Dr. Brief

Directory: Characters → Earthlings → Z Fighters support

"On his way to planet Namek. Probably wishing he had cappuccino already." — Dr. Brief in "Defying Orders"

Dr. Brief
ブリーフ博士
Burīfu Hakase
Alias	Dr. Briefs Mr. Brief
Debuts
Debut	Manga: "Bulma and Goku" Anime: "Master Thief, Hasky"
Appears in
Characteristics
Race	Earthling
Gender	Male
Death Date(s)	May 8, Age 774 (revived) Age 779 (time reversed, death undone)
Professional Status
Occupation	President of Capsule Corporation Scientist
Address	WST 3338926 K.
Personal Status
Relatives	Panchy (wife) Tights (daughter) Bulma (daughter) Future Bulma (daughter, alternate timeline) Vegeta (son-in-law) Trunks (grandson) Future Trunks (grandson, alternate timeline) Bulla (granddaughter) Bulma Leigh (descendant) Vegeta Jr. (descendant) Scratch (pet)

Dr. Brief (ブリーフ博士, Burīfu Hakase) is an elderly, brilliant, and eccentric scientist. He is the founder of Capsule Corporation, the father of Tights and Bulma, and the grandfather of Trunks and Bulla. Dr. Brief is also one of the smartest and richest men in the world. He lives in West City with his wife and their many pets.

Appearance

Art of Dr. Brief by Akira Toriyama

Dr. Brief is a short, stocky man. His hair is very similar to that of his daughter, but is bluish-gray instead of turquoise. He also has a large gray mustache. He dons a white lab coat with a blue undershirt, and black pants. He is almost always seen smoking a cigarette, and wears a pair of large, (usually) rectangular glasses.

Personality

Dr. Brief is easy-going and friendly. He rarely leaves his home, even if it means almost certain death, as when in the Majin Buu Saga he and his wife, Panchy, refuse to leave their pets even after Capsule Corporation has been specifically targeted for destruction. This is probably due to the fact that they know they can always be wished back with the Dragon Balls.

Dr. Brief's amicability allows him to deal with his son-in-law's antics and rage without much surprise or fear, though he has cautioned Vegeta against overtaxing his body in enhanced gravity on at least one occasion. He also has no problem providing technology for Trunks and Vegeta to train in enhanced g-forces, gladly developing technology for whatever purposes his family find.

Dr. Brief's ability to take extraordinary events in stride, such as the threat of Cell and Vegeta's angry and threatening demeanor, as well as his ability to create faster-than-light speed engines in a matter of days, may simply be due to his immense intelligence, with his almost superhuman brain power allowing him to adapt to these stressful situations with little wear and tear on his sanity. However, it may just be that his constant smoking helps him cope with the many extraordinary events in his life.

Like his daughter, Bulma, he possesses a great technical intellect, being able to fix or operate on virtually anything. He can often be found tinkering on a number of complicated gadgets while surrounded by his beloved pets. His favorite pet is a small black cat named Scratch (or Tama, in Japanese), which is usually perched on his shoulder. In the early Dragon Ball series, Dr. Brief was depicted as a little bit of a pervert, even going so far as to stash dirty magazines inside random capsules, much to his daughter's chagrin.

In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, it is revealed that neither he nor his wife were aware that he was the richest man in the world, a fact they discover only after overhearing Chi-Chi point it out to an oblivious Mr. Satan. His ignorance of his absurd wealth can be attributed to his love of his lifestyle, which revolves mostly around his various experiments and other engineering projects, tending to his expansive menagerie of common and exotic pets, and general puttering about his home. Along with this, his love of mechanical tinkering and research into his various fields of expertise merely monopolize so much of his time and attention that he never simply thought to consider how much wealth he and his company accumulated over the course of monetizing and marketing his inventions. It is highly likely that Dr. Brief is merely the brains behind his company's creations while relying on others to market and advertise for him. 

