Master Roshi, known in Japan as as well as , is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from the ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...

'' series created by

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

. Within the series, he is an elderly

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

master, born on March 20th, who is the innovator of the technique. His students include

Grandpa Son Gohan ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, '' Dr. Slump''. While many of the ch ...

, The Ox-King, Son Goku,

Krillin (known as Kuririn in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, and Kulilin in Japanese merchandise English translations) is a fictional character in the '' Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is in ...

and

Yamcha is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is first introduced as a desert bandit and an antagonist of Son Goku in chapter #7 "Yamcha and Pu'ar", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on ...

. He is bald, sports a thick

van dyke beard A Van Dyke (sometimes spelled Vandyke, or Van Dyck) is a style of facial hair named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641). The artist's name is today normally spelt as “van Dyck", though there are many variants, ...

, and wears sunglasses, beach clothes, or martial arts suits. He usually wields a walking stick and, in early appearances, wears a turtle's shell on his back. In spite of his lechery, cantankerousness and occasional whimsy or foolishness, he is often depicted as wise and perceptive. While a popular character with ''Dragon Ball'' fans, the depiction of some of his antics has been met with criticism or deemed highly controversial.

Voice actors

Master Roshi's design was inspired by the character of Kami-sama from Toriyama's previous manga ''

Dr. Slump is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1980 to 1984, with the chapters collected into 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series fol ...

'' and accordingly was originally voiced by

Kōhei Miyauchi , better known by the stage name , was a Japanese actor and voice actor born in Kagoshima Prefecture. On June 2, 1995, Miyauchi died on his hospital bed at the Nihon University Itabashi Hospital from abdominal varices. At the time of Miyauchi's de ...

, who also voiced Kami-sama in the original ''Dr. Slump'' anime. For unknown reasons Miyauchi was unavailable for the recording of Dragon Ball Episode #137; the role was played by series narrator

Jōji Yanami was a Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his major voice roles included the ''Dragon Ball'' anime series, which he narrated and voiced Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama ( King K ...

. Miyauchi's final acting session before he died was for episode 260 of ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'', which he recorded only 3 months before his death. Kame-Sennin is voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka from episode 288 of ''Dragon Ball Z'' onward, in ''

Dragon Ball GT is a 1996–1997 Japanese anime television series based on Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dragon Ball'' manga. Produced by Toei Animation, the series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV and ran for 64 episodes from February 1996 to Novem ...

'' and the '' 2008 Jump Super Anime Tour film''. He is voiced by

Kinya Aikawa Kin'ya or Kinya (written: 欣也, 欣哉, 欽也 or キンヤ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese fencer *, Japanese actor and voice actor *, Japanese actor *, Japanese singer and acto ...

in the 10th anniversary movie, by

Takko Ishimori is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 5,353, and a population density of 22 persons per km2, in 2,142 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Takko occupies the far southeast cor ...

in gameplay of '' Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure'', and by

Masaharu Satō is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator currently working for Aoni Production. He was born in Ōta, Tokyo. Satō is best known for the roles of Buffaloman, Sunshine (''Kinnikuman''), Miyamoto Musashi (''Yaiba''), Adah ('' Mushiking: King o ...

in the

thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octa ...

''Dragon Ball Z'' movie and all media following ''

Dragon Ball Kai ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' (known in Japan as ) is a revised version of the anime series ''Dragon Ball Z'', produced in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. Produced by Toei Animation, the series was originally broadcast in Japan on Fuji TV from Ap ...

''. In the

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

dub, he is voiced by

Michael Donovan Michael Donovan is a Canadian voice actor and director known for his roles as Suikotsu in ''Inuyasha'' and Zoken Mato in ''Fate/stay night''. He has also directed many animated series and feature films. Roles Animation * ''3-2-1 Penguins!''K ...

Ian James Corlett Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series ''Being Ian'' and ''Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first En ...

Peter Kelamis Peter Kelamis (born December 11, 1967) is an Australian-Canadian actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He is known for playing Tail Terrier in ''Krypto the Superdog'', Dr. Adam Brody in ''Stargate Universe'', Goku in Ocean's English dubs ...

