Who is Mr Popo in Dragon Ball? What is the role of this secondary character?
Whatever question you have about this rather special character, you will find the answer in this article!
Mr Popo is the servant of the Almighty on planet Earth. He welcomes Goku and tests his martial abilities to see if he is worthy of speaking to his master. Mr. Popo plays an important role in the Dragon Ball series.
In this article, we invite you to return to this atypical character. This ultimate guide will therefore address the following points:
- Mr Popo's personality and appearance
- The full biography of the character
- Combat techniques as well as several anecdotes
Ready to start this new ultimate guide? In that case, it’s high time to get started! 👉
CHARACTER APPEARANCE
In the Dragon Ball universe, most of the characters are really imposing. They have impressive physiques. Son Goku, Vegeta and many others are perfect illustrations of this. Unlike the vast majority of these characters, Mr Popo stands out with his unusual physique . ☝
Indeed, Mr. Popo appears in the form of a humanoid with a relatively short height, and particularly plump . He stands out through several particular features such as his red lips, his consequently dark complexion, and especially his pointy ears.
Regarding the appearance of this important Dragon Ball character, there is one fact that deserves to be clarified. It does not have a nose or teeth . However, in the very first episodes of the Dragon Ball anime, he had a tooth, a physical trait which did not go unnoticed by big fans from the beginning. 😅
He has a fairly modest stature, and apparently appears smaller than an average earthling. He usually wears a smile . But depending on the circumstances that arise, he can exhibit various forms of emotions like the other characters.
Mr. Popo is a polite character who is distinguished by his upright posture and calm demeanor. Like several 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 even Dragon Ball GT, it has not changed in a single way. He undoubtedly owes this ability to his origins . 🤔
Her appearance isn't the only thing that has remained unchanged all these years. There's also her outfit. Indeed, during all the episodes in which he appeared, Mr. Popo always wears a white turban with a blue jewel placed prominently on his forehead. On each of his ears, he wears a gold earring that does not go unnoticed.
His upper body is decorated with a sleeveless vest composed of brown and gold patterns. The latter reveals a good part of his body. On his upper arms, he wears golden armbands that match well with the color of the pattern on his vest. He wears a red belt around his waist which highlights his unusual outfit. 👍
His white pants are very similar to a model of Harem pants and wrap around his ankles.
And as you might expect, he doesn't go barefoot. He therefore wears red slippers with white soles on his feet.
PERSONALITY OF MR POPO
Mr. Popo is one of the Dragon Ball characters who has remained as such throughout all episodes. He hasn't aged a single bit, which leads us to believe that he is very young. 👌
But in reality, he is very old . Moreover, for several centuries, he served under the orders of Kami, the Guardian of the Earth. But before that, he had previously served Kami's predecessor.
In the very distant past, he had also served other Earthkeepers . Mr. Popo is known as a faithful and loyal servant. Its attributes are diverse and multiple. Among other things, he is responsible for taking care of the palace, as well as the grounds of Kami, he ensures the cleanliness of the belvedere. He is also responsible for training various creatures, including that of Earthlings, so that they are able to face the various enemies, most of them very dangerous, on earth. (Like Piccolo Jr. at the end of Dragon Ball or Nappa and Vegeta at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z). 🌎
In the absence of the guard, he takes charge of the lookout. He handles many tasks, from the most interesting to the most mundane, such as helping to rebuild Shenron when necessary. But beyond everything, its most important vocation is to take care of the current guardian. He is supposed to support him and serve him. Very often, he shares a particularly deep emotional connection with the guardian of the moment.
As soon as he suffers harm of any kind, he begins to become depressed and worry excessively. 😨
Mr. Popo is sometimes caught taking care of his ancient butterfly garden that he created several hundred years ago. Appreciating the simplest things in life, he cultivates a lot of patience and seems very tolerant of everyone, including 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 particularly appreciate the natural world. In this role, it follows in the footsteps of Android 8 and of course Android 16 .
When he speaks about himself, he has the unfortunate (or not) habit of using the third person. Mr. Popo generally speaks eloquently, while using very sophisticated sentences and expressions. 😎
However, in the Japanese version, he is depicted as being a rather primitive figure.
BIOGRAPHY OF MR POPO
Mr. Popo was born in the distant past in the Other World . After some time, he was sent to Earth to act as an assistant to each Guardian on the planet. 🌏
As you can well imagine, he has indeed been under the orders of several Guardians during his stay on Earth. In Dragon Ball Z, Mr. Popo was 1000 years old and older .
In the sequel, it stands to reason that there will be even more, since the sagas are separated by decades or even centuries.