Biography

Background

Dr. Brief graduated from West City College's Department of Science and Engineering, where his major was physical science. He completed his doctorate through the department's graduate program. He later established Capsule Corporation after inventing the revolutionary technology of the Dynocaps Capsule. Until Dragon Ball GT, he is the representative director and president of his company.

Jaco The Galactic Patrolman

Main article: Jaco the Galactic Patrolman In Age 739, Dr. Brief and his family visit Tights on Omori's Island, where he reveals that he knew of Omori for his reputable work in space-time research.

Dragon Ball

Main articles: Red Ribbon Army Saga and King Piccolo Saga In Dragon Ball, Bulma introduces Goku to her father, who at first confuses the young Saiyan for Bulma's boyfriend, frustrating her. He then repairs the scooter of the police officer who had shown up.

Dr. Brief is later shown with his wife Panchy during the King Piccolo saga, where both of them refuse to evacuate West City despite its threatened destruction by King Piccolo.

Dragon Ball Z

Frieza Saga

Main articles: Namek Saga and Frieza Saga

Dr. Brief inside the spaceship he made for Goku

In Dragon Ball Z, he modifies and improves the Nameless Namek's spaceship in order to help Krillin and Gohan gather the Namekian Dragon Balls to revive their friends who fell at the hands of Nappa. He also makes Goku a spaceship for his travel to planet Namek, modeled after Kami's ship and the Attack Ball from Goku's arrival on Earth.

In the anime only, while Goku is journeying through space, Dr. Brief assists Goku through a couple of problems that he runs in to such as when his spaceship goes off course and begins to head into the Alpha H-Z star and when his spaceship travels through a magnetic storm causing the Gravity Machine to go haywire.

Chi-Chi later decides to go to Namek to rescue Gohan using an additional spaceship that was created by Dr. Brief. However the ship fails at taking off and Dr. Brief attempts to fix the problems with the ship while Chi-Chi, Master Roshi, Oolong, Puar and Yajirobe prepare for space travel.

Trunks Saga

Main article: Trunks Saga After Frieza's defeat, Vegeta demands that Dr. Brief make him a Gravity Room that can produce 300 times the Earth's normal gravity in order to help him surpass Goku in strength.

Cell Saga

Main articles: Android Saga, Imperfect Cell Saga, Perfect Cell Saga, and Cell Games Saga

Dr. Brief working on Android 16

A few years later, in the Android conflict, he and his wife have their first grandchild, Trunks. He often makes toys for Trunks and watches him when Bulma is busy and Vegeta leaves for training. He later helps Bulma restore Android 16, who was badly damaged by Semi-Perfect Cell before the Cell Games.

Majin Buu Saga

Main articles: Majin Buu Saga, Fusion Saga, and Kid Buu Saga

Dr. Brief and Panchy during the Majin Buu Saga

Dr. and Mrs. Brief appear briefly during the Majin Buu crisis, when they once again refuse to leave West City despite the threat. He and Panchy are later killed, along with the rest of Earth's population, when Super Buu executes his Human Extinction Attack.

Alternate timeline

In the alternate timeline, it is revealed by Future Bulma that he had passed away sometime before Age 780. However, it is unknown what his cause of death was; he could have been killed when the Androids destroyed West City or died from natural causes. Future Trunks briefly alludes to Future Dr. Brief when privately thanking his grandfather for his watch while locating the point where Goku would land and guiding the Z Fighters to it.

Dragon Ball Super

God of Destruction Beerus Saga

Main article: God of Destruction Beerus Saga Dr. Brief attends Bulma's birthday party with his wife. He and his wife later watch the Z Fighters battle Beerus.

Golden Frieza Saga

Main article: Golden Frieza Saga Dr. Brief, along with his wife, son-in-law, and grandson, are killed with most of the Earth's population when Frieza blew up the planet. However their deaths were undone when Whis rewinded time by three minutes.

Universe 6 Saga

Main article: Universe 6 Saga Dr. Brief travels with his family and friends for the Tournament of Destroyers. After traveling for three hours from Earth to Beerus' Planet, and from Beerus's Planet to the Nameless Planet, he sits in the audience as Universes 7 and 6 compete.

