Who is Mr Popo in Dragon Ball? What is the role of this secondary character?
All the answers to your questions about this special character are in this article!
Mr. Popo is the Almighty’s servant on planet Earth. He welcomes Goku and tests his martial skills to determine whether he is worthy of speaking to his master. Mr. Popo plays an important role in the Dragon Ball series.
In this article, we’ll explore this atypical character. This ultimate guide will cover the following points:
- Mr. Popo’s personality and appearance
- The character’s complete biography
- Fighting techniques and various anecdotes
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Are you ready to dive into this new ultimate guide? Then it’s high time to get started! 👉
character description
In the Dragon Ball universe, most of the characters are imposing and have impressive physiques. Son Goku, Vegeta and many others are perfect examples. However, Mr. Popo stands out for his unusual physique. ☝
Indeed, Mr. Popo is a small, plump humanoid. He has several distinctive features, such as red lips, a dark complexion and pointed ears.
One detail about his appearance is worth mentioning. He has no nose or teeth. In the first episodes of the Dragon Ball anime, he actually had a tooth, a fact not lost on the most attentive fans. 😅
He has a modest stature and looks smaller than the average Earthling. He usually sports a smile, but can express various emotions depending on the circumstances, just like the other characters.
Mr. Popo is a polite character who stands up straight and displays a calm demeanor. Like many other characters in the Dragon Ball universe, his appearance has remained the same over the years. Whether in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT, he hasn’t changed a bit. This is probably due to his origins. 🤔
His appearance isn’t the only thing that’s remained unchanged over the years. His outfit has also remained the same. Indeed, on every appearance, Mr. Popo wears a white turban with a blue jewel on his forehead. He wears a gold earring on each ear, which does not go unnoticed.
He wears a sleeveless vest adorned with brown and gold motifs on his upper body. This vest leaves a large part of his body visible. He also wears gold armbands on his upper arms, matching the pattern on his vest. A red belt around his waist highlights his unusual get-up. 👍
Her white pants resemble a sarouel and end at her ankles.
And as you’d expect, he doesn’t go barefoot. So he wears red slippers with white soles.
PERSONALITY OF MR POPO
Mr. Popo is one of the Dragon Ball characters who has remained unchanged throughout the series. He hasn’t aged a day, which suggests that he’s very young. 👌
In reality, he’s very old. For several centuries, he served under Kami, the Guardian of the Earth. Before that, he had also served Kami’s predecessor.
In the distant past, he also served other Earth Guardians. Mr. Popo is known as a loyal and faithful servant. His duties are many and varied. He looks after Kami’s palace and grounds, keeping the gazebo clean. He also trains various creatures, including Earthlings, so that they can take on Earth’s many dangerous enemies (like Piccolo Jr. at the end of Dragon Ball or Nappa and Vegeta at the start of Dragon Ball Z). 🌎
In the Guardian’s absence, he is in charge of surveillance. He performs many tasks, from the most interesting to the most mundane, such as helping to rebuild Shenron when necessary. But above all, his main vocation is to take care of the current Guardian. He is supposed to support and serve him. He often maintains a deep emotional bond with the current Guardian.
When the latter suffers any kind of harm, Mr. Popo starts to sink into depression and worry excessively. 😨
Mr. Popo is sometimes caught tending his ancient butterfly garden, which he created several hundred years ago. Appreciating the simple things in life, he shows great patience and seems tolerant of everyone, even those who are irritable. He is often the first to try to calm people down.
He is one of the Dragon Ball characters who seems to have a particular appreciation of nature. In this respect, he’s right up there with Android 8 and of course Android 16.
When he talks about himself, he has the annoying (or not so annoying) habit of using the third person. Mr Popo generally expresses himself eloquently, using very sophisticated phrases and expressions. 😎
However, in the Japanese version, he is described as a rather primitive figure.
BIOGRAPHY OF MR POPO
Mr. Popo was born a long time ago in the Other World. After some time, he was sent to Earth to act as an assistant to every Guardian on the planet. 🌏
As you can guess, he was under the orders of several Guardians during his stay on Earth. In Dragon Ball Z, Mr. Popo was over 1,000 years old.
Subsequently, it’s obvious that he’s accumulated even more years, given that the sagas are separated by decades, if not centuries.
