Tien Shinhan

"I might just be a pothole in the road to you big guy, but it's going to be one heck of a deep pothole!"

- "Say Goodbye, 17"

Tien Shinhan (天津飯, Tenshinhan; typically just called Tien in the English dub) is a Human introduced near the end of the Fortuneteller Baba Saga in the anime. Because of his harsh upbringing, he is initially cold and heartless, thinking nothing of exploiting innocents and inflicting pain. However, Master Roshi and Goku eventually help him to see the folly of his master's teachings and he becomes a trusted ally from then on.

Tien Shinhan's Japanese name pun is Tenshindon, a quasi-Chinese dish actually invented in Japan and consisting of a crabmeat omelet over rice. It gets its name from the fact that it was originally made using high-quality rice. The character’s name is written in kanji (天津飯) with a katakana furigana reading (テンシンハン, Tenshinhan) to indicate that it has a foreign reading (ie Chinese). Although unlike Chiaotzu, “Tenshinhan” is actually also the normal Japanese reading for the kanji.

Personality and Appearance
Tien enjoys eating jiaozi/gyouza (Chiaotzu gets his name from this food) and shumai (Shu and Mai are named after this). His hobbies are volleyball and training in martial arts.

Tien Shinhan was originally a cold-hearted and ruthless warrior, never caring for anyone's life with the exception of his fellow students and mentors. This brutality can be plainly seen when he crushes Yamcha's and another fighter's leg during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. However, he finds a life-long best friend in Chiaotzu, for whom he cares deeply, and vice-versa. He highly idolized his mentor Mercenary Tao, and desired to be a famous assassin like him. Due to Master Roshi's and Goku's consolations, he changed his demeanor and became one of the most respected warriors on the planet. Before he transitioned to the good side, he planned to kill Goku during the World Martial Arts Tournament as he was seen as a threat to himself and his cohorts. However, this mentality soon changes with the realization that he disagrees with the brutal methods employed by his masters, Shen and Mercenary Tao. He goes off on his own to train, and soon becomes a powerful ally to Goku and the others. His personality transitions from one of a brutal killer to that of an honorable warrior, one who cares deeply for those he strives to protect. He occasionally tries to repent for his former brutality but eventually rises above his horrid memories and looks toward the future.

During Dragon Ball Z, he is seen striving to become a powerful warrior, and still hopes to surpass Goku one day. He valiantly fights and defeats a Saibaman when the Saiyans arrive, and does battle with Nappa, during which Chiaotzu sacrifices himself in vain, causing Tien to put all his effort into one final attack, which fails. Tien dies a hero's death, but is revived later by Porunga. When the conflict with the Androids comes into full swing, Tien puts his life on the line numerous times when assisting his friends against the mechanical demons, most notably when using his life-force to hold Cell at bay, nearly sacrificing his own life to allow Android 16 and Android 18 to escape, thus saving the Earth from certain destruction. After the defeat of Cell, Tien goes off to continue his training, and when Majin Buu threatens Earth's existence seven years later, he arrives just in time to save Gohan from certain death. However, he is knocked out when Buu's severed legs reanimate and kick him, and later perishes when the Earth is destroyed.

When Akira Toriyama began creating the Dragon Ball series, he used Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West as a prototype for his own work; indeed, Tien's three eyed physical characteristic resembles the story character Erlang Shen (also, both are warriors who were originally adversaries of the main character). The Daizenshuu mentions that Tien Shinhan belongs to the race of Three-Eyes (三つ目族, "Triclops"). In the box for Dragon Ball Z Season 1 (not the Dragon Box), there is a small booklet inside that lists bios of a few of the characters, including their races. For Tien, it mentions that he is a "Descendant of the Three-Eyed People." Tien's origin was also referenced in one of the Dragon Ball: Raging Blast what-if story "The top Earthling tournament", where after defeating Tien for the title of "strongest human", Krillin asks if he is even human. Technically, Tien is a triclops, which simply means a three-eyed creature, though this has never been depicted as being indicative of another alien race and is more likely just a rare trait in humans. Further, Piccolo refers to Tien as an Earthling in Dragon Ball Kai, the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z Kai. In popular culture, the third eye is from becoming enlightened; the video game Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II even states that Tien's third eye was achieved through deep meditation when the player scans the friendly Tien NPC with the scouter.

Early Life
During the early years of his life at Master Shen's Crane School, Tien was taught defensive techniques by Master Shen's younger brother, Mercenary Tao, as seen during a flashback in "Tien Shinhan vs. Mercenary Tao".

Working for Master Shen
Tien and Chiaotzu were both the star pupils of Master Shen's Crane School. They first met Goku when they were pretending to kill InoShikaCho and scamming villages for their fake services. When Goku discovered that they were really con artists, Goku tried to expose them, but Tien turned the people against Goku saying that he was with InoShikaCho instead. He accomplished this through hanging InoShikaCho over a fire and telling Goku to cut the rope and burn the beast alive. When the merciful Goku refused, he was chased away from the village.