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL
It is true that Mr Popo's talent as a fighter has not often been highlighted. However, he remains a very good martial arts master. This is also one of the reasons why he took care of the training of several characters in the work. 👊
When he made his first appearance in Dragon Ball, his combat abilities were far above those of Son Goku . The two characters who will later have a relatively good relationship met for the first time at the palace of the Almighty .
Goku had just defeated King Piccolo . He then deploys his Power Pole to reach the palace of the Almighty. It was when he reached this mythical place for the first time in the anime that he met Mr. Popo. He was placed on a Persian carpet , birds on his shoulder, and a light fog which seemed to cover him. 👍
The two, that is to say, Goku and Mr. Popo then embark on an unprecedented fight. Son Goku attacks Mr. Popo with a Kamehameha . Vigilant, the guard dodges by completely swallowing the explosion. To defeat Mr. Popo, Goku tries to use the famous punch that defeated King Piccolo. But that was without taking into account the sharp reflex of the demigod who escapes without much difficulty. 👎
Then, Mr. Popo decided to introduce Kami to Son Goku. But, his physical resemblance to the demon king Piccolo leads the young Saiyan to undertake an attack which ultimately fails. It is following this incident that Kami and Mr. Popo tell their story to Goku.
They also did not fail to talk about how King Piccolo was conceived. After getting to know each other properly, Goku and Mr. Popo spend several years together . 🙏
For almost three years, Mr. Popo himself took care of Goku's training. He teaches him the mastery of several techniques, but above all how to feel ki without using his sight. During this particular training, he covered Goku's vision and gave him the task of following a cat that had a bell attached to its tail. 🐱
At the end of his training under the orders of Mr. Popo, the young Saiyan warrior enters the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament . In reality, his only goal was to defeat Piccolo Jr by using the new abilities and techniques he had just acquired.
And it must be recognized that some of the techniques he acquired during his three years of training with Popo turned out to be quite valuable. The Super Kamehameha and Ki Sense are certainly the most notable techniques. ✨
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL Z
Dragon Ball Z is one of the most colossal parts of the Dragon Ball universe. It is made up of several sagas. In most of them, our character Mr. Popo was present. If sometimes he finds himself playing fairly banal and insignificant roles, he also happens to be a valuable element.
Saiyan saga
Five years after the latest events, Mr Popo and Kami are responsible for training several characters including Krillin, Yamcha, Yajirobe, Ten Shin han, and Chaozu in order to prepare them to face the imminent threat of the Saiyans. 💪
To this end, they use multiple training methods, each as complex as the next. The pendulum room is one of the examples that deserves to be highlighted.
The goal was to show trainees the extent of powers that even the weakest Saiyans previously possessed. To their surprise, Mr. Popo and Kami realize that Piccolo 's level of perversity has decreased significantly over the past five years. They also realized that the soul of Raditz , killed by Piccolo, did not wander away like many other souls who had been killed by demons. 👌
When Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, Kami and Popo were at the lookout watching the battle from. Popo was obviously very worried that Piccolo would die and then it would be Kami's turn.
When Piccolo lost his life in battle, our character plunged into total despair. This is how he had to watch Kami perish and disappear before his eyes, rendering the Dragon Balls non-functional, and losing an excellent companion at the same time. 😥
Frieza's Saga
After the unfortunate events that occurred in the Saiyan Saga, Mr. Popo allowed Krillin, Bulma, and Gohan to travel to the planet Namek after telling them about Kami's old spaceship when they were at Wukong Hospital. .
Using his magic carpet, he shows Bulma the location of the spaceship in Yunzabit Heigts. He also teaches her the famous language of Namek so that she and her companions can go to said planet to use their Dragon Balls with the aim of reviving their other companions who had been wiped out in battle. This obviously includes Piccolo, and assumes the return of Kami and that of the terrestrial Dragon Balls . 🐲
In the course of events, Kami comes back to life as everyone expected. It is then that in the space of a day, Mr. Popo recovers the Dragon Balls found on Earth in order to bring back to life all those who perished at the hands of Frieza and his soldiers on the planet Namek.
This move was apparently King Kai's idea. The goal was obviously to save those on Namek from the explosion that threatened it, but while excluding Goku and Frieza .
Cyborg Saga
In the anime, while he was busy watering the gazebo plants, Mr. Popo was attacked by the Spice Boys. Garlic Jr , one of the attackers sealed it in a bottle made of glass. A little later, he will be freed by his friends Piccolo and Krillin . Then, he leads Kami inside the gazebo to sprinkle the place where the tombs of the ancient Guardians are located, with sacred water. 💧
Cell Saga
Three years have passed. Kami completely and forever merges with Piccolo to become the Nameless Namek. His goal was to obtain more power in order to face the androids whose only motivation was to destroy Son Goku .
