"Maybe the Saibamen can persuade them to tell us where the Dragon Balls are. Huh Nappa?" |
Saibamen (栽培マン), called Cultivars in the reprint of the VIZBIG edition, are green, humanoid creatures that grow from a planted seed placed in the ground. The seed is stored in a special liquid prior to its use.
Overview
Background
Saibamen were created by a Saiyan scientist using biotechnology.[1] They made their way into Frieza's Planet Trade Organization through the Saiyans, and were then used after they learned how to understand orders.[2] They became a common tool of the Planet Trade Organization, which frequently used Saibamen in training exercises for warriors, as shown when a young Vegeta effortlessly defeated five Saibamen at the age of five.[3]
The Saibamen possess only enough intelligence to understand orders given to them by their leaders; thus, they will never revolt. Those in use by Nappa and Vegeta are a more advanced model developed in Age 737, and their Power Level is 1,200.[1] Vegeta and Nappa used several of those Saibamen during the Tritek war, although only six remained.
Dragon Ball Z
On Earth, Nappa plants the last six (each with a power level close to Raditz's) during the fight against the Z Fighters. One fought and was defeated by Tien Shinhan with surprising ease, and then was destroyed by Vegeta because it failed to win against Tien. Another fought Yamcha and was seemingly defeated after an equal fight, but it used the Saibaman Bomb (a self-destruct attack) in order to kill Yamcha. Feeling rage from his friend Yamcha's death, Krillin destroys three of them with the Scattering Bullet technique. The last was killed by Piccolo's Explosive Breath Cannon after stopping the Saibaman from attacking Gohan.
Dragon Ball GT
Many years later, in Dragon Ball GT, Saibamen are released from Hell along with the other villains thanks to Dr. Gero and Dr. Myuu's dimensional hole. They are destroyed and sent back to Hell by Majuub, Trunks and Goten.
Power level
Nappa states that the Saibamen have power levels of 1,200, a level which is also used in several Dragon Ball video games. However, the movie pamphlet for Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might states that they have power levels of 1,300. According to the video game Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, a Saibaman's power depends on the quality of the soil he is planted in.
Techniques and special abilities
Saibamen are brutal fighters and can test a fighter's abilities. Nappa uses them as grunts to root out weaker opponents or to assess an opponent's power (when a scouter is not an option) and skill level (which scouters cannot reveal). They are said to be as strong as a typical low-class Saiyan. Saibamen are also used in training (as seen in Vegeta's childhood; where he is shown killing a group of Saibamen effortlessly).
- Seed Planters – Saibamen can be grown in most planets' soil (Nappa said they would grow well in Earth's soil), the seeds are contained in a small bottle, with a greenish liquid in the bottom (possibly a fertilizer or quick growing solution). Placing the seed and pouring the liquid on them will start the growth process. Depending on the quality of the soil he is planted in, a Saibaman's power varies.[4]
- Flight – Like almost all Dragon Ball Z characters, Saibamen are able to fly through use of their ki.
- Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
- Seizing - Saibamen's signature attack in Raging Blast 2.
- Acid – One of many of the Saibamen's deadly secrets is that they spray acid from a gland hidden in their head. This acid is capable of eating through earth and most likely flesh. This technique is a natural Saibaman adaptation.
- Afterimage Technique – This technique is a short burst of extremely high speed, moving faster than the opponent can sense. This has the side effect of leaving a momentary "after image", until the opponent's senses adapt and realize their target has moved.
- Full Power Energy Wave – Basically, a fully-powered Energy Wave shot from the palm. Similar to the Kamehameha and Galick Gun in basic function. The Saibamen use it only in video games.
- Pumpkin Crush – A rush attack used by Saibamen that is similar to the Zanku Fist. Used in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2.
- Saiba Rush – A basic High Speed combo of ki-enhanced claw slashes, punches, and kicks. Named in the Raging Blast games.
- Saibaman Bomb – A Saibaman's ace in the hole, a kamikaze technique that turns the Saibaman into a living bomb that grabs hold of its opponent with an extremely tight grip and quickly self-destructs. The Saibaman fighting Yamcha kills him in the first and the only successful Jibaku-type technique in the series. This attack was not named in the anime and is referred to as the Saibaman Bomb only in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3.