When Goku decides to swim to Papaya Island for the upcoming tournament, Tien and Chiaotzu can be seen traveling on a boat to compete.

Appearance at the World Tournament
Tien's first major role in the series begins at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament during the Tien Shinhan Saga. He is a student of the Master Shen, who is entering Tien and Chiaotzu to defeat the students of his rival, the Turtle Hermit Master Roshi. Tien faces little in the way of a challenge during the preliminaries and easily makes his way into the finals.

‎ Using Chiaotzu's mental powers to fix the ordering of the matches in the quarter-finals, Tien decides to first face off against Turtle student Yamcha, whom he had been exchanging hostile words with since the start of the tournament. Yamcha puts up a better fight than Tien expected, but was still not a significant threat to Tien, who not only defeated him, but went further and ended the match by needlessly breaking Yamcha's leg while he was unconscious. Soon after this fight, Tien learns of the death of his role-model Mercenary Tao by the hands of Turtle student Goku and the tournament becomes more about revenge than victory.

Tien's next opponent was the winner of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Jackie Chun and he faces his first true challenge. Jackie Chun challenged Tien not only in physical combat, but also began to warn him about following an evil path. With the help of the Master Shen, Tien learns that Jackie Chun is actually Master Roshi in a disguise and proceeds to use Master Roshi's signature move, the Kamehameha (which he learned in the fight against Yamcha) against him. After this, despite having shown none of his true power, Master Roshi concedes the match and hops out the ring. He walks away he can now go back into "happy retirement". Tien proceeds to track down Master Roshi shortly afterwards to find out why he forfeited, to which Master Roshi responds by telling Tien that it's time for younger fighters, Tien included, to take his place.

Tien then proceeds to battle in the final round against Goku himself. Goku is a powerful opponent and the fight seems to be relatively even until Goku suddenly becomes unable to throw a punch or dodge an attack without becoming frozen in place. Tien quickly learns that Chiaotzu is rigging the fight under Master Shen's orders and he demands that Chiaotzu stop since he wants a fair match. Master Shen takes this as defiance and orders Tien to kill Goku, but Tien, thinking about his own desires for the first time, humbly refuses. (Thus, Master Roshi's words have proven true and Tien rejects the path of an assassin.) The now infuriated Master Shen orders Chiaotzu to kill both Tien and Goku, and when Chiaotzu refuses, Crane then threatens to kill him instead. Master Roshi puts an end to this by blasting Master Shen out of the stadium with a Kamehameha, allowing Tien and Goku to concentrate on their match.

Tien and Goku continue to battle and Tien sprouts two extra arms to fight Goku, but Goku counters it when he grabs Tien's legs and holds onto them, causing Tien pain. Tien manages to throw Goku off, and they continue the fight. Tien then decides to put an end to the match and use his ultimate attack, the Tri-Beam. He warns Goku to expect and dodge the blast (as there is no way to survive being hit by it) planning to force him out of bounds instead. Tien proceeds to use the attack and destroys the entire arena. Because of his warning, Goku dodged by leaping incredibly high in the air. Tien is convinced he'll win at this point, as he can fly and Goku cannot, but Goku uses one final Kamehameha to propel himself into Tien like a rocket. Both fighters then fall to the ground, Goku slightly ahead. Goku attempts to use another, smaller Kamehameha to slow himself down, but is hit by a truck and lands first. Tien lands an instant later, thus winning the tournament.

After the match, Tien offers Goku half of the prize money as he recognizes that, while he could have killed Goku in the first place, it was mere luck that he was the one who landed second. He also apologizes to Yamcha for using such excessive force during their fight and the two agree to meet at the next tournament. Master Roshi offers to let Tien stay at the Kame House, but Tien declines, stating that he cannot follow the teachings of another, even if he has betrayed his master.

Battle against King Piccolo
The good mood is short-lived however, as Turtle student Krillin is unexpectedly killed while separated momentarily from the group. Along with his body there was a note with the character "demon" on it. Master Roshi tells everyone that it represents an incredibly powerful Demon King, King Piccolo, who was sealed away centuries ago by Master Roshi's old master using the suicidal Evil Containment Wave technique, but is now apparently free again. On hearing this, Goku, still not fully recovered from his battle with Tien, rushes off in a rage to seek his revenge.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Tien volunteers to help in anyway he can. He is informed of the seven Dragon Balls, which when collected summon a Dragon that can grant any wish, and, along with Chiaotzu and Master Roshi, is soon on a quest to retrieve them in order to have the Dragon eradicate King Piccolo. After finding several of them though, their radar which informs them of the Dragon Balls locations shows them that the remaining ones are actually coming to them, meaning King Piccolo is also seeking the Dragon Balls and is coming for theirs.