It is in this context that Mr Popo bids farewell to the Guardian he served for years. Later, he takes Goku, Future Trunks, Vegeta and Gohan to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in order to put them through a year-long harsh training which was held in one day. ⏳
Shortly after, he was with the new Guardian of Earth observing the Cell Games from the skies. Incidentally, the new Guardian in question is named Dende.
Buu's Saga
Seven years have passed. No one seemed to come up with any ideas to do the fusion dance . It was then that Mr. Popo had the famous idea of having Goten and Trunks execute her. 👏
Those close to the Dragon Team gather at Majin Buu, at the palace of the Most High , to take refuge. At one point, there was a brief confrontation between Mr. Popo and two others, notably Goten and Trunks. The latter were indeed in their Super Saiyan forms.
During the fight, he blocked many blows, and even managed to dodge a kick. However, Goten manages to find a loophole and delivers a powerful kick. But despite this, he remains unharmed, proving that he is quite strong. 👊
Mr. Popo then witnesses the merger of Goten and Trunks. The next day, Super Buu discovers the Palace of the Almighty.
It offers them the opportunity to live for a fairly short period. There, Super Buu deploys his human extinction attack to wipe out everyone on Earth except for a few people.
These include Mr. Satan , his dog Bee, Chaozu, Ten, and a few friends and family members. As soon as Buu escapes from the hyperbolic time chamber, Mr. Popo and his companions were all turned into chocolate and consumed. 🍫
However, before being turned into candy, after witnessing the murder of Android 18, Krillin and their daughter, he made a quick and courageous decision. Indeed, he grabbed Dende and rushed him out of the lookout, safe from Buu's rampage. Piccolo did not fail to congratulate him for his brave gesture when he met Dende alive.
Although he has been transformed and eaten, he comes back to life. He then gives his energy to help Goku in manufacturing the Super Spirit bomb supposed to destroy Kid Buu . Upon his return to Earth, he affectionately greets Dende and the others. 🙏
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL SUPER
Like Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super also has several sagas. And once again, our character Mr Popo was not left out. He was present in several of them, although sometimes he plays typically secondary roles.
Golden Frieza Saga
Five years after meeting Majin Buu , Mr. Popo should be around 779 years old. He was watching over Piccolo with the new Guardian Dende, because he had been killed by a brand new and more powerful Frieza. Mr Popo dies in the explosion of the planet. But thanks to Whis who deploys his famous Temporal Do-over technique, the damage is canceled, and by extension, the death of Mr. Popo as well. 💀
Universe 6 Saga
This saga takes place in the period following the famous battle with Golden Frieza . Misuta Popo was in the company of Dende with whom he was playing tennis on the lookout. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta are busy training in the Spirit and Time Room . Previously destroyed, the famous training chamber was restored by Dende. ⏳
Future Trunks Saga
As usual, Mr Popo and Dende were at the lookout. They helplessly witness the destruction of the time chamber by Vegeta when the latter signs his second defeat against Zamasu of the Future and Goku Black . In fact, when you enter again after two times, it is expected that the door will close definitively. Furthermore, the destruction suffered by the Time Chamber caused a huge crater in the very high palace. 💥
Universe Survival Saga
Vegeta prepares to once again join the Time Chamber in order to prepare for hours as a prelude to the Tournament of Power . Since the latter had already destroyed said room once, Mr. Popo warns him this time. He makes it clear to him that he will be permanently banished if he allows himself the luxury of once again destroying the Chamber of Spirit and Time.
Galactic Patrol Saga
Mr Popo finally returned to the lookout. He was on the scene when Dende and Piccolo had a feeling that something fishy was happening on New Namek . He intercepts Piccolo's words when he made Dende understand that he has no longer received the energy signature of Vegeta and Goku on Earth for several days. 🤔
For this reason, they are obliged to go to New Namek. Piccolo then tries to reach the inhabitants of New Namek using telepathy .
It was then that he explained to Dende and Popo that his maneuver was a success. In fact, he did not perceive the slightest signal from them.
From then on, he concludes that an unfortunate event must have occurred in the universe of the Nameks , and they normally capable of telepathy must have found their death. ✨
Piccolo detects three people in space who are strangely approaching Earth . These people could be linked to what is happening in space. To find out more about the situation, Piccolo decides to carry out his own investigations.