- Saibaman Toss – The Saibaman summons another Saibaman, launches them at the opponent, and the tossed Saibaman detonates on impact. Used in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z.
- Screw Dive – A spinning slam attack. Named and used in Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World.
- Shapeshifting – An ability used by the black Saibamen variant named the Kopīman to fool opponents or boost their power, though it does not give them the full power of the person they copy.
Video game appearances
Saibamen appear in various video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen (where their Japanese name is spelled 栽培マン). Three types of Saibaman appear in Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiyan, five types appear in Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, and six different types appear in Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan.
Saibamen are also recurring enemies in Dragon Ball Z: Goku Hishōden, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, the Pinball mode of the Dragon Ball Z TV game, Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha, Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha 2, Dragon Ball Z: Scouter Battle Taikan Kamehameha, and Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu. There are four types of Saibamen in Scouter Battle Taikan Kamehameha: green Saibamen and white Saibamen with a power level that is 1,200, and red Saibamen and black Saibamen with a power level that is 1,440. In Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, along with regular green Saibamen, there are large blue muscular-Saibamen (either Elite Saibamen or Saibabrutes), as well as red Saibamen, yellow-brown Saibamen similar to the Kyuukonmen, and purple Saibamen similar to the Tennenmen (able to summon other Saibamen). In Harukanaru Densetsu, along with the regular type, a stronger type of Saibaman appears, called Super Saibaman. A Saibaman appears in a cutscene in Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Son Goku Densetsu.
The Saibamen appear in the Story Mode of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 1. Though Goku never encounters Saibamen in either the manga nor the anime, he meets lots of them in the Story Mode of Budokai 2 (and comical meetings at that, typical of good-natured Goku). Dr. Gero creates a cadre of multi-color clone Saibamen that Dr. Gero calls the Saiba Rangers (or Saibamen Rangers sometimes), which are a parody of Super Sentai and/or Power Rangers). There are five of them, which are colored red, blue, green, yellow, and pink. Once defeated (along with Dr. Gero), Androids 18, 17, and 16 appear. Regular Saibamen appear as normal enemies.
Saibamen are playable characters in Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budōkai, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers, Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2, Dragon Ball Heroes, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z For Kinect, and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z. Saibamen also appear on the loading screen of Budokai 3, and more will emerge if the control sticks are moved. Also in Budokai 3, Yamcha is immediately killed if hit by the Saibaman Bomb, and Nappa has unique opening dialog when fighting a Saibaman, commenting that the Saibaman grow well in the soil. In Budokai Tenkaichi 2, in Raditz's what-if story, Raditz is unable to defeat Piccolo in their first encounter (unlike in the main Dragon Ball Z story) and is forced to summon the aid of a Saibaman, but his Saibaman turns on him (seemingly it was defective) and self-destructs, causing Raditz to lose his memory of his Saiyan Heritage (just like Goku did), thus setting in motion the events of the whole what-if story.
They appear as part of one of Nappa's special attacks in Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale.
Saibamen appear in a large variety of forms in the computer game Dragon Ball Online. They can display insect, spider, crab, turtle, or snake-like forms.
Variations
While green Saibamen are the most common, different Saibamen variations exist. The other types have appeared in multiple video games:
- Planet Trade Organization creations
- Caiwareman (カイワレマン) – Blue Saibamen, their fighting power is 200 in Kyōshū! Saiyan, 238 - 338 in Legend of the Super Saiyan, and 938 in Attack of the Saiyans. They are called "Kaiware" in English translations of Kyōshū! Saiyan, "J.SAI" in English translations of Legend of the Super Saiyan, and C. Sai in Attack of the Saiyans. They also appear as enemies and an alternate color for the Saibamen in Battle of Z, and they are the weakest Saibamen in the game.
- Kyuukonman (キュウコンマン) – Yellow-Brown Saibamen, their fighting power is 350 in Kyōshū! Saiyan, 326 - 426 in Legend of the Super Saiyan, and 1,150 in Attack of the Saiyans. They are called "Cucumber" in English translations of Kyōshū! Saiyan, "SAIBAI" in English translations of Legend of the Super Saiyan, and K. Sai in Attack of the Saiyans. They also appear as enemies and an alternate color for the Saibamen in Battle of Z, and they are the second strongest type of Saibaman in the game.