Mr. POPO IN DRAGON BALL
It’s true that Mr. Popo’s fighting skills haven’t often come to the fore. However, he remains an accomplished martial arts master. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why he was responsible for training several of the characters in the work. 👊
When he first appeared in Dragon Ball, his fighting skills far surpassed those of Son Goku. The two characters, who would go on to develop a relatively good relationship, first met at the Almighty’s palace.
Goku had just defeated King Piccolo. He then used his Power Pole to reach the Almighty’s palace. There he met Mr. Popo for the first time. Mr. Popo was sitting on a Persian carpet, birds on his shoulder, and surrounded by a light mist. 👍
The two characters engaged in an unprecedented fight. Son Goku attacked Mr. Popo with a Kamehameha. Vigilant, the Guardian dodged, swallowing the blast whole. To defeat Mr. Popo, Goku tried to use the famous punch that had defeated King Piccolo. But the demigod escaped this attack without much difficulty. 👎
Next, Mr. Popo introduced Kami to Son Goku. However, Kami’s physical resemblance to the demon king Piccolo prompted the young Saiyan to launch an attack that failed. It was following this incident that Kami and Mr. Popo told Goku their story.
They also mentioned how King Piccolo had been created. After this encounter, Goku and Mr. Popo spent several years together. 🙏
For almost three years, Mr. Popo took on Goku’s training himself. He teaches him to master several techniques, but above all the ability to feel ki without using his sight. During this particular training, he would blindfold Goku and ask him to follow a cat that had a bell attached to its tail. 🐱
After his training under Mr. Popo, the young Saiyan warrior took part in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. His sole aim was actually to defeat Piccolo Jr using the new abilities and techniques he had just acquired.
Admittedly, some of the techniques he had acquired over three years of training with Popo had proved invaluable. The Super Kamehameha and Ki Sense are certainly the most striking techniques. ✨
Mr. POPO IN DRAGON BALL Z
Dragon Ball Z is one of the most extensive parts of the Dragon Ball universe, made up of several sagas. In most of them, our character Mr. Popo was present. Sometimes he played rather ordinary and insignificant roles, but he was also a valuable element on other occasions.
Saga of the Saiyans
Five years after the previous events, Mr. Popo and Kami are responsible for training several characters, including Krillin, Yamcha, Yajirobe, Ten Shin han and Chaozu, to prepare them to face the imminent threat of the Saiyans. 💪
They use a variety of training methods, among which the pendulum room stands out.
The aim was to show the students the extent of the powers possessed by even the weakest Saiyans in the past. To their surprise, Mr. Popo and Kami find that Piccolo’s evilness has diminished considerably over the last five years. They also realize that the soul of Raditz, killed by Piccolo, has not gone astray like that of many other souls killed by demons. 👌
When Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, Kami and Popo are at the gazebo watching the battle. Popo seems particularly worried that Piccolo will die and that Kami will then be killed.
When Piccolo loses his life in battle, our character sinks into total despair. He is then forced to witness Kami’s death and disappearance before his very eyes, rendering the Dragon Balls useless and losing a precious companion in the process. 😥
Freezer Saga
After the unfortunate events of the Saga of the Saiyans, Mr. Popo allows Krillin, Bulma and Gohan to travel to the planet Namek, revealing the existence of Kami’s ancient spaceship when they’re at Wukong Hospital.
Using his magic carpet, he shows Bulma the location of the spaceship in Yunzabit Heigts. He also teaches her the Namek language so that she and her companions can travel to the planet to use the Dragon Balls in the hope of bringing back their other fallen companions. This of course includes Piccolo and would allow the return of Kami and the Earth Dragon Balls. 🐲
Subsequently, Kami returns to life as planned. In one day, Mr. Popo retrieves the Dragon Balls from Earth in order to bring back to life all those who were killed by Freezer and his soldiers on Namek.
This maneuver was King Kai’s idea, with the aim of saving those on Namek from the planet’s impending explosion, while excluding Goku and Freezer.