Before King Piccolo can confront them, Master Roshi unexpectedly knocks Tien out and hides him in a cave. Master Roshi plans on using the Evil Containment Wave against King Piccolo and, since Goku is thought to have already been killed, Master Roshi considers Tien to be the last line of defense for the planet in case he fails. Semi-conscious, Tien can do nothing but witnesses Master Roshi's ultimately unsuccessful stand against the powerful Demon King, and watches him die. King Piccolo wastes no time joining the Dragon Balls together to summon the Dragon and Tien, in desperation, orders Chiaotzu to quickly make a wish to destroy King Piccolo before the Demon King can make one himself. Chiaotzu tries, but is quickly killed mid-sentence from a blast by King Piccolo, an act Tien can only watch in horror. King Piccolo continues to make his wish and then destroys the Dragon, knowing it is the only thing that can stop him.

After regaining his mobility, and King Piccolo has long gone, Tien practices the Evil Containment Wave, having learned it from watching Master Roshi perform it. After many attempts, Tien has fully mastered the Evil Containment Wave and heads off to King Piccolo's location in Central City to confront the demon. After he arrives and challenges King Piccolo, he is horrified on discovering that the vessel to be King Piccolo's prison is cracked and useless from his practicing. Knowing that he won't be able to use the Evil Containment Wave, Tien decides to confront King Piccolo regardless.

King Piccolo, not seeing Tien as being worth fighting, spawns a new minion, Drum, his most powerful son yet, to take care of him. Drum quickly dominates the battle, but Tien is able to knock him down giving him the opportunity to use the Evil Containment Wave on King Piccolo. However, Drum gets in the way of the blast and before Tien can seal Drum in the Electric Rice Cooker, King Piccolo destroys it. Drum is about to finish Tien off when Goku intervenes and saves him, killing Drum with a single kick. Tien, amazed at Goku's new power, can only watch as Goku and King Piccolo then battle it out, using the last of his strength part way through their match to quickly fly in and levitate Goku out of the path of a powerful attack by King Piccolo. When the battle seems to be turning against King Piccolo, the Demon King decides to take Tien hostage in order to force Goku to allow himself to be crippled. Piccolo says that if Goku does not do what he orders, he will crush Tien's head. After King Piccolo severely damages Goku, Tien is discarded by King Piccolo, but Goku is more resilient than King Piccolo thought and uses one final attack to kill the Demon King.

With the battle over, Tien heads back to the Kame House with Goku's friends Launch, Yamcha and Bulma. He vows to train harder in order to bridge the now massive gap between himself and Goku.

King Piccolo's reincarnate
Tien keeps up his training, redoubling his efforts after learning that Goku is being trained by Kami, Guardian of the Earth. With the dragon restored, a wish is made to bring all those killed by King Piccolo back to life. Tien then trains with Yamcha and the newly resurrected Krillin and Chiaotzu until they are informed by Master Roshi that, to be able to compete with Goku, they are going to need to find better ways to train than are available at the Kame House. They all head to Korin Tower and train with Korin before each going their own separate way.

Three years after King Piccolo's defeat, Tien, along with Yamcha, Chiaotzu and Krillin, return to compete in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. He is somewhat surprised to see the now teenaged Goku and hopeful that he's even more powerful than before. His real shock, however, is seeing Piccolo Jr., and realizing that something of the Demon King has survived. Goku asks him to remain silent about the matter for the time, not wishing to create a panic.

When the lots are drawn up to determine the order of the fights, Tien again has Chiaotzu manipulate the cards so that none of the group (Tien, Yamcha, Goku, Chiaotzu and Krillin) or Piccolo Jr. fight each other in the preliminaries.

The early matches seem to be going as usual, with the group quickly dispatching their foes. Tien then receives a horrible sense of something happening to Chiaotzu. He races to the scene and finds Chiaotzu heavily wounded and unconscious, his opponent turning out to be the now cybernetic Mercenary Tao, greatly surprising Tien, who thought Tao to be dead. Tao explains that after his seeming death by Goku, he was rebuilt into the half-man half-machine before them, and that he seeks revenge on both Goku and the "traitor" Tien. Tien claims he has not betrayed Shen, but realised Shen's teaching's were wrong. Tien gladly accepts his challenge, wanting to avenge Chiaotzu.

They get their wish as Tien and Mercenary Tao are the first of the eight finalists to fight. After a long silence, Tao lunges at Tien, but Tien quickly sidesteps and counters, knocking Tao to the ground. Tien then states that he doesn't want to embarrass Tao, since he taught him how to fight. Tien also forgives Mercenary Tao for what he did to Chiaotzu and tells him to forfeit. Tao refuses this and presses on his assault, though he is clearly outclassed by Tien, who dominates the whole battle. After Tien grabs one of Tao's wrists, the cyborg pulls a surprise maneuver and detaches his mechanical hand, revealing a knife that he quickly uses to slash Tien, scarring him permanently. Though disqualified for use of a weapon, Tao does not care (Tao only participated in the tournament so he could kill Tien) and quickly drops his other hand to reveal a cannon and fires a Super Dodon Wave at Tien, claiming Tien has no chance of survival. Tien however nullifies the large blast with his Kiai and then proceeds to defeat Tao with a single punch to the gut. He takes Tao's unconscious body out of bounds and presents it to the watching Master Shen, telling him to take his brother and leave, and to never bother him again.