- Saibaiman (サイバイマン) – The same Saibamen as those in manga/anime, they are usually green in color, but a red variant also exists in video games. Their fighting power is 1,200 in Kyōshū! Saiyan, Legend of the Super Saiyan, and Attack of the Saiyans. They are called "SAIMEN" in some English translations of Legend of the Super Saiyan.
- Kopīman (コピーマン) – Black Saibamen that appear in Legend of the Super Saiyan only and that have an ability to copy a player's character. Their fighting power is 1,000 in their Saibaman form, and it increases when they shapeshift into one of the heroes. Black Saibamen also copy Raditz if the player decides to go directly after Raditz and into the cave, as well as copy Frieza; this is accompanied by an extreme power boost, though it does not give them the full power of the person they copy. They are called "IMITE" in some English translations of the game. Black Saibamen also appear as the strongest type of Saibaman in Battle of Z, but they lack the shapeshifting ability.
- Tennenman (テンネンマン) – Blue and pink Saibamen, their fighting power is 2,200 - 2,400 in Legend of the Super Saiyan, and 1,220 in Attack of the Saiyans. They are called "BAIMEN" in some English translations of the game, and T. Sai in Attack of the Saiyans. A stronger variant of Purple Saibamen also appear in Dragon Ball Z: Sagas and Battle of Z, with the ability to summon other Saibamen in the former.
- Jinkouman (ジンコウマン) – Gray Saibamen. They are the most powerful type of saibaman in Legend of the Super Saiyan, their fighting power being 4,400 - 4,800. They are called "GRIMEN" in some English translations of the game, and J. Sai in Attack of the Saiyans (where their power level is 1,250). They also appear as an alternate color for the Saibaman in Battle of Z.
- Super Saibaman – A stronger type of green Saibaman that appears in Harukanaru Densetsu.
- Saibabrute – Large blue Saibamen. They are very muscular and are enemies in Dragon Ball Z: Sagas. A variant called Elite Saibamen also exists.
- Dragon Ball Online evolved forms
- Small Saibaman – Smaller Saibamen that live on Earth. They are appear in different colors. Appear in Dragon Ball Online.
- Ball Saibaman – Saibaman who appear as a round Saibaman head with four small legs. They appear in different colors with some being covered in rocks.
- Turtle Saibaman – Large ball-shape Saibamen. Some have tubes or spikes on their backs.Come in different colors.
- Item Saibaman – Saibamen who hold different plants, they are slightly fatter in appearance.
- Spiky Saibaman – Saibamen who are covered in spiky armor. Come in different colors.
- Spiked Saibaman – Saibamen who wear armor, have a spike on their head, and two blades on their arms.
- Spider Saibaman – Saibamen who take on the form of spiders. They retain their arms, which come out of their head. Come in different colors.
- Crab Saibaman – Saibamen who take on the form of a crab. They come in different colors.
- Fly Saibaman – Ball Saibaman with a tail, and two long wings. Come in different colors.
- Monkey Saibaman – Saibamen with tails that walk on all fours.
- Snake Saibaman – Saibamen who appear as snakes. Come in different colors. Some are massive.
- Tree Saibaman – Massive Saibamen who appear as trees.
- Elite Saibaman – Big Saibamen with large arms and legs, slightly different green coloration than the regular Saibamen, and rocky armor.
Voice actors
- Japanese dub: Tōru Furuya
- FUNimation dub: John Burgmeier
Trivia
- Saibamen look very similar to the alien creatures in the 1955 science fiction film This Island Earth.
- Dr. Wheelo and Dr. Kochin have similar creations called Bio-Men.
- The Imp monsters Akira Toriyama created for the video game Chrono Trigger look like a cross between Saibamen and Namekians.
- A Saibaman makes a cameo appearance in the manga series Rosario + Vampire.
Gallery
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Saibaman Character profile, Daizenshuu 7, 1996
- ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Saibaman Character biography, 2005
- ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, 1990
- ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, 2014
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