Saga of the Cyborgs
In the anime, while watering the plants in the gazebo, Mr. Popo was attacked by the Spice Boys. Garlic Jr., one of the assailants, locked him in a glass bottle. Later, he is freed by his friends Piccolo and Krillin. Afterwards, he leads Kami inside the gazebo to sprinkle the place where the ancient Guardians’ tombs lie with sacred water. 💧
Saga of Cell
Three years have passed. Kami merges definitively with Piccolo to become the Nameless Namek, with the aim of acquiring more power to face the androids whose sole objective is to eliminate Son Goku.
It’s at this point that Mr. Popo bids farewell to the Guardian he has served for so many years. Later, he takes Goku, Trunks from the future, Vegeta and Gohan to the hyperbolic time chamber for a year’s intensive training that takes place in one day. ⏳
Shortly afterwards, he’s at the side of Earth’s new Guardian, Dende, watching the Cell Games from the sky.
Saga of Buu
Seven years had passed. No one seemed to have any ideas for making the fusion dance. That’s when Mr. Popo came up with the idea of having Goten and Trunks perform the dance. 👏
The Dragon Team’s loved ones gather at the Palace of the Most High to seek shelter from Majin Buu. At one point, there’s a brief clash between Mr. Popo and two others, including Goten and Trunks, both transformed into Super Saiyan.
During the fight, Mr. Popo blocks many blows and even manages to dodge a kick. However, Goten finally finds a loophole and delivers a powerful kick. Despite this, he remains unscathed, proving his strength. 👊
Mr. Popo then witnesses the fusion of Goten and Trunks. The following day, Super Buu discovers the Palace of the Almighty.
He offers them a brief respite. There, Super Buu uses his human extinction attack to wipe out all but a few people on Earth.
This includes Mr Satan, his dog Bee, Chaozu, Ten and a few friends and family members. Once Buu escapes from the hyperbolic time chamber, Mr. Popo and his companions are all turned into chocolate and devoured. 🍫
However, before being turned into confectionery, after witnessing the murder of Android 18, Krillin and their daughter, he makes a swift and courageous decision. He grabs Dende and rushes him off the lookout, away from Buu’s fury. Piccolo congratulates him on his heroic deed when he finds Dende alive.
Although transformed and eaten, he comes back to life. He then gives his energy to help Goku create the Super Spirit bomb to destroy Kid Buu. On his return to Earth, he greets Dende and the others affectionately. 🙏
Mr. POPO IN DRAGON BALL SUPER
Like Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super also features several sagas. And once again, our character Mr. Popo is present in several of them, even if he sometimes plays mainly secondary roles.
Golden Freezer Saga
Five years after the encounter with Majin Buu, Mr. Popo should be around 779 years old. He watches over Piccolo with the new Guardian Dende, as he has been killed by a new and more powerful Freezer. Mr. Popo died in the planet’s explosion. However, thanks to Whis’s Temporal Do-over technique, the damage is canceled, and consequently, so is Mr. Popo’s death. 💀
Universe Saga 6
This saga takes place after the famous battle against Golden Freezer. Mr. Popo is in the company of Dende, with whom he plays tennis at the gazebo. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta are training in the Hall of Spirit and Time. The famous training chamber, previously destroyed, has been restored by Dende. ⏳
Saga of Trunks from the Future
As usual, Mr. Popo and Dende are at the gazebo. They watch helplessly as Vegeta destroys the Time Chamber when he suffers his second defeat against Zamasu of the Future and Goku Black. Indeed, after two uses, the chamber’s door closes for good. What’s more, the chamber’s destruction caused a huge crater in the palace of the Most High. 💥
Saga of the survival of the universe
Vegeta once again prepares to join the Chamber of Time for hours of training in preparation for the Tournament of Power. Since he has already destroyed the chamber previously, Mr. Popo warns him this time. He makes it clear that he will be permanently banished if he has the luxury of destroying the Chamber of Spirit and Time once again.
Saga of the Galactic Patrol
Finally, Mr. Popo is back at the lookout. He is on the scene when Dende and Piccolo sense something abnormal on New Namek. He hears Piccolo’s words as he explains to Dende that he hasn’t been detecting Vegeta and Goku’s energy signature on Earth for a few days. 🤔
For this reason, they are forced to travel to New Namek. Piccolo then attempts to contact the inhabitants of New Namek telepathically.