Tien's next fight is the one he has been waiting for, a rematch against Goku. The battle starts with numerous quick sparrings and shows to be fairly even, but with Tien having an edge in raw speed. This changes after Goku removes his weighted clothing though, making Goku fast enough to steal Tien's belt without Tien even noticing; resulting in Tien's boxers to be exposed to the audience. Realizing that he won't be able to defeat Goku physically, Tien uses a new technique he has created, the Multi-Form, and splits into four identical copies of himself. The Tiens disperse to the four corners of the ring, each one then firing a Ki Blast Cannon at the center, where Goku is, resulting in a large explosion which Goku has to leap to avoid.

The Tiens quickly fire again, this time from their third eyes, at Goku, sending him crashing back to the ring. The Tiens warn Goku to give up before he gets hurt, but he appears unfazed by their attacks, and states they won't be able to pull off that trick again, which they then promptly attempt. Goku dodges the beams this time though, and uses the Solar Flare against them, blinding the Tiens. He then quickly dispatches each of them, causing them to revert back to the single being. Goku states that the new technique Tien has a critical weakness, as Tien's power is divided amongst the duplicates. With the fight over, Tien looks forward to their next rematch, suspecting that Goku was still holding quite a bit back.

Tien plays little role in following battles, he can only watch as Goku fights the seemingly all-powerful Piccolo Jr. He offers his assistance at several points, but is denied by Goku who wants to fight the demon alone, though he does open the Sealed Flask, which Piccolo Jr. used to trap Kami, after Goku tosses it to him. Tien also helps to evacuate their friends, creating a pit in the earth for them to take shelter from the Hyper Explosive Demon Wave, one of Piccolo Jr.'s more devastating attacks.

When it looks like Goku has been beaten, with Piccolo Jr. close to finishing him off, Tien reluctantly accepts the order from Kami to kill the elderly guardian, thus also killing Piccolo Jr. He is stopped by Goku though, who evades the demon's onslaught and ends up defeating him with a surprise attack.

Saiyan attack
Five years after the tournament, Tien learns that Goku has died in battle against an amazingly powerful warrior called Raditz, a Saiyan who was Goku's brother. Even more disturbing is that two more Saiyans, both more powerful than Raditz, are on their way to Earth and will be there in about a year.

In the early days, the wild Launch developed a bit of an infatuation with Tien, and she continues to chase him wherever he goes. This could be one reason he chooses to move from place to place so frequently. Tien wastes no time, and is invited, along with Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe and Krillin, to train at Kami's Lookout so they can aid Goku when he is wished back to life in a year, after he completes his training with King Kai. In filler during this period, Tien and the other Z Fighters on Earth fight Shorty and Scarface, two illusion Saiyans they met on Planet Vegeta when using the Pendulum Room at Kami's Lookout to go back in time. Tien and his friends are overpowered greatly by the Saiyans, before they are transferred back to Kami's Lookout.

‎ When the Saiyans finally do arrive, the Z Fighters decide to hold them off until Goku can arrive. Vegeta, deciding to toy with his opponents, has Nappa grow several Saibamen in the soil so that he can hold a small challenge. Knowing that they have to buy time, the Z Fighters agree to this, and Tien volunteers to go first. He manages to quickly defeat the vicious creature, causing Vegeta to destroy it for incompetence.

After all the Saibamen are killed, Nappa decides to enter the fray himself, taking on Tien as his first opponent. Tien is no match for the giant warrior, and has his left arm ripped off in a single hit. Immediately, Tien tries to use levitation to escape, but is quickly smashed to the floor in the second hit. Seeing this, Chiaotzu sacrifices himself with a a self destruction attack against Nappa, but it was in vain as Nappa remains unharmed and starts to fight with the now ally Piccolo and Goku's son, Gohan.

Tien, enraged by the death of Chiaotzu, puts all his remaining strength into one final Tri-beam through his remaining right hand, killing himself from exhaustion in the process. The attack manages to do serious damage to Nappa's armor, but does not seriously damage the Saiyan warrior. In the anime however, Nappa goes as far as to praise Tien's efforts, claiming that had his aim been better, it would have seriously injured him. The attempt also shocked Vegeta, as he was the one to warn Nappa of its power and stating that if he had not warned Nappa, it could have killed him.

