Senzu Beans (仙豆, Holy Beans) are mystical beans with immense rejuvenation properties in the Dragon Ball franchise.

OverviewEdit

Senzu Beans are grown by Korin in Korin Tower. When eaten, the consumer's energy and physical health are restored to their fullest; the effects are typically almost instantaneous for the recipient, making these beans a great asset both in and out of battle. Their texture is said to be a cross between an uncooked (or under ripe) bean and a celery stalk, and Yajirobe states that Senzu Beans taste like fish.^[1] One bean can keep a person full for ten days,^[2] though some who have eaten the beans have become hungry sooner, due to their naturally larger appetite (namely Saiyans as they generally eat much larger amounts of food). It has been seen that eating too many Senzu Beans at a time is dangerous, as when they are first introduced, Yajirobe is flabbergasted that the only thing Korin has to eat are "beans", and so he eats a few handfuls of Senzu Beans, which resulted in him comically gaining about a pound for every bean he ate. Since Korin allied himself with Goku and his friends, Korin usually assists them by providing the Z Fighters with a sack of beans whenever possible as it takes time to grow even a single bean.

The Senzu's healing capabilities have been able to perform such feats as healing Yamcha's impaled torso after an encounter with Dr. Gero and Android 19, and restoring fatally injured characters to perfect health on various occasions. One significant example of the power of Senzu Beans is demonstrated when, after his face-off with Vegeta, Goku spends seven episodes at Wukong Hospital, never traveling far from his bed (the only exception being his premature escape in "Hunt for a Dragon Ball", which rendered him powerless once again): when Goku eats a Senzu Bean given by Yajirobe, he is instantly revitalized in spite of these seven episodes spent naturally recovering with medical assistance. Also, Future Trunks mentions that if the Senzu Beans of their timeline had not died out, then Future Gohan's lost arm could have been restored. However, it appears that the beans can not heal injuries that have already healed over (like Tien's and Yamcha's respective scars or Saiyan tails) or cure ailments (like Goku's heart virus contracted during the Androids Saga).

Goku's good nature has led him to give Senzu Beans to battered enemies after fights. Examples of this include Piccolo, Vegeta, and Cell (though the latter was more to make the fight fair than an actual act of good-will, as Cell was about to face Gohan while he had not quite recovered to full strength). In Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, Gohan has a spare Senzu Bean Yajirobe gave him in his belt. During the Perfect Cell Saga, Vegeta states that he hates eating Senzu Beans, which is most likely due to his Saiyan pride. Senzu Beans are last seen in the Majin Buu Saga, when Majin Vegeta knocks Goku out and eats the last one he has left, right before flying off to face Majin Buu.

Appearances in Video GamesEdit

The Senzu Beans are items restoring health in the Gokuden series, with the Senzu plant appearing in Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen. They are also items restoring health in Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu, Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, Jump Super Stars, Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu, and Dragon Ball: Origins 2.

The Senzu Beans make some appearances in the cutscenes played when a continue is used in Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Shin Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku - Uchū-Hen. When Goku or Gohan are defeated in Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension, they can eat a Senzu Bean.

In the Legacy of Goku series, Senzu Beans replenish all of the Health and Ki of the person who eats it. In Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, Senzu Beans are acquired from Yajirobe; he will only randomly come in one of your adventures to give you 1 Senzu Bean. In Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury, one can quite easily obtain Senzu Beans by just talking to Yajirobe at Korin Tower multiple times; this opportunity ends when Super Buu escapes from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It is possible to get 255 Senzu Beans when Gohan asks Goku to get one for Videl: after getting a Senzu Bean from Yajirobe at the Korin Tower, instead of giving it to Gohan, Goku has to eat it, and when at Papaya island, Goku will still give a Senzu Bean to Gohan and now 255 Senzu Beans are in the inventory. In Dragon Ball GT: Transformation, Senzu Beans randomly appear after defeating regular enemies or while fighting bosses.

In the Budokai series and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Senzu Beans can be used to heal a character. In the Budokai series, they restored a character's health and ki fully. In Burst Limit, they were a drama piece that would usually heal about one bar of health. In the Budokai Tenkaichi series, Yajirobe can eat a Senzu Bean as one of his Blast 1 techniques in order to gain full health. Senzu can also be used in the arcade game Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale.

In a mini-game in Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha - Omee to Fusion, the player has to catch Senzu Beans that Korin throws at them and avoid the bombs he throws sometimes.

In Super Dragon Ball Z, Senzu Beans restore health of a character that has been Knocked out. Only one bean can be used per battle.

In Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, Senzu Beans are used to revive a downed character or heal a wounded one fully, also curing status ailments and refilling their ki. Small Beans, Medium Beans, and Large Beans can be acquired, but they do not replenish health completely. A Small Bean restores the health a little bit, a Medium does a little more, and a Large Bean does the most. Also, during one of Krillin's Ultimate techniques, Yajirobe jumps onto the screen, throws a bag of Senzu Beans at the team, healing them, cuts through the enemies (this does not damage them. It does, however, have a chance of instant kill), and runs away with a silly animation.

The Senzu Beans can be found as a treasure in the fourth stage of Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo.

TriviaEdit

• Senzu Beans are based on lima beans. In the Harmony Gold Dub, they are even called "Lima beans".
• In Akira Toriyama's later manga Kajika, the pill Kajika kept from his Kawa village has the same rejuvenation properties as Senzu Beans.

ReferencesEdit

See alsoEdit

• Ensenji
• Healing
• Medical Machine
• Regeneration
• Sacred Water