Unfortunately, he explains to Dende and Popo that his attempt is in vain, as he has received no signal from them. He therefore deduces that a tragic event must have occurred in the Namek universe, and that the Nameks, normally capable of telepathy, must have died. ✨
Piccolo detects the presence of three individuals in space who are strangely approaching Earth. These people could be connected to what’s happening in space. To learn more about the situation, Piccolo decides to conduct his own investigations.
Meanwhile, Mr Popo and Dende meet Bulma and Mr Satan. The latter is looking for Piccolo to join the Galactic Patrol. However, they wonder why the Patrol wants to recruit Piccolo without Dende and Mr Popo’s knowledge. Jaco clarifies the Moro situation for them using a communicator borrowed from Tights. 📖
Dende joins Mr Satan and Bulma to track down Piccolo when they learn from Jaco that the three individuals tracked by Piccolo are indeed linked to the critical situation in space. As for Popo, he decides to stay at the gazebo.
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL GT
Popo’s appearances in this part are relatively brief.
Black Star Saga
Some five years have passed since the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. Meanwhile, Mr Popo prepares to restore the lookout, which has been completely damaged due to Goku and Uub’s intensive training.
Baby Saga
Dende and the mysterious dark-skinned figure are infected by Baby. Later, they attempt to neutralize Kibito Kai, who heads to the palace of the Most High to obtain the sacred water to rid the human race of Baby’s parasites. After his recovery, Mr Popo remains a secondary character in the rest of the saga. His appearances are more than brief. 👎
Saga of the shadow dragon
In this saga, he barely appears. We only see him in a retrospective montage sequence in the final episode.
CINEMA APPARITIONS
As you probably already know, Dragon Ball anime has many famous feature films. These films feature the main and regular characters, as well as fearsome enemies. 📷
Although Mr Popo isn’t as essential as Son Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and others, he has still made several film appearances. However, he hasn’t featured as prominently as one might have expected.
Among the most famous films in which Mr Popo appears are Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – Goku’s Father, and Dragon Ball: Plan to Exterminate the Saiyans.
FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
Like most other characters in the Dragon Ball universe, Popo has many techniques for defending himself and attacking his opponents. Here’s a rundown of the best techniques from the Planet Guardians’ number-one ally. 🧞
Ki Sense: He was one of the first characters to develop the ability to sense ki and anticipate his opponents’ movements. In fact, he used this technique to defeat Goku. When he was training Goku, he taught him to perfect his Ki Sense so that he could sense his opponents’ attacks directly, relying not only on sight but also on ki itself.
Floating Popo Defense: This is a defensive technique specially developed by Popo himself. He used it notably against Trunks and Goten.
Levitation: Popo is able to fly using his ki. He can control his energy and transfer it outside his body, enabling him to fly or levitate in space without any difficulty. 👍
Creation of Dragon Ball: In Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, Mr Popo creates his own series of Dragon Balls after Kami and Goku return to life. However, it’s important to note that his version of Shenron isn’t particularly powerful. It is therefore not possible to bring back dead people by using them. His advantage lies in the fact that the Dragon Balls can be used several times after they have been glued back together. What’s more, they appear to be able to summon extremely powerful characters, such as the legendary Super Saiyan Broly. It’s unclear whether the Broly summoned is the real Broly or simply a creation of Mr Popo’s Shenron to provide Team Dragon with a more formidable opponent.
Magical materialization: Mr Popo possesses the magical power to create many objects out of nothing. For example, he can make a flying carpet appear out of thin air. He then throws it to the ground, but instead of hitting the ground, it opens up in the air and becomes a magic flying carpet.
Energy absorption: The plump, dark-skinned character has the ability to literally absorb blasts of ki. In Dragon Ball, when he fights Goku, he swallows his Kamehameha completely. However, this action is not without consequences, as he has a smoky belch afterwards.
Bôjutsu: Wielding a stick may seem mundane, but it’s an art in its own right. No one knows this better than Popo, who excels in this field. He shows off his skills when he trains Goku.
Immortality: As you already know, Mr Popo is the eternal guardian of The Lookout, as well as an assistant and teacher to the Guardians of the Earth. As such, he enjoys ageless immortality, which enables him to outlive the old Guardians and train the next Guardian. However, despite his immortality, it seems that he can die, as he proved vulnerable to Super Buu’s metamorphosis ray and the Earth explosion.