Training with King Kai
Because of the influence of Kami, after he perished, Tien was allowed to train on King Kai's planet in the Other World as Goku did earlier. Joining him were the other warriors who also perished in the battle against the Saiyans, Chiaotzu, Piccolo and Yamcha. On King Kai's planet, King Kai tells Goku that they all crossed Snake Way in a far shorter time than he did, and that they all requested for tougher training than what Goku had received.

Tien, along with Chiaotzu and Yamcha, remains on King Kai's planet and learns of everyone's (Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Gohan, Dende and Piccolo fused with Nail) mighty struggle with the evil tyrant Frieza on the Planet Namek. While there, in a filler scenario, King Kai calls upon the deceased Ginyu Force (excluding Captain Ginyu) to challenge Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu. Tien takes on both Jeice and Burter, and disposes of them rather quickly and easily, showing off how much stronger he had gotten. Knowing the Ginyu Force at one time defeated Vegeta, gave them all a sense of pride.

Tien is eventually wished back to life along with Chiaotzu by a wish made to Porunga. Once back on Earth, Tien and Chiaotzu go into solitude, training in the mountains.

Garlic Jr.'s attack
For reasons unexplained, both Tien and Chiaotzu do not make their appearances in this saga. It can be assumed however that they were both also possessed by the Black Water Mist, and also changed back to their normal states by the Sacred Water like almost everybody else on Earth.

The mysterious youth
A year later, while Tien and Chiaotzu are training in the mountains, they are interrupted when they sense two powerful evil energies heading towards Earth. They then fly to the location of where the power is coming from. Both Tien and Chiaotzu are surprised to find Vegeta (who was somewhat reformed during the crisis on Namek and now resides on Earth with Bulma) and the other Z Fighters who inform them that the power they are detecting is Frieza's, who somehow survived Namek's destruction. When Frieza does land, he is quickly dispatched by an unknown mysterious youth (Future Trunks). Piccolo, overhearing the young Super Saiyan's private conversation with Goku, tells everyone the warning that two incredibly powerful Androids will attack in three years time and defeat everyone with the exception of Gohan (and, of course, Future Trunks, but Piccolo does not make mention of the youth in order to keep his identity a secret). During the three years of training, Tien trains alongside Chiaotzu across the Earth and his power increases.

The Androids
"Whatever it costs me, I will fight."

- "Goku's Special Technique"

The three years soon pass and the Z Fighters head to the location where the androids soon appear. Tien tells the other Z Fighters that he left Chiaotzu behind as he felt that even though they trained, he wouldn't have been able to keep up in the battle. After Gero destroys half of the city where they appeared, Goku, Piccolo, and Tien fly off to a different location with the Androids following. Tien notices that Goku is already tired and out of breath just by flying. It is revealed Goku's deadly heart virus is the cause of this lack of energy.

Tien himself doesn't do any fighting until Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18 appear. He attacks Android 17, but is quickly over-powered, and ends up being choked until he is dropped.

The new threat, Cell
When the Androids leave to continue their pursuit of Goku, who is recovering from a heart disease, Tien goes off with Chiaotzu to train and become powerful enough to help against this new threat. He is soon interrupted from this to lend his aid in hunting for the new menace, Cell.

Eventually Tien catches up with Imperfect Cell, and witnesses his battle against the combined force of Piccolo and Android 17. Imperfect Cell defeats Piccolo though. When Imperfect Cell gets up, after being shot by Android 16, Tien tries to warn Android 17, but Android 17 ends up absorbed. This allows Imperfect Cell to become Semi-Perfect Cell. Semi-Perfect Cell then makes his move to absorb Android 18 as well, but is held off by Tien, who uses his new Neo Tri-Beam to hold Semi-Perfect Cell in place until Goku arrives and relieves the thoroughly drained Tien.

The Cell Games
When Perfect Cell declares his Cell Games, Tien decides to remain on the sidelines out of the fight, he is given the opportunity to go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but he declines the invitation stating he has no chance against Cell. He does however get thrown into the mix when Perfect Cell spawns seven Cell Juniors to torment the Z Fighters, in an effort to make Gohan angry. Despite a severe beating by the small creatures, he does get in a hit with Yamcha while saving Goku. He is later saved by Gohan who turned Super Saiyan 2.

During Gohan's final battle with Super Perfect Cell, Tien along with Piccolo, Yamcha, and Krillin blast Cell from behind him in order to help Gohan. They are eventually brushed aside by Cell who is then finally defeated by Gohan with the help of Vegeta. At Kami's Lookout, Tien tells the other Z Fighters that they will probably never meet again. Saying farewell, he flies into the distance.

Fighting against Buu
"Hardly recognize you Gohan. You've changed a lot, inside and out, good for you. But I see Majin Buu did some changing too!"

- Tien to Gohan after he saved him and the others from Buu's blast

‎ Seven years later, in the following Majin Buu Saga, Tien makes an appearance with Chiaotzu as their training in the mountains is interrupted when they both sense Goku transforming into his Super Saiyan 3 form, both shocked by the power.