Copy-Vegeta Arc

Main article: Copy-Vegeta Arc

"Future" Trunks Saga

Main article: "Future" Trunks Saga Dr. Brief helps Bulma build a new Time Machine after Future Trunks arrives in the past.

"Universe Survival Saga

Main article: Universe Survival Saga Dr. Brief meets his newborn granddaughter, Bulla, for the first time. He holds her and comments how cute she is.

Film appearances

Battle of Gods

Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Four years after the defeat of Kid Buu, Dr. Brief is seen at Capsule Corporation celebrating Bulma's birthday party. He has a humorous interaction with an unaware Mr. Satan who, believing the scientist to be a caterer, ends up asking the genius inventor for a refill. After learning from Ox-King and Chi-Chi that he is Bulma's father and the richest man in the world, Mr. Satan apologizes and offers to amend the situation, countering the carefree Doctor's request for a simple cola with a promise to fetch a whole case of it.

Resurrection ‘F’

Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’

"Wait, Frieza's back?!" — Dr. Brief questioning Frieza's return

Dr. Brief in a pond

During the events of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’, Dr. Brief briefly reunites with his colleague Jaco inside Capsule Corporation. They spend some time relaxing outside near a pond that houses the Capsule Corp president's goldfish until being informed, along with Bulma, that Frieza has been revived and is heading to Earth for revenge. While leaving with Jaco, Bulma accidentally—but humorously—knocks her father into the pond.

Power

In Dragon Ball Z: The Anime Adventure Game, Dr. Brief's power level is 12.

In spite of his average power level, Dr. Brief is among the most intelligent humans in existence, able to engineer the Dynocaps Capsule technology, keep up with the sophistication behind Dr. Gero's androids, and run a multi-billion zeni corporation. He is also most certainly from where Bulma got her superhuman intellect, as well as his grandson's talent and interest in science and engineering.

He appears to have some knowledge of Saiyan biology, having built the gravity chambers (to the specificities of Saiyan physiology) that both Goku and Vegeta utilized in their training. Given his extraordinary intellect, it would be reasonable to assume he has since amassed a good deal of knowledge regarding the Saiyans, as many of them are among his closest friends and relatives.

Intelligence

Dr. Brief possesses a tremendous intellect and is, by all accounts, a mechanical genius. He is shown to be able to design, invent, fix, alter or manipulate, and engineer almost anything, from everyday gizmos and gadgets to androids, gravity chambers, and spaceships. He shares many of these characteristics with Bulma, who often aids him in his inventions, and to a certain extent with his grandson, Trunks, whose intelligence and responsibility allow him to succeed his grandfather as Capsule Corp's president in Dragon Ball GT.

Techniques

Dr. Brief, Panchy, and Tights performing the Hero's Pose in an ending for Dragon Ball Super

• Hero's Pose - In one of the endings of Dragon Ball Super, Dr. Briefs performs Jaco's signature Fighting Pose alongside his wife and eldest daughter, Tights.

Inventions

• Capsules - Dr. Brief's revolutionary invention that lead to the establishment of the Capsule Corporation. They allow people to store various objects without regard to shape, size, or weight, including weapons, vehicles, and even houses.
  • Capsule House - A type of house specially designed to be stored inside a capsule that can cost at least half a million Zeni.
  • Capsule Corporation spaceship - A spaceship originally developed by Dr. Briefs for Goku from pieces he had salvaged from the remains of the Attack Ball that originally brought Goku to Earth. Using knowledge he had recently obtained from helping Bulma repair the Nameless Namek's spaceship and what remained of Goku's Attack Ball, Dr. Briefs was able to create a spaceship capable of reaching Namek in six days time (outclassing any Earth-originated spaceship at that time) and durable enough to endure all the abuse taken during Goku's gravity training inside the spaceship. Though the original ship was later destroyed along with Planet Namek, Dr. Briefs managed to replicate the technology very quickly allowing his company to produce at least two more models of nearly identical design.
    • Gravity Machine - Originally created by Dr. Brief for Goku to allow him to train during his six-day journey to Planet Namek. The original machine was capable of simulating 100 times the Earth's gravity, allowing Goku to reach a power level of 180,000 via the 2x Kaio-ken (surpassing even the mighty Captain Ginyu). This machine was later destroyed along with the Capsule Corporation spaceship when Namek exploded. During the Trunks Saga, Dr. Briefs created an improved model at the insistence of his future son-in-law, Vegeta, in order to train to become Super Saiyan in preparation for the coming Android conflict. It was capable of simulating 500 times Earth's gravity.
  • Golden Capsules - A highly experimental capsule created by Dr. Brief in The Legacy of Goku II that can transport the user to the World Map if used in a city or wasteland. Dr. Brief ends up dropping 25 of these capsules while conducting atmospheric experiments and asks the Z Fighters to find them, allowing them to keep one if they manage to find all of them.