For their part, Mr Popo and Dende met Bulma and Mr Satan. The latter was looking for Piccolo to recruit for the galactic patrol. But the question that had to be asked is why the patrol in question wanted to enlist Piccolo without Dende and Mr. Popo knowing. Jaco enlightened them on the situation regarding Moro through a communicator that Bulma had borrowed from Tights. 📖
Dende joins Mr. Satan and Bulma to find Piccolo when they learn from Jaco that the three people Piccolo was tracking were indeed linked to the horrible situation in space. As for Popo, he chooses to stay behind at the lookout.
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL GT
Popo's appearances in this part are relatively brief.
Black Star Saga
About five years have passed after the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament . For his part, Mr. Popo is preparing to restore the lookout having been completely damaged due to the intense training of Goko and Uub.
Baby's Saga
Dende and the famous dark-skinned character are infected by Baby. Later, they try to neutralize Kibito Kai , who is heading to the palace of the Most High to obtain the sacred water in order to rid the human race of Baby 's parasites. After his recovery, Mr Popo remained a background character in the rest of the saga. His appearances were more than brief. 👎
Shadow Dragon Saga
Here it almost doesn't appear. The only time he was seen was during the flashback montage sequence in the last episode.
CINEMA APPEARANCES
As you probably already know, the Dragon Ball anime has had countless feature films . These generally feature the most important and regular characters, but also some very formidable villains. 📷
Even if Mr. Popo is not as essential as Son Goku, Vegeta, Gohan or many others, he has nevertheless made several appearances in the cinema . However, it was not as popular as one might expect.
Among the most famous films in which Mr. Popo appeared was Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler. He is also found in the famous film Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - Goku's Father, but also in Dragon Ball: Plan to Exterminate the Saiyans.
COMBAT TECHNIQUES
Like the vast majority of other characters in the world of Dragon Ball, Popo also has many techniques to defend himself and attack his opponents. Here is a summary of the best techniques of the number one ally of the Guardians of the Planet. 🧞
Ki Sense : He is one of the very first characters to sense ki, and to follow the gestures of others. He also used this technique to defeat Goku. When he was training the latter, he taught him how to perfect his Ki Sense in order to directly sense the attacks of his opponents instead of relying solely on his eyes.
Floating Popo Defense : This is a defensive technique developed by Popo himself. He specially used it against Trunks and Goten.
Levitation : This is in fact the ability to fly using one's ki. Popo is able to control his energy over a period of time and transfer ki out of him. This then allows him to fly, or even levitate in space without the slightest difficulty. 👍
Creation of Dragon Ball : For reference, Mr. Popo proceeds to create his own set of Dragon Balls in Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, notably after Kami and Goku come back to life. However, it is important to point out that his version of the Shenron is not particularly powerful. It is therefore not possible to use it to request the return of deceased people. Its strong point is that it can be used as many times as possible after being glued back together. In addition to this, it seems that she is able to summon characters with extreme power like the legendary Super Saiyan Broly . Small clarification, it is not certain whether the Broly invoked is the real one or simply a creation of Mr Popo's Shenron in order to give the Dragon team a tougher enemy.
Magical materialization : This is a magical power used to create several objects from very thin air. For example, Mr. Popo is able to pull a rolled-up carpet ball out of absolutely nowhere. He then propels her onto the ground. But the latter, which is supposed to touch the ground, instead opens in the air, becoming its magic flying carpet.
Energy Absorption : The plump, completely dark-skinned character with pointy ears has the ability to literally swallow ki blasts. In Dragon Ball, when he was fighting Goku, he swallowed his Kamehameha entirely. But this action did not remain without consequences. He actually had a smoky belch.
Bôjutsu : Wielding a stick may seem trivial, but it is quite an art. There is no one better placed to say this other than Popo who excels very well in this area. He displays this art when training Goku.
Immortality : Mr. Popo is, as you already know, eternal guardian of The Lookout and both assistant and teacher of the Guardians of the Earth. As such, he benefits from ageless immortality, which allows him to survive the former guardians, but also to properly ensure the training of the next guardian. But despite his immortality, it seems that he can die, as he has shown himself vulnerable to Super Buu's shapeshifting beam as well as the Earth's explosion.
Faster than Lightning : This is the special attack that Popo deployed in Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. With the help of his magic carpet, he flies above his opponent and hits them with a rush attack.
Equipment and vehicles : Whether to fight or move, it is common to use certain tools. Mr Popo is no exception to this reality. Several instruments are part of his collection.
Magic Carpet : This is undoubtedly the best-known piece of equipment in Mr. Popo's collection, because he often uses it, particularly to move from one place to another. It is in fact a magic carpet that allows him to fly in space. He can travel alone on his flying machine, as he can decide to have other passengers. But undoubtedly the number of places must be limited.