Tien later reappears alongside Chiaotzu whilst they're training in the mountains. Here, himself and Chiaotzu manage to evade being hit by Super Buu's Special Human Extinction Attack, which was used to exterminate the population of Earth. They then briefly examine the small craters left behind by Super Buu's attack. When Tien finally intervenes into the main battle, he saves Mr. Satan, Gohan, Dende and Bee from being killed by Super Buu (Gotenks Absorbed). Tien then fires a Tri-Beam at Buu, with power enough to shock even Gohan. However, even with his massive power increase, Tien is still no match for Super Buu. After being cut in half by Goku, Buu's legs land next to Tien, who is dispatched after a single kick by Super Buu from behind.

When the Earth was destroyed by Kid Buu, Tien and Chaioztu are also killed in the process. Once everyone is revived by the Namekian Dragon Balls, he and Chiaotzu later give their energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb so that he can kill Kid Buu. He is last seen at a party at Bulma's house.

Dragon Ball GT
For unexplained reasons, Tien has kept apart with the rest of the Z Fighters. It is often said that he leaves to go travel the world and train with Chiaotzu. In Dragon Ball GT, Tien only appears twice, once when the Earth is about to explode from the work of the Black Star Dragon Balls, and the other is when Goku passes by him in the final episode "Until We Meet Again".

Baby Saga
He is seen in episode 40 "Piccolo's Decision" with Chiaotzu and among others. At the end of the episode he can be seen attending a party at Bulma's house.

Shadow Dragon Saga
He is finally seen in the last episode (#64, "Until We Meet Again...") when Goku passes by with Shenron, as he and Chiaotzu are training under a waterfall.

Anime filler

 * While searching for the Dragon Balls in the King Piccolo Saga, Tien, Chiaotzu and Master Roshi retrieve the first one from a greedy pirate bear leader of a Mercenary Clan. When getting the second ball, they arrive at a near-vacated town. When Tien enters the house where the Dragon Ball is indicated to be, he finds himself face-to-face with an ex-fighter whom he savagely beat at a tournament several years ago. At first the man's wife calls the police, believing Tien is responsible for the series of murders being committed by King Piccolo's son Tambourine. Master Roshi is able to prove Tien's innocence however and the police soon leave. Not trusting Tien, the man wearily predicts that the former Crane student will proceed to tear his humble house apart in his search for the object. Instead, Tien grovels at the man's feet, begging him for forgiveness for his previous cruel actions and for the Dragon Ball which can help stop the current crisis. Surprised by Tien's humbleness, the man grants his forgiveness and gives him the Dragon Ball. They then locate the third ball in the Arctic from an icecap and the fourth ball from a mountainside.
 * While fighting against Drum, Tien puts up a better fight against the demon, and manages to knock him down enough for him to attack King Piccolo. When King Piccolo starts to leave during their battle, Tien attempts to use the Evil Containment Wave on him, but ends up ensnaring Drum instead when he realizes what Tien is attempting to do. King Piccolo then uses a finger blast to destroy the jar Tien was going to use to seal Drum, allowing Drum to remain free.
 * On his way to train with Korin, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and Krillin rescue a village from an active volcano.
 * While training with Kami, Tien and the others enter the Pendulum Room, which allows them to virtually battle Saiyans from the past.
 * In the Namek saga, on King Kai's planet, Tien along with Chiaotzu and Yamcha participate in a 3 versus 1 sparring match against Piccolo.
 * In the Frieza Saga, while training with King Kai, the recently killed members of the Ginyu Force show up on the planet, battling against Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu. They eventually beat them and send them flying back down to the depths of Hell. Tien himself takes on both Burter and Jeice, at first splitting in two to fight them individually.
 * In the Cell Games, after Perfect Cell returns as Super Perfect Cell, Tien, along with the other Z Fighters, blast Super Perfect Cell in the back to try and help Gohan.
 * At the end of the Kid Buu Saga, he goes to a party at Bulma's house.

Movie Appearances

 * Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure 
 * Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
 * Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
 * Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (in the opening prologue and credits)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku (in Bardock's visions of the future)