Video Game Appearances

Dr. Brief in the Bandai CCG

• Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2
• Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle
• Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Shin Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku - Chikyū-Hen
• Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
• Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury
• Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact
• Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu
• Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans
• Dragon Ball: Origins 2
• Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team
• IC Carddass Dragon Ball

Voice Actors

• Japanese: Jōji Yanami (most media), Ryōichi Tanaka (Resurrection ‘F’)
• English:
  • Ocean Group dub: Paul Dobson (DBZ Saiyan and Frieza sagas), Scott McNeil (DBZ Cell and Majin Buu sagas, DBZ Kai [TBC])
  • FUNimation dub: Chris Forbis (Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z), Mark Stoddard (Dragon Ball Z Kai)
  • Blue Water dub: Corby Proctor
  • AB Groupe dub: Paul Bandey
• Portuguese dub: Ricardo Spínola, Rui de Sá (Dragon Ball Super)
• Brazilian Portuguese dub: Eleu Salvador
• Latin American Spanish dub: José Luis Castañeda (DB; DBZ episodes 240, 245-246; Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug), César Soto (DB episode 65), Ricardo Hill (DBZ, DBZ Kai TFC, DBS), Abel Rocha (Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan), Humberto Vélez (DBZ Kai up until Cell Saga)
• Croatian dub: Sven Jakir
• Hebrew dub: Efron Atkin

Trivia

• Like everyone in his family, Dr. Brief's name is a pun on undergarments (briefs).
• Mr. Brief's title of "doctor" (Japanese, 博士、hakase) refers to someone who has earned a research doctorate, like a Ph.D. He is thereby distinguished from a medical doctor (医師、ishi) or a professor (教授、kyōji), or from someone with a purely honorific title. Because his alma mater is a science and engineering program, he may alternatively possess either a Doctor of Science or Doctor of Engineering degree.
• He is rarely seen without a crumpled cigarette in his mouth. Due to this, Dr. Brief requires constant editing to remove them for televised anime episodes in the West. His appearances throughout Dragon Ball Super however have largely lacked a cigarette.
  • As Bulma is occasionally seen smoking, it is implied she picked up the habit from growing up around her father.
• Like his wife, Dr. Brief's appearance from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z does not change.
• Unlike his wife who remains youthful, Dr. Brief retains an elderly, aged appearance throughout the series. Even in Dragon Ball, he is never shown with anything other than gray hair. According to his birthdate, he is about fifty at the time of his debut, and at least seventy at the time of his last appearance.
• Unlike most characters that first appeared in Dragon Ball, his role is larger in Dragon Ball Z. Examples include remaking the spacepod Goku was in, and fixing up Android 16.
• His hobby is collecting dirty magazines, despite being the most successful individual of the 700's.

Gallery

Dr. Brief working on a police officer's bike Dr. Brief Puar, Dr. Brief, Oolong Dr. Brief talking to Goku, who is on his way to Namek Dr. Brief and Vegeta Panchy and Mr. Brief while Porunga is summoned Dr. Brief in the Androids Saga Dr. Brief Dr. Brief in Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans Dr. Brief in the Buu Saga Dr. Brief at home Dr. Brief in Buu's Fury