, Don Brown, and

Terry Klassen Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor, ADR director and writer. Before animation, Klassen worked in radio in Winnipeg (CITI-FM), Toronto (Q107), Calgary (CFAC), Portage la Prairie (CFRY) and part-time at CFOX and CFMI. In animation, he is best ...

at various points. Dean Galloway voices him in the

Blue Water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

dub, while

Mike McFarland Michael McFarland is an American voice actor and ADR director who works on English dubs of Japanese anime at Funimation. He is known as the original English voice of Master Roshi and Yajirobe in Funimation's dubs of ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Dragon ...

voices him in the Funimation dub. Other English dub voice actors include Ed Marcus, Amir Khafila, Nesty Ramirez, Dave Bridges, and

Kirk Thornton Kirk Thornton is an American voice actor, director and script writer working mainly with English-language versions of Japanese anime shows. Career His major roles include Brandon Heat in ''Gungrave'', Hotohori in ''Fushigi Yūgi'', Klein in ' ...

Appearances

''Dragon Ball''

Master Roshi's first appearance is in chapter #3 of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga. Roshi lives with his longtime companion, an anthropomorphic turtle referred to as Umigame (ウミガメ, "Sea Turtle"), on an island with a house built on it known as "Kame House". Kame House eventually serves as a gathering place for Goku and his associates throughout the series, as well as a home for certain recurring characters like

Oolong Oolong (, ; (''wūlóngchá'', "dark dragon" tea)) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea ('' Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting.Zhonggu ...

or Krillin and his young family. Graduates of Roshi's training (i.e. Goku,

) often wear the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

for "Turtle" ("Kame") 亀 on their ''

dogi (, "practice", , "dress or "clothes"), also known as or , is a traditional uniform worn for training in Japanese martial arts and their derivatives. Emerging in the late 19th century, the was developed by judo founder Kanō Jigorō. Origin Ja ...

''. When wishing to fight anonymously at the World Martial Arts Tournament, Roshi assumes a disguise and calls himself "Jackie Chun". Master Roshi is consistently depicted as a pervert who frequently flirts with or harasses physically attractive female characters. In Chapter 5 of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series, published in ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...

'' on January 15, 1985, Roshi makes sexual advances on "Bulma" who is wearing a suggestive bunny costume; it is in fact an impersonation by a shapeshifting Oolong, who seduces Roshi by inviting him to place his face between his "breasts" and calls the act "Puff Puff". The term is derived from the Japanese

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

for a woman rubbing her breasts in another person's face, though it can also be used to refer to a woman juggling her own breasts. When tasked with putting out a fire on Mount Frypan, Master Roshi demonstrated an ability to greatly increase his energy. In this state, his appearance changes dramatically, with an enormous increase in muscle mass and likewise height which was nearly equal to Piccolo. Due to his natural precision in battle, this bulky state does not appear to affect his speed and agility. In this state, he can perform many ki attacks at their maximum potential, most noticeably an enhanced version of his ''Kamehameha'' attack, which was so powerful that it was able to destroy the moon. At the beginning of the ''Dragon Ball'' series, he is considered to be the strongest mortal fighter in the ''Dragon Ball''

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

, however his power level began to pale in comparison to Goku and his allies later in the series. While his legacy is demonstrated in the prolific use of the ''Kamehameha'' technique by numerous characters in the series, his prominence has diminished greatly by the time Goku reaches adulthood. He would only make occasional appearances as a supporting character and no longer operate as an active fighter.

In Toriyama's films and ''Dragon Ball Super''

Master Roshi would return to prominence as a major character with the revival of the ''Dragon Ball'' series in the 2010s. In the film Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' and its counterpart story arc in ''

Dragon Ball Super is a Japanese manga series written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. A sequel to Toriyama's original ''Dragon Ball'' manga, it follows the adventures of Goku and friends during the ten-year timeskip after the defeat of Maj ...

'', Master Roshi would join Goku and his friends in their fight against a resurrected Frieza leading his army to Earth and exact vengeance against Goku. It is also implied on one episode that the Paradise Grass is the source of Master Roshi's long lifespan, as he claims that eating some of it would allow him to live on for another millennia. In the Universe Survival arc of ''Dragon Ball Super'', Roshi is revealed to have been secretly training and holding back his true strength, and he is later recruited as one of the representatives of the Seventh Universe by Goku. But as his perverted behavior got him caught in a mind control spell by a Crane School student named Yurin, Roshi enlists Puar to build up a resistance to beautiful women. While Master Roshi manages to eliminate four competitors from other universes during the tournament, he is forced to eliminate himself when an altercation with the Sixth Universe warrior Frost nearly kills him from excessive using the ''Mafuba'' technique.

In other media

In June 1988, Master Roshi along with other ''Dragon Ball'' characters were featured in two public safety announcement shorts. The first was entitled , and the second called where he along with Krillin, Yamcha, and later Goku become volunteer fire fighters. Master Roshi is portrayed by

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

in the American live-action film ''

Dragonball Evolution ''Dragonball Evolution'' is a 2009 American science fantasy superhero-martial arts film directed by James Wong, produced by Stephen Chow, and written by Ben Ramsey. It is based on the Japanese ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyam ...

