Dragon Ball’s Chiaotzu Is a Vampire, Whether He Admits It or Not

Not many characters in Dragon Ball can claim to be as ignored as Chiaotzu, as his origins have gone completely unexplained for years. Chiaotzu stands out among the cast of Z-Fighters for his pale white skin, lack of aging, stiff movement upon his introduction, and psychic powers. Though little is known about Chiaotzu, it is apparent that both he and Tien Shinhan draw heavily from Chinese culture, and it is through this connection to Chinese mythology that Chaiotzu’s mysterious origins can be found…in none other than an ancient Chinese vampire.

Though Toriyama is known for strange character designs such as Krillin’s lack of a nose and Tien’s third eye, Chiaotzu may be the most peculiar out of all the Z Fighters. Upon Chiaotzu’s introduction in chapter 113, he looks like no other character in the series thus far with pale white skin and bright red cheeks. Furthermore, in chapter 120 of Dragon Ball, Chiaotzu fights Krillin and demonstrates incredibly stiff movement as he fights by flying straight at his opponent. Fast forward an entire series later and Chaiotzu’s appearance still hasn’t changed at all in Dragon Ball Super.

Within Chinese mythology, there exists one creature that encompasses all of Chiaotzu’s strange attributes, the Jiangshi. The Jiangshi is a zombified vampiric creature with pale white skin, incredibly stiff movement, and strange powers that come from draining other people of their chi in order to bolster its own life force. These creatures are also usually depicted as having red cheeks and being dressed as a Chinese mandarin, a wealthy bureaucrat. In an interview with Akira Toriyama made in the lead up to Battle of the Gods’ release it was even revealed that Chiaotzu actually is surprisingly rich from charging farmers money for the use of his telekinetic powers.

Additionally, Toei Animation and Akira Toriyama are absolutely aware of the existence of the Jiangshi. In episode 89 of Dragon Ball Super, the character Yurin is introduced, a student of the Crane School with the power to turn people into Jiangshi using special talismans. It’s no coincidence that Tien and Chiaotzu are in the spotlight this episode as they’re directly connected to this mythological creature. Though Chiaotzu himself does not have one of the talismans that turns one into a Jiangshi, it seems as if the appearance of these strange creatures was a subtle nod to Chiaotzu’s origins as a character.

Chiaotzu’s features are much too similar to the Jiangshi to be a coincidence. The pale skin and lack of aging are hints that something is unusual but his inherent connection to Chinese culture and the introduction of Yurin’s talismans sealed the deal. While Chiaotzu’s origins have remained shrouded in mystery, the existence of the Jiangshi in Dragon Ball shows that there is more to this psychic martial artist than meets the eye.

Source: Kazenshuu