Techniques and special abilities

 * Flight – It is the capability to fly by using the Ki. At first this technique was used only by Tien and Chiaotzu, then it was learnt also by all the Z Warriors, except for Yajirobe and Master Roshi.
 * Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
 * Domination Blast – The name of Tien's Renzoku Energy Dan (Continuous Ki Blast) technique he uses in the Butōden series and Budokai series.
 * Kiai – This is a technique used by Tien against Mercenary Tao at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament: it consists in a yell that he uses to reject the less powerful attacks.
 * Dodon Ray – The signature technique of the Crane School. It is an energy beam shot from a finger, which is more powerful than a normal Kamehameha, yet doesn't need as much as charging time as the Kamehameha. Another version of the Dodon Ray technique is the
 * Neo Dodon Ray - A larger, more powerful version of the Dodon Ray. The technique appears in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
 * Super Knee Uppercut – The technique he used to break Yamcha's leg in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.
 * Hammerhead – The flying headbutt technique he used during his match against Jackie Choun. Named in the Butōden series.
 * Machine Gun Punch – Tien swings his arms so fast they appear to be windmills on his shoulder and pummels his opponent too many times to count. Tien uses this in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament against Goku. It is called Jackhammer Fist in the Budokai series.
 * Machinegun Fist – The name of Tien's High Speed Rush in the Budokai series.
 * Jackhammer Fist Flash – Tien kicks the opponent up in the air, and then he kicks and punches them down again. Used in the Budokai series.
 * Volleyball Attack – Tien uses his opponent as a ball and makes them fly with two hits before giving a final blow to stamp them into the ring.
 * Four Witches Technique – Tien uses this ability to sprout two extra arms from the back and shoulders so he obtains four arms to fight his opponent. Tien performs this attack at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament and it allows him to immobilize Goku's arms and legs.
 * Multi-Form – Tien splits himself into four identical copies. The only weakness of this technique is that the copies split his original energy.
 * Ki Blast Cannon – A square blast of energy. Used against Goku after he splitted into four identical copies during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. In the Budokai series, the Ki Blast Cannon is fired in the same fashion as the Tri-Beam.
 * Mystery Ray – Tien fires a straight white beam from his third eye. He uses it against Goku while splitted into four identical copies during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Named in Ultimate Battle 22.
 * Meteo Brute Combo – His meteor attack in Ultimate Battle 22, where he creates a copy of himself, and then both attack the opponent with the Machine Gun Punch at the same time.
 * Tri-Beam – Tien's special technique. He unites his hands at the tips of the fingers and aims at his target between his fingers and his thumbs. Then he shoots a powerful energy blast to hit it. This is a very dangerous attack, because it uses up most of user's health so this one has to control how much energy he is putting into the blast in order to not over use it. Later Tien makes this attack more powerful and calls it the "Neo Tri-Beam". It is also called the "Ki Blast Cannon" in Budokai Tenkaichi video games.
 * Spirit Tri-Beam – An enhanced Tri-Beam which uses Tien's life energy.
 * Neo Tri-Beam – Another variation of the Tri-Beam, which also negatively affects Tien's life force.
 * Multi-Form Tri-Beam (四身の拳・気功砲) – Tien uses the Multi-Form to split himself into four identical copies and then, at the same time, each copy fires a Tri-Beam. This technique was named in the Gokuden video game series.
 * Spirit Burst – Tien experiences a sharp increase in power and speed.
 * Solar Flare – This technique is used the first time by Tien during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament against Jackie Chun. He called it "Solar Flare of Crane School" because at that time he was Master Shen's pupil. The user of this technique puts his hands over the face and generates a powerful flash of light that temporarily blinds anyone whose eyes come in contact with it. Solar Flare is performed by other Z warriors and Cell as well.
 * Afterimage Technique – This is a technique that consists of disappearing from a place, leaving a shadow of oneself, for a short period of time in the original position and causing the shadow image effect. The enemy is deceived into thinking that his opponent is still there and this one can quickly move to another spot close by and attack him unexpectedly. Tien uses a variation of the afterimage, the Wild Sense, in the Budokai Tenkaichi series.
 * Mimicry – Both Chiaotzu and Tien Shinhan have shown the ability to copy moves after seeing them only once. Tien states this after using his Kamehameha after copying it from Yamcha. He also uses it to copy Master Roshi's Evil Containment Wave to use on King Piccolo.
 * Kamehameha – Attack invented by Master Roshi. At first the user cups both of his hands to concentrate the energy; then, yelling Kamehameha in intervals as Ka - me - ha - me - ha!, he charges up, puts them on the side of his body and finally he unleashes a powerful ki blast.
 * Evil Containment Wave – Secret technique invented by Lord Mutaito (Master Roshi and Master Shen's teacher) to defeat King Piccolo. He manages to use a magic wind to propel the demon into an Electric Rice Cooker, trapping him at the cost of the user's life.
 * Ki Sense – The ability to sense Ki energy. Tien learned the ability while training on Kami's Lookout.
 * Telepathy – Tien is able to speak with his targets mentally.
 * Telekinesis – Only in the anime, Tien Shinhan is shown using this to halt the waterfall near his home during the Saiyan saga.
 * Fusion Dance – Tien is able to use the fusion dance with Yamcha to form Tiencha, only in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2.

