Mercenary/General Tao
From Dragon Ball
| Mercenary Tao/Taobaibai | |
|---|---|
JapName=桃白白 | |
| Kana | {{{JapName}}} |
| Romaji | Tao Pai Pai |
| Anime name | Mercenary Tao/General Tao |
| Manga name | Tao Pai Pai |
| Alternate name(s) | General Tao |
| First appearance | {{{FirstApp}}} |
| Appears in |   |
| Race | Human |
Family
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| Character Listing - Category | |
Directory: Characters → Villains → DB villains → Red Ribbon Army
Directory: Characters → Villains → DBZ villains
Mercenary Tao (桃白白 Tao Pai Pai?) is a character in the manga and anime Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z. He is Master Shen's younger brother and a highly skilled assassin-for-hire. He is very expensive as he normally charges ten billion Zeni per kill, but gave Commander Red a 20th anniversary discount in five billion Zeni. Tao has been known by a number of names in the various English versions of the series. He is called "General Tao Pei" in the abortive late-1980's Dragon Ball anime dub by Harmony Gold, "Taopaipai" (all one in word) in the Viz adaptation of the manga, "General Tao" in the later FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z, and "Mercenary Tao" in FUNimation's earlier dub of the Dragon Ball anime.
Mercenary Tao's Japanese seiyū is Chikao Ohtsuka, and in the FUNimation dub he is voiced by Kent Williams. Mercenary Tao has an uncanny resemblance to Korean actor Hwang Jang Lee and is loosely based on Hwang's character from "Snake in Eagle's Shadow" in both appearance and job.
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[edit] History
Mercenary Tao is responsible for the death of General Blue, whom he kills with only his tongue. He is sent by the Red Ribbon Army to assassinate Goku and retrieve the Dragon Balls. He catches Goku in the Land of Korin. He easily kills Bora, who had previously held off the Red Ribbon Army single handedly. Goku provides more of a challenge, but Mercenary Tao defeats him with the Dodon Ray Technique. Goku is saved only by the Dragon Ball in his shirt. Mercenary Tao returns three days later to retrieve the Dragon Ball. Goku, however, received special training during the three days, and proves to be far too strong for Mercenary Tao. Mercenary Tao tries to kill Goku with a grenade, but Goku deflects it back at him, seemingly killing the assassin.
[edit] Cyborg Tao
However, Mercenary Tao is rebuilt as a cyborg by his older brother, and competes in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, brutally defeating Chiaotzu. He fights Tien next, and cuts his chest with a knife. Tien defeats him shortly after.
[edit] Tao in Dragon Ball Z
In the anime, Tao makes a later appearance in Dragon Ball Z during the Cell Games Saga. He works as a henchman for a rich gangster, who has hired him to gather the Dragon Balls so he may wish for immortality to protect himself from Perfect Cell. Goku shows up to gather the two that Tao has collected, but Goku is disappointed at himself for having nothing to offer Tao in return. The assassin then poses a challenge to Goku: If Goku can disassemble three complex puzzle rings by dawn the following day, then he will be awarded the Dragon Balls. If he cannot, however, Goku must surrender the ones he has with him. Tao then offers to take Goku's jacket (which contains Goku's gathered Dragon Balls) while Goku works on the puzzles, and while Goku is distracted with the puzzle rings, General Tao steals Goku's Dragon Balls and drives far away throughout the night with the gangsters. After Goku solves the puzzle rings, he simply uses Instant Transmission to find Tao and the gangsters. The naive Goku is unaware there was any ill-will on the part of Tao, and is given the Dragon Balls without any resistance. (Tao is fearful of Goku because of their previous confrontations in Dragon Ball.) He was also seen scared in an earlier appearance, when he met Goku's son, Gohan. He has never been seen since then and was presumably killed when Kid Buu blew up the Earth, or during Super Buu's Special Human Genocide Attack (Human Extinction Attack, Genocide Blast).
[edit] Video games
Mercenary Tao was featured as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi and its sequel Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and returned as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. He is also a boss during the Dragon Ball quest in "Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II" in which he can use his special attack, Dodon Ray (essentially a yellow-orange version of the Kamehameha) and fire energy blasts.
[edit] Techniques
- Flying Pillars: Tao throws a pillar (or something similar, like a tree) into the air at a certain direction and jumps on it, riding it to his destination. The pillar may also strike the opponents at the landing spot.
- Levitate: Though Tao is usually seen flying on a pillar he throws, he is shown to be able to fly in the games.
- Dodon Ray: Crane School's signature technique. A super heated ray fired from the tip of his finger.
- Sword: From a capsule, Tao brings out a sword for fighting.
- Grenade: Tao first begs for mercy to make his opponents drop their guard, then pulls out a hand grenade and throws at them. A dirty final resort that backfired and caused him to be rebuilt into a cyborg.
- Concealed Knife: After Tao became a cyborg, he disconnects his left hand to reveal a retractable knife. When Tien was slashed by this sneak attack, he claimed that Tao has lost his honor of a warrior.
- Super Dodon Ray: After Tao became a cyborg, he disconnects his right hand to reveal a built-in cannon, which can fire an enhanced Dodon Ray. This technique also has lock-on capabilities[1] and is Cyborg Tao's ultimate attack.
- Puzzles: Tao's right hand also reveals that he holds three puzzles, where the challenge is to untangle them. This was used to attempt to distract Goku while he sneaked away with the Dragon Balls.
| Red Ribbon Army characters |
|---|
 Commander Red • Adjutant Black • General Blue • General White • General Copper • Captain Yellow • Colonel Violet • Colonel Silver • Lieutenant Green • Buyon • Sergeant-Major Purple • Sergeant Metallic • Dr. Frappe • Hasky • Tao Pai Pai |
| Androids: #8 • #13 • #14 • #15 • #16 • #17 • #18 • #19 • #20 (Dr. Gero) • #21 (Cell) • Super 17 |
