goku and Krillin are sent by Master Roshi for training. Krillin, recalling his death at Tambourine's hands, shows notable fear when confronting this illusion, even more so than when faced with other powerful foes like Frieza, Cell, and Super Buu.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes[edit | edit source]
Demon Invader Saga[edit | edit source]
In an alternate Space-Time, Tambourine is absorbed by Majin Ozotto, further showcasing his presence in various dimensions and sagas.
Dragon Ball Online[edit | edit source]
In Dragon Ball Online, it is revealed that some of King Piccolo's offspring, such as Bolon and Bongo, survived the King Piccolo Wars and continued to live in hiding on Earth, breeding in the wild. Unlike Tambourine, these surviving Demon Clansmen remained unnoticed for many years. Piccolo, King Piccolo's youngest son, became aware of their existence but knew he could not handle them alone.
After the destruction of New Namek by Mira, the new King of the Demon Realm, who used a Spirit Bomb formed from the energy of his Dark Makai Army, Grand Elder Moori and the surviving Namekians relocated to Earth. Grand Elder Moori suggested assisting Piccolo in capturing the surviving Demon Clansmen. After successfully capturing them, some Dragon Clansmen studied their physiology and eventually replicated King Piccolo's Pokopen technique, allowing them to create and control their own spawns. This led to the creation of the Poko Priest class, which included spawns resembling Tambourine. In Age 1000, one of these Tambourine-like spawns, known as the Demon General Subordinate, serves the Demon General Gamelan.
Powers and Statistics[edit | edit source]
Tier: 5-C
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Acrobatics, Martial Arts, Flight, Ki Manipulation (Advanced Level), Afterimages, Limited Soul Manipulation (Demon Clansmen, by nature, banish the souls of their victims to purgatory in the mortal realm,[2] thus preventing ascension into the afterlife[3]), Limited Immortality Negation (Types 2 & 3) and Regeneration Negation (Mid-High; Non-Combat Applicable - The Nimbus Cloud is capable of quickly reconstructing itself after being blown to smithereens,[4] and is regarded as indestructible,[5] but can be destroyed permanently by Demon Clansmen[6]). Resistance to Fragrance Manipulation (Was not bothered by Bacterian's odor)
Attack Potency: Moon level (Much more powerful than Cymbal. At the time of his birth, he was the strongest of King Piccolo's sons. Casually killed Krillin and many other martial artists and easily defeated an exhausted Goku)
Speed: Sub-Relativistic+ combat speed (Easily killed Krillin)
Lifting Strength: At least Class K, likely higher
Striking Strength: At least Moon level
Durability: At least Moon level
Stamina: High
Range: Standard melee range. Hundreds of meters with ki attacks.
Standard Equipment: Nothing notable
Intelligence: Unknown. Seems to be a capable fighter.
Weaknesses: Tambourine is overconfident.
Attacks and Techniques[edit | edit source]
- Lick Twister – The user extends their tongue and wraps their opponent in their long, slimy tongue.
- One-Hundred Arms – After mocking King Chappa's Eight-Arm Fist, he uses this more advanced version.
- Wah-Tah Kick – Tambourine leaps and does a stereotypical kung fu movie pose kick.
- Electric Shock – Tambourine channels electricity through his palm into his opponent. Used on Bacterian.
- Tommy Gun Kick – Tambourine unleashes a flurry of kicks, pummeling his opponent uncountable times.
- Evil Cannon – The ability to shoot a beam of energy from the mouth. Named Evil Cannon in the Dragon Ball Collectible Card Game and Chou Makouhou in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
- Super Marengeki – Tambourine's hand glows orange like fire for a second, before impaling his opponent clear through his body with it.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Like his siblings, Tambourine is named after a musical instrument, the "tambourine."
- Tambourine has one of the highest on-screen body counts of all the henchmen in the Dragon Ball series, killing over 50 people.
- In the Japanese version of Dragon Ball, a young bear thought Tambourine was "Kami" (the Japanese word for "god") when he attempted to kill Giran in the Animal Village.
- Another offspring resembling Tambourine, with different colored clothing and lighter skin, appears earlier in a flashback by Master Roshi, depicting him terrorizing Earthlings.
- In the Funimation dub, Dameon Clarke voices Tambourine with a tone nearly identical to that of Imperfect Cell.
- In a "what-if" scenario in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Tambourine survives Goku's Kamehameha if the player presses the transformation button only once during the fight with King Piccolo in story mode. In this scenario, Tambourine returns, but Goku, exhausted, is unable to defeat him. Chi-Chi then arrives and finishes Tambourine off.
- In the same game, a match between Tambourine and Krillin triggers special dialogue. Tambourine expresses confusion about Krillin still being alive and resolves to kill him again, while Krillin states that he will not let it happen this time.
- Tambourine is the final villain to be killed by Goku's Kamehameha in Dragon Ball.
- Tambourine is the first villain to kill Krillin, only to be later killed by Goku with a Kamehameha. The second villain with this distinction is Frieza, who is killed by Goku's Dash Kamehameha.
- In Dragon Ball Super, Krillin exhibits post-traumatic fear of Tambourine years after his death at the hands of the mutant Namekian. Even after facing foes like Frieza and Super Buu, Tambourine is shown to instill more fear in Krillin than any other, indicating the depth of trauma caused by his earlier encounter.