Video game appearances
Tien Shinhan has appeared in the following video games:


 * Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden (and its WonderSwan remake; Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiyan
 * Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza
 * Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan
 * Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen
 * Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budōkai
 * Dragon Ball Z Arcade (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Son Goku Densetsu (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Goku Hishōden (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
 * Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butōden
 * Dragon Ball Z: The Legend (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors (Support-type Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
 * Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
 * Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors (Support-type Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure
 * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
 * Dragon Ball Z: Sagas
 * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
 * Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 (Support-type Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
 * Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact
 * Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road (Non-Playable Character)
 * Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu (Support-type Character)
 * 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: Attack of the Saiyans
 * Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo
 * Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
 * Dragon Ball Online
 * Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team
 * Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
 * Dragon Ball Heroes
 * Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden
 * Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale
 * Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi

Voice actors

 * Japanese Dub: Hirotaka Suzuoki (Dragon Ball; Dragon Ball Z; Games 1995, 2002 - 2007), Mitsuaki Madona (Games 2008 - 2009), Hikaru Midorikawa (Dragon Ball Kai; Games 2009 - )
 * Ocean Group Dub: Matt Smith (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Blue Water Dub: Jonathan Love (Dragon Ball)
 * FUNimation Dub: Chris Cason (Original dub of Dragon Ball Z Season 3); John Burgmeier (All Other Media)
 * Harmony Gold Dub: Eddie Frierson (Movie 3)
 * Latin American Dub: Ismael Larumbe Jr.
 * Portuguese Dub: Ricardo Spínola
 * Italian Dub: Claudio Ridolfo
 * Brazilian Dub: Alexandre Marconatto
 * Hungarian Dub: István Wohlmuth

Major Battles

 * Tien Shinhan vs. Mercenary Tao (Seen in flashback)
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Fighter mercilessly injured (Seen in flashback)
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Yamcha
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Jackie Chun (Master Roshi)
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Goku (Kid)
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Drum
 * Tien Shinhan vs. King Piccolo
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Cyborg Mercenary Tao
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Goku (Teen)
 * Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Krillin & Yamcha vs. Scarface & Shorty
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Saibaman
 * Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, Krillin, Chiaotzu and Gohan vs. Nappa
 * Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu & Yamcha vs. Piccolo
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Burter & Jeice
 * Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, Future Trunks and Vegeta vs. Android 17 and 18
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Semi-Perfect Cell
 * Tien Shinhan, Krillin, Goku, Vegeta, Future Trunks, Piccolo and Yamcha vs. Cell Juniors
 * Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, Yamcha, Krillin, Vegeta and Gohan vs. Super Perfect Cell
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Super Buu (Gotenks absorbed)

Movies Battles

 * Tien Shinhan & Chiaotzu vs. Rasin & Lakasei (Movie 3)
 * Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Krillin, Yamcha & Piccolo vs. Turles (Movie 3)
 * Tien Shinhan vs. Future Trunks (Base, Super Saiyan) (Movie 9)
 * Tien Shinhan, Yamcha and Gohan (SS) vs. Bido, Bujin and Zangya (Movie 9)

Trivia

 * He has a third eye, like the hindu god Shiva.
 * At the end of the episode "Full-Moon Vengeance", Tien is briefly seen without his third eye when Chiaotzu leaves to enter the ring.
 * Tien supposedly has hair, as Master Shen states that he shaves his head.
 * The scar on Tien's chest is from his fight with Mercenary Tao in the 23rd World Tournament. Oddly, it never healed, even with the aid of any Senzu Bean he ate after the tournament.
 * Prior to beginning his training with King Kai, Tien has difficulty making King Kai laugh during the prerequisite joke-telling test. In order to finally deliver a successful joke, Tien must literally power up and use the Multi Form technique as he aggressively declares "You can tune a piano, but you can't tune a (tuna) fish" in the English version, and "You think what's up your nose is a secret but it's not (snot)" in the Japanese version.
 * In Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, Tien is usually seen training near a waterfall with his lifelong best friend, Chiaotzu.
 * After his revival, from being killed during his battle against Nappa, Tien is more rarely seen with Chiaotzu (e.g. his battles with the Cell Juniors and Super Buu (Gotenks Absorbed)).
 * Tien is one of the most notable characters who does not appear in Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!. This was done because his original voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, had died 2 years earlier, although this can easily be explained story-wise by Tien and Chiaotzu's reclusive nature. He appears with Chiaotzu in the opening and is briefly mentioned when Gotenks utilizes his Volleyball Attack technique in battle against Aka. However, they were included in the manga adaptation.
 * During his last appearance in Dragon Ball GT, despite being a man at the age of 57, Tien does not have any physical differences from his younger years. This may be because of his super-human traits, however Krillin does have age-related differences, so this occurrence is never explained.
 * Tien is arguably the strongest full blooded human on Earth in Dragon Ball Z. While it has been shown that he is stronger than Yamcha, it has never been further explained who is the strongest out of Tien and Krillin after Tien receives King Kai's training and Krillin receives the Namek Elder's unlock potential boost. Furthermore, he was shown to hold his own against Future Trunks (a Saiyan/Human hybrid) during the Intergalactic Tournament in Bojack Unbound.