Kai Kai : This is one of the variants or functions of the Magic Carpet, as it works in combination with it. When placed on his magic carpet, Mr Popo has the possibility of teleporting anywhere on Earth. He also used this means when it came to taking Bulma to Yunzabit Heigts, on the landing site of the Nameless Namek spaceship.
Stick : Mr. Popo is generally found with a stick that he constantly manipulates. It is also with the latter that he trains Goku in Ki Sense. The latter had, as part of his training, to be blindfolded.
Spaceship of the Most High : This is the spaceship through which the Almighty was able to be transported to Earth. This enormous machine served as his home for most of his life. For a long time, Kami told his friend Popo about the spaceship, as well as its location. After Kami's death, Mr. Popo reveals the location of the ship to Bulma . Mastering the Namekian dialect, he manages to access the spaceship and even manages to give it the order to fly. However, he holds his position as attendant very well. 🛸
For this reason, he refuses to lead the Dragon Team to Namek himself. Instead, he teaches Bulma the language of Namek in order for her to be able to pilot the spaceship, to take the Dragon team to Namek.
And since Popo can't be blamed for being a bad teacher, he does pleasantly well with Bulma's training. She carries out her mission by going to Namek as agreed.
But once there, the ship was damaged by Banan and Sui. It will be definitively destroyed during the destruction suffered by the planet Namek.
The Palace of the Most High : This place as it is known is akin to a sort of landmark or accommodation for the Guardians of the Earth. However, it would not just be a simple building, but also a real machine capable of traveling.
Moreover, in Dragon Ball Super, it was clarified that this location is able to travel from the sky above Karin Tower , and to the sky beyond Monster Island. As guardian of the Guardians of the Earth, Popo legitimately acts as the guardian of this palace, because in the end, the Guardians follow each other, but he remains. 🐱
ANECDOTES ABOUT MR POPO
When the current Guardian of the Earth dies without first finding a successor, it is up to Mr. Popo to find one. Being immortal , there is therefore no risk of this position becoming vacant, because he will do everything possible to find a successor worthy of the name. 🤔
Mr. Popo is able to speak the Namekian language. This was taught to him by the Guardian of the Earth and his friend Kami, even though the latter learned shortly before his death that he was from Namek. It should be noted that Kami was able to speak Namekian in Dragon Ball long before learning that he had Namekian origins. During his fight against Piccolo Jr , he was speaking with his opponent in the language in question.
According to some, Mr Popo is nothing more than a variation of " dark iconography ". They even go so far as to claim that it is a racist style of caricature. In 2000, on May 4 to be precise, an article was published by Carole Boston Weatherford, a children's book author. In her text, she affirmed that the characters of Mr Popo, Pokémon #124, Lippoutou were unreasonable stereotypes, due to the color of their skin which was black, but also their large lips. Added to all this, Mr Popo does not have teeth, another detail which does not go unnoticed by anti-racists... 🥴
To avoid facing the wrath of the media, Viz Media has, since 2004, begun to digitally limit the size of Mr Popo's lips in the American version of the Dragon Ball manga.
For its part, the Pokémon franchise was growing in popularity. The company therefore thought about reviewing the color of Lippoutou's skin. His hands and face have been recolored purple, instead of black. Along the same lines, the character of Mr. Popo had to be recolored to royal blue in the CW version of Dragon Ball Z Kai . The reason is very simple. Popo's original appearance which is very dark was noted for having many similarities with blackface. It is a form of controversial makeup historically linked to stage and cinema caricatures of African-Americans. 🤔
In Dragon Ball GT, Mr. Popo is the originator of the wish to bring back to life all the people who perished at the hands of Frieza and his companions. This wish also gave rise to the birth of Syn Shenron .
It is possible that several attributes of Mr Popo, namely his appearance, the pattern of his outfit, his tendency to use a flying carpet are inspired by the fictional character Babu from the animated television series "(I Dream of) Jeannie". ☝
One of the characters from Dragon Ball Online , in this case the Black Mashenlong Mr. Poko Poko, wears clothing and a name that are very similar to that of Mr. Popo. The name in question was given to him by the Dark Namekian general Gamelan. The latter's goal is to become the god of Narak-type Namekians.
YOU ARE NOW A MR POPO EXPERT!
Now you know absolutely everything about Mr Popo !
We hope you enjoy this ultimate guide! Mr. Popo is certainly a secondary character in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, but he plays an important role in the series. It is especially highlighted in Dragon Ball, when Goku wants to meet the Almighty . 🐉
If you are a fan of the series, we invite you to discover this best-selling article, which Mr Popo has the power to materialize and make active! We are of course talking about the famous dragon balls ! Find them below in figurine form!