''; his voice was dubbed over by

Tsutomu Isobe is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo, Japan. He is the best known dubbing roles for Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Chow Yun-fat, Peter Weller, Tim Allen, Sean Bean, Choi Min-sik, Stringfellow Hawke (Airwolf) and many more. His daughter is ...

in the Japanese version. Roshi was included as one of eight character pairings in ''Dragon Ball x One Piece: Cross Epoch'', a crossover manga between their respective ''Dragon Ball'' and ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

'' series. In the 2013 crossover TV special , Roshi is one of the participants in the Food Tournament (Tenkaichi Kuōkai), consisting of a race to the center of the hosting island and the championship prize of luxuriously rare Carat Sizzled Cattle, hosted by the International Gourmet Organization (IGO). Roshi is a

playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

in the following

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

: *'' Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22'' *'' Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi'' *'' Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2'' (Playable w/Jackie Chun as an alternate outfit, has MAX Power Mode as transformation) *'' Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3'' (same as above.) *'' Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure'' (Playable as Jackie Chun) *''

Dragon Ball FighterZ ''Dragon Ball FighterZ'' (pronounced "fighters") is a 2.5D fighting game, developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Based on the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, it was released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Micr ...

'' (DLC)

Reception and controversy

Cosplayer of Kame Sennin, Dragon Ball at Animethon 20160806

Master Roshi is a popular and widely recognized character, who has appeared in several "top" character lists by fans and critics. Japanese fans voted Master Roshi the thirteenth most popular character of the series in a 2004 poll. Master Roshi was ranked second place in a Japanese fan poll conducted by Charapedia for their favorite lecherous male anime and manga characters. Master Roshi was ranked among IGN's Top 13 ''Dragon Ball Z'' Characters List published in 2015, which acknowledged Roshi's primary role within the series as a comic relief character but also emphasized the importance of the character's in-universe legacy for being the inventor of the Kamehameha, "the franchise's most recognizable move and Goku’s signature technique", and that he can still hold his own in battle when necessary. Roshi came in 12th place on ''Complex''s list "A Ranking of All the Characters on 'Dragon Ball Z": Pearce observed that while Master Roshi's role in the series deteriorated with the arrival of the Saiyan characters, he still pops up to offer advice, support, and comic relief. Master Roshi has received particular attention for his lewd sensibilities as well as his constant attempts to catch the series' female characters in revealing positions. Tim Jones from Them Anime Reviews believed that while fan service is prevalent in the original ''Dragon Ball'' series, he opined that it is not very extremely offensive as characters like Roshi quite often gets beaten up or punished in retaliation for comedic effect. Master Roshi's scene with Oolong who is disguised as Bulma originated the slang term "puff puff", which is later referenced in other works which has Toriyama's involvement, such as the ''

Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a franchise of Japanese role-playing video games created by Armor Project (Yuji Horii), Bird Studio (Akira Toriyama) and Sugiyama Kobo (Koichi Sugiyama) to its publi ...

'' franchise. References to the act were removed from the American television broadcast of the ''Dragon Ball'' anime adaptation. The character's lecherous behaviour towards a female character named Yurin in a ''Dragon Ball Super'' episode provoked a major complaint by Japan's Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization due to the underlying theme of sexual harassment. Another ''Dragon Ball Super'' scene, where Roshi persuades Pu'ar to shapeshift into a scantily clad young woman in order to motivate him to train better, provoked controversy in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. This led to the series being banned in the country as of September 2021. Reviewing the live-action ''Dragonball Evolution'' for ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'', Christopher Monfette said that Chow Yun-Fat's performance successfully captured Master Roshi's "whimsical, half-drunken essence".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roshi, Master Dragon Ball characters Animated human characters Animation controversies in television Anime and manga controversies Anime and manga characters who can move at superhuman speeds Anime and manga characters with superhuman strength Anime and manga telepaths Martial artist characters in anime and manga Comics characters introduced in 1984 Fictional characters with alter egos Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with extrasensory perception Fictional characters with slowed ageing Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional hermits Fictional hypnotists and indoctrinators Fictional male martial artists Fictional martial arts trainers Fictional murdered people Television censorship in the United States Male characters in anime and manga ca:Tortuga del Follet tortuga pl:Kamesennin fi:Luettelo Dragon Ballin hahmoista#Kamesennin