Faster than lightning: This is the special attack Popo uses in Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. With the help of his magic carpet, he flies over his opponent and hits him with a fast attack.
Equipment and vehicles: Like many other fighters, Mr Popo uses a variety of tools to fight and get around. Here are just some of the equipment he possesses.
Magic Carpet: The magic carpet is probably Mr Popo’s best-known piece of equipment, as he frequently uses it to get around. It’s a magic carpet that allows him to fly through the air. He can travel alone on his magic carpet or take other passengers, although the number of seats is probably limited.
Kai Kai: This is a special function of the magic carpet. When placed on the magic carpet, Mr Popo can teleport anywhere on Earth. He used this ability to take Bulma to Yunzabit Heigts, the landing site of the Nameless Namek spaceship.
Stick: Mr Popo is often seen with a stick, which he handles deftly. It was with this stick that he trained Goku in Ki Sense, blindfolding him during his training.
Spaceship of the Most High: This is the spaceship that was used to transport the Almighty to Earth. This enormous craft also served as his residence for much of his life. After the Almighty’s death, Mr Popo reveals the ship’s location to Bulma. Thanks to his mastery of the Namekian dialect, he is able to access the spaceship and get it airborne. However, he prefers to stay at his post on the Lookout and refuses to lead Team Dragon to Namek himself. Instead, he teaches Bulma the Namekian language so that she can pilot the ship and take Team Dragon to Namek.
The ship was damaged by Banan and Sui when they arrived on Namek, and was permanently destroyed when the planet was destroyed.
The Palace of the Most High: This is the residence and lair of the Earth Guardians. But it’s not just a building, it’s also a real machine capable of travel.
In Dragon Ball Super, it was revealed that the palace can move from the sky above the Karin Tower, and even beyond Monster Island. As guardian of the Earth Guardians, Mr Popo is responsible for guarding and protecting the palace, as guardians come and go while he remains in post.
Anecdotes about Mr Popo
When the Earth Guardian dies without a designated successor, it’s up to Mr Popo to find a replacement. Being immortal, there’s no risk of the position remaining vacant, as he’ll do his utmost to find a worthy successor.
Mr Popo is able to speak the Namek language. He learned the language from the Earth Guardian and his friend Kami, although the latter discovered his Namekian origins shortly before his death. Kami was already able to speak Namekian in Dragon Ball even before discovering his origins. During his battle with Piccolo Jr, he spoke with him in this language.
Some believe that Mr Popo is a representation of “dark iconography”. They even claim it’s a style of caricature with racist overtones. In 2000, children’s book author Carole Boston Weatherford published an article claiming that the characters in Mr Popo, Pokémon #124 (Lippoutou) were unreasonable stereotypes due to their skin color and large lips. What’s more, Mr Popo has no teeth, a detail that doesn’t go unnoticed by anti-racist activists.
To avoid media criticism, Viz Media began digitally reducing the size of Mr Popo’s lips in the American version of the Dragon Ball manga in 2004.
In the increasingly popular Pokémon franchise, Lippoutou’s skin color was altered. His hands and face were colored purple instead of black. In the CW version of Dragon Ball Z Kai, the Mr Popo character was also recolored royal blue. Popo’s original appearance, with very dark skin, was considered to have similarities with blackface, a controversial practice historically linked to caricatures of African-Americans on stage and in film.
In Dragon Ball GT, Mr Popo is behind the wish to resurrect all those killed by Freezer and his companions. This wish led to the creation of Syn Shenron.
Some of Mr Popo’s attributes, such as his appearance, the pattern of his outfit and his use of a flying carpet, seem to have been inspired by the fictional character Babu from the animated TV series “I Dream of Jeannie”.
One of the Dragon Ball Online characters, Black Mashenlong M. Poko Poko, has an outfit and a name that strongly resemble those of Mr Popo. This name was given to him by the Dark Namekian Gamelan general, who wishes to become the god of the Narak-type Namekians.
You’re now an expert on Mr Popo!
Now you know all about Mr Popo! 🔥PRODUCTS OF THE MOMENT🔥
We hope you enjoyed this ultimate guide! Although Mr Popo is a secondary character in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, he plays an important role in the series. He’s particularly prominent in Dragon Ball, when Goku wishes to meet the Almighty.
