Tora
トーマ Tōma
Anime name	Tora
Alternate names	Toma
Debut	Bardock - The Father of Goku
Appears in
Race	Saiyan
Gender	Male
Date of death	Age 737
Occupation	Soldier
Allegiance	Planet Trade Organization Saiyan Army (Bardock's Elite)
Family	Bardock (best friend) Shugesh (comrade) Borgos (comrade) Fasha (comrade)

Tora (トーマ, Tōma) is the tall, masculine member of Bardock's team, a group within the Saiyan Army under the planet trade organization. His name is a pun on the word "tomato." In the original Japanese version, he is known as "Toma."

Conception and AppearanceEdit

Tora is one of the taller members of Bardock's team and wears ice blue and black armor. His hair is flat at the top and kept in a small ponytail at the back, and his skin is a dark tan color.

Tora's original character design by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru differed much from the final draft by Akira Toriyama. Originally he had hair that closely resembled Vegeta's. His body was not muscular like it is now, he was actually drawn with a much thinner body, which made him look taller than Bardock. Like a few other members of Bardock's team, Tora's name was not changed completely from the original draft to the final draft, as it was Tomā　(トマー); the other members consist of Bardock and Panbukin (Shugesh in American Dubs).^[1]

BiographyEdit

In the beginning of the special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, Tora, along with Bardock, Fasha, Borgos, and Shugesh, attack Planet Kanassa in their Great Ape forms. After Bardock is attacked by the last surviving Kanassan, Tora kills the Kanssan. Then, Tora and the others decide to return Bardock to their home world Planet Vegeta, so that he can receive treatment for his injuries.

After hearing that there is an inconsistency in his brainwaves, the group decide to leave without him to wipe out the inhabitants on Planet Meat, as this is their next assignment. It is assumed that after reaching Meat, they immediately destroy all of its natives, but before they can celebrate the moment, they are ambushed by Dodoria and his elites, who make short work of the team.

Before finishing Tora off with a brutal punch to the face, Dodoria reveals Frieza's intent to destroy the entire Saiyan race. Tora initially survives the attack, but dies of his wounds immediately after informing the recovered Bardock of what he has discovered. Tora is the only person Bardock gets the chance to talk to when the latter finds his group slaughtered by Dodoria and his elites. Vowing to avenge his four allies, Bardock removes Tora's armband (now soaked in blood) and ties it across his forehead, providing an emotional backstory for one of Bardock's most recognizable physical features.

Other appearancesEdit

Tora also made a cameo appearance along with Bardock and Fasha in an episode of Dragon Ball Z, during Frieza's recollection of various Saiyans whose deaths he was responsible for.

Techniques and special abilitiesEdit

• Flight – Like most Saiyans, it is safe to assume that Tora is capable of flight.
• Unnamed Energy Attack – Tora uses this attack in his base form. The attack is meant to ignite the opponent in blue flames. This attack is seen when he attacks the Kanassan that assaulted Bardock.
• Great Ape – As with all Saiyans with a tail, Tora is able to achieve the Great Ape transformation at the sight of a full moon (or another source of Blutz Waves). He used this ability while on Planet Kanassa.
• Mouth Energy Wave – It is unknown if Tora can use this in his base form but he is seen using this attack in his great ape form in the TV special Bardock - The Father of Goku.

Voice actorsEdit

• Japanese Dub: Kazuyuki Sogabe
• FUNimation Dub: Mike McFarland
• Latin American Dub: Ricardo Brust

TriviaEdit

• Although Tora hasn't appeared in as a playable character, he has made cameos or is mentioned in video games:
  • Budokai 3 – Tora's face is shown whenever Bardock does his Spirit of Saiyans.
  • Budokai Tenkaichi 2 – Tora's corpse is briefly shown in the reenacted Bardock Special (although it was merely Nappa used as a placeholder for Tora).
  • Budokai Tenkaichi 3 – Tora's name is seen on Dodoria's biography page.
  • Burst Limit – Tora is mentioned by Bardock when he is about to fight Frieza.
• In the cameo appearance of Bardock's team in Dragon Ball Z, Bardock is seen wearing Tora's bloody armband on his head, while Tora is behind him.

GalleryEdit

Great Ape Tora fires a Mouth Energy Wave Tora on planet Kanassa Tora, with Borgos and Fasha Tora on Planet Vegeta Tora on planet Vegeta Tora, along with Fasha and Bardock, in a brief cameo appearance in Dragon Ball Z Tora in Budokai 3 Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

ReferencesEdit